#taylor’s friends quote challenge

[pitchsidestories]

Carve your name into my bedpost II Millie Bright x Reader

chelsea women masterlist I word count: 1856

"All of this silence and patience, pining in anticipation My hands are shaking from holding back from you (ah, ah, ah) All of this silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting My hands are shaking from all this (ah, ha, ha, ha) Say my name and everything just stops I don't want you like a best friend" ~ Taylor Swift, Dress

Since Millie Bright joined the Chelsea FC Women squad in 2015, the friendship between you two has grown and deepened over the years. You began to work for the blues around the same time as physio for the women’s team. The same amount of time the defender had spend at the club you had a crush on the broad-shouldered defender who’s hugs always brightened up your day, even the particular grey ones due to the English weather. Pun fully intended.  But you were sure whatever was going on you were supposed to stay best friends.  All those things went through your mind earlier that day when the English football player was named captain for Chelsea during the season 23/24 which was about to start soon.

Millie’s snot brought you back into the present moment, arguing with you over her phone: “No, I’m coming to your place, don’t start without me. Rach texted me; she will join us later.”

“I’m fine, I can do this on my own. Really you don’t need to come.”, you told your friend.  

The northern woman scoffed at your remark: “Too late. You said you need help building your new bed, so I’m coming over.”

“Thank you, Millie.”

“No, worries. And don’t do anything until I’m at your place.”, she demanded with a smile on her pretty lips.

You could not help to roll your eyes a little by the comment the blonde made: “You don’t think I’m strong enough, huh?”

“No, I know you can be clumsy.”, the defender laughed.

“Oh, please that one time.”, you tried to downplay your clumsiness. On the other side Millie grinned: “You know exactly that you’re!” With a loud sigh you gave in: “Okay, I’ll wait until you arrived.” 

A few minutes later you opened the door for your best friend, your face being lit up the moment your eyes were set on her: “Hi, don’t worry, I got some snacks and drinks for my little helpers.”

“I hope they’re at least good snacks. If I’m being paid with food, I want it to be delicious.”, the blonde winked at you.

With a sweet smile you promised her: “Of course they’re, if you’re lucky you can get paid with hugs aswell.”

“Who said I like hugs?”, Millie asked in a playful tone.

“You might be tall, broad shouldered, muscled as hell and have a lot of tattoos but I know you still like them, you paused for a second before adding, you know looks can be deceiving.”

The defender just rolled her eyes at you; “Stop quoting Mapi’s tattoos.“ You innocently blinked at her; “Don’t worry, you’re still my favourite defender, Millie.“ She scrunched her nose in mock disgust but you didn’t notice.

You led her into your bedroom where multiple pieces of the furniture were laying on the floor, covered in packaging material. “So, those are all the parts we need to build the bed.“ Millies’ gaze wandered over the floor and then back to you; “What’s all of that?“

With a guiltless smile on your face, you moved closer to her, the instruction manual in one hand; “Here are the instructions and in the end it’s supposed to look like this.“ You pointed to the picture on the front of the manual.

Millie immediately grimaced; “Really? That’s the bed you chose?“ “What? You don’t like it?“, you yelled out, feigning outrage. „No.“, Millie continued teasing. With a smirk, you crossed your arms in front of your chest; “I thought you like challenges. This is one.“

“You can stop that. I’m already on it.“, Millie finally gave in and sat down on the floor. You followed suit and watched her starting to assemble the first pieces of the bed frame; “Okay, tell me, how can I help you?“ The defender nodded towards the manual; “Hold the instructions for me.“ “Okay, I got you.“, you replied, doing as you were told, even though you knew she only wanted to keep you busy while she worked.

She laughed at how serious you took your task; „Thanks.“ “You’re welcome.“ “Very good job.“ You let her work in silence. Millies messy bun bounced on top of her head as she put the pieces together and your bed slowly took shape.

Your gaze was fixed on her prominent biceps that constantly flexed and relaxed. You couldn’t stop yourself from touching her arm; “Your strength is really impressive.“ It was genuine awe mixed with a bit of teasing. Your touch send a shiver through Millies body that was barely noticeable. “Please don’t disturb the work.“, she warned with a laugh.

“Okay fine, I’ll let you continue in peace.”, you sighed. Relived that she could focus on building your bed now and stop being distracted by your presence which made Millies heart race faster and made her questions her feelings toward you, the defender said: “Thanks.”

It took a few hours until the woman from the Northern part of England finished your bed but when it was finally done you let out a delighted squeak: ”Doesn’t the bed look amazing? Time to test it.”

Immediately you two jumped onto the bed at the same time, that was the moment when the Chelsea player confirmed giggling, It doesn’t look amazing. But at least it’s sturdy.” “Well, we kind of proved the sturdiness now.”, you told her, the comment turning the cheeks of your best friend red.

“Not too bad. For now, let’s check if the mattress is comfy too.”, Millie decided, laying fully down with her body on the mattress and gazing on to the ceiling because she knew looking into your face in this moment would only make her blush deeper.

Meanwhile you kept your gaze on her, mildly amused: “It’s very comfy if you ask me.” “I think I have to agree. You’ll sleep well in here.”, the defender admitted, her hand running through her light hair, turning the bun even messier.

A small gesture you could not help but noticing, before you confessed half-jokingly half serious: “Without you I’d still have slept on the mattress.”

Looking at you with a side eye the blonde replied grinning:” You’re lucky you’ve me.” “I’m very happy to call you my best friend.”, you said in an honest tone.

The tension between you two was getting almost unbearable which caused Millie to clear her throat: “You’re very welcome.” Quickly the Chelsea player decided to ask nervously: “So, I guess we’re done here.”

“Right.”, you nodded slowly not sure in which direction this confirmation would take you.  

The defender reminded you with a smirk on her face:” But I was promised snacks.” “Wait, right here, I’ll get them for you.” your best friend looked up to you grateful as you were serving her the food she asked for: “Thanks.”

With interest, you watched her try the offered snacks; “And? What do you think? Am I paying you right?“ “Yeah, definitely.“, Millie nodded, still chewing. A satisfied grin tugged on your lips; “Good.“ “Delicious.“ “You can get the hugs after you ate if you want them.“, you suggested amused.

“I want them now!“, protested the defender. “Alright, come here.“, you stood up, dragging her up with you. You wrapped your arms around the waist of the taller woman and pressed your cheek against her shoulder. The hug threw her off balance; “Woah, wait,“

”Woah?“ ”Don’t make me lose my balance.“, Millie laughed, pushing herself against you to steady you both. You grinned up at her; “I won’t. I will catch you.“ “You can’t catch me if your hugs are the reason I lose balance. It’s physics.“, Millie reminded you.“Want me to stop?“

The smile disappeared from the defenders face; “No…“ “Are you sure?“, you smirked but still let your arms drop to let Millie out of the hug. “Sure. Come here.“, she replied, pulling you back into her and carefully picking you up to carry you over to the bed.

You laughed while she dropped you on the mattress; “Time for bed.“ “Sleepy after your nations league games?“, you teased as Millie sat down beside you. Millie laughed, “Actually, I meant for you.“ You nodded in agreement; “Yes, being a physio can be very tiring.“ “Good that you have your new bed now.“ You watched her lay back on your bed.

Slowly you turned around to face your best friend, searching for her familiar blue eyes; “Millie? Will you stay the night?“ “You know I don’t live that far away.“, Millie stated plainly and you distinctly noticed that she didn’t decline. “I know that…“, you mumbled but before you could add something, Millie slowly nodded; “But I can stay.“ “I’d like that… very much“, you whispered, suddenly painfully aware of how close your faces were. And without thinking further about it, you bridged the gap between you two and pressed your lips on the football players’.

Surprised the defender stammered: ”What was what?” The bewildered look on the blonde’s face made you regret your fearlessness: „Shit, I’m so sorry.”

“No.”, determined the defender shook her head. Now it was your turn to be the one who was looking confused: “Wait, what?” “Do that again.”, Millie demanded. Your heart was pounding hard against your chest as you followed her wish, nervously you took a moment to watch her following facial expressions:” What do you think?” “This is nice.. I like it.”, the Chelsea player replied. Truthfully you told her: “Me too.”

“Hello girls! Finally!”, Rachel greeted them cheerfully as she entered the bedroom with a spare key to your home in the free hand. The Aston Villa player laughed because you two looked very embarrassed and she did not get why. Anxiously her best friend questioned her sentence:” Finally?”

“I mean finally, the bed is built.”, Rachel stated smirking. A giggle escaped the defender’s usually huge mouth: “Oh you mean that.” The grin of the Aston Villa player intensified: “Oh and you two were about time too.” “What?!”, you exclaimed astonished by the statement of your good friend. Flustered Millie added: “I thought we were talking about the bed.” “I thought so too.”, you mumbled under your breath.

The bright smile stayed on Rachel’s lip while she joked:” Oh sure. I was definitely talking about the bed.” “Rach!”, you screamed embarrassed. The woman who was called after shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant manner:” I was just checking if you’re done or if you still needed help. But it looks like all is well, so..see you tomorrow.”  “See you tomorrow, Rachel.”, Millie said her goodbye to her best friend. “Good night you two.”, Rachel waved at you before she went to leave your home for now.

After you could hear the Aston Villa player was ultimately gone you hid the face in your hands:” Oh my god.” “She knows.”, the blonde laughed. “Sounds like she knows us better than we do.”  A crooked smile lit up the defender’s face: “I’ve to kill her for that tomorrow.” “But for now.”, “For now?”, Millie threw her eyebrows up teasingly. “Can we go back to kissing?”  “On your new bed?”, the blonde wanted to know. “Yes.”, you nodded. “Coming!”

[agirlwithglam]

The Vanilla Library 🐩

˗ˏˋ꒰⚡️꒱ Self improvement:

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene — part 1 & part 2

dont let your past affect your future

create a new identity

how to be smart (from pinterest)

Hard work?? At least do work!

🍰 VANILLA’S OPINION; edition 1: dealing with hate & not caring about what others think.

Recommends: BLOSSLY

May ins & outs

Chapter 5: May

prioritising: how to prioritise + use it effectively to take over your life.

How to achieve your goals using: S.M.A.R.T goals.

˗ˏˋ꒰📚꒱ Studying & academia:

How to be more educated

(ask) how to work hard + actually study

Motivation: things to like about these subjects

How to be the it girl in school

recommended study video for upcoming exams

100/100 grades on exams (affirmations)

How to ACE your exams!!

Question bank study method

˗ˏˋ꒰🍒꒱ Confidence & socialising:

how to stop giving people your time, attention and energy.

A guide to self love and confidence

How to be a girlboss 101 (social edition)

Elegance & grace (how to be elegant)

GIRL TALK #1: friends & feeling left out

GIRL TALK #2: dealing with hate + not caring about what others think of you.

Shadow work journalling prompts

How to be a good conversationalist

Conversation tips + how to be funny

EASTER HOLIDAY CHALLENGE- socialising edition!

Thewizardliz: what to do if someone is making you feel insecure

How to not compare yourself and feel fulfilled without needing anyone’s validation. (Ask)

unique compliments to give people

attractive confidence affirmations.

Hot girl things

the ULTIMATE IT GIRL guide!

The It Girl Lifestyle Guide

The It Girl Confidence Guide

˗ˏˋ꒰ 💌 ꒱ Quotes + moodboards:

Gina linetti quotes

elle woods quotes

Yoda quote

Lavender haze, Taylor Swift quote

I forgot that you existed, Taylor Swift quote

Moodboard:

Moodboard #1 - academic weapon

Moodboard #2 - orange/ vanilla girl academia

Moodboard #3 - spring/ morning inspired

Moodboard #4 - spring inspired

Moodboard #5 - pink academia

Moodboard #6 - barbie inspired!!

Moodboard #7 - Elle woods inspired

Moodboard #8 - academia & Elle woods inspired + QUOTE

Moodboard #9 - Blair Waldorf inspired + QUOTE abt how ur just better

Moodboard #10 - healthy lifestyle pink inspired + QUOTE for if you’re going thru a hard time

Moodboard #11 - queen energy inspired + QUOTE on being a queen

[charlithepuppeteer]

school bus graveyard incorrect quotes pt. 1

Ashlynn: What's two plus two?

Aiden: Math.

Ashlynn: ...I will accept that answer.

_______________________________________________

Logan: I started school with straight A’s. Now I’m not even straight.

_______________________________________________

Logan: *talking about Aiden’s funeral* You do know we’re burying a great person today!

Tyler, shocked: Did someone else die?

_______________________________________________

Ashlynn: Nothing feels better than winning Monopoly. Not love, not sex, not free pizza, nothing!

Tyler: I’m sorry, have you tried pizza?

Ashlynn: Yes, and it doesn’t compare to owning half the board and watching the light die from your friend’s eyes as you take their money and feel your friendship slowly deteriorate.

Aiden: I like you.

_______________________________________________

Logan: *working in a flower shop and minding their own business*

Tyler, storming into the store and slapping $20 on the counter: HOW DO I PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVELY SAY “FUCK YOU” IN FLOWER???

_______________________________________________

Taylor: Why are you two always out during rainstorms?

Ben, typing: It’s so peaceful and refreshing. I love the smell of rain.

Aiden: Tyler bet me I couldn’t get struck by lighting, but they’re WRONG.

_______________________________________________

Aiden: Am I going to far?

Taylor: No, no, no. You went too far about 7 hours ago. Now you’re going to prison.

_______________________________________________

Aiden: Comparing Taylor and phantoms is like comparing apples and oranges.

Taylor: We’re both unique in our own ways?

Aiden: Apples are superior in every way and all oranges should be eliminated.

phantoms: Which one of us is the orange?

(I think we all know the answer to that)

_______________________________________________

Aiden: The shadow realm? No, I’m sending you to Ohio!

_______________________________________________

Aiden: FIGHT ME, YOU NERD ASS SLUT!

Ashlynn: At least try to sound slightly more sophisticated when you threaten someone.

Aiden: Oh, I'm sorry. I should ask; dost thou want to engage in a duel, my good bitch?

Ashlynn: Somehow that's worse.

_______________________________________________

*While planning to break in somewhere*

Aiden: Hey, let's do "Get Help!"

Ashlynn: What?

Aiden: "Get Help."

Ashlynn: No.

Aiden: C'mon, you love it!

Ashlynn: I hate it.

Aiden: It's great! It works every time!

Ashlynn: It's humiliating.

Aiden: Do you have a better plan?

Ashlynn: No.

Aiden: We're doing it!

Ashlynn: We are not doing "Get Help!"

*A Minute Later*

Aiden, carrying Ashlynn: Get help! Please! They're dying! Help Them! *throws Ashlynn at guards, knocking them out*

Aiden: Ahh, classic!

Ashlynn: *gets up* I still hate it. It's humiliating.

Aiden, laughing: Not for me, it's not.

(aww~. couple banter)

_______________________________________________

Aiden: I hate when people ask me, 'What did you do today?' Buddy listen, I woke up at noon and then it was five p.m., okay? I don't KNOW!

_______________________________________________

Aiden: School sucks.

Ashlynn: I know, but you have to do it so you can get a job.

Aiden: What are jobs like?

Ashlynn: They suck.

_______________________________________________

Aiden: If a demon possessed me, I’d just be like, “Okay, take it from here, good luck man.”

_______________________________________________

Aiden: *slams books down in front of Aiden*

Aiden: Boil up some Mountain Dew. It’s gonna be a long night.

Ashlynn: You could of said literally anything else.

Aiden: Cauldron boil and cauldron bubble, Baja Blast to fuel my trouble.

Ashlynn: I’m going to just stop challenging you when you say random shit. I won’t win. I realize this now.

[taylor-on-your-dash]

SO, WHO IS THE SONG MINE ABOUT?

A couple of years ago I read this comment on r/Taylor Swift about Taylor dating a non famous guy who attended Belmont University.

I started college in Nashville in 2010, and the semester before I started, it was well known that Taylor was seeing a guy who lived on campus. It never made headlines because he wasn’t a celebrity like her other relationships. I have seen lots of random explanations for “Mine,” but many students at the university always assumed it was about this guy because the timeline fit.

At the time, I didn't think much of it. I thought that it could've been possible but still, the theory of Mine being about Cory Monteith made more sense to me.

While I was writing the Speak Now Timeline, one of the most important interviews was the Billboard one:

"Mine" was a turning point in the album’s development. It wasn’t until early 2010 when the album truly began to coalesce. Swift presented "Mine" to Borchetta in his office, just a few doors down the hall from the leather couch in the lobby. "We probably played that song four or five times," Borchetta recalls. "I’m jumping around playing air guitar, she’s singing the song back to me, and it was just one of those crazy, fun, Taylor teen-age moments." And then it got serious. "I said, ‘Keep going,’ " Borchetta says. "She kind of looked at me like, ‘You’re challenging me.’ And I said, ‘Yeah. You’ve found true north here. Keep going.’ " It was some time in the period after that challenge — between February and June — that Swift wrote “Innocent,” her response to the Kanye West incident.

That settled it then, no? Mine was written in late February, after Taylor had returned from Tokyo.

My certainties crumbled a few weeks ago, when @1989worldtour sent me an interview where Taylor says that she wrote Mine on the road, specifically in Texas.

Back To December was written in New York City, The Story Of Us was in Nashville, I wrote Mine somewhere on the road, I think in Texas, actually. (X)

Taylor was in Texas on March 10th (in Austin), March 11th (Dallas), and March 12th (Corpus Christi) for the Fearless Tour. At first, this didn't make any sense to me: Taylor had said that she wrote Mine in February! Then again, she often misremembers dates. I had shelved this date in my mind until I randomly found this comment on r/Fauxmoi while I was researching Starlight and the Kennedy craze Taylor went through.

She dated a guy from Belmont I think because a family friend went there and was friends with him and was there the night they met! “By the water” in Mine is apparently about Mozarts - a coffee shop in Austin on the water where they went on a date. I have no way to verify this because it didn’t happen to me but the family friend had pics with Taylor and stuff because of this guy she was friends with who dated Taylor. This might be the only piece of celeb gossip I’ve ever known haha.

Reply: This is true! He's now married with kids and not at all famous.

The return of the Belmont guy! We have two other sources claiming that she dated a non-famous person who attended Belmont. The mention of Texas cemented the fact that there might be a kernel of truth in this theory. At this point, I took this rumor seriously and chose to investigate further. the next question was, if Belmont is in Nashville and the Mozart bar is in Texas, didn't the guy miss a lot of classes? The answer is... no. If you look at the Belmont Academic Calendar, guess when Spring Break was? From March 8th to March 15th! So even if the guy was in college, he didn't miss any classes. There's was plenty of time for him to fly to Texas, attend the show, going on a date at the Mozart bar and then fly back to Nashville.

There's another problem though: according to the Billboard interview, Taylor brought Mine to Scott Borchetta in late February. We don't actually have a direct quote from Taylor or Borchetta saying that it was February. It could be Taylor or Scott misremembering, It could be the journalist inferring (it has happened before, for example on this Rolling Stone article from 2009, where the author said that Love Story and White Horse were for the same person, for some weird reason). After all, late February and early March aren't that far away. Nathan Chapman, the producer of the song, said that they worked on Mine on and off for 4 months. They finished it on July 21st, so March 10th still tracks.

Now, let's look at the actual bar. on the left, we have a screenshot from the Music Video, while on the right, a picture of the Mozart Bar. they look very similar to me, but I admit that I've never been to the USA, so maybe coffee shops all look the same?

Fun fact: The Mozart bar confirmed that she has been there in May 2013, after the Red Tour show.

Conclusions: Honestly, I believe those people on Reddit, but I realise that the sources are very unstable. What makes me believe it though, is the obscure mention of Mine being written in Texas, and the person on Reddit revealing that they had a date at a bar that casually is by the water. It fits perfectly. I don't have any more to say for now, but it's possible that I'll write a post of how Mine is one of the first post John Mayer song and how that relationship affected the themes of her songwriting.

P.S.: I would advise not contacting these people on Reddit. it's obvious that they're friends with him/know him and they wouldn't say anything to help identifying him. plus, it's not our place to gather information about a person that wants anonymity. it's not cool to doxx random people.

[haydenigmatic]

Lady Nesrin /ˈnɛs.rɪn/ Parovus /pæˈroʊvəs/

Meet Nesrin, the enigmatic jewel of courtly intrigue in the Eight Kingdoms. Behind her charming smile and the gentle melodies of her harp, lies a shrewd strategist, always three moves ahead in the intricate game of court politics.

For her face claim it's a mix between Emma Watson, Lilly Collins and maybe Anya-Taylor-Joy, now for the voice I would say Jessica Brown Findlay (the voice of Lenore in Castlevania)

Main Family Dynamics:

Duke Javaid's Expectations (Father):

Duke Javaid, the family patriarch, holds a firm grip on family affairs and expects unwavering obedience and service from his children. While supportive, his expectations also create a stifling atmosphere, especially for Nesrin who navigates the delicate balance between duty and love.

Duchess Sarnei's Priorities (Mother):

Duchess Sarnei is focused on maintaining her beauty and status within the court. She holds a keen interest in fashion and gossip, involving herself in the intricacies of courtly life, which influences Nesrin's awareness of social dynamics.

Seline's Scandal:

Seline, Nesrin's elder sister, is away from court due to a scandal that stained the family's reputation. Unmarried and seemingly without prospects, Seline secretly has a child from a forbidden affair with a commoner, straining her relationship with Nesrin.

Gennaddy's Charisma:

Gennady, Nesrin's younger brother, is a charming and courteous knight who enjoys the attention of many ladies. Confident in the family's status, revels in the admiration he receives, supporting and challenging Nesrin's approach to courtly life.

Some details about her:

Memorable Quote: "I learned at a young age that sometimes, the most effective way to get what you want is to let others think it was their idea."

She indulges in the guilty pleasure of reading romance novels but dismisses them as frivolous in public.

Occasionally orchestrates situations where she allows herself to be seemingly manipulated, only to unveil a grander scheme.

Her skill with the harp is as enchanting as her political manoeuvrers, her melodies weaving tales of beauty and intrigue that captivate those who have the privilege of listening.

She thrives on challenges, evident in her deliberate attempts to out-dress Odette, turning every encounter into a subtle competition.

keeps a dried flower pressed between the pages of her favourite book, a memento from the first bouquet someone dear to her gave her.

Her Silkshroud Feline (Persian cat), Aziza, is her loyal companion during strolls through the family gardens. Aziza wears small jewelled collars that match Nesrin's accessories.

Practices the harp at night, finding inspiration in the quiet hours. The haunting melodies she creates in the moonlit solitude serve as a therapeutic release for her inner conflicts.

Her sister scandal casts a shadow over Nesrin's life, serving as a cautionary tale that influences her choices and adds pressure to maintain the family's reputation.

Feels a deep sense of betrayal, she had confided in Odette about her dreams and ambitions, Odette's swift action feels like a calculated move to steal Nesrin's opportunities and thwart her plans.

Nesrin battles intense feelings of jealousy and resentment towards Odette, especially as she perceives her former friend not only as a rival but as someone who callously took advantage of her vulnerable confession.

[happiness-of-the-pursuit]

2023 Fic Round Up (Part 1: Fic List)

I have been tagged in about a million different round ups of sorts, so here's Part 1: A Comprehensive 2023 Fic List sorted by month posted (if a multichap, I listed it the first month it posted), featuring the major details and a single-sentence summary/quote (so a fun challenge for me).

I'll post Part 2: Favorite Quotes and Part 3: Channeling Nora Holleran to Bring You My AO3 Data over the next two days (for the data I want to wait til the last possible day).

Without further ado, here is my 2023 Fic List:

January:

Nothing, I was still a lurker.

February:

Prince Henry and FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions (T, 2.4K, YouTube Script Fic)

10 Things Alex Claremont-Diaz Can’t Live Without (T, 3K, YouTube Script Fic)

10 Things HRH Prince Henry Can’t Live Without (T, 2.5K, YouTube Script Fic)

March:

Prince Henry and FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz Take a Couples Quiz (T, 5K, YouTube Script Fic)

The Super Six Take a Lie Detector Test | Vanity Fair (M, 7K, YouTube Script Fic)

Baby's First Pride (E, 10K, WIP Multi-Chap)

Post-canon, canon-compliant (ignoring bonus chapter) look at the Super Six celebrating their first pride after the emails—I want to come back and finish this (I got interrupted by Life) but my writing has evolved a lot since March and I'm daunted by all the editing I'd have to do, lol

ALEX CLAREMONT-DIAZ COMMUNES WITH HIS ANCESTORS WHILE EATING SPICY WINGS | Hot Ones (T, 3K, YouTube Script Fic)

April-June

Trying to survive the end of the school year as a teacher before I left my job :)

July

PRINCE HENRY SENTENCES US TO THE DUNGEONS WHILE EATING SPICY WINGS | Hot Ones  (M, 3K, YouTube Script Fic)

August

FirstPrince Sings Queen, Lil Nas X, and Taylor Swift in a Game of Song Association | ELLE (T, 2.5K, YouTube Script Fic)

Claremont 2008 (M, 26K, Complete Multi-Chap, Canon Divergence)

A world where Ellen gets elected in 2008 instead of 2016, and the friends-to-lovers path that puts Henry on. If you want to relive the early 2010s, enjoy epistolary fics, or want a glimpse of a world where Alex & Henry go to college together, you might like this.

September

How well you play...that's up to you (M, 4K, FirstPrince Week)

Grey's Anatomy-Inspired AU, where Alex & Henry are both surgical residents—currently a one-shot, but I plan on writing a multi-chap prequel for this at some point.

Keep this Love in a Photograph (T, 2.6K, FirstPrince Week)

Post-Canon: Henry finds Alex's old photo album and they take a stroll down memory lane.

The Starwand (T, 1.7K, FirstPrince Week)

Three vignettes from Alex's life (two featuring Henry) where a sparkler makes an appearance—both a kid fic of Alex and Alex with his kids.

Somebody Call 911 (M, 2.4K, FirstPrince Week)

College AU where Alex is sneaking around with Henry behind his roommate's back—until it all goes to shit.

October

Sets on the Beach (M, 4K, FirstPrince Week)

Crack Treated Seriously, Alex and Henry are on rival queer beach volleyball teams.

Water over Blood (G, 3K, FirstPrince Week)

Post-Canon 5+1 of five times Henry's niece loved Alex, and one time she loved Henry

L(ate) S(leepy) A(morous) T(exting) (M, 1K, FirstPrince Week)

Text-fic of a missing moment from the book, because I am convinced that Alex did, in fact, study for the LSAT (it's just more realistic if we're to believe he scored well enough to get into NYU)

November

Freaky Friday (I woke up in my enemy's body) (M, 9K, Halloween, Huh?)

Canon Divergence, Freaky Friday-Inspired Body Swap AU, Crack Treated Seriously: Between Cakegate and Alex's visit to London, the boys swap bodies and proceed to learn a lot about each other. And themselves.

December

Alex Claremont-Díaz Answers Your Questions | Actually Me |GQ (M, 2K, YouTube Script Fic)

Super Six and the Siren's Call (T, 111K Total, Posting Bi-weekly)

The Percy Jackson AU, co-written with @read-and-write- and @inexplicablymine. Quests and Greek References abound! Check out more @auntiepezzasupdates

(Dil)Do It Yourself (E, 16.7K, New Traditions Advent Calendar)

Alex attends a DIY Dildo Workshop for the holidays, where he meets Henry, who's helping to lead the workshop—and eventually, helps Alex in other ways. The tags will tell you all that you need to know.

Thanks to @rockyroadkylers @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @kiwiana-writes @welcometololaland and anyone else who tagged me that I missed! I was waiting to post all my fics for December before I did this :) Since I'm pretty late, I'll tag @ssmtskw @matherines @affectionatelyrs and an open tag to anyone who's made it this far and wants to do this!

[mvrtaiswriting]

Reiner Braun - Wonderland (part 1)

This is the Reiner work I have been talking about recently. I have decided to split it into two parts as it is very long. It follows AOT timeline, so please be mindful of any spoilers ahead. Specifically, this first part contains spoilers from season 1-3 (ish). The segments and different timezones of the story are divided by quotes from different Taylor Swift songs, which were vital for the formation of this idea. More specifically, the song that served as the backbone for this first part of the story was Wonderland, from the 1989 album (I wish there was a Taylor's version for it, but we'll have to wait I guess.)

gn! reader.

usual AOT violence.

1.8 K words.

Enjoy this, and let me know what you think!

Didn’t it all feel new and exciting? 

Standing in formation with the rest of the cadets was the only thing that made sense. New soldiers were needed to confront the menace that 5 years before had changed your lives forever - you didn’t want any more kids to witness the horrors of the titans invading their cities, devouring their dearest people.

The training had been intensive; every day for the past three years you had to battle against hunger, degradation, physical challenges that pushed your body over limits you didn’t know humans were capable of reaching. A lot of fellow comrades had left, unable to bear the overwhelming difficulty of the course; it was difficult to find a reason to live after your whole life had been erased right in front of your eyes - it was hard to find a reason to fight, now that there was no one to protect. 

Those thoughts were popular even among the most motivated cadets - even Eren had his bad days, in which all it seemed pointless. Holding your closed fist to your chest while swearing fidelity to the Survey Corps, flashbacks of the training days came back to you in a blur - and you couldn’t help but be grateful for the friends you made along the way. If it hadn’t been for them, lord knows what would have happened to you. The image of Marco’s body was still vivid in your mind, and despite all the sorrow that his death had caused among your group, you couldn’t help but be grateful that it wasn’t you - you were safe for now, and so were the people you loved the most. 

“It’s scary to think we’ll be going back there in less then a week.” 

Reiner spoke, catching the attention of all his comrades, shutting down all the nonsense chatting. 

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Jean replied, his lips curving into a weak smile. 

Everyone nodded in agreement, trying to move away from Reiner’s statement and cheering up the mood among the dining table you were all seated at. Marco’s death was not yet fully accepted - it had been a week since Jean had to identify him and then watch the fire take away what was left of his dear friend. All of you were still mourning his passing.

A loud sigh escaped Reiner’s lips - despite his reassuring demeanour, he was just as scared, just as emotionally drained; he was just better at hiding it. Being a soldier meant being ready to face the same horrors all over again, watching the people you grew up with die in the most horrible, inhumane way. Stretching your arm under the table, you were quick to find his hand, letting your fingers interlock with his, giving his hand a feeble squeeze. You wanted to remind him how you could see right through him, how you could understand his turmoil because you had been through so much just like him, but at least you still had each other. 

Life had not find a way to separate the two of you just yet, always looking out for each other during missions, risking your lives to protect the other. It had always been like that between the two of you, even during your training days. If you were punished, Reiner would go out of his way to be punished with you - he didn’t want to leave you alone, he didn’t want you to be anywhere but next to him, even if that meant running until his legs gave out. 

A pink blush coloured Reiner’s cheeks, who was quick to hold your hand tighter in his grip, gifting you the softest smile you had ever seen. Of course, that did not go unnoticed by your annoying friends, who were quick to make you and Reiner the topic of the conversation and embarrass both of you, making everyone else laugh at how ridiculously cute your relationship was. The love story going on between you and Reiner wasn’t new to anyone; you had been hanging around each other since the very first start of your training course, and never parted ways ever since. Reiner was your first love, your first kiss - the first person you were able to love again until losing your whole family; and you would have done anything for him. The only person who really knew about this was Mikasa - you had confessed everything to her, knowing that she would be the only person able to understand exactly how you felt. 

“Cut it out.” Mikasa finally spoke, elbowing Connie. 

“Hey!” Connie was quick to reply. “It was just a compliment.” 

Too in love to think straight, all alone or so it seemed.. but there were strangers watching, and whispers turned to talking, and talking turned to screams. 

After having captured the Female Titan, the hypotheses about the Colossal and Armoured Titans became stronger, central to the plan of the next Survey Corps mission. 

“It can’t be.”

Was all you managed to say after Hanji finally exposed their theory, suspicions pointing out directly towards your lover and his friend. 

“We can’t rule it out. But we need to gather more information so please, please -“ 

Hanji begged, leaving you speechless for a second. How could they ever suspect of Reiner, wasn’t he decisive in every mission you have had? Questions began to crowd your mind whilst the rest of your squad silently looked at you, waiting for an answer. They wanted you to investigate, to discover more about Reiner’s past and true identity, as if you didn’t share countless nights with him - as if he was the one responsible for your family’s death. A fleeble nod was the only response you were able to give, trying your best to remain lucid. All you had to do was prove your boyfriend’s innocence, how hard could it be? 

Doubts started insinuating in your mind when Reiner started avoiding you, spending more time with Bertholtd. They were always close friends so even if their closure seemed legit at first, what seemed suspicious was how incredible talkative Bertholtd had become; the shy, introverse guy was now replaced by a more confident figure, who exerted so much more influence on Reiner than you could ever imagine. 

“Are you a soldier, or a warrior? Where does your loyalty lay?!” 

I felt your arms twisting around me; I should have slept with one eye open at night.

Forcing yourself to keep quiet, you were quick to bring your hands to your mouth in an attempt to suppress your sobs. Pressing your back against the wall, trying to hear more from the conversation Reiner and Bertholdt were having, you forced yourself to resist a little more. Tears started running down your face as Bertholdt described Marco’s incident, praising how well they had handled the situation before their cover up got screwed. Mumbles were coming out Reiner’s mouth, inaudible to hear from behind a close door - but enough to make you realise the truth. 

“That doesn’t mean he is one of the titans..” you whispered, after reporting everything you heard to Hanji. Your voice echoed in Erwin's office, whilst the brightest minds of the survey corps put all their pieces together.

“Go back to your team and tell them the plan; you did good.” Levi answered, resting his hand on your shoulder.

As if a little bolt inside your had just broken, you were unable to function properly. Your movements became mechanical, moving around like a puppet who mindlessly followed the orders of its superiors. There was a lot you still weren’t able to process - having to overhear your boyfriend’s conversations, trying to accept the idea he was responsible for the complete destruction of your life, getting your head around how he could stomp on the corpses of your fellow citizens one day and make you fall in love with him the other, how could he cry in front of the ashes of your comrades - who lost their lives because of what he did. 

“What’s wrong?”

Reiner asked, wrapping his arms around your waist and engulfing you in his arms, letting your back rest against his broad chest. He had no idea about what you knew, and as if you already didn’t go through enough, Hanji asked you to act as if you were oblivious to everything you just discovered. 

“Just tired.” 

Reiner hummed in response, kissing the crown of your head and holding you tighter. He tried to savour this moments as long as he could; a part of him wished you could follow him back to Marley, but he knew better. He knew where your loyalty lied, he knew just how much you would have hated him once you discovered the truth - and he hated himself too. 

And in the end, in wonderland, we both went mad. 

“I’m sorry.” Reiner whispered, his eyes full of tears. “I love you.” 

These were the last words Reiner said to you before pushing you down the wall, your body precipitating down the Wall Maria as you watched him transform into the Armoured Titan. 

The bolt of yellow lightning coloured the whole sky in front of you, blinding you as your body continued its fall. Every inch of you had hoped you were wrong, you prayed for it to be all just a bad dream until the very last moment; you had faith. 

When Jean wrapped his arms around you, carrying your body over his shoulder while moving along the wall, you were finally brought back to reality.

"Are you okay?!" he shouted, trying his best to move away from the battlefield. 

You remained silent, watching Eren fighting the Armoured Titan. Squinting your eyes a little bit, your gaze meticulously scanned the titan’s features - his eyes, his hair, the little hump in his nose that was oh, so familiar. How could you be so blind? How could you not recognise the face of the man you loved? 

Jean was quick to bring you to the top of the Wall Maria, letting your body sit on one of the wooden benches they prepared. Resting his hands on your shoulders, Jean vigorously shook your body trying to bring you back to your senses. Absent-minded, the only thing you managed to do was staring at the floor in front of you, trying to process everything you just witnessed. Reiner’s titan screams filled the air, piercing your ears like a drill making its way to your brain. Bringing your hand on your ODM gear, finally coming to your senses again, you tried your best to not run to him. Every muscle of your body was screaming you to move, to run towards the man you loved and save his life as you always did. But you remained still, fighting against every single one of your instincts. 

“Are you okay?” 

Jean asked again, this time in a softer tone. He kneeled before you, his pupils moving rapidly as he worriedly stared at you. You were in the middle of a battle ground and you weren’t responding, you were alive but not living at all. A simple nod was the only response you managed to give him, before getting up and walking towards your commanders. This was your fight more than anyone else’s; the Survey Corps needed a plan, and there was no one who knew Reiner better than you. 

[tessa-liam]

Marabelle

Marabelle 

-4- The Beaumont Bash 

Book: Choices – The Royal Romance, an AU series 

Series Premise: An American teenager from New York City is introduced to the world of a small European country and its society of royalty, nobles, and commoners. How will her life story be transformed? Will this new adventure bring her happiness...or regret? 

Catch up: Masterlist 

Main Pairing: Liam Rys x F!OC Sophia (Sophie) 

Other Pairing: Maxwell Beaumont x M!OC Daniel (from NYC) 

                           Drake Walker x F!OC Melanie Smithson 

All characters belong to Pixelberry, except Sophia Taylor, Bethany Beaumont, Melanie Smithson, Tyler Gregson (Liam’s assistant), Elena (dress shop attendant) 

Rating: M*🔞Warnings: this series will have NSFW material, crude language. Not Beta’d: Please excuse all errors. 

Category: Alternate Universe/on-going series/angst/fluff 

Words: 2173

-4- The Beaumont Bash 

Chapter Summary: Sophie prepares for her first Beaumont Bash and is introduced to Bertrand’s love interest/Drake’s sister/future ally, Savannah Walker. 

Music Inspiration: Just the Way You Are, Bruno Mars 

   Love Story, Taylor Swift 

 A/N1: This is my submission for Choices April Challenge @choicesmonthlychallenge @lovealexhunt @aprilchallenge prompts, love is in the air, dinner, flower crown #april challenge 

A/N2: This is my submission for @choicesflashfics Week#30, Prompt3-  “That’s how the story goes.” 

A/N3: Bethany Beaumont, Maxwell’s mother, is originally from the US: is Barthelemy Beaumont’s 2nd wife. Annabelle Beaumont (deceased) was Bertrand’s mother. 

A/N4: Social Season in this AU series refers to a traditional period in the spring/summer for royalty and members of the court to take part in balls, dinner parties and charity events. 

A/N5: Thank you @peonierose for the inspirational quote!

Cordonian Capital...

It was a cloudy Tuesday morning in the Capital, which meant it was a good day to spend shopping. Keeping her promise to take her niece to the shopping district, Bethany smiled watching Sophie's excitement as the driver turned the Escalade SUV into the parking lot of an upscale formal wear boutique and parked alongside the floor to ceiling display window. 

“Duchess Bethany, good morning,” the elegant shop owner walked up to Sophie’s aunt in greeting as they entered the building. “This must be Lady Sophia, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”  

Gazing at the display mannequins, Sophie turned and smiled, greeting the well-dressed woman. 

“Hello, good morning; your dresses are gorgeous!” 

“Thank you, I have taken the liberty of pre-selecting a sampling of the latest trending styles for you and placed them in the dressing room. My assistant is at your service this morning for whatever you need. I am sure that you will find the perfect dress for the occasion.”  

A petite woman appeared alongside a Sophie. “Please follow me, my lady,” the shop tailer smiled. “My name is Elena.” 

*** 

After trying on several styles and colors, the dress she fell in love with was a deep burgundy red, an A-line V-neck asymmetrical satin dress. 

Standing on the pedestal inside the dressing room of the boutique, Sophie looked at her reflection in the three-way full length mirror, critically. 

“Auntie, I found my dress! What do you think?” 

Sophie took a selfie and sent it off to Daniel for his opinion. 

“Oh, my dear, it’s lovely! That color flatters your complexion and hair color perfectly.” 

“It is a pleasure fitting such a lovely figure...ahhh to be young again.” Elena tittered as she handed her a pair of gold heels to try. 

“Lady Sophia, these stilettos will give you some added height.”   

‘I feel like Cinderella!’ Sophie thought to herself as she slipped on the heels and stood up straight. Sending another picture to her best friend, she made sure to include the shoes. 

Sophie’s phone instantly pinged with Daniel’s return message:  

‘Girl, look at your killer legs! GET IT! 🔥🔥🔥’ 

Sophie giggled at his response, texting back, ‘OK, OK, don’t hold anything back, now🫡😁!'

Sophie clicked off her phone before reading Daniel's reply, 'can't wait to see you this weekend! 😘 '

*** 

The Beaumont Estate...

Maxwell browsed through the endless list of Netflix movies on his phone, looking for a movie line-up for tonight’s viewing. Tonight, being a Tuesday, was the weekly ‘Maxwell Movie Marathon’. Max was excited to introduce his cousin to her inaugural movie night, complete with New York style deep dish pizza and his infamous ‘Beaumont Brew’. 

“Hey Maxxy,” Savannah Walker walked into the theatre room giving her friend a hug.  

“Hi, Sav. What do you think of these movies for tonight?” 

Glancing at his phone, “Oooooo, I love ‘Dirty Dancing’! Are you sure your brother will approve?”  

Maxwell gave her a lopsided grin, “I’ve been telling him about my plans since my cousin arrived. You should have seen how much fun we had watching ‘Titanic’ together last Tuesday night.” 

Savannah, Drake’s little sister, has a crush on Bertrand, still unbeknownst to Bertrand. Maxwell knew, however. 

“Well, you are my guest tonight, so I will let you pick the second movie.” 

Without hesitating, “‘Pretty Woman’”, Savannah announced. 

“Ha, I see where you are going with that,” Maxwell cheekily replied. 

She laughed as she pulled out a chair next to Maxwell, who had taken a seat on the sofa.  

“You know what your brother is like. If he sees it being played out before him, he will see for himself, and then he will realize, 'that's how the story goes.’ Or at the very least, I hope so.” 

Maxwell looked at Savannah, shaking his head. "Ahhh, 'love is in the air.' You are getting desperate Sav. I hope he gets the hint....maybe you should wear a flower crown.” 

"Ha ha, Maxxy!" Savannah sighed, shaking her head.

*** 

Sophie walked through the estate doors, returning with her aunt, after spending the day shopping. Feeling the excitement building up within her, she went up the grand staircase quickly, turned to the right and sprinted to her bedroom, depositing her parcels on top of her bed. 

After putting away her new shoes, and hanging the garment bag into her walk-in closet, Sophie looked at the gift she selected for Liam. The Swarovski crystal paperweight, with a gold inlay, was a miniature statue of liberty. Sophie thought back to the conversation she shared with him the day she was introduced to Marabelle. Liam was fascinated with the fact that Sophie had visited the monument many times. Even though the prince had visited New York City a handful of times, his advisors dictated that visiting the tourist attraction was a safety risk. With his security detail constantly ghosting his movements, this symbol of freedom was elusive for him.  

Similar to Liam, Sophie shared a love of history and described her visits to the statue and to Ellis Island. Liam was entranced with her insights and her knowledge of the backstory and meaning of the monument. 

The gold inlay was engraved with the inscription, ‘your breath of freedom.’ A moniker, Liam gave to Sophie that day. 

*** 

Walking into the theatre room, the smell of pizza wafting through the air, Sophie spotted Maxwell sitting comfortably on the sofa. He waved her over to sit beside him, handing her a tall cocktail glass of a blue liquid. 

“Okay, Max, I give up.” 

Sophie smirked at her cousin, taking a whiff of the drink. 

“Ohhh, this smells so good. What’s in it?” 

“Rum, vodka, blue curacao, pineapple juice, lime juice and ice.” 

“Don’t forget your secret ingredient.” Savannah giggled. 

“Hence. Secret. Ingredient!” Maxwell retorted. 

“Hi, it’s Sophie, right?” Savannah smiled at Sophie, and swatted Maxwell. 

As Maxwell feigned an injury, his eyes went wide when he realized that he didn’t introduce his cousin. 

“Yeah, Maxwell!” Sophie extended her hand in greeting and then poked Maxwell in the ribs. 

“What would Bertrand think?” Sophie teased. 

“I am certainly not impressed Maxwell.” Bertrand huffed and walked past his brother sitting on the wingback across from the sofa. 

Maxwell felt his cheeks redden. “What’s wrong with me?” Maxwell asked. “I’m always nice to people.” 

“You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?” Sophie raised an eyebrow. 

“Yes, yes I am.” Maxwell challenged his brother, staring him down. 

Savannah stood up and motioned to Sophie to come with her to get pizza. 

“Yes, I am starving, good idea.” Sophie stood up to also get pizza with Savannah. 

“Wait! You didn’t select the movie you want to watch, Soph.” Maxwell bounded up following Sophie to the pizza.  

“Umm, let’s see...I know! “How about...’The Conjuring’?” Sophie answered. 

“Ooaa, scary! Love it!” Maxwell pulled out his phone to add it to the movie queue. 

*** 

After the first movie ended, Savannah moved over to sit beside Sophie and grabbed a handful of jelly beans from the candy bowl. 

“So how did you like the first movie?”  

Sophie smiled. “Honestly? I have seen it now for the fourth time.” Savannah laughed, “for me, it’s the third time; I really wish they had that type of dance in the clubs here in Cordonia.” 

“Savannah is originally from Texas and is still getting used to the slower pace of courtly life here.” Maxwell sighed. 

“Really, now I am curious. What should I expect at the Bash on Saturday?” Sophie looked puzzled at Savannah and Maxwell. 

“It’s a pretty informal event, but there’s also going to be formal dancing after dinner. It’s a tradition here, especially with both princes attending.” Maxwell explained. 

“Prince Leo has a reputation for being a bit of a ladies' man, even though he is betrothed to Madeleine. So, I imagine you might see some interesting things happening.” Savannah added. 

“Interesting how?” Sophie wondered aloud. 

“Well, the last time he attended, one of the guests was Princess Marguerite. She was dressed in a very revealing outfit, and Prince Leo was seen dancing with her quite a few times throughout the evening,” Savannah explained. 

“Madeleine was livid and threw her drink in his face.” Maxwell chuckled. 

“It is very unbecoming to gossip about members of court.” Bertrand interjected. “Sophia, don’t let these comments discolor your opinion of the noble life here in Cordonia.” 

Changing the subject, Savannah asked, “What types of music do you like to dance to, Sophie?” 

“Oh, I love dancing! But I never went to any clubs; only at parties or school events.” 

“What types of music will be played after dinner this Saturday?” 

“Mostly current pop music with the exception of the first dance. That is the one dance you can count on to be played by the orchestra. The Cordonian Waltz.” 

“It’s a tradition for the King to dance with the senior noble of the house to open the dance floor for the guests.” 

“For this Beaumont Bash, Crown Prince Leo will dance with my mother,” Maxwell added. 

“Which reminds me, Sophie, I need to teach you how to dance this waltz.” 

“Me? Why me?” Sophie challenged her cousin. 

Without giving anything away to Sophie about Saturday and the planned surprise birthday celebration, he explained, “just in case you are asked to dance by Prince Liam.” 

*** 

As the evening winded down, Savannah prepared to go home.  

“Hey Savvy,” Sophie called out to her new friend.  

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure,” Savannah smiled. 

“Do you have any advice for me about how to fix my hair for the Bash?” 

“Why are you asking me this? I mean, you have such beautiful hair!” 

“Yeah, well...I was thinking of wearing a half up-do and I need someone to help me pin it. Auntie Beth will be busy preparing for the dinner.” 

“I would love to, I will get Drake to drop me off here an hour early on Saturday.” 

*** 

It was the evening of the Beaumont Bash and Sophie was brushing her long, auburn hair. Sophie stared at her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom vanity. 

Savannah was coming upstairs to help with her hair in a few minutes, and she had just finished applying her makeup. 

‘Okay, Soph... tonight is the Bash...why are you so nervous?’ 

After dabbing her perfume on her neck and wrists, she slid the gold upper arm bracelet cuff into place, followed by her mother’s gold locket necklace around her neck.  

Savannah knocked lightly on her bedroom door and opened it slowly. 

“Are you ready for me?” 

“Almost, come in, Savannah,” Sophie called. 

***

Bertrand walked toward Sophie as she stepped off the grand staircase.

Taking her hand, he moved her toward the ornate double doors of the ballroom.

"Are you ready, my dear?"

Taking a deep breath Sophie replied, "yes".

Offering his arm, she slipped her hand around his arm and together they moved forward.

"Presenting his grace, Duke Bertrand Beaumont of Ramsford escorting Lady Sophia Taylor of House Beaumont."

📌Tagging in the comments...

⚜️Please let me know if you want to be added or removed from tags ⚜️

[realmackross]

Time: Current (AU Challenge) Content Warnings: None!

"Hand on the throttle; Thought I caught lightning in a bottle..." - Taylor Swift

It was quiet. Dead silence. So quiet you could hear a pin drop, and then, the music started filling the entire area with sound.

---

“Surprise! I thought I’d fly out and see you. Spend the rest of the week here and fly back with you when the movie wrapped.” She stumbled forward almost falling into his arms. “Babe, you okay?”

---

Tears were already streaming down the faces of those in attendance. What was taking place was going to linger with everyone for a lifetime. The end of a chapter. A life they had once knew, coming to a close.

---

She could hear his heart beating. Could already taste him. And with one final glance into his eyes, barely registering who he was to her, she shoved him back towards the kitchen.

And just like that, Brody found himself against the wall. Mackenzie laying the most passionate kiss on him that she could, before pulling away.

"God, I've missed you." Gently pushing the hair out of his face, she smiled as she looked deeply into his warm, inviting eyes, "So I've been thinking...And I really want to move the wedding date up. I can't imagine spending another night without you in it." She bit at her bottom lip waiting for his response.

"Oh you can't?" Brody looked down at Mackenzie with raised eyebrows; a smile creeping over his lips. And without any thought, she shook her head no.

"Well, I kinda figured you'd say that, so...I talked to your dad...go pick out a white dress...it's a love story..."

Mackenzie's eyes widened as she playfully slapped him, "Seriously, Brody. Quoting Taylor Swift..." Shaking her head, she walked over towards the fridge and began pulling stuff out for dinner and setting it on the counter, but the warmth of his arms around her, stopped her.

"I really did talk to your dad though. And mom and Taylor, your assistant, by the way, not Swift. Found a little church not too far up the road. Called up Winter and some of your other friends...Babe, we're gettin' married. Like this weekend."

The bowl of leftover salad dropped out of her hands as tears came to her eyes. There was a reason Brody had been the man of her dreams. The one person she had fallen head over heels in love with, and now, they were about to spend the rest of their lives together.

---

Looking over at her dad with the biggest smile one could imagine, Mackenzie's heart beat so hard from an array of excitement and nerves that she had felt like she was living in a dream. And as the music filled the small, wooden church filled with a select few, the twenty-four year old made her way slowly down the aisle looking at her family and friends, tears already trailing down her cheeks, until she reached the pastor and the man she was about to call her own.

"Hey..." Brody's voice was soft and filled with joy.

"Hey..."

As the pastor began to speak, Mackenzie let her eyes stay trained on Brody the entire time. From his slicked back hair to the dimples in his cheeks and the way he smiled with his eyes, she couldn't let him out of her sight. And when it came time to speak their vows, the young woman listened carefully making sure to take in every spoken word, until it was her turn.

"Okay, whoa. This is really happening. I don't even get this nervous on movie sets." She could hear laughter fill the room, "Brody, since the day we met as kids, I knew there was something special about you. Something I wanted in my life for eternity. You were the boy of my puppy love dreams to the man I knew I had to spend my life with, and you just got me, and understood my whole world. I mean, we're here months early, because you just knew." She laughed through happy tears, "And in this moment, I swear to spend my entire existence with you, until the day the universe says it's my time to go. I love you, Brody Stevens, more than llamas, and with every part of my heart."

She gripped his hands tightly, until it was time to exchange rings. Followed by the words she had been longing to say since he had proposed... "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of North Carolina, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

It was like slow motion. Brody moving in. Mackenzie's heart still pounding loudly, but the kiss. God, the kiss was like magic. Time stood still and no one else existed. All the painful moments of her life disappeared, and when she pulled away and looked into his eyes once more, she could see their future.

Their honeymoon. Their first home. Their first dog. The announcement to their family and friends that they were going to have a baby. The petty arguments that led to the best makeup sex ever. Watching their children grow. The sad moments. The happy moments. The memories. Having the house all to themselves again. Watching their children start families of their own. Spending time with their grandchildren. Moving into assisted living together. Spending their last moments together as Brody kisses Mackenzie gently on the lips one last time as she closes her eyes...

An entire lifetime in one moment and one she wouldn't trade for anything. And as she pulled away and sucked in a deep breath, slowly releasing it, she spoke,

"Mr. Stevens, I love you."

"Mrs. Stevens, I love you."

---

Her eyes shot open. Blinking a few times, Mackenzie looked around the quiet house. It was empty except for Jack the cat sleeping quietly at the foot of her bed. Six empty bottles of Fireball sat on the nightstand, and as she realized where she was at, reality soon struck her. There was no wedding. No I do's. No Brody. And to make matters worse, there was no Elora anymore. Just the ever looming reminder that Mackenzie would forever be alone for not a lifetime, but an eternity.

------

"Oh, but it's gone again." - Taylor Swift

[rwrbmovie]

RE: adapting the book

Quotes from interviews on #RWRBMovie about adapting the book

This post will be updated as content is released

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Last updated: August 9

From Glamour

Says Galitzine, “We were all aware that we wanted to make one a classic rom-com but with a sort of new spin. Matthew's a very sensitive, very feeling person, and we obviously wanted to inject our movie with that kind of emotionality. He had a great balance in being able to facilitate both lightness and emotion within his work.”

Fans of McQuiston's novel will be pleased to know that, with a few exceptions, the movie largely follows the book's enemies-to-friends-to-lovers tale. And the tone and spirit that made everyone fall in love with the book are certainly still there. “Casey has been an incredible source of support for me throughout the making of this film,” López says. “I respect them for being appropriately protecting of the novel and am grateful to them for also giving me space to tell my own version of their story. Obviously when translating a nearly 500-page book to the screen, there are things you have to lose and things you will need to change. It is an adaptation, not a recitation. I like to think that, as a fan of the novel, I was able to find the balance of serving Casey’s story while also serving the needs of the movie.”

For López, the most important element to maintain from the book was Alex and Henry’s individual personalities as well as their shared story together. “If there was one lesson I kept learning over and over while making this film it’s that if it’s not about Alex or Henry, it doesn’t belong in the film.”

While the movie is, as López describes, “an adaptation, not a recitation,” McQuiston was available to the actors. “I remember Casey coming in on a really fun day,” says Galitzine. “It was a scene where Taylor and I were bickering in that sort of Alex/Henry banter way that we do, and it gave us time to talk to Casey and understand the influences that went into the book. We obviously have a lot of fan service, and I hope they love my interpretation of Henry.”

From Entertainment Weekly

But the thing that weighed most on all of them was not royal protocol, chemistry, or even comedic timing. It was honoring McQuiston's novel, which hit the New York Times bestseller list and even earned a release in a special collector's edition last year. "[The biggest challenge was] quite simply how to delivery Casey's story in a way that honored the novel but that didn't result in a three-hour film," says Lopez. "There are a lot of wonderful scenes and characters in the book that didn't make it into the film because they didn't fit. I don't regret any of those decisions but, as a fan of the book, they weren't easy to make."

From Vanity Fair

López turned to romantic comedies of the past as inspiration: screwball affairs from the ’30s and ’40s like Bringing Up Baby and Sullivan’s Travels, as well as more recent hits like When Harry Met Sally or Moonstruck. All of those films revolve around “very smart, very clever people who often find themselves in over their heads, and the only way to really get themselves out of trouble is to talk their way out,” he explains.

From the outset, there were two scenes considered make-or-break. One was the wedding cake food fight, a chaotic sequence that, ironically enough, had to be carefully choreographed. Those three days of filming contained “the least bit of goofing off on set,” López explains. “We really had no room for error. And so we all really approached that with a sense of seriousness, which I hope does not in any way translate onscreen.” Then there was Alex and Henry’s romantic stroll through London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. “It’s sort of a dream come true—your own personal night at the museum,” he says of the late-night shoot. “So that was less daunting than an endurance test, but it was just such a magical night for us. And I hope that did translate onto screen.” Both of those moments live vibrantly in the minds of those who love Red, White & Royal Blue—an impassioned group of people bringing all of their enthusiasm to the movie version when it premieres August 11 on Prime Video. But the film’s director isn’t nervous about answering to an opinionated, online fan base. “It’s absolutely undeniable that the fans love the book for the same reasons that I do, so I think of myself as one of them,” says López, who himself was excitedly making plans to see Barbie with his husband at the start of our conversation. “You could argue that I’m such a rabid, passionate fan that I made the most expensive bit of fan fiction ever. I hope the fans take solace from the fact that one of them has made this movie.”

From Out Smart Magazine

“The most important thing to me is the end result. You’d have to be a moron to make this movie without certain themes in it. I would be justifiably run out of this business if I didn’t include certain things in this book,” López says with a laugh. “Any act of adaptation is almost exclusively an act of exclusion. In any adaptation, there’s going to be more left out than there is included, because that’s just the nature of the beast. My main goal for myself was to make sure audiences feel the same way at the end of the movie as they felt when they finished reading the book.”

When news broke earlier this year about the film receiving an R rating for “language, some sexual content, and partial nudity,” fans rejoiced. The director explains that giving the film’s sex scenes the royal treatment was an important factor for him. “One of the things in the novel that I knew needed to be in the film was the fundamental truth that these two people have really good sex with each other, they are very attracted to each other, and they find ways of expressing it physically. I inherently knew that there were a multitude of ways that we were going to express intimacy in this movie and that we were tracking the progression of their closeness. They sort of meet-cute and not only go from being enemies to lovers, but one of them is not fully aware of the extent to which he’s into guys before they meet. I thought a lot about the intimacy themes in the movie as a way of bringing them incrementally closer and closer together.

From What to Watch

"I knew that there were a lot of expectations of this adaptation, I knew that people really feel very personally about the book. I think there’s something really wonderful that happens, this transference when you fall in love with a book and it’s yours, ignoring the fact that billions of other people also feel the same way about it, so I knew that it would be a bad idea to screw it up! [laughs] That was always at the forefront of my mind. The thing that is also true is that I am one of those crazy obsessive fans over the book, and for me it was like, the ultimate in fanfiction that I got to make. But I recognise that I was very fortunate and lucky to be the person to make this movie, because I think there are a lot of people who are counting on me not to screw up — and I took that very seriously!"

From RadioTimes

"I think there are certain things in that book that, as the director of the movie, if I hadn't put it in the film I would never be allowed to direct a movie again," he revealed. "There was no chance that I was going to cut the cake scene out of the film," Lopez said, while also revealing an amusing behind-the-scenes detail about filming that moment. "The thing about the cake scene is that that shot of the cake landing in their faces is actually me and my production designer throwing cake in Taylor and Nick's faces," he laughed. "After about three weeks of filming [that] was a really great way for me to burn off some steam!" And that scene was just one of many that Lopez was excited to bring to the screen after first reading and falling in love with McQuiston's book in early 2020. "While I was preparing the film, I was really... I put a lot of thought and a lot of care into the V&A scene," he explained. "We got to film overnight at the V&A one evening and it was very magical. "And so, as a filmmaker looking at the book, there were just a lot of things that I was excited to film."

From Pink News

While fans will be thrilled to see that heady physical attraction between the two play. out, they appear less impressed about some character choices in the adaptation. June, Alex's sister, is a favourite among the fandom, while senator Rafael Luna is – spoiler alert – pivotal to how Alex and Henry come out to the world. López has cut June out completely, and merged the character with Alex's pal Nora (played by Love, Victor star Rachel Hilson). Rafel has been replaced with a new character. After it became clear that June wasn't going to be in the adaptation, the film's social media pages were targeted with a "justice for June" hashtag. Fans were upset, but the reasoning behind the decisions, López says, is simple. When you're writing a book, you can do whatever you want with the characters, you have no actors to talk to, you have no mouths to feed in certain ways," he explains. "When it came to the character of June and the character of Nora, I knew implicitly that if I had both of them in the movie, I would have two young women with half a meal. I decided to give a full meal to one young woman." As for the book's several subplots, López believes they would have been too "unwieldy" for a two-hour film, and he needed to focus on "bringing danger in a very streamlined way." Could he have opted to make a TV series, instead? In short, his answer is no. “For whatever sacrifices you have to make in adapting it for a feature film, an extended eight-episode thing would stretch it out too much,” he says. “You’d lose a lot of the magic.”

From OutSFL

Ellen is a staunch Democrat. As a Florida native, and considering what has occurred here during the reign of the current governor, was that in any way what appealed to you about directing and co-adapting the screenplay for “Red, White & Royal Blue”? ML: No, I loved the story, and I didn't give a shit what the governor of Florida thinks about it. I couldn't care less what that man thinks, only as it relates to the health of the union. I didn't have this story growing up. I didn't have access to characters such as these when I was younger. It took until I was in my 40s to read it, to get a novel that had a character like Alex. That I knew implicitly was really special. To me, it was really powerful to read a novel that had a queer, Latine, young man at the center who was a very positive characterization of a queer Latine man. Someone who was filled with hope and possibility. I wanted to bring that into the world. The politics in the novel and in the movie are a hopeful one. It's not something that is, I hope, too much of a fairy tale.

From The Fresno Bee

Why a movie and not a play? “You can’t beat the locations! Buckingham Palace, the Oval Office, the White House, and all those great locations,” said López. “It really, really wanted to be a movie. “And I really wanted to shoot in all of those beautiful locations.” López doesn’t see much difference between directing a play and a movie. “I got to take a lot of the things I learned as a playwright about storytelling and apply it to this movie,” he said. “There’s a lot of overlap between the two disciplines.”

From Windy City Times

Were there parts from the book that were difficult to cut out? ML: It was a very simple and straightforward thing for me. This is a movie about Alex and Henry. I had two hours to tell the tale. The mandate was it needed to help me understand Alex's journey with Henry for it to go in the movie. If it doesn't, then it comes out of the movie. We shot a lot of scenes that were in the book, but once in the editing room, I realized what we didn't need. I looked at it from the perspective that it was two characters on a journey in two hours. That made it clear what belongs in the movie and what doesn't.

From MetroSource

At the end of the day in a story like this, you need to care. Sometimes in order to make an audience care, you need to put your heroes in danger, but you also want the audience to fall in love. And there is nothing more deliriously fun than falling in love. Just as Alex and Henry fall in love with each other, the audience has to fall in love with them. And that is such a fun thing to be able to create. That’s a fun story to tell. I never thought that we were making something completely lightweight and disposable. I definitely didn’t want the movie to feel disposable. I didn’t want people to see it and then forget about it the next day, because the characters stayed with me after I read the book. I wanted the movie to feel exactly the same way the book felt. I wanted those characters to linger in the audience’s mind once the movie was over in the days, in the weeks after they’d seen the film. And that was the most important thing to me.

From Billboard

“Casey was never insistent that I make Casey’s Book: The Film,” Matthew Lopez, the film’s director and co-writer, tells Billboard. “Casey always wanted me to make Matthew’s movie and trusted that someone who loved the book was in charge of the film.”

[avatarskywalker78]

OC New Year's Challenge Day Three: In My ＿ Era

For Nicky Connors and Johnny Lawrence, 1984 starts out promisingly before rapidly deteriorating. As he sinks further and further into Cobra Kai, Nicky realises just how bad it's getting and tries to stop things, but this causes tensions to rise until the two have their biggest argument yet - and Johnny says something he can't take back. The result is months of not speaking, even as Jimmy and Bobby try and mediate between the two - Johnny eventually resolves to try and fix things, but then Daniel LaRusso shows up and Johnny takes out his anger on him instead of actually solving anything. After the events of Halloween, Nicky - heartbroken that her friends would've gone this far - calls them all out before shutting them out. This is a wake-up call, especially for Johnny - but it's one that's come far too late, because now there's no way Nicky will speak to him, and he doesn't know how he can ever come back from that even as he realises he must change things. But things aren't as hopeless as they seem - Nicky just knows that she can't be the one to keep reaching out, that if Johnny wants to make amends he's really got to commit to that, and as the AVT approaches everything's up in the air, and not everything will go the way it might've done...

Seperate Ways (Journey)//Breathe (Taylor Swift)//Cruel Summer (Bananarama)// 'Walk Away' by Mili Jain)//Quote (Unknown)//Runnin' Up That Hill (Kate Bush)//'Betrayal' by Dan McDonald////Johnny Lawrence (The Karate Kid)//Bad Blood (Taylor Swift)//Quote on 'Regret'(Charlotte Eriksson)// Quote (Jim Rohn)//Quote on 'Restoring Friendship' (Unknown)//The Moment of Truth (Survivor)

Tagging (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @shrinkthisviolet @dream-beyond-the-fantasy

[peejsocks]

so i was writing the jealous bam hc and i couldn’t help myself, here’s more bam smut

disclaimers/tags: smut. very graphic, if you’re not into it please skip it. female reader. bathroom fucking. jealous bam.

A night out in West Chester is never that promising, but your friends manage to make it as memorable as possible.

Standing between Dunn and Raab, you’re leaning on the stained wall watching Tim and a random middle-aged (very drunk) woman butcher a Willie Nelson song on this karaoke bar.

“Do you think he tries to make out with her at the end for ten bucks?”

Ryan’s arms are crossed as he leans over to you.

“Isn’t that her husband on the table in the corner? He’ll get decked in the face.”

Raab laughs. “Do it, dude.”

You watch blonde curls shake on the way to the dingy stage, pulling out a ten dollar bill and whispering in the boy’s ear.

Tim seems to take the challenge, and Ryan couldn’t be happier.

Chris and you are already shaking with laughter when Bam comes around to hand you his pool stick.

“Your turn.”

Dico is matching your playful western duel pose when the corner of your eyes catch a familiar tall silhouette walking into the bar.

Yellow graphic tee screaming in contrast of red chuck taylors is all the confirmation you need.

“No way.” Turning in the door’s direction, you shove the pool stick back into Bam’s hands. All heads follow your movement. “Knoxville!”

Tanned face and sunglasses inside, his head shoots up and you walk right into his open arms.

“How you doin’, darling?”

It was harmless teasing, both of you having a flirty routine that was never serious.

He laughs boisterously, shooting back that he’s trying to get as “firm” as you.

He laughs boisterously, shooting back that he’s trying to get as “firm” as you.

Johnny makes his rounds greeting the boys.

“Thought you were coming tomorrow?”

Bam’s words surprise you, not aware Knoxville was supposed to come at all.

“Figured I’d surprise y’all.”

“Great timing, Ryan dared Tim to make out with that married lady on stage.”

Raab’s excitement to see his friend possibly get punched is contagious, and you chuckle.

“Yeah, he even said he’ll pick a romantic song for them to sing next to, and I quote, get her in the mood.”

You look to the stage to see Tim cooing in the woman’s ear, probably trying to convince her about singing a second song.

Bam tries to remind you it’s your turn with the stick, but you’re already sitting on the arm of the old couch waiting for Johnny to return from the bar.

“Even together, we’re not beating DiCamillo, we both know that.”

It might be your imagination, but Bam looks disappointed and slightly peeved. He stares at you too long, still holding out the wooden pole, before walking away silently.

Nursing two Heinekens, Knoxville hands you a bottle and sits down next to you.

Your talk is animated, looking down at the relaxed man from your small elevated position and giggling at his jokes.

After a hearty laugh, hand on his chest, he asks. “How are things with you and Bam?”

Sighing, you take a swig of your beer.

“We had a weird argument earlier, and he’s gone quiet on me. Now I don’t know where things are.”

Your eyes are trained on the condensation running down the glass, fighting the urge to look at the topic of your conversation.

“This transition from friends to something more is tough.”

“I told you, doll.” Johnny sniffles, pushing the RayBans up his nose with his middle finger. “Do you regret it?”

“No.” Not even a little bit. “I’m just scared he does.”

You know Bam, he wouldn’t say anything. He would just wait for one of you to fuck up irreversibly.

“Well, he’s watching us like a rabid pig under the Tennessee sun on a Thursday, so I don’t think he does.”

Alcohol almost sprays out of your nose with Johnny’s sentence, your head moving back so you can laugh better.

His hand comes up to your throat, the back of it wiping the beer trickling down when you question him, appalled. “Where do you hear that stuff?”

Your friend has no time to answer because Raab interrupts, announcing Tim is about to finish his act.

Everyone gets up and gathers to see if he’s going to go forward with the dare.

No one in the entire bar is matching your stupid anticipation, but they certainly look up when the woman on stage gets spun around and dropped, Tim’s lips narrowly missing hers.

Quickly, the bearded older fellow in the corner table gets up and starts yelling.

“Oh, God.”

Tim is predictably having to fight off a drunken pissed husband, and the guys spring into action, half giggling half tense.

Not like you were planning to participate, but hands pulling your body the other way surprise you.

Looking back, you recognize Bam’s long black coat. He’s taking advantage of the commotion to drag you away and into a bathroom.

The door locks behind him.

“What are you doing? Tim-”

“Will be fine.” His voice is deep, and you feel nervous. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Protesting, you shake your head. “What are you talking about?”

“You really think I wouldn’t see it? Or maybe you did, and that’s what you were doing.” You don’t give in, still confused, and he mocks you. “Batting your eyelashes at Johnny. It’s ridiculous! Oh my, you’re so big, are you going to the gym?”

An unhelpful snort slips out from your lips. He doesn’t like that.

“Jesus, Bam. Don’t be a child. We’re playing.”

“And who told you that you can ‘play’ with my friends?”

He steps closer, forcing you to walk back into something. Noticing it was the ladies room, you realize it’s a changing station. If things are going where you think they’re going, this is kind of fucked up.

Against your better judgement, you push.

“Who’s gonna tell me I can’t?”

As imagined, Bam puts his hands on your hips and shoves you backwards, not waiting before enveloping your lips in his.

The kiss is needy and angry, with you reciprocating in the same vein.

It’s a loud kiss, saliva smearing your chin when Bam pushes your mouth open so his tongue can slide in. Nearly painful, your brain is asking you to consider that your jaw can’t open that much.

Your hands are still by your sides, hanging onto the marble surface but not for long.

Boldly, Bam grabs your right hand and sets it on the bulge poking through his jeans. His hips falter a little.

Putting the smallest distance between your mouths, your tongue licks his teeth provocatively.

“What are you trying to communicate here, Bammy?”

“Don’t call me that. Not when you were turning into a puddle thirty seconds ago over Knoxville.”

He sounds truly bitter, ready to punish you. It’s delightful.

“You’re the most delusional boy I’ve ever met.”

You’re laughing at him.

“Take off your dress.”

Bam’s hands settle under your thighs, helping you hop onto the spacious counter. He aids in pushing the black little piece you were wearing over your head, leaving you completely naked.

“No underwear?”

He sounds angry. How dare you be so immodest?

“What’s the point? I knew I was gonna end up here, just didn’t know with who.”

You’re playing into it, excitement running through your veins.

His eyebrows shoot up, blue eyes fiery.

Fingers locking underneath your knees, he pulls you forward into another sloppy kiss.

This one is more transparent, teeth ripping into the flesh of your bottom lip. It’s a direct response to your instigating words.

Your hands move from his hair to his dress shirt, threatening to unbutton it further but Bam moves away.

“Please?”

“No.”

Right, this is for him, not you.

Looking into your eyes, Bam’s palm makes light contact with your pussy, and you suck a breath in through gritted teeth.

Hands holding onto his shoulders, fingernails digging deep.

You lift your hips slightly so he can get better access, and his hand brushes you agonizingly slow. It still makes you shudder.

For a brief moment of tenderness, Bam pecks your lips, and your eyes close.

He takes the opportunity to quickly lick his fingers and insert two of them inside you.

A whimper escapes you after the rushed intrusion. Bam actually shushes you.

Heat travels from head to toe, and your reality dawns on you. Sitting on a baby’s changing station, completely naked, being fingered by one of your best friends.

His lips touch yours again, and he tastes like malted whisky.

One of his hands flies to the back of your neck, tangling in your hair, when his fingers start moving in and out of you.

Your ab muscles flex, a moan cut short by your stubbornness.

He’s too quiet, before adding a thumb pressing your clit into the mix.

Picking up the pace out of nowhere, your nails leave marks on his skin as you can hardly contain your noises.

Fingers now shooting in and out, arching inside, and thumb moving rapidly, Bam decides to speak.

“Darling. Doll. Sweetheart.” He’s a little tipsy, speech slurred. You feel bad for thinking it’s attractive, blaming mostly the resentment in the back of his throat. “Is that what you like to hear?”

Biting your lip, he manages to pull the truth out of you.

“No.”

“Then why do you basically spread your legs when he’s around?”

Fuck, you can feel yourself tightening around Bam’s fingers.

“I don’t.” He scoffs. “Call it what it is, Margera. You’re just jealous.”

Terrible mistake.

You’re hit with the most frustrating cold sensation of Bam’s fingers slipping out of you abruptly.

He wastes no time, however, squeezing the sides of your thighs until your skin is red.

“Don’t move.”

You swallow, obedient.

Eyes following his movements as he unbuckles the Heartagram belt and starts undoing his jeans.

Pulling the pants down to his ankles, he looks so good already, only in tight black boxer briefs.

But when tattooed hands pull a swollen leaking dick out, your own beg to touch it.

Bam stops you, though. Extending his palm in front of your face so you can spit on it, before closing it around himself.

You watch the slow pumps attentively, ears flooded with the delicious sound of your drool coating the visible veins jumping out along his shaft.

Suddenly, a hand on your chin forces you to look at Bam.

It’s hard not to squirm under his look, blue eyes dilated. Long lashes, dark curls unkempt, plump lips.

You only wish you could see his tattoos as well.

“Jesus, let your lip go, you look pathetic.” He’s referring to the strong bite you’re taking of your bottom lip at the moment. And you probably do look embarrassingly deprived.

The hand on your chin moves to caress your cheek in another small moment of affection.

“I’m gonna edge you so hard your eyes will be watering.”

God, you hope he keeps up that promise.

Bam lets go of his own cock, now his turn to spit on your pussy.

One look up, asking if you’re ready, and you nod.

Your grip on his shoulders is the only thing that keeps you from falling apart when his dick finally slides inside.

All the tension and build up have you extremely sensitive, core already throbbing out of your control.

You cry out.

“Bam, fuck’s sake.”

His hands wrap around your ass, and he begins to move, helping himself while angling you on him.

You’re so tensed up, holding on for life, foreheads touching.

When he slips out slowly, the image of your juices covering him is pornographic. You can’t look away.

Sliding in again, Bam finally lets out a sound, grunting for a few seconds, so hard his voice almost cracks. It makes you so happy.

He instructs you to lean back on the marble counter, simultaneously wrapping your legs around his waist.

One of his hands holds your back, while the other is busy playing with your clit again.

You’re really having a tough time keeping it down.

“Don’t be shy with me. You know no one can give it to you this good, don’t waste it.”

He is starting to pick up the pace with his thrusts, and you have no choice but to believe his words.

The sound of wetness and flesh hitting flesh fill the bathroom, somehow audible over the buzzing in your ears.

It’s overwhelming, you can’t fight back your moans anymore.

“Fuck, you’re taking me so well, baby.” Bam’s words are almost incomprehensible, the boy also struggling to keep up with his own rhythm. “Not supposed to. Guess I have to give it to you harder.”

You don’t have time to prepare before Bam starts slamming into you, feeling the tip of his head hitting your cervix.

After a couple more seconds, you can sense that tightness overcoming again.

Trying to warn him, words are pulled away from you when Bam removes himself completely. Your insides are screaming with the lack of contact.

“What are y-“

His lips crash against yours, tongue forcing its way down your throat. You whimper in pleasure. Or pain, same thing.

Inches away, he starts to explain himself.

“I told you.” Understanding immediately, you feel the tip of his cock brush against your swollen nub, both of you shuddering again. “I’m gonna edge you until you cry, doll.”

If he’s being literal, you might be lucky, because tears are already pooling at the waterline of your eyes.

Another kiss that lasts only a second, interrupted by Bam pushing the tip inside, just a little.

You’re actually so tender that it is enough to force a tear to run down your cheek.

His thumb wipes it for you.

Your eyes open to find Bam looking at you, serious, before his own orbits redirect to your connected bodies.

His right hand now holds his cock, aligning it the best he can to make sure he’s hitting you in the right spot before moving further inside.

Just a few more inches, and a strained moan comes out from both of you in synch.

This is the most in tune you’ve ever felt with anybody.

“You’re too fucking tight, I don’t wanna hurt you.”

It’s the first moment of niceness, and it feels almost out of place.

“I can take it, please.”

With a lick of his lips, Bam commits and pushes the rest of his head in you.

When that’s done, he takes a minute to make sure you’re alright but goes right back into thrusting his entire length into you rapidly, as deep as he can.

God, you’re not gonna last.

“I’m gonna-”

“It’s okay.”

So you brace yourself, hugging Bam’s back and bringing your body closer to him, completely attached.

His cock twitches inside whilst his head is hitting your G-spot repeatedly, and your orgasm is explosive.

The whole room goes a little dark and you’re seeing stars.

You’re trying to figure out why you can’t catch your breath when you realize that Bam is still going as hard as before.

Brows furrowed, mouth still open, you’re distracted watching this pretty boy fuck you into oblivion.

His own climax hits not too much later, loud moaning reverberating off the walls.

You want to say something, but there’s close to no air in your lungs.

That’s when you notice Bam is not slowing down, in fact, his pace is the same and his hand is back to working your clit.

He’s not only edging you, he’s overstimulating you.

“Bam, Jesus fucking Christ, you don’t have to.”

“Shut the fuck up, you had this coming.”

At the end of the sentence, he pushes his head up to your cervix again, and your entire body tenses up.

Everything is tingling.

His eyes search yours to make sure you’re okay with this, and he’s not hurting you.

Your response is to moan out his name.

One hand still focused on rubbing you, the other comes up to flick your nipple and you’re so glad he remembered your tits. His mouth is quick to start leaving hickeys around them too.

Tugging on his hair, you find the strength to roll your hips into his.

There are tears coming out from both of your eyes now, your face moist with them.

Soon, you’re feeling that knot in your stomach one more time.

“Bam, it’s coming again, I swear.”

He laughs into your chest, tongue licking your breast.

“I got you.”

Adjusting his posture and putting his hands back around your ass, he pulls you impossibly flush to him. It’s like he’s fucking up into you now.

Your arms wrap around his neck, one hand refusing to let go of his locks.

Two thrusts like that and you’re coming again, whole body shaking.

Of course Bam rides you a few more extra times, really driving his point home, that he could do what he wanted.

But he actually shows some mercy now, deciding it’s enough for one night.

He stops thrusting, setting you back down on the counter, but doesn’t take himself out of you.

The two of you sit in silence, inside of each other, soaking up in the blissful aftermath.

Bam lifts his shirt to dry your face, and you finally get a look at his lovely tattoos, smiling to yourself.

He clears your face of the strands of hair sticky from sweat and kisses your forehead.

“Are you okay?”

“Mhm.” Hands around his face, you pull him into a shy kiss.

“Are you gonna fuck me like this every time we fight and slash or Johnny is in the other room?”

“Behave and I won’t have to.”

“That’s the worst encouragement I’ve ever heard for behaving.”

He laughs out loud.

The bastard has the audacity to wink at you.

Hopping off, Bam helps you clean up and get dressed.

Leaving the bathroom, you’re surprised to find all of your friends not kicked out of the bar, in fact still playing pool.

They all stare at the two of you, and you’re ready to spit out the least believable excuse when Bam grabs your hand. Everyone sees it.

Taking it, you let him lead, hiding your blushing cheeks and cheesy smile behind his shoulder.

He drops on the couch, pulling you down with him, over his lap.

Hand on top of your leg, he can’t help himself.

“So, Knoxville.” Bam starts and you cough. “How many times did DiCamillo beat your ass?”

“Counting three.”

“Good.”

Johnny shoots a knowing smile your way, and you roll your eyes, undeniably amused.

[abeinginsand]

Normal said no pickles and his friends help out

(Scenes explained below)

My power is out due to thunderstorms haha, so I'm amusing myself with phone scribbles. I wish I had a stylus though, finger doodles are hard.

----

Scenes explained in order from 1 to 4

Colorful digital sketches of Scary, normal, Taylor and Link. Scary and Lincoln are arguing in the background, Taylor is at the center, and Normal is at the front while waving at the viewer. Scary is in purple, Taylor is in blue, Normal is green and Link is gold.

Shows a sketch of Scary with a fireball in one hand. She says quote of "he said no pickles" angrily. Normal is looking at her in green and is sweating nervously and waving his hands. He says, "Wait, Scary" in response.

Lincoln is shown smiling and talking a lot to a worker off screen. Normal's hair is shown beside him but the rest of him is not visible due to the large height difference. The next panel shows Normal smiling happily while receiving the correct order. The words "polite and persistent" are written with an arrow pointing to Lincoln. Normal holds a bag that has the words "fixed order" near by it with an arrow.

Taylor is shown with a confident grin and says "heh, I got dis" as he holds up a credit card and is also wearing his mom's sunglasses. Yellow sparkles surround him. Normal nervously says "Tay--" in the background having no confidence about whatever plan his friend might have. The next panel shows Taylor talking to his camera as he records for his followers. He says "pickle sandwich challenge!" and has a pile of pickle filled burgers in front of him. At the front and some distance away Normal looks blankly at his new order which has no pickles in it.

The words beside him say that Taylor bought all the pickles at the fast food place so Normal's reorder would be correct. The speech bubble near Normal shows three dots as he remains speechless. He is thankful underneath the shock though.

[anonymityisfunwriter]

Secret Moments In a Crowded Room

Pairing: Grumpy!Bucky Barnes x Sunshine!Reader

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you like me as your dirty little secret," he gruffly chuckles, sitting at the foot of your bed watching as you put the finishing touches on your outfit for tonight. 

"My dirty little secret? No. Never."

"But?"

"It's kinda fun though," you coyly offer, turning away from the mirror to face Bucky. "Our secret moments in a crowded room. They have no idea about me and you."

"Did you just quote Taylor Swift?" he sighs in exasperation, pulling you closer to him by your waist. 

"Maybe."

"All I'm saying is if I see a single pervy look or someone hitting on you, our secrets not going to be a secret anymore," he warns, though his smirk defies the serious tone of his words. 

"I think that's a fair deal."

Surprisingly, the night didn't drag for Bucky. Not in the slightest.

In fact, time ebbed and flowed rather quickly for an event like this. Normally, these large, extravagant, black tie events to keep the Avengers in the public's good graces were absolutely awful. He usually said very little, he wouldn't move from his stool at the bar, he barely interacted with anyone outside of his normal circle, he didn't give people any more ammunition against him. 

But even though you'd parted from him over an hour ago, he didn't even feel your absence. How could he with this little game you were playing?

In that way, you were absolutely right, it was a lot of fun.

Quick, fleeting moments with no one none the wiser. Every few minutes he'd catch your eye or you'd catch his. This time he juts his head in the direction of the side exit. Your lips pull in to hide your mischievous grin, but still you slightly shake your head reminding him that you couldn't leave yet. 

It was almost a challenge.

You were challenging him to be the first to break, to reveal your secret in a room full of reporters. He does his best to contain his grin, knowing that anything other than his stone-faced expression would definitely garner some attention. He coyly bites his lip when your eyes flicker back to him. 

"You guys are still doing this?" Sam groans, eyes flickering between the lingering, flirty gazes you and Bucky are exchanging. "Hello?"

"Huh? What?" Bucky asks, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from you. 

"I've been talking to you for like ten minutes."

"Yeah, yeah, no, that sounds great," Bucky unconvincingly agrees. "A great idea."

"Now I know you weren't listening," Sam scolds, taking a long drink from his glass only to see that Bucky isn't listening once again. "Is it alright if I have your arm?"

"Sure. No problem," Bucky absently replies, not even turning his head to reply to Sam. 

"And will you cover my assignments for the next year?"

"Yeah, mhm... Don't worry about it."

"Is it okay if I tell the world you two are together?"

"What?" Bucky exclaims, finally tearing his eyes away from you. "No!"

Sam scoffs, "Of course, that you hear."

"Why would you even ask me that?"

"This has to be the world's worst kept secret," Sam complains. "Everyone already knows!"

"They don't," Bucky corrects, pointing to the gaggle of reporters standing around waiting for their next story. But he could concede that there were whispers, little breadcrumbs given to the general public. 

In a way, this secret had become a fun game between you and Bucky - and ostensibly the rest of the team.

It was one big inside joke that turned into subliminal messages in social media posts, little easter eggs for people to dissect.

Maybe you shouldn't have been encouraging it, but Bucky had to admit, it was pretty fun watching people fall down rabbit holes trying to reason the whole thing out. 

Just a few weeks ago, you posted a picture of Bucky calling him your best friend. Only for you to tweet that your favorite song was 'Dress' a few days later. But you weren't the only one egging people on, lately Bucky had taken to liking your pictures and posts just a little too quickly for people to not notice.

The latest game you were playing with the public were with people trying to catch Bucky in the background of videos and pictures you posted. It was downright entertaining watching you laugh at the way people swore they could see a glint of Bucky's metal arm in a mirror. Or when you posted a picture of wearing sunglasses that people swore looked identical to Bucky's. 

In a way, it was simply a fun game used to kill off-time. 

But you and Bucky did have real reasons why you were remaining tight-lipped. 

Bucky didn't want to be the catalyst of your fall from grace. He'd seen it many times, especially for the women on the team. A person built up and beloved by the public, only for the tide to violently turn without warning. Right now, people loved you, and he didn't want to be the reason they didn't anymore. 

Your reasoning was similar.

As a new member, as someone constantly shrouded with all things SHIELD and Avengers, you were still in that phase where people wanted to know everything about you. Every facet was of your life was microscopically examined. And while you didn't mind it all that much, you didn't want to drag Bucky back into the limelight. You knew how hard of a time he had with the public, particularly people who still only saw him as the Winter Soldier and if you could protect him from that, you would. 

You both agreed that as long as you were having fun with it, you'd keep playing this little game. People assumed they knew everything about you already, but it was clear to everyone close to you that they didn't know anything all. And you'd keep it that way for as long as possible.

--

"Let me guess, they snuck off already?" Sam snarkily asks as Steve slinks over to where he's standing at the bar. 

"Pretty much."

"So because we're not in a relationship, we're the only ones expected to stay?" Sam scoffs, noting that most of the team had left even though this event was supposed to be mandatory from beginning to end. Tony even held a meeting that under no circumstance was anyone to leave before the event was finished. But as he scanned the room, it was incredibly apparent that you'd all left without saying anything to him or Steve. "That's not fair."

"Life's not fair."

"Since they're not here, who's going to stop me from blabbing to those reporters? Or posting them on Instagram? No one that's who."

Steve chuckles thinking that Sam's just making a joke about how they're forced to continue their appearance here while everyone else has called it a night, though when he see the look of challenge on Sam's face, he vehemently shakes his head. "No, Sam. Absolutely not."

"What? Maybe it'll be an accident. Maybe I accidentally post a picture."

"Sam, you're being childish," Steve chides.

"Well, who's gonna stop me?"

"I think Bucky would actually kill you."

"He wouldn't," Sam scoffs. 

"If you out them, he absolutely will."

"It's not outing them. It's making an insinuation to the general public," he teases, pulling out his phone to continue his joke.

"You're insinuating that they're together."

"Look at them," he coos, showing Steve an image of one of your reunions.

It was sort of when he'd made peace with you two as a couple. When he learned to accept it with an occasionally big brother-esque threat to keep Bucky in line.

He smiled thinking about how, in spite of the grueling exhaustion and bumps and bruises, you were giddy back getting back to Bucky. It was a sweet picture of the two of you lying on the couch together, curled underneath a blanket that was much too small for the two of you. But even sleeping, you both looked disgustingly, tooth-rottingly happy. 

"Quit messing around," Steve scolds, but still cranes his neck to look at the picture. "But you're right, it is a cute picture."

"My OTP," Sam jokes, dramatically typing away at his phone, showing Steve the screen as he carefully cultivates his 'accidental' post. "Insert heart emoji. Hashtag: Grumpy Sunshine."

"Stop messing around," Steve hisses. "Let them tell people their own terms."

"You're right," Sam sighs in concession. "I'm just playing. I'm not going to do that."

"Delete that before you get yourself into trouble."

"Fine," Sam huffs, only half paying attention when he deletes the post and shoves his phone back in his pocket. 

He and Steve both continue standing around at the bar waiting for an appropriate moment to make their exit. It was always a difficult tell with these kinds of events, if they left too early their absences would most certainly be noted, but if they left too late they were most likely going to get hounded by tenacious, annoyingly persistent reporters. 

It's only been a few minutes of idle chatter and waiting when Sam's phone starts to buzz incessantly. It's not just one of two consecutive buzzes, it's dozens, more even - so many that it almost sounds like one continuous notification. 

"Jeez, someone's a popular guy," Steve quips, hearing the continuous buzzing in Sam's pocket. 

Sam rolls his eyes, though he's equally curious about the random notifications that are still blowing up his phone. He takes one look and his face drops, "Oh no." 

"What happened?"

Sam anxiously bites his fist, scrolling through the dozens of notifications. He's still stunned shock as he turns to show Steve his phone, or more specifically, the post he meant to delete posted for everyone to see.

"You didn't," Steve gasps. 

"Oh, I swear it was an accident! It was an accident - Why would they put the delete button next to the post button? That's a disaster just waiting to happen!"

"You didn't," Steve repeats. "I thought you were just goofing off!"

"It was an accident!" Sam insists, locking his screen as if that will somehow contain the can of worms he'd just opened. 

"Take it down," Steve yelps. 

"Oh no..."

"What?"

Sam turns the phone again to show Steve the new message from Bucky: WHAT THE HELL?

Steve claps a hand on a still stunned Sam's shoulder, "It was nice knowing you, buddy."

Sam's screen lights up again with a subsequent message from you that slightly assuaged his concerns, if only because you wouldn't let Bucky kill him.

Your message read: Aww.. I love that picture! 

Part 2 (Drabble)

AnonymityIsFun Masterlist Grumpy Sunshine Series Masterlist Inspired By Taylor Swift Masterlist

[fullregalia]

and i took that personally.

I actually was going to use this headline for 2022, but (Taylor’s Version) seemed a better fit at the time, and looking back on ’23, well, I really did take this year personally. 

One charge I am not beating is that I quote The Tempest every time I write about the ups and downs of aging: “Nothing ... doth fade, / But doth suffer a sea-change / Into something rich and strange.” However I’ve yet to find something that captures how bizarre life is better than the phrase “rich and strange.” This year was certainly no different. If you couldn’t tell from the abstruse posts about feeling insecure online, I definitely Went Through It (or at least lower case went through it, lest I be too overly dramatic here) with a strange friendship with a semi-notable person this year. It burned bright and fast and like all other normies who come into the orbit of people with a modicum of notoriety, even if you can hang, it hurts to get dropped for a shiny new thing. The best thing for me to do was to step away from Twitter in August and never look back. Sometimes I miss knowing what stupid thing is going on online (#GagCity) however, if I ever get around to finishing my novel, it’s great fodder for plot. (“How do you serve cunt in a roman à clef way?”)

Besides that personal drama, which wasn’t too bad (frankly, I just got caught up in a one-sided friend crush that took up a majority of Qs 2 and 3), the year was filled with so many interesting things: The movies are back, baby! Country music’s revival won me over. I went to Germany, Switzerland, England, Ireland, and I met a special needs Alpaca named Waffles in Litchfield, CT. Succession ended (RIP Kendall I could fix u), and The Bear’s Copenhagen episode made me cry. I read 30 books, and not all of them were garbage (though some of them truly were). I discovered a brown butter buttermilk cake recipe that I can't quit. It felt like live events were properly in the mix again too; I was able to convince more people to go to Cyclones games with me, but I’m still hitting up Lincoln Center solo (don't men know this is a big date flex??). And how could I not brag about seeing my favorite artist, Ed Ruscha, in the flesh at the opening night of his retrospective at MoMA. But I’ll get into all of that and more below. 

Since this annual recap is not a tradition I’m willing to step away from and never look back (yet), here are my highlights of 2023: 

Books

Thanks to my SAD in the winter, I plowed through the bigger novels in Q1 (e.g., Confederacy of Dunces, I Have Some Questions For You, Birnam Wood). Though the best books I read this year were slimmer like Big Swiss, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, and Trespasses. I believe someone tried to trendcast this, but I think short books have been a thing since ... checks notes ... people started reading? I am still trying to figure out if I cared about The Guest, but I suppose a sense of low-lying dread and hating the narrator meant it worked. I tried to add more urban history into the hold list (NYC, LA, and Palo Alto), but couldn’t get through the latter two before year-end so that’s going on next year’s reading challenge. Seeing as I do LA every January anyway, I’ll save the California books for the West Coast.

I’m a little disappointed that there weren’t many novels I couldn’t put down this year. But I really did focus on contemporary fiction and I think next year I should spend more time on both nonfiction and “canonical” works that I still haven’t gotten around to yet. That is, it may be time to start reading like my dad.

Music

If Spotify is to be believed (it is), I was in.my.feelings. this year (I was). My erstwhile friend crush was a huge Country head, and I am grateful that brief friendship brought more Country--both classic and contemporary--into my life. (I have joked that women will inhale an entire discography/filmography/oeuvre in a weekend for a crush, but honestly show me the lie.) I’ve always been into Americana and bluegrass, but it was good to dig deeper into true country. At the pottery studio I would start with Johnny Cash and just let the algo take it from there for the next 3 - 4 hours. Beyond the musicians I was already listening to a lot (John Prine, Willie Nelson) I listened to more Townes Van Zandt, Nikki Lane, Jess Williamson, and Tyler Childers. 

But of course my top artists were the same as every year: Coltrane, Paul Simon, Prokofiev, Steely Dan. Dean Wareham came up huge for me because I think I played “The Last Word” maybe 400 times this year. You get to the 2:53 mark with the sun shining on Memorial Day Weekend? That’s heaven on earth.

Music was my sanity this year more than it usually is. I had my sad playlist (Jeff Buckley, The Smiths, SZA) for the myriad breakup walks; my Drake playlist for running; my jazz playlist for cooking; and my work party afterparty playlist was even dowloaded by the bar for future use because I spent HOURS figuring out the best arrangement of Beyoncé into Fleetwoord into Dua and they got it. 

I also spent a lot of time behind the wheel with the windows down listening to prog rock, too. Told you I was going through it.

Movies

As the year progressed, my already incoherent listening habits became very movie-forward. That is, I started putting on more movie soundtracks to work to (Nebraska hive we stay riding!! Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross run me over with a truck!!!) and I basically only ended up listening to podcasts about movies (Big Pic, Blank Check, Rewatchables). But the synergy between music and movies was strong this year, as evidenced by the thrilling re-issue of Stop Making Sense and the Eras/Renaissance films. (As always, I implore you to listen to Wesley Morris about everything, forever.)  

After leaving Twitter, Letterboxed became my primary Social Network (lol). Thankfully it’s helping me keep track of what I watched this year. I did a lot of back-list catching up: I watched all the Miyazaki Studio Ghibli films in time to catch The Boy and the Heron the week after I got to The Wind Rises. In no particular order, my favorites: American Fiction, Oppenheimer, No Hard Feelings, Fallen Leaves, Past Lives, Maestro (but that’s because of Lydia Tàr), and because I quite sensibly spent most of this year catching up on Tom Cruise’s entire filmography, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, pt. I. This man will do anything to save cinema! I love it!!!!

The Lawyer Movie Draft match up of Blank Check and Big Pic was one of my favorite podcast episodes of the year. I definitely re-watched The Firm and The Pelican Brief after it. Luv u too, Michael Clayton.

Odds & Ends

My two goals this year were to leave NYC once a month and see a concert/show once a month. I was close to 100% on both, which was nice. If you go to Dublin, be sure to check out Bar 1661. I had an amazing lunch at this Italian place in Bern, Switzerland. If you are in London, I demand you go to Fortitude Bakehouse. As always, the BEC on a croissant at Arethusa is a religious experience. And Zapp’s chips + oysters + wine + this view in Maine = I can die happy. 

I saw three live podcast tapings--my second time seeing both Odd Lots and Who? Weekly and my first time seeing How Long Gone (I’m not proud of it, but I love those two bros and John Early was a great guest). Relatedly, Kate Berlant's one woman show lived up to the hype and Just For Us made me laugh enough I told my folks to see it. I finally saw ABT do Romeo & Juliet at the Met, and there were too many classical concerts to count (highlights being: the Made in Berlin string quartet at Lydia Tàr's Berlin Philharmonic, the Emerson String Quartet performing Shostakovich No. 12, and Chamber Music Society presenting the full Brandenburg Concertos).

On the TV front, for what I lost in Succession this year, I look forward to getting back in Industry next year. My "Smooth Brain Award" for best background streaming goes to And Just Like That and Suits for being too dumb to function. A friend has promised to watch The Curse with me, but that has yet to materialize. At some point I'm going to have to get Apple TV back so I can finally watch the new season of Slow Horses, the first two seasons of which I binged in about a week in February.

Since I’m not actively tweeting, I’m going to put my in/out list here. I was actually on the money with some of my predictions from last year (all light yellow everything and bankruptcy is chic again) however none of you fools got on the “friends holding hands in an 1800s novel way” and I didn’t see enough old bay fries at the bar to make me happy. Let’s see if I can improve my trend casting odds for 2024:

IN: robin’s egg blue, Acting Like You've Been There, cassis and soda, Harvey Wallbangers, Meg Ryan's curly hair in When Harry Met Sally, pretending you know how to sail, whistleblowing, marbled paper, voice notes.

OUT: hard seltzer, oversize blazers, Substack, the pop punk revival, calling things “transcendent,” renter’s insurance, engagement announcements on social media (just get married), Reykjavik, Threads.

I’m probably wrong on all fronts! This take on my predictions is likely also my mantra for 2024. Happy New Year, and to the two to three people who read this whole thing, may it bring you peace and prosperity. Praying the world becomes a little easier to be alive in next year, though I’m not sure that’s how things work these days. If I don’t abandon this effort entirely next year, I’ll be sure to recount what rich and strange experiences came about...

[thesinglesjukebox]

THE BEATLES - "NOW AND THEN"

The gang's all back together! And it feels so... uh, well...

[3.53]

Tara Hillegeist: As a way to squeeze blood and money from a legacy that doesn't need the teary-eyed hagiography half as much as it needs a rest, this is nothing short of ghoulish. As a chance for the surviving members of history's most-mythologized pop band to have one last chance to reckon with their memories of absent friends, and the sometimes-miraculous sometimes-acrimonious friendship that was responsible for a magical time in their lives not even death will see them outpace, however... would that we all could be so fondly remembered, despite giving it our worst. How do I score something at once this obscenely unnecessary and heart-wrenchingly earnest to two decimal places? Should I hope anyone is going to do the same, fifty years from now, for One Direction? [5]

Taylor Alatorre: "The Last Beatles Song" carries about the same ring as "The McRib Farewell Tour," especially after McCartney's hasty clarification that the use of AI software for routine audio clean-up did not imply any procedurally generated singing. Still, I can't fault Peter Jackson for his basic recognition that, 54 years after "The End," Beatlemania has not yet bitten the dust. Given its origins, it was always going to be a challenge for "Now and Then" to avoid sounding like a song from nowhere, and it even takes a little while to avoid sounding like a tribute to Badfinger. But the decision to lean on the string section in the latter half, and the unabashed grandiosity of those sun-drenched vocal harmonies, help the song transcend its homework-like inception, turning its strange out-of-body nature into a selling point -- perhaps the selling point. Better to frankly acknowledge the role of earnest multigenerational fandom in the track's existence than to try and meticulously recreate the precise Revolver studio set-up. [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: One of those songs that makes you want to quote Baudrillard and Adorno and Steyerl and meditate on the nature of aesthetic production under contemporary techno-capital. But frankly, I'm lazy and this song is a complete non-entity if you try and extricate it from the circumstances of its creation. Let me know when they find another lost demo and we get The_final_Beatles_song_[FINAL]_[REALLY FINAL].mp3 [4]

Edward Okulicz: Not much of a song, but has the benefit of quite a lovely, wistful arrangement. But that's it -- it's just not much of a song. I hope people aren't going to blame Giles Martin for it being rubbish the same way they blamed Jeff Lynne for "Free as a Bird" being terrible, because he's done a good job with not a lot of material to work with. I hope this makes the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison very happy. [3]

David Moore: I know it's cringe to be so into the Beatles, to think about them all the time and know all their songs well enough that with some accuracy I'd be able to predict the next song in an alphabetical countdown, to read enormous biographies of them, to have strong opinions about the Glyn Johns mix of Let It Be. And I know this song is barely even a song -- that they scraped some fledgling John Lennon melody out of the bottom of a fish tank and let the wannabe Martin (the young one) and wannabe McCartney (the old one) and the one and only Ringo (immortal, eternal, peace and love) gussy it up with a half-convincing pile of pastiche instead of just letting the thing be (see what I did there; did I mention I have strong opinions about the Glyn Johns mix?). I know that there's something a little rank about it, like an air freshener in a morgue, even before Peter Jackson reminded everyone that his first film was called Bad Taste. And I know it doesn't speak very highly of me to admit that even given all that, and potentially worse things to boot, there's probably no way this could have gotten below a [5] from me no matter what final form it took. But it's the truth. [6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: This sad, misshapen ballad points to the Beatles' greatest fault: their lyrics could rarely keep apace with their musical curiosity. That's especially clear on the group's simpler, late-career songs, like this pathetic AI-assisted final single. Its aimless meandering finds an emotional core in the harmonized "you" that ends the first verse, but everything else fails to live up to that evocation, devolving into hackneyed sentiment. Released alongside "Love Me Do" to mark this as their final bow, "Now and Then" is a reminder that even when the Beatles started out, the simple lyrics held purpose: "Love Me Do" had relatively dry production compared to their contemporaries' work, and its raw sentiment was palpable, splitting the difference between schoolyard chant and workman-like charm. Comparatively, this track doesn't own up to its straight-ahead lyricism and uses a grandiose arrangement to convince you of its depth. Consider how Lennon admitted that "Something" was the best song on Abbey Road -- neither he nor McCartney could match the poetic grace that Harrison attained. We can now conclude that this was true until the very end. [2]

Alfred Soto: George Harrison, as Jorge Luis Borges said about Oscar Wilde, was almost always right. [3]

Aaron Bergstrom: I was in middle school in 1995 when The Beatles Anthology documentary premiered, and I hadn't planned on caring about it. I was an all-consuming sports nerd and music just wasn't something that registered with me. I knew the Beatles were a band. I probably could have given you "1960s" and "England," but that's about it. (Now, could I have recited the 1991 Minnesota Twins roster from memory? Absolutely.) Still, I lived in a small town before the internet and there wasn't much else going on. Anthology became the type of manufactured cultural event that I couldn't avoid. So while "Free As A Bird" wasn't the first Beatles song I ever heard, it was the first time I had the conscious thought, "Oh, so this is what the Beatles sound like." And... something happened. I can't really explain it. Like a fish discovering water, it suddenly clicked that the Beatles were everywhere. They were "I Want To Hold Your Hand" but they were also "Yellow Submarine" but they were also "Let It Be." I fell in love with the music, but it was more than that. I needed to understand why I loved it. It flipped a switch somewhere inside me that has stayed on ever since. I had to know everything. Who were they? Where did they come from? Why did they sound like this? Who else sounded like this? It's a straight line from that moment to me writing these words today. And I know most hardcore Beatles fans don't care for "Free As A Bird." Or "Real Love." I know that they're fake, and weird, and a cheap ploy to sell studio outtakes that otherwise weren't all that interesting, and I get it, but to me they'll always sound like the moment right before the world cracked open. I don't get to have that experience with "Now and Then." You only get to be a blank slate once. "Now and Then" is fine. It drags a bit. It's a rickety frame trying to support a lot of weight. It's even faker and weirder than the first two "new" Beatles songs. It probably didn't need to exist. Would it make my personal top hundred Beatles songs? I doubt it. But I'm glad it exists, if only on the off chance that it winds up as the bizarre first chapter in some other kid's origin story. [6]

Katherine St Asaph: Pretty! [6]

Nortey Dowuona: Shit is trash. Earth Wind Fire better. [0]

Ian Mathers: If you ever doubt my commitment to TSJ, remember that I could have gotten through the rest of the year without ever hearing this song had it not appeared in the blurber. And I definitely wouldn't have seen its absolute godless abomination of a video. The song itself is mid, mostly just existentially inessential, but we need to take an absolutely harsh line against condoning shit like that video. To be very clear, I don't mean the technology itself, which I imagine could be used in all sorts of worthwhile creative and/or horrifying ways. I mean the specific cultural, aesthetic, emotional context of this video. I could be the world's biggest Beatles fan or hater (I'm neither!) and I would still feel the same way and give this the same mark. [0]

Tim de Reuse: Given what the meaning of the term has warped into in the last year, the only reason to describe the use of source-separation methods as "Artificial Intelligence" to the general public is if you want people to think that a room full of sweaty engineers created a Lennon effigy out of linear algebra and poked it until it sang. The idea of finishing the work of somebody long-dead, making a collage of the debris that fell off of them when they were still breathing -- well, that's centuries old. Were they scared that the phrase "New Beatles Song" wouldn't cut it? Need to zhuzh it up a little? The idea that the Beatles, of all groups, would need a little sprinkle of our flaccid un-future to remain relevant is deeply funny to me -- doubly so, after noting how unremarkable the tune itself is, and how that pleasant unremarkability is exactly what people appear to be responding to. In the present moment we'd all kill for a pleasantly unremarkable week. Why on earth would you want to remind people that they're living in 2023? [6]

Will Adams: "Hello, my name is Princess Jane. I would like to show you some tricks. I hope you enjoy it." [0]

Michael Hong: Garbage in, garbage out. [2]

Andrew Karpan: Among the great, indelible images of the early 21st century ought to be the sputtering, GIF-like loop of John Lennon joyfully playing with his tie, significance perhaps unknown until commissioned for use to illustrate a song he never knew he was writing and was only foggily aware of singing. Whether a revelation as advertised, or a creepy "echoey mausoleum" as warned is besides the point, since it isn't quite a song so much as a curious facsimile of one. Feels perverse to listen to it with anything besides curious awe. [3]

Hannah Jocelyn: Damn "Now and Then," you've got the whole audiophile squad laughing. You have cutting edge AI technology, but not a dynamic EQ to take the resonances on John Lennon's voice? You have the last song from a legendary classic rock group, then seemingly slam an OTT instance on the mix bus to make it "modern?" The mastering engineer Miles Showell even said that he worked with the less limited mix, calling back to the last big audiophile controversy. And yet, Ringo's drums come in and I'm suddenly mini-Hannah, equally mesmerized by "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Yellow Submarine" because I had no conception of 'good' and 'bad' yet. There IS a lot to love, if you're able to pick it out without turning on Dolby Atmos; Lennon's melody is unassumingly beautiful, and I even like Paul trying to be George with the slide guitar solo. The string arrangement is very Phil Spector-overworking-Let-It-Be, and Lennon would probably hate it, but I find it lovely. At any rate, it's better than "Postcards from Paradise." [6]

Frank Falisi: Rough season to be a late-era McCartney truther. Why do you begin to think of your aesthetic project as dying in public? Politicians don't have the gumption to consider their mortality, so we're just left with the rot sloughing down the tubes of democracy, same as it ever was. What about pop stars? What about one of the pre-eminent experimental melodists in modern pop music? Living in the sundown shadow reach of every friend and lover and enemy, gone and departed before you. And to wake up, fingers cracked with England winter cold, capable of moving a bass string, just slower. To be on the worst end of the commodity inquest: they can keep bleeding your memory bank dry for dividends. A photo book, a lyric book, another lyric book, a legacy tour. Just one more memory in the bank. When does being garish back feel like all you can do? When does it not matter if you're composing out of love, if you're trying to write a new song, if you're trying to square your slowing mornings and long long nights -- every gesture gets legacy gnarl, an emotional formaldehyde that inverse's pop's gummy possibility. Lennon became a dorm-room poster ka-ching! before the dirt went cold. How else was it ever going to end? Why would an extractive system that can commodify even a novel melody, a heated-up lust change in how it treats its old stories? No Dylan Thomas rage, no Cohen hallelujah here, just the sneer of another old compatriot walking the long hallway blind to the end: "Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?" [0]

Jonathan Bradley: A ghost of John Lennon summoned via digital séance, it hovers insubstantially in gloopy piano ectoplasm, bereft of melody, direction, purpose. [3]

Brad Shoup: As a band that famously lived and created in the moment, the Beatles rarely had the sense of an ending. They were as fond of bits as statements, so they chased their two most renowned album closers with, respectively, pureed studio nonsense and a joke ditty about QEII. Though I'd take "Her Majesty" over "Get Back" any day, Let It Be (released after but mostly recorded before Abbey Road) became the final word on studio Beatles. The Anthology project offered a couple dreamy, slight psych-pop tunes that -- because they were based on compositions from a dead Beatle at his most placid -- couldn't be anything other than valedictory. In the years since we've had reductive Beatles and recombinant Beatles, and now, finally, maybe, retiring Beatles. "Now and Then" is as joyless as I've ever heard them. Not tired or dutiful, but lost: there's no trace of the bantering lads re-introduced in the Peter Jackson documentary. At their best, the Fabs felt like they were playing for each other as much as the world. Down two Beatles now, and again working off a John composition, they can only sound like they're playing to each other. The mix is as blue-gray as the cover art: little vocal homages to their past are buried in the churn. The string arrangement is ghastly. Paul's slide-guitar tribute to George -- in itself pretty funny, considering Paul's famous scene commandeering George's playing in the Let It Be film -- ends up in "Scar Tissue" territory. But even though I don't like this song, John's melody has stuck with me for a month now. By all accounts, it sounds like it's stuck with Paul (who knows from indelible melodies) for decades. There's something in its hesitancy, its uncertainty, in the way that it carries all this naked need to the door without knowing what's on the other side. My mom died -- suddenly, unexpectedly -- in January, so I've spent a lot of fucking time trying to get the sense of an ending. I've hung out with my father more this year than the last five put together, which means I've been talking about the Beatles more than usual. He doesn't care for "Now and Then": it's too sodden for him, too maudlin. I think he would feel that way regardless. But I understand Paul and Ringo's desire to summon their beloved John, to sing him back here and home again. And I understand why, when I play this, I mostly hear pain. [5]

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