#2018 week 12

[everymlmhybrid]

in honour of ff.net inevitably being taken down i'd like to share the best review i've ever received. this was on my fic about Katniss and Peeta's insanely-mary-sue daughter. and the main cast was older because... that's how time works.

[f1version]

26 BIRTHDAY KISSES ★ CL16

pairing: charles leclerc x gf!reader ( she/her )

summary: 26th birthday, 26 pictures of you and Charles kissing. A kiss for each year.

notes: i’m back from my birthday trip!! i wrote this birthday special in like 30 minutes and it’s still charles’ birthday in a couple of places so… i’m not exactly late! enjoy <3

26 KISSES: A GALLERY

By your beautiful girlfriend, in collaboration with a lot of people but mainly Joris and ourselves.

1. DRUNK DANCING: A month after we got together, we were at Arthur’s 18th birthday. We got drunk, singing and dancing to the worst playlist in existence (Lorenzo’s) and, somehow, Arthur got to capture this moment I barely even remember.

Taken by Arthur Leclerc, 2018

2. AUGUST 2019: Summer break, so sweet so loving. You made me promise that if you jumped off first, I would jump too. It took me fifteen minutes to follow after you. Also your kisses were incredibly salty.

Taken by Joris Trouche, 2019

3. THE MONZA INCIDENT: I had red lipstick the night you won in Monza, you told me it looked pretty, I asked you to kiss me, you did. Fast forward 8 minutes it was all smudged over your lips, you were 10 minutes late to the post-race conference, and Sylvia almost banned me that night. (I’m still kind of banned from your driver’s room)

Taken by Charles Leclerc, 2019

4. UNDER THE COVERS: 2020, what a crazy year. This one was taken the day we decided to finish moving in together. You were so excited, wanted everything to be perfect. Today I can say it is.

Taken by Me, 2020

5. WORDS: We were spending Christmas by ourselves, we face-timed our families, had dinner and watched movies. You gifted me three beautiful words I, of course, said back… and we also got a puppy!

Taken by Charles’ phone timer, 2020

6. OCEAN BREZEE: Just a small escapade to take a breath. You were so cuddly that day, Joris was so done with you (he still took the pic though)

Taken by Joris Trouche, 2021

7. CUTE OR HOT: I just wanted a cute morning selfie but, because of you, we ended up in a…promising mood. It was intense that’s all I have to say!

Taken by Me, 2021

8. KISS KISS KISS: 24th birthday, 24 kisses. This kind of became a tradition, let me know if you still want them this year!

Taken by Me, 2021

9. DRUNK AF: How did we got so drunk? Ask Pierre, he was the one hosting. Either way we got another amazing photo of us drunk-kissing!!!

Taken by Pierre Gasly, 2021

10. UNDER THE SEA: I’m just going to say that you and your ‘photo ideas 📸’ folder are attached by the hip. I personally love this one (even if it took half an hour to take)

Taken by Joris Trouche, 2021

11. NEW YORK: Thought you could scape this one? Never! Arthur and I didn’t spend a week listening to your complaining for nothing, babe. You must admit that this kiss was magical, everything was so pretty that day. And then it started snowing!

Taken by Arthur Leclerc, 2021

12. EXPOSED: Remember how our amazing soft launch got ruined by our trip to Ibiza? Well, here it is, the image we couldn’t stop laughing at when it came out, we really thought we were sneaky.

Taken by unknown, 2022

13. HARD LAUNCH: A week later we were kissing on live TV. It’s one of my favorite memories, I couldn’t stop smiling.

Taken by F1 TV, 2022

14. BACK KISSES: Just a picture of the morning after I learned that you can convince anyone, even the CEO of Ferrari, to allow you to leave sponsor events early. I really don’t know if you knew those kisses were there, but I woke up to this, took a picture and then left you with them until we took a shower.

Taken by Me, 2022

15. SPONSORED BY AIRMAX: That time your team forgot to book us a flight and you had to ask Lando to ask Daniel to ask Max if we could go back to Monaco with them. I’ve never seen Max talk so much, Daniel laugh so loud or Lando taking so many pictures. He even asked to take one of us, here it is:

Taken by Lando Norris, 2022

16. SIXTEEN: I bet you thought this one would have something to do with racing. Number 16. Sorry to disappoint but it’s our beautiful puppy…Sixteen! I’m not gonna lie, I still hate you for persuading me into that name. Anyways if you kiss the dog you kiss the mom!!

Taken by Me, 2022

17. 25 KISSES: Again, tell me if you want those 26 kisses this year. Look at us last year!

Taken by Me, 2022

18. NEW YEAR, SAME LOVE: Sometimes the world feels unreal when I’m with you, this was one of those days. I felt in another reality, the world slowed down, it was just you and me. I remember thinking “I fell in love with the right person” and then you kissed me.

Taken by Joris Trouche, 2022

19. BLACK SUIT: Remember when your fans thanked me for your “new” outfits? They repeated it was the girlfriend effect, you couldn’t stop talking about how stylish you are with or without me!

Taken by Me, 2023

20. PHOTOSHOOT: You got Joris to take these shots just because you wanted a new wallpaper. I thought it was silly, until one day all of them were hanging around our home. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Charlie.

Taken by Joris Trouche, 2023

21. FIVE STAR CHEFS: Not much to say, just sorry for being so distracting and thank you for the amazing (stolen from Ferrari) dinner babe!

Taken by Charles’ phone timer, 2023

22. RED LIGHTS: This year’s addition to our drunk-kissing collection. I remember you drowning shots with Carlos and Pierre, asking me to dance with you, absolutely failing at that, and then kissing me. After that there’s blurry ferrari red, giggles and a hot bath.

Taken by Andrea Ferrari, 2023

23. LAZY IN BED: Wonderful lazy days by the ocean, that’s how we spent the summer break. That morning in particular you didn’t want to get up, basically gluing me to bed. We got up at 1pm.

Taken by Me, 2023

24. JUST ONE QUESTION: Can I drive the purosangue now? Please please please

Taken by Me, 2023

20. LOVER: This day I woke up thinking about those dreams we talk about all the time, you even remembered me a couple of them throughout the day. Charlie, I do want to do this for the rest of our lives, never forget it <3

Taken by Arthur Leclerc, 2023

26. TWENTY-SIX: We are just 26 but I hope our story keeps on writing itself. I love you, these have been the happiest 6 years of my life. Happy birthday bébé ❤️

Taken by Joris Trouche, 2023

[ultraviolencced]

i spend more time in hospitals and doctors offices than i do anywhere else this is violent homophobia

[anyab]

Via NasAlSudan

December 17 2023. #KeepEyesOnSudan #SudanActionWeek

Swipe through to build a foundational understanding of the war, its origins, and the key players involved. For actionable ways to support those in Sudan, check the link in our bio. Stay tuned for more posts this week.

Transcript:

National:

On April 15, a war broke out in Sudan's capital city of Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Since then, eight months of conflict has led to major destruction of Khartoum's infrastructure, the most developed region of Sudan, with fighting also spreading to the regions of Darfur in the west and Kordofan in the south.

Civilians in conflict zones have been forcibly displaced, under threat of physical and sexual violence, particularly by the RSF, which has looted, destroyed, and settled in people's homes.

Regional:

In the western region of Darfur, a campaign of ethnic cleansing is being carried out by the RSF targeting the Masalit tribe. Allegations of genocide have been levied against the RSF.

Reports have just emerged that fighting has now spread to Wad Madani in Al Gezira state, which houses nearly 500,000 IDPs from Khartoum.

Key figures:

Abdel Fattah al Burhan Head of SAF

Omar El-Bashir Deposed Dictator of Sudan

Mohamed Dagalo (Hemidti) Head of RSF

Transcript:

Sudan: the war in numbers

A humanitarian "catastrophe"

24.7 million in need of critical humanitarian assistance

70-80% of hospitals out of service in conflict areas

19 million children are out of school

20.3 million people acutely food insecure. 4.9 million facing emergency hunger levels

6.7 million displaced [5.4 million IDPS, 1.3 million refugees]

7,000+ cholera cases an increase of +136% over the past month

Transcript:

FAQ - THE SAF

QUESTION 01: What is the SAF?

Stands for the Sudanese Armed Forces

Is the de-facto government of Sudan

Is headed by Lt. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

QUESTION 02 What is their capacity?

Estimated to have ~200,000 personnel and tactical advantage of airforce

Currently control the relative northern and eastern regions of Sudan with functioning capital in Port Sudan (East)

QUESTION 03 Do they have backing and support?

On the international stage, primarily backed by Egypt

Limited weapons supply from allies

Internally, the SAF is ultimately considered the lesser of two evils

Transcript:

FAQ - THE RSF

QUESTION 01 What is the RSF?

Stands for the Rapid Support Forces

Paramilitary group originating from the Janjaweed, Arab tribal militias armed by al-Bashir in 2003 to fight against ethnically African rebel groups in Darfur + carried out 2003 genocide

Is headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemidti)

QUESTION 02 What is their capacity?

Estimated to have 100,000 to 150,000 troops

Winning the ground fight in Khartoum and control 4/5 states in Darfur

QUESTION 03 Do they have backing and support?

On the international stage, primarily backed by the UAE

Have steady weapons supply chain and diversified financial profile with critical assets in UAE and Russia

Transcript:

THE WAR IN SUDAN: CONTEXTUALIZING APRIL 15

(6/1989 - 4/2019) THE BASHIR REGIME

Sudan was under the rule of military dictator Omar Al-Bashir for 30 years, who came to power through an military coup backed by Islamist factions in June of 1989

His time in power was marked by extreme repression, conflict, and economic decline

(12/2018 CURRENT) THE REVOLUTION

In December of 2018, a popular democratic revolution began that eventually unseated al-Bashir on April 11 through the revolt of security sector

Al-Bashir was ultimately replaced by al-Burhan, with Hemidti as his deputy of a Transitional Military Council

Protestors rejected military rule and continued to hold a sit-in outside the military headquarters until its violent dispersal on June 3 of 2019 by the SAF + RSF

Today, the Sudanese people still hope and advocate for freedom from military rule and the transition to democracy

(8/2019-10/2021) TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT

Agreement on transitional government signed between civilian forces and Transitional Military Council on August 17, 2019

Led to formation of joint sovereign council with Abdalla Hamdok as Prime Minister

Transcript:

(10/2021 CURRENT)THE OCT 25, 2021 COUP

Burhan and Hemidti carry out military coup overthrowing civilian counterparts

They draw power from international legitimization despite prolonged mass protests in Sudan

(12/2022) THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

In December of 2022, civilians put out a framework agreement signed onto by SAF and RSF + civil society groups and political parties meant to return to a transitional government

Key part of agreement: question of integration of the RSF into the SAF

Parties were to finalize the agreement and sign on April 1; RSF and SAF ultimately disagreed on integration timeline with RSF wanting 10 years and the SAF wanting 2

(12/2022-4/2023) THE LEAD UP TO APRIL 15

As framework agreement negotiations failed, both parties began mobilizing troops in capital of Khartoum in days leading up to April 15

Residents of Khartoum awoke to the sounds of gunfire on April 15 and by noon, the RSF had seized Meroe airport in the Northern state

Conflict today considered a battle for power between the two generals they are too far in to walk back

Transcript:

FRAMING ALLIANCES

Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF):

Egypt

Israel (Foreign Ministry)

Islamists

Iran

Saudi Arabia

Ukraine (SOF)

Armed Groups

Rebel groups that had taken up arms against the central government in the Bashir Era are forced to ally with the SAF due to the RSF's ethnic cleansing campaign. They include:

Justice and Equality Movement (Gibril Ibrahim)

Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (Minni Minawi)

Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces (Abdallah Yahya)

Rapid Support Forces (RSF):

Israel (Mossad)

Libya (Khalifa Haftar)

United Arab Emirates

Central African Republic

Russia (Wagner Group)

Chad

Arab Tribal Leaders

Arab tribal leaders across the Western region of Darfur have pledged their allegiance and support to the RSF, with members of the tribes across the Sahel crossing into Sudan to join the RSF's assault as well.

Key tribes include: Beni Halba, Tarjam, Habaniya, Fallata, Misseriya, Taaysha, Rizeigat

Transcript:

IS THERE AN END IN SIGHT?

THE STATE OF NEGOTIATIONS

Effort: JEDDAH TALKS [MAY]

Parties involved: Externally: United States, Saudi Arabia Internally: SAF, RSF

Outcome: Discussed humanitarian ceasefire; signed Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan - Failed

Effort: INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY ON DEVELOPMENT (IGAD) [JULY]

Parties Involved: Externally: Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, South Sudan Internally: RSF

Outcome: Proposed peacekeeping troops to ensure humanitarian corridor - Rejected

Effort: CAIRO TALKS (NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES) [JULY]

Parties Involved: Externally: Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, CAR, Libya Internally: SAF, RSF

Outcome: Discussed lasting ceasefire, safe humanitarian passage, political dialogue framework - Failed

Effort: JEDDAH TALKS [OCTOBER]

Parties Involved: Externally: United States, Saudi Arabia Internally: SAF, RSF

Outcome: Discussed lasting ceasefire, safe humanitarian passage, political dialogue framework - Failed

Effort: IGAD + AFRICAN UNION (AU) [DECEMBER]

Parties Involved: Externally: IGAD, EU, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United States Internally: SAF (Burhan in person), RSF

Outcome: Agreed to a face-to-face meeting in late December and ceasefire; SAF later issued a retraction - Ongoing

Transcript:

The conflict in Sudan calls for the collective support of all to raise awareness about the war and aid the Sudanese people on the ground, especially when we live in nations that have been complicit in the oppression of the Sudanese people. Explore the options below and share with others. For more information, check the link in our bio.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

EDUCATE YOURSELF

Deepen your knowledge about Sudan, empowering yourself with insights into the complexities of the situation.

DONATE

Extend a helping hand to Sudan by generously donating to individuals or grassroots organizations on the ground.

CONTACT YOUR REPS.

Amplify your impact by contacting your representatives, advocating for positive change.

[cashmeremars]

𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 || 𝐦.𝐥

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: mark lee x non-idol!reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you miss Mark, but he’s busy with work and you’re busy with school, so your relationship lives through a computer screen.

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluff, established relationship, semi-secret relationship, mark sings you to sleep :(

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.3k

𝐚/𝐧: soft boyfriend mark is the only mark that matters. i’ve had this in my drafts since 2018...

11:48 pm

12 more minutes until you’d get to see him again. 

You sighed as rays of blue light danced on your skin. You hadn’t heard from Mark in 2 weeks. His schedule had gotten so hectic preparing for the Dream comeback and the 127 tour, he hardly had time to think, let alone call you. Mark’s absence was difficult, but it was understandable. He was doing what he loved, even if it meant being sleep-deprived, overworked, and under-appreciated. You hated how the idol life took its toll on him, but he constantly reassured you that he was fine. 

With bags under his eyes, ever-so-slightly slumped shoulders, and a jitter in his fingers, he told you he was fine. So you told him you believed him, even though it split your heart in two to watch him suffer. You never wanted to pry because it might stress him out to really talk about his feelings, so the time you spent together was treated like an escape from reality; An escape from fame for Mark, and an escape from academia for you. 

Mark would tell you about a funny thing that Haechan did in the dorms, or read you a poem he had written while in the car heading to dance practice. Your favourite was when he would bring out his guitar and pluck haphazard melodies as you watched him through the screen. Then Mark would ask you about your day, and you’d tell him about the quaint little cafe you stumbled into after an exam, or the squirrels that you fed at the bus stop on your way to school. 

The few times that Mark would actually tell you about his NCT activities, he’d rave about how amazing tour practice has been, and how he wanted you in the crowd with him. On those days, you’d have to remind Mark that you couldn’t be anywhere near his professional activities because the chances of one of you slipping up and giving nosy fans or intruding journalists a reason to speculate Mark’s romantic life were too high. 

Then you’d fall into a suffocating silence until one of you changed the subject. 

11:58 pm

2 more minutes until you’d get to see him again.

Your heart melted into the floor as you tussled with the wires of your earphones. Should’ve just bought those Airpods, you thought to yourself. You opened up your laptop, hands shaking as you navigated toward the Facetime app. A green dot appeared next to your laptop camera, and you stared into your reflection. You analyzed the background presented on the screen with a sigh. Your room was a mess. Worse than it usually was. You pushed yourself out of your desk chair, practically sprinting around your bedroom trying to make it seem presentable. Mark had seen your bedroom in every manifestation, from organized to sloppy, but it had never been this bad. 

You tossed the dirty clothes laying on your bed into a hamper before adjusting your duvet. Your textbook sat open on your pillow, reminding you that you’d have to finish whatever chapter you were on once you were done indulging in fantasyland with Mark. You threw your bookmark into the bind of the textbook before slamming it closed. Reality could wait until tomorrow morning. The stuffed panda Mark gave you leaned on your headboard, greeting you with its permanent smile. Mark won the stuffed animal for you at a carnival in Chicago when he was on tour. He told you that the moment he saw it, he knew he had to win it for you. 45 minutes and $60 later, the panda was looped under Mark’s arm for the entirety of the tour until he was finally able to bring it back home to you. 

12:00 am

Your ears perked at the unmistakable melody ringing from your laptop. 

[Mark <3 is calling]

Your feet carried you to your computer in what felt like half a second. You plopped down onto your chair, fixing your hair before putting in your earphones and navigating toward the answer button.

“Yeobooooo,” Mark’s voice flooded your ears, allowing a riptide to form in your heart.

“Maaaarrrk,” you reply as the corners of your mouth began to upturn. You felt your cheeks warm up at the sight of Mark. He was dressed in an oversized grey hoodie, with flat hair, and his round glasses. You loved when he wore his glasses. You’d always teased him, calling it harry potter cosplay, but he was undeniably adorable. 

“Oh, God, you don’t even know how much I’ve missed you. I’ve been talking about you so much that Johnny actually banned me from talking about you,” Mark chuckled, “$2 fine every time I mention your name,” Mark explained. You felt your heart flutter knowing that Mark missed you as much as you missed him.

“Tell me about it. My friends groan whenever I bring you up when we’re hanging out on campus. I’ve been insufferable without you,” you sigh.

“Glad to know we’re in the same boat.” Mark’s hearty laugh warms your ears. “How’s school?” he continues. 

“It’s fine. Just the usual; tests, quizzes, labs, annoying professors, blah, blah. How’s idol life?” You ask.

“Same old. Dance practice, recordings, youtube content, variety shows, same as it always is,” Mark’s reply matches yours, embodying the mutual frustration with the repetitive monotony of your lives that you both feel. 

“I get it. It’s nice seeing you for a change, even if I’m technically not actually seeing you. I like hearing your voice.” You fiddle with your earphone wires.

“Yeah, I wish I could reach through the screen and just be there with you. I’ve really missed seeing you in person. Hearing your laugh, the way your nose crinkles, how warm your hugs always are,” Mark trails. You couldn’t help but smile at his words. You missed him more than you’d ever missed anyone. 

“Yeah, it sucks a lot. You know, at one point I started listening to those ASMR phone call things on youtube that your fans make of you. They’re actually quite well done,” You confess, opting to stare at your laptop keys instead of Mark.

“ASMR phone calls? I didn’t even know those existed,” he replied. He sounded more amused than weirded out. Mark was never judgemental, especially when it came to you. 

“Oh, well you do now I guess.” 

“I guess I need to record one of our phone calls so I have something to listen to as well,” Mark joked.

“I’ve sent you like 200 voice recordings in the past, though,” you laugh. Whenever something happened at school and you didn’t feel like typing, you would send Mark voice recordings of you detailing the events that had occurred. Mark always preferred those as he felt as though he were having a real-life conversation with you. 

“Oh yeah. I hadn’t even thought about that. I’ve just been suffering without your voice for no reason.” Mark pushed up his glasses. “Hey, is that the panda I got you?” He says as he leans further into his laptop camera to peek more into your bedroom. 

“Of course. I’ve kept it on my bed since you gave it to me. It still sort of smells like you,” You say as you get up from your chair and walk toward the panda.

“Probably because it was in my suitcase for like 2 months before I could give it to you,” Mark laughs. You give the panda a squeeze before walking back to your chair, placing the panda on your lap.

“I like it. It feels like you’re here even when you’re across the world,” You gaze at the panda once more. Noting how its right ear has started to flop down with time. 

“When do I get to see you?” Mark asks, adjusting the hood of his sweater.

“I’ve got three more weeks until the semester ends,” You say as you glance quickly at the calendar hung above your desk. 

“I’ve got three more weeks until the tour starts,” He sighs.

“So that gives us… 2 days?” You squint.

“2 days,” Mark confirmed.

“Is that enough time?” Your fingers start to tinker with the leg of the stuffed panda.

“If you’re willing to be a night owl, then it should be perfect,” He replied, running his hand through his dark hair. 

You and Mark hardly ever hung out during the day because of the risk of fans or sasaengs spotting you in public. So you’d usually hang out through the middle of the night, hanging out in parks, taking walks through your neighbourhood, or sneaking him into your house so you could watch movies together. It wasn’t ideal, but just being with him was enough. 

“I think it’ll work,” you smile. 

“Oh! Do you wanna hear something I’ve been working on?” Mark perks up, looking around his desk for a moment before locking eyes with something off-screen. 

“Of course.” You straighten your posture in your seat, anticipating whatever Mark has stored for you. Mark reaches over until his body is out of frame. He returns with his acoustic guitar in hand. 

“Okay, it’s a work in progress, and I don’t really have any lyrics for it, but I thought the melody was cool.” Mark begins strumming the guitar, closing his eyes as he allowed the melody to float from his fingers. 

It was beautiful. The melody was soft and sweet, a contrast to most of 127’s songs. He began humming along to the guitar, possibly singing what he imagined the lyrics should sound like. The song was pretty, even through the slightly muffled audio from your earphones. You leaned your head into your hands, watching him get lost in his music. It was amazing to watch him. You could only hope to find something that made you feel half as passionate as Mark was with music. His sleepless nights were worth everything in the world if it meant he got to create music. 

“How was that?” He asks, opening his eyes to gauge your reaction. 

“It was perfect, Mark.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow at you. He was always so hypercritical of his own work. 

“Yeah, I really loved it.” you nod, “Do you know what you want the song to be about?” You continued. 

“Yeah. I think I want to make it a love song about a boy who meets a radiant girl that he can’t stop thinking about,” Mark looks at you expectantly, holding back his signature ping-pong giggle. 

“Would it be a stretch to assume that the song is about me?” you raise your eyebrows at him. 

“Not a stretch at all. The song is absolutely about you,” Mark’s smile seems to warm the atmosphere of your room. 

“So, would you release it with the group?” you glance at the mini NCT poster decorating your wall. 

“I think I would want it to be a solo song.” He tilts his head, quirking his eyebrows. 

“A solo?” your voice perks.

“Yeah, I mean if that ever happens again. I feel like it would be refreshing compared to the concept that I currently have going on.” Mark motions with his hands.

“I agree. The duality of man,” you joke. 

“And it’ll be like our secret special song or something. Only we would know that it’s about us,” He continues. 

“Well, us and the rest of your bandmates would know,” you say. 

“Right,” He smooths out the sleeve of his hoodie. 

“I really like watching you perform, Mark.” you lean closer to your camera, watching the way Mark becomes bashful under your gaze. 

“Thank you,” he whispers. His eyes remain locked on his keyboard as he scratched his forehead. He always got awkward when you complimented him. 

“I’m really proud of you, Mark. Even if the company takes you for granted, I see the effort you put into everything, and all I can say is that I think you’re phenomenal. You’re so talented, Mark. Everything that you do leaves me in awe,” You continue. 

Mark pauses for a moment, allowing your words to sink in, “I love you,” he replies. 

“I love you too, Mark.” You smile. 

“Do you wanna hear something else?” Mark asks, reaching for his guitar once again. You nod. You bring your knees to your chest, allowing your head to rest on them as you wait for him to start playing his next piece. You spent the next hour joking around, trying to come up with the most absurd lyrics as Mark strummed his guitar.

3:02 am

Your snores peppered Mark’s ears as he watched you through the computer screen. You’d fallen asleep accidentally about 30 minutes ago, but he didn’t have the heart to end the Facetime call because it meant he wouldn’t be able to see you again for a while. Mark placed his guitar on the floor before reaching for his phone. Your upper body was still in the frame as your head was leaning onto the desk. He could see the soft rise and fall of your shoulders through the pixelated screen. Mark always thought you were adorable when you slept. Your cheeks always puffed up and your mouth would twitch occasionally. Mark opened his camera app, laughing to himself as he zoomed in on your sleeping face. He snapped 3 photos before he started looking through them. Mark laughed again as he clicked on his favourite photo, making it your new contact photo. He sent the same photo as a text message to you, as a fun surprise for when you wake up. He closed his phone, opting to look at you once more. She looks peaceful, he thought to himself. The stress of school-work or exams didn’t matter to you when you were in slumber, and it made Mark’s heart swell. All he wanted was for you to be happy. Mark takes off his glasses, placing them down as he lays his head on his desk, mimicking your position.

“Good night,” he sighs, joining you in sleep.

masterlist

fic recs

[cheriladycl01]

The Deeper Connection - Zhou Guanyu x ChildhoodBestfriend! Reader

Plot: You made friends with Zhou when he first came to the UK to pursue his driving career, and you were like two pee's in a pod. When he reaches F1 and life gets busy for the both of you he finds solitude in your childhood hideout.

A/N: I haven't been that active lately with finals coming up, however I'm still trying to post regularly!

Credit to rbrhater for the GIF

You'd grown up in Sheffield all your life, you lived in a very nice home and came from a pretty well off family. With a dad in oversea real estate and your mum as a business owner and entrepreneur in the UK you wouldn't ever have to ask for anything twice.

The trouble was that you tried out so many hobbies and none of them really tended to stick.

Ballet when you were at three, didn't work with zero hand to eye coordination.

Horse-riding when you were five, didn't work after you got bored with how slowly you were being taught to ride.

Acting school when you were seven, didn't work when you were bullied for only being there because of mummy and daddies money. This completely made you loose your passion for it.

Swimming when you were eight, which you had to stop because of a medical condition with the cold water in the winters and your body temperature not mixing well.

Space camp when you were nine, didn't work because you were bored where you already knew everything they talked to you about because it was a special interest of yours.

Pottery when you were ten, whenever something broke you got really disappointed and sad with yourself and eventually it became something you only did every now and then to avoid burnout.

Gymnastics when you were eleven, didn't work after getting bored within the first weeks and it taking up too much time.

You were 12 when you met Zhou Guanyu, he moved into a house down your road in the gated woodland community of large and wealthy farm homes and mansions.

You guys became close almost straight away, you'd spend every night in the treehouse that his dad built him when they first moved in. But he wasn't always around, some weekends you'd knock on his door and no-one but the maid would answer explaining that the family weren't around.

She'd let you into the house, where you'd wait for him in either his bedroom or out in the treehouse. Sometimes he wouldn't come back until 10pm, and you'd be curled up on his beanbag in his room, asleep and his parents would have to call yours suggesting yet another sleepover.

After 3 years of knowing him, you found out where he'd been going and why he was home schooled just like you. He would kart, but now he'd got into Italian Formula 4 and he wouldn't be home as much.

You'd cried begging him not to go, Zhou really was your only friend and even though it had only been three years of friendship you'd attached yourself to him insanely quickly.

Not that he minded of course.

Your managed to go see one race with him, it was in Monza and he'd won it all. And that weekend he asked you to be his girlfriend. You of course said yes, as a two giddy sixteen year olds and went on from there.

The distance got easier when he was in the European Formula 3 championship in 2016. You being 17 weren't actually allowed to make your own choices yet, but the minute you turned 18, 5 months after Zhou, you were following him around to each race.

At this stage taking a gap year before you were due to go to university was better for you, and Zhou. In 2018, he got the news he'd be going to Formula 2 for the 2019 and you'd been accepted to Oxford.

For that first year you made it work. You visited him at races when you had breaks from university and he would come stay with you in your small uni accommodation in the off season or when he had longer breaks into between races.

But when 2020 rolled around, and you were forced to be separated by the growth of COVID-19 your relationship fizzled out. You pushed and pushed trying to keep the sparks there but one day, Zhou phoned you explaining that he couldn't do it anymore.

You'd cried so much that day, and you'd never felt more alone. The only place you thought to go that was safe was the tree house, you could get there through the side gate and you knew Zhou's parents were in China on business only leaving the maid there.

So that's what you did, you laid there curled up in a blanket Zhou brought you, crying until it got darked and you started to scare yourself looking into the dark woods.

When you were younger and you thought you heard or saw something in the woods, Zhou would hold you close explaining to you it was just your imagination and you'd immediately feel a sense of calm wash over you.

You left the treehouse that night getting on the last train you could think off back to Oxford.

Zhou continued in F2 in 2021, but got progressively more busy when competing in a small stint of the Winter F3 Asian Championship, of course you kept up to date with him.

You loved the boy and you didn't ever think you'd stop.

When the announcement of his promotion into F1 happened you cried happy and sad tears. Happy he'd achieved his dream, but ultimately sad he was in the big leagues now and he would definitely have no time for you.

He had a phenomenal first year and you watched every single race, even getting up at absurd hours to watch him. You cheered him on all the time and would get anxious whenever you had to stop or DNF.

Silverstone with the Russell incident was the worst. You parents had to hold you tightly as you cried seeing just how bad the crash was. Seeing George run over to his flipped over car that he couldn't get out of and a red flag being called.

You ran out the house going straight to the treehouse. His parents watched as the 22 year old climbed up the old rickety ladder, bag in hand and red bloodshot eyes.

They knew you'd seen his crash and you wanted some space.

What did shock them was the fact that you consistently came back every night for a few weeks.

It was a warmer night and you still had your blanket but there wasn't a need for a hoodie when you first came out. You were just laying there on the wooden planks looking out of the little skylight in the breaking wooden roof at the stars.

"Hey" a voice says softly making you turn to the ladder.

"Zhou?!" you explain sitting up quickly looking at him. Not that you hadn't seen him on Instagram or in his post race interviews but he'd grown into his face. He was as handsome as ever.

"Mmmmm" he sighs, almost in a grunt sort of way. He comes next to you and lays down, not coming to close scared that you'll leave if he pushes to close.

"Your star is up there tonight" he says raising his hand and pointing to the brightest star between the tree line. He'd named it your star when you'd spend the first night out here.

"How's it been, travelling round the world?" you ask softly turning to look at him, laying on your side. He turns onto his as well to also look at you.

"Lonely" he whispers with a sigh, pushing some of you hair behind your ear making you hold you breath as his fingers brush along the side of you face and down to your lips before recoiling his hand back.

"But your so busy and round people all the time!" you argue confused as to why he would ever feel lonely.

"I think sometimes even though I'm surrounded by people, they aren't people that get me... you know?" he asks turning onto his back, looking up at the sky.

"I think i feel the opposite" you laugh.

"What do you mean?" he asks, his gaze not wavering from the sky.

"I feel like i have absolutely no-one around me, but everyone i do bump into can see right through me" you sigh, having struggled at work recently as a graduate and new employee, working from home.

"Seems like we both are out of our comfort zones then" he offers with a sigh.

"Mmmmm i did have my comfort zone at one point" you say, it came out pointedly which you didn't intend.

"Yeah?" he asks, looking over at you again.

"Yeah it was you. I don't think I've ever experienced a connection like I have... had with you" you sigh.

"Had, you don't feel that way anymore?" he asks with a sad frown, that makes a frown of you own appear.

"You broke up with me in one of the loneliest periods in my life, It's always just been you Zhou, I've never had anyone else and then you were just gone ... I- you broke me and took a part with you" you sniffle, not sure how else to describe the heartbreak you were feeling.

Some people had their heart broken, where it would splinter all over and someone would come along and patch it back up until it healed.

Some people had their heart broken, where it would completely shatter and all the pieces are spread out and someone has to come along and pick up all of those pieces and puzzle them back together.

Some people have their heart broken, where it again completely shatters but the culprit takes a piece of that heart with them so that if theirs a time when someone else does come around and fix it it's never fully fixed, beating but never full.

And Zhou had that piece of your heart and no-one had put back the remaining parts of your heart, you'd gradually started to do it yourself but it was proving to be a long process.

"I-" he starts but chokes on his words.

"I think, I'll always love you Zhou Guanyu..." you whisper sitting up, your hair loosely falling over your shoulder.

"I know I'll always love you. And I want to take back everything I did! I need you in my life!" he says looking over you, making you look down.

"You cant take it back Zhou..." you start before looking up seeing his teary expression. "But i think we could start again. I don't want my heart back, it's yours to take... all of it forever. Your only going to be it!" you smile, knowing this was your chance to have him back.

He was your soulmate you were sure of it.

He leans up and pulls you into a kiss.

"I promise from here on out, I'll never leave you again again!"

Taglist:

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[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not contacting my best friend of 10+ years in 3 years almost?

I (16f) haven't talked to my friend (18f) at all in almost 2 years now. Last time I texted her was probably December 2022? Just a stupid little "Merry Christmas" message on Insta. We meet when I was 4 or 5 (I don't remember for sure) because we lived on the same street. Throughout our friendship I was homeschooled and she started being homeschooled later on (10 I think). When she was 11 she moved about 20 minutes away and my mom would still drive me over, all was good. Then when I was 10 I moved 45-60 minutes away and I still went to see her, but instead of everyday it was like every week or two. Now I've been away for 6 years (obviously) but I visited her up until 2018-2019 area. Then I kept texting until 2022. Then I stopped texting cause I felt like I was always starting the conversation instead of her, which I know now I probably should've just told her how I was feeling but I was an angsty awkward 14 year old who was ✨️going through some shit✨️. Anyways, she never texted me. Not even on my birthday (even though I texted her on her's every year since I got a phone) and it's not like she could've forgotten easily, my birthday is two weeks before her's. To add to things, the past few years when I started figuring out I was queer, I realized I may have had a little crush on her. I hadn't ever been exposed to a lot of queer things as a kid so I didn't realize until 11-12 what it even was let alone that I was allowed to feel that for another girl. I want to contact her again, I really fucking want to. Not even to try and act on my crush, I doubt she ever thought of me like that, but just to be her friend again.

So, Tumblr, AITA?

TL;DR I fucked up my friendship of 10+ years by not contacting her, but she didn't contact me either.

P.S. I left out some details so hopefully she doesn't realize it's us, last I knew she didn't have Tumblr (though, she could say the same about me) but still I think all the important details are here. Thanks.

What are these acronyms?

[trashsketch]

Alright! I wanna talk about my thought process behind this crazy detailed piece I made for the hxh adventures zine in 2018! Get ready for plenty of closeups and references.

So the @hxhadventures zine was the very first fandom zine I've ever been accepted in, which was huge for me back then, considering hxh is the first ever fandom I've been deeply involved in! So I was like 'damn...i gotta bust my balls to make a super good piece cause there's so many amazing artists working on this thing.' I will never make a piece this detailed again, probably LOL this took me...so many weeks.

I knew I wanted to make something regarding Yorknew City, and thought back to the marketplace that Leorio and Killua and Gon visited while waiting for Kurapika to get back to them. It reminded me a lot of Mongkok's markets when I visited Hong Kong a few years prior, so I worked with some references from there.

As for what goods would be sold in the stall...well. I was really figuring it out all as I went. After a while of thinking, I decided on drawing a bunch of little references from anything I could remember from hxh. References to characters, places, important props...nevermind that it didn't make sense that the characters were stepping into a shop that was basically meta, it just felt cool as hell to include anything I could remember from the nights when I binged the manga and anime.

Let's start from the top right:

These chinese animal lanterns are references to the 12 zodiacs! And I had to include the blimps that the main cast moved around in from the anime.

As we move lower:

Top row, left to right: Knuckle's nen, Shoot's nen, Knov's glasses, Palm's necklace of knives, Togashi and Naoko dog and rabbit bags (the first of 3 instances I would place them in this drawing)

Bottom row, left to right: Bisky's nen, Netero's nen, Morel's pipe, Kite's nen.

And on the rest of the rows on the wall:

From top to bottom, left to right:

Row 1: Pitou, Pouf, Youfi, Komugi, Meruem, various Gungi tiles

Row 2: Kurapika's nen (the rest of his finger chains from the manga), Leorio's nen (the fist that he used to punch Ging with), Gon's nen (since it's based off jankenpon), Killua's nen (just a lightning bolt lmao), Palm's crystal ball, Hisoka's cards

Row 3: Togashi dog, Naoko rabbit, a (very tiny) representation of the W and E books from dark continent expedition arc, the starting tower of Greed Island, the Hunter symbol.

Row 4: Black whale ship, Heaven's arena tower, I...forgot what this tree was meant to be LOL, the World tree that Gon climbs to see Ging, 1999 anime hunter license, 2011 anime hunter license.

Moving on lower! We have:

Top row: Togashi and Naoko again as plushies, the Greed Island book, a postcard of Whale Island, the Greed Island end prize card case.

Bottom row: Various characters as dolls, a reference to Hisoka viewing everyone as dolls.

And now on the bottom right:

Some of these are various plushies from Alluka's room (it was mostly filler)

And last, but not least:

On the left we have a hookah pipe, because Kurapika was smoking it in the 1999 anime:

And the ring that Gon is pointing at is the ring that they later used as a prize for Leorio's plan!

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

“Forced marriage — in which one or both parties do not give full, free consent — is recognized globally as a form of modern slavery. My story is far from unique: Around the world, 22 million people were in a forced marriage as of 2021.

Yet, even though the United States acknowledges that forced marriage is a human rights abuse, few laws and policies are in place to prevent or punish it, and the nation has paid such scant attention to this issue that we do not even know how often forced marriage happens here. 

What’s more, child marriage remains legal in most U.S. states, even though it is recognized as a form of forced marriage and a human rights abuse. Some 300,000 children were married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018, mostly girls wed to adult men. At least 60,000 marriages occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime.”

Note: The following essay contains descriptions of sexual assault and abuse.

They sent me off to be raped, with a party and a tube of K-Y Jelly.

The lubricant was to reduce the intense physical pain they explained I would endure while being penetrated by a stranger-turned-husband, without foreplay, without consent. Every month. Until death do us part.

The party — a low-budget wedding in 1995 at a Brooklyn venue aptly nicknamed Armpit Terrace — was to distract me from the horrific reality of my forced marriage to the stranger.

“Mazel tov!” they told me, beaming.

In the reclusive Orthodox Jewish community in New York City where I grew up, choices about whether, when and whom I would marry did not belong to me. At home and at the all-girls religious school I attended, where I learned to cook and sew and keep house, I was groomed from early childhood to expect a teen marriage to a stranger my family and a matchmaker would choose for me.

I was allowed to meet the stranger several times before my engagement, but I was not allowed to be alone with him nor to have any physical contact with him. I was a clueless 19-year-old who had never been allowed to “talk to a boy,” and suddenly I was given a matter of hours, over a period of a few weeks, to answer my family and his family and the matchmaker and everyone in the community standing there, tapping their feet, looking at their watches, waiting for me to tell them: You’ll marry this man we chose for you, right?

“No” was never really an option.

During my six-week engagement, I still was not allowed to be alone with the groom nor to have any physical contact with him, which left more time for me to begin experiencing the myriad other abuses that come with a forced marriage.

First, a virginity exam. The groom’s rabbi sent me to an Orthodox Jewish gynecologist, where I was instructed to disrobe, get on the examination table and put my feet in the stirrups. The doctor inserted her gloved fingers into my vagina and confirmed that my hymen was intact.

“Mazel tov!” she told me, beaming.

I attended one-on-one bridal classes, where the curriculum centered on the requirement that I have unprotected sex with my husband on my wedding night and on a monthly basis thereafter. A lifetime of rape.

Yes, the rapes probably would hurt, the bridal class teacher explained. Hence the K-Y Jelly.

“Mazel tov!” she told me, beaming.

My stranger-turned-husband turned out to be violent and abusive. I learned this exactly one week after our wedding, when he became enraged because he had woken up late, and he punched his fist through the wall — hard enough to leave a sizable hole. 

His first threat to kill me came only days later. Soon these threats became more frequent, specific and gruesome. He was brimming with creative ideas for how he would end my life, and he took the time to describe them to me in vivid detail. A lifetime of fear.

Yet I was trapped.

My forced marital sex was carefully timed each month for when I was ovulating. The reason for this was obvious: My first child was born 11 months after my wedding, and soon I had a second child.

I love my daughters, but I did not consent to having them. A lifetime of forced parenthood.

This denial of sexual and reproductive rights was not the only shackle preventing me from leaving my marriage. My husband did not allow me to have my own bank account or credit card, and I was taught that, under Orthodox Jewish law, if my husband allowed me to work, any money I earned belonged to him. A lifetime of domestic servitude and financial dependence.

I had limited legal rights too. Under Orthodox Jewish law, only a man can grant a divorce. I, as a woman, did not have the legal right to end my own marriage. A lifetime of being locked in unwanted wedlock.

One escape route for me would have been to move back in with my family as an agunah, a “chained woman” who is bound to a husband who refuses her a divorce. The life of an agunah is brutal; she is shamed for her powerlessness, blamed for her failed marriage and treated as an outcast. 

But even this dreadful escape route was closed to me, because my family refused to take me back in. A lifetime of betrayal.

So I remained trapped in my abusive forced marriage. In accordance with Orthodox Jewish law, I was considered “unclean” every time I menstruated. While I was “unclean,” I was prohibited from having physical contact with my husband, sleeping in the same bed as him, handing him anything or undressing or singing in front of him. A lifetime of shame.

Once my period ended, I needed to count seven “clean” days without any menstrual blood, during which time the rules against physical contact continued. To make sure I stayed “clean” for the full seven days, I was required to wear white panties and, twice a day, to insert a white cloth into my vagina, swish it around and inspect it in sunlight to make sure it did not have blood spots. If I found questionable marks on my panties and could not tell whether they were blood, the rabbi would inspect them and give his pronouncement.

And the rabbi would keep my panties. A lifetime of extreme patriarchy.

Each month, after the seven “clean” days, I was forced to strip naked in front of an attendant who watched me immerse in a mikvah, or a ritual bath of rainwater, which frequently left me with a yeast infection and always left me shaking uncontrollably. A lifetime of violation. 

All I wanted, every time I left the mikvah, was to take a hot shower and scrub the violation off me. That was prohibited. Instead I was required to go home and have nonconsensual sex with the man who had spent the day describing to me in graphic detail how he was going to murder me. The man who would not let me close the door when I used the bathroom, because “what was I hiding from him in there?”

No matter. I had to get on the bed and spread my legs and forget what had happened to me at the mikvah and ignore the pain while I waited for him to finish, and I had to remind myself how lucky I was that he usually was done after only three or four thrusts. A lifetime straight out of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Forced marriage — in which one or both parties do not give full, free consent — is recognized globally as a form of modern slavery. My story is far from unique: Around the world, 22 million people were in a forced marriage as of 2021.

Yet, even though the United States acknowledges that forced marriage is a human rights abuse, few laws and policies are in place to prevent or punish it, and the nation has paid such scant attention to this issue that we do not even know how often forced marriage happens here. 

What’s more, child marriage remains legal in most U.S. states, even though it is recognized as a form of forced marriage and a human rights abuse. Some 300,000 children were married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018, mostly girls wed to adult men. At least 60,000 marriages occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime.

My husband would regularly search through my personal belongings in front of me, including in the pockets of the clothing in my closet and in my bag of tampons under the bathroom sink. A lifetime of subjugation. When I finally realized at age 27 that I was the only person who would help me leave my abusive forced marriage alive and I decided I would secretly save up cash for my escape, I found the only safe hiding place in the house: a box of Whole Grain Total in the pantry.

I saved more than $40,000 in that cereal box over the next five years.

During those years I also defied my community and did something no one in my family had ever done: I became a college student. My husband forbade me from attending classes. I informed him, calmly, that nothing he did to me would stop me from getting my education.

And I did something no one I knew had ever done: I threw out the limp, ugly wig I was required to wear as a married woman to cover my own thick, healthy hair. I walked outside with my uncovered head held high — the equivalent, in that community, of walking outside naked.

My family retaliated immediately by shunning me. One of my sisters notified me that my family was planning to sit shiva — or observe the Jewish mourning ritual for me — as if I had literally died. I have had almost no contact with my family since that day. A lifetime of being dead.

But I graduated from Rutgers University (as commencement speaker, the equivalent of valedictorian) at age 32, and I escaped my abusive forced marriage on my own, with my daughters and my box of Total. I fled the Orthodox Jewish community too, and I rebuilt my life.

In 2011 I founded a nonprofit organization, Unchained At Last, to combat forced and child marriage in the U.S. through direct services and systems change.

The U.S. is one of 193 countries that agree forced and child marriage are harmful practices, particularly for women and girls, and have promised to eliminate these abuses by year 2030 to help achieve gender equality, under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Yet the U.S. is not on track to keep its promise. 

I refuse to accept this. Not after I escaped my lifetime of oppression.

We at Unchained are fighting back by providing crucial wraparound services to a long-ignored population: those who are fleeing an existing or impending forced marriage in the U.S. To date we have provided legal and social services, always for free, to nearly 1,000 individuals, to help give them a lifetime of dignity, safety and hope.

We also started a national movement to end child marriage. In the last few years, our groundbreaking research and relentless advocacy have allowed us to help change the law in 10 U.S. states to ban child marriage — a stunning victory for the 7.5 million girls who live in those 10 states — and we are working on the other 40.

A lifetime of preventing other lifetimes of rape.

“Mazel tov!” I now tell myself, beaming, with each triumphant step closer to ending forced and child marriage in the U.S.

Fraidy Reiss is a forced marriage survivor turned activist. She is the founder and executive director of Unchained At Last, a survivor-led nonprofit organization working to end forced and child marriage in the U.S. through direct services and systems change. Fraidy’s research and writing on forced and child marriage have been published extensively, making her one of the nation’s foremost experts on these abuses. She has been featured in books (including as one of the titular women in Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s “The Book of Gutsy Women”), films and countless television, radio and print news stories.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch.

[harrysfolklore]

Def Dua!! i feel her and Harry would get on so well irl 😹

this is definitely one of my favorite works i’ve ever done ! i hope you like it as much as i do

all the amazing and beautiful manips here were made by @wannawhispa who’s the coolest and most talented ever

if you want exclusive blurbs SUBSCRIBE TO MY PATREON

ask me anything | masterlist | likes and reblogs are appreciated !

2013

liked by harrystyles, niallhoran and 298,736 others

yourinstagram MY ALBUM JUST HIT #1 IN THE UK AND I’M OPENING SHOWS FOR ONE DIRECTION NEXT WEEK !!! my life is a dream right now ❤️

view all 32,826 comments

ynfan1 I’M SO PROUD OF YOU !!

niallhoran Ayeeee welcome abroad !

onedirectionfan1 i can’t wait to see you at my show

harrystyles Soooo excited ! :)

ynfan2 she’s getting so big in the industry, i’m proud

liked by onedirectionfan1, onedirectionfan2 and 3,827 others

onedirectionnews Harry sent a message for YN’s sister Rina !

view all 964 comments

onedirectionfan1 my babyyyy

ynfan1 i love their friendship

onedirectionfan2 best duooo

ynfan2 i love them

liked by ynfan1, ynfan2 and 1,726 others

ynupdates YN during her set in Belfast tonight ! #TakeMeHomeTour

view all 327 comments

ynfan1 my babyyy

onedirectionfan1 her set was so good

ynfan2 she’s gaining sooo many fans

onedirectionfan2 i love her songs i’m definitely becoming a fan

liked by niallhoran, yourinstagram and 1,026,763 others

harrystyles Ready to go on stage.

view all 42,642 comments

onedirectionfan1 hi harryyyy

ynfan1 she’s so prettyyyy

niallhoran She’s stealing our spotlight

yourinstagram you annoy me

onedirectionfan2 i love this friendship

2016

liked by harryfan1, harryfan2 and 6,937 others

harryupdates Harry spotted hanging out with YN in London today !

view all 986 comments

harryfan1 OMGGG THE ICONIC DUO IS BACK

ynfan1 a reunion i didn’t know i needed

harryfan2 ahhh they were the best of friends back then remember ?

ynfan2 i’ve always shipped them tbh

liked by harrystyles, selenagomez and 1,037,863 others

yourinstagram bartender of the night 😍

view all 59,973 comments

ynfan1 BEST FRIEND ???

harryfan1 omg are they dating ??

niallhoran My mates ❤️

arianagrande love you angels

ynfan2 the 😍 emoji they’re sooo dating

harryfan2 IT couple already

liked by yourinstagram, nickgrimshaw and 3,937,973 others

harrystyles Happy Birthday, my love x

view all 60,826 comments

harryfan1 AHHHHH

annetwist Happy birthday gorgeous girl ❤️

↳ yourinstagram i love you annie 💖

yourinstagram I love you, angel boy 🤍

ynfan1 AHHH THIS IS GOING TO BE THE IT COUPLE OF THE INDUSTRY

harryfan2 this is like the perfect couple

2017

liked by kaiagerber, yourinstagram and 4,286,863 others

harrystyles HARRY. STYLES. //12.MAY.17//

view all 74,023 comments

harryfan1 OMGGGG HARRYYY

jefezoff 🙌🏻🙌🏻

yourinstagram SO PROUD OF YOU MY LOVE ❤️

ynfan1 around the same time yn is releasing her album, my babies

annetwist ❤️

liked by harrystyles, shawnmendes and 3,927,726 others

yourinstagram all the albums i have to sell in order to kick @harrystyles out of the #1 spot

view all 59,937 comments

ynfan1 PLEASEEE I LOVE THEM

niallhoran 😂😂😂

harryfan1 that’s what happens when the #1 male and female artists in the industry are dating

harrystyles Heeeeeyyyyyy x

↳ harryfan2 i love them so much

jefezoff I’m buying yours

↳ yourinstagram thank you jeffrey

↳ harrystyles If I don’t sell albums we both lose our jobs, mate.

liked by harryfan1, ynfan1 and 4,826 others

harryandyn Harry and YN at the Dunkirk premiere tonight !

view all 964 comments

harryfan1 AHHHH

ynfan1 the IT couple does it again

harryfan2 they looked soooo hot

ynfan2 the fact that the #1 singers in the world are dating will always be so hot

2018

liked by harryfan1, ynfan2 and 6,937 others

ynupdates “He couldn’t be here tonight because he’s currently on the road touring, but I know he would like me to thank you for your giving him this award, and i’m definitely not jealous that he won it over me, they’re going to the same shelf anyway” - YN accepting Harry’s Brit Award for best music video tonight !

view all 985 comments

harryfan1 PLEASEEE

ynfan1 i love them so much

harryfan2 yn won best female artist also they’re really the most successful couple in the industry

ynfan2 THE IT COUPLE

liked by yourinstagram, cindycrawford and 2,880,287 others

harrystyles Hong Kong, Live On Tour.

view all 45,205 comments

harryfan1 SO HOTTT

jefezoff 🙌🏻

yourinstagram I miss you, my angel boy 🤍 I hope you’re enjoying tour

↳ ynfan1 AWEEEE

↳ harrystyles I miss you every day x

↳ harryfan2 they’re disgustingly in love that’s so cute

liked by harrystyles, lizzobeeating and 4,082,873 others

yourinstagram THE ONE THAT I BELONG TO 💖 THANK YOU NYC

view all 95,726 comments

ynfan1 MY BABIES

harryfan1 THE WAY HARRY LOOKS AT HER

shaniatwain Love, love, love ! ❤️

ynfan2 they need to perform together more often

harrystyles Always x

harryfan2 COLLAB

2019

liked by harrystyles, sza and 3,026,837 others

yourinstagram WE TOOK THEM HOME !!! THANK YOU RECORDING ACADEMY 🥲🤍

view all 87,265 comments

ynfan1 IM SUPER PROUD

selenagomez ❤️❤️

harryfan1 i lost my mind when she said “i would love to dedicate this to my angel boy h” THEY’RE SO IN LOVE

harrystyles I’m the proudest guy in the world right now. You deserve this more than anyone, my love. Can’t wait to see those in the shelf x

↳ ynfan1 IM SOBBINGGGGG

niallhoran Congrats my friend 🙌🏻

liked by yourinstagram, maggierogers and 3,220,408 others

harrystyles FINE LINE. THE ALBUM. DEC 13

view all 86,704 comments

harryfan1 OMGGGG

gucci ❤️

ynfan1 SO EXCITING

yourinstagram PINK AND BLUE TIME !! FINE LINE IS COMING

↳ ynfan2 she’s so excited i can’t

annetwist So proud 👏🏻👏🏻

liked by harrystyles, yourinstagram and 298,736 others

latelateshow Spill or Fill? Find out what everyone’s favorite couple went for in the link in our bio. #LateLateStyles

LINK TO THE BLURB ABOUT THE INTERVIEW

view all 15,927 comments

harryfan1 THIS WAS THE BEST THING EVER

harrystyles That was fun, let’s not do it again.

↳ yourinstagram agreed

ynfan1 I LOVE THEM SO MUCH BYE

harryfan2 name a more iconic couple

liked by harrystyles, jennierubyjane and 3,936,863 others

yourinstagram when you find out that you have the #1 album in the world. I LOVE YOU, LOVE OF MY LIFE, i’m so proud of you and i will never have the words. PINK AND BLUE FOREVER 💓💙

view all 72,827 comments

ynfan1 AWEEEE

sza congrats ❤️

harryfan1 i’m crying this is adorable

harrystyles How does it feel to know that an album full of songs about you is #1? x

↳ yourinstagram pretty good tbh, feeds my ego and all

↳ harryfan2 BYE I LOVE THEM

2020

liked by harrystyles, theestallion and 5,927,762 others

yourinstagram MOONLIGHT. THE ALBUM. OUT NOW 🌖🤍

THANK YOU to my team, co-writers and producers for helping me create the album of my dreams.

thank you to my family and friends for supporting me and listening to my endless rants about i wanted to craft the perfect album.

and thank you to my angel boy @.harrystyles, for inspiring me to be the best artist i can and giving me a love to write about.

I HOPE YOU LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I DO

view all 98,625 comments

ynfan1 IM CRYINGGG

dojacat congrats my friend 🖤

harryfan1 saved 2020

harrystyles I’m so proud of you, and I love you. The world already knows how sappy you make me.

↳ ynfan1 if they ever break up i’ll stop believing in love

harryfan2 PINK AND BLUE JUST LIKE FINE LINE

liked by sza, yourinstagram and 6,722,835 others

harrystyles DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. Practice social distancing. Watermelon Sugar Video Out Now.

view all 130,233 comments

harryfan1 BEST VIDEO EVER !!!

yourinstagram SUMMER ANTHEM !! 🧡

↳ ynfan1 girl that song is literally about your goods

jefezoff 🙌🏻🙌🏻

harryfan2 this deserves to be a #1 hit

liked by harrystyles, bellahadid and 5,926,625 others

yourinstagram LISTEN UP KIDS !! h has the chance of hitting #1 on the billboard hot 100 for the first time ever ! stream watermelon sugar so i can be a happy girl with a happy boyfriend 🥰

view all 97,625 comments

ynfan1 YEEES

harryfan1 not yn doing more promo than harry’s team

jefezoff Are you trying to steal my job?

↳ yourinstagram i already did

harrystyles ❤️🍉

annetwist Let’s go 👏🏻

liked by harrystyles, jefezoff and 5,827,762 others

harrystyles You’re the reason why Watermelon Sugar exists. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it #1 x

view all 92,872 comments

harryfan1 IM CRYING

ynfan1 the it couple does it again

yourinstagram this is all YOU my love, you make me and all of us who love you so proud 🥲

↳ harryfan2 she’s so right

gemmastyles The first of so many ❤️

2021

liked by harryfan1, ynfan1 and 302,963 others

mtv Gucci boy and Versace girl have arrived to the red carpet ! ✨ #Grammys2022

view all 23,973 comments

harryfan1 OMG OMG

ynfan1 THEY SLAYED SO HARDDD

emmachamberlain bury me with this

↳ ynfan2 SAME

harryfan2 ugh just look at them, posing for the grammys together with 3 nominations each and ready to slay their performances. THE INDUSTRY’S POWER COUPLE

liked by harryfan1, ynfan1 and 5,826 others

harryupdates Harry and YN at the Grammys !!

view all 956 comments

harryfan1 HE LOOKS SO PROUD

ynfan1 my grammy winners

harryfan2 im so happy him and yn won

ynfan2 i screamed when yn said “i would love to thank harry, even tho i literally just took this win from him” I LOVE THEM

liked by zendaya, harrystyles and 6,937,927 others

yourinstagram GRAMMYS RECAP !! 🤍🦋 i love sharing this moments with you @.harrystyles

view all 102,973 comments

ynfan1 I LOVE THEMMM

taylorswift ❤️

lizzobeeating the loves of my life actually

harryfan1 HARRY CONTENTTT

harrystyles First of so many together x

↳ ynfan2 SO RIGHTTTT

liked by sukiwaterhouse, yourinstagram and 9,620,978 others

harrystyles Grammys, March 2021.

view all 286,907 comments

harryfan1 OMFGGGGG

ynfan1 SO DAMN ICONIC

rosalia.vt ❤️

jefezoff 🥺

harryfan2 you don’t understand they’re the modern brad pitt and jennifer aniston minus the toxic part they’re the moment

mtv We love a couple who breaks the internet ❤️

extra: yn attend’s harry’s msg shows

2022

liked by harryfan1, ynfan2 and 6,862 others

harryandyn Harry at YN’s show in London tonight !

view all 986 comments

harryfan1 his entire family was there too 🥺

ynfan1 that’s why miss girl was extra giggly tonight

harryfan2 his face while she was doing the pretty please dance, same

ynfan2 best couple ever

liked by harrystyles, jennierubyjane and 5,027,635 others

yourinstagram COACHELLA WEEKEND ! ready to support my angel boy 🦋🤍

view all 84,827 comments

ynfan1 SLAYYYY

annetwist Have fun, kids ❤️

harrystyles Butterfly girl x

↳ harryfan1 JUST STOP

bellahadid let’s gooo 🤘🏻

ynfan2 she’s in the middle of her world tour but flew to the states to support him MY BABIES

liked by yourinstagram, maggierogers and 7,659,053 others

harrystyles Harry’s House. Out now.

view all 109,728 comments

harryfan1 BEST ALBUM EVER

ynfan1 i love it already

yourinstagram my boyfriend is the #1 in the game and i’m so proud of him 🥲

↳ harryfan1 AHHHHHH

jefezoff ❤️

harryfan3 my baby i love him

liked by florencepugh, harrystyles and 6,927,762 others

yourinstagram we love movies that feel like movies

view all 85,837 comments

ynfan1 SLAYYYY

florencepugh i love YOU

↳ ynfan2 yn x flo is the ultimate duo

harryfan1 YEEES

gemmachan ❤️

harrystyles You’re my only housewife, sorry Alice

↳ harryfan1 HUH?

↳ ynfan1 HOUSEWIFE? SINCE WHEN?

taglist: @cucciolafaerie @eleanordaisy @sunflowersndpeaches @golden-hoax @alienorknight @daydreamingofmatilda @ivyproblems @ayeshathestyles @stylesmygucci @gimsaysay @rosaliedepp @dontworrysunflower @milfrrynation @manifestrry @iceebabies @harrystylesrecs @pleasingrryyy @harianaswhore @noitsmebecky @abeanontoast @grapejuice-rry @vrittivsanghavi i @msolbesg @tati813 @sad1esgf @ivegotparticulartaste @eviesaurusrex @itsgabbysblog @theekyliepage @watermelonsugacry @be-with-me-so-happily @a-strange-familiar @reveriehs @musicforcinemas @harrybabyyyyyyy @tinydeskwriter r @noooovaaaaa @tenaciousperfectionunknown @mxltifxnd0m @rach2602 @balletdancerry @b-reads-things @juiceboxrry @lomlolivia @itsgigikay @goldensstateofgrace @missmielyhoran @fdl305

[april-is]

April 12, 2024: A Small Psalm, Catherine Wing

A Small Psalm Catherine Wing

Sorrow be gone, be a goner, be forsooth un-sooth, make like a suit and beat it, vamoose from the heavy heavy, be out from under the night's crawlspace, call not for another stone, more weight more weight, be extinguished, extinguish, the dark, that which is deep and hollow, that which presses from all sides, that which squeezes your heart into an artichoke-heart jar and forbids it breathe, that which is measured by an unbalanced scale, banish the broken, the unfixable, the shattered, the cried-over, the cursed, the cursers, the curses— curse them, the stone from the stone fruit, let it be fruit, the pit from the pitted, the pock from the pocked, the rot from the rotten, tarry not at the door, jam not the door's jamb, don't look back, throw nothing over your shoulder, not a word, not a word's edge, vowel, consonant, but run out, run out like the end of a cold wind, end of season, and in me be replaced with a breath of light, a jack-o'-lantern, a flood lamp or fuse box, a simple match or I would even take a turn signal, traffic light, if it would beat beat and flash flood like the moon at high tide, let it, let it, let it flare like the firefly, let it spark and flash, kindle and smoke, let it twilight and sunlight, and sunlight and moonlight, and when it is done with its lighting let it fly, will'-o-the-wisp, to heaven.

--

Also: + you can’t be a star in the sky without holy fire, Frank X. Gaspar + Untitled [I closed the book and changed my life], Bruce Smith

Today in:

2023: How to Do Absolutely Nothing, Barbara Kingsolver 2022: Miss you. Would like to take a walk with you., Gabrielle Calvocoressi 2021: I saw Emmett Till this week at the grocery store, Eve L. Ewing 2020: Day Beginning with Seeing the International Space Station And a Full Moon Over the Gulf of Mexico and All its Invisible Fishes, Jane Hirshfield 2019: Flores Woman, Tracy K. Smith 2018: The Universe as Primal Scream, Tracy K. Smith 2017: Soul, David Ferry 2016: Turkeys, Galway Kinnell 2015: He Said Turn Here, Dean Young 2014: I Don’t Miss It, Tracy K. Smith 2013: Hotel Orpheus, Jason Myers 2012: Emily Dickinson’s To-Do List, Andrea Carlisle 2011: Now That I Am in Madrid and Can Think, Frank O’Hara 2010: The Impossible Marriage, Donald Hall 2009: The Rider, Naomi Shihab Nye 2008: from Homage to Mistress Bradstreet, John Berryman 2007: This Heavy Craft, P.K. Page 2006: Late Ripeness, Czeslaw Milosz 2005: A Martian Sends A Postcard Home, Craig Raine

[theartofknightjj]

2023: year 12 of my art summaries and the year that proved hard work pays off. At the start of the year I told myself I’d work really hard and give it one more shot to become a comic artist. So that’s what I did! After countless of 7 day work weeks and over 1500 panels I’m able to call myself a full time comic artist now. Something I wouldn’t have even believed was possible so quickly. 2023 truly was the year of the rabbit year of Pierre! 🐰🔥 For the first time in a long time I’m truly happy with how my year went. So much changed yet for the better. Not only in my work but also on a personal front I was very brave this year. I travelled and met a bunch of new people and overall feel so much more solid in myself as a person. I have a lot set up for 2024 already and I’m really excited to be able to show you!! Happy new year everyone. Thank you for making dreams come true this year. ❤️

Previous summaries: [2011] [2012] [2013] [2014] [2015] [2016] [2017] [2018] [2019] [2020] [2021] [2022]

[thelibraryghost]

A Young Person's Introduction to Late 19th-Century Western Fashion

hello fellow youths

General information Banner, Bernadette. "Exposing Victorian Influencers Who 'Facetuned' Their Photos. (Photo Manipulation was EVERYWHERE)." YouTube. July 17, 2021. English Heritage. "Fashion Through History: Episode 1 – Victorians." YouTube. February 9, 2023. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Fashion // The Fashionable Plus Size Silhouette from 1820-1910." YouTube. June 5, 2021. Victoria and Albert Museum. "100 Years of Fashionable Womenswear: 1830s – 1930s | V&A." YouTube. July 18, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Victorian Fashion Is Not What You Think It Is." YouTube. March 19, 2019.

Accessories Banner, Bernadette. ""Afro-Victorian": Bringing Historical Black Women's Dress into the 21st Century w Cheyney McKnight." YouTube. October 20, 2021. Cox, Abby. "A Fashion Historian Explains the History of the Handbag." YouTube. January 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Dangerous Things in Victorian Pockets : Mens Pocket History." YouTube. March 2, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Controversial History of Color Season Analysis." YouTube. November 4, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Disgusting and Creepy Victorian Fashion Trends." YouTube. October 17, 2018.

Bustles and hoopskirts Donner, Morgan. "Weirdest Victorian Invention: The Bustle-Chair (and we made one)." YouTube. November 20, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Underwear // The Changing Plus Size Shape from Regency to Victorian to Edwardian." YouTube. May 1, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About Bustles! A Deep Dive into 1870s Fashions." YouTube. December 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why were Victorian Hips Controversial?" YouTube. September 12, 2021.

Cosmetics Birchwood, Vasi. "1800s Makeup Is Not What You Think." YouTube. July 21, 2023. English Heritage. "Queen Victoria Makeup Tutorial | History Inspired | Feat. Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth." YouTube. May 20, 2019. Zebrowska, Karolina. "I Used Only Victorian Cosmetics For a Week." YouTube. July 26, 2023.

Fabrics Rudolph, Nicole. "Did Silk Spontaneously Combust in the Victorian Era?" YouTube. August 8, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Elastic." YouTube. July 4, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Truth About Arsenic in the Victorian Era." YouTube. January 24, 2021.

Gowns Bullat, Samantha. "Dress Historian Analyzes Victorian Mourning Clothing of the Mid-19th Century." YouTube. March 14, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About 1860's Fashion // What did Civil War-era fashion look like?" YouTube. November 12, 2022. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How did fashion evolve from 1850-1859? // 1850's Fashion Deep Dive." YouTube. October 1, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "Victorian Fast Fashion? The Truth about the History of Disposable Clothing." YouTube. February 6, 2022. SnappyDragon. "Were the Pre-Raphaelites painting accurate medieval dress . . . or Victorian fairtytalecore?" YouTube. April 26, 2024. Zebrowska, Karolina. "19th Century Fashion - How To Tell Different Decades Apart?" YouTube. November 17, 2017.

Hair care and styling Banner, Bernadette. "Following a Victorian Home Made Hair Care Routine (1889)." YouTube. September 11, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in an 1888 Daisy Costume // Easy Bustle-Era Hair Tutorial." YouTube. November 13, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in the 1870s & 1874 Hairstyle Tutorial." YouTube. February 23, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why did Victorian Women Cut their Hair Short?" YouTube. December 18, 2022. Laundry and housekeeping English Heritage. "A Tour of the Laundry - The Victorian Way." YouTube. September 6, 2019. English Heritage. "How to Wash Up - The Victorian Way." YouTube. March 18, 2021. English Heritage. "Laying the Table at Christmas – The Victorian Way." YouTube. December 14, 2022. Walkley, Christina, and Vanda Foster. Crinolines and Crimping Irons: Victorian Clothes: How They Were Cleaned and Cared for. Peter Owen Limited: London, 1978.

Outerwear and working wear Birchwood, Vasi. "What Irish Working Women Wore in the Late 19th Century | I Made the Clothing of My Irish Ancestors." YouTube. June 23, 2023. English Heritage. "The Real Mrs Crocombe | Part Four: A Victorian Cook's Outfit." YouTube. July 5, 2018. Stowell, Lauren. "It's Hot: Let's Look At Some Bathing Suits." American Duchess. August 18, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Jeans, T-shirts, and Hoodies: Time Travel 101." YouTube. March 20, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "The 1851 Women's Pants That Made The Victorians Go Crazy." YouTube. March 2, 2020.

Shoes Rudolph, Nicole. "100 years of Antique Boots." YouTube. February 10, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "How to Make Regency & Victorian Shoes: Beginner Shoemaking." YouTube. June 27, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Myth of Tiny Feet "Back Then"." YouTube. September 26, 2021.

Undergarments Banner, Bernadette. "I Wore a (Medical) Corset for 5 Years. How do Victorian Corsets Compare?" YouTube. November 7, 2020. Banner, Bernadette. "Making Some Frilly Victorian Underwear || 1890s Combinations." YouTube. February 9, 2019. Birchwood, Vasi. "What Victorians Wore to Bed." YouTube. May 5, 2023. Cox, Abby. "I made weird Victorian underwear (it's a knit onesie) & a pretty 1890s corset || historical sewing." YouTube. March 21, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How 8 Different Historical Corsets Affect the Same Plus Size Body." YouTube. December 12, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "100 Years of Corset History: How 8 Corsets affect the same body." YouTube. November 29, 2020. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Ladies Stay Warm in Winter? || THE EXPERIMENT." YouTube. January 22, 2021. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Women Deal With Their Periods?" YouTube. October 17, 2019.

[daisyblog]

Christmas Gift

Our Story Masterlist Summary: YN and Harry announce their pregnancy.

yntomlinson

liked by annetwist, louist91, and 3,876,345 others

yntomlinson Christmas came early 👶🏻🤍 View all 12,034 comments

louist91 Absolutely buzzing!!!

lottietomlinson I can't wait to meet you baby ❤️❤️❤️

the.daisytomlinson 🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️

thephoebetomlinson Baby Varley's bestie 🤍

annetwist Congratulations my babies ❤️ I can't wait to meet your precious baby xx

marktommo1111 Beyond excited! ❤️🥰

gemmastyles Let the auntie duties commence 😆

michalmlynowski Congratulations both!!

sallietommo Wow! What a beautiful photo 🥰 So happy for you and Harry ❤️❤️❤️

mrlewisburton Congratulations to you both ❤️

niallhoran Congratulations again guys!! So happy for you x ⌞louist91 Your next lad!! ⌞yntomlinson Our baby needs a baby Horan bestie 😉 ⌞niallhoran Piss off you two! 😂

mitchrowland Congrats guys!!

louteasdale ❤️

ryan.viggars Congratulations! Buzzing for you both❤️

jack.varley7 Congratulations both! Can't wait to go on this journey with you❤️

zayn congrats again guys! I'm so happy for you both xx

jefezoff Congratulations again Lovebirds!

liampayne A massive congratulations!! Nobody deserves this more xx

helenehorlyck Congratulations ❤️

lloyddddddddddddddddd Congratulations H and YN! Love this photo 😉 ⌞yntomlinson 📸: lloyddddddddddddddddd

pillowpersonpp Congratulations H and YN!! Welcome to parenthood x

bradgouldtraining Congratulations H and YN x

benselleymusic Congratulations both! So happy for you x

elladeannemurray I'm so excited!! Thea and Eden can't wait for their new cousin x

matty_selley A huge congratulations to you both! Amazing news ❤️

brianasrealaccount congratulations auntie YN and uncle Harry, love from Freddie❤️❤️❤️

mrbenwinston A massive congratulations x

madidiaz Congratulations both❤️

lizzo BABY STYYYYYYLES❤️❤️❤️

nicholasgrimshaw Congratulations! Are we still on for an orange juice?

perrieedwards congratulations beaut!! Get ready for the most incredible journey of your life 🤍

jamescordon I still can't believe it! Congratulations to you both x

daniellepeazer Congratulations beautiful girl❤️

taylorswift Congratulations!

zoesugg Congratulations 🤍

joshdevinedrums Aw congratulations!!!

---

After posting and sharing their baby news that they had been hiding for a few weeks, the fans and what felt like the whole world went crazy because Harry Styles and YN Tomlinson was having a baby!

CelebNews

Harry Styles and YN Tomlinson announce they’re expecting their first child

The news we have all been waiting for!

YN Tomlinson has announced she is pregnant with her first child with fiancé Harry Styles.

YN shared her pregnancy news on Instagram with a photo. The photo was of her cradling her baby bump and laughing, whilst Harry is kissing her bump.

YN captioned the post "Christmas came early 👶🏻🤍".

29-year-old YN is the younger sister of One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson. She is an influencer with over 8 million followers and the owner of the clothing brand Styles Fashion.

YN and Harry first began dating in September 2011. Their relationship was exposed after the One Direction star was seen kissing his bandmates sister at a friends party.

The couple are childhood sweethearts, after being together 12 years. The pair split briefly in early 2018 but confirmed their reconciliation in December 2018, when YN posted a photo of them at her family home in Doncaster.

Louis commented on the pregnancy post “Absolutely buzzing!!!”. Many other family members of the couple were quick to share their congratulations with Anne Twist, Harry's Mum, commenting “Congratulations my babies ❤️ I can't wait to meet your precious baby xx” and Niall Horan commenting “Congratulations again guys!! So happy for you x”.

---

Both, YN and Harry were bombarded with messages of congratulations but thousands of questions about their pregnancy. So YN decided an Instagram live was the best way to answer the burning questions. 

Clicking the Live button on the app, notified YN’s followers. YN balanced her phone against the vase that sat in the middle of their kitchen island, before she took a seat on the stool, one of their Christmas trees sat  in the background. 

“Hi everyone!” YN spoke to those who had joined her live. “A lot of you have been asking me questions about the baby...and pregnancy and stuff...so I thought we'd come on here answer them.".

harryfan1: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! 1Dfan: So happy for you and Harry ❤️❤️❤️ 1Dfan2: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ harryfan2: WHERES HARRY??????? ynrryupdate: Congrats to you both!!

"Thank you all for the congratulations...it means so much." YN read the comments that fans were leaving. "Where's Harry?". YN laughed at the comment. "Harry's just taken Teddy out the garden for a quick run around...he'll be back."

harryfan3: Can we see Teddy???? ynfan: You're glowing 💗 harryynfan: love you 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 harryfan4: Hi YN!! ynrryfan: how are you? 🤍

"How are you?...Aw that's sweet." YN noticed one of the comments, asking how she was. "I'm feeling really good...thank you for asking."

To the sound of the door opening, YN turned her head. "Hey bubs...I'm doing a live.". Harry stood behind YN, his arms wrapping themselves around her shoulders.

"Hi." Harry smiled at the reflection of them both on the screen.

harryfan5: HARRY!!!! ynfan: HI HARRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYY!! harryynfan2: I love your hair Harry ❤️ harryfan2: How many weeks pregnant are you? ynrryfan4: you're both so cute🤍

"What hair?" Harry joked at the comment about the fan loving his hair. "I'm joking, thank you very much.".

"How many weeks pregnant are you?". YN read out loud, her hand casually holding onto Harry's forearm. "I'm seventeen weeks...almost eighteen.".

harryfan6: have you had any symptoms?? louisfan5: add louis! niallhoran: Uncle Niall's here!! harryupdate: 17 WEEKS?!?!?!?!?!?!?! tomlinsonfan2: ❤️

"Have you had any symptoms?" Harry read the comment, from where he still stood behind YN. "You've been tired a lot, haven't ya?.

YN nodded "Uh yeah...we didn't actually find out I was pregnant until I was fourteen weeks." YN began to explain. "But before that I just wanted to sleep...I had a lot of headaches and a bit of nausea too.".

Harry began to laugh as he spotted the Irish lad's name. "Niall's here.".

"Niall!" YN got excited that Niall was watching the live. "Guys...Niall thinks he's going to be the favourite Uncle!".

niallfan2: Niall ❤️ 1Dfan3: Hi Niall!! All the boys are going to be uncles! niallhoran: I am the favourite uncle x harryynupdate: Not louis and niall arguing over the baby 😂😂😂 stylesfan3: Louis will be the favourite ❤️❤️❤️

"Louis said you're not taking his spot." YN continued to tease Niall. Harry moved so he could sit next to YN at the kitchen island and discreetly wrapping his arm around her waist.

ynfan: I love you 💗 harryfan6: do you know the gender???? ynharrystyles: Is the baby a boy or girl? harryynupdates: YN and Louis are so alike 😂 1Dfan2: Louis will be the favourite ❤️❤️❤️

"We don't know the gender of the baby yet." YN answered as she noticed people starting to ask about the gender. "We're gonna find out in like two weeks.".

"Just in time for Christmas." Harry smiled as he looked at YN.

"Yeah...we're going to surprise everyone on Christmas with the gender." YN revealed their plan to share the gender with their families. "What do all of you think the gender is?".

1Dfan6: Girl 💗 harryfan9: BOY!! ynharrystyles: Boy 💙 tomlinsonupdates: Girl 💗💗💗💗💗 niallhoran: Girl x harryupdate: GIIIIIIRRRRRLLLLL💗

"Lots of you are saying girl...Harry thinks girl too!" YN spoke, before turning her attention to Harry. "I go through phases...sometimes I think we're having a boy and then I can only picture you as a dad of girls.".

"What do you mean?" He questioned her.

"Like...I just think you're a girl dad." YN began to explain. "She'd have you wrapped around her little finger.".

Harry's comeback was quick. "Like you have?".

"Exactly!"

1Dfan4: WHY ARE YOU BOTH SO CUTE!! harryfan3: How many children would you both like? ❤️ ynharrystyles: Harry is definitely a girl dad 🥹 harryynupdates: the way they look at each other 🥰 ynfan5: ❤️❤️❤️

"How many children would you both like?". YN read out another question that had popped up on the screen. "Bubs?".

Harry pouted his lips as he thought. "Uh..I'd definitely like two children.".

"Two?". YN questioned, before adding her own thoughts. "I'd have like five!".

"Five?". Harry's head shot quickly in shock.

YN shrugged her shoulders. "Bubs..I literally have seven siblings...I like the choas of having a big family."

harryfan7: Harry's face 😂😂😂😂😂 ynfan: 😂😂😂 harryynfan: Harry's like "two's enough" 😂 harryfan9: How did your families react?🤍 ynrryfan: Is Louis excited?

"Our families are so excited." Harry answered. "Aren't they?".

"Their reactions were just the best." YN explained, as she thought about a few weeks ago when they shared the news. "Louis has already bought three outfits for the baby...I think he's excited because he sends me photos of baby stuff all the time".

"My Mum cried...happy tears" Harry spoke. "And Gemma literally texts me everyday saying 'how's my favourite baby'".

"Lottie screamed...Daisy and Phoebe were in shock." YN let out a giggle. "But their super happy...Daisy's loving auntie life.".

harryfan6: What names do you like? louisfan5: This baby is going to loved ❤️❤️❤️ 1dfan9: ❤️❤️ harryupdate: I'M SO EXCITED!! tomlinsonfan6: ❤️

"Guys...we are struggling with names." YN took a sip of her cup of tea. "We just can't narrow any of them down...we're hoping that once we know the gender it'll be easier."

"Send us some names." Harry instructed. "We'll let you name our baby." Harry joked.

louisfan5: Harry Junior! ynfan: Cherrie???? harryynfan2: Nora - for a girl 🤍 harryfan8: Arlo, Hudson, Luna, Pippa, Oscar!! tomlinsonstyles4: Diana ❤️❤️❤️

"Also...If any of you have babies or children...please send me your must have for the nursery." YN asked. "We like a neutral theme for the nursery because we want it to be calm and relaxing.".

1Dfan3: Will you keep us updated on the baby??? harryfan9: Imagine being Harry and YN's baby? 🥹 ynharrystyles: the baby doesn't even know that Harry and YN are it's parents and Louis their uncle harryynupdates: can we see your bump?? ❤️❤️ ynfan2: HARRY WE NEED KIWI PART 2!!!! 🥝

YN stood from her seat. "I do have a little bump." Harry placed his hand on YN's tummy, something that had become a habit. "But I'm at the stage where people are trying to guess if I'm pregnant or just eaten too much.".

Harry placed a kiss to YN's bump as she still stood, reading through the comments. YN let out a loud chuckle, causing Harry to look at her with a smirk at what had tickled her so much. "Someone commented saying..Harry we need a Kiwi part two".

A cheeky grin covered Harry's face. "Guys..if I'm gonna make a part two to a song...then it'll be for Watermelon Sugar.".

YN's stared at Harry in shock, her mouth wide open. "Harry!".

"Gotta get my watermelon sugar high.".

"On that note...we're ending the live there 'cause Harry can't be trusted to keep it clean.". YN tried to act annoyed but the fans and Harry could see straight through her.

"It's a family show!".

Tag List: @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @harrys-flower @platinumbarbie143 @frickin-bats @harrysbbyh0ney @chronicallybubbly @goldensunflowe-r  @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @kaverichauhan @peterholland04 @panicattheuc @or-was-it-just-a-dream @hittiesontour @bunnyharold @fanfictioncafe @lilfreakjez @iamahallucinationnn @theekyliepage @indierockgirrl @buckybarnessimpp @ashleighsss @jerseygirlinca @fake-coolbeans @itsmytimetoodream @treehouse-mouse

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The long bezzle

Going to Defcon this weekend? I’m giving a keynote, “An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet’s Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse,” on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

When it comes to the modern world of enshittified, terrible businesses, no addition to your vocabulary is more essential than "bezzle," JK Galbraith's term for "the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it"

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/09/accounting-gimmicks/#unter

The bezzle is contained by two forces.

First, Stein's Law: "Anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop."

Second, Keynes's: "Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent."

On the one hand, extremely badly run businesses that strip all the value out of the firm, making things progressively worse for its suppliers, workers and customers will eventually fail (Stein's Law).

On the other hand, as the private equity sector has repeatedly demonstrated, there are all kinds of accounting tricks, subsidies and frauds that can animate a decaying, zombie firm long after its best-before date (Keynes's irrational markets):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

One company that has done an admirable job of balancing on a knife edge between Stein and Keynes is Verizon, a monopoly telecoms firm that has proven that a business can remain large, its products relied upon by millions, its stock actively traded and its market cap buoyant, despite manifest, repeated incompetence and waste on an unimaginable scale.

This week, Verizon shut down Bluejeans, an also-ran videoconferencing service the company bought for $400 million in 2020 as a panic-buy to keep up with Zoom. As they lit that $400 mil on fire, Verizon praised its own vision, calling Bluejeans "an award-winning product that connects our customers around the world, but we have made this decision due to the changing market landscape":

https://9to5google.com/2023/08/08/verizon-bluejeans-shutting-down/

Writing for Techdirt, Karl Bode runs down a partial list of all the unbelievably terrible business decisions Verizon has made without losing investor confidence or going under, in a kind of tribute to Keynes's maxim:

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/08/10/verizon-fails-again-shutters-attempted-zoom-alternative-bluejeans-after-paying-400-million-for-it/

Remember Go90, the "dud" streaming service launched in 2015 and shuttered in 2018? You probably don't, and neither (apparently) do Verizon's shareholders, who lost $1.2 billion on this folly:

https://www.techdirt.com/2018/07/02/verizons-sad-attempt-to-woo-millennials-falls-flat-face/

Then there was Verizon's bid to rescue Redbox with a new joint-venture streaming service, Redbox Instant, launched 2012, killed in 2014, $450,000,000 later:

https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/verizon-redbox-to-pull-plug-on-video-streaming-service-1201321484/

Then there was Sugarstring, a tech "news" website where journalists were prohibited from saying nice things about Net Neutrality or surveillance – born 2014, died 2014:

https://www.theverge.com/2014/12/2/7324063/verizon-kills-off-sugarstring

An app store, started in 2010, killed in 2012:

https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/5/3605618/verizon-apps-store-closing-january-2013

Vcast, 2005-2012, yet another failed streaming service (pray that someday you find someone who loves you as much as Verizon's C-suite loves doomed streaming services):

https://venturebeat.com/media/verizon-vcast-shutting-down/

And the granddaddy of them all, Oath, Verizon's 2017, $4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo/AOL, whose name refers to the fact that the company's mismanagement provoked involuntary, protracted swearing from all who witnessed the $4.6 billion write-down the company took a year later:

https://www.techdirt.com/2018/12/12/if-youre-surprised-verizons-aol-yahoo-face-plant-you-dont-know-verizon/

Verizon isn't just bad at being a phone company that does non-phone-company things – it's incredibly bad at being a phone company, too. As Bode points out, Verizon's only real competency is in capturing its regulators at the FCC:

https://www.techdirt.com/2017/05/02/new-verizon-video-blatantly-lies-about-whats-happening-to-net-neutrality/

And sucking up massive public subsidies from rubes in the state houses of New York:

https://www.techdirt.com/2017/03/14/new-york-city-sues-verizon-fiber-optic-bait-switch/

New Jersey:

https://www.techdirt.com/2014/04/25/verizon-knows-youre-sucker-takes-taxpayer-subsidies-broadband-doesnt-deliver-lobbies-to-drop-requirements/

and Pennsylvania:

https://www.techdirt.com/2017/06/15/verizon-gets-wrist-slap-years-neglecting-broadband-networks-new-jersey-pennsylvania/

Despite all this, and vast unfunded liabilities – like remediating the population-destroying lead in their cables – they remain solvent:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/verizon-sued-by-investors-over-lead-cables-environmental-statements-2023-08-02/

Verizon has remained irrational longer than any short seller could remain solvent.

Short-sellers – who bet against companies and get paid when their stock prices go down – get a bad rap: billionaire shorts were the villains of the Gamestop squeeze, accused of running negative PR campaigns against beloved businesses to drive them under and pay their bets off:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/30/meme-stocks/#stockstonks

But shorts can do the lord's work. Writing for Bloomberg, Kathy Burton tells the story of Nate Anderson, whose Hindenburg Research has cost some of the world's wealthiest people over $99 billion by publishing investigative reports on their balance-sheet shell-games just this year:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-08-06/how-much-did-hindenburg-make-from-shorting-adani-dorsey-icahn

Anderson started off trying to earn a living as a SEC whistleblower, identifying financial shenanigans and collecting the bounties on offer, but that didn't pan out. So he turned his forensic research skills to preparing mediagenic, viral reports on the scams underpinning the financial boasts of giant companies…after taking a short position in them.

This year, Anderson's targets have included Carl Icahn, whose company lost $17b in market cap after Anderson accused it of overvaluing its assets. He went after the world's fourth-richest man, Gautam Adani, accusing him of "accounting fraud and stock manipulation," wiping out 34% of his net worth. He took on Jack Dorsey, whose payment processor Square renamed itself Block and went all in on the cryptocurrency bezzle, lopping 16% off its share price.

Burton points out that Anderson's upside for these massive bloodletting was comparatively modest. A perfectly timed exit from the $17b Icahn report would have netted $56m. What's more, Anderson faces legal threats and worse – one short seller was attacked by a man wearing brass-knuckles, an attack attributed to her short activism.

Shorts are lauded as one of capitalism's self-correcting mechanisms, and Hindenberg certainly has taken some big, successful swings at some of the great bezzles of our time. But as Verizon shows, shorts alone can't discipline a market where profits and investor confidence are totally decoupled from competence or providing a decent product or service.

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/10/smartest-guys-in-the-room/#can-you-hear-me-now