#Drake Sound 42

[babythegod]

[mansorus]

42 special

[luvjunie]

— trust who?

pairing: e-42!miles x 1610!fem!reader

contains: angst, mentions of death, yandere?miles

summary: you were taken from him a year ago, and now it seems the universe has given him a chance to do things differently— and this time, he’s not letting you go. no matter what. wc: 1,648

a/n: i got a lil carried away w this one won’t lie, lol. i love this song, and i put a little twist on it to match the plot. song lyrics are in small, bold italics

🎧: Not You Too - drake (ft. chris brown)

“trust- trust who? trust me and i can set you free. left your man came straight to me you the real mvp, my love.“

dimmed hues of red lights spotted your vision as you came to, eyelids heavy as they peeled apart to reveal the room you assumed would be the setting of your demise. your head snapped up when you finally regained consciousness completely, fright-riddled eyes darting around to scout out an escape plan. but just as you went to move, you heard chains clink from above as your body swayed, and realized you couldn’t. you looked down to find your legs bound by rope, as well as your hands, as well as the rest of your body to a firm, stuffed sack.

feet dangling from the ground, you let your head fall back against the punching bag, defeated, and settled for your only remaining option. “help!” you yelled, voice rasped and weak. “help!” you tried again.

“don’t bother, can’t hear a thing down here.”

an artificial, robotic voice sounded from above, warranting your eyes to meet a masked man who resided on a high beam, crouched in place, watching you. how long had he been there?

he jumped down, catching himself and effortlessly hanging from one arm before his sneakers met the steel floor. they were untied, you noticed.

fear permeated your entire being as he strolled over to you, a semblance of uneasiness coursing through your veins, pumping into your blood and rendering your spine straight as the ominous figure stopped just in front of you.

“ple—please, i don’t know why i’m here,” the words tumbled out in a broken heap of suffocated, stifled sobs as tears welled in your eyes.

“shh, it’s okay,” he shushed you, a hand reaching out to gently pinch your chin, lifting your head back up after it’d fallen. his touch was delicate, like he was scared he’d break you.

“i’m not gonna hurt you, mi vida. i’d never hurt you… you know that.” the voice distorter cut out, your breath catching in your throat and your eyes fluttering over every inch of this strange mask. it reminded you of a ventilation mask you’d seen in miles’ room once, a mask used to protect your lungs from the fumes of spray paint.

as if your mind were working against you, you found yourself… calmer than you were just a few seconds ago, and even more confused. why did the voice sound so familiar?

something wasn’t right.

“who— who are you?” you gulped.

“you don’t remember me?” the shield over his face pulled back, the quiet sound of mechanical whirring as it revealed his face drowned out by the heavy thrumming of your heart in your ear drums.

here stood your boyfriend in front of you, the same features, but… different. his entire demeanor had shifted since you had last seen him just prior to whatever time it was now, to something sinister. his hair was longer, pulled back and braided. an accent, almost resemblant of his mother’s lingered on the tip of his tongue, dripping within the words he spoke. his face was harder, etched and carved like the weight of the world had chipped at it piece by piece, only to settle on his shoulders, leaving him with no time for himself.

this couldn’t be right.

“miles?” you choked out, mouth gaping to find your voice. “w-why… what am I—you’re, you… but different? what is this? where am i?”

a puff of air shot through his nostrils, his best effort at a laugh as a small, smile lifted the corner of his lips, braids gliding over his shoulders when his head tilted to the side.

“you came back to me, mi amor. and god…you’re even more beautiful than i remembered.” he breathed, eyes flickering with sorrow for just a moment as they studied your face, a moment that was almost too brief for you to catch.

when he’d encountered you and his counterpart on the roof with his uncle, he swore his prayers had been answered. somehow, someway you’d been brought back to him— the pain of witnessing the bullet that pierced through your chest that fateful night just a year ago drifted from his mind, and replaced itself with the all consuming, peaceful, sleeping image of you the minute he’d picked you up and cradled you in his arms. it pained him to inject you with the needle to sedate you, but he had no other choice, he could never truly hurt you. no, he would never do that.

“i missed you so much.”

“first time in a long time hurtin' deeply inside”

the hand sporting his mechanical gauntlet lifted towards you, fingers bending so the claws wouldn’t scrape your skin as he let the cold metal brush against the swell of your cheek. the sound of the steel joints ticking made you flinch, chest stuttering for breaths you couldn’t keep within your overworked lungs as you turned away from him.

you looked at him with so much fear in your eyes, when all he’s ever wanted to do was keep you safe, to protect you, to make you feel comforted and secure. and he failed at that before, he knows that, but he’s ready this time. he’d been given a second chance, and he’d be damned if he let you slip through his fingers again.

“it’s me, hermosa… it’s okay, you know me. just trust me, and i can set you free, and then we can be together. just like old times.” his brows furrowed, his tone one of sincerity as he assured you, but it did nothing for your racing heart.

“trust—“ you sputtered, voice wavering when you spoke. “trust who? you? how can i when you have me tied up like this?!” you balked, your bewilderment such a stark contrast from his bleak, seemingly unmoving disposition.

“yeah… i’m real sorry ‘bout that. uncle aaron made me, so i tried not to make ‘em too tight. you know something like this would never, ever be my idea.”

you shook your head, was this some kind of sick joke? why wasn’t he understanding a single word that was coming from your mouth?

you grew frustrated, time was not on your side, and honestly you were getting tired of this game.

“i don’t know anything about you, i don’t even know who you are. you might have his face, and—and his body,” you looked him up and down. “but you… you are not my miles.”

he felt a pang in his chest, the words you uttered, the way you said ‘my miles’, as if he wasn’t right here, as if he wasn’t right in front of you. the version of himself he’d buried in the ground with you just last year wanted to jump out and yell at you, plead with you, anything to make you see he could be just like your miles, because he was your miles.

“oh,” he pulled the skin of his cheek between his teeth as he turned away with an agitated nod, extending his arm out to point towards your miles, who was still unconscious, chin dropped to his chest as he hung from another punching bag.

“him?” his voice raised in volume and broke apart with desperation, a humorless chuckle unintentionally escaping his trembling lips. “what’s the difference? huh? tell me.” he demanded, nostrils flaring as he tried to maintain his composure, staring deep into the eyes of the girl who would’ve burned the whole world down with him if he asked. the girl who was in his grasp, right in this moment, yet still so far from his reach— reserved for the one who had everything that belonged to him.

your head whipped to where he pointed, and the moment your eyes landed on your boyfriend your blood ran cold, a pained gasp rippling your chest. “miles! oh god, please!” you called out for him as you struggled against your restraints, his counterpart interrupting you by blocking your line of your view with his body.

“cálmate,” he hummed, “he’s fine, just unconscious. i’m not cruel. is that how you remember me, mamí?” he questioned, voice bleeding with hurt.

your gaze drifted over to your miles again, hope swelling within you when you heard him groan.

“no, no, princesa. don’t look at him, look at me.” he urged.

he didn’t understand. you always used to say you would love him in every universe, that you’d find him in every lifetime, what happened to that?

“please, we need to get home, if we don’t… he won’t be able to save his father, he—he’ll die. you have to understand.” you pleaded, the tears finally bubbling over your waterline, streamlining down your cheeks.

“you are home! it’s me, mi amor, i’m right here. what about everything we went through?” he asked tenderly, voice full of hurt and eyes still soaking in the slight difference in your features. he was too distracted by the fact that the girl he thought he’d never see again, was right here in front of him to even try and comprehend what you were trying to say. “please, don’t cry. you know i hate seeing you cry.”

nothing else seemed to be working, so you settled for empathizing with him. he was still miles, after all, different universe or not, he was still the same person deep down. and from the way he was looking at you, love flowing from the eyes that held so much anguish within them, you knew some version of you had loved him, too. in the same way you loved your own.

“look, i’m sure i-“ you stopped to correct yourself, “she, loved you, but i’m not her. i’m not from here, and i’m sorry she’s gone, and i’m sorry you have to live with this pain, but, please… you have to let me go.” your tone was forbearing, words teetering off into a hushed plea, your lingering apprehension threatening to tear through the seam of your heartfelt spiel.

“let you go?”

you nodded tentatively.

he moved closer to you, to unbound you from this elevated prison, you assumed. because maybe, just maybe you’d managed to get through to him.

but this wasn’t your universe, and this… this was not your miles.

for the first time in your entirety of knowing miles morales, you felt your heart stop— and not in the way that brought a flurry of warmed, passioned butterflies to flutter within you— but in a way that invited his words to settle like ice in your bones, allowed panic and dread to inhabit your senses, clutching you in a selfish grasp of resentment that had no intentions of letting you go— you realized, as this time, his gloveless hand swiped away yet another tear you hadn’t even noticed you’d shed.

“why would i do that?”

“I've given you enough time. hurtin' deeply inside.“

- please do not plagiarize, copy, or repost my works to other platforms!

likes, comments, and reblogs are very appreciated 💗

©luvjunie 2023

[soleminisanction]

I think my least favorite internet criticism of Meghan Fitzmartin is the idea that she "just wanted to push her ship," meaning Tim/Bernard. Because honestly? I think that's straight-up bullshit.

Having read the Urban Legends stories, the Pride Special reprint, Tim Drake: Robin and Young Justice Dark Crisis, plus what interviews and social media she's been doing as these comics came out, there is zero evidence to me to back that statement up. If that were true, the Urban Legends stories probably would've been more about bringing Bernard back and re-establishing him as a character. Y'know, building up their relationship.

But it wasn't about their relationship. It was about Tim and his feelings, his internal conflict, what he needed. That's what Fitzmartin even said in the interviews after, that she, "felt like this was something Tim needed." And that's true going into TD:R too -- yeah, Bernard is there and their relationship is a prominent subplot, but he gets about as much page time as Darcy and Detective Williams, and the focus is always on Tim's ongoing story and his developing relationships with all the people around him.

That's why I like that they went with Bernard as his "closet key." Not because I'm super devoted to the pairing or anything -- I truly could take or leave the arrangement -- but because they're tolerably cute together and, more importantly, dating a civilian supporting character comes with far less baggage than establishing a relationship with a fellow hero. By their very nature, superhero stories are more heavily weighted towards the hero characters than their civilian support, that's just a fact, and, with rare exception, civilian love interests tend to act more as sounding boards to develop and reflect the leads. Making Tim's first boyfriend an old civilian friend means the story could be about Tim's personal character growth, internal conflict, and explorations of his sexuality.

I genuinely think that's the only reason Fitzmartin went with Bernard. She only had around 30 pages to tell that Urban Legends story (and I guarantee you, she was assigned that page count before writing), so bringing back a previous civilian friend meant she didn't have to try to establish a whole new relationship on top of introducing a villain faction and telling a superhero-based investigation story. And for whatever reason, Bernard was the most popular of Tim's civilian buddies to rare-pair him with before this all happened. (Just check AO3: Prior to the release of the Urban Legends stories, Tim/Bernard had ~42 fics, Sebastian Ives got 4, and Danny Temple had 1.)

When Meghan Fitzmartin says that she went back, read Tim's old stories, and felt he needed to come out of the closet, I believe her. And I'm happy she felt that way and was allowed to act on those feelings because it's something I felt too, reading those stories. Those feelings that had nothing to do with "ships" or even with characters like Kon or Dick and everything to do with Tim and who he is as a person.

To sweep all that away as "she just wants to push her preferred ship" just feels so... dismissive and rude.

[green-skulls-with-lavender-eyes]

BEHOLD!!!! THE BATMAN & ROBIN 10,10,10,10 RULE

Otherwise known as the 10,10,12,13,10 rule but that doesn’t sound as cool

This timeline rule provides a structured and straightforward way to track the ages of key members of the Bat-Family, ensuring a neat and tidy chronology with clear parallels between the characters. The basic framework revolves around pivotal moments in each character’s life, particularly around the age of 10, with subsequent age differences maintaining consistency throughout their development.

The core timeline:

(Here are the absolute basics that everyone who uses this rule MUST follow)

Bruce was 10 when his parents were murdered

Dick was 10 when his parents were murdered and he became Robin

Jason was 12 when he became Robin

Tim was 13 when he became Robin

And Damian was 10 when he became Robin

Secondary timeline:

(These are optional and can be forgone for the sake of your personal plot)

Bruce was 17 when he ran away to travel the world and learn to be Batman

Dick was 17 when he quit/was fired from being Robin

Jason was 15 when died(specifics are up to you)

Tim was 17 when he went on his Bruce-Quest*

If you want extra symbolism then you should have Damian runaway/leave when he is 17

Expanding the timeline:

(The simplicity of the “10, 10, 10, 10” rule helps in setting a foundation, but as the Bat-Family grows, the timeline becomes more complex. The following age gaps maintain the structure while allowing for the development of other key characters)

Bruce Thomas Wayne:

11 years older than Babs

14 years older than Dick

18 years older than Jason and Cass

20 years older than Tim

23 years older than Duke

26-27 years older than Damian

Dick John Grayson-Wayne:

3 years younger than Babs

5 years older than Jason and Cass

6 years older than Steph

7 years older than Tim

10 years older than Duke

14 years older than Damian

Jason Peter Todd-Wayne:

Same age as Cass

1 year older than Steph

2 years older than Tim

5 years older than Duke

9 years older than Damian

Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne:

3 years older than Duke

6-7 years older than Damian

Damian Thomas al-Ghul Wayne:

The youngest as far as I know

The Expanded Bat-Family:

(The Bat-Family consists of more than just the core members of Bruce and his Robins. They are just as if not more important than the main boys but I couldn’t really fit them all into the 10,10,10,10 theme)

(These ages are when Damian is around 12 years old)

Alfred Pennyworth: His age is adjustable but I prefer him to be 66

Kate Kane (Batwoman): 42 years old

Barbara Gordon (Oracle/Batgirl): 29 years old

Helena Bertinelli (Huntress): 27 years old

Cassandra Cain (Black Bat/Orphan/Batgirl): 21 years old

Stephanie Brown (Spoiler/Batgirl): 20 years old

Duke Thomas (The Signal): 16 years old

Conclusion:

The 10,10,10,10 rule is merely a guideline and not a law. It is for people who need a structured timeline to be able to enjoy Batman and Robin comics without complex math and plenty of narrative parallels.

I am not telling anyone to use this. It is simply my favorite timeline and I wanted to share it with others.

[trendfilmsetter]

Apple Music’s ‘100 Best Albums of All Time’ list:

#1. Lauryn Hill — The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

#2. Michael Jackson — Thriller

#3. The Beatles — Abbey Road

#4. Prince & The Revolution — Purple Rain

#5. Frank Ocean — Blonde

#6. Stevie Wonder — Songs in the Key of Life

#7. Kendrick Lamar — good kid, m.A.A.d city

#8. Amy Winehouse — Back to Black

#9. Nirvana — Nevermind

#10. Beyoncé — Lemonade

#11. Fleetwood Mac — Rumours

#12. Radiohead — OK Computer

#13. Jay-Z — The Blueprint

#14. Bob Dylan — Highway 61 Revisited

#15. Adele — 21

#16. Joni Mitchell — Blue

#17. Marvin Gaye — What’s Going On

#18. Taylor Swift — 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

#19. Dr. Dre — The Chronic

#20. The Beach Boys — Pet Sounds

#21. The Beatles — Revolver

#22. Bruce Springsteen — Born to Run

#23. Daft Punk — Discovery

#24. David Bowie — The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

#25. Miles Davis — Kind of Blue

#26. Kanye West — My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

#27. Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin II

#28. Pink Floyd — The Dark Side of the Moon

#29. A Tribe Called Quest — The Low End Theory

#30. Billie Eilish — WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

#31. Alanis Morissette — Jagged Little Pill

#32. The Notorious B.I.G. — Ready to Die

#33. Radiohead — Kid A

#34. Public Enemy — It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

#35. The Clash — London Calling

#36. Beyoncé — BEYONCÉ

#37. Wu-Tang Clan — Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

#38. Carole King — Tapestry

#39. Nas — Illmatic

#40. Aretha Franklin — I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

#41. OutKast — Aquemini

#42. Janet Jackson — Control

#43. Talking Heads — Remain in Light

#44. Stevie Wonder — Innervisions

#45. Björk — Homogenic

#46. Bob Marley & The Wailers — Exodus

#47. Drake — Take Care

#48. Beastie Boys — Paul’s Boutique

#49. U2 — The Joshua Tree

#50. Kate Bush — Hounds of Love

#51. Prince — Sign O’ the Times

#52. Guns N' Roses — Appetite for Destruction

#53. The Rolling Stones — Exile on Main St.

#54. John Coltrane — A Love Supreme

#55. Rihanna — ANTI

#56. The Cure — Disintegration

#57. D’Angelo — Voodoo

#58. Oasis — (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

#59. Arctic Monkeys — AM

#60. The Velvet Underground & Nico — The Velvet Underground and Nico

#61. Sade — Love Deluxe

#62. 2Pac — All Eyez on Me

#63. The Jimi Hendrix Experience — Are You Experienced?

#64. Erykah Badu — Baduizm

#65. De La Soul — 3 Feet High and Rising

#66. The Smiths — The Queen Is Dead

#67. Portishead — Dummy

#68. The Strokes — Is This It

#69. Metallica — Master of Puppets

#70. N.W.A — Straight Outta Compton

#71. Kraftwerk — Trans-Europe Express

#72. SZA — SOS

#73. Steely Dan — Aja

#74. Nine Inch Nails — The Downward Spiral

#75. Missy Elliott — Supa Dupa Fly

#76. Bad Bunny — Un Verano Sin Ti

#77. Madonna — Like a Prayer

#78. Elton John — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

#79. Lana Del Rey — Norman F*****g Rockwell!

#80. Eminem — The Marshall Mathers LP

#81. Neil Young — After the Gold Rush

#82. 50 Cent — Get Rich or Die Tryin'

#83. Patti Smith — Horses

#84. Snoop Dogg — Doggystyle

#85. Kacey Musgraves — Golden Hour

#86. Mary J. Blige — My Life

#87. Massive Attack — Blue Lines

#88. Nina Simone — I Put a Spell on You

#89. Lady Gaga — The Fame Monster

#90. AC/DC — Back in Black

#91. George Michael — Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1

#92. Tyler, The Creator — Flower Boy

#93. Solange — A Seat at the Table

#94. Burial — Untrue

#95. Usher — Confessions

#96. Lorde — Pure Heroine

#97. Rage Against the Machine — Rage Against the Machine

#98. Travis Scott — ASTROWORLD

#99. Eagles — Hotel California

#100. Robyn — Body Talk

[midnight-pluto]

COFFEE: PG.07 — Red Robin (yum~)

COFFEE: Tim Drake x gn!reader

SYNOPSIS: Tim meets a barista that gives him what he needed most — a large coffee with way to many shots of espresso. Though what happens when just a single action changes the other's life, forever?

coffee master list || prev. || next || SPECIAL!!

MONDAY, APRIL 3 2023 - 11:42 PM

“Hello, do you want a macaron?” you ask Cardinal Red Robin.

“How’d you know?”

“Because I saw your reply to our announcement on Twitter?”

“Are you stalking my account?” The hero quickly shot back, “That’s a bit weird if you ask me.”

“I don’t stalk your account-“

“It’s giving, obsession if you ask me,” the starting to get annoying hero interjects.

“What’s there to be obsessed about?” you retort, “Besides, I’m the one behind the twitter account.”

“That makes sense regarding the tweet about a customer named Herald Sox.”

“Oh no that wasn’t me, that was my ex-coworker.”

“Ex-coworker?”

“They got fired after publicly announcing for some patrons to never come back after they were being rude to staff,” you explain.

“Oh.”

“Anyways, what do you want?”

“Oh right can I have a dozen macarons, with 6 of the me specials and the others being Spoiler Special, and one black coffee with eight shots of espresso,” he replies.

‘How familiar…’

“To go I assume?”

“No to eat in the next 12 minutes until the cafe closes, of course to-go.”

“I will not hesitate to make a hate thread about you,” you deadpan.

“Didn’t you already do that?” the caped crusader questioned, head turned at a 15° angle.

“No that was me being polite,” you sigh, “$17.78 is your price.”

After he swiped his card you immediately started to get to work on his sad espresso.

“Yo losers where you at?” Cardinal Red Robin asked over comms, “I have your food.”

“Me and Orphan are by Hood’s favorite gargoyle,” Spoiler spoke.

“Her name is Heather, for your information.”

“Aw what the fuck! I’m on the other side of the city,” Nightwing complained.

“Sounds like a skill issue to me,” Spoiler teased.

“Fuck off.”

“Me and Robin will be there in a minute,” a deep voice interjects.

“Loser has to do the splits by the way!”

“Oh hell nah I ain’t doin that shit nuh-uh no way,” Hood said accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps and wind.

“Yeah, ah-ha see, I ain’t tryin’ to get made fun of on Twitter again so glad your taking the downfall B!”

“What?”

“Father, you can’t do the splits?”

“…”

“Mother really over exaggerated your abilities,” Robin clicked his tongue.

“I used to-“

“The keyword being: ‘used to.’ I can do the splits.”

“No shit dickhead, you’re literally an acrobat,” Hood retorts, “And… I’m back together with Heather.”

“You have an ex named Heather?” Spoiler questioned.

“No the gargoyle dumbass, get with the program.”

“Oh.”

One by one, members of the family arrived with Nightwing ( predictably) being the last to come.

“Alrighty dump truck, do the splits!” Hood exclaimed, pointing at the blue clad hero like in that one objection meme.

“Do it! No balls!” Spoiler challenged.

Doing a few stretches before hand - leading to some delicious cracking noises emitting from his body - he finally dropped down and did the splits.

“Woohoo!”

“Alrighty food time!” Nightwing cheered, getting up from his splitting position.

“Finally, y’all took to long,” Red Robin said with a yawn.

“You should’ve taken a nap,” Hood teased.

“Yeah I was seriously considering it,” he replies, taking a bite out of a Red Robin macaron, humming in delight.

‘I should visit there more often.’

TAGLIST: @grandstrangerphantom @marsbars09 @fabitheraven @lovelypitasworld @dyjcksn [ if you would like to join, feel free to send me an ask or to comment! ]

[eregyrn-falls-art]

Went down to Woods Hole, MA, on Cape Code, for brunch on Sunday. Afterwards poked around Woods Hole and Falmouth; and I wanted to see Nobska Light while we were there. While chilly and windy, we were still feeling the benefits of the warm weekend, and had to bundle up less than you'd expect for a trip to the Cape in February.

Nobska Light is very cute and scenic! It wasn't open, and while the Keeper's house seems to have been renovated and is planned to be a maritime museum, it wasn't open either. On the other side of the road was a short path to the cliff above the ocean (really, Vineyard Sound), where we looked out at Martha's Vineyard to the east, and the Elizabeth Islands chain to the west. Birds spotted: common eiders, red breasted mergansers, and a long-tailed duck drake came flying in.

Here's the text of the historical sign:

NOBSKA LIGHTHOUSE Latitude 41 30' 54" N Longitude 70 39' 20" Since 1828, Nobska Light has provided a familiar beacon for "all who go down to the sea in ships". 67 feet above sea level, Nobska's flash every six seconds is visible 17 miles out to sea. This 28,000 candlepower light used a 1000-watt lamp magnified by a Fourth Order Fresnel lens. The red section visible ton the east side of the lantern house warns ships away from Hedge Fence and L'Hommedieu Shoals south of the Cape. The present tower is 42 feelt high and was constructed in 1876. It was built to replace the original "Nobsque" light, a stone cottage with a light tower on top which had stood since 1828. The present tower is made of a cast iron shell lined with brick. It was built in Chelsea, Massachusetts and transported to Cape Cod in four sections. The front half of the current "keeper's house" was also built in 1876. Originally painted dark maroon-brown, it had a covered walkway to the tower attacked in 1899 and a second "assistant keeper's house" added in 1907. [Note: see bottom-right photo above.] Over the year, windows, doors, porches and walkways have come and gone and the color has been changed to the classic Coast Guard white with red roof. [Note: this sign is now out of date; the keeper's house is no longer white, although it still has its red roof; it is now covered in cedar shingles, which have weathered to a grey color.] Nobska Light became part of the Coast Guard in 1939, when the U.S. Light House Service merged with the Coast Guard. Despite this change, the keepers of the light remained civilians until Mr. Hindley retired in 1973, when active duty Coast Guard keepers took up the duty. In 1983, Nobska Light was automated. The two keepers houses were joined and became the quarters for Commander Coast Guard Group Woods Hole and his family. The Woods Hole Group serves the mainland and islands from Plymouth, Massachusetts to the Rhode Island/Connecticut state line.

Older photos above and some information came from:

The Enterprise, Falmouth: "History of Nobska Light Sheds Light on More Than Navigation" (July 15, 2015)

New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. History of Nobska Point Light, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Friends of Nobska Light

IDs in ALT text

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

November 2023 - part 2

November 15 - New Heights Ep 64 airs Travis and Jason Kelce chat about their bye week and discuss what Travis got up to in Argentina, south of the equator (x 42:20). Our bestie Jason draws out what we are all wondering about...

"Sounds like a labyrinth of issues" says Jason.

Oh Travis, she is falling in love with you, and Jason saw the Argentina Night 1 acoustic performance of Labyrinth too.

Referencing the lyric change in Karma;

"How does it feel to officially be 'The guy on the Chiefs'?" Jason teased Travis on the podcast. With a laugh, Travis said that he had "no clue" Taylor planned to mention him during her show. "Well, I might have had a little bit of a clue," he then admitted. "But definitely when I heard it come out of her mouth, [it] still shocked me."  "Yeah, you could tell in the video," Jason responded.  "I was like, 'Oh shh! She really said that,'" Travis marveled. 

When Jason notes that Scott Swift is wearing a Chiefs lanyard at the Eras Tour Night 3 he asks...

"What are we doing, Scott? You're gonna let this man's devilish good looks and relationship with your daughter sway you from a lifetime of fandom, Scott? Ridiculous."  Travis further explained, "I might have persuaded him at dinner the night before. When I met him." 

Travis commenting on the first Eras Tour he has attended as Taylor's boyfriend..

"The show was even more electric knowing that I had a little bit more to enjoy," he said of watching her perform in Argentina. "Taylor absolutely ripped it. She killed it and it looked like she was having some fun up there." 

We love to see the support Travis is showing to our little Indie artist.

We are to expect to see Taylor and Travis spending time together during the Eras tour break according to ET sources (x)

"Taylor has a two-month break in her tour, taking December and January off, and the couple is planning to spend more time together" during that time.

ET reports (x)

Donna and Ed Kelce, and Andrea and Scott Swift are expected to meet for the first time on Monday as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs face off for Monday Night Football.

We can expect to see Taylor at the November 20 game too.

November 16 - Chiefs post to twitter and New Heights repost (x) welcoming Scott Swift to the Chiefs Kingdom after being wooed by Travis to change allegiance from the Eagles. Scott is pictured with Travis wearing a Chiefs lanyard at the Eras Tour in Argentina

November 17 - The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Stay Beautiful (guitar) & Suburban Legends (piano)

November 18 - The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Show postponed due to extreme hot weather conditions and after the tragic loss of a fan Ana last night.

November 19- The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Rain show

Dancing With Our Hands Tied (guitar) & Bigger Than The Whole Sky (piano) - likely a tribute to Ana (& Ally who died from cancer and was a recipient of a 22 hat)

Taylor is awarded 10 BBMA’s tying with Drake as the most awarded artist.

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November 20 - The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - rescheduled show see Nov 18.

Me! (guitar) & So It Goes (piano)

Chiefs v Eagles, Arrowhead Stadium. Travis and Jason Kelce go head to head. Eagles defeat Chiefs 21 - 17.

WSJ article: Travis Kelce Opens Up About Taylor Swift and His Life After the NFL; Travis Kelce for the Wall Street Journal (x)

At the moment, of course, the only thing millions of people want to know about Kelce’s future is whether or not it will include Taylor Swift. And the second thing they’re dying to know is how he and she got together in the first place. 

... People have even speculated that Kelce somehow spoke his desire into the universe and just—manifested Swift? 

He laughs. “I don’t know if I want to get into all of it,” he says, and then he gets into it, because fountain. 

It all started when he tried to meet Swift at her Arrowhead concert in July and got blocked, presumably by security. He then recounted the experience in a charming way on the podcast he does with Jason. Soon after, he says, he received an unbidden assist from inside Team Swift. 

“There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: Yo! Did you know he was coming? I had somebody playing Cupid.” He wasn’t aware at the time, however; the revelation only came later, after he looked down at his phone and got the shock of a lifetime. “She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”

He lets slip that some of his early helpers were part of the Swift family tree. “She’ll probably hate me for saying this, but…when she came to Arrowhead, they gave her the big locker room as a dressing room, and her little cousins were taking pictures…in front of my locker.” 

Understandably, he’s not handing out details about the first date, though he will say that he managed to not be nervous. “When I met her in New York, we had already kind of been talking, so I knew we could have a nice dinner and, like, a conversation, and what goes from there will go from there.” 

If anyone was nervous, he adds, it was his core group. “Everybody around me telling me: Don’t f— this up! And me sitting here saying: Yeah—got it.”

As those first heady days unfolded, as news bulletins and cutaways showed Swift cheering Kelce on from his suite, Kelce was uncharacteristically guarded with the media. “That was the biggest thing to me: make sure I don’t say anything that would push Taylor away.” 

Likewise, his mother. Donna Kelce still berates herself for how she handled a question about Taylor on the Today show. Trying not to sound too enthusiastic, she came off underwhelmed. Kelce, not wanting his mom to feel bad, immediately phoned her and assured her that she did a super job—adding that her green eyeglasses looked great. 

These days, however, with the relationship progressing, Donna feels more at liberty. “I can tell you this,” she says, beaming. “He’s happier than I’ve seen him in a long time…. God bless him, he shot for the stars!”

Kelce seems freer, too. He doesn’t need to be asked about Taylor; he mentions her unreservedly, lavishes praise on her, calls her “hilarious,” “a genius,” notes that they share compatible worldviews, especially when it comes to family and work. “Everybody knows I’m a family guy,” he says. “Her team is her family. Her family does a lot of stuff in terms of the tour, the marketing, being around, so I think she has a lot of those values as well, which is right up my alley.”

One of Kelce’s friends describes a sweet, magical moment, a late-night gathering around Kelce’s firepit. Kelce and Swift looked like two “peas in a pod,” the friend says, and at one point they even burst into a memorable duet of—“Teenage Dirtbag”?

This must be fake 

My lips start to shake 

How does she know who I am? 

Kelce squints into the distance: He’s not sure they were singing…Wheatus. But he allows that his memory might be compromised. 

“There was some wine involved, for sure.”

LONG BEFORE MEETING SWIFT, Kelce was just another Swiftie. In some ways he still is. He explains the concept of her concert—“She does it in eras”—as if you live in a yurt in Outer Mongolia. Then he eagerly informs you that the night he attended, he was counting the minutes until she got to 1989. (Both he and Swift were born in 1989.) “ ‘Blank Space’ was one I wanted to hear live for sure. I could make a bad guy good for the weekend. That’s a helluva line!”

More often than not, he says, it was a Swiftian beat, a melody that captivated him. (“She writes catchy jingles.”) But lately he’s all about those lyrics; he’s scrutinized the breakup stuff. What a miracle, he says, the way Swift can turn life into poetry. “I’ve never been a man of words. Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f—ing mind-blowing. I’m learning every day.”

Something he might need to learn from Swift: how to handle the attention. Kelce lives in a quiet neighborhood north of downtown—leafy trees, trim lawns, no gates. There’s now a clutch of desperate-looking dudes with cameras stationed on his sidewalk 24/7. He’s followed everywhere, drones buzzing overhead—it’s stressful, more than he lets on, according to one confidante.

“Obviously I’ve never dated anyone with that kind of aura about them…. I’ve never dealt with it,” Kelce says. “But at the same time, I’m not running away from any of it…. The scrutiny she gets, how much she has a magnifying glass on her, every single day, paparazzi outside her house, outside every restaurant she goes to, after every flight she gets off, and she’s just living, enjoying life. When she acts like that I better not be the one acting all strange.”

Asked if he has anything to teach Swift, he looks shy. He can’t think of anything offhand. 

Football? 

Sure, he says, sounding unsure. 

Of course, the thing she probably wants to learn about most is him. While talking to Kelce you realize all at once that the most avid participant in the national scavenger hunt for clues about his character is likely Swift herself. 

...

Indeed, Kelce has warned Swift that she’s going to have to reckon with this part of his personality. Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell—they will all be a part of the relationship. “I told Taylor that I have that world, I’ve got to introduce it to her. I let her know: This is my jam right here.”

...

Minutes later, he’s steering past a small airport, where Swift’s plane is often prominently parked these days.  Is it there now, gleaming in the moonlight? The Kelce eras tour is coming to a close. Left unsaid, but palpable: She’s at the house, waiting. 

November 22 - New Heights Ep. 65 airs. (x)

(5:30) Jason acknowledges the power of Taylor’s fan base in seeing the Christmas charity single “Fairytale of Philadelphia” to No. 1 on iTunes.

“We owe a big thanks to one group in particular, besides the 92 percenters,” said Jason, referencing New Heights listeners. “And that’s the Swifties, because the Swifties came out.”

“One thousand percent,” agreed Travis.

“I got like 85 tweets from Swifties across the world saying, ‘Oh, you think eight’s good? We’re taking this to No. 1,” said Jason, laughing. “It’s a powerful group of people.”

“Thanks, Taylor, appreciate you,” added Travis. “And thank you to the Swifties. Thank you.”

Travis is trolled for his old tweets and plans for Thanks giving are discussed. Travis reveals he has no one to share the holiday with (Taylor is in Brazil).

November 24 - The Eras Tour, Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil

Now That We Don’t Talk (guitar) & Innocent (piano)

Travis is seen in Kansas City at KFC as discussed on his podcast for Thanks Giving

November 25,26 - The Eras Tour, Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil

Safe & Sound (guitar) & Untouchable (piano)

Travis arrives in Las Vegas ahead of Chiefs v Raiders game tomorrow

November 26 - Chiefs v Raiders, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas. Chiefs defeat Raiders 31 - 17

The Chiefs recognise Travis Kelce for yet another record and Taylor shows her support - check out Taylor's like on the post (x)

The Eras Tour N3, Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil

Say Don’t Go (guitar) & It’s Time To Go (piano)

Taylor announces that acoustic songs will be reset for 2024. That's a wrap for The Eras Tour 2023.

November 27 - Taylor arrives in Kansas City to see Travis

People publish article (x)

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's romance isn't for show — his friends believe it's the "real deal," a source tells PEOPLE.

"Travis' friends think this is the real deal for him,” the insider close to the Kansas City Chiefs star says exclusively. “They're still a little shocked by all of it — that he's dating the Taylor Swift, but they've seen how down to earth she is with his friends and family.”

The source adds that the relationship is “growing” because the NFL tight end, 34, and the music superstar, 33, both have found success in their own worlds — and they continue to appreciate one another's accomplishments.

“They're both really hard workers, and he acknowledges her art is hers, and he has what's his,” the source tells PEOPLE. “He understands the territory their relationship comes with and like he said, isn't letting any of the hoopla impact how they're growing together.”

The source adds, “Their relationship is about the two of them, and he sees Taylor for who she is and vice versa."

November 29 - Taylor flies to London, England.

Taylor is named Spotify's Top Global Artist.

Taylor releases "You're losing Me" on streaming services - this song was previously only available on CD and exclusively sold at The Eras Tour venues.

Um ok this is unreal?? I just wanted to say to anyone who listened to my music this year, anywhere in the world, thank you. Getting named Spotify’s Global Top Artist in 2023 is truly the best birthday/holiday gift you could’ve given me. We’ve seriously had THE MOST fun this year out there on tour and now this. Are you serious. So I was trying to think of a way to thank you, and a lot of you have been asking me to put “You’re Losing Me (From The Vault)” on streaming… so here you go! You can finally listen EVERYWHERE now 💋

Jack Antonoff shares a photo to IG stories revealing the date of when "You're Losing Me" was written - Dec 5, 2021. This is so much earlier than most fans expected.

Taylor walks the red carpet for Beyonce's Renaissance Tour Movie Premiere in London, England. She looks STUNNING!!!!

Taylor "likes" an old Paul McCartney post about his relationship with his wife Linda (now deceased) leading fans to believe "Sweet Nothing" has more to do with Paul McCartney's story than Taylor and Joe's.

November 30 - Tree Paine blasts Deuxmoi on X for their slander (x)

Taylor returns to Kansas City to be with Travis.

Go to part 1 of November 2023

Go to part 1 of December 2023

Return to timeline

[yourimagines]

Reader x Dad!Drake Parker/Dad!Drake Bell

I love this idea, I hope you like this one

Family

* English is not my first language I apologise

* Triggers: a hint of 18+ stuff, fluff

Drake 42, Y/N 39, Thomas 17, Joshua 17 and Dylan 9

Y/N POV

Drake and I met each other in school, we were friends and at someday that friendship changed, we both fell in love and our relationship grew stronger. We both became parents in our twenties and he asked me to marry him. We both moved out and rented a small apartment for a few years till his band was big enough to tour around the world and make more money for a living. We bought our dream house and I got pregnant again.

“Foods ready!” Drake yells as he was flipping the hamburgers on the barbecue. “Coming!” Thomas yelled as Dylan was already sitting outside, waiting for the food. “It looks good.” I said as I walked out with a bowl of salad in my hands. “Let me help you beautiful.” I shook my head at him as he made his way over. “I’m alright, I can do this by myself.” He smiled and still took it out of my hands. “I know you can do it by yourself but I love helping you.” Dylan made a gag sound as Drake gave me a kiss. “Daddy that’s gross.” Drake laughed and placed the bowl down on the table. “Did he kiss mom again?” The twins walked out and shot him a glare. “Why can’t I show your mother some love.” He threw his arms up and walked back to the barbecue.

“Mom, can we go out this Saturday?” Joshua asked me. I looked over at Drake and he just shrugged his shoulders. “Mom please? Andrew is throwing a party at his house.” Thomas said as Drake kept quiet. “You guys can go but first we have to visit uncle Josh. It’s his birthday Saturday.” They both nodded with a smile on their faces. “Thanks mom.”

Drake POV

It was Saturday morning and it was already a mess. “Darling you look beautiful.” I said to her as she was trying to find an outfit for later today. “You always say that.” She threw the dress down on our bed and sighed. “I’m not in my twenties anymore Drake, I’m….never mind.” She walked back to her wardrobe to find something else. “It’s just my brother’s birthday party, it’s not a gala my love.” I stood up and walked over to her. “You are beautiful.” My hands went to her waist and pulled her close to my naked chest. “Drake…” my fingers slowly traced over her stomach. “You are beautiful to me, you gave me three amazing children, darling.” I placed a soft kiss on her shoulder and she smiled at me through the mirror. “I love you.” I smiled back at her and kissed her shoulder again. “I love you too baby.”

The twins were hanging around the kitchen counter as their mom made them some breakfast. “How long are we staying there today?” She looked up and gave them a well knowing look. “Don’t start already Joshua, we’re not even there yet.” She gave him a plate and went back to making an other one. “Your mother is right, I don’t want to hear it either today.” I walked past them and gave Dylan a ruffle through his hair. “Daddy!” He laughs at me as I just messed up his hair. “But mom, we need to know.” “Thomas, stop talking about the party or you guys won’t go.” They became quiet and I gave them a sorry look. “Don’t worry.” I mouthed at them.

We all arrived on time at Josh’s his house, our parents were there and some other family members. “Hey brother.” Josh’s says as he gave me a hug. “Hey brother, happy birthday.” He smiled at me and greeted my wife and the kids. “Look at you guys, growing up fast.” The twins gave him an awkward hug and quickly disappeared to their grandparents. “Hi Josh.” Y/n says and gives him a hug. “Hey y/n, how’s everything going?” She smiles and hands him our gift for him. “Good, we are doing good.” He thanks her for the gift and guides us inside.

“They are good young boys, I’m so proud of you Drake.” My mom said to me as the three of them were playing with some other kids. “No…it was all y/n. I’m hardly around, with touring and working late nights in the studio.” She reached her hand out and gently squeezed my hand. “You are a good person Drake, they love you and so does she.” She nodded at her direction, she was holding a baby. “I’m lucky to have her mom.” She smiles and nods. “You are because you’re not the smartest person I know.” She jokes as I never took school serious. “I still made it.” “Yes you did.”

Y/n POV

It was getting late and we promised the kids that they could go out tonight so I walked up to Drake and wrapped my arms around his torso. “Hey pretty lady.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close. “I think I want to go home.” I whispered into his ear as he was listening to his cousin talk about his kids having a hard time sleeping. I felt him squeezing my hip and I tried not to giggle about it. “Speaking of that, I think we need to go. It’s way past Dylan bedtime.” He says as he looked around for the kids. “Joshua, Thomas and Dylan, say goodbye and get your belongings. We are going home.” He says as the kids were playing some football. “Okay!” They all three yelled back as they run inside to say goodbye.

I just put Dylan to bed as Drake got back home from dropping them off at Andrew’s house. “Where is my pretty wife.” He says as he entered the house. I was lying down on the couch, watching some television. “In here.” I waved my hand up in the air as he made his way over to me. “They sleep there for the night, is Dylan in bed?” He plopped down next to me and I moved my way over to him, laying my head down on his chest. “Yes Dylan is in bed, he’s a sleep.” He smiled and starts to leave some wet kisses around my neck and shoulder. “Good, I guess it’s me and you then for tonight.” I giggled as I knew what he meant. “Then show me your plans for tonight then.” I teased him as I placed a soft kiss on his lips. “I will baby, I will show you my plans.”

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 04/05/2024 (Taylor Swift, Tommy Richman, Kendrick Lamar's "euphoria")

Just a week after her album’s impact, Taylor’s been dethroned by… Sabrina Carpenter! She grabs her first #1 on the UK Singles Chart with the smash hit “Espresso” and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, Yeat praise

Rundown

As always, let’s start with the notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 - that’s what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. Now this week, we bid adieu to: “The Tortured Poets Department” by Taylor Swift (it got three-song-ruled and dropped out from #3, more on that later), “act II: date @ 8” by 4batz featuring a remix by Drake (not his best week, more on that later), “Von dutch” by Charli XCX, “Kitchen Stove” by Pozer, “Whatever” by Kygo and Ava Max, “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and FINALLY, “Lovin’ on Me” by Jack Harlow.

As for our gains, we see healthy boosts for “Pedro” by Jaxomy, Agatino Romero and the late Raffaella Carrá at #60, “Outside of Love” by Becky Hill at #54, “Evergreen” by Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners at #46, “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed at #42 (yeesh), “These Words” by Badger and Natasha Bedingfield at #22, “I Don’t Wanna Wait” by David Guetta and OneRepublic at #20 - I guess obvious covers and remixes have a good week - then finally, a song hitting the top 10 I’m personally very happy with: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey at #6. #1 incoming? Please?

We also continue to see the rise or, rather, resurgence of Amy Winehouse’s catalogue due to the biopic, with “Valerie” with Mark Ronson at #38, “Back to Black” at #39, and a re-entry for “Tears Dry on Their Own” at #49, which peaked at #16 when Ye’s “Stronger” was #1 in 2007. On that same album, he says he hates Nazis, look how far we’ve come. Anyways, “Tears Dry” contains a sample of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, made famous by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, which didn’t chart in its original form for the longest time here. It peaked at #6 in 1970 but only in the form of a cover by Diana Ross, whose version charted whilst Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold” was #1 - just shows that we don’t really remember the bigger hits of the time. The Boys Town Gang reached #46 with their cover in 1981, Whitehouse and Jocelyn Brown both charted with covers coincidentally in August of 1998 - they peaked at #60 and #35 respectively - and finally, the original first charted at #80 in 2013, amazingly still its peak, and briefly re-entered earlier this year. “Tears Dry” itself was sampled the last time Amy made the top 40 in 2023, with Skepta’s #28-peaking tribute “Can’t Play Myself”.

As for our top five this week, we start in the dregs with “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas at #5, “Beautiful Things” by Benedict Cumberbatch at #4, “Too Sweet” by Hozier at #3, then of course Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone at #2 and “Espresso” at #1. It’s an interesting one today, folks, with a lot of unique and frankly, fantastic stuff to cover, so let’s start with… Kygo?

New Entries

#75 - “For Life” - Kygo and Zak Abel featuring Nile Rodgers

Produced by Kygo, Nile Rodgers, Ollie Green and Franklin

I’m honestly a bit surprised Kygo is still notching chart hits, especially without a big name attached this time. Sure, Nile Rodgers is a legend, but he’s doing so much dance-pop garbage in his later years that I don’t think many people check specifically for his collaborations, so there’s got to be something in this that’s unique, right? Aaaaaaand it’s a sample. It’s a nostalgia bait sample of a 2000s EDM track because of course it is. French house act Modjo debuted with “Lady - Hear Me Tonight”, which spent two weeks at #1 in 2000 and is an absolute classic I still return to today, even if Modjo were basically a one-hit wonder. “Lady” of course is built on a sample of “Soup for One” by Rodgers’ own band CHIC, which comes from a 1982 soundtrack album, never charted and kind of been eclipsed by “Lady”, largely because the original is honestly pretty bad, uninteresting and surprisingly stiff for an 80s funk track, with some of the weakest and most slap-dash implementation of synths. “Lady” really took the best parts of that song - its undeniable guitar melody, that isn’t even put to great use in the original - and constructed an entirely new, incredible song out of it. So I can’t tell if it’s pathetic and desperate for Rodgers to try and reclaim it, or something that speaks to the power of musical transformation. Oh, what am I kidding? It’s Kygo, it’s just kind of boring. It’s a rote piano house track that goes for the same tropical atmosphere Kygo has been doing for years - a lot of the same festival synths are there, it’s all full of bubbly swooshing that actively sound like pastel colours. The only real hook of the song is taken from Modjo and re-sang by Zak Abel, with slight lyric modifications taken from the “I’m Good (Blue)” department of refusing to allow for fun in your dance songs, and even that just feels desperate. What did Nile Rodgers even do here, man? Sign a legal document saying you can use the hook? It’s not even his Goddamn hook.

#69 - “Solo” - Myles Smith

Produced by Peter Fenn

Myles Smith is a singer-songwriter I hadn’t heard of until today but has been active since at least last year and is making at least some consistent buzz so I was interested to see what his first slow-burning chart hit here has to offer and… are we just, IN, 2012, 2013 now? We had festival house with the last song, the next song is heavily Yeezus-inspired, and this is a full-on Aloe Blacc stomp-rock song. It isn’t bad either - I actually had to get used to hearing his richer voice on this kind of scattered clap-stomp-holler folk track, and whilst this is nothing unique given the solemn pianos, spattering of strings and of course, that jingling indie folk rolick, that doesn’t feel particularly organic on this one, it still is far from bad. The lyrics are somewhat generic but not in an awful way, and the “so low”/”solo” double meaning is somewhat clever or at least, would be if in the context of the song, they actually meant separate things. It’s a bit annoying that it’s the main conceit because both have negative connotations for Mr. Smith here, so it just feels like he’s repeating himself rather than elaborating on his feelings or presenting a dichotomy. I imagine it’ll be a lost on a few people due to botched execution, which bothers me because it was an active attempt at clever songwriting that gets kind of lost in sonic translation. This sounds like I’m picking apart the song’s flaws but it is really just a fine little woodlands jams with a great singer, infectious hook and by the end, a damn fine melodramatic string section. I can see it growing on me, especially due to its gorgeous outro, but for right now, I’m somewhat lukewarm, not going to raise a fuss if it ends up smashing though and in a Noah Kahan world, I suppose it’s quite likely.

#64 - “If We Being Real” - Yeat

Produced by Synthetic, Radiate, Fendii, LRBG, Perdu and Dreamr

So terrible news: I like Yeat now. I’m still not granting him his silly little umaluts, and I won’t go too in-depth here, mostly because there’s another song worthy of in-depth analysis, and every piece Yeat’s put out fits into the jigsaw of the album’s narrative as a whole… it would require a lot more time and space, and frankly words, that I’m willing to give #64. No track feels unnecessary on 2093, the atmosphere is consistent across all 24 tracks, and lyrically, it’s a concept album, which I would have never expected from Yeat and he pulls it off brilliantly both sonically and thematically without straining himself to areas he probably couldn’t reach like trying to be super lyrical or stepping away from rage pads. Given the album’s experimentation and length, I wasn’t surprised by the lukewarm commercial reception, but I did at least expect maybe the songs with Future, Wayne or Drake on the deluxe, to have charted by now, when this hasn’t even happened in the US. So when the penultimate track on an album that’s over an hour in its standard issue becomes his first solo hit in the top 75, I have to assume TikTok virality is involved.

Regardless, I’m glad it’s here because it’s brilliant. Sonically as a separate track, it’s one extended verse over a corrupted industrial beat that cracks in right after a mystical intro full of textured but meandering strings, that get swooshed out of existence by a cinematic, malfunctioning clunker incorporating Yeat’s inhuman ad-libs, manipulated behind vocal recognition, into infectious loops within the beat. This is one of few songs - another’s coming later - where I can understand the sheer amount of producers. Lyrically, the title refers to Yeat or more accurately, his psychopathic billionaire character, attempting to shed some of his CEO veneer and ultimately failing, adopting a lot of the violent, power-hungry rhetoric the rest of the album relies on, making it a pretty ironic and depressing title, especially when considering its place in the rest of the album, coming right before the… actually honest and heartbreaking closer, “1093”. In the backhalf of this album, Yeat’s bragging sounds increasingly monotone and routine, and him rapping in and out of distorted filters or going up and down from his traditional murmur to a choking yell, exemplifies how sick and tired he is of the lyfestyle he curated for himself. This song in particular ends with him barely on beat for a beat that doesn’t even really have a beat, becoming a factorial ambiance more so than anything coherently rhythmic. I have no idea why this song in particular is going viral - it doesn’t have a chorus or even really some of the catchier, more potent lyrics on the album, and its beat barely functions as such for the vast majority of the song - Hell, it’s not even one of the album’s integral moments like the opener, “Bought the Earth”, “ILUV”, “Shade”, “Riot & Set it off”, or really countless others, but I’m not complaining because the sound design, the care placed into thematic and narrative consistency, it’s all still here. This is a 10/10 album, and if this song gets more people to check it out, I really can’t be upset with that.

#58 - “Love Me JeJe” - Tems

Produced by Guilty Beatz and Spax

So what’s “Love Me JeJe” actually mean? Well, in Nigerian Pidgin, it means “gentle” or “tender”, and the use of a more regional term rather than the English actually contributes greatly to why I think this song works: Tems’ buttery voice has always been able to display both coldness and a sensual warmth, often at the same time, but on some of the bubbliest guitars I’ve heard over an Afrobeats rhythm since the genre started charting consistently, she’s fully in that second category. Hell, most of the lyrics are pretty basic here, especially the practically meaningless chorus, but that’s to its benefit because thinking too much about this song defeats its purpose: to be gentle. It’s a frankly adorable expression of love and care at its most optimistic extent possible. Despite the clean, tropical percussion, it still feels cute and homegrown. Hell, the second verse, after a nice back-and-forth choir vocal, even references the Nigerian electricity provider that’s apparently nationally infamous for its power outages, with the lyric comparing the love she feels with her partner to the feeling when electricity comes back on in the village and all her neighbours inform the locals. Combine that with how breezy this is, the easy-flowing bridge into an outro full of murmuring, chatter and reverb-drenched laughing, it just makes for a really cute, likeable song. Not necessarily what I expected out of a lead single from Tems, but a delightful surprise. Now to balance that with pure hatred.

#50 - “euphoria” - Kendrick Lamar

Produced by Cardo, Kyuro, Sounwave, Johnny Juliano, Yung Exclusive and Matthew “MTech” Bernard

There’s part of me that finds it quite funny that Drake gets into serious beef with an incredibly analytical and perfectionist rapper like Kendrick right after putting out his own exposé of himself. For All the Dogs is as much of a dissection of Aubrey Drake Graham, albeit perhaps unintentionally, as Kendrick or really anyone could perform, as long as you’re paying attention. It’s been like that (no pun intended) for a while, but his latest is the most obvious and desperate attempt at clinging to status and image that it places his insecurities fully on display. You could recite lyrics from that album on a jazz beat and call it a diss track, so the fact that Kendrick went back to back with damn near dissections of Drake’s paranoia - especially on the Instagram follow-up track he made that is chilling - as well as a myriad of different issues he has with Drake, simply because… well, he doesn’t fuck with Drake. One could argue that this feud is complex and storied, with so many different  beligerents… but the motives behind it are genuinely a lot simpler than most rap feuds, and the diss tracks that are made from it are way more straightforward. They just outline the reasons they dislike each other, almost systematically, it’s genuinely refreshing, or at least a lot more than what’s going on with Quavo and Chris Brown, yeesh.

This track in particular is as calculated as can be, acting as a dissertation on why K-Dot doesn’t really like Drake too much. It’s condescending, damn near academic, with its smooth jazz intro and categorical shoot down of each possible avenue you could hit Drake from. We have sextuple entendres on this thing, a total of three beats, two of which are cheap-sounding but absolutely murderous drill bangers, and Genius annotations that rival War and Peace when combined. I’m not a lyrical expert, and there’s so much in here that I didn’t get until I was pointed towards that direction by Genius annotations, Reddit, X, or, embarrassingly, YouTube Shorts. You don’t need to research or analyse for this to hit hard though, there are plenty of lines that aren’t going over anyone’s heads… until you look into the exact way the bars are constructed and suddenly they have 20 double meanings and hidden easter eggs. This is really sheer venom, filled with so many layers that I wouldn’t be surprised if he genuinely wins a GRAMMY for it - and it would be in character considering Drake doesn’t even nominate his songs anymore. It’s already having an effect too, that 4batz album came out today, and he’s not signed to OVO as rumoured. Ye’s on the record… but not the already existing and heavily-streamed Drake remix. Already, he may be losing some of that prestige.

As far as it is sonically, it’s six minutes of murder, and Kendrick’s delivery is energised, violent, damn near deranged at times, to perfectly balance how, somewhat subtly through his meta commentary about his own bars and albums, the lyrics are basically an essay. It has an introduction, a conclusion, a hypothesis, written examples, he even presents counter-arguments and weaves them into his own analysis. By the time he was going extremely in-depth about his experiences as a father, and just repeating that Drake knows nothing about that, it almost felt like overkill. My personal favourite lines and ideas presented here are the concise slow dagger of the intro verse, the “Demun”/”throwaway” scheme, the voice and character he puts on between “Cutthroat business” and “I’ll explain that phrase” - he’s like a disappointed teaching assistant, obviously the YNW Melly line and its set-up, the incredible Daft Punk line that got a cackle out of me on first listen, then followed up by a mocking interpolation of one of Drake’s most revered songs, the straightforward rant about everything he hates that references an iconic moment of DMX’s trademark honesty (rest in peace), the “record” scheme in verse three, and when he started the fake Canadian accent, I just lost it. Drake’s biggest weakness here is that when he’s funny, I’m laughing at him, but when Kendrick’s funny, I’m laughing with him, and much louder. If he does respond, unless the man tells us that Kendrick’s whole life and career has been a farce, or he brings, like, the actual former President Obama on the track or something, I can’t see how it tops this. This is one of the best diss tracks ever in terms of sheer detail, and might honestly be one of the greatest throwaway rap singles period. It’ll be tough to beat.

#31 - “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” - Tommy Richman

Produced by Max Vossberg, Jonah Roy, Mannyvelli, Sparkheem and Kavi

This is the sudden breakout hit for Virginia rapper-turned-singer Tommy Richman, which actually comes in two versions on Spotify, the original and a more distorted “VHS” version. Also, this is brilliant. Sure, Richman just sounds like Brent Faiyaz, but a trend I haven’t been able to talk about on here necessarily but has been very exciting for me is the return of grittier, groovier synth funk and hyphy beats into underground hip hop and R&B, with this representing the more melodic end of that sound, which is typically restricted to Midwest and Dirty South rappers. The sound design on this one is actually even unique to that sound, starting with a bizarrely British-sounding Memphis rap vocal loop which I think isn’t a sample and is just him doing a bad impression, filtered below an infectious beat that actually took me by surprise. It even has cowbells and the type of punchy jabbing drums that I love from classic southern rap, but instead of the smooth-talking rappers you usually expect over this, we get a Brent Faiyaz impression that didn’t click with me until hearing this song. I never really got his appeal until I hear it over this and I start to realise the very distinct new jack swing element to his vocals, as he pretty seamlessly transitions from soulful double-tracked harmonies to much more rhythmic, half-rap flows. Now this ISN’T Brent Faiyaz… and I still don’t really like Brent Faiyaz, but hearing his wannabes I think helped me gather what was distinct about him, and the literal Richman North of Richmond here pitting his filtered splatter of vocal ideas and riffs over the beat in a very Devil-may-care fashion exemplifies the elements I do like about him, just with an instrumental that I personally like a lot more. Also, the VHS version is labelled as such but is really just like a bass-boosted version of the song that sounds like it was done in 10 seconds in Audacity, though the vocal mixing sounds a bit different too. I would love for someone to explain why that was the version I ended up adding to my playlist, because I couldn’t tell you.

#8 - “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” - Taylor Swift

Produced by Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift

I know I wrote my whole Taylor spiel last week, but I’m not bothered about this one at all, and I really did expect it to be a fan favourite, mostly because, as the one track I actually enjoy on the standard version, she’s having fun! The lyrics are actively vapid, which doesn’t feel like the intention when she’s singing over soppy adult contemporary but very much feeds into the almost childish character she plays here over synthpop with an actual pulse. The synths here sound like a theme park she’s taking the boy to, especially with the backing vocals and chatter samples implemented into the ambiance and classic Antonoff wonky synths - though some of this doesn’t even sound like it’s in his ballpark. Like were Marian Hill or Sofi Tukker ghost-producing this? Some of these loop choices and flashy sound effects are frankly ridiculous, in the best way of course because the song is camp and fun. Sure, some of Taylor’s lyrics still come off a bit awkward, mostly because of her choice of slower melodies sometimes clashing with the fast-paced patter of the synthscape, but that’s a nitpick. I do love this song, I think it’s fun, Hell, I think it’s funny which is something Taylor has always kind of failed to translate to me in the past, so that is something. I just don’t think we have the same sense of humour. Does she like Norm Macdonald? I don’t feel like she does. Correct me if I’m wrong, Swifties.

Conclusion

It should be incredibly obvious who gets Best of the Week, it’s Kenny, easily, with “euphoria”, and I’m sorry, Swifties, but Yeat better. “If We Being Real” takes away with the Honourable Mention pretty easily as well, though really, strong competition and strong week all around - Tems was close too. There can’t be a Dishonourable Mention in this climate so, Worst of the Week goes to Kygo and Zak Abel for “For Life” that “features” Nile Rodgers, it genuinely just is a lazy template of a song. As for what’s on the horizon, I’m not sure. Dua’ll have some impact, but outside of that, time may have to tell. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you next week!

[dwtspotify]

Daydreamin' — Ariana Grande (6:33 am EST)

careless 2.0 — Arden Jones (6:35 am EST)

Superman — BLAGE (6:39 am EST)

Billie Jean — Michael Jackson (6:41 am EST)

Find U Again ft Camila Cabello — Mark Ronson (6:44 am EST)

Disappointment ft Rxseboy — Sarcastic Sounds (6:48 am EST)

feel good inc (bbno$ re-finessed) — bbno$ (6:50 am EST)

She Loves Me — Eminem (6:56 am EST)

Feeling — Juice WRLD (6:59 am EST)

Demons — Alec Benjamin (7:02 am EST)

Jesus In La (7:04 am EST)

Oprah's Bank Account ( Lil Yachty & DaBaby ft Drake) — Lil Yachty (7:06 am EST)

Fair Trade ( with Travis Scott) — Drake (7:09 am EST)

Servin ft 6ix9ine — A Boogie Wit da Hoodie (7:17 am EST)

Fix You — Coldplay (7:21 am EST)

You Need Jesus — Baby Gravy (7:23 am EST)

All I Have Is My Smile — Lil DUSTY G (7:26 am EST)

Better Off (Dying) — Lil Peep (7:28 am EST)

Smokin Out The Window (Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic) — Bruno Mars (7: 37 am EST)

Holiday — KSI (7:39 am EST)

A TV Show Called Earth — Philip Labes (7:42 am EST)

Deja Vu — Post Malone (7:45 am EST)

[meggowaffle]

Lavender Scones & Second Chances Ch 42

After an angst ridden few weeks, I hope you're ready for a fluff avalanche!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45347809/chapters/126057298

---

Oh, I brought you a gift too, Hermione.” Theo reached into his pocket and unfolded a small square of material, bringing out his wand to fill it with air — it was another balloon. 

“My father will hear about this!” shrieked the miniature Draco balloon. She thought it was a fair imitation of what the real Draco would sound like if he sucked helium.  

As it inflated quickly, Hermione realised the balloon was Draco. “Uh, thanks Theo, this is—”

Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and flicking a wand to pop the balloon. “Honestly, between you and Weaslette… I don’t know why I keep you around.”

“You’re no fun, Drake. But don’t worry, I brought a spare.” He winked at Hermione. 

[thelensofyashunews]

LUCKI shares "Heavy On My Heart" video from new 'GEMINI!' LP

After receiving heavyweight co-signs from both Drake and Lil Baby, Chicago underground legend LUCKI has just shared the video for "Heavy On My Heart" from his new album GEMINI!— out now. The project boasts features from A-listers Future, Lil Yachty, Veeze, Rylo Rodriguez, and 42 Dugg, as well as production from sonic tastemakers Tay Keith, Wheezy, Southside, and Bobby Raps. GEMINI! arrives on the heels of the announcement that LUCKI's first US headlining tour, The Gemini Tour, will kick off on July 18th in Raleigh, NC. Produced by Live Nation, the 27-date tour will make stops in Miami, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Boston, Brooklyn, and more before wrapping up on September 7th in Atlanta, GA. The recently-released 2-pack of singles titled 2 Faced, Pt. 2 (the Coupe-produced "Heavy On My Heart" and the Brent Rambo-produced "Courtesy Of") offered the first glimpse into LUCKI's follow-up to 2023's s*x m*ney dr*gs, with the former serving as an upbeat outing buoyed by LUCKI's candid bars over a soulful instrumental while the latter is a hard-hitting victory lap draped in his distinct raspy flow. A longtime staple of Chicago’s underground scene, LUCKI’s hazy cloud rap confessionals saw the then-teenager grow a cult following in the Windy City and beyond before garnering mainstream recognition with his 2022 debut album FLAWLESS LIKE ME (which had appearances from Future and Babyface Ray) and hit track “New Drank”(200M+ Streams). GEMINI! marks LUCKI’s first full-length outing since the aforementioned s*x m*ney dr*gs and arrives on the heels of a high-profile appearance on “Broke phone” (7M+ Streams) from Veeze's 2023 album Ganger as well as a strong run of 2024 singles, including “PAIDNFULL”, “COLORFUL DRUGS”, and most recently “All Love”, where he linked with Lyrical Lemonade for a Cole Bennett-directed music video, as well as a guest outing on Southside’s latest track “Elegant”.

LUCKI’s fourth full-length album GEMINI! marks the entry point into what will be a busy summer for the Chicago artist. After performing at last weekend’s Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash, he's currently slated to make an appearance at Rolling Loud before embarking on his nationwide headlining Gemini Tour — with a fall European tour also on the horizon. An artist as multifaceted as his star sign, LUCKI has grown from an underground Chicago mainstay into a critically-acclaimed international icon, using hazy cloud rap confessionals to pave the way for the sound of modern Hip-Hop. With his GEMINI! era officially in motion, LUCKI is continuing to assert his legacy while proving just how far his movement has carried over the past decade.

[jwscrobbles]

Top 50 Songs Scrobbled for the Week Ending 2/12/2016

TW LW ARTIST - SONG 1 5 The Chainsmokers/Daya – DONT LET ME DOWN(1 week @ #1) 2 6 Gourdan Banks – KEEP YOU IN MIND 3 8 Kari Faux - SUPPLIER 4 1 Craig David/Sigala – AIN’T GIVING UP(1 week @ #1) 5 10 Rae Sremmurd/Gucci Mane – BLACK BEATLES 6 13 DJ Cassidy/Chromeo – FUTURE IS MINE 7 2 Alessia Cara – SCARS TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL 8 3 The Weeknd/Daft Punk – STARBOY(3 weeks @ #1) 9 16 Gallant/Jhene Aiko – SKIPPING STONES 10 4 Bruno Mars – 24K MAGIC 11 7 Calvin Harris – MY WAY 12 9 Disclosure/Nao - SUPEREGO 13 25 GoldLink – PALM TREES 14 11 Solange/Samphaa – DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR 15 29 The xx – ON HOLD 16 12 AlunaGeorge – NOT YOUR LOVE 17 17 Emeli Sande - HURTS 18 14 Spencer Ludwig - DIGGY 19 15 P!nk – JUST LIKE FIRE 20 28 Frank Ocean – SELF CONTROL 21 18 Troye Sivan/Alessia Cara - WILD 22 21 Cookin’ On 3 Burners/Kylie Auldist – THIS GIRL(1 week @ #1) 23 33 Maroon 5/Kendrick Lamar – DON’T WANNA KNOW 24 34 Childish Gambino - REDBONE 25 37 John Mayer – LOVE ON THE WEEKEND 26 19 Janet Jacks0n – BROKEN HEARTS HEAL 27 20 Lady Gaga – PERFECT ILLUSION(1 week @ #1) 28 38 Ari Lennox - YUENGLING 29 39 Empire of the Sun – TWO VINES 30 23 The Chainsmokers/Halsey - CLOSER 31 40 The Weeknd/Daft Punk – I FEEL IT COMING 32 41 Solange – CRANES IN THE SKY 33 22 Sia/Kendrick Lamar – THE GREATEST 34 24 Twenty One Pilots - RIDE 35 26 Hailee Steinfed/Grey/Zedd - STARVING 36 27 Tinashe - SUPERLOVE 37 46 J Cole – FALSE PROPHETS 38 45 PARTYNEXTDOOR/Drake – COME AND SEE ME 39 47 Janet Jackson – BLACK EAGLE 40 49 Daniel Caesar/Kali Uchis – GET YOU 41 48 A Tribe Called Quest – WE THE PEOPLE….. 42 30 The 1975 – THE SOUND 43 31 Tory Lanez - LUV 44 32 Empire of the Sun – HIGH AND LOW(2 weeks @ #1) 45 35 Tinie Tempah/Zara Larsson – GIRLS LIKE 46 36 Jon Bellion – ALL TIME LOW 47 42 Meghan Trainer/Yo Gotti - BETTER 48 43 Twenty88 – ON THE WAY 49 44 Frank Ocean - SEIGFRIED 50 50 Beyonce – HOLD UP

[dailyrapfacts]

Drake debuts Lil Uzi Vert collab “At The Gates” on OVO Radio

Drizzy shares his collab with Uzi Drake finally premieres his collab with Lil Uzi Vert titled “At The Gates (All Painted).” The record was debuted on Sound 42’s Fry Yiy Show on Ovo Radio late Friday night (April 7). Per HipHop-N-More, a snippet of the record first surfaced over a year ago and it was thought to be part of Uzi’s upcoming project, The Pink Tape. Drake & Lil Uzi Vert – At The…