Today on the Music Matters Media podcast, we’re diving headfirst into the world of Justin Bieber and his surprise full-length drop, ‘SWAG’. We break down the bold sonic shift, the sleek production choices, and dissect all 21 tracks to pick our standout favorites. Is this Bieber’s R&B era done right, or should he stick to the polished pop anthems that made him a global star? Tune in and find out where we stand on ‘SWAG’!
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The sincerity of your love scares Law sometimes. The way you're so patient dealing with him, no matter what state of mind he's in, the warmth you hold in your eyes when he opens his eyes in the morning, the firmness of your 'I love you's.... How are you able to love someone like him? When did he get so comfortable around you? When did he start to feel so safe within your arms? With each day that passes, he's afraid that when he looks back, you won't be there. He can only pray that the thought stays a nightmare.
Killer can't help the creeping shiver down his back whenever he finds you staring at him for too long. In a snap, insecure thoughts flood his head and he finds himself wondering about what you're thinking when you look at him so intensely. Have you perhaps realized that you deserve better? He can't bring himself to ask the question.... But the moment you smile and words of praises fall from your lips, the feeling melts away so quickly, as if it was never there.
Katakuri knows that you can take care of yourself, but every time he sees you all banged up after a scuffle, bruised and bloodied, he can't help the cold dread that steals his breath and spikes his adrenaline. His and your life are riddled with danger, given his position and his family background, and there's nothing he can do about it, so he channels the fear into taking care of you, focusing it all on your recovery and tending your wounds. Still, he doesn't think he'll ever not have a small heart attack whenever he finds you injured.
Ace might seem like a simple, bright young man, but there's an intricacy behind his smiles and cheerful laughs. His fire burns hot and fierce against his enemies' flesh, yet they feel so warm and comforting on your cold skin. He loves with his whole heart, hard and passionate and wholesome, yet he himself feels that he's not deserving of love. And when you talk to him about the far, far future, he can't help being afraid of it. He fears the uncertainty that it brings, the millions of possibilities where he's sure at least half of them might not involve you or the people he cares about. And yet there's also the other half of it, where you're both together, perhaps all settled down and living a quiet life somewhere as you grow old together, and so he can't help but be hopeful, too.
i’m about to be extremely drunk watching sebastian qualify on pole on saturday and violently hungover waking up at 6am on sunday to watch sebastian win the australian gp
Scout had been lucky about the bathroom situation for weeks. If he woke up before sunrise, he could take a quick run around the base’s perimeter and shower before even Cheche woke up. He practically perfected leaving the room without causing a single stir to Cheche’s sleep, and he’d take that win any day. He peeked over to the wide, inviting bed containing the one man that consumed his sleepless nights. He sighed at how Cheche was fully huddled in his comforter then caught the thought as he rushed out the door.
He shook his head and tried to pull his shoes on without tripping over the various ramps in the base. God, how does Spotter skate through all of this? But the distraction was welcome. He could think about all of the frustrating things about Spotter during his run, and maybe he’ll even get a better time than last week. He stretched out as he reached the door, taking a deep breath. He wondered what the sunrise looked like that day.
The run began just fine with Scout mentally listing off the things Spotter did that ticked him off. Even though she cooked for the team, she never joined them for meals which worried even- Nope, don’t think about Cheche. Spotter always grabbed his face like his own mom would. It made him feel childish and dumb, especially in front of- God damn it, stop! But he would mind if tanned calloused hands held his-
Scout growled, picking up his pace. Every single thought circled back to Cheche and it pissed him off! He huffed, shaking his head. Think of something else. Think of something else… Like mom. He hadn’t sent a letter to her ever since he left home… He should do that the next time they get a free day. He hoped she wasn’t too worried about him. He had this weird ‘respawn’ thing going on now, so it’s not like he could die anytime soon…
His run started to slow, giving him a moment to finally process everything. It’s almost been a whole month training here, and a few weeks more since he left home. He learned how to roller skate and shoot a gun while moving. He still wasn’t comfortable with the weight of it yet, but it was getting easier to use. He swears that he’s gotten more muscle since training with Spotter, which must count for something. He’s not currently being paid, so he wouldn’t be able to send money home until training was done. But hearing from him might ease the concern.
He chewed his cheek as he looked out over the horizon. The sun was finally coming up, casting the sky from pitch black to a rosy flush against the flat land. He watched the colors change and shift before panicking that he took too long on this run. Shit, everyone would be waking up now!
He ran back and shoved the door open, slamming his face into the concrete in his rush. Scout groaned, swallowing thickly as he rubbed his throbbing nose. Something dripped down his lip and filled the back of his throat with an iron taste. Fuck, his nose was bleeding! He wished Cheche wasn’t in the bathroom as he climbed up the ramp, covering his face.
Scout grabbed his towel from his shared room. He quickly prayed that Cheche was in the kitchen, cooking everyone breakfast. He hurried to the bathroom, and stopped in his tracks at the entry to the showers. The rosy flush from the sunrise came over his cheeks as he tried not to stare into the steam. His prayer was not answered.
Cheche stood under the furthest showerhead. Sure, Scout had seen a lot of Cheche already, but this was… Scout swallowed thickly and kept his gaze to the wall as he hung his towel and undressed. He turned on his showerhead, as physically far away as possible from Cheche. He scrubbed at his face, trying to rid of the blood running down his nose.
“You’re usually already in the recreation room by this time, Scout.”
Scout did not squeal or nearly slip! He did not. He… might have lost balance. But he glanced toward Cheche and looked away again. He cleared his throat. “Got distracted during my run..” He mumbled. He stared at the floor now, ignoring the urge to look at Cheche. “The sunrise was nice this morning.”
He crawled up from the floor, making sure his feet were flat before standing properly. He stepped under the spray again, focusing on rinsing away all of the sweat he accumulated. Scout pretended that he didn’t hear the other showerhead turn off or the wet footsteps behind him. But he did glance from the corner of his eye, only to find Cheche looking back at him. He held his breath, forcing his gaze back to the wall.
What the fuck?! Was- Scout chewed his cheek, scratching his scalp as he tried to rationalize his thoughts. Okay, he was looking at me. And he has every fucking reason to! I got that physique women fall for! But Cheche isn’t a woman…
Scout turned off his shower and found himself alone in the bathroom. He groaned and bumped his head against the wall. Fuck, what is wrong with me?
He hadn’t realized it at the moment, but his body had fully reacted to being around a fully nude Cheche. His cheeks set ablaze and he quickly grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his issue. He rushed back to the room to get dressed, slumping in the doorway that Cheche wasn’t in the room to witness him.
The whole day, Scout couldn’t even face Cheche, much less get close to him during training. He at least was excused from wearing the roller skates. Spy also raised his douchebaggery with his flirting facade. Scout earned himself his first kill for the year with that. He smirked at Spy, whistling to himself as he twirled the pistol around his finger.
Every time Cheche tried to approach him, Scout ran off to avoid even acknowledging what happened in the bathroom. He eventually had to sit out in a nest with Sniper, fully avoiding the chance of embarrassing himself further.
“Y’alright, eh?” Sniper asked. Scout shrugged, looking out over the kidney bowl. His gaze flitted around before locking on Cheche. The son of their obnoxious Colombian trainer was listening to their Engineer as they built a dispenser straight from a toolbox. Scout would never understand how that worked.
Sniper whistled, before peering through the scope of his rifle. “Oh yeah, he’s a beauty. That's why you’re up here?”
Scout tried to hide his blush in his arms, crossing them over the window sill. How the hell did he figure that out? “Uh, yeah… I keep makin’ an absolute idiot of myself around him,” he admitted then sent a glare towards Sniper’s chuckle.
“Oh, no, I don’t mean to laugh. Just you’re always doing that.” Sniper chuckled again before taking a shot, both killing the Soldier and knocking over a can along the field’s fence line.
Scout rolled his eyes and found Cheche along the ground again. “That’s so damn comforting,” He supplied sarcastically. He huffed. “Just, fuck him. He’s making me feel so damn stupid about myself and I can’t do shit to impress him! He’s just-!” Scout kicked the wall of the nest, before lying back on the wood. He would never admit this to anyone else. He’d especially rather die than admit it to Spy. “He’s too perfect.”
“Sounds like you want him.”
Scout sat up and gave Sniper a confused glare. “The fuck do ya mean by that?”
Sniper shrugged and set down the rifle. “Cause I’ve thought the same thing for a guy I wanted. Never could have him, eh?” He picked up a bottle at his feet, sipping it before stretching out his shoulders and picking up the rifle again. “Why not talk to him? He might not be as perfect as you think.”
Scout had been thinking of that advice all the way through dinner. He knew he wasn’t going to fully be able to sleep, so he might as well think some more about it. He rubbed his face. Should he just talk to the guy? Is it too soon to be talking to him with that morning still fresh in his mind?
Scout flinched when the door opened, just for Cheche to raise his hands in a placating manner. “Lo siento… Didn’t mean to startle you..” He smiled softly and closed the door behind him. Scout chewed his cheek as he watched Cheche pull his shirt off.
He bit his lip before taking his shot. “I… haven’t been sleeping too well. Still haven’t adjusted to all this… killing situation…”
Cheche looked over at him, and smiled. God, that’s a beautiful smile. “Well, Scout…” Scout’s heart jumped, blurting out, “Logan.”
“Perdóname?”
Scout froze when he realized what he just did. Oh, fuck, did I ruin things? Am I gonna get thrown out? Killed? He cleared his throat. “Logan. My name’s Logan…”
Cheche’s smile grew and tilted his head. “Well, Logan.” Logan’s heart lodged itself in his throat and he simply nodded. “This isn’t something I offer to Scouts, and I’m rusty myself, but we could meditate together?”
Logan breathed in and nodded again, not trusting how he’d sound. Cheche nodded to his bed and Logan followed onto the soft mattress. His eyes widened at how well it’d been broken in, so plush and comfortable compared to his own. He noticed Cheche sitting cross-legged and mirrored the position. Cheche shifted closer until their knees touched. “Okay and give me your hand..”
Logan provided that wordlessly, goosebumps rising over his arm when Cheche’s warm fingertips touched his palm. He watched as Cheche slowly pulled his hand until his palm pressed against his first chest. He thickly swallowed as he distinctly felt the beat of his heart. It was steady and calm unlike his own which must be racing against the horizon already. “Just follow my breathing..”
“Ye-yeah.. Follow your breathing.”
The two breathed together, and it was surprisingly effective. Logan noticed Cheche’s eyes were closed and took the moment to admire his features under the sunset’s light from the window. His eyes continually flicked down to Cheche’s lips and remained unaware that he was leaning in closer until his eyes closed and their lips briefly touched. It was feather light, hardly a kiss, but Cheche gasped anyways, and pulled Logan out of what he was doing. He flinched back and fell off the bed. The blush beat over all the others in both heat and color if the rosy color on his nose said anything.
He didn’t even spare Cheche another glance as he ran out of the room.
