#but singer was the genuine article

[magentagalaxies]

one of these days i need to make a kids in the hall iceberg based on all the increasingly obscure side projects/behind-the-scenes info i've acquired over the past few months

[eyeheartboobiez]

-> 𝗃𝖺𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗈𝖽𝖽 𝗑 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋!𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

-> 𝗌𝗈𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖺 𝖺𝗎!

-> 𝖺/𝗇: 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖫𝖠𝖲𝖳 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗆𝗆𝖺 𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝗏𝗂𝗇𝗇𝗂𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝖼𝗄𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗃𝖺𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝖿𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝖼𝗅𝖺𝗂𝗆 𝗂 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖺𝗋😭

Jason Todd and ex girlfriend, Artemis Grace, spotted outside a club together just hours ago! May this old flame be finding its spark again? (8/20/2022 3:14 AM PT)

For months now, people have been buzzing after Gotham elite Jason Todd and singer Y/N Y/LN hinted at being in a relationship. Ever since this past March when they were initially spotted together, fans have done nothing short of obsessing over the two.

Artemis Grace, former girlfriend of Jason, had gotten into some hot water recently when insiders claimed that the singer had something to do with leaking Y/N’s unreleased track, Fantasize.

As mentioned in former articles, TMZ investigators came to the conclusion that Artemis was involved in publishing the song as a way of “getting her lick back”. Time logs show that the dubbed “rival” singer entered the same studio as Y/N not too long after she left for the night.

Many people online have been more than vocal about their love for the song, despite the fact that it was released without the artist’s consent.

While Artemis has yet issue a statement regarding the accusations, she seems to have plenty of time to be out partying with her ex.

Fast forward to last night, when just hours ago, Jason and Artemis were seen leaving a nightclub together and looking very close for comfort. Onlookers were not only shocked, but absolutely gagged when they saw the two hugging each other goodbye.

With their late night rendezvous breaking headlines, some fans are starting to question if Jason may have also played a part in helping Artemis, or if they ever really broke up at all!

The exes, who were romantically involved for almost two years, have a long history of being toxic towards each other. Their on-again-off-again relationship was notorious for its dysfunctionality, making it hard to keep up most of the time.

It wasn't until late last year when both Jason and Artemis officially called it quits by posting an announcement on their respective Instagram accounts (although many were skeptical to believe it).

Despite the initial shock of the situation, it begs the question: Where does Y/N stand in all of this?

Fans of the singer songwriter were quick to come to her support, majority of whom expressing their clear disappointment in Jason.

“I was really betting on these two,” says Twitter user @y/n’scoochiehairs. “I feel like a child of divorce…”. The fan account, while only just a few months old, grew exponentially due to their constant posts about the alleged couple.

Many sentiments like this have been circulating the internet once the pictures from last night began to surface. Y/N is notorious for putting her emotions into her songs, so at least we know she’ll be releasing new music soon, right?

— replies —

user1: oh she really aint playing...

user2: COOK HIM GOOD SIS!!

user3: girl this is a whole bar put this energy into a song or sumn😭

user4: sooo what im hearing is that ur single🤔

⤷ user5: ntm on my wife now..

user6: this next album bouta be BIBLICAL

user7: genuinely hope youre doing okay🥺🫶

user8: ily queen🩷

people you may know!

liked by b_zarro and 613,189 others

@artemisofmighdall: last night was a dream✨

View all 25,846 comments

user1: first you mess with her music then you mess with her man.. if bold was a person…

user2: the hell is she smiling so damn big for?? ain’t shit funny😐

user3: girl you betta PRAY i don’t catch you in these streets…

user4: “last night was a dream” yeah and you in for a rude awakening cuz wth💀

user5: these comments killing me😭

user6: you already going to hell for being a ginger now you just making it worse for yourself🤦‍♀️

— creator has turned off comments—

end notes: is jason involved or is he just being framed👀 lmk what you think!!

[thepersonnamedsam]

taylor, nando and you - fa14

pairing: Fernando Alonso x fem!reader, Fernando Alonso x Taylor Swift

summary: As rumours sparked up that your secret boyfriend was dating Taylor Swift, you joke about having to lose the competition to the all mother. 

word count: 1.1k

warnings: just mother mothering, age of reader is not defined, cheating allegations, only if you squint

note: enjoy this about the allegations with Fernando and our mother :)

masterlist / taglist

Is Fernando Alonso dating Taylor Swift?

Good Morning Los Angeles

Alonso who competes with the British car manufacture ‘Aston Martin’ is being linked with the multiple Grammy winner and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Between the singer and race-car-driver speculations have been mounting the last few days of them possibly dating. 

The Spaniard even adds fuel to the whole dating sparks igniting a fire between them. The F1 driver posts a TikTok with Swift’s song Karma playing in the background. Fans read between the lines and reacted to the Video with comments such as “He definitely knows” or “Alexa play ‘I think he know’ by Taylor Swift”. 

Taylor, recently going through a breakup and Alonso that has not been linked with a girlfriend of his, this means that the possibility of the driver and singer dating has just grown. With Taylor Swift breaking up with long-term boyfriend Joe Alwyn, which is why people might try to put two and two together and speculate that the American and the F1 driver might be dating. 

April 2023

The article laid open on your phone, having just read the post from Good Morning Los Angeles. Your brain roamed a thousand thoughts. Nando and Taylor? You and Nando have been dating secretly for the past two years, with you working as a kindergarten teacher, you wouldn’t want to have the media on you all day. Wanting to protect the children and their identity and also yours. You weren’t ready to step a foot into the famous world. But dating rumours including Nando did kind of hurt you. And Taylor Swift of all the famous women he could have been linked with. 

You know the rumours weren’t true, because he was dating you and how in the world would Nando have connections to be dating the All Mother? But you knew, you wouldn’t stand a chance against her. It is Taylor Swift after all – a twelve-time Grammy winner and over all just a goddess. 

Fernando was standing in the kitchen and preparing lunch for them. Not having known about the dating rumours with him and Taylor Swift. His hips swaying lightly to music in the background. Humming lightly and swaying from left to right, his body lightly dancing around the stove. 

Fernando was everything you wanted in a man. Kind and genuine, soft, and sweet and just in general perfect for you. Your relationship was written by a woman, Taylor Swift by all means. He is the man you had never thought to be true. 

You heard your boyfriend singing in the kitchen and your thoughts about him possibly cheating left your mind. This man would never do anything to harm you or anyone particularly. So, thinking about your man dancing and swinging in the kitchen, preparing a meal for you to eat, you had to start smiling. 

Shuffling towards the kitchen you saw him put the dishes away and whistling to Karma by Taylor Swift. It was ironic, you reading about the allegations with him and Taylor and Nando just dancing to her song. 

“You know there are rumours about you dating Taylor Swift?”, with a light smile on your face you watched as he turned his body towards you. “What? Who?”, his face twisted to a confused look. You starred at him with a blank face, blinking at him. “She sings the song you’re listening to right now”, your voice confused and filled with humour. “Oh, her. No, I didn’t know. Should I have known?” A light smiled played on your lips. You just loved his simplicity, not caring about what others think about him or you and just making his own opinion on things. 

“Do you think it’s true?”, concern grazed his look. He didn’t want you to think that way about him. He didn’t want you to think, that he’s keeping this relationship a secret to have other romantic relations. 

“No, of course not, my love”, your voice light and a smile on your face. “I just find it funny, I just read an article about it and now you’re dancing to her in the kitchen making me lunch.” 

“I only have eyes for you, corazón”, brown eyes staring into yours. Your heart was pounding heavy, filled with love and affection for the man standing in front of you. “I know, but you know if I really had to compete with Taylor Swift, she’d win, no, I’d steal her from you, what am I talking about, she’s so mother”, you told him. Taylor Swift was everybody’s crush, even if they didn’t know it. “What? I don’t understand, you would date your mother?” Fernando was visibly confused, not understanding the terminology.

“Oh Nando, no, if someone is mothering or someone say’s they’re so mother, they don’t mean their actual mother. It’s a term used for respecting powerful women, just like Taylor Swift”, having been on the internet, it was not the first time about hearing women mothering. But Fernando has heard of this term for the first time. 

“When we’re already talking about the internet, did you post a TikTok recently?”, thinking back about the article that said, that Nando was igniting a fire between them with a TikTok. “A what, corazón? A Clock?” – “No, a TikTok, oh c’mon Nando, you’re not that old, you know what a TikTok is!” Your light-hearted laugh made him smile, you were right, he knew what a TikTok was, he just wanted to see you smile. But he would have to disagree about the not being so old part, because he definitely felt old sometimes. 

“I did, my social media manager made me post one, but I don’t remember about what exactly, I was just sitting there and had to wink”, he explained and took out some plates to place your lunch on. Having almost forgotten about the food, you smiled at him and had to chuckle lightly. “I saw it, it was to the song you were just dancing to, according to Good Morning Los Angeles you ignited a fire between you and Taylor”, you laughed at him. 

You were grateful for having such a good relationship with Fernando, laughing, and smiling in the kitchen, and joking about cheating allegations. He was proud to have a girlfriend like you, so secure in yourself and proud that even those rumours weren’t making you insecure. He was glad to have someone by his like you. He never wanted to lose you. 

“I love you so much, mi corazón”, having two plates in his hand and walking towards you he couldn’t hug you, so he just opted for a quick but passionate kiss to your lips. “I love you too, old man.” 

[hooked-on-elvis]

The Green Scrapbook 📗

Why is Elvis a legend? Simple answer: HARD, HARD WORK... on and off stage.

That's the most interesting thing I've learned about Elvis lately.

This fanzine was out… it is called "Elvis Answers Back!", printed by Sound Publishing Corp in 1956 (view photo 8 and video 1 further on). In its pages, Elvis answer questions about his career and personal life in that genuine way we love so much about his interviews. There's very interesting answers in those pages (I'll share more in this blog in a while) but this one got me in awe. What we're about to read Elvis did in the 50s, while he was in the peak of his success as a young artist, specifically in the year of 1956, it's a demonstration of his courage, down-to-earth spirit, and a passionate level of dedication to his craft that few artists, or normal people for that matter, have.

Some of the pictures printed in the Elvis Answers Back! magazine: August 18, 1956. Elvis at the Knickerbocker Hotel, Hollywood, CA. Photograph by Ed Braslaff.

The magazine article is in topics. This one is entitled "THE GREEN SCRAPBOOK", and here's what Elvis had to say about this "rumor":

"Yes, it’s true that I keep me a scrapbook of a lot of the stuff that’s printed about me. But you know something? I don’t save the articles or stories that tell nice things about me. My scrapbook only has stuff in it that isn’t very friendly. I’ll tell you why this is. "When I first started out, my momma wanted to save all the programs and pictures and things that everyone put in the papers and magazines. I wasn’t much interested in doing this, because I was so busy singing and working and learning that I just didn’t want to take the time to sit down every so often in the middle of something and start cutting out pictures and things. Momma bought her a big green scrapbook, though, and asked me to send her stuff whenever I got the chance. For the first year or so, I didn’t send her a thing, and the scrapbook was empty, except for a couple of clippings she got out of the Memphis papers.

Some of the pictures printed in the Elvis Answers Back! magazine: (1) June 30, 1956 in Richmond, VA. Elvis drinking water after having a bowl of chili, sitting at the Jefferson Hotel lunch counter; (2) Elvis at the RCA's Studio One in NY, for a recording session on July 2, 1956, when he recorded "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel." Both photographs by Alfred Wertheimer.

"Then one day I saw this article about me not being a very good singer. I cut that out and send it to momma and she wrote back and told me I didn’t want to fill my scrapbook with things like that. But I wrote back and told her, 'Momma, anyone can fill a scrapbook with good things. But what good does it do? I’d like to know the things people don’t particularly like and study them and try to make myself better if I can.' "So that’s how The Green Scrapbook got started. I’ve got a lot of pages filled, and a lot of them are still empty, but I’ll tell you this. Every time I go home to Memphis, I take down that scrapbook and study it. I know most of the things in it by heart, and I’m always going to do my best to improve whenever and wherever I can." — Elvis Presley, 1956 interview.

Cover of Elvis Answers Back! magazine, published on August 28, 1956 | Source: elvis100percent.com

SEE THE CONTENT IN THE PAGES OF THAT 1956 ELVIS MAGAZINE (this is an US limited edition reproduction of the 1956 original magazine):

Thanks "Collecting King Elvis Interviews and Memobilia" Youtube channel for sharing this gem.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE

I just crossed an interview of Elvis for the Hy Gardner Show ("Hy Gardner Calling") on July 1, 1956 (right after Elvis' performance on the Steve Allen Show). Hy Gardner asked Elvis if he reads the reviews on his concerts and he answers it with "Not if I can help it". Then Gardner goes on in the same matter and asks him further, "Do you keep a scrapbook at all?" -- Elvis' answer to this: "Only of the good stuff." -- We can figure, although Elvis had the Green Scrapbook probably since 1954, considering he said 'When I first started out, my momma wanted to save all the programs and pictures (...)', it was around mid 1956 that Elvis consciously decided to face his detractors more often and make a good use of their critics to help him improving his act. Fascinating. It's fascinating for a young man as talented, handsome and successful as he was, to pause the rush of excitement going on within himself just so he could think things through. Elvis was enjoying a tremendous amount of success already, so it would be more convenient to just have fun and let it happen while it lasted. 1956 was THE year when everything he ever dreamed about was happening at once in his life and he couldn't be more excited and thrilling with the attention he was getting from all over, yet that young man had the maturity to understand he had to keep working hard so he truly could have something worth sharing with the world, something better to offer to the people who seemed be starving for more of him. Fascinating.

WATCH THE FULL HY GARDNER INTERVIEW WITH ELVIS (July 1, 1956):

[marimayscarlett]

If not for the bands message, I would 100% believe he was quitting either Rammstein or both the band and music. In fact, I think last year he was going to. No doubt about it. But the support and love stopped him. Made him rethink things. There are still people, a lot of people, who want to see and hear him. Like a Phoenix from the ashes - that's what I think the end of the poem implies

I also think he lost a lot of people. In music industry and personal life. People turned their backs on him long before any verdict was issued, and that made him lose hope. It would make anyone lose hope.

But truth prevails. And those who were genuinely loyal - stayed. And for those people alone, it is worth continuing... and I don't mean just music.

Hi 👋🏻

If Rammstein's thank you-message from two days ago hadn't been posted, I would be even more worried than I already am.

Nevertheless, I try to hold onto the fact that it is hardly likely that the band would publicly announce their continuation for all fans to see, and then their lead singer would announce his departure two days later.

Yet Till had to endure incredibly much last year. He was pilloried and prejudged from all sides, while at the same time, no one gave him the opportunity or allowed him to actively defend himself. His professional environment (the band, other Rammstein employees), as well as his private environment with family (there were even articles about Nele and his mother in the German press) and friends were dragged into it, then there was vandalism and death threats against him.

That one becomes hopeless and thinks about quitting (not only in a professional sense...) is not surprising. The poem reads very personally, as if he is not necessarily (only) referring to his musical career. If you approach the matter interpretively, you can also think that he has lost a lot privately (maybe friends who turned on him, other people in his life became frosty and distant...) and had to endure a lot. However he meant his poem, it seems to be an emotional/sad vent for the emotions and grief he still actively carries and now, with the tour over, perhaps feels more than during the busy and consuming tour life.

I think it is good that he makes it clear how close it hit him - a witch hunt was carried out against him to an incredible extent. Having to endure that leaves marks that do not fade quickly. Till is not a saint and has his quirks, but he certainly did not deserve this.

He is an artist, so he naturally expresses himself in a lyrical and cryptic way. We must be patient and wait to see if and what comes next. I really hope that he has found hope and confidence again. The matter is far from over; proceedings against a podcast are ongoing, and his lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Der Spiegel. That means it will accompany him for a while, whether he wants it to or not. I hope he has a network of loyal people around him who are good for him, and that he at least somewhat finds inner peace... and strength to carry on.

[youjustwaitsunshine]

genuinely obsessed with sebs media consumption habits, we know he likes: band of brothers (from the depths of the old sebsite), channing tatum (also sebsite), monty python, little britain (mentioned multiple times) and new girl (seen through glass quickfire questions), can not tell star trek from star wars (tirendo interview) but likes 'the one with the one with the ears' better, uses his phone to take pictures and look at maps (article on the f1 website i think), listens/listened to the beatles, eros ramazotti, blink-182, donovan's season of the witch, had a solid knowledge of early 2010s one-hit wonders in 2020/2019 (ferrari challenge video, guessing a song [actually titanium by sia] was bulletproof by la roux [since the song snippet contained the word bulletproof]) first album he bought was 12 inches of snow, his favorite films are the shawshank redemption and la vita e bella (during which he cried). he had britney and schumi posters up on his wall. he seems to never have heard shawn mendes and camila cabellos 'senorita' before the ferrari challenge (i envy him for this) but does know relatively small german indie bands (jules ahoi [not that small but like. small enough that you can hang out with and talk to the lead singer after a concert])

[yunjin-lover]

The Stars That Never Align

Huh Yunjin x Reader

Summary: Being famous is hard. Dating is hard. Two superstars try to make their relationship work in their drama-filled lives. Can they do it?

~Multiple chapters

Chapter Two

Y/n Pov

Los Angeles, California, U.S.A

I was in the recording studio, headphones on, working on new tracks for my album. The music flowed through me, a temporary escape from the stress of the past week. I hadn't seen Yunjin in person since our argument. Yunjin was busy with interviews and photo shoots. We texted here and there but Yunjin had texted me back in two days. The silence was starting to weigh on me. I pulled out my phone to text her but a voice interrupted me.

After hours of recording I took a break. I pulled out my phone to check my messages in case Yunjin texted back. She didn't. I check my other notifications. One stood out to me.

"World famous singer Huh Yunjin spotted with other famous singer and model Karina. Is there a collaboration soon?"

"Yo Y/n you ready to finish recording?" My producer and best friend Jake called out. I had basically been in the studio this whole week with Jake.  "Yea just give me one second-" I replied confused at the notification.

"World famous singer Huh Yunjin spotted with other famous singer and model Karina. Is there a collaboration soon?" I read again making sure I didn't read it wrong.

Yunjin and Karina?  Collab? I quickly click the notification, leading me to an article. I was met with practically 4k images of Yunjin and Karina. I scrolled down to read the article. It suggested nothing romantic which was a breath of fresh air. But it suggested something worse. That they were friends and collabing soon. There's no way that would happen. Yunjin hates Karina.

Karina and I had a somewhat complicated relationship. We dated about a year ago in secret. Karina was just on the rise and didn't want to come out publicly yet. Just when rumors that she was dating someone started circulating the news, she made sure that it was with a guy. She had been seen kissing actor Heeseung Lee. I felt humiliated and betrayed but at least no one but close friends knew we were together. Seeing Yunjin with her the pain felt fresh again.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Jake asked appearing next to me in the break area.

"I need a minute," I replied.

"I saw the article. I'll give you your space." He said exiting the break room.

I didn't respond. I just stared at my phone in silence. My phone kept buzzing with notifications from friends. I needed to talk to Yunjin. Why was she with Karina? I quickly dialed her number, my heart pounding in my chest.

Yunjin picked up on the fourth ring. "Hey, Y/n. I was just about to call you—"

"Why were you with her." I blurted out, unable to control my anger. "After everything she did to me?"

Yunjin's voice faltered. "Y/n, it's really not what you think. She just happened to be where I was at and we talked. I didn't know it would be a big deal."

"A big deal?" I echoed, my voice starting to shake. "She made me feel horrible. She humiliated me. She cheated on me so she didn't have to be seen dating a girl. And now you're hanging out with her?"

"I didn't think," Yunjin said, sounding genuinely upset. "She came up to me. It was like a two minute conversation. I didn't think you would find out."

"You didn't think," I repeated, feeling a mix of hurt and anger. I heard Yunjin take a deep breath.

"Look we should probably talk about this in person. We haven't seen each other since our argument. I'll be back in L.A. tomorrow. I'll drop by your apartment and we can talk then. Yea?" Yunjin offers.

"Yea." I replied.

"I'm sorry. I have to go. My managers want to talk to me now." Yunjin says softly.

"Bye Jen."

"Bye Y/n." The call ends.

I stood in the middle of the break room confused and hurt. Seeing those pictures opened up wounds that had just healed.Was I making this a bigger deal than it should be?

"Everything good?" Jake asks approaching me. I could see the concern in his eyes.

"Yeah all good," I lied, taking a deep breath. "Just need a few more minutes."

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

A Khan By Any Other Name

a prequel to Star Trek: Into Darkness

mystery, suspense, danger ~ romance & NSFW material to follow

summary: Seraphina DiPietro is wise in the ways of the world of world; she has to be, as she travels the California coast as a torch singer in pubs, bars, and nightclubs. She knows how to take care of herself and stay out of trouble--most of the time. When trouble comes, it's usually because she lets her kind heart overrule her common sense. Stopping to check on a handsome stranger stranded roadside in the Mojave Desert, her curiousity is piqued as much by his classic, mint-looking Mustang, as by its driver--a tall, dark, mysterious drink of water, whom she quickly learns is so much more than he appears.

characters: Khan Noonien Singh (aka: John Harrison), Seraphina DiPietro (OC)

word count: 2.4k

Chapter One

Her first mistake had been slowing down to have a second look.  Three plus years with a vintage car enthusiast (her ex now, thank god; three months gone and good riddance to him, her mantra whenever he crossed her mind) had ingrained the habit in her. The habit, frankly, plus an appreciative eye for the sweetest of rides.  Thanks to Simon (and his obsession), she could distinguish in seconds between the genuine article and that which easily fooled the masses, a cunningly detailed replica—and the sleek ragtop that looked to have skidded to the side of the road, leaving a spray a gravel and black, burnt rubber in its tracks, was absolutely the real thing.

So she’d slowed down, only half meaning to, cataloguing the fine details and quickly estimating its worth, while admiring its classic lines and the bright flash of its chrome detailings.  Seraphina couldn’t keep from grinning, thinking about how instantly covetous Simon would be in the face of such a find, and how jealous he would feel to know that she had stumbled upon it with no effort whatsoever.

The man bending over the open hood

straightened as she passed, arresting her attention with a commanding, steely gaze that left her feeling like a marked woman.  As though he not only saw her, in her every visible feature, but somehow inexplicably knew her—and needed her.  Vitally, and immediately. Despite the lick of common sense apprehension that fluttered through her vitals, simple curiosity and a deeply embedded tendency to act the good Samaritan had Seraphina making her second, even bigger, mistake of the afternoon--pulling over to park her hovercraft several feet in front of his stalled vehicle.

She looked into her rearview mirror; he had turned to watch how she would proceed, holding his hands up with his fingers splayed wide, surely his way of expressing she could approach him safely.  “Not so fast, buddy,” she murmured, “I wasn’t born yesterday…and I’ve seen your kind before.” Sera cut the engine, pulling the keys from the ignition and flicking the lock mechanism off the small can of mace dangling from her keyring.  She wasn’t so foolhardy as to face the tall, well-built stranger unprepared; nearly a decade of travels up and down the coast of California, performing in seedy, small town dives, then upscale pubs and bars, and finally city nightclubs, had taught her well to be ever on her guard.

And she’d learned a few tricks in the course of her career, for if the mace should fail; she could—and had—flipped a drunk onto his back a time or two, who’d tried to cop a feel when she passed across a darkened dancefloor; and she knew all too well how much force was necessary, knee to groin, in order to incapacitate those pigheaded brutes who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer when they followed her out to the parking lot at the end of a gig. Handsome he might be (decidedly so, she mused, angular features, piercing eyes, thick, dark hair, an errant lock strayed upon his brow; such a striking combination!) but she was not fool enough to ever judge the book by it’s cover.

The stranger stood motionless a moment more, the light breeze ruffling that wayward lock until he brushed it back, a swift yet languid move that spoke of cat-like grace and an elegance that didn’t fit the setting or the way that he was clothed.  He was straight-backed, slim-hipped, long-legged--and poised with a confidence befitting a prince, and not the work-a-day posture of a blue-collar joe or road-weary drifter.  Yet the smile he gave her did not reach his eyes; Sera found it a little feral, and felt her pulse increase as a taste of adrenaline—that trusty “fight or flee” response—hit her system.

But she was already committed, having left the safety and cool comfort of her two-seater; if he was an actual threat, the worse that she could do was show the weakness of timidity now. Sera left her sunglasses in place, determined he would not read a bit of doubt in her eyes or bearing, the can of mace tucked neatly in the palm of her left hand, and walking forward into the dry, baking, Mojave Desert heat.

Sera gave a low but audible whistle, advancing as casually as she could, finally calling out to him, "She's a real beauty--and someone's taken serious loving care of her too." The 300-year-old Mustang appeared as close to mint as any vintage vehicle she had ever seen; given its obvious value, she had to wonder why the hell he would even have it on the road--especially in desert conditions. That instinctive voice of warning sounded an answer in her head: that's because it's not his.

Okay, Sera, she cautioned herself, give him the benefit of the doubt; he could have come by that automobile in any number of ways. She stopped a half-dozen steps from where the stranger stood, aiming to read his reaction as she asked, "Early 21st century, right?"

The man smiled--more sincerely this time--and nodded. "That she is," he replied, sparing a brief look at the stalled car, "Unfortunately, she's not going anywhere, anytime soon." His smooth, deep voice was as pleasant to the ears as his form was easy on his eyes, and his accent distinctly British, leaving Sera to ponder how and why he'd found his way into the midst of the Mojave. "I believe it's the transmission," he added.

In an instant, his eyes flicked downward, as though he registered that small, innocuous movement. She rushed to fill the vacuum of silence that hung between them, hoping to distract him from whatever suspicions her little move might have awakened.  “I know collectors,” she told him, running her right hand through her hair, fluffing it a bit, hoping to draw his eyes upwards again “…fanatical ones, who would pay a small fortune to make such a treasure theirs.”  She leaned toward him, adopting a confidential tone, honest in her curiosity, “However did you manage it?”

Sera could hear the tick of the internal combustion engine as it cooled, informing her he hadn't been stranded long. Surveying the area behind the Mustang, she spotted several telltale puddles of transmission fluid in the car's wake. "Looks like you might've blown a hose," she speculated, indicating the fluid spotting the back trail. "Those kind of parts are few and far between these days...but I bet we can find a mechanic who might be able to juryrig something enough to get you on the road again."

She turned back to find him watching her, his exotic-looking eyes narrowed. Appraising her in a way that made her feel...exposed. Unnerved. Vulnerable. Sera squeezed her hand against the reassuring weight of the small, defensive weapon cupped in her palm.

He inhaled sharply, a fleeting look of calculation crossing his face.  “It was an unexpected…” he paused, studying her carefully, “…but well-timed acquisition of…convenience.”  Such a reply was far too vague to answer her question—but didn’t surprise her in the least.

“Then you must be a man of remarkable luck, Mr…” Sera let her voice trail off with the question, fully expecting there would be little truth in his answer.

And then he was moving past the safe cushion of space between them, extending a large, powerful looking hand towards her, as way of introduction. “Harrison. I’m…John Harrison.” His grip was firm, not too tight, but Sera sensed—felt—a strength restrained that fit his bearing perfectly. Intimidating, but not frightening; confident—and intriguing her beyond her good sense should allow; and his eyes were locked on her, regarding her with such curiosity and healthy appraisal, that she slipped her sunglasses atop her head without a moment’s hesitation, meaning to meet his gaze directly.  

Sera hadn’t realized she was staring until he cleared his throat. “And you are?” he asked, smiling warmly, surely feeling the advantage now of having gotten past her bravado.  Her mouth felt dry—it had to be the arid atmosphere and not embarrassment over her awkward reaction to him--so that her tongue actually stuck a moment before she stammered out her name. “Seraphina.”  She said it rather breathlessly, then bit her lip against revealing her surname.

Harrison had not released her hand, although his grip was gentle, and the warmth of his skin pleasant against her own.  “Seraphina,” he repeated, the small smile creases bracketing his mouth deepening, and a hint of his true smile finally reaching his eyes.  “Lovely name, Seraphina. Exotic in its way, and as rare and fetching as a desert rose.”

Ordinarily, Sera would laugh off such obvious flattery; she’d had enough of it--and insincere at that--throughout her years as a torch singer.  This stranger—John Harrison—looked a better class of man than those who usually tried to ply her with compliments.  That was no reason, of course, to take him more seriously than any of the others.  And yet she felt a sort of…solemnity…about him; a dignity and self-assurance that spoke of a far more purposeful life than those of plain, ordinary men. He was damned attractive too, enough to have her a bit flummoxed at so dear a distance.  

"Seraphina,” he reiterated, teasing the syllables along, the depth and richness of his voice making her shiver a little despite the desert heat. “A derivative of seraphim, the highest order of celestial beings in religious myth.  Heavenly, fiery, winged immortals, tasked with surrounding and praising the throne of god.”  He leaned nearer, well past that unspoken barrier of personal space, closing his eyes while inhaling deeply through his nose, seeming to seek her essence by scent alone.

Such unexpected intimacy left Seraphina speechless, every instinct she had telling her to give ground a step or two—yet she remained still, for when he opened his eyes, she found herself fascinated by their changing hue. Seraphina had never seen such striking eyes on a man before; and she’d have sworn that they were blue.  Pale blue when she’d seen them from a distance, in the bright, unfiltered sun; then a surprising, piercing, azure when she met him face to face.  Now they seem to shift unpredictably from purely blue to nearly green with however the light played upon them, with flecks of gold speckling around the pupils.

“I wonder,” he mused, almost to himself, while Sera remained entranced and silent, unable to look away despite knowing she must look utterly foolish, “Might you be the angel of mercy I’m in such desperate need of?”

Befuddled, Sera sputtered back, "I...um...what?", finally taking a step back and pulling her hand from his grasp.

"I mean to say how fortunate I am, you came along precisely as you did. " Harrison shrugged and took a step back as well, his manner self-effacing enough to lend sincerity to his words. "And that your nature is a kind one--I imagine most women would have cruised by without a care for my predicament, given this isolated location and the potential threat I could embody."

Regaining her composure, Sera lifted her chin proudly, "I've managed to look after myself for many years now, and in dodgier situations." Her usual insoucience restored, she asked the most vital of questions, looking him squarely in the eyes to read the truth before he even answered, "Do I have reason to fear for my safety, Mr. Harrison?"

His eyes widened and he grinned, and then he began to laugh. Heartfelt, and deep in his throat; the rich sound of melted, dark chocolate--the rare sort of sweet that was supposed to be healthy for one, but only if consumed in moderation. A woman could lose herself in such a laugh, she realized, and I'll bet he knows it too.

"If there was any reason at all, you've quite disarmed me already." Now it seemed he was sizing her up beyond first impressions--and liking what he saw, by the look of satisfaction on his face. "I promise you, Ms..."

"It's just Seraphina for now please, if it's all the same to you. " Sera pressed her lips thin against the smile that wanted to break forth, enjoying both his unspoken surprise at her overall boldness--and what she dared to believe was an appreciation for her physical charms.

Harrison acquiesced with a tilt of his head. "Then I promise you, pretty Seraphina, that I harbor no ill intent towards you. And I would be deeply indebted to you for the aid I am sure you intend to offer me."

She felt her cheeks flush at his easy compliment--not taken in, but happy to accept it nonetheless. "Well, it's a shame to have to abandon her here, but the closest hope you have for a spare part--and a mechanic with working knowledge of antique cars--is at least a hundred miles away."

"Alright then," he affirmed, moving past her to slam shut the Mustang's hood, "We should probably be on our way."

"Of course." Sera turned to follow him, wanting a closer look at the rare vehicle before they drove away. "You should put the top up too; you may not make it back here until tomorrow at least."

He nodded again, striding to the driver's side door to start the car and raise the top. Something not quite right here, she thought, frowning; I could swear that this model and the ones that followed, had a remote on the key fob to control the mechanism. It reminded her that she'd initially thought the car did not belong to him--and that somehow she had allowed his charm cause her to lower her guard.

She stepped to the passenger side, hoping for a peek inside to confirm her growing suspicion. "You ought to raise the windows, too," she told him, leaning close enough to peer inside the passenger side window, "No telling what might find its way inside here once darkness falls. It gets pretty cold here at night..." Sera swallowed hard when she got a look at the ignition cylinder; it had been removed from its place beneath the steering wheel and hung down by several wires. The wires themselves appeared to have been rearranged.

Her heart in her throat, Seraphina searched her memory for the word to describe exactly what she was seeing. Hotwired. That's what they called it; a quick and easy way to boost a car. Simon had educated her, marveling at the skill of those he'd read about who could do do in under a minute. She'd never dreamed of seeing something like it up close. Yet there it was, and the man who'd done it clearly hadn't wanted her to see it. Which meant...

He was faster than her by far; almost preternaturally fast. Harrison had grabbed her left arm ( --- damn, he had noted she was carrying something there! --- ) through the window opening, his iron grip digging into her flesh painfully. "Drop it," he ordered her, "Drop it now. I can explain everything if you just remain calm, Seraphina."

She didn't mean to, but she whimpered softly, not only at the discomfort he was inflicting, but also for the cold menace in his eyes. Had she thought them beautiful, compelling, alluring, just moments ago? Now it seemed to her they were the deadliest eyes she had seen in her life.

(to be continued)

[thehomophobe]

he was overqualified for the job

“Give it up for the Glamrocks once again!” The roar of an applause echoed through the crowd. Each member of the band waved at their adoring audience. Freddy and Chica both smiled happily while Monty and Roxy relished every moment of it. 5 minutes of fame is always nice, but it’s only 5 minutes. The Glamrocks slowly descended down to the ground floor, content with their performance. Last performance of the day, finally. All that’s left is the meet & greets. The main four split up into their respective attractions.

Gator Golf wasn’t as packed as usual today. The biggest group of people that stopped by was a birthday party. Congrats for little Daniel turning 10. Double digits woohoo! Not important. What’s currently on Monty mind was rock n’ roll music. More specifically, rock bands over the years. Ever since all the animatronics were updated with a built in browser and messaging, Monty had some fun searching up whatever pop into his head when he got bored. Maybe a little too much fun. Anyway in the pools of swampy waters, Monty’s little search engine tab open several articles about history and timelines and random facts about some famous band members.He didn’t care about any of that.

Well…except that majority of the famous ones usually consisted of a drummer.

Monty pondered for a minute as he looked through some photos. As far as he could see, old rock bands consisted of two guitarists (a lead guitarist and a rhythm guitarist, with one of them singing lead vocals), a bassist, and a drummer. Wonder what it could be like to have a drummer. They could finally play different songs than the ones they were used to.

Man…ever since Chica came with the idea of having the band write their own songs, Monty started planning. In private of course! He doesn’t want any distractions. (Yeah right 😏) Brainstorming wasn’t as boring as he thought it was. Time consuming but fun. Especially, listening to some old music for 80’s. Gives him inspiration he says. But until recently, everything the Glamrocks played was just about everything they could come up with. Freddy was stumped, Roxy lost interest, even Chica was struggling. And her songs are the ones they’ve been using! Yeah. They needed a drummer. But who would be the drummer? It can’t be Freddy, he’s already the lead singer of the band. Chica’s too good with the guitar. And Roxy doesn’t plan on switching from her keytar anytime soon. “Maybe I’ll play the drums…” Monty muttered. But he loves the bass. The deep, utter moans crooning along the music. It’s perfect for him. Maybe he could tag-team?

Attention all guests, the Pizzaplex will be closing in 10 minutes. Please make your way to the exits.

The announcement snapped Monty out of his thoughts. Already closing huh? He hasn’t been thinking for that long. Whatever, if it means he can get out of here he’s fine.

Chica: Emergency band meet at in my green room!!!!

Looks like he wasn’t going anytime soon.

“You had to call us over here?”

“What’s the big deal?”

“What is this said emergency you speak of?”

Chica slumps on her couch. She sighs in defeat. “I’ve got nothing…” She mumbles. The rest didn’t hear her. “I said I’m stumped. I’ve got nothing.” She pulls out a bunch of crumpled papers. “This was all the stuff I spent on for the past two weeks!” The trash bin next to her vanity was overflowing, some of the papers migrated to the floor due to a lack of space. “Lyrics, sheet music, you name it! I tried everything.” She slumped back down.

”Why can’t we just use the old songs? Roxy suggested.

“But they’re so boring…” Chica groaned. “It’s so much better to play songs we come up with.”

“There’s nothing wrong with using the pre-uploaded music for our performances.” Freddy reassures. It didn’t really help with Chica’s frustration. Maybe this was the moment for Monty to actual say something genuine.

”We need a drummer.” Ok not as genuine as some thought.

“You’re right!” Chica exclaimed. Wow, an idea Monty came up with doesn’t get shot down in 3 seconds. “Actually, a lot of the sheet music I wrote needed some drums to keep the rhythm going.” She digs through her trash bin to find them.

“And where the hell are we gonna get a drummer?” Roxy raised a brow. Monty didn’t have an answer. Luckily, Chica did.

“Auditions!”

”But we are not allowed to have any guests stay here after hours.” Said Freddy. He’s sadly right. And even if it was during hours, there won’t be any time left.

“Maybe someone here can play?"

”Chica there’s only two other options, DJ Music Man and the daycare attendant.” Roxy retorted. She doubt any of the staff bots even knew how to how a drumstick.

“And Music Man won’t fit on the stage with us.” Freddy added.

“Then Sun it is! I’ll go talk to them right now.” Chica left her green room with excitement. She left the others in a state of confusion.

“Does really think that clown can drum?

Boy was Chica happy. She’s glad Monty brought up needing a drummer. After all the stuff she wrote down, she knew something was missing. How could she not have known, a drummer’s job was to keep the tempo going. The sheet music she created was meant for fast, upbeat songs. Not to mention she did find an old drum set while wandering around for trash food. The daycare. She made it. Fingers crossed they’re up and running today. Not saying Moon wasn’t as good as Sun, but they just fit the role better.

*Knock Knock*

“Come in~.” A sing-song like voice emitted from the doors. Chica happily walks in, her potential drummer is in her sights.

“Why Ms. Chica! I didn’t think you would come today." Sun greets in his usual manner.

“Listen Sun, it’s important. We need you for something.” Chica grabbed Sun’s hand and hastily pulled him outside.

“Chica, where are we going..?” Sun’s fidgety voice asked.

“You’ll see!”

In the time Sunrise only seemed to get worse, even when they were alone his chipper happy voice had left them. Chica had beamed, immediately rushing down the hall.

Chica: i got them. meet me at the stage!

“Shouldn’t I wear anything different? This will be my first outing in years!” Sunrise huffed when Chica said it shouldn’t be a big deal. To Sunrise it was the biggest, maybe even bigger than a child turning 10! Maybe.

“But aren’t the other Glamrocks are going to see me? I want to look presentable for tonight!” They didn’t exactly have clothing to wear either way, especially none that fit them, but somehow Sunrise had acquired items over the years. Suppose boredom can lead to strange hobbies? (By animatronic standards, as they weren’t meant to have hobbies.) Apparently Sunrise would take clothes from the lost and found and repurpose them, to the best of his ability. Too late now.

“Oh relax Sun, it’ll only be for a couple of minutes.” Chica reassured. Sun whispering worries and doubts under his breath all the while. Chica had already told him why he’s was dragged out the daycare, explaining that the Glamrocks were running out of ideas for songs and that maybe a drummer would help make new songs. Sun admitted that he always liked their music. As much as it was muffled. But hearing they were having some trouble, he wouldn’t mind helping out. Sunrise gazed around the massive dome that was the concert area of the Mega Pizzaplex. It was filled with light, sure as to not bring out Moondrop, colors dancing wildly and beautifully around. And the best part? Near the concert stage was the other three Glamrocks; excitement, anticipation, and welcoming dawning across all of them. “Hey you found the drums!” Chica noticed the drum set that sat atop the stage basking in the light, revealing the golden yellow of each piece. Sun was enchanted by it but looked back at the other Glamrocks with the same delight and fear. “Thank Fredbear over here for finding it.” Monty eyed Freddy; it was his idea, how come Teddy Ruxpin gets the credit?! No matter, the real concern was the clown in yellow who looked anxious.

“Chica, you can’t seriously believe this guy can drum?” Roxy crossed her arms.

“Roxy, there is no need to doubt their abilities. We will give them a chance.” Freddy assured.

”Yeah I think they at least know a few things about drumming right?” Chica turns to Sun, awaiting an answer. To which he responds with a nervous smile and laughs.

“I-I think I know a thing or two.” He said shakily.

“Well no time like the present.” Monty grabs Sun and hoists him up to the stage. “Show us what you got.” The gator huffed. Sun gazed at the golden drum set. They must’ve just cleaned because it looks brand new. Wonder where’d they’ve found it. He sits in the swivel seat, swinging left and right. A little smile grew on his face as it the stool calmed him. A little distraction if you will. The Glamrocks stepped back to get a better view of Sunrise and the stage. “Alright Sunny, whenever you’re ready. You got this!” Chica cheered. Sun smiled at the her words as he picked up the sticks.

As the music started, Sun bobbed their head to the beat. A fairly tame instrumental. A simple rhythm emitted from Sun with the drum set, the sticks playing a 4-beat in a slowly pace. Not bad for someone like him. Freddy smiled at the canary-colored jester, he’s glad his friend’s nerves calmed down as they played. Chica felt the same, but she silently wished for some more from them. No matter, this was a just an idea. Monty was surprised that the clown had actual musical knowledge. Especially for someone who listens to the same jingle every day. But he was starting to get bored. He could see it in Roxy too. As he was just about to cut off the music, the instrumental quickened.

And so did the drums.

Sun's pace increased in what was the bridge of the song. They were completely lost in the music. Eyebrows were raised and eyes were sparkling amongst the four bandmates. Surprise, delight and a little disbelief was in the air. They watch as their friend keep the beat of the sample instrumental, making it more fun and lively.

“See, I told you they had some talents.”

“Right you are Chica. Sun is very capable of become our drummer.”

“Not bad, I guess.”

”I could do better.”

While the Glamrocks were having their own conversation, Sun sped up the pace.

Drastically.

The Glamrocks stopped talking and listen to the new tempo. We’re getting closer to the end of the instrumental. Sun beat the drums like there was no tomorrow. The sticks hit each part of the percussion set. The snare drum, the high tom, the medium tom, the floor tom, some of the cymbals. All in the harmony with the instrumental. Yeah, they’re completely lost in the music. The solo began afterwards. It was like a watch a love concert. Sun jerked with each movement of his body, banging the drums in chaotic but rhythmic fashion.The Glamrocks were speechless. And by Glamrocks, I mean Monty and Roxy. Freddy and Chica were too busy recording and transcribing each beat into sheet music in their data bank. And once the solo ended, he paused for a second before a drum roll brought the rest of the instrumental back for the finale. It was clear, Sunrise was gonna be their drummer. Chica’s creative juices were flowing, she’s already cooking up new songs for future performances.

Once the music ended, Sun huffed as if he was out of breath. If he was human, he’d be covered in sweat by the extreme workout of drumming. “That was fun!” He cheered, drum sticks in the air in triumph. The Glamrocks were still shell shocked by the performance. ”Oops…guess I got carried away.” They said sheepishly as they rose up from the cushiony stool, ready to leave the stage in the embarrassment. Clapping can be heard from two of the Glamrocks.

“Way to go, Superstar! I didn’t know you could do that!” Freddy applauded.

”That was AWESOME!” Chica exclaimed. “Where did you learn to drum like that?”

Sun blushed a little. “Sometimes I like to play with this little drum kit I found in the Lost & Found.” A bashful little smile form on his face. “So…does that mean I’m in the band?” He asked. How was that even a question?! YES! When sun got off the stage, Chica hugged Sun and spinned them around in joy as Freddy congratulated the animatronic.

Monty and Roxy had no words. How? HOW?! And of ALL the people?! THE DAYCARE ATTENDANT?!?! Was it the daycare attendant or did the spirit of a rockstar took over their body? Whatever it was, Sunrise was their drummer no matter what.

For they knew…

he was overqualified for the job.

[kurooscoffee]

Article: "These are the Slovenians who put us in a good mood and brought tears out of us"

(Svet24 link)

Bojan Cvjetićanin and Joker Out

Slovenia's representatives at the Eurovision Song Contest have not attracted so much attention for a long time. This was not only due to the musical part of the Joker Out package, but also to their charisma, their openness — the humanity element, which the world at large was happy to consume on social media, where the band was posting the behind the scenes moments. The five of them were casually making friends and talking about Slovenia and Slovenians the whole time. The icing on the cake was when the band's lead singer Bojan Cvjetićanin made the most beautiful friendship in the history of Eurovision with Finland's Käärijä.

Photo caption: Bojan Cvjetićanin and Käärijä - a friendship that has grown onto people to the core.

Social networks were full of glimpses of their genuine relationship, spontaneous moments and mischief towards their competitors and the global audience. In a very unobtrusive way, with a story of friendship, they were the best ambassadors of their homelands and fellow citizens, and reminded us of the formative values that modern society is moving away from - transcending individualism, connecting, being open, listening to your fellow human beings, enjoying and relaxing.

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

INVALID reasons to dislike Taylor Swift as a person:

You don't like her music

You think her fans are obnoxious/annoying

You believe she is not being genuine about liking/appreciating her fanbase or the awards she has received

You didn't fact-check that "study" that claimed she emitted 8,000 tons of carbon via her private jet (I read the article by Yard— not only do they not source their methodology, but other climate experts have come up with completely different estimates, averaging around 1,000 tons)

You believe Taylor Swift (the person) is guilty of queerbaiting

You don't think non-Black people have any place at all in hip-hop

She has friends who are mostly also rich white people

She has had a lot of boyfriends in the past and seems to have moved on from her partner of six years very quickly

She sometimes plays the victim

You think heartbreak is all she writes about

VALID reasons to dislike Taylor Swift as a person:

You believe Taylor Swift (the brand) is guilty of queerbaiting and that Taylor Swift (the person) is content with this business strategy

1,000 tons of carbon is still A LOT to emit and Swift should be more responsible with her footprint, ESPECIALLY now that she's touring

The music video for "Shake it Off" features what many people consider racially insensitive material, disputably using traditionally Black and Latine styles of dance as the butt of the joke and Black and Latine women as props

Swift was politically quiet for years, allowing white supremacists and nationalists to claim her as one of their own and declare her their "Aryan goddess" (though this could be blamed on her marketing team, considering they did not allow her to be politically active until 2018— and she did denounce racists in interviews prior to making her Democratic opinions public)

She is currently dating white singer/songwriter Matt Healy, who has been accused of a) saying the n-word, b) doing a Nazi salute on stage "ironically—" and there is video evidence of this, though it's difficult to tell if it's actually a Nazi salute or just a regular gesture to which he didn't give much thought, c) making fun of fat people, and d) making fun of black women. And probably more of which I'm not aware.

The music video for "You Need to Calm Down" portrays a very naive view of bigotry as angry people holding signs (and a somewhat classist view of bigotry as well, considering the appearance of the "homophobes") and uses queer people as props

She's a rich white liberal and is guilty of many of the sins typical of most rich white liberals

She has played the victim as a white woman and vilified black men (specifically Kanye West) in the process

You believe her releasing new songs like "Mr. Perfectly Fine" and the 10 minute version of "All Too Well" has encouraged harassment of men she dated over a decade ago and there was no need to rehash this hurt.

You believe that the academies (i.e. the Grammys, the VMAs, etc.) are biased towards her as a white woman and she has not done enough to combat or even acknowledge this racism

She has engaged in LGBTQ+ erasure by having one of her brand's official accounts call straight couples "lavender," even though that is a queer phrase, following the announcement of her song "Lavender Haze" and by using the queer dog whistle "hairpin drop" in a song even though she is assumed to be straight, reducing the saying's meaning.

You just don't like her vibes (NOTE: this is a valid reason to dislike her in your personal life, but NOT to diss her)

More can be added to both lists. Please note that many people acknowledge all of the flaws above listed and like her anyway because, as it is important to understand, she is human and will often make mistakes. Doing any one of these things do not make her a "bad person," and dividing people into "good" and "bad" categories— especially people who you don't know— is very binary and unnuanced; however, they do make her a flawed person, and people, Swifties and non-Swifties, have a right to make of that what they will.

[wrongcaitlyn]

for the ask game !!! 4, 6 and 22 for tyt / dear reader in general !!!

4. If the fic required it, what did you research in order to write it?

oh SO much😭 there was definitely a lot of research into dates, at first, just because i wanted to make sure i was lining up all the award shows with the actual dates and choosing which award shows to write (also coming across the fact that grammys 2018 was on jan 28...) also, the categories that were in award shows, i had to research what exactly all of those categories were for - which ones nico would be nominated for, who they were awarded to (just the singer, also the producer?). the amount of time that i spent on the grammys' wikipedia page was much longer than i'll ever admitslkjfd

also billboard charts! i did a ton of research into records, how they're counted, because i wanted to make sure that when i was mentioning nico's milestones, they were at least somewhat realistic. i read through a bunch of billboard album reviews and articles with producers and whatnot to try and figure out the basics of music journalism.

there was research into transitioning, as well, even though i was much more hesitant to trust *google* for that sort of stuff, but i wanted to know just how easy it would be for nico to actually get top surgery and whatnot, and also the effects of binders when singing/having a performance and stuff

SO MUCH OLYMPICS RESEARCH. LIKE. god i think i complained about this at some point but seriously, the archery world championships and olympics qualification is still confusing asf to me. but i wanted to make sure that, despite kayla being a relatively minor character, i was figuring out all the right dates, how she would get qualified, records for youngest world champions, etc etc.

weather accounts. ik that it's very unnecessary but i genuinely looked up dates for concerts and what the weather was, or when i wanted it to rain i actually looked up whether it was raining, how i could twist it to when it *did* rain, and whatnot. i may be insane when it comes to details like that

and in general, i watched a lot of interviews (though that was in my free time, and tbf i've always been interested in it, even before i started writing the series) about artists and singer-songwriters and how they wrote, how they worked, and just the entire creating-an-album process

there's probably a lot more that i'm forgetting, bc i genuinely was always researching something. fun fact! there hasn't been an italian artist to reach #1 on the billboard hot 100 since 1958 (he was also the first european artist to reach #1 on the billboard hot 100).

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s) to use?

i had just written a fic (my hunger games au) in past tense, and when writing it, i felt like i kept slipping into present. so when i started writing talk your talk, i decided to just test out present tense and see whether i liked that better (back when i thought it would be a relatively short oneshot, maybe a oneshot series)

the funny thing about that is that i thought i didn't like it, and so THEN when i wrote another fic - my marauders jegulus fame au - i decided to write that one in past tense. a warning for any writers: NEVER. write two wip's that are in different tenses. it's a horrible kind of torture. since then, i've had to write all of my other fics in present tense because i didn't want to mess up my brain while writing talk your talk - it's so confusing to switch it up, because then i'd also have to monitor what i was reading, and if i read something present tense, i wasn't able to write starry eyes; if i read something past tense, i wasn't able to write talk your talk. i couldn't write one and then switch over to the other, i had to like program my brain to think in the correct tense - ANYWAY it was very very hard and i highly recommend to never do that and just stick with one tense, at least until you want to fully switch over😭

as for the pov, in talk your talk, it was always going to be nico! the whole fic was very centered around him, and i knew that i wanted to add all these details on how he felt about his rise to fame - i really wanted that internal dialogue during shows, and school, and producing music, and also how songs would come to be and whatnot. also, i had just written my hunger games au in nico's pov, and i just really liked it😭

when it came to greatest of luxuries, i knew that i wanted to expand on the universe. that did horrendous things to my wordcount, but i think it was for the best!! i got to add more character development to will, which was *really* important to me, seeing as he and nico are pretty separate stories while nico is on tour and will is in college, and it also let me introduce a bunch of new characters!! i added a few other interludes too, with a bunch of different pov's, but the most interesting, i think, was apollo

apollo's pov/memoir (and i'm so sorry, i know you haven't gotten to that yet but i just had to include it when talking about pov's!!) is one of my FAVORITE things to write. i knew that i wanted to add more of apollo's lore and his story to the au, but for a while, i didn't know how to do it - it didn't feel right to just add an apollo pov where all he does is reflect on the past and so i got SO excited when i thought of creating a memoir. usually i'm heavily against writing in first person, but it just felt so natural with apollo - how else could you have a pov that just focuses on the past (pretty much an entirely different timeline) but still with the huge ego of apollo? while he still shows maturity and how he's grown as a person?? i'm already such a fan of including mixed media in my fics, but the memoir has to be my favoritekjldsf

22. What is something you learned about yourself as a writer from the experience?

i love causing pain. i think i already knew that, seeing as one of my first fics when starting to write again last year was a hunger games au in which i killed off like a good majority of the main cast. but there was something cool in writing angst as a theme in talk your talk, when fame au's largely focus more on the reputation of a person, conflicts between relationship, etc. not that i have a problem with those, seeing as im a sucker for literally any kind of fame au, but i sort of put them in the background for this series!

overall, i feel like i've grown such a huge amount with this fic. i started it around the same age as nico and will, only slightly younger, and now they're nearly 20 and im still 16. both in the writing sense and just in general, i really got over my fear of starting/committing to longer fics, because i really just fell in love with the universe. i learned that i *love* adding different forms of media to fics, and that one of my favorite things about writing is exploring how different universes would impact the characters differently - it would shape their personalities, give them some different characteristics and different outlooks on life, and that's prob why i love au's so muchdjfs

but the main main thing is that this is the first time that i feel like i really wrote the fic and got a huge community out of it - i've always had a few mutuals in fandoms and whatnot (both when editing and writing), but with talk your talk, i started getting repeat commenters, and eventually started my tumblr, and i realized how incredibly motivating it is to be able to share my obsession with the au with so many other people!! it's been an absolutely incredible experience <33

well i definitely rambled a lot thereDLKFJS thank you for the asks!!

[cyber-corp]

By the time I'm posting this, it will be January 26th, commonly known as Australia Day where I'm from. A country known for its sweeping plains, unique fauna and the PM fucking off during a nationwide crisis.

I think, despite all Australia's long-standing issues, there are some things about it worth celebrating the culture. Specifically, the music!

Here are some of (what I think) to be some of the most quintessential Australian albums to listen to:

Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust (1987): Quite possibly the most Aussie album from quite possibly the most Aussie band. The biggest song off of this album, Beds are Burning, is about Aboriginal Australians being forcibly removed from their land, and the lead singer Peter Garrett is really outspoken about justice towards Australia's native peoples, even being in Parliament at one point. Listen if you want to hear what Rage Against the Machine would be like if they were a new wave band and regularly consumed Oak chocolate milk.

INXS - Kick (1987): If the UK had new wave, Australia had pub rock. Artists defined by their songs being so infectious you can remember while you're smashed on seven bottles of Tooheys Extra Dry (kidding. it's called pub rock because that's where they'd play their sets. in pubs). INXS is quite possibly the pub rock band, the genuine article, and this album is a nice gateway into their music; Punchy, upbeat, and memorable riffs for days. (Songs like Need You Tonight and New Sensation for a good idea). Listen if you like Duran Duran or The Cars.

Kylie Minogue - Fever (2001): GOD, how do I introduce Kylie. This country's shining grace. The superstar in our backyard. Our very own Princess of Pop. This album just extrudes that gleam and optimism that'd you find in a lot of Y2K dance-pop music, and I absolutely love it. Listen if you like Discovery-era Daft Punk or Grace Jones.

The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000): My personal favourite off this list. It might not be the most "Aussie", but I think it makes up for it in its ethereal tone and sampling techniques. One song might just be made up of just one sample, while another might be made up of 50, (Frontier Psychiatrist was originally made up of 28 samples), but it's all tied together by this collective lofi sound. Listen if you like DJ Shadow, Portishead, or The Chemical Brothers.

Regurgitator - Unit (1997): There was this period in the 90's where Australian alt-rock went fucking berzerk, and Regurgitator was one of those bands. Everyday Formula opens with "Everyday I shit into the sea" and ! (Song Formerly Known As) is about not going out to parties and staying at home. Listen if you'd like Gary Numan mixed with the subject matter of early Weezer.

Spiderbait - Grand Slam (1999): Spiderbait was another one of the alt-rock outlets that got really popular despite being really vocal about the hypocrisy of the industry at large. This album contains a wide variety of influences, like 60's bubblegum on Glockenpop (song about the needless commodification of music. their most popular song and highest-earning single of that year. lol), pop punk on Dinner Time and hard rock on Shazam! A pretty good all-rounder made brilliant by vocalist Kram. Listen if you like Green Day or No Doubt.

Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream (2008): I put this one on because the cover is really funny, but then I listened to the album and I got a sense of bittersweet nostalgia listening to it. A mix of disco, dance-rock and funk (We Are The People is a good example) make for something that made me wish I was 7 again. Listen if you like Prince or Let's Dance-era Bowie.

TISM - Machiavelli and the Four Seasons (1995): TISM (short for This Is Serious Mum) are a fucking disgrace to this country. They are such a bunch of yobbo cunts that I can't believe they managed to get anywhere past 90 on the charts. Wankers like them deserve to be dragged out on stage and beat to a pulp viciously, to the ravenous delight of the crowd. Don't listen to this album and don't listen to Greg! The Stop Sign!! Listen if you're a masochist, maybe.

AC/DC - Let There Be Rock (1977): Ah yes, good ol Acca. The ultimate dad band. You could put any of their albums on this list because they all sound the exact same, but I put this one on because I prefer Bon Scott's vocals. The title track feels like it goes forever, but in a way where you wish it didn't end. Some nice fashioned high voltage rock'n'roll. Listen if you like Black Sabbath.

There are way more that I could have put on here (Gurrumul, Frenzal Rhomb, Powderfinger, Silverchair, The Presets, The Chats, Men At Work, Tame Impala etc.) but I think you could probably discover them in your own time. In the meantime, here is the very culmination of Australian music. Nearly 50 years has led up to this being made.

Fuckin skitz cunt.

[lovinbarzal]

BREAK UP? | OUR SONG AU

wyatt johnston x fem! barzal! reader

our song au masterlist

a/n i thought this was a funny idea lmao and hollywoodpop isn't a real thing i just made it up

hollywoodpop has posted !

liked by randoacc1, randoacc2, and others

hollywoodpop *BREAKING NEWS!!!!*

Inside sources have sent in that young upcoming singer/actor, Y/n Barzal, and rookie centerman for the Dallas Stars, Wyatt Johnston, have split after 2 years together.

Source said, "Y/n was crying outside of a donut shop. She looked heartbroken. When walking by, I heard her mention Wyatt and then her brother (Forward for the NYI, Mat Barzal) gave her hug."

What are you opinions?👀👀

load comments

fanacc1 didn't he just post her yesterday?

fanacc2 what is going on in the house of commons!!

y/nbarzal @/wyattjohnston we broke up?😭

↳ wyattjohnston_ 💀

jackhughes this is golden😂

kenzie yes, everyone they broke up! me and y/n can now have our wedding in Hawaii!

fanacc3 they didn't break up lmaoo

edwards.73 this was not on 2023 bingo card

↳ y/nbarzal wasn't on mine either

y/nbarzal has posted !

liked by wyattjohnston_, markestapa, and others

y/nbarzal i guess me and pookie broke up? (we're happily still together and i was crying cause i missed him)

load comments

wyattjohnston_ let's be clear she dumped me! (i love my sugar with my whole heart💓)

↳ y/nbarzal butthurt (i love you too, pookie🤞🏼)

markestapa yay! my parents are still together!

jackhughes measurements

↳ y/nbarzal absolutely

fanacc1 i genuinely thought my otp broke up...i was so sad

fanacc2 if they ever break up then love is dead

barzal97 i'll take wyatt after the divorce

↳ y/nbarzal you legally have to take me, assface

↳ barzal97 you should be banned from life

trevorzegras my children

↳ y/nbarzal mama?

kenzie damn it🫡

↳ y/nbarzal smooch💋

jpav8 wait what happened?

↳ wyattjohnston_ nothing pav! everything is absolutely ok!

fanacc3 otp 🔛🔝

dallasstars 💚✨

tseguin92 kate had a heart attack when she read that article...she was ready to fly to your house...

↳ y/nbarzal i live laugh love kate <3

[councilman-horsemeat]

The Greatest Star Trek Characters, Ranked

I was recently reading a few articles ranking the various Star Trek characters and got really infuriated. I started punching my solid wood table until my fists were blooded and filled with splinter. Kirk, Spock, Picard- who gives a shit? There was no flavor, no spice to these lists. After taking a long walk and eating some meal, I decided I oughta make my own. Here it goes; In no particular order, so they're not actually ranked at all.

Sylvia Tilly Star Trek: Discovery is full of people whose lives have sucked, in a way which reflects their outlook on life. Some are hardened, some burdened, some both. Sylvia Tilly offers a delightful contrast to these characters. I’m not through the first season of Discovery yet, but I hope she and Michael Burnham become best friends forever.

Mobar (Fake Tuvok) Part of a criminal group that travels the Delta quadrant scamming various strangers through various schemes. Mobar and his friend Dala ended up acting as Tuvok and Janeway, fooling hapless aliens into joining the “Federation”, which meant little more than handing over their starships or cargo. Mobar ended up getting WAY into character, oftentimes chastising his fellow criminals for not adhering to Starfleet protocols. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make him not a criminal, and in the end he went down like a chump. RIP to a legend. I don’t think he died but whatever.

Dax (Jadzia, Ezri and Curzon/Odo) Jadzia Dax, our first true look into what trill really are. The fusion of Jadzia and Dax created a woman with wisdom far beyond her years, enough to make her approach life in a very confident, laid-back way. This, along with her highly analytical mind and charm, would have made her a perfect ship’s captain. Gone too soon.

On the other hand, I really liked Ezri Dax too. I’m conflicted, because seeing what it’s like for an unprepared, naive trill to be joined (despite never training to) was really interesting, and I even wish we got more than just the one season with her- but I also wish Jadzia could have been around for the finale.

When they were temporarily joined in a trill ritual, Curzon brought a certain down-in-the-dirt, slob attitude to the usually uptight Odo. I really liked him. He could have been less of a pervert.

Bearded Geordi LaForge Beautiful. Majestic. Just a touch of rogueish charm. Too bad he only had it for two episodes and like some movies or whatever.

Mirror Sarek I understand WHY he has a goatee. They needed to make him visually distinct from normal Sarek and it’s an homage to mirror Spock from way back when. The problem is that the homage only works if you didn’t already think mirror Spock’s goatee is funny as hell. They also call him the prophet for some reason. All in all a weird guy, which means I like him.

Neelix He brought a genuine heart of gold to the crew of the voyager when they needed it the most. A rock, a true friend and a shoulder to lean on. His friendship with Tuvok allowed him to occasionally bring out a different side of the indomitable vulcan. I also liked that his eye color randomly changed with no in-show explanation.

T’pring Spock’s almost-wife T’pring probably has the quickest turnaround from “WTF why is she so needlessly brutal” to “she’s a genius and she’s so logical” of any Star Trek character. She will always have my respect.

Sela It’s just really funny to me that she had all that buildup on top of already being the return of a written-off main character’s actor. And then like, nothing happened.

Kai Winn Opaka There’s something so incredibly about Louise Fletcher’s performance as Kai Winn in the later seasons that I sometimes have a hard time putting into words. She just captures the self-righteous, holier-than-thou, but also absolutely desparate character in such a captivating way- while also maintaining this underlying confidence and power.

“Klingon Chef” Deep Space Nine’s resident Klingon chef/opera singer showed a side of Klingon culture we don’t often see - the civilian side. He truly made the most of his few appearances, and I will always love him for it.

Seven of Nine (Possessed) Maybe it’s because of Seven’s usually stoic, reserved demeanour, but seeing Jeri Ryan take on the exaggerated personalities of a Klingon warrior, a Ferengi DaiMon, and the EMH of the USS Voyager amongst others, was one hell of a lot of fun. Enough fun to end up on this list! Unfortunately, not enough for that Oscar nom. Next time!

Dr. Michael Dingo Dingo’s brief stint as nurse aboard the Enterprise-D established him as little more than a grumpy old man, but he really shone after his promotion to main cast member and CMO of the USS Pioneer. His usual snarky personality being torn down upon meeting his long-believed-to-be-dead wife went down as one of my favorite moments in all of Star Trek. His refusal to poison the crew on behalf of his madly sick captain gave me goosebumps.

Lwaxana Troi She started out as no more than “Deanna Troi’s Annoying Mom” but evolved into so much more across her many appearances. Absolutely wonderfully played by Majel Barrett, the writers explore many facets of sorrow, motherhood, and what it means to grow old. I also believe that she should have ended up with Odo instead of Nerys, but whatev.

Falow The leader of the Wadi, a gamma quadrant species that value various types of games above all else. He and his entourage visit Deep Space Nine and end up throwing the main cast INTO a highly-advanced video game where they think they’ll actually die, but it’s actually just a game. What I like most is that he truly looks like the Most Advanced Gamer. If I was a highly advanced space-gamer this is what I would want to look like.

Riker Picard’s number one actually features on a lot of these lists. They usually list his loyalty or how cool he is or whatever. I’m mostly interested in his absolutely off-the-charts adventurous spirit. He was the first starfleet officer to serve aboard a klingon ship and was GLAD to eat gagh. When he learned that a trill symbiont needed a new host he practically jumped at the chance, despite the fact that no human had ever hosted a trill symbiont before. And he had absolutely no shame in wearing his slutty outfit in ‘Angel One’. There’s many similarities between Riker and Kirk, but Kirk would never have worn it so proudly.

Horny/drunk-ish Picard Patrick Stewart’s performance as a pseudo-drunk and very horny Jean-Luc Picard in The Naked Now has seared itself into my mind forever. It’s like he’s screaming, but also whispering, and sort of putting on an accent? Deciding just how to portray the usually stoic captain so completely out of his element must have been quite the challenge, and Patrick Stewart ended up making some very inspired choices.

Alyssa Ogawa She may not have done much more than help out in medbay every now and then, but the conversations between her and Crusher were the first to show that the main crew actually DO have friends outside the “inner circle”. Does that truly earn her a spot on a list of the greatest Star Trek characters of all time? Probably not but I don’t really care and neither should you.

Grand Nagus Zek Every time he got more screentime I remembered how much I loved his dumbass voice. His shrill bleating is hilarious, and every time he shows up I can’t wait to find out what his latest scheme is. His behavior towards women is regrettable, but that’s true for a lot of Star Trek men and unlike most of them, Zek actually sort-of changes.

Ishka And who is Zek without Rom and Quark’s moogie Ishka? Despite the usual underestimatable Ferengi personality traits, I genuinely believe Ishka could have one of the highest power levels in all of Star Trek canon. Women not even having the right to wear clothes has been a part of Ferengi culture for centuries and she managed to turn it around COMPLETELY in a handful of years. If she put her mind to it, I genuinely believe she could have brokered peace between the Cardassians and Bajorans, and that’s on the prophets.

Jae Yeah, I got a bit of a crush on this frankly random Enterprise-D crewmember. I think she’s friends with Picard? She sat next to him at a poetry reading once. I’m not sure if she even had any speaking lines.

[sendmyresignation]

this article announcing the red hot trans charity album + the lauren auder prince cover featuring the original background singers wendy and lisa. genuinely inconsolable right now.