#heartland season 16

[tvshowpilot]

In this week's episode, we saw Amy teach Lyndy AND Caleb how to barrel race. How did that go? Find out on our recap of Heartland season 16 episode 8!

[heartlandians]

Heartland - 16x15 - A Light in the Dark

[confessions-heartland]

"I wish Amy would get some girl friends rather than having all these half-assed relationship plots with men who won't be around next season"

[smokinholsters]

The Lucky Horseshoes - A Heartland Season 16 AU - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Did you buy that suit for this ?” She asked reaching over to take his hand just after they reached Highway 2 North to Calgary.

“Everything but the boots, Grandpa insisted, you ?”

Amy smiled “Everything I’m wearing was bought just for you.”

“So, a lot riding on this date huh ?”

“Just being asked on an actual going out date is special for me Finn, Ty and I really never did this.”

“Seriously, even when you were married ?”

“Wasn’t our thing I guess, though I probably would have loved it. No hiding it,  I have no idea how to do this.”

“Then I’m glad we’re doing it together, you should be a part of special things Amy.”

“I’m glad we’re doing it too.” She said softly moving her fingers between his seeing he had moved his closer and turned it to accept hers readily.

She felt his thumb gently rub over hers a moment after their fingers intertwined. The familiar goosebumps he brought her running up her spine again.

“So the paint and stuff is all waiting at the house ?”

“And the crew is raring to start taping first thing tomorrow, I guess we’ll be moving in within the month or so.”

“Still excited ?”

“On a bunch of levels, I’m looking forward to, well, a host of things actually.”

“Nervous too ?”

“Maybe a little but not really, to be completely truthful a lot of that has gone away. Lyndy’s positively giddy, Grandpa and my dad are pretty much on board, Clint’s anxious for it to happen as are the kids and Renata is great.”

“So what are you looking forward to the most ?”

“I’m not sure, actual alone time is pretty high on the list.”

Finn smiled and glanced over “doesn’t sound too promising for me.”

Amy smirked and squeezed his hand “alone time with you is pretty high on that list too Finn Cotter.”

“Actually looking forward to that porch swing myself.”

“I’m sorry Finn.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about Amy.”

“You’re Ok with well, us, I mean the timing, the uhm, status of us as a couple ?”

“I’m fine waiting for the alone time and you Amy, I’m not going anywhere and there isn’t a hotel room I’m planning on springing on you later, I’m happy.”

Amy sighed “I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel this happy again.”

“That’s good to hear and this is probably not the best timing but I’m going to need this hand in a minute.”

He looked over and saw Amy pout but disentangle her fingers from his and take her hand back. 

“We’ll be there soon.”

“Have you been before ?”

“Nope, going on reputation alone.”

“Cass had been twice, she say’s it’s nice.”

“Let’s hope Cass and the rep hold up then because we’ll be there in a minute, it should be right up this road.”

Finn pulled  through the entrance and up to the front where they were immediately approached by two men. One opened Amy’s door and held out his hand for her and one went around to the driver’s side and handed Finn a card as he stood.

Amy waited at the foot of the stairs for Finn and put out her hand for him to take as they walked up to the doors where a young lady was waiting to hold it open for them.

Once up the stairs Finn immediately put his arm around her waist and she was happy to tuck herself into his side and lean up for a kiss before they stepped over to the small desk.

“Reservation ?”

“Finn Cotter.”

“Yes sir, right here, table for two, it’s a nice night and we have an outside table under the eve by the lake, would that suit ?”

Finn glanced over for Amy’s smile and nod and then back to the young lady. “Perfect.”

“Excellent then, if you’ll follow me this way.”

When they entered the restaurant they were led through some tables and Finn never took his hand from her body but simply shifted it so that they could walk single file to the double doors to the outside terrace where they were led to a table for two against the rail by the lake where a small candle was lit while Finn pulled out her chair and got Amy seated.

Before moving away he leaned over for a kiss and she took a second to raise her hand to his cheek.

“This is beautiful Finn.”

Before turning he took her hand and kissed her palm then took a step and sat down across from her where she immediately laid her hand on the table between them for him to take.

“Your waitress will be by in a second, will you be having wine with dinner ?”

Finn looked at Amy for a second and smiled “We’re not really wine drinkers but I’d love a drink.”

“Then we’ll forego the sommelier and your server will take your drink order. It’s a nice night, enjoy your dinner.”

“So what’s your drink ?” Amy asked looking around and noticing the sunset over the lake “This is really beautiful.”

“It’s a nice night, anyway my drink changes, before dinner I’ll have a Manhattan usually and an unsweetened ice tea or water with dinner. Burgers get a beer. Mostly music place either a beer or a margarita. I don’t drink much and don’t have a problem being the designated driver. Was Ty a drinker ?”

“He’s had too much but never really to excess, at least with me. One too many beers when he did, couldn’t drive but not mushy or slurry. I’ve never really known him to do shots or stuff like that, again at least with me. The current drinkers in the family prefer wine, Georgie beer. My dad had a drink and drug problem, I guess he still does but he’s been sober for years.”

“Yeah my grandpa’s also sober but had a problem years ago.”

Amy watched as a young lady walked through some tables and smiled at her when she stopped at their table.

“Good evening folks, I’m Eva your server so if there’s anything you need just catch my attention” she said laying two menus on the table.

“Need a drink menu or do you know what you want ?”

“I’ll have a cranberry and soda with some lime please.”

“Excellent and you sir ?”

“Manhattan, rye please, two cherries, on the rocks.”

“No problem, let me get these for you and I’ll be back for your orders.”

They both took the single sheet menus and scanned down the dishes.

“Do you like fish Amy ?”

“I do and don’t eat enough of it, mostly salmon. Grandpa fishes a lot but it’s all pretty much catch and release though at the fishing cabin it’s dinner sometimes.”

“Feel like splitting an appetizer, we could try the Lake House Fish Plank ? It’s mostly local smoked fish it seems.”

“Sounds good to me, how about mains ? The Wild Boar Chop looks good to me, I think I’ll get that, seems weird to order beef being that it’s kind of our business.”

“Well, the steak Jack made was great so no argument here. How about I get the Marinated Bison Flat Iron Steak ?”

“That sounds good too, how about we promise each other a taste or two ?”

“Share my bison huh ? Hmmmmm, I guess that would be Ok.”

“And we’ll choose desserts after ?”

“I guess we’ll have to share those too.”

“We’ll see, I kind of like my desserts.”

“You do like your sweets.”

“You got me there.”

“I’m kind of sweet.”

“I do like you Finn Cotter.” She said putting down her menu and  putting her hand back across the table to be immediately taken by him. She loved his touch and thought again how gentle it was considering the callouses expected from his work.

“I’m afraid they’re not soft.”

Amy took her eyes from looking at their hands and smiled “And I was just thinking how gentle they were.”

He had an absolutely adorable grin which showed up every now and then when he pushed his flirting a little, it was another thing about him that she loved.

“So you think about my gentle hands often ?”

“Often enough.”

“Good thoughts ?”

Now it was her turn “they give me goosebumps.”

They were interrupted and brought back to reality by their server who brought their drinks. She waited until they each took a sip and brought up her iPad.

Finn looked at Amy “me ?” She smiled and nodded.

“Ok then, we’ll share the Lake House Fish Plank for Two and my girlfriend will have the Wild Boar Chop.”

“How would you like that cooked ma’am ?”

“Medium rare please.”

“Very good and you sir ?”

“I’ll have the Bison Flat Iron Steak, I guess also medium rare.”

“Excellent, I’ll be back to check in on you in few minutes.”

They both nodded at their server and both took second sips of their drinks when Finn put his hand out for her to take “dance ?”

“Nobody’s dancing Finn.” Amy said looking around. There was a trio and a singer and even a small dance floor but there seemed to be no interest at the moment.

“You know how it is Amy, everybody waits for the first couple. C’mon.” He said standing with that grin of his.

She smiled and stood still holding his hand as he stepped aside and let her lead them to the dance floor. She noticed that as before he simultaneously shifted from holding her hand to having a hand on her waist. It was a good feeling and one of those things that was new to her. Dating as an adult was completely different than what she was used to. She’s wasn’t sure if it was better but it was certainly more comfortable and honest, at least to her.

Finn surprised her when he turned her gently  and moved her perfectly into a classic waltz stance.

“You know how to dance don’t you ?” She leaned back slightly and asked before closing the gap between them.

“Know is a relative word I guess, mom likes to dance and taught me the basics. You ?”

“My friend’s and I taught ourselves when we were 13 thinking that some boy or another will one day ask us. Do you like dancing ?”

“Never did much of it honestly but I kinda like this”

“I kinda like it too.” She said softly and then glanced around and saw two other couples who had joined them and giggled “It really is like high school.”

She smiled and looked up at him and Finn leaned forward for a kiss to which she was happy to reciprocate. “One more ?” He asked when the song ended.

“Mmmmmm,” she murmured laying her head against his chest for the few seconds it took for the trio to start another song. As the song was ending Finn saw the waitress signal to which he nodded acknowledgment. “I think our food’s ready.”

Once again Amy turned towards the table and she felt Finn’s hand slipping onto her waist to guide her and maintain contact. She turned into him when he moved behind her to help with her seat and leaned up to kiss him.

The waitress smiled and stood waiting for Finn to seat himself before moving the smoked fish platter between them and point out the different bites available.

“I could ask them to hold off on firing your entrees if you’d like a couple dances between courses ?”

Amy smiled and looked at Finn across the table “that would be wonderful Eva, thank you.”

“Fill-up ?” She asked taking Finn’s empty high ball glass.

“Unsweetened iced tea ?

“Not a problem.” She said turning to Amy.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“So we like the dancing ?” He asked when Eva turned away.

“I like the touching part.” Amy answered reaching for a taste of one of the fish slices. “Oh, this is so good.”

“It is good.” Finn answered swallowing a bite of his own.

As soon as they were done they left the empty platter and headed back to the dance floor. It almost seemed to Amy that he held her just a drop closer than earlier and she wondered if he could feel the effect that being so close to him had on her. During their last dance before Eva signaled that their entrees were ready Amy lay her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist while her hands snaked around his neck. When she looked up at him and craned her neck up their kiss sent shivers up her spine.

They sat through dinner, playfully passing bites to each other for tastes. They gave their dessert orders of a Dark Chocolate Marquis and a Sticky Toffee Pudding along with a carafe of fresh dark roast coffee before heading back to the dance floor. In the end they were one of the last couples to leave with a wave and a bright smile from Eva.

“Did you have a good night Amy ?” Finn asked as their hands joined on the way back to Hudson.

Amy sighed and squeezed his hand “I thought the whole night was dreamy, I don’t really have the words, you, the dinner, the place, it was wonderful.”

“I guess maybe the Lake House can sort of be our place for special occasions.”

Amy nodded, “definitely a contender, especially the dancing part.”

“Yeah, definitely my favorite part.”

“Thank you so much for tonight Finn.”

Finn smiled and lightly squeezed her hand. He switched off the headlights after turning into the ranch and pulled up to the house slowly.

“It’s so peaceful and quiet at night.” Amy said waiting for Finn to come around to her side.

“Feel like sitting ?” He asked as they headed up the porch chairs.

“Sitting would be nice.” She said moving over to the bench they seemed to prefer. When they sat she tucked herself into his side as his arm moved around her shoulder gently following her body.

After a minute he leaned over and kissed her head.

She smiled and moved herself a bit so her hand could sneak under his jacket and she laid her head against his chest and sighed when his hand followed her body over her back to her waist.

“You know, you don’t smell like horses.”

Finn laughed “uhm, thank you ?”

“No.” Amy said giggling “I mean we always pretty much smell like horses but not tonight.”

He laughed again “yeah, I get what you’re saying. Horse isn’t a bad smell.”

“It’s the smell I grew up with, it’s almost weird not to was the point I was making.”

“To be fair, I noticed that you didn’t smell like horse either.”

It was almost simultaneous that she lifted her head and he shifted to the side so that they fit together comfortably when their lips met. Her head swam as they kissed and she could feel his hand move gently on her back which she naturally reciprocated. She loved his touch and her body reacted. She couldn’t totally concentrate but Amy felt good and happier than she’d been for a long time.

She didn’t know exactly when they slowly pulled away from each other but after looking at him for a few seconds she reached up and touched his lips with her finger and then leaned up to kiss him one more time.

“We have an early morning coming up.” He whispered.

“Mmmmmm.” She murmured straightening up and then smiling, ran a finger across his brow to neaten up a droop of his hair.

They walked to the door with his arm around her and Amy’s arms wrapped around his waist. At the door they shifted and he held her close with his hands on her waist with her arms around his neck. Their kisses were slow and deliberate and they were both lost in each other’s space. 

His voice was a whispered croak and he was lost in her eyes as she was in his.

“Text me when you leave tomorrow and I’ll meet you at the center.”

“With the crew.”

“It’ll be a good start, I took off Monday and I have most of Tuesday for painting.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Cabinets Wednesday and plumber Friday, I’d feel better knowing everything was ready.”

Amy laughed “Just can’t wait to get me on that swing can ya ?”

“I love you Amy.”

It was the first time either of them had said the words and she had a warm sensation spread over her. “I love you too Finn Cotter.”

He smirked leaning down to kiss her and murmured “Just like high school.”

[ambermarshalldaily]

Heartland - 16x01 - Something's Got To Give

[the-real-tc]

And just like that, Carson Odell is no longer visibly part Chinese… 😂 (Sorry, 1/4 Chinese me just had to say it.)

[6stonemarykateolsen]

Watch "The Heartland Season 16 Family Dinner" on YouTube

[deancaspinefest]

The 2024 Pinefest Posting Schedule is here!

Under the cut, you’ll find the full posting schedule for this eighth round of the Dean/Cas Pinefest, along with links to each preview. Posting season begins on pie day -- March 14th -- and will run for 34 days, with one team posting every day.

Enjoy the previews, and make sure to check out the links to everyone's other work while you're waiting for their pine-scented posting day!

Happy pining, everyone!

Thursday March 14 | following the light Friday March 15 | One Drop, when What You Need is the Ocean Saturday March 16 | Of Dust, Gunpowder and Holy Water Sunday March 17 | Books, Pies, and Roommates Monday March 18 | A Fairy Tale Cliche! Tuesday March 19 | All in Honesty Wednesday March 20 | Another Kind of Memory Thursday March 21 | Not our kind of thing Friday March 22 | Different Currencies Saturday March 23 | In The Dog Days Sunday March 24 | Whatever Makes You Happy Monday March 25 | Significant severe Tuesday March 26 | all that we intend Wednesday March 27 | Something Happening Somewhen Thursday March 28 | Two Princes Friday March 29 | Broken (The Worst Is Over Now) Saturday March 30 | Well, I Never Been To Heaven Sunday March 31 | The Reel Deal Monday April 1 | A Fabulous Evening's Apocalypse Tuesday April 2 | Foxfire Wednesday April 3 | Super Double Bus Thursday April 4 | Suddenly I See Friday April 5 | Lavender Fireflies Saturday April 6 | Heartland Flyer Sunday April 7 | Something Blue Monday April 8 | Wouldn't It Be Nice Tuesday April 9 | If Only You Return to Me Wednesday April 10 | all out to sea Thursday April 11 | Dear Father Friday April 12 | Opposites Distract Saturday April 13 | Faking It? Sunday April 14 | Given to Fly Monday April 15 | Take The Long Way Home Tuesday April 16 | A Glacial Pace

[roguemonsterfucker]

y'all remember my rant about a "zebra" on Elementary that was just a horse painted with stripes?

Well.

Now I've found a "zorse" that is just a horse painted BADLY with stripes. 🙄

The show Heartland (season 16 episode 6) apparently has a "zorse" that uh

they didn't even try

Like seriously I give major props to Elementary for painting that horse really well. It's easy to mess up zebra stripes because they're a lot more complicated than people tend to think at first glance and whoever painted that horse did a remarkable job.

But whoever painted this "zorse" clearly has no idea what stripe patterns zorses usually have. They just painted zebra stripes on parts of the body and called it a day. Which isn't how zorses work.

Plus they went with a horse that is so horsey. A pony of some kind would have been better to get that zebra shape.

Like, I'm not complaining that these shows opted to not use a wild animal. My original post about Elementary was more about my own bemusement than a complaint and then it became an appreciation post for how well done the paint job was.

I'm complaining about this depiction of a zorse because it's just bad.

I don't watch Heartland, I just stumbled across a clip because I love zebras and zorses lol. So I haven't seen the whole episode. But uh... I do worry it gives people a wrong impression about how horse-like zorses are.

And for the record, I don't support the creation of zebra hybrids. I love them and find them fascinating, but I also don't think there's a good reason for them to exist. I just like creating them in my horse breeding video game lol.

Oh fuck and I just realized that is a GREY horse. The greying would effect the stripes, so they wouldn't be black like that when the rest of the horse is entirely grey. Fucking hell.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 20/01/2024 (Ariana Grande, 21 Savage's american dream, D-Block Europe)

The story of this week is… well, there are a lot of stories, and the moral of nearly all of them is: don’t get your hopes up. Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” has halted a certain someone off the top spot, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we swiftly ignore you-know who and instead spend a little time on the notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75, which is what I cover (read the FAQ), after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. As one would expect, there’s quite a lot of movement this week so we do have a hefty list, bidding farewell to… “Just Another Rainbow” by Liam Gallagher and John Squire after just one week at #16, “Entrapreneur” by Central Cee, “You’re Losing Me” (From the Vault) by Taylor Swift getting three-song-ruled out and exchanged for another Taylor song, and then “Standing Next to You” by Jung Kook, “Murdaside” by Mazza_l20 and friends, “First Person Shooter” by Drake featuring J. Cole, “adore u” by Fred again.. and Obongjayar, “Daylight” by David Kushner, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and the Selena Gomez-assisted “Calm Down” by Rema. Yeah, some massive losses this week, it really is ushering in the 2024 hit parade this quickly

As for our notable gains, well, we see a return for “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift at #69 due to the swap I talked about earlier - it really isn’t a good trade-off in my opinion. Aside from that, there are boosts for “Black Friday” by Tom Odell at #31 which I can’t complain about, and same goes for “Never Lose Me” by Flo Milli at #24. I will complain about “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield at #18, but that brings us neatly to our top five, where we have Teddy Swims fly in at #5 with “Lose Control”, followed by familiar faces, “Lovin’ on Me” by Jack Harlow at #4 and “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor at #3, and then, despite multiple versions and a music video, Noah Kahan fended off Ariana Grande’s comeback single “yes, and?”, stalling out narrowly at #2. It’s fully the season of the sticks, and also the season of 11 Goddamn song reviews, some of which were expected and don’t give me much to say, or much that I want to say, and some that just came out of thin air. I guess let’s just get this party started.

New Entries

#73 - “Scared to Start” - Michael Marcagi

Produced by David Baron

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor, Who the Hell is This Guy? So, Mr. Marcagi started out as the lead singer for non-starter indie rock band The Heavy Hours, before the release of two very recent and very obviously trend-chasing solo singer-songwriter singles. This is the second of them, and seems to have been his breakout and yeah, I suppose we have Noah Kahan at home. The song is overall about a youthful relationship that gets them into undetailed recklessness and escapism, particularly getting away from a small boring town into being on-the-road nomads, without much care for where the future actually takes them. I like the heartland rock pianos and the tried-and-true drop into half-time for the second chorus, though by the time he does it again in the final chorus, I mostly wish he just picked up the pace as the momentum needs to accelerate from there if it’s such a carpe diem track, it feels like a missed opportunity to really go hard at the final hustle, like Kahan would do. As a whole, it’s really not that difficult to see why this is here or even why people could love it, but I feel like it needed more refining to truly make it worthwhile.

#63 - “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” - YG Marley

Produced by Lauryn Hill, YG Marley and JohnnyG

When I say everything will chart in January, I mean everything. This is one of Bob Marley’s many grandchildren, and yes, that is the Lauryn Hill you’re thinking of. She married into the Marleys, this is her son, she co-produced and co-wrote the song, which additionally samples the original Marley’s “Crisis”, a 1978 track with the Wailers, an uplifiting song about living it up through crisis, staying aware of tragedy but taking time to yourself to allow for fun to be had, peace to be found. I like the song a lot, but it was an album track and hence never charted until it was sampled on this newer song from late last year, which - this is not the first time this week we’ll see this either - turns the otherwise conscious track into a love ballad, but sonically, it’s incredibly faithful, even down to the liquidy reggae groove and charming background singers. Sadly, YG does not have the presence of his grandfather, sounding mostly like a nervous, Auto-Tuned child stumbling onto the school talent show, but that’s also partly due to the mix crushing his nasal croon a bit, it feels smashed in between different elements of the mix instead of resting carefreely in it like Bob would. I do actually appreciate the shift in content for the second verse, which I can only assume was written by Ms. Lauryn Hill considering its cynical, conscious stabs at soul-taking and standing your ground. In fact, I actually like this song quite a lot - whilst it starts off as a love ballad, it ends up using more of an appreciative worship angle that fits much better with the lax, improvisational performance, especially once Lauryn comes in for the outro, it’s just nice to hear her singing again, to be honest. The guitars are also surprisingly sludgy by the end, it feels, fitting the mix’s general vibe, which makes it feel a tad sinister or at least defiant, which makes the sample flip - or really, recreation - a lot more sensible. So, yeah, I think this turns around to actually being quite good, if not great? I guess you can’t go wrong when you just plod in that classic Bob Marley tune as a loop for so long and get Lauryn Hill to do backup, I mean, it really does not seem like you can go wrong placing those two together on a track, albeit posthumously. I know it’s never coming but part of me wants to at least hope this may mean we get, if not a solo album, a wider array of collaborations from Lauryn Hill in the future.

#61 - “No Man’s Land” - Marshmello and venbee

Produced by Marshmello, Digital Farm Animals and Earwulf

To be completely honest, I thought Marshmello’s time in the Sun was over. He’s been latching onto Fuerza Regida and Latin music overall Stateside, so I figured his hit-making days could be far behind him, yet here he is without a reggaetónero or corrida band, and instead venbee, who has yet to really replicate the success of “messy in heaven”, but maybe this will be a winning combination and not another desperate last-minute attempt by Marshmello to find a final niche before the spark dies completely. Surely by now, you know where this is going. Mr. Mello even got Digital Farm Animals to co-write and produce so there really is a distant scent of imminent failure written into this one. That’s not to say the song isn’t good because, well, despite all my cynicism, it’s a damn good track, I actually really love this one. It has all the 2018 plastic tropical flavour but due to going for a faster-paced drum and bass rolick and surprisingly compressed and gross-sounding mix on venbee’s vocals, it doesn’t have any of the effortless sheen and instead sounds a bit rough around the edges, with even the little intricate details in that second verse sounding a bit out of place. That lines up pretty perfectly with venbee’s self-loathing that she feels has buried her into an isolation that she can’t really handle considering how much she hates that cycle. Now I don’t think this’ll be a hit: it sounds like something that could be a sleeper success, but by the time it would get much traction, the song is rather too depressive to be dropped into a Summer EDM mix, and honestly, we have no track record for venbee in terms of any consistent success, and it’s not like Marshmello is a pull anymore. So whilst I actually think this is brilliant, I would have to say to Marshmello: Maybe don’t get your hopes up.

#59 - “J CHRIST” - Lil Nas X

Produced by Omer Fedi, Gesaffelstein and Lil Nas X

“The biggest comeback” since Jesus and he couldn’t even break top 50? In this chart climate? In this economy? I did see a lot of social media disillusionment with Lil Nas’ religious angle, none of which I agreed with because really, it’s only his second time doing so and who decided that artists suddenly couldn’t use themes in their music? Yet that may explain the lack of success out of the gate for… “J CHRIST” - God, what a terrible song title - and I can’t say it’s unfortunate, this song is terrible, and not in an honest-sounding way either. LNX has never sounded more bored and typical, going for a vocal take that doesn’t even fully sound like him, as if he was pitched up in post, and the lyrics seem absolutely unfinished if not unchanged from a mumbling reference track. Even the catchy hook is pretty gimmicky with the “high note”, and the second verse just repeats itself sloppily over this piano-based trap beat, that doesn’t really go anywhere at all. In fact, if left on its own, one could consider this a bit of a feat: gawk in awe at Lil Nas X trying and failing to inject life into an amateur YouTube remake of “HUMBLE.” made by a guy with 12 subscribers! Yet due to the promising, alien outro from Gesaffelstein, we know that more effort could have been put into this to make it much more unique and refreshing, and his springy synth bounce lingers throughout the rest of the track, especially that pre-chorus, as a tease for something to come, which would be promising if that “something to come” wasn’t the absolute lowest barrier of entry for decent music: being interesting. Again, don’t get your hopes up.

#46 - “Alibi” - Ella Henderson featuring Rudimental

Produced by Aidan Glover, Cliff Masterson, Rudimental and Punctual

It is with the deepest of sighs that I say the late Coolio’s iconic Dangerous Minds soundtrack cut “Gangsta’s Paradise”, that has long outlasted its film companion, debuted at #1 upon release in 1995 and stayed there for two weeks total, and has returned intermittently to the UK Singles Chart since 2009 due to just how great of a song it is, a timeless Stevie Wonder flip with L.V. on the chorus and some of the most harrowing yet accessible conscious verses that have ever appeared on a chart hit. Ella Henderson, we are not doing this. Why Rudimental decided to credit themselves onto this… thing they barely produced is beyond me, because this is a worthless parody of the original, a dead-on-arrival concept with little respect for its source material… but that makes it sound cool, doesn’t it? It makes it sound risky, like it’s trying new things, when in reality, that’s far from the case. Ms. Henderson copies inflections and melodies directly from L.V., who already took them from Stevie, and replaces the lyrics with meaningless relationship platitudes. The beat is stock drum and bass, the main lead sample is from the most famous and memed part of the song. This kind of song makes me question whether I can even consider it art at all because what human aspect could have possibly been involved in this? Ella’s singing, sure, but not only are the vocals touched-up in post, it’s not like she or her choir care all too much about emoting these lyrics, and they really shouldn’t. Sure, a human - or several, according to the credits - programmed this song, but would you really be surprised if it was done algorithmically based on a TikTok search of the original song? I love sampling, it’s possibly the most interesting thing about popular music past the 1990s, but some reinventions are little more than fleeting insults at artists not alive to repel them. The man rejected Weird Al’s parody and even after he’d lightened up about that, I have serious doubt he would sign off on this garbage. May he rest in peace - I personally really love his other single “Fantastic Voyage”, maybe even more than “Gangsta’s Paradise”, and I’ll always remember his voice performance as the Kwanzaabot in Futurama. This? I’m trying not to remember it. Hopefully the UK can realise this for its cheap distasteful novelty and leave it  buried in the dregs of Spotify where it belongs.

#42 - “Heather on the Hill” - Nathan Evans

Produced by Alan Jukes and Stevie Jukes

I’m… genuinely surprised Nathan Evans is still popping up, especially with a song like this. The title may be referring to the song of the same name in the 1947 musical Brigadoon, set in the Scottish Highlands, perhaps most well known in its version by Grace Kelly. Now that is a beautiful composition with a surprisingly frail performance in the verses that really gives a lot of lackadaisical charm to the track, even if I’ve never even heard of the musical before. This track by everyone’s favourite sea-shantier has nothing to do with that song. The traditional Scottish folk strings may interpolate the original slightly but this is a pop song through and through, with Lewis Capaldi-esque vocal and guitar production, it’s all compressed and staccato and aimless but at least you can tell Evans is Scottish given all the references which would seem tacky if there weren’t just so many of them, and Hell, I’m not Scottish, I can’t judge how a Scotsman expresses his Scottishness. There is a great dramatic charm in the absolute joyfulness this seems to at least want to display, especially with the Scottish folk chaos in the back of the mix and Evans just giving it all he can. In fact, I kind of love this: it’s an adorable love song that ends very abruptly for no good reason, is littered with little Scottish lyrical details, and whilst it doesn’t hit the same as the song from the musical, it’s going for an entirely different vibe: one of folkish lovestruckness and awe, admiration. This feels like a first crush, if my first crush was from Orkney. She wasn’t, of course, but I can dream; both songs I discovered from this entry I appreciate in largely different ways but are pretty admirable all the same.

#27 - “n.h.i.e.” - 21 Savage and Doja Cat

Produced by Kurtis McKenzie, Scribz Riley, Jonah and Nineteen85

Okay, so 21 Savage released a new album, american dream, last Friday, and it debuts at #2 on the UK albums chart, with three new songs debuting here because the entire album was new material, and quite frankly, next to none of it fit the concept of the album, and that includes pretty much everything we have here. It’s really frustrating when ambition, especially conceptual ambition, seems to be promised and whilst the product itself is completely fine, serviceable and in the case of this 21 album, frankly quite good, it does not abide by the ideas that were presented in, say, the introduction, the soundtrack connection, how 21’s mother appears on both the opener and closer to speak frankly about her experiences and how they relate to her son’s, especially in regards to travelling from London to the US. Given that 21’s finally gained US residency and this seemed like his way of commemorating his escape from the confusing citizenship debacle, wherein he can be proud of both his British and American heritage, I was quite disappointed when it was 90% a typical rap album with soul samples, trap beats, flexing on haters, having sex with women, killing people in comical detail and even having a second half largely consisting of R&B just for the ladies, I suppose. With all that, like I said, I enjoyed the album! 21 is a lyrically and vocally quite fun presence nowadays, and the production was incredibly cohesive in its sound despite trying out some different rhythms and vibes throughout. It is, by all means, a good 21 Savage album, but if you’re hoping for more than that, again, don’t get your hopes up. As for the tracks that debuted, they are by far the least interesting and actually some of my least favourites. This one has an eerie guitar lick but also Doja Cat all over the track just whispering and distractingly so, with 21 kind of on autopilot, even if his short verse is pretty good. Doja is doing the whole quirked-up not-a-rapper schtick with the “ad-lib!” ad-lib and basic flow accentuated by again, those multi-tracked whispers and outright refusal to write a verse of considerable length. It’s just lazy on mostly her part but pretty much everyone else as well, there’s little to care for here.

#23 - “née-nah” - 21 Savage, Travis Scott and Metro Boomin

Produced by Metro Boomin

Why is the song called that? Anyway, this is my least favourite track easily. You have a straight minute of Travis wasting my time - without the Auto-Tune, without the spacey production, without the atmospheric concepts and ambition, who even IS this guy, really, other than an unconvincing cornball who never decides on a solid flow and fills up time with ad-libs, including some weird Westside Gunn riffing this time around? Also, considering how much time he’s spent with Kanye, I’m getting slightly worried to who this villainous “they” he’s referring to in this verse all the time might actually be, he’s been oddly defensive and conspiratory since UTOPIA at least. This is a completely serviceable Metro beat, though it actually gets kind of hard on the ears midway through due to that shrill sample that doesn’t really have much to blend with when the chopped, vintage sample isn’t present. It’s a shame that the rest of the track is pretty much garbage because 21 delivers some of his most violently funny and out-of-pocket verses on this whole album, with a cold-as-Hell chorus and lines about Virgil Abloh and Usher that hit pretty hard as punchlines. Again, a shame it’s all placed here on what was for everyone else, a throwaway track.

#19 - “Eagle” - D-Block Europe and Noizy

Produced by Da Beatfreakz

DBE sold like 10 million USB sticks or something, their album is #1 yet here’s their sole track in the top 75. Now this is the kind of so-bad-it’s-enjoyable DBE I like to hear, with Beatfreakz on production, an unusually long, minimal intro, an array of deranged ad-libs, terrible Auto-Tune, Young Adz stammering helplessly and not understanding how disparate some of the consecutive lyrics are from each other. He barely sticks to a coherent flow and starts the chorus with declaring that he thinks he’s Albanian, but he doesn’t enunciate so it sounds like he just calls himself the country of Albania. We even have Dirtbike Lb going for a verse that completely washes whatever Youthful Advertisement was doing, he actually kind of kills his verse, it’s impressive. The flow switch is much clearer and well-done than whatever Adz tries his hand at, his slurring and naturally slow, droning delivery is used to its best extent here. Oh, and like half the song belongs to this one extended verse from an actual Albanian rapper, Noizy, who goes in… I think? He says near the end, “I’m Albanian, you’re not supposed to like me” and I really don’t know what to make of that, or this song in general, it’s kind of a fascinating mess with some genuine flow highlights but mostly just bizarre choices. In that regard, classic DBE.

#11 - “redrum” - 21 Savage

Produced by London on da Track and Peeb

My favourite track from this album is “see the real”, a sassy, witty and dismissive hyphy-esque bop that inflects a lot of melody into 21’s sound but not enough to dissuade you from his cold demeanour. Some of my other favourite tracks include the sincere PSA “dark days”, the needlessly catchy R&B track “should’ve wore a bonnet” and yeah, “redrum” has none of what I just described. It’s pure violence, it got the music video set in London, so here it is, with its Italian classical music sample in the intro that just eventually forms into a menacing, unchanging loop. It sounds great, but with the caveat that it also just sounds like that the whole time. If 21 weren’t generally an incredibly compelling and more importantly convincing presence as a killer on the mic, this would be a pretty unimpressive beat, so it really shows how much better an instrumental can sound when the right pocket’s found, and for 21, who is on his A-game punchline and ad-lib wise on this track, it seems almost effortless. I’ve obviously not got much else to say about this song or the album as a whole, but I do think it’s a shame that its most unique and enlightening moments didn’t make their way to the charts, or that they were so few and far between to begin with. Hey, at least we didn’t get any shreds of that terrible Kid Cudi project, right? Sheesh.

#2 - “yes, and?” - Ariana Grande

Produced by Ariana Grande, Max Martin and ILYA

It’s fine. I know it’s the big story of the week but there’s nothing too celebratory, triumphant, badass or even interesting about this comeback single from Ariana, that clearly goes for an attitude it couldn’t fully commit to, given the cheaper-than-usual sounding vocaloid chop behind the diva house pianos and a cooing that sems to miss the point of its own genre. Lyrically, it’s self-motivation but I mean, we have “BREAK MY SOUL”, and the genuinely experimental and explorative RENAISSANCE from just two years ago, we really don’t need a lacklustre Ariana Grande rendition of this genre, especially when she’s completely phoning it in. She’s not someone who’s meant to chant mantras, that’s not the kind of loose, parading singer she is, it’s why she never worked on trap beats. The spoken word bridge is pitched-up - because sure, Ariana needs pitching up of all singers - and practically egregious: going for the censor during the Ethan Slater-related line is exactly the “serve” it was intended to be, given that it’s the one time the song actually feels like it exists, but it also just drills this hole further that Ari cannot sell this at all, and should absolutely not be trying to when the audience, even if invested in the “I’m fucking the SpongeBob guy” drama, cannot find themselves motivated by because, well, last time I checked, the only other person fucking the SpongeBob guy was the mother of his child. If someone can point me to the passion and empowerment in this song and its seven other versions instead of a lingering tinge of desperate acting-out, please do, because every listen just leaves an even sourer note in my mouth. Ugh, let’s move on.

Conclusion

I actually did not dislike “yes, and?” before writing this episode, but several listens and caring to look at the lyrics more have really prevented me from enjoying it the way I wanted to so, yes, it will get the Dishonourable Mention, with the Worst of the Week being so obvious I really don’t have to say it, do I? Best of the Week goes to Marshmello and venbee for “No Man’s Land” with an Honourable Mention to Nathan Evans of all people with “Heather on the Hill” and I suppose that’s it. It was a bit of a long ordeal this week, but thank you for reading, see you… a bit earlier than next Friday, I think, but still, next week.

[grande-caps]

Heartland - Season 16 Quality : HD Screencaptures Amount : 13058 files Resolution : 1280x720px

- Please like/reblog if using!

[tvshowpilot]

Jack: “So what did you do with Mike?” Tim: “He’s in a better place. *pause* Winnipeg. Headed to see his sister.” Jack: “Winter in Winnipeg. I guess there is some justice.”

This is a little funny quote from the newest episode of Heartland! Read our recap of Heartland season 16 episode 11 here.

[heartlandians]

Heartland - 16x06 - Into the Wild

[confessions-heartland]

"Am I the only one really disappointed that they decided to have Caleb have relationship issues leading into a divorce from Cassandra? I genuinely enjoyed their dynamic, and I thought it was finally a "happy ending" for Caleb relationship wise. I was hoping we wouldn't have another Peter-Lou situation where there would be a divorce and co parenting."

[smokinholsters]

The Lucky Horseshoes - A Heartland Season 16 AU - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Lisa sat in the edge of Amy’s bed while she brushed out her hair and then changed her jeans and blouse.

“So we’ll pick up Lyndy, head over to Maggie’s for a snack and to grab Lou and then paint and furniture ?”

“That’s the plan for today, I don’t expect we’ll get to window treatments and area rugs until the final paint choices so we can get swatched. What did you think about the space ?”

Lisa nodded “Pleasantly surprised actually, I didn’t know what to expect, nice sized rooms, a guest room slash office, new kitchen, 2 bathrooms.”

“I was scared it wouldn’t be bright but the windows are nice and big and they face well.” Amy said brushing out her hair. She checked herself in the mirror and stood up. “Ok, I’m ready let’s head over to the school.”

“Lyndy was positively bursting this morning.”

“She was, she’s very excited, a whole new adventure and she loves hanging out with the center kids.”

“You over last night Amy ?” Lisa asked as they sat in the mud room putting on shoes and boots.

Amy pulled on her boot and sat up to look at her “nothing to get over Lisa, it’s done and the only thing I want is their good wishes. What about Heartland, seriously, as if Grandpa thought to ever once ask me about Heartland, and I’m just down the road Lisa, Lyndy doesn’t even have to change buses. Thank you all for stepping up by the way. I don’t know, between Finn and the horses I work with and this.”

Lisa reached over and put her hand on Amy’s arm “Hey he loves you, sometimes it just comes out this way, he worries about you.”

“And there’s Ty, I know, you don’t have to say it, I’ll always love Ty, but he has to let me move on.” She sighed and then smiled “Come on or we’ll be late, let’s go pick out some purple paint.”

They took Amy’s truck in case they had to transport anything. Amy and the center had more than enough help to paint so they decided to conserve money by buying the paint and what supplies they needed She’d take what they could today and pick up the rest during the week. The furniture would probably have to be ordered.

After picking Lyndy up they sat at Maggie’s sharing two slices of Saskatoon pie with coffee for the adults and milk for Lyndy.

Amy swallowed and turned to Lisa “Hear from Jessica today ?”

“A text while she was waiting for her meeting, she’ll text when she’s done.”

“I hope she gets the job whatever the job is.”

“Magazine ad for men’s soap.”

“Men’s soap ? What’s men’s soap ?”

Lisa laughed “I don’t know soap with a manly smell I guess.”

It was Amy’s turn to laugh now “All the me I know smell like livestock and manure most of the time.”

Lou laughed at that point “I don’t think that’s what they’re shooting for.”

They were done and Amy checked her daughter’s face “Lyndy, go get washed up and we’ll head over to look at paint and get samples.”

“What are samples momma ?”

“They’ll give us little can of the paints we like to try on the walls and when we decide they’ll make the colors we choose and we’ll paint the walls.”

“I want purple.”

“I know Lyndy but there’s going to be 20 or 30 different purples. You can pick three or four and we can paint little squares on the wall in your room and you can choose the one you like most.”

“Like a game !!”

Lisa smiled “just like a game sweetheart and then you can help with the other rooms.”

“Ok, now go wash up.”

It was Wednesday before they could head over to paint on the swatches and Amy had promised Lyndy that she could help so Lisa and Jessica met Amy and Lyndy at the center house soon to be Amy’s new home.

They had fun painting the squares and waiting for the paint to dry though they’d come back in the morning to make sure that the colors were true. Lyndy, true to her word chose four somewhat light purples for her room. Amy on the other hand chose several shades of greys. They were interesting and tinted with other colors, green for her room, rose for the bathrooms, hallway and kitchen, and blue for the guest bedroom. The house was old and restored rather than redone and one of the features they made sure to keep were the intricate crown moldings which would be painted white along with the window sashes and ceilings.

It was early and dinner would be a small group with the men attending a Foothills Cowboy Association meeting and Lou at some Mayoral event. As such Lisa had declared it a pizza night and everyone, especially Lyndy, was fine with it. They needed half an hour for the paint to dry completely and decided on a walk since Amy wanted to check on the kids, the horses and Mrs. Renata Corazon, the centers’ new ranch mother. 

“It’s really a nice space.” Jessica said as the came out of the house.

Amy’s response was cut short as a small gas engine kicked off and filled the air with sound. She stopped speaking rather than raise her voice and followed the sound around the corner of the house.

They found Mrs. Corazon and Clint leaning against the chicken wire covered fence post that surrounded what used to be the ranch’s vegetable garden watching three of the boys working alongside a fourth who was working a rather large tiller.

Amy smiled and stepped over to stand next to Mrs. Corazon who had turned and smiled at her when she noticed the younger now official facility director walking over.

“Renata, good to see you settling in.”

“It’s not a ranch without a garden Amy.”

Amy nodded “I agree 100 percent, we should get some chickens also. Where’d the tiller come from ?”

“Borrowed from the Potter’s next door, very nice people.”

“Little late to be planting.”

“For a lot but we can still plant late season greens and get a harvest.”

“And a good start for next year I guess.”

“Hello Renata.” 

The middle aged woman looked down between herself and Amy and then leaned over with open arms. A moment later she stood with Lyndy arms around her neck.

“How are you today Lyndy ?”

“Good, we’re waiting for the paint to dry and then we’re having pizza.”

“Pizza huh, that sounds good, I’m making tacos for dinner.”

“I like tacos.”

“Then I will make them for you when you have start sharing dinner with us.”

“And lasagna.”

Renata laughed “I remember the lasagna and burgers and the stew sweetheart.”

“And it’s not just Renata’s job to cook for us Lyndy but for everyone at the center.”

“I know.”

One of the perks to Amy, would be that she and Lyndy would eat dinner with the group, a family dinner around a very large oak table in the oversized dining room on the first floor of the center house. They’d have breakfast upstairs in the apartment and lunch would go either way. For most of the year that would mean Lyndy having lunch at school.

“Lyndy, how about you introduce Renata to your grandmothers ?”

Lyndy nodded and Renata turned and let her down onto the ground.

“This is Grandma Jessica and this is Grandma Lisa but she’s really Great Grandma. This is Renata.”

They both smiled and introduced themselves formally and with handshakes as Jessica Cook and Lisa Stillman as did Renata in return.

“So you’ll be taking care of our girls from now on I guess.”

“Soon enough, that’s my job but Amy’s being stubborn about it so I promise to do my best.”

Lisa laughed  “just make her chocolate chip cookies.”

“I like chocolate chip cookies.” Lyndy piped up.

Jessica leaned over to kiss her head “I can’t imagine why.”

“I don’t think it’s being stubborn to clean my own living space Renata.”

“It is when your job is 7 days a week and basically 24 hours a day.”

Amy’s answer was waylaid by her phone which she checked. Everyone saw her smile before her “excuse me”.

“Hey you, all done ?”

“And on the way, I’ll be in Hudson by 6 or so, think I can take you and Lyndy to dinner ?”

“Nope but you can pick up two pizzas and two dozen garlic knots and bring them to the house. Grandpa and dad are telling tall tales tonight.”

“So the coast is clear ?”

“This has nothing to do with you Finn.”

“And ?”

Amy laughed “the coast is clear.”

“Then I’ll text when I’m at the pizza shop.”

“Finn ?” Jessica asked when Amy turned back.

“On his way home and picking up our pizzas. How about you three look around, I should check in with Logan or Michelle and I’ll find you in 5 minutes.”

“You won’t find them Amy; Michelle, Logan and the girls are out exercising the horses. I’ll have one of them check in with you when they’re back.

Amy nodded “thank you Renata, I’ll talk to you after dinner. I guess we’ll check the paint and head back to Heartland. Clint you need me for something ?”

Clint smiled “for everything but tomorrow will do.”

Amy smiled back “Call if you need me and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Katie was waiting when they got back to Heartland and was happy to watch over Lyndy while Amy got some work done with the horses. Amy assumed Jack was out at the herd

and felt a little guilty that she felt relieved they wouldn’t have to talk about Finn again. She sighed when after an hour she glanced up from the round pen where she was working and saw him and her dad coming over the rise.

“How did everything go today Amy ?”

Amy stopped and turned “It went good dad, I’ll double check the colors in the morning and place the paint order so hopefully we’ll get that done over the weekend.”

“So what do you think, a month ?”

“I guess thereabouts, it really depends on the furniture and appliances for now.”

“Tim, can we get these horses settled so I can shower ?”

“Yes Jack, in a minute.”

“Amy, everything Ok ?”

Amy nodded “All good Grandpa.”

Tim turned towards Champ and then stopped again “let me know if you need help with anything Amy.”

“Thanks Dad.”

Guiltily she waited until her dad and grandfather were done with their horses before leading Farraj, the horse she had been working with into the barn to brush him down.

She watched her dad head upstairs to the loft and her grandfather walk to the entrance and stop.

“Count me in for the help too Amy.”

“You mean that Grandpa ?” Amy asked stopping a couple meters from him.

“Of course I do.”

“Well then thank you and I’ll let you know.”

“Need help now ?”

Amy smiled “I’m good Grandpa, you should go get ready or you’ll be late for the tall tales.”

Jack laughed “it’s not just tall tales Amy.”

“I know, there’s drinking, back slapping and food that’s definitely bad for you.”

“Ok, Ok.” Jack chuckled “I’ll see you inside.”

“I’ll be in soon.”

She spent longer in the barn than she had planned on deciding to check on the rest of the horses and take care of the worst of the stalls. It would make night check easier. That time translated into her walking back with Tim who was on his way to grab Jack for the meeting and waited for her.

“Excited about moving ?”

“And nervous, thanks for the other night by the way.”

“I think this might actually be best for you Amy. Jess is sure of it.”

“I have to try.” Amy answered softly.

“I’m sure you’ll do better than try.”

“Thanks dad.”

“When does Finn get back ?”

“Soon, he’s bringing the pizza.”

Tim smiled and held the door open for her.

Finn’s text came as Tim’s truck backed away. Lisa, Jessica, Amy and Lyndy were sitting on the porch. 

“Hey, where are you ?”

“Just pulling in, I assume there’s an order ready ?”

“Under Fleming, all paid for, 2 pies and garlic knots, add anything you want.”

“See you in uh 10 – 15 minutes ? And Amy could you put up a pot of coffee please ?”

“Right now, drive safe.”

When she saw the green truck pull up Amy went out to meet Finn and help him with the food. She grabbed the two bags he was carrying and left the pizza in his hands. She leaned up and kissed him.

“Good trip ?” She asked as they walked up the steps to where Lisa was holding open the door to the house.

“It was, you, the paint and furniture ?”

“It was good, I’d like you to look.”

“My only schedule tomorrow is working with the kids at the center in the afternoon so just let me know.”

The big surprise of the evening was Finn adding zeppoles to the mix. Lyndy had never had one and immediately fell in love with the small warm and crisp fried dough balls covered in confectioners sugar and was quickly covered in the white powder. She was allowed two and promised one for an after camp snack the next day.

Once done she was whisked off by Katie who volunteered to get her cleaned up and changed for bed. With dinner away they settled on the porch with coffee where Amy and Finn took the bench and where Lyndy joined them with a book for Amy to read to her. Her second yawn was the signal for bed and Amy excused herself to get her into bed after a round of hugs and a nose kiss from Katie.

Jessica sipped her coffee and savored the swallow “I guess we won’t be seeing you around much longer Finn.”

“I’ll be around Jessica.”

“Around the center though.”

“Well yeah I doubt I’ll be showing up with pizza if Amy’s living there.”

“Maybe just some zeppoles every now and again ?”

Finn laughed “Maybe Lisa, how are things going at Fairfield ?”

“Nothing much different except Platinum Bow relaxing rather than traveling. The stone bruise seems to be healing well.”

“That’s good, have them keep an eye on it though, they can be tricky.”

“What can be tricky ?” Amy asked coming out.

“Stone bruises, Amy could you take a look ?”

 “Platinum Bow ?”

Lisa nodded.

“I’ll talk to Scott and come by, of course.”

“And bring Finn ?” Lisa asked with a smile.

“That shouldn’t be too hard.”

“I should get home, how about we meet at Fairfield in the morning and you can head to the center from there ?”

“9 Ok ?”

“9 is fine, I’ve gotta pay for the truck at 11 so we’re good.”

“I’ll walk you down.”

Finn said goodnight to Lisa, Jessica and Katie who was occupying her normal spot on the stairs and took Amy’s hand when they stepped to the ground. They stood behind the open door and he slipped his hands onto her waist.

“I missed you.”

Amy smiled “I missed you too, weird huh ?”

“It’s good to hear though, see ya in morning ?”

“You gonna kiss me in front of an audience of admirers Finn Cotter ?”

“We don’t want to disappoint them.”

Amy smiled and nodded no while mouthing “no we don’t” and leaned against him raising her lips to his as he pulled her gently closer. When their lips pulled apart she dropped her head to his chest and felt his hand move to the small of her back. She sighed when she felt him relax his hands back to her hips.

They had both heard Lou pulling up in her SUV and smiled when she called out “Ok, break it up you two.”

“Sleep well Amy Fleming.”

“See you in the morning Finn.”

Amy followed Lou up to the porch where Katie was actually waiting to say goodnight.

“Any coffee left ?” Lou asked after Katie made the goodnight rounds on the porch and headed up to her room.

“Should be a couple cups, I’ll split what’s left with you lou, come on, how was your meeting ?” Amy asked walking into the kitchen.

“Not as exciting as that kiss.” Lou said softy “Have you two ?”

“Lou !!” Amy hissed.

“What Amy, it’s just a question that I guess is a no or you’d be blushing.”

“It’s a no but it’s, I don’t know, fine for now, it hasn’t been an issue.”

“As long as you’re both fine with it, has he ?”

“We’re good Lou.”

“So when’s the big date, this Saturday right ?”

“Saturday night though we went to KO’s this past Saturday with Cass and Caleb. Want to see my outfit ?”

Lou smiled “Of course, let’s say good night on the porch first.”

“I’m not trying it on.”

Laugh smiled “Of course you’re trying it on, come on.”

[ambermarshalldaily]

1️⃣6️⃣

Absolutely thrilled for the cast and crew to reunite to create some magic! ✨️📽 And to make it even better is we're getting 15 episodes this season! 🎉

Filming starts next week! I'll try to share any cast or crew's photos/videos from set in my Instagram Stories. If you miss it, I'll be saving everything in my Highlights.

Here we gooooo!!!

Video by Amber Marshall