#do not even get me started about how both grapejuice and all this time have whispered numbers in the beginning

[finexbright]

hey funny random question how do you feel about All This Time and why

you've done it now 😭😭 it's just how much that song shows that it really is all about love and friendship and community at the end of the day. how no matter what you're doing, how you're doing, love is something that will heal you. i think in moments of those low feelings where you feel a bit hopeless and lost and adrift, you turn to love and hope it holds you together and it really really does. it's about community and how much it matters to have your people, a group of people who will love you through it all, through all your changes and transformations and actually be with you through that process rather than not recognising the new/different version of you, but instead these are the people who will understand you and grow with you.

and he talks about that understanding and how some people just see you and know you, the real you, true you. and the queerness of it all and how the lyric "our eyes meet, and i can tell that you're the same as me" directly parallels with the lyric "it was there, i saw it in her eyes" from home which is another queer anthem. and it's about recognising your own and sharing this community and understanding just through your eyes and expressions rather than words. and then he says "we see ourselves through walls of trees" that means that we built all these layers around ourselves to protect ourselves and our identities from those who won't understand us and find familiarity in the people who can get past that but also walls of trees can represent the layers and multitudes of being queer and queer culture in general.

and like the lyric about "just have patience, it's not how you spend the time, it's if you waste it" and how it's about wasted love and lost time and opportunity (please don't make me elaborate on this i will actually break). and "it's late now, i'm trynna find the words to say for ages" actually wrenches my heart because it's about screaming into the void and having no one to hear you and you're just there trying to get those words out and it's out but nobody's listening (fucking zouis kill me).

throughout the song there's this neat balance between hopelessness and hopefulness and it reminds me of louis saying how even the sad sounding songs have a hopeful line in them and he's talking about being lost and trying to find his identity and then having to hide it after having found it but at least he knows and the people close to him know and that's what matters.

it's just about the way how he thinks love conquers everything, even loneliness and hopelessness and he is so right about because the friends we make, the love it takes it worth it all this time.

and the very last lyric being "the friends we make the love it takes it's worth, it's worth, it's worth the pain" because he's like there's so much going on and so much hopelessness and loneliness and pain because i'm still screaming into the void, but i have friends who love me, i am surrounded by love, i am engulfed by love, i am swallowed whole by it, and that is worth all the pain that i need to endure and all the time that's getting wasted because at the end of the day, these friends, this love, this feeling of belongingness, is worth it all this time.

[uglypastels]

Could I also request Grapejuice with Robin? I’d love to see how you’d capture her with it x

this is my first Robin fic so I hope it's alright <3 thank you for sending in the request!!

no explicit warnings. underage drinking.

Spotify Wrapped Blurb event > send in a request! (masterlist)

1982. Freshman year. 

First day of class. 

Everyone in your class was technically new, but you had an extra disadvantage on you, having just moved to Hawkins only a few weeks before school started– your new room was barely rid of the giant cardboard boxes. So, while everyone might be nervous about stepping inside the halls of Hawkins High for the first time, you knew that they all were already ahead of you by knowing their classmates. All these small-town kids knew each other. You were an outsider, and it was evident from the moment you noticed how everyone was staring at you. An unfamiliar face will do that. 

For most of the first half of the day, you didn’t speak to anyone. Keep your head low and stay out of trouble; that seemed the most straightforward strategy to survive this place. But then, at lunch, that whole strategy got interrupted when someone sat down next to you. 

Her hair was short and messy. Strands poking out at unnatural angles, wearing dungarees and an oversized sweater underneath, which felt too warm for the post-summer heat, even just looking at it. 

‘Uhmm, hi.’ The girl said with half a smile. 

‘Hi,’ you replied, mouth half full with a sandwich, but you hadn’t wanted to be rude by not responding.

‘I’m Robin,’ Robin introduced herself. You mumbled back your name. 

‘Yeah, I know,’ she said, quickly adding an explanation: ‘we have English together, so I heard the introduction Miss Fredrickson gave you.’ All you could do was nod. 

But the conversation continued and never really ended after that. Quickly and rather effortlessly, Robin became your best friend. And four years later, you were still glued to the hip. 

Spring Break. 

The first day of the free week and, magically, the first day of good weather. Yesterday it finally came. A sunny afternoon, but the warmth followed up a little later. Suddenly it became unbearable to stay in the house, so you and Robin decided to meet up. Just hang out around town, and tell each other what to buy with the money you didn’t have. 

‘Tell me, when did stuff get so expensive?’ You sighed, looking at a Blondie tape in the record store. Robin just shrugged as she skimmed through the store’s merchandise. There was a moment of silence between you as you both looked through the racks of cassettes and vinyl– not entirely silent, as the store had music playing. Still, neither of you spoke, just enjoying each other’s presence, showing finds the other might enjoy, knowing fully well you couldn’t afford any of it. It was time to get a job. 

‘Are you going to Steve’s party tonight?’ Robin asked eventually as you were leaving the store. 

‘Uhm, I guess. Don’t really have anything else going on.’ You weren’t the biggest fan of Steve “the Hair” Harrington, but ever since the previous summer, he and Robin had become genuinely friends, so you had very little to object about him. But something about the guy still irked you. 

And the chances of meeting the host of a house party are quite small—especially a party like Harrington’s. But somehow, the chances of meeting the last person you want to see at a party are much bigger. So therefore, you were immediately greeted with the sight of Steve and Robin talking when you walked into the house that evening. They were standing in a corner, chatting. He was holding a cup, most likely containing beer or a concoction with a remarkable percentage of alcohol. Robin also held a cup, but you didn’t even have to ask what she was drinking. It was always the same thing for the two of you. The cheapest red wine possible. The cheapness was an added and acquired taste. 

Robin spotted you almost immediately, ending the conversation she was in the middle of.

‘Here, have mine, I’ll go grab the bottle,’ she handed you her solo cup and almost immediately slipped away to the kitchen, leaving you in her spot next to Steve. 

‘Nice party,’ you said, looking out at the living room filled with drunk teenagers. 

‘Thanks.’ He took a sip of his drink; your eyes never met, and the conversation ended. It was your new record of most exchanged words between you. 

Objectively, there was nothing for you to hate about Steve. You knew there wasn’t. But every time you saw him hanging out with Robin, something boiled deep inside you. 

Luckily, Robin didn’t leave you alone for too long, coming back with her own cup and the remains of the wine in its bottle. Steve immediately saw that as a sign to go, departing with the words, “see you around, guys”, and disappearing in the crowd. 

You took a sip of the wine. ‘This is shit.’ 

‘I know,’ Robin said. You both took large gulps to finish your cups. When done, you both spoke up, simultaneously interrupting each other and laughing it off. ‘You go first,’ Robin let you. 

‘What were you and Steve talking about? When I walked in?’ you remembered how quickly Robin shut the conversation up, and immediately left the room. And then Steve was so quick to leave too. 

‘Uhm, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk about actually, but— not here, preferably.’  She took your hand and guided you through the masses. It wasn’t a smooth passage, as she kept bumping into people, and you lost grip on each other in several instances, but finally managed to get up the stairs and into a bedroom. The music was still audible, but much softer. At a comfortable volume the both of you could keep. It just got so overwhelming sometimes. 

You sat down on the bed, sipping from the solo cup, watching Robin walk up and down the room.

‘So, we’ve known each other for a pretty long time?’

‘I’d say so, yeah,’ you chuckled. This probably wasn’t the longest friendship for either of you, but for sure the most significant one. It felt like it had lasted centuries. 

‘Right, yes. So I really don’t want to say or do anything that might ruin that because that would really suck, and I’ve been trying to find a way to say it in the least destrucitble way, but every time I just seem to spiral down this hole of sentences and my mouth vomits out words pretty much like I’m doing right now.

‘And you asked me what I was talking about with Steve, and he was actually trying to help me figure out what to say but I already screwed that up and I’m still going for some reason–’

‘Rob!’ She froze at the sound of your voice. ‘How much did you have to drink?’

‘A couple glasses, but I’m not drunk. Not in that sense at least. Like, I know what I’m doing— or I’m trying to do what I know I want to do, I just don’t know how to do it– or say it. It’s not that it’s difficult either, per say, but I’m freaking myself out about it, you know–’ she couldn’t contain her nervous giggling in between her words. 

‘Ok, so just tell me. I promise I won’t be mad.’ You couldn’t think of anything that Robin could do to upset you as much as she thought it could. 

Robin opened her mouth and the beginning of a word came out, but she pushed it right back in. She took another sip of her wine. You mirrored her and when you were both done, you could hear her take a deep breath. 

‘I like you– like, really really like you.’ 

You blinked slowly, trying to comprehend the statement as Robin kept on rambling: 

‘You don’t even have to say anything back, I really don’t expect it. And if you don’t want to be friends anymore, I totally get that, but I couldn’t keep it in anymore because everytime we’re together my heart just explodes and my head spins so here’s my trying to sort all of that out by being honest–what?’ She only stopped talking when you got off the bed. 

‘Don’t be mad,’ you said, softly, before cupping her face and gently kissing her. It was brief, sweet, and both of you melted into it. Then, when you pulled away, ‘And yeah, you’re right, I don’t want to be friends anymore.’

‘What?’ She blinked, dazed and confused, but you quickly elaborated before breaking Robin’s heart into a million pieces. 

‘“Just friends” won’t cut it. I really like you too.’ And you kissed her again. 

the end

thank you for reading!! i would love to know what you thought so don't be shy to comment and reblog <3. you can also leave a review here.

no Robin taglist

[looselucy]

Honest Harry’s House thoughts GO

Okay, as ever I’m going to be very honest, and like it was with Fine Line, it’s not all positive. SO, if you’re in a new album state of glee and you don’t wanna fuck with negativity right now, you can skim past this one and I will be tagging all album discussion stuff with ‘HH’ so feel free to block that.

I also invite any and all messages about the album if you wanna chat!

Let’s go into my thoughts on Harry’s House then, song by song and then overall opinion.

Music for a Sushi Restaurant – I’m pretty sure this one is going to grow on me. It’s very fun, very pop. I usually really like his opening tracks, and off the bat this one doesn’t feel as strong as MMITH or Golden, but it sets the tone of the album in a really cute way.

Late Night Talking – It sounds soooo much like a Bruno Mars song. Which I consider to be a compliment but I just wasn’t expecting it. It’s funky. It’s fine.

Grapejuice – There are parts of this that absolutely SCREAM Paul McCartney. Scream it. Off the top of my head some examples that feel like this from Paul / The Beatles are Martha My Dear, Young Boy, I Will, Dear Boy. The softness and the quirkiness. Very Paul. You could whack it in the tracklist of Ram (a god tier album) and it wouldn’t feel out of place.

As It Was – I really like this song. I think it was the best choice for a single too, because I don’t know where he’ll go next with singles? That’s a general critique of the album for me personally, none of the others feel like anything beyond an album track.

Daylight – I don’t really have anything interesting to say about this song. I like the heavier bits with the drums and the guitars and wish they had toyed with those sections more. It’s floaty, too floaty for me.

Little Freak – Do you ever have a song where you really like the sound of it, but you dislike the lyrics? That’s how I feel about this song. I think the chorus is nice, but everything in between lyric wise is a no from me. Like a big no. I feel especially like this emoji 🥴 about “tracksuit and a ponytail. You hide the body all that yoga gave you” I was literally sat here like shut the fuck up, man 😂 so this might be a song I like if I can zone out and not concentrate on the words.

Matilda – Both times listening through the album, this is where I found myself being less interested / distracted / bored?? I think this album lulls in the middle, which happens on a lot of albums. It’s the tracks they don’t wanna open or close with, the middle ground songs that just kinda sit there. Happens with albums, TV shows, movies. For me, that happens with this song.

Cinema – Continues with what I was saying for Matilda. These two tracks feel very flat in the centre of this album and will probably be better on a playlist among other things. Also, the end sounds like a beat you could create on Incredibox – which if that isn’t a website you’ve used before, get ready to waste a few hours on it. It’s so much fun!

Daydreaming – Starts to pick things up again with the tempo on this one, but this was also the point of the album where I really started to feel like these songs sounded so similar, so very much within the same vein. It’s certainly a tidy body of work.

Keep Driving – All meshing into one, I don’t even know anymore. I need to listen to these songs on their own because as an album, at this point, it’s kinda losing me. Sorry there’s not much here about the actual song, but… I don’t know what to say.

Satellite – His voice sounds really nice in this song. It’s very sweet. And when he does little songs like this, it reminds me that Harry is good at working with his target audience. There’s still something so boyish and boyband-ish about tracks like this. It feels like a track for people to swoon over, y’know?

Boyfriends – This is probably my favourite track on the album. I enjoy the simplicity of it. The harmonies are lovely. It’s so VERY Simon & Garfunkel. Even the guitar riff sounds similar to the opening + closing one in I Am a Rock. And you guys know me, I fucking love S & G a lot. This song hits a sweet spot for me.

Love Of My Life – I enjoy that this one does feel at least a little different to the rest of the album. It has some shreds of Alex Turner in there with a handful of the lyrics. But it’s also a song that almost felt like it was building up to go somewhere and then never did? I kept wanting it to get bigger and bolder and then it just… ended.

Overall thoughts – the album is a little too floaty for my personal taste. I’ve expressed it on here a million times, but I prefer heavier stuff, darker stuff, shit you can feel in your chest. I love that kinda stuff, with soft injected in between, and this album is entirely soft. One of the things I liked about Fine Line was the variety it had, all the ups and downs. This album feels very one tone to me. I had a similar problem with ‘Imploding the Mirage’ that The Killers released a few years back. Individually the tracks might be great, but listening through it as an album can get boring because every song feels so so similar. It doesn’t strictly mean any of it is bad (Imploding has some of my favourite Killers songs) but as a body of work, it can become tired.  I was waiting for a standout song and I didn’t get one.

I think it’s his safest album yet.