#bless the telephone

[lukolabrainrot]

Nicola's Easter Eggs from This Weekend/Week (and What it Could All Mean)

First, I am going to list the most important pieces of information (imo) that N posted on her IG grid or stories this weekend/week (and I will put the date it was posted- I'm on PST so some of these MIGHT have been posted on a different date for N):

Posted on N's stories on Friday, 8/9/24

Posted on N's grid on Saturday, 8/10/24

Posted on N's stories on Sunday, 8/11/24

This song was posted on N's stories on Tuesday, 8/13/24

Also, I want to stress I've been DEEP in delulu this weekend/week over all this because it's made me soo excited, but I analyzed the figure in the sunglasses from her milk tshirt pic for such a long time last night, and I swear... I am like 98% certain I see L's VERY distinct tattoo on the person in the sunglasses (and it's totally in the correct placement). I'll put the pic below. It helps if you zoom in a little bit. And after the song that she posted today, I am 99% certain at this point that L took that photo of her in the tshirt 😭😭😭 I could be wrong about the tattoo lol, BUT I still am almost certain that's him based on the arms!

What Could This All Mean??

I feel like we all have seen the theories at this point around all of these posts/stories, and the MANY Easter Eggs they all contain regarding L OR certain people adjacent to L. Therefore, I am not going to talk about all of the Easter Eggs and what they might be implying. This is what I will say:

If all of this content had not been released publicly in such a short period of time, I don't think I would really have paid that much attention to it, or have been THIS excited. However, it is precisely because N (who is VERY intentional on SM) posted ALL OF THIS in such a short period of time, knowing very well how the fandom would be interpreting it and leaving TONS of Easter Eggs that she's with L, that makes me fairly confident that there has been a VERY positive shift between L/N.

Could I be wrong? Yes. However, the song that she posted today (which I have ALWAYS loved btw 😍), clarified to me that everything she has posted since Friday wasn't just random. That song is a BIG statement! We know that N communicates through music, and this song's lyrics don't leave a lot to interpretation. It is a very sweet and happy love song! Now, could this song be about someone else, or could she just have liked the song and wanted to post it? Yes. But after EVERYTHING she posted on IG since Friday, NOBODY can convince me this song isn't about L!

I don't know what this EXACTLY means right now BTS for ALL parties involved in this situation. However, if L was going to officially acknowledge A as his girlfriend in the near future, would N have posted all of this content in such a short period of time that is very obviously related to L in the fandom? Absolutely not. I think (and a LOT all people might not agree with me on this) that this was an official acknowledgment to the fandom, specifically, that her and L are together currently and happily in love 😭😭😭 I still feel like the situation is probably a little complicated BTS, but something in my gut, based on all this public content the last few days from N, makes me feel like something BIG has changed between her and L, and N therefore feels more comfortable and confident with sharing this type of content with the fandom (and the public). I don't believe that we will get a lot of this type of content from L for a while (for LOTS of different reasons that I think are totally understandable), BUT we might get a couple of little crumbs from him (I'm thinking maybeee through songs). I also don't think they are in any place yet to go officially public, but I DO think that N will continue posting content like this if my theories are true 👀 I also feel like they may make a public announcement sooner than we expected based off of everything from the last couple of days. I have said this before, but I believe that both L/N are aware that this relationship would get serious pretty quickly if they were able to get on the same page. And I think they have 😭😍

Does this mean that L/A are done? I think so. Will we still see some material from A related to L? Maybe. I wouldn't rule that out. I get the sense though, and I have been feeling like this for a while, that L/A really haven't been doing that well in their relationship for a long time based on all the evidence that we now have.

A lot of people might not agree with all of my thoughts here, but I feel pretty confident that the song N posted today is a statement to the public, particularly the fandom, about her feelings currently for L. And it just makes my heart really happy 😍😍😍

[cinnamon-todd]

bless the telephone - j. miller x f!reader

authors note: It is set right before the outbreak, so it's bittersweet. I just love the song Bless the Telephone by Labi Siffre, so I was inspired. I keep deleting my fics, but this one I think I'm gonna keep up.

word count; 750

warnings; Pre-outbreak, Joel's birthday, no physical description of reader, long distance, fluff but really sad when you realise what's happening right after lol, but It's sweet prom!!

song; Bless the Telephone - Labi Siffre (listen if you haven't!!! there's also a Kelis version which is also good)

Business trips weren’t her favourite. Being separated from her family was a foreign feeling, sort of. She worked a lot, but she always came home before the clock struck twelve. She always tucked her girl to bed and kissed her husband good night. But business trips don’t give her that luxury. 

It was just a five-day excursion, but she found herself calling home every chance she got. She was glad Sarah was now old enough to have a phone, so she could stop bombarding Joel with questions about her day. Even though he didn’t mind. Oh, Sweet Joel. It was his birthday this week, yet she wasn’t even there to celebrate it. She tried everything in her power to get out of this trip, yet her boss didn’t budge one bit. 

She made it back late from a night out with her colleagues. It was a distraction to stop calling home, Joel’s constant nagging of wanting her to enjoy her time overseas and there was nothing to worry about back home. Giving in, she went out with them and had a few too many to drink. Her drunken giggles filled the empty hotel room as she stumbled into bed. It was almost twelve a.m., and she couldn’t even open her door without help from the hotel staff, let alone crunch the time and figure out what it was back home.

“Pick up…” her desperate calls ring him. Her legs are tucked snugly into the expensive sheets of the hotel bed as she waits for him to answer.

And he does, of course, “Damn it, girl, do you know what time it is?” his groggy voice rang.

“Mmmm,” a drunken giggle slips as she lays comfortably against the pillows. The room was dimly lit as she looked at the ceiling. “No, what is the time?”

The sound of sheets rustling can be heard on the other line, the thought of those sheets felt more expensive than the ones she was in now. Those sheets were tainted in Joel Miller, it was covered in it. “3 a.m..” his voice pulled her out of the daze.

“3 a.m.?” she gasps, and guilt fills her heart, she mumbles a drunken apology.

“No, it’s fine.” his small laugh can be heard, she envisions his naked body wrapped in their sheets as he, too, looks up at the ceiling. She can’t wait to come home, to shower him with love and make up for forgetting his birth-...

“Wait…” she sits up immediately, and a look of realisation appears. “It’s your birthday.”

“Ah…” he realises as well. “I guess you're right, technically.” his voice, smooth as butter, filled her ears again. A relaxing tone that sends shivers down her spine.

“Technically?” 

“Well, my birthday doesn’t start till I see you…”

“In that case, I better get home quickly…” her small smile pressed against the phone screen, her hunger to be near and hold him and give him the best birthday. A yawn escapes her mouth as she pulls the comforter closer to her chest. “It’s so cold here.” 

“I heard,” his rough voice rings, “Sarah said she has a surprise for me tomorrow, it’s gon’ be grand, apparently.” 

She smiles, remembering what they bought for him. A watch. It was Sarah’s idea, she wanted to give him something he could wear all the time, no matter where he was—a constant reminder of his two favourite girls. “It is, my love. It is something you would not expect.”

“Oh?” his interest peaked. “Are you gonna tell me what it is?”

“Nope. You’ll just have to wait and see.” She bites her lip, “I wish I were there to see your reaction.” 

“You’ve got two more days, you can do it.”

“I gotta remind Sarah to record it.” 

A chuckle is heard from the other line, “That girl doesn’t even know how to use her phone yet, she's gonna forget.” 

“Well then, you're gonna have to reenact it for me.” she teases. Her eyes grew heavy as the illuminating light from the screen became more painful. “Two more nights, then I’ll you both again. I can’t wait any longer. I’m not ever going on these trips again. I can’t wait to get back home.”

“I’ll always be here waiting for you.” 

“And I’ll always come back to you…” her eyes slowly begin to close, the line becomes more quiet. The couple falls asleep in each other's embrace, just as if they were at home, in bed, together.

[shy-girl04]

It's nice to hear your voice again

I've waited all day long

Even wrote a song for you

It's strange, the way you make me feel

With just a word or two

I'd like to do the same for you

It's nice to hear you say "hello"

And "how are things with you?

I love you"

But very soon it's time to go

An office job to do

While I'm here writing songs for you

Labi Siffre

[ken-doll-roy]

Thinking a lot about how grateful I am to be 21 in the 21st century.

I talked to my friends all at once in a big group chat at 10am, 2pm, and 11pm.

I have no idea what we talked about.

I don't care what we talked about.

I tuned into their radio show at 7 and listened to them laughing together.

I sent them my song requests via DM.

They told me they loved me through FM.

I got 3 shout-outs, and my dad got 1.

He was listening from far away.

Bless the telephone.

[ultraprism]

It's nice to hear your voice again

I've waited all day long

Even wrote a song for you

It's strange, the way you make me feel

With just a word or two

I'd like to do the same for you

It's nice to hear you say "hello"

And "how are things with you?”

“I love you"

But very soon it's time to go

An office job to do

While I'm here writing songs for you

Strange

How a phone call can change your day

Take you away

Away

Bless the telephone

It's nice, the way you say my name

Not very fast or slow, just soft and low

The same as when you tell me how you feel

I feel the same way, too

I'm very much in love with you

I'm very much in love with you

[callmebelinda]

Queen Mother posted another song to be added to my Spotify Playlist. 🎶😎

[just-ur-local-peach]

It's nice, the way you say my name

Not very fast or slow, just soft and low

The same as when you tell me how you feel

I feel the same way, too

I'm very much in love with you

[lukolabrainrot]

I just want to remind everyone that this is the same woman who posted a photo with her friends where the polaroid on her phone was kind of visible and immediately deleted it and posted another photo with the polaroid hidden.. she knows very well how crazy we are lol and how good our investigative skills are. She wants us to know that she’s in love and she knows we will assume it’s L. So if she was in love with someone else, she wouldn’t have posted the song at all.

No notes!

[n0-decency]

All time great song

[its-always-sunny-in-city17]

Bless the telephone!

[vaguely-concerned]

For personal reasons: Nona’s conversation with Varun towards the end of NtN (I had to do my own transcription of the audio book here, so pardon any errant punctuation or mistakes) 

The Captain opened her mouth and said, “Get him! Get him! Get him, he flees!”

“I can’t!” said Nona, “I can’t do anything. I don’t want to do anything.”

The Captain moaned sharply. “All for nothing! You asked for help — you asked — and all for nothing, only pain! You asked. I gave you blood for blood!”

Nona, grief-stricken, hollered: “Not like this! I love this place!”

“Do you love?” said the Captain’s mouth. 

Nona struggled. “Yes! No. Yes,” she said, then, “I don’t know what it means. I say it, and I don’t know what it means. Did I ever know what it meant?”

“Green thing,” said the Captain, “green—and—breathing thing — the ghost, the drinker, transformed — what will you eat now? Where will your body go? What did he do to you to make you this way? You eat yourself. I gorge on unliving marrow!”

It was true. The Captain looked as if she were withering before Nona’s eyes. She cried out in haste, “Don’t! Stop that! I can’t stop it, but you can stop it. Stop hurting her! She doesn’t know what you’re doing.” 

“You cry mercy?” said the Captain.

“Yes! Mercy, yes!” said Nona.

“I have crossed the face of the universe,” said the Captain. “I poison it to match my grief!”

“Yes,” said Nona, “but — but stop this. Stop hurting the Captain.” She rooted around wildly to find a phrase, and fell back on Cam. “You’re acting out. Maybe you should take five.” 

“For eight thousand unjust bodies I will stop,” said the Captain. 

Nona said, “NO! I want you to stop now!”

“They concoct their own vengeance,” said the Captain. “Their justice is not my justice. Their water is not my water. I came to help. I am made a mockery. The danger is upon you, and you do not even know. They are coming out of their tower, salt thing. There is a hole at the bottom of their tower. I will pull their teeth. I will make it blank for you.” 

Nona said, “Hot Sauce never did anything wrong. Or Beautiful Ruby, or Born-In-The-Morning, or Kevin. And Honesty — “ here, she was compelled by the truth, “Honesty doesn’t know any better. Camilla and Palamedes never did anything wrong. Pyrrha says she did a lot wrong, but at least she knows it. And we don’t like the Captain, but we pity her. Stop hurting the Captain. Don’t do this.” 

And Nona found herself saying: “I’m ready to die. Really ready.”

“Nothing is really ready to die,” said the Captain. 

. . . 

Nona looked at the Captain’s face with its closed eyes — still wasted, but not dead, and looking a little less like a piece of fruit someone had sucked all the juice out of. 

Nona lay on her back atop the stretched canvas, and Nona’s mouth said: “Just — wait. Just… help me. Help me do this. I might be different, soon.” 

*

Planet ghost arrives to pick up little sister after she called it crying her eyes out earlier that night; thousands wounded hundreds dead natural order continues to be in shambles. To be serious though — Nona’s plea for humanity here has stuck with me so deeply. I love this place. I love these people. Don’t hurt them. The love is stronger than the rage, and Varun listens. She cries mercy, and is heard, if ony momentarily. Not happily and not forever, but it agrees to wait and to help her in the way she needs it to. (“We had the choice to stop”/”I can’t stop it, but you can stop it”............) It ties in very neatly with the overarching themes of vengeance in TLT: that you have to love and care for what’s hurting more than you hate what inflicted the damage, or else very bad things can start to happen. (Also ‘Honesty — doesn’t know any better’ is the funniest and the loveliest part of it to me. Like yeah. If you want to love humanity that’s such a crucial part of it. You have to accept that the Honestys of the world won’t know any better no matter what you do or say and that they’re still worth it; they live here too.) 

[steelycunt]

valentine’s day is approaching! and in that spirit, i am once again asking you all to tell me your favourite love song. furthemore, i have been asked by my editor (bless you, cheryl) to note that we are also taking love poems. if nobody answers, cheryl will blow my face off with a harpoon in front of all of you. its the season of love!

[christiangeistdorfer]

the winning podium of TIMO SALONEN, ARI VATANEN and WALTER RÖHRL, with CHRISTIAN GEISTDÖRFER, at the 1985 MONTE CARLO RALLY