#BROKEN BELLS LYRICS SPOTTED !!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rabbitechoes · 7 months

Text

wanted to post more over here and had the idea to do lil reviews for albums from years past. i'm gonna try to post a review for this series, as the name suggests, every thursday!! this week we're looking at a long overdue return to form for one of the greatest songwriters of all time: Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan

◇ release year: 1989 ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, pop rock, folk rock

The 80s were not kind to Bob Dylan at all, neither were the late 70s for that matter. There was a massive dip in quality after the relative comeback albums that were 1975’s Blood on the Tracks and 1976’s Desire. Following divorce proceedings with his wife in 1977, Dylan shifted his sound away from folk and into a more pop-rock direction for Street-Legal, one of his most uneventful records. Leading into the 80s, he had a born-again Christian phase and released a trilogy of terrible faith-based albums. His 1983 album Infidels was his return back to secular music, but it’s also not very great in the grand scheme of his catalog besides the opener “Jokerman.” Empire Burlesque, Knocked Out Loaded, and Down in the Groove were also some of his worst records and borderline embarrassing for an artist of his caliber. There are very few bright spots in that run aside from “Brownsville Girl” off of Knocked Out Loaded, but to get to that you gotta sit through his version of Kris Kristofferson’s “They Killed Him” which is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard. Things were looking pretty bad for the once-iconic artist. His music was either terrible, boring, a parody of his best work, or all three in one. The deck was stacked against him, but in 1988 something special would happen. Bono would introduce Dylan to producer Daniel Lanois known for his work with Brian Eno, U2, and longtime Dylan collaborator Robbie Robertson. Dylan seemed determined to finally make a good album again and Lanois’ production work was exactly what he needed to refresh his sound.

Bob Dylan, 1989

You can hear that right away in the opener “Political World.” Despite it being one of Dylan’s clunkier songs from a lyrical perspective, that instrumentation is just perfect for him. That warm, jaunty sound provided by Dylan and a backing band consisting of various musicians from New Orleans. Many of which Lanois was working with at the time. These musicians match the anxious and chaotic themes of the song perfectly. Dylan sings about it being a hostile, political world and even touches on themes of spirituality in two lines towards the end. In those two lines alone, he provides a more interesting perspective on religion than he ever did on his spiritual albums. In the grand scheme of things, “Political World” doesn’t rank among the best Dylan songs, but it’s such a massive breath of fresh air from what he had been doing at the time. The next track cools things down with the waltzy, schmaltzy cut “Where Teardrops Fall.” Again, this isn’t a classic Dylan masterpiece, but it just sounds so good. Massive shoutout to John Hart’s saxophone on the outro. “Everything is Broken” kind of harkens back lyrically and musically to something Dylan might’ve written in decades past, but it’s given this fresh new coat of paint thanks to Lanois’ production. I love Brian Stoltz’s guitar work here. It’s never in your face, but it’s always present underneath everything. It creates this really cool dynamic with the rhythm section. The next track “Ring Them Bells” is one of the many times here where Dylan slows things down. This is where the album is at its best. The warm production not only brings out the best in the instrumentation but also in Dylan’s voice. This is the first album where he sounds like the weathered, legendary songwriter he was. The arrangement is sparse, with only guitar and keyboards accompanying Dylan’s voice and piano. It’s one of my favorite-sounding Dylan songs. As is the next track, “Man In the Long Black Coat.” What a triumph this song is. It’s simultaneously amazing and infuriating. He still had it in him to write an incredible, compelling song. Like the last track, the sound here is pretty sparse besides some ambiance setting keyboards from Malcolm Burn and Dylan’s guitar. His voice is in a lower register and it makes you just hang on to his every word. It helps that the melody is so memorable also. The song ends on such a mysterious note and it’s the most engaging he had sounded since Desire.

“Most of the Time” builds upon that more weathered sound except this time with more layers to it instrumentally. This is another one of my favorite Dylan songs. It’s a heartbreak ballad that has such a simple structure and premise, but it’s so impactful. I love the way the electric guitar washes over the track. Every time it enters, it lingers for the perfect amount of time. It’s mixed so perfectly. “What Good Am I?” and “Disease of Conceit” are lulls in the tracklist, but they’re not bad. They just lack that energy of the three tracks prior. The latter is another clunky writing moment from Dylan on the record. His best moments on here lyrically are the songs about love, heartbreak, and other more personal topics. He’s made some iconic songs built around his ruminations on the world, but none of them are found here. Fortunately, the last two tracks are a step up. “What Was It You Wanted” might have the most tasteful implementation of a harmonica on any Bob Dylan record. I love Dylan’s usually harsh harmonica, but it’s hard to deny it can get a bit much. The music here is very subtle and it accompanies what seems to be Dylan’s meditations on his art up to that point. Perhaps the years of critical failures catching up to him as he asks the public “what was it you wanted?” If I was a fan of his during this time, the answer would be songs like this! “Shooting Star” is another ballad and another favorite of mine. Some have interpreted this song as being about Dylan’s disillusionment with spirituality and I think that’s an interesting read, but it could also just be a simple bittersweet ballad about love. Either way, this is a strong closer to the album.

Bob Dylan, 1988

Oh Mercy was an incredible return to form for Dylan and Lanois’ production brought out the best in these songs. It sounded like Dylan was writing with a purpose again, he was inspired. While overall this isn’t his strongest crop of songs from a lyrical standpoint, the execution here takes these songs to the next level. Ideally, this would be the start of a career renaissance for the legendary singer-songwriter, but seeing as how his next album would be the dreadful Under the Red Sky that wasn’t the case. Thankfully, Lanois would collaborate with Dylan again 8 years later for Time Out of Mind, yet another one of his comeback albums.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

#throwback thursday #music #rateyourmusic #music review #bob dylan #daniel lanois #folk music #80s music

1 note · View note

west-tokyo-incidents · 1 year

Text

If I Lead

Writing out the storyboard because I don't have time to draw it before work.

Seagulls, no music yet

focus on Vice's gauntlet, limp on a ledge

Music starts

shift to Vice's face, eyes hidded off the edge, blood/oil dripping from his lips and pieces of his sphere like broken glass on the ground in front of him

flute comes in

shift to an over view of a forest at night, wind rustling the leaves (title card) shifts to the forest floor, moonlight filtering through the leaves, an owl on a branch

A night where your rest don't come

Shift to Paresse(human form) from behind on a thick branch, next to the trunk of the tree. The owl on the branch from before swoops down onto some prey in the bg

Your hands grown numb

Shift to Paresse's hands, shaking his hands clench into fists at 'numb'

Your mind has collected tethers

flash of six strings connected to his hands/fingers, each colored for the other sins, weak and pale

tell her exactly where you've gone

flashes of each of the other sins and masters, all looking lost, confused, or upset

Tired as hell

Shift to Paresse's eyes, exhausted and with bags under his eyes (his pupils shine gold, like Vice's eyes)

Bored to death

At 'bored', Paresse's head tilts up and at 'to death' he falls back, hitting his head on the trunk of the tree, shoulders slumping.

The shakes as you stumble in (If you like you can leave)

shift to a panning shot of the city in the day, sunlight reflecting off the Soney building in the distance

If you like you can leave 'em (Music rises)

low shot of Paresse walking down an alley, a busy street behind him. Ultimo lands in front of him as the music rises.

Show me the ways that you talk

Shift to Ultimo, looking angry and lip syncing this line.

And all of the places you walk

Paresse, shocked, taking a step back, eyes wide

If I lead would you follow?

Cut to Fusataro in their office. And explosion happens outside at 'would you follow?' Fusataro jumping and turning rapidly to look outside

Let me at the corners where the light don't touch.

Cut back to Paresse, in douji form, injured in the air being thrown back into a building. Ultimo slams into him, sending debris flying.

Colors, Figures sway Though they might lift you away From the streets to what's under If I lead would you follow?

flashes to the other douji and masters (Good and Evil) reacting to the fight, some rushing in to try and stop, others watching in shock

(Instrumental) If I lead would you follow?

Cut to Paresse, beaten and injured in douji form, limping. He collapses against a wall at the repeated lyrics, having fled the battle. Slow fade to black

I woke from a restless sleep My hands, my feet

Cut to Paresse jolting awake and sitting up suddenly in a bed, in Sparrow Manor, Kia having taken him in with Kei. Mizho is there, too. He looks down at his hands, trembling. Paresse has wires coming from him in broken places, a reference to Vice's aftermath of getting cut in half

Are pulsing electric shivers, quivers, building broilin’ heat

Cut to Kia, looking relieved, then Kei, who looks to the side at Mizho, then to Mizho, who's looking away, arms crossed

Spires and bells

Cut to Paresse looking down and away, ashamed

And carousels

Kia puts her hand on his shoulder.

Of figures that lead you in

Cut to kia's face, giving him a soft smile

If you like you could leave 'em...

Cut to the alley beside Sparrow Manor, a flash of Vice sitting on the car and the seven sins around him that fades to Paresse sitting in the same spot, only Mizho at his side, no one else around. He's called for a meeting, but so far no one has shown up.

If you like you could leave 'em.

Cut to Paresse's face(profile), looking down at the ground. Disappointed but unsurprised

If you like you could leave 'em.

Paresse gets up, prepared to leave and go inside. He puts his back to the road side of the alley.

If you like you could leave 'em.

Cut to Paresse from the front, his head out of frame and off to the side. Fusataro and Rage are silouetted by a street light.

Show me the ways that you talk

Rage's face, lipsyncing this line, angry but determined not to let Good win.

And all of the places you walk.

Fusataro's face, lipsyncing this line. An unreadable expression on their face. Rage is demanding that Paresse not let Ultimo win. Fusataro is saying they want to see what he can do, he called a meeting after all.

If I lead would you follow?

Paresse lipsyncs this part, looking defeated, almost sarcastic. Mizho huffs in the background, rolling her eye. She doesn't believe they will.

Let me at the corners where the light don't touch

The wrath pair look at each other, then back to Paresse, both nodding.

Colors, figures sway

Both Paresse and Mizho look shocked, but Paresse smiles on 'sway'.

Though they might lift you away

Cut to Fusataro talking to Sumako, then Kaizo

From the street to what’s under

Cut to Kia talking to Rune at school

With everything that scattered by the light of day

Cut to Kia talking to Akira, Then Sumako talking to Hana.

My hands are tied

Cut to Paresse looking at his hands

These leads are mine

Cut to a shot of his hands, palms up, flash of the six strings again, brighter now.

They call you in

Pan up, showing all six sins gathered in the alley way.

Your light

Shot of Paresse's face, eyes hardened and expression stern

Your sin

Mirroring Ultimo's landing from before, a shot from behind, this time with the sins surrounding Paresse.

My hands are tied

Paresse stands up, shifting to douji form (Significantly Sharper[tm] and with oni teeth/references to Vice's appearance)

These leads are mine

The sins bracing for a fight, brows furrowing, anger drawing in on their faces.

They pull you through.

Paresse takes a step forward

And right they do

Ultimo forms Crane Sword with one of his gauntlets

Music/voice rises

Yamato comes running in to stop Ultimo. Paresse pauses, tilting his head at Yamato. Yamato stands between them. The Virtues gather, standing in the street, on various cars/street lamps/etc. watching. Ultimo glares at Paresse, but takes a step back at his Master's orders.

Pan back shot of the Virtues and Ultimo backing off/retreating.

If I lead would you follow?

Wide shot of Paresse and Mizho in the center, framed by the sins and masters around them. Paresse is standing tall, but lets out a sigh of relief.

If I lead would you follow?

Paresse turns back to start the meeting proper, pan up slowly to the night sky.

If I lead would you follow?

Cut to Dunstan and Milieu on a building, watching the whole thing from afar.

If I lead would you follow?

As the music fades out, the scene fades back into the forest at night, wind slowly rustling the leaves.

#I might work on the drawn storyboard tonight #ress writes

2 notes · View notes

credit-song · 2 months

Text

Spotify recommend me a new artist.

Turns out she’s completely fake.

I’m just shocked to have come across something like this and wanted to share it somewhere. AI art is becoming more and more prevalent and becoming harder to spot.

This afternoon, I got on my Spotify app to see they were recommending me a new album from an artist I’d never heard of. Aria Sai. I love supporting small artists, so I clicked on it and started to give the songs a listen. The album looked completely innocuous, and the songs were pretty good. I delightfully surprised to see Spotify recommend me music that aligned with my personal tastes so well.

So, I decided to click on the artist to learn more about her. That’s when the I got the first red flag.

I’ve had Spotify recommend me new artists before, but never one this new. I was kinda shocked to see how few streams she had. So, I decided to check out her about page.

It started out pretty innocent, about what I would expect.

The claim of having amassed over a million views really sent alarm bells off in my head. Because these were not the streaming numbers of someone who had a song with a million views on YT. I thought perhaps the album had just dropped and I was among the first to hear it but no. The album came out in May.

I went to see her YT channel and that’s when the dread really set in. All of her videos prominently featured AI art. This was clearly not a real person.

Not only that, but the 700k views were clearly not genuine. The video only has 10k likes and only 31 comments. Granted, that could mean a high dislike count and a lot of deleted comments. But considering the low streaming numbers and quality of content, it seemed more likely to be fake numbers.

Most of the comments were these random strings of emojis or comment similar to what you’d see with bought/bot comments.

Not only that but the version of the song on YT is completely different from the one of the album. The one on YT sounds folksy/country whereas the one on the album is chill pop, like the other songs on the album. They even have slightly different lyrics.

This actually gave me some hope. Which might sound a little strange, but hear me out. Because, again, I actually really liked the album. From a first listen it seemed to be the story of two people who had previously dated and broken up because they were incompatible. The album is about the two getting back together, trying to be what the other person sees/wants them to be. But in the end, they can't be those versions of themselves so they have to break up again. I especially liked the song "ghosts" which featured the line "you're just an echo of a tragedy." I thought that was rather profound, the way that trauma can make you a ghost of yourself until you're nothing but an echo of that tragedy. To consider that the songs were entirely fake and the lyrics possibly generated by AI was upsetting to me. In that case, the line truly was an echo of a tragedy, a computer's imitation of sorrow written by stealing the words of many other artists who had experienced real pain.

All of that to say, I didn't like the idea of the whole album being fake. But the two alternate versions of the lyrics, to me at least, show some level of human interaction with the songs. It feels like two different drafts of a song. Which gives me some hope that a real human wrote it.

But whoever they are, they certainly are not this "Aria Sai" person. Looking through the instagram, it's clearly a bunch more AI generated images. Even the album cover is AI generated (look at the pattern behind her, it doesn't actually make sense).

Listening really closely to the voice in the song, I wouldn't be surprised if it was an AI voice. I'm not an expert, but I work with synthesized voices a lot (the Hastune Miku variety). This is entirely speculation, but to me it doesn't sound like a vocal synth in the Hastune Miku variety (even realistic ones like SOLARIA have a few ticks you can pick up on that give away that they're synthesized). To me, it sounds like the AI covers of like "Taylor Swift sings Driver's License" or "Lana Del Rey sings Cruel Summer." Again, it's hard to explain, but there's a certain quality to the vocals. It's heard most clearly at the beginning of "Choose Me." There's a strange quality to the breathy "I's" that sound like the Lana Del Rey covers to me. But it could just be the way the vocals are mixed.

In any case, the promotion for Aria Sai is clearly using a great deal of AI generated content. It seems that they are also buying views. But, I do think there is some level of humanity to the music. It could be that this is a producer who is simply using AI art to create the character of Aria Sai. That would make the music genuine. But it could be entirely AI. That's really depressing to me.

Overall, this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If I simply came across this artist on my own, it would be one thing. But Spotify recommended it to me. And I had no idea the artist was fake on a first listen. Again, I am not entirely against using computer generated elements in your music. I love vocoder effects and Vocaloid music! But the idea of this entire artist being some soulless creation built by stealing real artists's creations and going completely unnoticed is rather disturbing.

It is so important these days to be mindful of the content you are consuming! I would have never realized this was AI if I didn't dig a little deeper into it. So let this be a little PSA. Keep an eye out.

#I have no idea what to tag this as #psa #lmao #clownposting #that's just my tag no one freak out about it

0 notes

dice-n-antlers · 10 months

Text

Candlekeep: Session 46 Recap – 11/11/23 Session

We began our session at the start of combat: the Purple Party vs the Purple Worm!

• Ayla hit fast, and with some extra direction from Mom, hit really hard.

• Littlebit wrestled with whether or not to grant her sanctuary benefits to Ilyana.

• The worm put up a fight; eating Gaelin, our new golem buddy, and elemental!Zephyr in one round.

• But that wasn’t enough to save it. Elenia struck back and ended the beast, slicing it open to free Gaelin.

• The golem punched free while Zephyr made like Taco Bell and did a fiery exit out the back door.

• Purple worm down in less than 2 rounds. Heck yeah!

The Bedine agreed to guide us to the cursed ruins of Azumar.

• While passing an escarpment, Ayla’s keen eye spotted some interesting little dudes.

• Elenia recognized them to be chwinga, small elemental spirits tied to the land.

• Littlebit knelt and gave herself a sand shampoo to show respect.

In a briefly terrifying moment, we were introduced to Ogruhl, the dragon tortoise.

• We learned that he has been trapped here, bound by magic chains, since before the fall of the city. The chwinga have helped to care for him, but by the time of our arrival he had largely lost hope.

• Zephyr worked out that the chains could be broken by dispelling the magic.

• Hearing this, the golem caught Elenia’s attention and she learned that it has that power.

• After some debate, we freed the long-imprisoned Ogruhl.

Ogruhl and his chwinga friends were grateful and bestowed charms on each of us. (3 uses)

• Ayla: The Charm of Glorious Purpose (Bovinicus was pleased)

• Elenia: The Glittercharm

• Littlebit: The Selfless Charm

• Zephyr: The Charm of Predation

• Elenia reciprocated with a gift of sandglass

We camped for the evening and resumed our journey in the morning.

• Littlebit identified our items, but was unable to discern more about Ayla’s problems with Reverence.

• Though her morning songs are loud and off-key, Gaelin recognized Littlebit’s talent for lyrics.

• On reaching our destination, Pesh and Shemir left us and Elenia gifted them with sandglass as well.

Our trek into Azumar was absolutely inundated by bad vibes.

• After passing through the gates, skeletal arms burst from the ground to drag us under.

• Ayla pulled Zephyr from danger before Littlebit ended the whole affair.

o “Dead things should stay dead!”

• Further in, we were accosted by three flaming skulls in funny hats…

• We recognized them as the Consortium of Three and Zephyr called them by name: Abzin, Kaalin, and Sharisa.

• They agreed to help us (whatever ‘help’ means to three disembodied skulls remains to be seen) and are now floating around us.

We ended the session just inside the walls of the ruins of Azumar. Before us, at the center of the city, is a raging sandstorm, crackling with lightning. At its heart, we hope to find the mastaba holding the Vault of Stars, final resting place of Princess Lorelai and the Nether Scroll.

#candlekeep mysteries #Candlekeep spoilers #the eyes of amethyst #ayla willowvale #elenia charmwatch #ulathon littlebit ogolana laathe #zepyranthe fleetfoot #d&d #session recap

1 note · View note

martianbugsbunny · 2 years

Text

OUAT Thoughts Pt.64--Episodes 20-22

I have watched through S6E22; spoilers DNI. Also, spoiler warning for anyone further behind than I am.

I cannot believe how close I am to the end :( And I’ll never be able to watch this stuff for the first time again. Bummer.

—Y’all I just cannot believe they dared to give us a musical in the same episode where they didn’t kill Emma and let her marry Hook. It was very cool of them to give me a tiny bit of happiness before destroying me completely.

—Curses/spells don’t usually cross borders, so my only reasonable guess is that Zelena sang for reason other than because she’s an extra witch. Props to her.

—I’m going with, most if not all of them were actually singing, not having a dub. Regina sounded pretty bad, although she could hit the growly effect. Emma was kinda nasal, but actually pretty good when she didn’t try too hard. David was shockingly great. Clear sound, excellent high notes, solid control. Snow’s voice is, like the rest of her, just adorable.

—When Hook sang my heart just about exploded. How do you make an attractive man even more attractive? You get him to sing. And babes, can he ever hit those high notes!

—Also, I now wanna see him in crocodile-skin Crocs.

—The music was good, too. I love Snow and Charming’s duet, because they have that match-made-in-heaven harmony sound, and the words are great. (Also, I just love that they woke up confused as heck about the singing.) I also love Hook’s song. There’s something about it that’s the right kinda piratey, and it was right in the sweet spot of his range, and the lyrics were clever.

—Why are there dragons squatting in the giants’ house?

—I’m kinda sad Emma didn’t get to wear Snow’s wedding dress, but I will concede that Emma’s is prettier. And the lace headpiece attached to the veil? YES.

—And their wedding party was awesome. I love that Zelena and Regina were dancing together…am I maybe starting to like Zelena just the world’s tiniest, teeniest, most microscopic little bit? I’ll never say for sure!

—Lol Charming called Hook son…in-law. They should have more adventures together, they’re hilarious.

—Having Rumple go to find Gideon’s heart on his own was a stroke of pure genius. His ultimate test is being able to do the right thing when there’s nobody there to see it and judge him for doing the wrong thing. And having the Dark One (early-on Dark Rumple, might I add) (it feels important, I just don’t know why) (oh wait maybe it’s because that’s the Rumple who chose power over Bae?) (Damn bro my feels will never recover) to physically represent his inner struggle was amAzing.

—I love that Belle was immediately there to comfort Rumple. He tried to do the right thing and it still didn’t help their son. I imagine that hurt Belle for Gideon’s sake, but I think it must’ve also meant a lot to her on Rumple’s behalf. And of course he was all broken up about it, because the one time he was able to choose protecting the family he had over power and the possibility of more, it still didn’t change anything.

—Rumple has now committed both patricide and matricide. Good for him.

—It was nice to see Jasmine and Aladdin again.

—“When Good and Evil both did the right thing” stop I just can’t! *sobs facedown on the floor* *literally crying you a river* It wasn’t about one defeating the other, it was both of them choosing the better path! I just! CAN’T!

—And Rumple and Belle got a second chance to raise their son! This a tear-fest of mega proportions!

—And at the end when they were all having dinner at Granny’s together!

—Emma finally did what she was brought to Storybrooke to do. She brought back all the happy endings. She and Hook got theirs when they got to be married without either of them dying. Regina got hers, in two different ways: being named Queen of the town, and other!Regina getting to be with other!Robin. Snow and Charming got theirs, her teaching and him getting to have a little farm to raise Neal on. Rumple and Belle *sob* *inelegant snuffle* even got their happy ending being together fr, him having done Good👍, and them getting to start over with Gideon.

—Oh they even used the Beauty and the Beast song again. I love it!

—For a hot minute, when Rumple killed the Black Fairy (yay!) and did the light-wave thingie (and broke the curse) I was worried that would make him the Savior, and then Gideon would have to kill him. That’s, like, the worst-case scenario.

—Frankly, if the show had stopped here, I probably wouldn’t have minded. We could’ve ditched Henry’s kid, whatever fresh hell is coming in season 7, and just ended with everybody getting their happy endings. 10/10.

—I may have to consider un-head-canonizing the last season if it sucks. Which may include: Everybody dying; Henry being a huge dumbass; Relationships being inconsistent; Rumple being bad again. A fun thing about being a fan? I get to pick the parts of canon that I like to revisit, and I can just not look at the rest (although I will still complain about once, or if it continues to cause problems later on).

—I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far and Mulan’s fate is still undetermined. My girl better get a happy ending in this last season.

#once upon a time #ouat #Emma swan #Captain Hook #captainswan #zelena #prince David charming #Snow White #the charmings #Henry mills-swan #regina mills #belle #rumplestiltskin #rumbelle #Gideon #the black fairy #musical episode #martianbugsbunny reviews

1 note · View note

mylyricpages · 2 years

Text

INTERVIEW WITH JEFF SCOTT # 6 ( 2022 )

“I honestly feel like I dug deep with these songs, they feel more raw. It’s probably the most honest I’ve been in a long time.”

Three years after ‘Electric Hymns’ James Ellis is finally releasing a new collection of lyrics to the world. “There’s been a lot of changes in that time,” he tells Jeff Scott, “and that set me thinking a lot about the past and what comes next.”

IT’S A CRISP, sunny mid-September morning in Swansea Bay. I’m sat outside The Secret Beach Bar & Kitchen, which is set beside the coastal path and overlooks the idyllic beachfront. The sky above the sea is dotted with long flat clouds, broken sunlight seeping through. Nearby the squawking of seagulls fills the air, competing with the constant hum of traffic along busy Mumbles Road, just a stone’s throw away from the Swansea Cricket/ football club and Victoria Park.

Gathering my notes I spot the familiar figure of James Ellis approach, navigating the walkers, joggers and cyclists, coming from the direction of Singleton Park. He nods my way and smiling enters the café, emerging minutes later with what he calls his “latest tipple“, a Coke Zero.

We smile, I stand, we shake hands, we sit, we share news.

If you’re not new here you’ll know we’ve met many times before, going back to 2015. You’ll also know we’ve collaborated on a book ‘The Art Of Over Thinking’ ( incidentally now about to be updated with a second volume ) and each time he finishes something new we do this, I interview him in a place of his choosing. I’ve interviewed him about his books, his comics, and of course why we’re here today, his lyrics.

The amount of ‘songs’ he’s written recently reached something of a milestone, now standing at 400. That’s 26 official collections and 6 volumes of what are basically the written equivalent of outtakes. Next year marks the 20th anniversary of his first collection, 2003’s ’Hear The Silence.’ For 19 years now he’s been putting these collections together, all of which are now on his official Tumblr page ‘My Past Pages.’

As ever I strive to get into the more personal side of things, as ever he’s elusive, but as we talk I find he’s more open than previously, willing to dig deeper, something that’s been a continuing thing for him.

Q. It’s been three years since your last collection, 2019’s ‘Electric Hymns,’ easily the longest gap you’ve had. Was a there a reason for that?

Well, to be honest I wasn’t even sure if there would be another one. When we last spoke I had some vague ideas but nothing solid. I honestly wondered if I was done. And if I was, quite frankly, I was okay with that. I had the lyrics for 378 songs at that point, that’s a good run.

I always figured I’d still write the odd song here and there when I felt the need to get something out of my system, but for a long while I had no desire to do another collection. A few times I thought I might start up again but it never turned into anything and other things took my attention.

Q. Was there a particular triggering factor that set you on the path again?

There were a few. I think what happened is that there had been a lot of things building over time, bubbling up inside me until I felt a real need to write about them. I’ve always had a good sense of when it’s time.

A few months into this year I really felt a strong pull back toward lyric writing. I guess it was just time, it’s as simple as that sometimes. I just felt I had more in me. It also coincided with me gravitating back toward music in a big way, not that it’s ever not a constant presence, but I really felt a need to explore it again, especially artists and albums I’d often heard about but never got around to listening to.

Spring was ending and summer was beginning and it all came together. I even called it my Summer of Song. I just took a deep dive, Grateful Dead, Ryan Adams, Eagles, Pretenders, Sam Fender, Belle & Sebastian, Counting Crows, Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Fall, to name but a few. I wanted to listen to back catalogues that were new to me, that would inspire me, and really spur me on in my writing.

Q. When you first started wasn’t it going to be a sequel of sorts to ‘When The Sky Fell Down’? You mentioned that idea back in 2019.

Yeah, that’s how it began too. ‘When The Sky Fell Down’ went from my birth up to 2009, so the idea was to follow up it by covering 2010 to 2022. In fact, some of the ‘sound effects’ on songs like ‘Welcome To The Big Sky’ are remnants of that idea. I was only a few songs in when that approach started to feel not right for what the collection was becoming. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was but I knew it wasn’t that.

Q. The theme of ‘Electric Hymns’ was about trying to be in the moment, celebrating the good things in life. It feels to me like these songs are about taking stock, about accepting past mistakes and trying to do better going forward. Would you say that’s fair?

Completely fair. I think a part of that sequel idea not working is I felt I’d already written about a lot of that stuff, and at the same time I wanted to write about what I was feeling now and how the past fed into that. If anything I was trying to write in a vacuum, trying to let the words flow straight from my head without over thinking too much.

I honestly feel like a dug deep with these songs, they feel more raw, a naked kind of feel. It’s probably the most honest I’ve been in a long time.

Q. When we last spoke you mentioned the idea of doing a collection of more narrative driven songs. Did that move ahead at all?

I did briefly play with that, as well as maybe doing a collection of political songs but ultimately I don’t think that’s where my strength lies.

Q. Something you did go back to though was multi-part songs, something you haven’t done since 2010‘s ‘Kings Of Desolation Avenue.’

Yeah, that was partly me thinking along the lines of it being a sequel to ‘When The Sky Fell Down’ but mostly it because I’d missed doing them.

Q. You told me recently that there was a lot of trial and error, that you just ended up figuring out what this collection was as you went along. You also mentioned a few things got left off the final version.

Only a few. If it had been a shorter collection I would have been left with a bunch of them. Actually I did briefly consider splitting the whole thing into two separate collections but it didn’t feel right. There were just three left over, ‘You Think You Know Me,’ ‘A National Anthem’ and ‘Echo Of Your Footsteps.’ the first two felt completely out of place. ‘You Think You Know Me’ was an angry little punk song and ‘A National Anthem’ was kind of a protest song, which felt just a bit too similar to ‘The Last Fierce Charge’ from ‘Electric Hymns.’ Neither felt quite right or finished, and some parts just didn’t scan right either, but ‘Echo Of Your Footsteps’ is ready to be released though.

Q. What happened to the stuff you had left over from ’Electric Hymns‘?

A few of them are almost finished but none of them felt like they fitted thematically. The ones close to being done are ‘Saints Of Modern America’ a multi-part song, ‘Just Like Tom Petty’ and ‘Cry Like A child.’ I’m still keen to get them finished and released at some point.

Q. Can you talk about the title of the collection ‘On The Outside Looking In.’

Well, that came quite early on. It was also the first song I wrote back in May. When I came up with it I immediately thought it might make a good title overall, and as I wrote more songs it really began to feel like it encompassed what I thought this collection was turning into. It’s about me, how I’ve always felt slightly removed from life in a lot of ways, but it’s also about how I view those things from where I am.

Oddly enough, while I was finishing the last song, ‘The Sound Of Waves’ I nearly changed the title. It was almost called ‘The Art Of Self Deception.’

Q. It’s a good title.

Yeah, but it didn’t feel like it fitted thematically overall, and anyway that title in still in there, as part of ‘The Sound Of Waves’ so that’s okay.

Q. And with this collection you’ve written the lyrics for your 400th song.

Yeah, I’m not sure I’ve even properly processed that. It’s an odd thing, I never thought there’d be this many back when I started this in 2003. Not all of them are great but I suppose I should be proud of getting this far, having pride in myself has never come easily though. ( laughs )

Q. There’s 21 songs on this collection, two of them multi-part, was it always the intention for it to be almost the double the normal length?

Like I said, there’d been a lot bubbling away the last few years and as it turns out there was a lot more than I thought and the words just kept coming. It didn’t slow down for a long time and I just went with it.

I originally thought it might be about 12 or 13 songs, like the last three collections, but when I began I realised I had enough ideas for about 15, then properly into it that grew to 17, then 19, and finally to 21.

They’re quite dense songs too, which is what I was after, there’s only two shorter songs. I felt myself drawn toward something more wordy, at least more so than the last few collections. If you go by the word count it’s probably the longest collection I’ve written in 19 years.

Q. Can you talk a little about your official Tumblr page ‘My Past Pages.’

Yeah, judging by the feedback it seems to be going pretty well. I’ve spent more time on it this year. With other projects taking up all my time the last few years the whole lyric side of things was starting to feel like a neglected child, especially with no new material coming out.

When I returned to it I had a definite plan about the things I wanted to do, how I could maybe change it up a bit, make it more interesting for both the reader and myself. For the longest time I don’t think I’ve valued this side of myself as much as I should. To continue the metaphor the lyric side has often felt like the lesser child, lost among the books and the comics. As I’ve gone through my past collections recently that now seems totally unfair and I want to give the lyric side of things their due, give them more respect than I have in the past.

Q. This year you finally released the full length versions of the ‘conceptual collections’ as you call them for the first time online. ‘Age Of The Restless Heart,’ ‘Songs Of All Our Yesterdays,’ ‘When The Sky Fell Down,’ ‘The Dream Parade’ and ‘Kings Of Desolation Avenue’ are now available on ‘My Past Pages.’

Yeah, again I think that was about me finally having a greater respect for what I’ve achieved over the years. I put a lot of work into making those collections work as a cohesive whole and it felt right for those songs to finally be seen in their proper context the way they were intended. They were always meant to be read together as they told a story.

Q. Something we’ve often talked about is your continued fascination with the artistic merging of music and words and photography.

Yeah, it’s not something I’ve talked about in interview before though. No special reason, it’s just never come up. It’s never to the forefront of what I do but it’s always there. For me it’s an integral part of ‘My Past Pages’ as I like how an image can evoke a certain feeling. 9 times out of 10 the image that accompanies a song on the page is there specifically because that image inspired the words in some way.

It’s a vital part of the writing process for me. I always have an image of an artist in front of me, something that captures the feeling I’m after. When I’m visualizing the music to the words I’m writing and it maybe falls into the realm of say someone like Frank Turner, then I’ll usually have an image of him in front of me. It helps me tap into a particular kind of vibe I’m after. It’s the same as listening to certain music as I write, it’s not so much the song but what it brings up for me.

It’s not just the creative side of it though, there’s just an indefinable feeling I get from photography that I can’t explain, especially rock photography, especially black and white, that takes me to a certain place.

Q. And of course that love of rock photography brings us to album covers.

Yes, it’s always fascinated me how the very best covers encompass the overall feel of a collection of songs, how they evoke a time and a place, and are a snapshot of the thematic ideas held within those songs.

Q. Which leads us to the recently revised covers of your lyric collections.

Well, the idea was always to emulate the album format, sans the music of course, and I followed that through with the covers. I wanted them to evoke that same idea, to give a sense of the themes inside.

Working on ‘My Past Pages’ recently I had a similar feeling to what I did with releasing the full length collections. It just felt a shame the covers had never been widely seen as they only existed in physical form. I just decided it was time I got them properly out into the world.

Q. You once said you thought you had about 25 collections in you, that you‘d always felt that. Now you’ve completed your 26th do you think this is always going to be something you’ll come back to?

You know, there were always times when I wondered if I had more in me to say, but now, well, yeah, I’ll always come back to them. It’s something I need to do every so often I think. It’s probably a cliche to say it’s a form of therapy but I really do think that’s maybe a big part of it.

WE TALK OF other things for a while, new music, old music, live shows, the various projects he’s planning for 2023, until we exhaust our subjects of shared interest and it feels time for us to be on our way.

And then we depart, both knowing we’ll meet each other again soon enough.

0 notes

basilly · 3 years

Text

novels and notes || irl!wilbur x reader

note: ˗ˏˋ msgi collab piece! ´ˎ˗ check it out :) | hehe bookstore!au, i’ve been wanting to do this for a while and i focused on the love notes bit

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ lyrics

She loves love notes and babies

And likes giving gifts

pronouns/gender: none mentioned?

edited by: @jschllatt

stepping foot into the mahogany-carved door, wilbur welcomed the warmth of the small, cozy bookshop. the quiet atmosphere had been broken by the chime of the bell above the door, causing you to turn your head towards the door.

pushing yourself off the counter, you brush off your sweater before you greet him with a warm smile and wave. you always welcomed wilbur with excitement, he was your favorite visitor- with good reason of course. a cute boy your age into the same novels? your heart couldn’t help but skip a beat at the thought of the fluffy-haired brunette.

wilbur grins, feeling a bit nervous after noticing no one else in the store. he walked over to the cream counter, setting the small stack of worn leather-bound books in his hands down in front of him.

“how was this stack?” “i liked it- i think pride and prejudice was my favorite, Mr. Darcy was quite the intriguing fellow.”

beaming, you begin to scan the books back into the system, feeling the soft stare of wilbur as you complete the task.

“alright! you’re all set for today. oh! you’re next set of books came in- let me grab it from the back.”

as your figure left to the hidden backroom, wilbur relaxed his shoulders, letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. he felt as though his heartstrings were being tugged on at every smile you shot him, creating a dopey smile on his face.

he wasn’t oblivious to his feelings for the adorable bookstore worker, even going as far to read at any time possible to finish his stack quicker. the faster he read, the sooner he was able to come in and see you.

“alright! i found it- ‘wilbur soot’.” “thanks- oh actually, can you recommend me your favorite novel? i liked your last one”

your eyes lit up, immediately remembering the perfect novel for him. walking around the counter, your eyes scour the shelves. finding the well-loved spine, you gently prod it out of its spot.

quickly making your way back over to wilbur, you place the book on top of his stack.

“i think you’ll like this one- similar setting to pride and prejudice, let me know what you think as you go through the book.” “throughout the book..?” “oh! uhm- here”

reaching behind the counter, you hand him a small pad of cream sticky notes.

“you can make little notes throughout the book! i can read them once you return the book.”

gratefully taking the notes, wilbur took your suggestion.

-----

and so the notes began. every novel you recommended came back with lots of little notes throughout, either sticking out of all the sides of the book, on the cover, title pages, or on the back of the cover.

you loved rereading them over, seeing the sweet words or thoughts, sometimes a doodle. after reading them, you would slowly peel them off the pages, saving them in an empty notebook. your little makeshift scrapbook had quickly filled to tens of pages, its width increasing by at least fifty percent.

wilbur, on the other hand, enjoyed making little notes more so than enjoying the novel itself. just being able to communicate to you in a way that he wouldn’t stutter and stumble over his words made him more confident, allowing more flirty words through.

his flirty words did not go overthought. each had sent your brain into long periods of over analyzation, trying to keep your hopes down.

-----

it had gotten up to the point that near the end of his fourth stick note pad, wilbur decided to be a little more forward.

quickly scribbling a couple words, he shut the covers of the novel quick, hoping to keep it out of sight, out of mind.

bracing himself to enter the store per usual, he quickly shook off some of his nerves. you had to at least picked up on some of his notes- or he hoped you did.

“hey wilbur! back with more?” “yea- here’s this bunch.”

after some awkward small talk from wilbur’s view, he headed off, fingers anxiously twiddling with one another. it would only be so long till you stumbled across his notes.

later that night, you laid down comfortably on your plush covers, ready to dive into wilbur’s thoughts and notes. this time, you had recommended him the classic novel of shakespeare’s romeo and juliet.

this bit is interesting- where do you think they got it?

how does anyone understand shakespeare now-

here’s what i think the scene would’ve been *small doodle*

each brought a smile to your face, giggling at his little jokes in the margins, imaging wilbur writing all these details down.

as you neared the end, you noticed a sticky note in red ink. slowly peeling it off the back of the inside cover, you bring it closer to read it.

would you like to be the juliet to my romeo? without the death of course-

underneath was his number with a small heart. you felt yourself freeze, refusing to believe it was real. you stared for a good moment, debating whether or not to text the number.

before you knew it, the calling screen came up on your phone. your thoughts screamed in your head, creating a small panic.

NO- DID I CALL HIM ON ACCIDENT?

“hello?” “uhm hi-” “y/n? oh- you must have reached the end of the novel” “yea- i just-”

you closed your mouth, the silence creating a thick tension. breathily, you let out a yes.

wilbur broke out into a large smile, silently pumping his fist into the air. running his hand nervously through his tufts of wispy brown hair.

“well- uhm juliet, i will stop by and see you tomorrow then?” “yea! see you then.”

maybe shakespeare’s works can bring love together- not tragically.

an: AHH cute i loved this-

taglist: @acidtabletz @mayasimagines @dilucs-cum-sock @mitzimania @peachynightz-main @unomomonono @ghostburlovebot @kai-was-here @xoxothornbudoxox @b3l0v3ds @truthfulsyncerity @forutheworld @losingvienna @luluwinchester @cr0wbonezz-wr1ting-inc @dreamiewrites @a-simp-for-block-people @dysfunctionalcrab @ella-ivanov @akasuki @bioluminescentfrog @brainsanalysis @momo-has-a-gun @korylyzed @etherealexsistence @sleepysoupi @notgeoreg @ialexabsuniverse @disastrousdream @inniterhq @bugthegremlin @spoonz @god1ngs @sabinanotfound @stuffforreferences @crybabyjabby @twitchchatvroom @mack4676 @esylwen @notphilosopherstudentblog @oh-mcyt @dirty-candie @luvjoyed @yamturds @chubbity @ttakinou @w1lbursu1t @dropkickedanorphaninselfdefense @yoshi-rikuaeshetic @mayhapskarlwillmarryme @luvcherrie

437 notes · View notes

greenlikethesea · 2 years

Note

Separate ask to make it easier but also can I ask for 43 and Steddie for the prompt thing please?

43. "are you quoting song lyrics?"

this is going to be kind of a short one. modern AU! they're all university age.

"When I grow up, I want to be nothing at all."

It's a great answer to the orientation ice breaker, Steve thinks. Not his favorite answer, of course -- that would have been that Argyle guy's response of "trampoline tester," which got a laugh out of everyone. But there's something wisecracking about it, something a little snide that Steve likes. Helps that he's fucking pretty too. He hasn't been able to stop staring at this guy all fucking day.

That's not an issue, of course, or even remotely surprising. He's known he was bisexual since he was thirteen and staring at Tommy H's lips a little too much, and his type leans toward an alterna-guy, the shittier the better. But this guy's all fake edge, nothing genuinely nasty about him. He helped Robin open a bottle, held the door for Nancy, rearranged some stuff so that Jonathan could better navigate the space with his cane. It's like, an ironic answer.

And there's something else about his answer that's setting off alarm bells in his head, too -- that it's from somewhere. But he's not sure what. He scans the room and his eyes land on Jonathan's shirt, which has a drawn depiction of a black widow spider. It's from a band that's been broken up a little while, but they recently got back together, Steve thinks? Robin's into them. Chemical Reaction? And that's something from a song.

"Are you quoting song lyrics?" Steve blurts out, in front of God and everyone.

Everyone's heads swivels to face him, including Eddie, who doesn't look angry at all. In fact, he looks fucking delighted.

"Well spotted, Chromeo's biggest fan," Eddie says. His eyes are glittering with something, though, like he's hungry. Steve's stomach flips. "Byers, I'm surprised you didn't pick up on it."

"Wasn't my place," Jonathan says, flat out winking at Steve. Of course, his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend (one of her boyfriends? Argyle might also be involved in that) is acting as a wing man. That's...nice?

"Noted," Eddie says, winking.

"Nice going, dingus," Robin says, with a look on her face that says we are talking about this later.

Steve gulps. This semester is going to be interesting.

#asks

9 notes · View notes

adventuresloane · 4 years

Text

And truth be told, I never was yours

The fear, the fear of falling apart

Oh my god it's finally done dfgesdbhbgffv

(As usual please click for quality <3)

[ID: A full-color, six-page comic featuring the IPRE, using lyrics from "This Is Gospel" by Panic! At The Disco. It shows scenes from the end of the Stolen Century, beginning with Lup's skeleton and the abandoned Umbrastaff. It then shows the members of the IPRE losing their memories, starting with Davenport and Merle, followed by Taako and Barry. The last page shows Magnus walking in on a tearful Lucretia, gathering books to give to the Voidfish in the tank behind her. Full description under the cut.]

[ID: The comic begins with the Voidfish, a large jellyfish-like creature with what appears to be stars and a nebula inside its purplish bell. A speech bubble coming from it says in large letters, "This is gospel." Below are two panels, the first showing a skull tucked into a red hood and the second showing a red umbrella. The text in these panels reads, "for the fallen ones locked away in permanent slumber." On the next page, Magnus, Merle, and Taako, all in red robes, are shown at the top of the page from behind. They have their backs to the viewer and are facing a sunrise over a stand of trees. The words "assembling their philosophies" are written in the yellow sky. Below each of them is a panel in black and white. Each shows one of them from behind in different clothes, and "from pieces of broken memories" is written below them.

The next page has three panels, the first two square and the third rectangular. The first panel shows the glowing Starblaster surrounded by white eyes. It flies against a mostly black background with spots of bright, chaotic color. The next panel, in black and white, shows all of the grand relics surrounding a white sphere. Finally, Lucretia, in a red robe, is shown from the neck down, holding a blue book to her chest. The text on this page reads, "Their gnashing teeth and terrible tongues/Conspire against the odds/but they haven't seen the best of us yet."

The next page starts with a horizontal panel showing a close-up on Lucretia's face in profile, with her eyes cut off by the top of the frame. A tear is running down her cheek, and her speech bubble reads, "If you love me..." Below this panel, Davenport is shown clutching his hair and screaming. He is sitting at a table with playing cards in front of him, and he is surrounded by massive black letters reading, "Let Me Go." A small panel in the lower right of the picture shows Merle looking on with sadness and confusion against a background of static. Next, there is a panel showing Barry and Taako. Barry is crying, grasping Taako's shoulders, and shouting something in desperation. Meanwhile, Taako is looking back at him with concern and pity. There is a wand in one of his hands. The text in the panel reads, "If you love me." Below this panel is a scene showing the silhouette of the Starblaster. Taako, also in silhouette, is standing on the deck and blasting Barry off the side using a burst of red lightning magic from his wand. "Let Me Go" is written in huge letters behind the ship.

The final page is split in half by a vertical light. On the left, bright, harsh light hits Lucretia as she looks toward its source. She is in tears and appears frozen with one book in her hand and another held against her chest. Behind her, the tank of the Voidfish can be scene. Its tentacles are hanging down, and pages and books are floating in the water. The right side of the page shows Magnus standing in a brightly lit doorway. He is staring forward in shock and conclusion, holding a carved wooden duck in his hands. The text on this page reads, "'Cause these words are knives and often leave scars/The fear of falling apart." End ID.]

#taz balance #taz #the adventure zone #the zone cast #ipre #magnus #merle #taako #lup #lucretia #davenport #digital art #accessible art #accessible taz #captioned #procreate

288 notes · View notes

junicai · 3 years

Text

infinite.

| summary | When Aria's with her boys, it feels like the sky's the limit.

| word count | 2.3k

| warnings | none

| era | circa. June 2021, filming for Hello, Future music video

The grass in the empty stadium had been liberally covered in fake flower petals - the healthy green of regularly watered grass slowly becoming overshadowed by the light pink and yellow that settled lightly atop it.

The white corduroy overalls that Aria donned were splashed with colour in fake paint splotches to compliment the petals - yellows and greens and pinks mixed with blues and oranges in a jumble of streaks that were stark against the otherwise plain material. The Doc Martens that all eight of the members had been fitted for were all padded at the toe and the heel - lest the hard rubber break away skin and cause them to bleed during filming.

Aria crunched several petals underfoot in the heavy boots as she wandered over to the other boys who had been released from hair and makeup a handful of minutes before her.

The sun was just reaching it’s highest point in the sky, the heat bearing down onto her exposed midriff and almost entirely cancelling out the cool breeze that threatened to rise goosebumps on her stomach. The floaty, bell-sleeved crop top was, in Aria’s opinion, absolutely gorgeous. She had already planned out the best way to corner Heejin unnie - one of the stylists that had an especially soft spot for Aria and her pout, when used effectively.

Shaking her freshly dyed blue hair out of her eyes, Aria broke out into a light jog to catch up to Renjun, swinging an arm around the boy’s shoulders.

“Hi!” She smiled brightly.

Renjun wrinkled his nose at her playfully. “Hey. You done in makeup?”

Nodding, Aria replied, “Yeah. They wanted to touch up the colour in my hair and stick a couple more tattoos around.” She pointed to the new daisy sitting underneath her eye, and the Make Peace, Not War written in differing fonts along her left forearm.

He aah’d exaggeratedly, patting his own upside-down HELLO on his arm absent-mindedly, before frowning lightly. “Is your colour coming out already? I thought they only dyed it a couple days ago.” Lifting up a hand, Renjun brushed away the strands in Aria’s fringe that were falling into her eyes, cringing lightly when they came away covered in blue residue.

Aria pulled away from his fingers, shaking her fringe back into place. “They didn’t have any dye left, so it’s hair chalk.” She explained.

Renjun made another noise of understanding, looking at his smurf coloured fingertips thoughtfully. When his eyes flickered up to meet Aria’s, they had a mischievous glint in them, and she barely had the chance to turn on her heel and break out into a run before Renjun was giving chase hot on her heels.

“No!”

“Yes!”

Her boots were beginning to rub the skin around her ankle raw, still not broken in enough to stand the test of a sprint through a football field, but Renjun was behind her - holding up his hand threateningly - and that was enough to keep her powering through the burn.

“Stop it!” Aria panted, laughter beginning to soil her already failing lung capacity. Her pace was lagging, but much to her relief; so was Renjun’s. With a final burst of energy at seeing the ground she’d gained on him, Aria made her escape attempt-

Only to be captured by Jeno, strong arms wrapping around her waist and swinging her around in a circle to be plopped right back down in front of a now jogging Renjun, an evil smile on his face.

“Lee Jeno!” Aria protested, wriggling against the arms that had yet to release her. “Let me goo!”

He deigned not to respond, but Aria could see the matching glint in his eye, and she resigned herself to her fate. He shared a nod of understanding with Renjun who was advancing slowly now that his victim was immobile.

“Renjun.”

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Renjun, I’m sorry.”

His smurf-hand raised threateningly again.

“I’ll do your dishes for a week.”

With a final step, Renjun was now within a half-arms distance from Aria.

“Jenooo-” Aria cut herself off with a squeak, as Renjun dragged his fingers over the bridge of her nose, leaving behind a trail of the blue hair chalk. Aria flailed in Jeno’s grip, but he held her fast, even going so far as to tug her down into his lap on the ground to hold her steady.

Now entirely stuck, Aria resorted to flailing her limbs as much as she could, which really wasn’t a lot when Jeno tucked her legs beneath his knees, trapping her with all four of his limbs as Renjun rubbed the rest of the hair chalk off of his fingertips and onto Aria’s nose and cheeks.

Revenge enacted, her attacker eventually settled back onto his heels, fingers now chalk free - having spread most of it over Aria’s face as a replacement for blush.

Aria let out a small sneeze when the loose dust tickled her nose, blinking harshly in surprise.

With her eyes closed, she couldn’t see the hand Renjun held to his heart, or the pout that Jeno’s lips formed at the cute sound. The two men peered up at each other, silently agreeing that: Yes, it was unfair that she looked so tiny and cute with blue blush. Sometimes, life wasn’t fair, and it was coming for Renjun and Jeno’s heart in the form of a very tiny girl with a blueberry nose.

With a pat on the arm from Renjun, Jeno released Aria from his grip who promptly turned around and rained a series of light smacks onto his chest, only stopping when her rings snagged in the necklace he wore. He made no effort to help her, asides from holding her up when he accidentally leaned back and nearly took her down with him.

“Traitor!” She declared once she had untangled the jewelry. For her own revenge, she ran a finger through her hair to collect the chalk and smudged the colour onto Jeno’s cheek in a bright smear.

The shocked look in his wide eyes was enough to have Renjun coughing out a laugh, the other two soon following. The patch of grass they had settled onto was far enough away from the filming location that there were no petals to hinder Aria’s plans of laying down onto her back, hands splayed over her stomach as she laughed along with the boys.

“Guys!” It was Mark’s call that drew their attention away from the coloured chalk - although Renjun did let out another snicker at the light blue cloud that Aria’s hair left on the grass where she had been laying - and together the trio made their way back over to the other five members.

When Jeno and Renjun got distracted in comparing the temporary tattoos they had both been decorated with, Aria slowed her pace enough to let the two wander ahead without her.

She slid her focus away from the duo and towards the group that had settled in between the flower-covered goalposts, some standing, some sitting.

The bright colours of this concept was a nice change, Aria thought. She loved doing sexier concepts - don’t get her wrong, she loved the empowerment that came with it, and the twitter reactions were always fun to scroll through - but she’d missed this kind of bubble pop. Songs that made something uncurl up in your chest, complemented and encouraged by all the bright colours and messages.

When Aria had read through the lyrics the first time, she’d never felt like she’d loved a song more without hearing it. They meant something, especially to her.

Hello, Future; and all that.

And the costuming was always so fun. Short skirts were never the most ideal things to dance in, and the heeled shoes were the bane of her existence (no matter how good she looked in them) so the sturdy boots and durable overalls was a welcome switch-out.

Her boys looked happy with it as well.

With Hot Sauce, there was an infinite amount pressure to get it right. It was the first full album that NCT Dream was going to release, and it was 8DREAM. They had Mark back. They were all adults at that point. There were expectations to meet. They couldn’t pass things off as being children anymore; they had millions of eyes watching them, and it was like having someone breathing down your neck.

The pressure just kept mounting and mounting until it loomed over them all like dark clouds that you could just know held heavy rain. It was like they were debuting all over again. Re-debuting as eight again. Aria doesn’t think she remembers a single thing from the set at all. The whole thing is just a blur in her memory.

Hello, Future, this time around, is different. The members had gathered in the living room around Donghyuck’s laptop when the Hot Sauce music video aired, watching as the views racked up and positive comment after positive comment poured in. They’d read through each and every one, Mark and Aria translating the English ones that the others couldn’t read.

If Aria cried, one arm wrapped tightly around Jaemin, with the other held Mark’s right hand in his lap, then no one commented on it. It could be, because they had tears of their own in their eyes - but no one can say for sure.

They ended up sleeping on the floor that night, laptop discarded on the couch that was stripped bare of pillows and throw blankets. Curled around each other - this time with her head on Renjun’s chest and her stomach monopolized by both Chenle and Jisung lying horizontal from each other, Aria felt the tension and the fear that had been teeming underneath her shoulders for the last two months abate.

The terror that if the album had flopped, then they’d be facing disbandment like so many kneitzens wanted.

Or worse: Dream would keep going, but they’d lose Mark again.

Even the thought made something horrible curl up in the pit of Aria’s stomach.

No.

Never again.

The odd sleeping arrangements were not something that were uncommon in the Dreamies dorm (Honestly, Aria can’t remember the last time she had slept alone in a room, let alone a bed. They had a system worked out for when someone genuinely needed time alone, but otherwise, most bedroom doors remained open all night.)

This time, Mark was forcibly settled into the middle, everyone clamoring that he’d missed out on nearly three years of them - and he wasn’t getting ride of them that easily again.

To his credit, Mark went without much argument, although that probably falls down due to the fact that god, he had missed them too.

Over the weeks of practicing together, re-working the choreography for the songs that had been released when Dream was seven members only, they found their rhythm again. The one that they had lost in 2019, the one that Mark had taken with him when he’d graduated from the group.

Finding it again felt easier than breathing.

Aria thought she’d never get to see her boys smile so brightly as they did together again, giving the colourful flowers lining the grass a run for their money.

From her position a ways away from the group, she watched as Chenle immediately launched himself at Jeno as soon as he was close enough, tackling the older boy onto the ground where they both landed with a thud, Chenle’s head whipping backwards with the force.

She watched as Jeno - ever careful - had tucked a hand behind Chenle’s head to catch him even before they started to fall, his hand taking all the impact as they came into contact with the ground.

Jisung was quick to clamber up, eager to pull Renjun over to Jaemin and show him what they had been doing. She watched as Jaemin held up a small crown made of the fake petals, held together loosely by the short strands of confetti that were scattered around the goalposts.

Mark was leaning his back against the post, head tilted down onto Donghyuck’s shoulder. Donghyuck was watching Jeno and Chenle wrestle with each other - cheering for one or the other, depending on who was winning at that exact moment.

Aria watched as Donghyuck slowly slipped into silence, tilting his head down to look at Mark’s peaceful expression as the eldest seemed to almost doze off on his shoulder.

And, she watched as Donghyuck lifted his eyes, flickering from each of the members. His eyebrows furrowed, scanning the group again before he craned his neck towards the rest of the field.

When his eyes locked onto Aria’s, he raised an eyebrow, but deigned to stay quiet - choosing against startling Mark with a yell. His expression was enough, though.

Donghyuck understood Aria on a certain level that she thought not a lot of people could. She had a unique bond with each member of Dream, but Donghyuck sometimes knew what was going on in her head before she even did.

Which is why, instead of teasing her for being an introvert, or running away; when Aria strolled up to join the group he just extended the arm that wasn’t wrapped around Mark’s waist, beckoning to her.

After being firmly tucked into his other side, Aria curled into his chest with a sigh, shivering lightly when the sun slid behind a cloud for a brief second and the air felt cooler than it had all day.

Feeling her shudder, Donghyuck tilted his head down to look at her the same way he’d looked at Mark a moment ago, before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“You okay?”

Aria nodded. “M’okay.”

(Donghyuck didn’t realize that his lips were blue from the chalk until Jisung pointed it out, some thirty minutes later.)

120 notes · View notes

contemplativepancakes · 4 years

Text

abs of steel

the 2.5k story of how Geralt came to have his season 2 armor, with some help from Jaskier, of course. read on ao3 here!

Jaskier putters around the room, with one of Geralt’s dozens of tiny bottles in his hand and a rag in the other. He gives it a half hearted shine before setting it back down and looking at Geralt.

Jaskier’s not sure how Geralt ever survived without him, honestly, because it seems like finding Geralt in varying states of unconsciousness is becoming a much too common occurrence. He supposes Geralt’s amount of passing out probably hasn’t changed, just the amount of times someone has coming looking for him. Jaskier’s heart does not ache at the thought.

Geralt’s chest moves shallowly under the blanket, and Jaskier goes to stoke the fire. He had sweetalked the innkeeper into giving them a better room when it had become apparent that their stay was going to be...extended, and he’s glad for it. The room has its own bath tub, and a fire place, and there’s even a soft rug by the bed where Jaskier can sit and compose without worrying about jostling Geralt’s injuries.

Jaskier casts a longing glance to his notebook, wishing that he could write and make the voices in his head stop whirling, but lyrics have been evading him ever since he found Geralt unconscious and even paler than usual.

Geralt had just been going after a lesser vampire, had reassured Jaskier that it wasn’t going to be a big deal, and to not wait up, but Jaskier’s glad he did.

Frankly, he doesn’t know why Geralt tells him not to do things when they both know he’s not going to listen.

He supposes it makes Geralt feel better. He doesn’t pretend to understand what happens in Geralt’s brain. He imagines it’s a lot of grunting and internal hmm-ing.

Geralt stirs under the covers, and Jaskier rushes across the room to stand by his side. Geralt blinks up at him, and Jaskier lets himself drift a hand over Geralt’s concerningly warm brow. He’s hot, but he’s not sweating, and Jaskier bites his lip. He gives Geralt what he hopes is a reassuring smile, but he thinks it might be more of a grimace.

Geralt slips a hand out from under the covers, and Jaskier takes the liberty of reaching out his own. Geralt could have died; he can’t be held responsible for his actions. “What happened?” Geralt groans, his voice scratchy and deep from disuse.

“Good question,” Jaskier says, glaring at him. Now that it doesn’t seem like Geralt is any imminent danger of never waking up again, it’s a little easier to be mad instead of just wracked with worry.

“It was...a pack of them,” Geralt remembers haltingly.

Jaskier hums, brushing a hand through Geralt’s hair. He wonders if Geralt would let him get away with brushing it. Maybe he’ll ask when Geralt doesn’t seem so groggy.

“It’s okay,” Jaskier soothes. “You need to rest.”

“I’m fine,” Geralt automatically protests, going to sit up.

“Geralt, you are not, your rib is broken and the healer said one of your intestines might be punctured. You could get sepsis.”

“Witchers don’t get infections. I’m fine,” Geralt says again, but it’s even less convincing this time.

“Just...stay in bed. Can you do that? I know it goes against everything in you to not do your utmost to aggravate me, but listen just this once.”

Geralt lays back against the pillow, his hair spreading out in a halo around his head. “Fine.”

“Don’t look so pleased about it, love.”

If looks could kill, Jaskier would be haunting one very grumpy witcher. “I’m sure you’ll survive,” Jaskier says breezily. “I know, it’s the epitome of cruelty to make you rest. Someone let witcher protective services know.”

“My swords?” Geralt asks gruffly, changing the topic.

Jaskier rolls his eyes and huffs. Like he would forget Geralt’s swords. “Oiled and put away.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t be grumpy just because you don’t have an excuse to get out of bed.”

“What about my armor?”

Jaskier casts a nervous glance to the corner. “I’m afraid that’s beyond my talents. They’re a little shredded.”

Geralt follows his line of sight to where his leather armor is in a pile on the ground, blood streaked and torn.

“Well, I need to get new, then,” Geralt says, attempting to sit up again.

He stops with a look from Jaskier, and Jaskier gives a hum of satisfaction. “I can get it for you.”

“Jaskier, you don’t even know what to look for.”

Jaskier glares at him. “How long have I been travelling with you for? And you don’t even think I know what you look for in your armor?”

Geralt harumphs. “Fine.”

“Fine?” Jaskier asks in delight. He wasn’t actually expecting to win that battle. Maybe he can get Geralt out of something black, for a change.

“Here,” Geralt says, leaning over the bed to rustle through his pack. Give the armorer this.”

Jaskier takes the drawing and instructions, and he’s ready to skip to the armorer’s, but Geralt’s expression pinches as he settles back into his spot on the bed, so he hurries back to his side. “What hurts?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Hmm,” Jaskier says, taking a page out of Geralt’s book.

Jaskier crosses his arms and stares at him for a solid minute before Geralt relents. “My ribs.”

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it? Now just let me see.”

He peels back the covers, wincing at the mess that is Geralt’s chest. By the time Jaskier had dragged him back to town, most of his wounds had started to clot, so the healer thought it was best to let them breathe, but now Jaskier has to look at them.

He carefully drifts his fingers over the torn tissue and mottled purple of what’s still intact, watching Geralt’s reaction carefully.

Eventually, he draws back. “I don’t think there’s anything else I can do,” he admits. “Let me get you something for the pain.”

Geralt grunts in annoyance, no doubt meaning something about witchers being nothing but vessels for pain or some other horrible thing that they ingrained in him during his nightmare of an upbringing. He goes over to Geralt’s bag, looking for the right roots and herbs to concoct his mixture. He pulls out Geralt’s mortar and pestle, grinding the ingredients together until he has a lumpy paste. He carefully scoops it out of the mortar and into a glass filled with water on the bedside table. He mixes it together vigorously and sets it back on the table for a moment while he helps Geralt sit up.

Geralt tries to wave him off, but Jaskier insists. Once there’s three pillows propping him up, Jaskier hands him the glass. Geralt sniffs at it doubtfully. “I think you might be trying to get ready of me,” he says.

Jaskier hides his laugh behind his hand. “I wouldn’t go through all this trouble if I was, now would I?”

“I suppose not,” Geralt sighs, grimacing as he knocks the whole thing back in one drag.

“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

Geralt smacks his lips together, gesturing for Jaskier to get him some more water. “Terrible. Possibly life threatening.”

Jaskier rolls his eyes. “You’re welcome. Can I trust you to behave while I’m gone?”

Geralt chooses not to dignify that with an answer. “I’ll take that as a no, then,” Jaskier says. “The innkeeper has children, don’t make me make them come up here to watch after you.”

“I’ll behave,” Geralt says dryly.

“Good. You better be in that exact spot when I come back.”

“Hmm,” Geralt says, and Jaskier knows that means that Geralt is the one who’s going to be ignoring him, for a change.

Jaskier just hopes that Geralt won’t jostle himself too much as he steps out of the door and into the hallway.

He makes his way down the steps and out onto the dusty main road of the village, peeking at the other wares being sold, particularly eyeing a doublet with stunning embroidery that he can’t believe is being sold in this dank little town, of all places. He makes a mental note to come back after getting Geralt’s armor. Jaskier investigates the baked goods, inhaling the scent of bread and surveying the hand pies, looking at their delightfully golden exteriors longingly.

Jaskier makes it to the armorer without incident, a brass bell ringing overhead as he steps inside. The armorer crosses her arms as she regards Jaskier thoughtfully. “You lost?” she asks.

Jaskier flashes her a winning smile. “Not at all. I’m here for a friend.”

The armorer stares back at him, unimpressed. “You know, it’s important that I’m able to measure someone to give them the best fit. I don’t want someone getting killed and blaming it on my armor. No, if someone dies, it’s going to be because of their own ineptitude.”

“I’m certain that won’t be a problem,” Jaskier says. “Have you ever made armor for a witcher before?”

Her eyes light up. “Your friend is a witcher? To tell the truth, things have been a little slow around here since the war ended.”

“I’ll pay you well, don’t worry,” Jaskier says, producing the paper Geralt had given him from his cloak with a flourish.

She practically snatches the scroll out of Jaskier’s hands, her eyes roving over the paper. She mutters something to herself before turning back to look at Jaskier.

“I still need the measurements,” she says. “It’s even more crucial for such an important client.”

“Of course. Don’t worry, I have them right here.” Jaskier fishes his notebook from his satchel, flipping through until he finds the page with Geralt’s sizes on it. Jaskier swears that Geralt purposely ruins all of his fine clothing between banquets he drags him to, because Jaskier always has to buy Geralt new clothes.

Actually, come to think of it, he’s never seen the evidence of them being damaged, and it’s not like Geralt just wears them around. Jaskier shakes his head as he realizes Geralt probably just sells them. Jaskier supposes Geralt does always swear that will be the last banquet he ever attends after each one, just for Jaskier to talk him into one more, but that’s no excuse.

Jaskier tilts his head for a moment as he contemplates how to get his revenge, smirking when the idea dawns upon him. Jaskier sketches a quick picture and pushes it towards the armorer. “How much extra would this cost?”

She looks down at the page dubiously.

Jaskier gives her his most charming smile.

It’s been three days, and Geralt is sick of lying in bed. No matter how much he swears to Jaskier that he’s better, that his rib has knit itself back together, he doesn’t believe him.. It’s just a bruised rib at this point, but Jaskier doesn’t take pity on him, just offers a distraction for Geralt in the form of being better at gwent than he has any right to be.

Geralt sighs heavily, looking at Jaskier out of the corner of his eye.

“Don’t think that will make me take pity on you, Geralt,” Jaskier says, not even looking up from his composing notebook. “Besides, we have to wait for your armor anyway.”

“What’s taking so long?” Geralt complains.

“Perfection takes time. Besides, the armorer’s never seen any of your witcher-y things, so you have to give her time to figure it out.”

Geralt groans and sits up, swinging his legs out of the bed. “I can’t take it anymore.”

Jaskier rushes to him, but Geralt brushes him off. “I’m fine,” he growls.

Jaskier raises his hands and backs away. “Fine, fine. Don’t be so grumpy when all I’ve been doing is taking care of you.”

Geralt glares at him, and Jaskier strokes a hand through his soft hair. “You do deserve it, you know,” Jaskier says.

Geralt looks down, a bothersome flush creeping up his neck.

“I think I’ll go check on the armor, since you’re in such a rush.” Jaskier rolls his eyes. “She said it would be done sometime today.”

Geralt rummages through his pack, hardly looking up at Jaskier. “Good. Then we can finally move on. I was talking to the innkeeper about a wyvern a day’s ride away.”

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, here, hmm?”

Geralt grumbles as Jaskier leaves, finding himself excited to see the new armor against his will. He so rarely gets anything that doesn’t already have a crust of dirt on it that anytime he has a sword or armor made, he finds himself looking forward to it.

Geralt goes to the mirror in the corner of the room and lifts up his shirt, noting how the mottled purple has become large splotches of greenish brown. Everything’s looking good, so he sorts his satchel, shaking his head fondly as he reorganizes his elixirs. Whenever Jaskier gets his hands on them, he always sorts them by color, but that’s not what Geralt likes. He could just tell Jaskier to leave his things alone, but he doesn’t have the heart for it.

Geralt putters around the room, making the bed and hoping that if he’s ready to go by the time Jaskier gets back, he can convince him to move on. He can smell Jaskier’s anxious energy, anyway; he knows Jaskier is just staying here for his benefit.

Geralt finishes putting the last of his things into his pack and is just contemplating going down to the stables to see Roach when Jaskier bursts through the door, armor in hand.

Jaskier hands it off to him with a self satisfied flourish, and Geralt freezes as he looks at it. “You can’t be serious.”

“The armorer and I thought it would make you like quite fetching.”

“Jaskier.”

“What, don’t you like it? It’s a gift, Geralt, I’m offended.”

Geralt rubs his fingers over the indents in the chest plate. He has so many questions.

“It’s the new fashion,” Jaskier assures him.

“I’m a witcher, not a model.”

“Why not both?” Jaskier asks airily. He looks around the room. “So, are you ready to go then?”

Jaskier steps forward to help him buckle the new armor in place, Geralt eyeing it dubiously. Besides from the obvious issue of the chest piece, it’s not even black; it’s a dark green that catches and shimmers in the light. Geralt resists the urge to bury his face in his hands. No one is going to take him seriously now.

He huffs a sigh, trying to communicate his displeasure with Jaskier, but as ever, Jaskier seems immune to his glares. Geralt slings his satchel over his shoulder and steels himself.

As they walk down the street, it’s not as terrible as Geralt was expecting. Sure, the sun is glinting off of his abs and blinding him a little, but Geralt doesn’t hear anyone snickering at him. Everyone just walks by, looks at him, and quickly glances at their feet, which is par for the course for the life of a witcher.

Geralt tilts his chin a little higher, thinking maybe this won’t be so bad after all. He has a new spring in his step when he hears someone calling his name behind him. Geralt turns around, thinking it sounds an awful lot like his brother, and he’s proven right when Lambert skids to a stop in front of him.

“Hey, I’m glad I ran into you; I heard there’s a nest of wyverns a few towns over—” Lambert’s mouth flaps for a second. “What the fuck are you wearing?”

Geralt turns to glare at Jaskier, and he smiles innocently.

#the witcher #geralt of rivia #jaskier #geraskier #geralt's ridiculous ridiculous armor that pains me to look at #contemplative writing

128 notes · View notes

pepethehobbit · 3 years

Text

Take the sadness out of Saturday nights

VDS Week 2021

Day 2: Enemies/Friends to Lovers/ Meet-Cute

Word Count: 6015

(Title from Stop making this hurt by the Bleachers)

Ao3

Lucas heads straight to the bar as he enters the pub. He doesn't really want to be here but he also doesn't want to be at home, where his ex-boyfriend is currently picking up his stuff. Thankfully, he lives with Kes, who stayed there so he can kick him out when he's done. It's been two days since Lucas has broken things off with him and they weren't even together that long. It's not like Lucas was seriously in love with him, which is why he doesn't understand why he's so sad. He orders a vodka soda straight away because he intends to drink until he forgets about this empty feeling in his chest. The bartender sets the glass down in front of him and Lucas takes in his surroundings for the first time since he sat down as he begins sipping on his drink.

At the back of the pub he notices a makeshift stage with a microphone and a guitar already set up. The bar itself is only moderately crowded so Lucas figures whoever is going to perform on there tonight won't be very known. He notices a group of guys directly in front of the stage sitting at one of the bigger tables. Lucas can't make out what they are saying but it's clear that they are excited to be here, so they must know who's going to perform. The sadness in his heart grows heavier as he watches how the guy with the platinum blonde hair leans over to the guy with the curly brown hair to give him a kiss on the cheek and to place a comforting hand is curls. It's the easy familiarity and comfort that even a stranger like Lucas can so clearly see that makes his heart ache for the same thing.

He is about to stand up and leave, suddenly feeling pathetic for getting drunk in a bar all alone on a Saturday night, when he sees someone getting on stage and hanging the guitar around his shoulders. The guy starts tuning his guitar and Lucas is fascinated how the skilled and fast fingers are playing over the strings. He steps up to the microphone, taps it once to see if it's on and only then does he look up for the first time since he entered the stage. Lucas would try and suppress the memory later but he can't deny the fact that his heart skipped a beat when he looked into those eyes for the first time. He knows it's ridiculous but the guy feels familiar. His eyes are emanating a warmth and kindness that makes it hard for Lucas to tear his gaze away.

“Hi everyone. I'm Jens Stoffels and if you don't mind I'm going to sing a few of my songs for you tonight. I hope you enjoy.” Lucas hears excited whoops coming from the table at the front and the rest of the crowd joins in with their clapping. The guy, Jens, smiles at his friends and shakes his head in a way that Lucas can only describe as fond. And when Jens begins to sing Lucas' last shreds of wanting to leave have disintegrated completely. His voice is soft and powerful at once, calming like a comforting blanket and Lucas is in awe at how effortlessly beautiful Jens is when he sings.

During the song Jens lets his eyes wander over the crowd, probably taking in their reaction when he gets to the bar and his gaze stops at Lucas. Lucas feels his heartbeat quicken as a small seemingly surprised smile spreads on Jens' face while he is still singing. He can feel his own smile spreading, albeit much shyer and less open then Jens'. He holds his gaze a few seconds longer before the moment gets too much for Lucas and he drops his gaze towards his drink. Taking a sip from his vodka soda he wonders how such a short moment of eye contact can make him feel so jittery and vulnerably exposed.

Lucas lets Jens' voice and beautiful lyrics fill his ears and mind. His songs are beautiful, from melodic and slow to upbeat and happy and Lucas can't help but chancing a glance towards the man on stage every now and then. He is surprised when at some of those glimpses Jens is already looking back at him. And even though Lucas couldn't rationally explain why, Jens somehow feels significant.

When Jens announces his last song for tonight an unreasonable disappointment overcomes Lucas, not wanting Jens to stop singing. “My last song for tonight is called 'Hoping'. I hope you enjoy and thank you for a beautiful night.” Jens' words are directed at the whole crowd but his gaze is solely on Lucas as he says them. There is a shy smile playing at his mouth and Lucas feels himself blush, but this time he is unable to look away from Jens' warm eyes. Jens begins to play and as Lucas lets the song and the beautiful melody wash over him as he realizes it's about a boy hoping to find love.

It's impossible. Lucas shouldn't feel this affected by someone he hasn't even talked to and yet somehow he knows that Jens is already under his skin. The song ends and Jens sends another thank you out to the crowd and finds Lucas gaze once again, sending him a determined smile. Jens gets off the stage, disappears somewhere backstage and Lucas releases an unbelieving little laugh at the whole situation. He takes the chance to look at his phone and when he sees the message, reality comes crashing down on him like a ton of bricks.

Kes

He's gone now. It's safe to come home.

All at once, the sadness is back and Lucas is reminded of the situation that brought him here in the first place. He is going to go home and he's going to be alone again, because apparently Lucas isn't able to find someone to love. He knows he sounds ridiculous, he's only 21 but with his track record of shitty boyfriends it's hard to believe that he will find someone who will not only accept his love but also return it.

When he walks to the door he chances one last look over his shoulder towards the stage. He sees Jens surrounded by his friends, laughing and smiling and generally happy. And as if Jens can feel the eyes on him he looks up and meets Lucas' gaze, just like he did for the rest of the night. Jens' smile drops when he sees that Lucas is on his way out, disappointment flashing across his face. Lucas falters for a moment, unsure if he's really the cause for such a look. But his insecurities take the upper hand and with one last sad smile at Jens he steps out of the bar and into the coldness of the streets of Amsterdam.

~0~

Jens can't stop thinking about the boy from the bar with the beautiful but sad eyes. It was three weeks ago but somehow this boy, whose name he doesn't even know has planted roots in his mind and Jens can't bring himself to tear them out. The first thing he noticed about him, when he saw him sitting down at the bar, was that he looked sad and Jens was confused about the strong urge to find out why and make it better. When their eyes met during his first song, Jens had to seriously concentrate not to mess up the chords and keep singing. Though he couldn't stop the smile from spreading around his moving mouth when he saw the boy smile for the first time since he entered the bar. Jens was so intrigued by him, wanted to hold his gaze and find out everything there is to know about the boy with the ocean eyes and the artfully tousled blond curls.

But then he just left and Jens felt more disappointed than he rationally should have. Because all they did was exchange shy smiles and hesitating glances, but he can't shake the feeling that it meant more, something significant. He catches himself before his thoughts wander off in that direction again, because in the end they all lead down to the hopeless impossibility of ever seeing that boy again. In a city like Amsterdam he can't expect that he will simply pass him in the streets. And even if he does, the boy left. Maybe he interpreted it all wrong and the boy wasn't interested in him at all, he wouldn't even have the courage to speak with him should he ever run in to him.

His job at the cafe on campus works as a good way to distract him. He only started a little over a month ago, wanting to help his parents pay his college fees and rent. With him studying music he already makes his parents worry about their son's future and he doesn't want them to worry about the money as well. His music also helps, even if just a little. He sells a few CDs but it's mostly over streaming services that he gets a few royalties. It's not enough to make a living out of but Jens hopes that one day he can live off of what he really wants to do.

Jens hears the jingle of the bell when the door of the cafe opens and he snaps out of his thoughts, ready to greet the customer. Only he can't get any words out and freezes on the spot when he sees the man who just walked in. His attention is on his phone, head turned down but Jens recognize him anyway. The boy from the bar steps up to the counter and Jens is unsure about how he should handle this. Should he tell him? Does that come of as creepy? Would he even recognize Jens? It's the last thought makes Jens decide to hide the fact that he remembers him and he simply does his job. “Hi, what can get you today?”

The boys head snaps up finally and Jens really wasn't prepared to see those blue eyes again. He isn't sure how to interpret the look on his face, a mixture of disbelief and shock, in fact for a moment it looks like he's ready to bolt again. Does he recognize him? The longer the boy stares at him the surer Jens is that he does and a weird fluttering feeling is spreading in his stomach.

“One large caramel macchiato, please,” is all he says in the end, face turning away from Jens. He isn't sure but Jens thinks it's to hide the blush spreading on his cheeks. Jens is about to turn around to start working on his coffee when he remembers he still doesn't know the boy's name.

“Can I have a name for the order?” Jens tries to put on his most charming smile and hopes that the boy won't take notice of the fact that they don't really ask for the names anymore, only if it's super busy, which it isn't for a Tuesday afternoon. The boy looks up again, then around the mostly empty coffee shop and it's Jens turn to blush when he smiles at him, as if he knows. “Lucas. My name is Lucas.”

Lucas. His name is Lucas. Jens can't stop the happy smile from spreading as he turns around to work on his order. He feels Lucas' eyes follow him as he prepares the coffee and it makes his pulse quicken in excitement. Jens contemplates if he should write his number on the cup or if that's maybe a bit too much. In the end, he chickens out and simply tells him his total. “That makes 3,50€, Lucas,” Jens says as he places the cup in front of him, wanting to know how the name would feel falling from his lips. Lucas smiles at him again as he pays for his drink and the fluttery feeling in his stomach comes back in full force.

“Thanks you, Jens,” Lucas says with a slight blush but confidently meeting Jens' stunned gaze. Jens can't do anything but watch Lucas leave once again, but when he turns around at the door to look at him over his shoulder, Lucas doesn't look sad this time. As soon as Lucas leaves, Jens looks down at his apron. A feeling of hope flowing through him and for the millionth time today, he can't stop the smile from spreading on his face.

He isn't wearing his name tag.

~0~

Lucas can't believe his luck. He must have done some serious good deeds in his past life to deserve this second chance. Almost as soon as he left that bar three weeks ago he regretted his decision. This regret only got worse as soon as he told Kes and Jayden about that evening, both agreeing that he is an idiot for leaving. He couldn't stop thinking about Jens, the way he smiled at Lucas and the way his music made him feel. Lucas admitted to Kes that through a little bit of online stalking he was able to find his Spotify and it's all he's listened to in the first week and then deciding that it felt like a little bit too much. He even found Jens' Instagram but wasn't brave enough to press the follow button, scared of the attention that would bring. Because even though Jens has considerably more followers than Lucas, he hasn't gotten enough that he wouldn't notice a new person following him.

He tried not to think too much about him, instead focusing his attention on his current art project he needs to do for his contemporary art lecture. But it's harder than Lucas thought it would be, not thinking about Jens. He comes across so many things that remind him of that night: Jayden got it in his head to learn how to play guitar, Kes is actively torturing him by playing Jens' music on Spotify every time Lucas enters his room and Lucas isn't sure but he thought he saw the guy with the platinum blonde hair in his art history lecture.

Despite this, he thinks that he deals fairly well with the fact that he missed his opportunity with Jens and simply wants to move on with his life. He can't keep wondering what would've happened if he had stayed. And because his life is simultaneously the best and the worst he meets Jens again when he expects him the least. He wasn't sure if Jens remembered him, couldn't really get a read on his expression but when he not so subtly tried to find out his name and when he smiled at Lucas when he gave it to him, the hope of having gotten a second chance to get to know Jens spread a comforting warmth around Lucas' heart.

Lucas wants to go back the next day, hoping Jens will be there again but he also doesn't want him to think he is a stalker or something. So he waits a few more days and then goes to the coffee shop around the same time of day he caught Jens the last time. A giddy feeling makes his way into his stomach when he sees Jens cleaning a table at the window of the cafe. The jingle alerts Jens to his presence as he opens the door and when he meets Lucas' gaze a wide smile spreads on his face. Lucas ducks his head and smiles to himself as he walks up to the counter. There is another barista behind the counter ready to take his order but before she can do so Jens is there to say: “I'll take his order.” She looks at him confused but when her gaze turns towards Lucas and back towards Jens, she just nods once, smiles knowingly at Jens and nudges his elbow as she takes over Jens' task of cleaning the tables. Lucas watches the exchange with an amused smile and then Jens turns his attention towards him. “Large caramel macchiato?” Jens asks him with a hint of pride in his voice for having remembered Lucas' order.

“Yes, please. I want to drink it here though,” Lucas says and he notices how Jens smile grows even deeper. “Okay, I'll bring it to you when it's done. That makes 3,50€ again.” Lucas pays for his drink and chooses a table where he'll be able to subtly watch Jens behind the counter. He gets out his sketchbook and begins drawing random little sketches while he waits. He doesn't notice Jens approaching and looks up startled when he places down the coffee and a blueberry muffin he didn't order. Lucas looks down at the muffin and back up at Jens who answers his question before he can even ask it.

“For you, Lucas. On the house,” he says with a sure smile and a wink, just as Lucas thought Jens couldn't fluster him any more than he already does. Hearing his name falling from Jens lips makes his heart beat faster. He tries to collect his last shreds of composure, smiles up at him and asks: “Do you want to share?”

With a glance to his watch and his eyes shining with excitement he answers: “I'm on break in 30 minutes. Will you wait?”

“Yeah, okay, I'll wait,” Lucas says easily, the thrill of finally getting to spend time with Jens making him giddy. Jens lingers for a moment, returning Lucas' smile before making his way back to the counter. Lucas watches him as he goes and he wonders when the last time was that he was this excited about something.

Lucas tries not watch him all the time, but Jens catches him looking every once in a while and he smiles at Lucas every single time, so Lucas figures he can't be too bothered by it. He turns his attention back to his sketchbook, letting his hand wander across the paper and before he even realized he was doing it, he'd drawn a sketch of Jens, albeit rough but undeniably him. Before he can even think about hiding it, Jens suddenly slips into the chair opposite of Lucas and takes a look at the drawing of him.

“Is that me?” Jens' voice sounds awed and the anxiety in Lucas stomach eases a bit, glad that Jens isn't creeped out by Lucas drawing him.

“Yeah, that's supposed to be you. Do you like it?” Lucas asks with barely concealed hope. Jens turns his attention from the drawing back to Lucas and looks at him with the same awed expression that was mirrored in his voice. “Yes, Lucas this is incredible! How long did that take you?”

Lucas blushes at the compliment and Jens gaze turns fond. “I don't know? Like twenty minutes?”

“You drew this in 20 minutes?” Jens asks disbelieving. Lucas tries his best not to laugh at the shocked expression on his face. “Yes, honestly Jens. It's just a rough sketch, it's really not that good.” Jens scoffs as he turns his attention back to the drawing. His voice is soft when he asks: “Can I keep it?”

Lucas throat suddenly feels tight and he has to clear his throat before he answers so his voice doesn't come out hoarse, an inexplicable feeling overcoming him over Jens wanting to keep his drawing. “Yeah, if you want to, it's yours.”

Jens' answering “Thanks, Luc” is so soft and awed and the smile he sends Lucas causes every butterfly in his stomach to start flying all at once. They look at each other for a few moments longer, something significant passing through their gaze before Jens breaks the eye contact and asks: “So, you're an artist?”

“I want to be. I study art at the academy.” Jens' head snaps back up again and he asks: “Really? A friend of mine studies there as well. Maybe you know him? Sander Driesen? He has this, like, platinum blonde hair, always wears Doc Martins?”

Lucas thinks back to his art history class and yeah, he's seen him a couple of times, but he never knew his name. He remembers seeing him at Jens' performance first though and he contemplates whether he should tell Jens this. They still haven't really acknowledged the fact that they both recognize each other from that night, apart from Lucas calling Jens by his name the last time. So Lucas decides to jump in at the deep end.

“Wasn't he also at your concert?” Lucas asks hesitantly, but carefully watching Jens' reaction. He turns to him surprised but then a small smile is tugging at the corners of his lips and he nods. “Yeah, he was there, with a few of my other friends. Sander's boyfriend is my best friend, Robbe.”

“I noticed them. They were really loud in their support for you.” Lucas lets out a little laugh at the memory and Jens raises his eyebrows daringly when he asks: “Shouldn't they have been?”

“Fishing for compliments?” Lucas asks in return and laughs at the way Jens rolls his eyes. When Jens doesn't say anything in back, Lucas rips of a little piece of the muffin and then nudges it in Jens' direction, silently telling him that he can do the same.

“I really liked your music,” Lucas admits after a while, breaking the companionable silence.

“Really?” Jens asks and his voice sounds hopeful, as if Lucas opinion matters to him.

“Yeah,” Lucas admits before he ducks his head and continues. “I found you on Spotify and listened to your songs for a week straight.” Jens doesn't say anything for a while and Lucas is scared that he said too much, but when he finally looks back up at Jens he watches him with an expression that makes his heart beat faster and his hope grow even more. Lucas feels vulnerable and exposed with the way Jens is looking at him, but he somehow isn't scared.

Jens clears his throat and nervously fidgets with the muffin before he asks: “There is this bar that I'm playing at next Saturday. Do you, I mean, do you want to come with me? As my date?”

Lucas' grin is impossibly wide when Jens looks at him again and he nods excitedly as he gives his answer. “Yes. Yes, I would love to.” Lucas doesn't even try to conceal the obvious happiness in his voice and Jens' eyes light up at his answer.

“Okay. Give me your number, then I can text you the details.” Jens pulls out his phone and hands it over so Lucas can put his number in. Their fingers brush as Lucas takes it out of Jens' hand, the feeling of Jens' skin on his flowing through him like electricity. As Lucas hands back the phone when he is done, he does it on purpose, caressing the back of Jens' hand with his index finger. Jens' smile is blinding and Lucas can only think, once again, how beautiful Jens is.

“I need to get back to work now,” Jens says, but he doesn't move away from Lucas' table or even takes his hand away. “Okay,” Lucas answers but doesn't release Jens' hand either. Jens looks at him and lets out a happy, disbelieving laugh as he eventually stands up to leave, taking the sketch Lucas drew of him. “I'll see you on Saturday, then.” Lucas simply nods his head, even though it wasn't a question.

Jens gets back to work and Lucas finishes his coffee and muffin. When he gets up to leave, he catches Jens gaze once again and gives a small wave as he walks to the door. He is already out of the cafe when someone gently grabs his elbow and turns him around. Jens is in front of him and Lucas' heart begins to beat impossibly fast as he leans down to press a gentle but lingering kiss to Lucas' cheek. “See you on Saturday, I'll text you,” Jens repeats in a soft voice and then he is gone again. Lucas barely resists the urge to lift his hand to his cheek like a freaking cliché but he can't stop smiling on his way home.

~0~

Jens is a bundle of nerves on Saturday. He texted Lucas as soon as his shift ended and they basically never stopped. It's ridiculous how much he already likes him and if he's being honest, he's a little scared that he's gonna mess this up and they haven't even got past their first date. Which is tonight and Jens can't for the life of him find his usual ever present chill.

He texted Lucas that he should meet him at the bar, Jens wanted to pick him up but he had to be here a little earlier to set everything up. He's nervous to perform in front of Lucas again, even though he already told him he liked his music. The bar he performs at tonight is a little bit smaller than the last one, it feels more intimate and cozier, which doesn't help to settle his nerves. There are already several people sitting at the tables and a few at the bar, but tonight there's really only one guest he wants to impress.

He tries concentrating on setting up his guitar and already starts tuning it. The familiarity and routine of the task does manage to calm him down a bit but there is still this permanent undercurrent of excitement and nervousness flowing through him. Checking his watch, he's startled to realizes that Lucas should be here any minute. He finishes the last little tasks of setting up and goes to the bar to order a beer. It's a soft spoken “Hey” that alerts Jens to his presence.

He turns around and tries not to be so obvious in his admiration as he takes in Lucas. His hair is curlier than usual, as if he put extra care into it today. Jens wants to pull his hands through it to find out if it's as soft as it looks. “Hey,” Jens replies and is surprised about himself how steady his voice sounds. “Do you want a drink?”

“Sure, I'll take a beer,” says Lucas and sits down next to Jens at the bar, hands on top of the counter, close to Jens' own.

“I'm really happy that you're here,” Jens admits with a hesitant glance towards Lucas who smiles softly in response.

“Me too. I can't wait to hear you play again. I'm pretty sure I could sing along to all the songs now.” Lucas says with a little laugh and his fingers move hesitantly towards Jens', overlapping their pinkies.

“Yeah, I noticed my Spotify streams growing a bit in the last weeks,” Jens say with a teasing smile but he turns his hand around so he can tangle his fingers with Lucas' properly. Lucas looks down at their joined hands and then points his gaze back towards Jens, raising his eyebrows in a challenge. “What kind of groupie would I be if I didn't even know your songs?”

Jens lets out a surprised laugh and Lucas expression turns amused. “Well, I guess I should be honored to have you as my first groupie, then.”

Lucas' grin turns smug as he says: “You definitely should be.” Jens hasn't noticed how close they actually sit together but then he feels Lucas' knee pressing into his thigh and he's pretty sure he doesn't imagine the pleased smile on his face when Jens pushes back.

“So, what do you do when you aren't working at the cafe or collecting groupies?” Lucas asks after a while and Jens has to laugh again but this time because he thinks he can hear a hint of worry in Lucas' voice, as if there was someone else.

“I think you're seriously overestimating my charm here, Luc. So far I only have one groupie and I hope it stays that way.” Jens hopes he doesn't give away too much but so far Lucas seems to have appreciated his boldness. “That's good to know,” Lucas says and squeezes Jens' hand once.

“And you? Isn't there any kind of muse who's waiting to be drawn by you?” Lucas seems to fight a smile that wants to work its way onto his face and he bites his bottom lip to fight it down. He looks up at Jens and holds his gaze for an excruciatingly long time before he says: “That depends. Do you want another portrait of you?”

Jens heart beats faster at the implication and he has to break the eye contact, feeling flustered at the words. As soon as he got home that day he put the drawing on his dresser and Robbe had teased him mercilessly for it, but Jens didn't care. Lucas' drawing of him was so completely different from how he sees himself. Of course, it was obviously Jens, but there was this expression in his eyes that Jens didn't recognize on himself and he was intrigued to find out more about how Lucas sees him.

When he looks up again, Lucas is much closer than he was before and his eyes have dropped down to his mouth. Jens licks his lips, unconsciously leaning closer when–

“Jens, you're up,” says the bartender and Lucas jumps back startled as if he was as lost in their own little space as Jens was. Jens is surprised how easy it is to get lost in a world of Lucas, he nearly forgot that he is supposed to perform tonight. Jens draws back reluctantly and the bartender shoots him an apologetic smile.

He gets up from his stool but not letting go of Luc's hand yet. Jens turns to him, squeezes his hand once and says: “I'll see you later then.”

Lucas' voice is a little breathless when he says: “Yeah, I'll be here.”

Jens sends him one last smile before he steps back and makes his way towards the stage. He grabs his guitar, checks once again if it's tuned correctly and steps up to the microphone to introduce himself to the crowd. “Hello everyone. I'm Jens Stoffels and I'm gonna be playing a few of my songs tonight. I hope you enjoy.”

He lets his eyes wander over the people in the bar but his eyes finds Lucas' quickly and he begins to play.

~0~

Lucas couldn't think it possible but Jens' performance leaves him even more mesmerized than the first one. Probably because Jens' gaze doesn't sway from Lucas' eyes all that often and Lucas is equally as unable to look away as Jens seems to be. And every time Jens catches him singing along to one of his songs the smile that spreads on his face settles something inside Lucas' heart. He remembers the feeling of getting lost in Jens' music and voice only this time it isn't tinged with Lucas' sadness. His pulse quickens every time Jens looks at him and this time Lucas holds is gaze, isn't afraid anymore to get pulled in by Jens' gravity.

Lucas has said it as a joke, but sitting here, being one of the only ones who actually knows the songs and knows Jens, it actually feels like he is his groupie. And when Lucas lets his eyes wander over the other people in the room, taking in their reaction to Jens he knows Jens was wrong. Lucas didn't overestimate his charm one bit. Everyone's attention is solely on Jens as he captivates them with his easy smile, beautiful voice and melodic tunes. He jokes during songs, engages with his audience and when he announces his last song Lucas can actually see some disappointed faces.

The last song Lucas doesn't know and that alone catches him off guard. It's beautiful though and Lucas is enthralled by the tenderness of the lyrics. From what he can tell it's about meeting someone and knowing they're gonna be significant, important to you in a way others weren't until now. Lucas wonders when Jens wrote this song because it feels eerily familiar to what he's been feeling since he met Jens.

When the last notes are slowly fading out there is a moment of complete silence until the whole bar erupts into applause. Lucas is the loudest one of all, cheering for Jens vigorously and shooting him an elated smile when he finds his eyes. Jens looks a little overwhelmed with the reception but returns Lucas' smile with an even brighter one. He thanks his audience once again, places his guitar back in the stand and heads straight towards Lucas. On his way he gets stopped a few times, people complementing him on his performance, but when he is finally close enough he steps right in between Lucas' legs, takes his head in between both hands and gently rests his forehead onto Lucas'.

“Hi,” is all Jens says, his voice sounding giddy and happy and a little breathless. Lucas can feel a few eyes on them but he ignores them for now, letting his hands settle on Jens' waist. He looks up into his eyes and his voice is just as affected when he replies with a “Hi” of his own.

“Wanna get out of here?”

“Yes.”

Jens steps back and tells the bartender that he will pick up his stuff tomorrow, who gives him a knowing smile and throws in a teasing “Have fun.” Lucas absolutely does not blush at that but Jens simply laughs and pulls Lucas out of the bar.

As soon as they are outside Lucas can't hold in his excitement anymore. “Jens, that was absolutely incredible! Honestly, you are amazing!” Jens blushes at the compliment but there is a smile dancing across his face, his eyes alive with wonder. “Thank you, Luc.”

They begin walking down the street and Lucas reaches for Jens' hand and tangles their fingers together. Jens looks at him from the side and his eyes roam over Lucas' face as if searching for something. He looks away again and says quietly: “That last song was for you.”

Lucas stops dead in his tracks and it makes Jens turn around to face him. The reached one of the many bridges of Amsterdam, the lights of the city reflected in the river and for a Saturday night it's pleasantly void of any people. Lucas turns the words over in his head but there's no way he heard them wrong. His voice is breathless as he asks: “You wrote a song for me?”

Jens blushes again but he meets Lucas' gaze head on, eyes soft and hopeful. “Yeah. Did you like it?” Lucas is momentarily rendered speechless but then he steps into Jens' space, lets one hand slide through Jens' hair and settles it at his neck. He moves in slowly to give Jens the chance to move away, leaning his forehead against Jens', noses bumping together gently and before he closes the final distance between their lips he whispers: “Is this okay?”

Jens doesn't answer but Lucas feels his eyes fluttering shut when Jens brushes his lips against his own. He melts against Jens, moving his lips softly and letting his hands brush through Jens' hair. When Jens' hands settle on Lucas' waist to pull him closer Lucas deepens the kiss and he feels more than he hears it, the contented little hum that Jens lets out.

Lucas has never felt like this before. Jens feels so familiar and easy and just so right. Before he met Jens he didn't believe in soulmates. But what else could he be if not exactly that? From the first moment he saw him, stepping onto that stage, Lucas knew that Jens was gonna be important. He was scared about it at first, wasn't ready for what this means, but then the universe gave him a second chance and this time, Lucas lets himself be pulled into Jens' orbit willingly, ready for what ever the universe has in store for them.

#vdsweek2021 #vds #van der stoffels #my writing #meet cute #musician Jens #artist Lucas #jens stoffels #lucas van der heijden #I don't really know if this can be considered a meet cute #it's a bit gloomy in the beginning #but I hope it counts anyway

33 notes · View notes

old-childhood-drama · 3 years

Text

Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas Masterpost (Toe/Jaylor)

Before dating (May 2008)

We start with the Taylor lookalike

In May 2008 the Jonas Brothers are filming their music video for Burnin’ Up [x]. Joe’s love interest in it is played by a blonde girl who looks quite a bit (and she’s also styled) like Taylor Swift, for reference, this is the music video that has Selena Gomez as Nick Jonas’ love interest.

As far as we know they hadn’t even met so we don’t know exactly what this was supposed to mean, maybe Joe had a crush on Taylor or maybe it’s a coincidence.

We do know that Nick and Selena were dating when this was filmed and that by the time the MV was released (July 4th, 2008) Joe and Taylor were officially dating.

Toe is alive! (July 2008 – September 2008)

On Tour

Fans claim to have seen Taylor around the tour in early July, which matches with Taylor’s lyrics in "Last Kiss".

Last Kiss. Taylor Swift.

I do recall now the smell of the rain

Fresh on the pavement, I ran off the plane

That July 9th, the beat of your heart

It jumps through your shirt

On July 14th, Taylor and The Jonas Brothers perform “Should’ve Said No”[x] from her debut album, and this performance now forever exists in their 3D movie (a classic), a cute fact is that some fans have said that Taylor tripped when she first came out, so they had to repeat it for the movie.

On July 20th Joe flies to Wyoming to watch Taylor opening up for Rascal Flatts, and they flew back and she was spotted at the Omaha show.

She’s seen in a couple shows more and she joins the stage again for their Madison Square Garden shows in August [x]. They sing “Even now just looking at you feels wrong”.

They’re together but they’re not together.

For more context, we must remember that Taylor was a very new artist from a small label and The Jonas were pretty much at their peak and Disney’s biggest act, and they were managed like crazy and could never even think about being seen with someone in a romantic way. Any rumors were denied so fast, and Disney did the absolute most to keep it secret. So according to everyone they were just good friends, at the time both Taylor and Selena were annoyed by all the secrecy.

Now back to the timeline:

Taylor is backstage of the tour A LOT for the next couple of weeks right next to the other not-girlfriends Selena and Danielle.

She films a cameo for the “Love Is on Its Way” [x] video for the concert in New York. She was said to be only interested in hanging out with Joe and they were seen hugging *gasp* I know it doesn’t seem like much now but back then this was the hottest gossip and again the Jonas were not supposed to breathe near any human of the opposite gender.

Taylor and the Jonas were staying at the same hotel a bunch of rumors ensued, but I will not talk about the whole Olympics and Toe locking themselves in a room at midnight thing. If it’s real, we really needed to touch some grass and stop staying outside of people's rooms all night.

On August 17th Joe goes to Ryan Seacrest's show and denied that Taylor is his girlfriend in the best way a corporation like Disney can train you to deny something that’s true. Saying Taylor is “a great girl and I think anybody would be lucky to date her. I think anybody would love to go on a date with her.”

And Taylor tells People Magazine “He’s an amazing guy and anybody would be lucky to be dating him” Cinematic parallels.

Taylor is spotted in the back (in a mirror) of one of the Jonas youtube videos [x]. Basically, we all knew they were together.

The Central Park date (August 28th)

Now if you were a fan of either the Jonas Brothers, Selena, or Taylor you know this next part and it the iconic triple date of Central Park.

Again, this is kind of famous at this point and Selena has been quoted saying how awful it was because the boys were not allowed to be seen with them so they all went to Central Park (Selena’s first time in Central Park) and Taylor and Selena walked about 20 feet of distance from the guys so nobody would think they were together but we all already knew because it wasn’t like they were that good at hiding it and there are pictures of them together that night (the clownery of it all).

These backstage tour adventures are the reason Taylor and Selena are friends today and in Selena’s own words the best thing to come out of those relationships.

VMAs (September 2008)

With how many pictures of them together that night [x] [x] [x] exist you would think they had gone together as a couple but no just two besties! The 2008 VMAs are so the show where Russell Brand mocks the Jonas Brothers and their purity rings and Taylor publicly defends them.

Toe seems happy for the rest of September but as we know now the end is near.

The Break-Up (October 2008)

Social Media was different back then and Taylor did what every teen girl with a broken heart did in 2008 and she went to myspace with an edited post to make a statement about the Toe current situation.

Post-Breakup

The 27 seconds Joe Jonas will regret for the rest of his life.

Taylor went on Ellen and I don’t even think I need to say much this interview is THAT iconic she sat on that couch and told the world exactly how Joe had broken her heart in the following two quotes:

“There’s one that’s about that guy, but…that guy’s not in my life anymore unfortunately. That guy…that’s an ouch.”

“I’m not even gonna be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18…it was like 27 seconds, that’s got to be a record.” [x]

She also went on Ryan Seacrest’s and when asked about the perfect guy she saw an opportunity and took it, saying “I used to always say sense of humor, but I think that it’s important to have the same kind of sense of humor. I have a really dry, sarcastic sense of humor and if somebody doesn’t think that my sense of humor is funny, then that’s not something that is good. Um, so sometimes you know, that can be a wrong match. If they’re not allowed to go in public with me, that’s sort of an issue too.” [x]

Bonus the amazing youtube video Taylor posted with Joe’s Camp Rock doll and how he comes with his own phone to break up with other dolls [x]. Taylor eventually went full out and cited Camilla Belle (then girlfriend of Joe) as the reason for the breakup. And you know someone at Disney’s PR office wanted to die when this was going down.

So finally, Joe was forced to acknowledge the whole situation with a Myspace post:

"I never cheated on a girlfriend. It might make someone feel better to assume or imply I have been unfaithful, but it is simply not true. Maybe there were reasons for a breakup. Maybe the heart moved on. Perhaps feelings changed. I am truly saddened that anything would potentially cause you to think less of me. For those who have expressed concern over the "27 second” phone call. I called to discuss feelings with the other person. Those feelings were obviously not well received. I did not end the conversation. Someone else did. Phone calls can only last as long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to talk. “

Forever & Always

Now this song is known as THE Toe song and it was born out of the end of the relationship when she felt Joe was getting distant, but she couldn’t do anything to help it, it was made really late into the production of Fearless so she had to rush to finish it in time (so no other breakup songs are about Joe in the original album).

Forever & Always Was I out of line? Did I say something way too honest, made you run and hide Like a scared little boy I looked into your eyes Thought I knew you for a minute, now I’m not so sure

In the 2009 Grammy's Taylor and Miley (insert The Ex-Girlfriends Club Theory here) performed Fifteen (obviously not about Joe) and the Jonas were in the audience. I believe this is probably around the time Taylor writes Mr. Perfectly Fine and You All Over Me, which we know get to have thanks to Fearless (Taylor’s Version) 13 years later.

You All Over Me

The best and worst day of June

Was the one that I met you

With your hands in your pockets

And your 'don't you wish you had me' grin

But I did, so I smiled, and I melted like a child

Now every breath of air I breathe reminds me of then

Mr. Perfectly Fine

'Cause I hear he's got his arm 'round a brand-new girl

I've been pickin' up my heart, he's been pickin' up her

And I never got past what you put me through

But it's wonderful to see that it never phased you

In November of 2009, she also goes to SNL and mocks Joe in her monologue. "You might think I'd bring up Joe That guy who broke up with me on the phone But I'm not gonna mention him *rolls eyes* In my monologue [Spoken:]Hey Joe, I'm doing real well, tonight I'm hosting SNL [Sings:]But I'm not gonna brag about that In my monologue [x]"

To make things even more dramatic and very awkward The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Taylor Swift spent NYE together watching the ball drop on TV and this was probably not how they wanted to start their years. [x] [x] [x] and a video [x]

Now let’s discussed some of the songs that came out at the time. The Jonas response to Forever & Always was Much Better. Nick described it as a song that was very personal to Joe and Joe went on to say that it was based on his very interesting year. They also at some point wanted to pretend the song was about their love for their fans but come on. Joe also changed the lyrics from ‘superstar’ to ‘country star’ and later changed it to ‘movie stars’ when he broke up with Camilla who is the ‘Much Better’ girl from the song.

Much Better - Jonas Brothers

I get a rep for breakin’ hearts

Now I’m done with superstars

And all the tears on her guitar

I’m not bitter

But now I see

Everything I’d ever need

Is the girl in front of me

She’s much better

Taylor’s iconic response in Better Than Revenge seems to be more of an attack on Camilla. She’s spoken about her regret for this song since then and hasn’t played it in years and Camilla seems to be ok we never forgiving her for it [x] [x]. Regardless this song remains a staple of the genre ‘Feminism OFF, Bops ON’.

“I was 18 when I wrote [“Better Than Revenge.”] That’s the age you are when you think someone can actually take your boyfriend. Then you grow up and realize no one can take someone from you if they don’t want to leave”. - Taylor 2014.

Better Than Revenge - Taylor Swift

Let's hear the applause (Come on, come on)

Come on, show me how much better you are

(So much better, yeah?)

See you deserve some applause

'Cause you're so much better

She also released "Last Kiss" about the nicer part of their relationship, and some believe other songs such as If This Was a Movie, Haunted (Speak Now) and Jump Then Fall (Fearless) are about Joe. From the Jonas, the other song believed to be about Taylor is Paranoid (Lines, Vines and Trying Times).

Jump Then Fall

Well, I like the way your hair falls in your face

You got the keys to me

I love each freckle on your face, oh

I've never been so wrapped up, honey

Probably a song was written about and in the early days of their romance and the long hair freckles [x] thing definitely fits 2008 Joe.

If This Was a Movie

Baby, what about the ending?

Oh, I thought you'd be here by now

Thought you'd be here by now

According to some this song is a sister song to "Last Kiss" in the same album and that is confirmed to be about Joe.

Haunted

Come on, come on, don't leave me like this

I thought I had you figured out

Something's gone terribly wrong

Won't finish what you started

This song would be a sister to Forever & Always since Taylor described both to be about a relationship that was fading in the end and that she was confused as to how they got there in the first place.

"‘Haunted’ is about the moment that you realize the person you’re in love with is drifting and fading fast. And you don’t know what to do, but in that period of time, in that phase of love, where it’s fading out, time moves so slowly. Everything hinges on what that last text message said, and you’re realizing that he’s kind of falling out of love. That’s a really heartbreaking and tragic thing to go through because the whole time you’re trying to tell yourself it’s not happening. I went through this, and I ended up waking up in the middle of the night writing this song about it.” Taylor

Friendlier days are coming (2010- )

I guess time can heal a lot of wounds and Toe is seen hugging and on friendly terms at the Clive Davis party on January 31st of 2010 [x].

The world was so shocked when we realized that Joe went to see her perform in a couple of her shows in September 2011 [x] [x], and in here Holy Ground is born about her new evaluation of their former relationship rather than the bitterness of the breakup. The lyrics' secret message is “when you came to the show in SD” and the potential parallel to "Last Kiss".

Holy Ground - Taylor Swift

We blocked the noise with the sound of ‘I need you’

And for the first time I had something to lose

And I guess we fell apart in the usual way

And the story’s got dust on every page

But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now

And I see your face in every crowd…

… Tonight, I'm gonna dance

For all that we've been through

But I don't wanna dance

If I'm not dancing with you

Last Kiss - Taylor Swift

I do remember the swing of your step

The life of the party, you’re showing off again

And I roll my eyes and then

You pull me in

I’m not much for dancing

But for you I did

They're seen talking in the MTV's EMA's 2012 [x].

From here they seem to be friendly and in May of 2015 after the Billboards. They even go on a double date later that year with Gigi Hadid, Calvin Harris, and Karlie Kloss (this picture feels so cursed). Nick and Joe get invited to Taylor’s 4th of July party and they seem somewhat distant after his split from Gigi.

Present (2020- )

In 2020, we got the amazing surprise of folklore with the song ‘Invisible String’ that makes a reference to Taylor’s past songs about exes being harsh and how she sent Joe and his wife Sophie Turner a present for their baby girl’s birth. In 2021, she has now released the re-recordings of Fearless and we are all reliving the drama and enjoying the chaos of Taylor’s and Sophie’s friendship not letting Joe know peace for those 27 seconds over a decade ago.

Invisible String

Cold was the steel of my axe to grind

For the boys who broke my heart

Now I send their babies presents

#Taylor Swift #fearless #fearless (taylor's version)#forever & always #mr perfectly fine #you all over me #last kiss #toe #jaylor #joe jonas #jonas brothers #folklore #invisible string #paranoid #much better #lines #vines and trying times #better than revenge

67 notes · View notes