#technically it’s miss taylor swift but anyway

[clockwrkpendrxgon]

screaming at the fact that i wrote the words above before reading the bonus chapter 🤧

[chaossmagic]

i thought anti-hero was the song that hits me hardest on midnights but it’s actually....would’ve, could’ve, should’ve

[theidiotwhowritesthings]

Hi JJ :] could I make a request for a din x reader fic? It’s just dancing with him (I have a feeling that you’re a swiftie so I’m gonna say inspired by dancing with our hands tied)

anyway thank you for considering this! Love you very much :]

[a/n: lolol spot on, my friend. I am in fact a swiftie and i forgot how much i loved this song until i re-listened to it. it's technically not just dancing, i got carried away as i always do, but dancing does happen so....]

Mandalor!Din Djarin x Royal Female!Reader

Warnings: mentions of sexual history, so smut adjacent?, arranged marriage, technically cheating b/c reader is engaged (but she's never even met the dude so does it even really count?)

Word Count: 1,885

Summary: Your love came with an expiration date. Doomed to fail from the second you met him.

DEEP BLUE, BUT YOU PAINTED ME GOLDEN

"I'd kiss you as the lights went out, swaying as the room burned down. I'd hold you as the water rushes in, if I could dance with you again." ⏤ Dancing With Our Hands Tied (Taylor Swift)

Your world ended the moment you met Din Djarin.

For all of your life, you were the perfect royal daughter. You followed the rules, wrapped around you like chains, with no struggle. Picture perfect and sinless. Raised to be a representation of your kingdom and a political token to be bartered. It was all you had known, and you never complained. You loved your parents, your family, your people, and if being tied to a stranger in marriage helped them in some way you would do it. 

You never questioned that sacrifice. Not until a meeting, held by your father, brought together rulers from all the neighboring worlds in hopes to unify and create alliances. When the Mandalor walked in, you felt a shift in your very soul. There was no logical reason why. He was decked, head to toe, in brilliant beskar armor⏤ a thick, red robe hanging off one shoulder. His presence alone had changed everything, and when your father made introductions and you heard Mandalor Din Djarin speak your name in his low, modulated voice, you knew nothing would be the same again. You learned that night that he felt the same pull you did. Involuntary and irresistible.

Din Djarin woke you from a slumber you didn’t know you existed in. Your life had been shades of gray and blue for so long that it seemed to be all you were capable of. Someone who had never seen the sun would never miss or crave the light. But, he painted your world in color. Red shades of passion, golden shades of pleasure, and cool beskar silver.

The two of you took every opportunity and more to see one another. Nobody in either of your lives suspected anything. You were an obedient, royal daughter betrothed to a prince, and Din was the well respected Mandalor who would find a riddur in another Mandalorian. In their eyes, nothing would ever come from that beyond friendship and a strong alliance between your worlds. However, when their eyes looked away, behind closed doors, those lines were blurred. The lines didn’t even exist. 

It was hard to find the sin in this relationship when Din had his head buried between your legs. There wasn’t an ounce of regret in your soul every time you laid in the dark listening to Din’s deep, hoarse voice murmur and grunt praises in your ear as he drove his cock overwhelmingly deep into you. The warmth of his tongue on your skin, the taste of his cum lingering in your mouth, the feel of his strong hands exploring every inch of you⏤ it was a pleasure you hadn’t thought possible in the life destined for you. The only time guilt seeped into you was when the passion slowed down. When you laid on your belly, bare, as Din’s heavy and hot body laid on top of you with his uncovered face buried in the crook of your neck. Din would wrap his arms around you lovingly and whisper about a future the two of you could never have. A home with land on a quiet, nondescript world where neither of you had to hide your love and a family could be started. It was a life you didn’t know you wanted until you met Din. For the first time in your life, you wanted something and the guilt of that desire ate you alive.

This dance continued for nearly a year before your lives dragged you apart.

It was time for you to meet your fiance and move forward with your engagement. Saying goodbye to Din was heart wrenching. What hurt the most was that it was a goodbye neither of you truly wanted. It was responsibility to the worlds you came from that pulled you apart. Leaving one another felt like fighting gravity itself.

“My daughter, smile.” Your mother cooed as she reached out to readjust the mask covering your upper face. It matched the gown you currently wore. When your engagement party was planned, multiple themes were offered to you and you passively went with whatever your parents thought was best. Which turned out to be a Masquerade. Not that it mattered. No party would lift your spirits. “What’s wrong?”

“I guess I’m just nervous to meet the prince.” You replied simply. The party was in full swing and your fiance would be here any minute now. A hiccup in his travel plans made him late, but not late enough to cancel the party unfortunately. It was still in full swing with a mass of masked people dancing happily.

Your mother chuckled and cupped your face, “Don’t be nervous. The prince will be a good match for you. We made sure to pick someone kind and fair. Someone who will be good to you.”

You forced a tight lipped smile and nodded. Your parents were good people, and you had no doubt they picked a man who they thought would be best for you. But, how well did your parents really know you these days? You weren’t the woman you were this time last year. You wondered if you could ever be her again. It was unlikely. 

After your mother wandered away, you drifted through the room speaking to those who greeted you first. Playing the role you were born to play. Mid way through the room a hand wrapped around your wrist and you didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. You had the feel of Din’s palm on your skin memorized. An ache overcame you at the touch, and you bit down on your lower lip⏤ refusing to turn around. He drifted closer, hovering dangerously close while in public like this, and you shook your head. “Mandalor, you can’t be here.”

You hoped using his title would make addressing him easier. It didn’t help.

Din leaned down and spoke, his voice unmodulated but muted, “I am not the Mandalor, ka’ra’ika.”

Curious, you finally turned and your eyes widened to see Din was not dressed in his beskar. His broad frame was dressed in a simple suit, nothing to make him stand out in a crowd, and his face was covered with a full face mask. His eyes hidden behind a line of dark glass and the rest painted in shades of black and white. “What are…” You paused in shock. Din’s loose, dark curls peeked around his mask and even with confusion swirling all about, your mind involuntarily memorized the color. It was a habit. Every single detail you were given about the man in front of you was tucked away like a well hidden secret. “Why are you here?”

“Dance with me?” Din asked in a voice that was borderline pleading. “Please?”

You nodded once and let him drag you slowly toward where the other bodies danced in an organized crowd. Din pulled you in close so the two of you could sway. You rested one hand on his shoulder while he held your other. It took every ounce of self control in your body to not lift your hand and rake your fingers through his hair. Din spun you around the dance floor, and a slow smile graced your lips for the first time all night. Din brought with him a glow. Being with him just seemed to brighten your world. Din lifted his arm to spin you⏤ your dress flared out around you, and a laugh bubbled out of your lungs. You heard his deep chuckle before he dipped you low. When he brought you back up, you were flush with his chest and your hands rested there. His heartbeat under your palm grounded you, but with it came guilt and the painful reminder that this was fleeting.

“My fiance will be here soon, Din.” You murmured. “You’re only making this harder.”

“I can’t walk away from this. From you.”

You shook your head, hands grasping the lapels of his suit, “We were doomed from the start. We knew that.” Your eyes burned with unshed tears. “With our beginning came an end date. And we’ve… we’ve reached it.”

“No.” Din’s hands slid down to grip your hips as he pulled you in closer. You sucked in a sharp breath. This wasn’t proper. “We’ve been living by rules set by our responsibilities and by outside factors when we should be the ones to decide. We should get to choose who we love.” 

You swallowed the lump in your throat. “Don’t. Don’t say it.” Now, it was you pleading. The two of you never used that word. You felt it, it changed you, but admitting it out loud would be too real for something destined to end. So you both agreed to leave it an unspoken truth. A phrase only whispered when the other wasn’t listening. “Din, please…”

“I have a… a proposition.” Din said. “I’ve made my choice, but now I want you to make yours.”

“What do you mean?”

Din leaned in close, “We can run, ka’ra’ika. This doesn’t have to be the end of our story. It can be a new beginning.” 

“Din, we can’t.” You shook your head. “You’re Mandalor⏤”

“No. I’m not. I’ve renounced the title.” Din admitted. Your eyes widened and your jaw popped open to question him, but no words left your lips. “I’ve passed it on.”

“Why would you…” You gasped. “Din, you don’t even know what my choice will be.”

“That’s alright. I made my choice on my own accord.”

“What if I say no? Then what, Din? You gave up your title⏤”

“If you say no,” Din began, “Which you are well within your rights to do, then giving up my title was simply the price to pay.” You furrowed your brow and you could hear the soft smile in his voice. “The price to pay for one last moment with you.”

The lights suddenly went out and you jumped in surprise. One of Din’s hands left your waist and seconds later Din’s lips were at your ears. It was then you realized this cover of darkness was not accidental, it came at the hands of the man holding you.

“If you send me away, I’ll never bother you again, I give you my word.” Din whispered in your ear and the sound alone made your eyes flutter close. A soft breath leaving your lips. “But I would regret it for the rest of my life, if I didn’t tell you how much I love you.” You felt tears collecting in the corner of your eyes. Hearing those words in his voice, just like when you first heard him speak your name, caused a shift in your soul. Din pressed his lips to a spot on your neck right below your ear. “If I didn’t beg you for one last kiss.”

Without hesitation, you dug your hands into his hair and pulled his lips to yours. It was muscle memory. You knew the taste of him and you welcomed it. His warm hand gripped the back of your neck as his tongue licked into your mouth. You moaned and tried to pull him closer as if he wasn’t already tangled with you. The taste of your tears mingled in the kiss.

Din pulled back and let his thumb brush under the edges of your mask to swipe at the tears that leaked down your cheeks. In that moment, you whispered your truth.

"I love you."

When the lights came on, there were two less bodies in the mass of confused dancers, and the expensive and delicate mask of the royal daughter laid on the ballroom floor⏤ carelessly tossed aside.

[lesb0]

miss terra what’s ur opinion on taylor swift? i feel like her latest album was a huge disappointment compared to her others, but i also feel like people are only hating so much because they’re eager to see a successful woman fail. i think any artist worth their salt will eventually go through a “flop” phase. but at the same time, i do know she got to this place of privilege in an unethical way, & that the work of nonwhite artists is ignored in favor of hers. would you agree when people say she has a monopoly on the music industry?

Taylor is by no means a good musician/singer at all. it's the extent of her performance, on and off stage, that no one is better at. she's worked harder to build a fanbase which idol worships her and feeds into their obsession with a particular kind of quasi-religious parasocial relationship super consistently. She's never turned against them. Most artists aren't willing to feed into Celebrity Worship Syndrome. Taylor is insane enough to love it. She never gets tired and delves into her privacy, she genuinely loves stans and will keep giving them varieties of stuff forever, which is the actual thing that makes her famous. No singer can poach the swifties, because they aren't obsessed with music, they love Taylor.

Music itself does not matter to a layman, it hasn't in a century. Anti Taylors lie about caring about technical skill and composition and virtuosic singing ability, but they don't listen to Vivaldi or Paganini 🤷🏾‍♀️ It's all parasociality marketing! she could retire to sell lyric tshirts or go into perfume and all her fans will follow. And then people will complain that she destroyed the graphic tee industry.

She's a hilariously out of touch awkward woman with every possible privilege available to women. But that doesn't shield her from misogyny. people blame her for ruining the garbage tiktokified music industry or swiftinomics for causing inflation or her high emissions for causing global warming. Or criticize her as if she's a major capitalist monopoly. Newsflash there are thousands of billionaire capitalist male CEOs doing 50x worse, on purpose, at a mass production scale for profits. if you're going to criticize her byproducts as the epitome of capitalism, then get rid of your iphone and amazon prime, go vegan, and boycott Disney first.

She isn't even doing the bare minimum of what she could to mitigate damages, but neither does the average person throwing stones, while ignoring the men who are much worse. Newsflash, monopolies and the declining "purity" of music isn't what they actually love hating on, though their criticism always manages to curiously land on women... Hmm! 🤔

All that to say I do not care about the modern music industry, or any American music, because I only listen to historically informed baroque music conservatories or 00s visual kei anyway! lol

[sesamestreep]

New Taylor Swift prompts! 16, Matt/Foggy

16. I’ve missed you all this time (from this prompt list) I don't know what this is, but it's technically set in the 60s, even though I did not make that explicitly clear anywhere in the text and it serves no purpose beyond just...vibes. I mostly just wanted to write silly new year’s fic, don’t worry about historical accuracy or world-building, everyone be cool! happy 2024, you silly and sultry geese! on ao3 here 🥂✨

Matt can still hear the noise of the party, barely dampened even when he's several rooms removed. He’d be able to hear it from the lobby of the building, truth be told, but here he can still make out conversations without having to focus that hard. He tries to direct his senses somewhere else—somewhere with less overlapping chatter and clinking glasses and shuffling feet over plush carpets—and breathe deep, so that maybe he can regain some equilibrium and hopefully go back to the party in a few minutes and act normal. It’s almost midnight, after all, and who goes to a New Year’s Eve party just to ditch out before midnight?

“Matthew Augustus Murdock,” a voice calls out from the far end of the paneled hallway.

“Not my middle name,” Matt says, smiling, “as you already know.”

“But wouldn’t it be better if it was?” Foggy asks, as he slides down to sit next to Matt. 

“Yes, I imagine I’d have lived a much easier and more successful life, if only my middle name was…what was it again?”

“Albert,” Foggy says, “or something. Who cares?”

“Good point,” Matt says, pressing his shoulder into Foggy’s happily. “How’d you find me?”

“I used the one and only superpower God graced me with: I’m like a homing pigeon for you specifically. I always know where to find you. It’s eerie, frankly, and damned useless, but—“

“Not to me,” Matt interjects, too readily. “I mean, for what it’s worth.”

Foggy nods, his overly long hair that he keeps meaning to get cut rasping over his shirt's stiff collar as he does. “That’s a good point.”

“I make those occasionally.”

“Occasionally,” Foggy repeats in a comically shrill, tiny voice, like he’s doing an impression of a cartoon mouse, for whatever reason. He’s a little drunk, clearly, which Matt could tell from the way he’s talking and the way he’s moving and the way he smells and, well, that’s probably enough evidence. 

“If I’m ever in trouble, I know who to call,” Matt says, which is maybe too honest, but Foggy doesn’t have to know that.

“You wouldn’t even have to call, Matt,” Foggy replies, solemnly grasping his shoulder. “If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll know and I’ll come running.”

“I would pay real money to see you actually run anywhere.”

“You’d have to, my man. I imagine it would take a massive breakthrough in science for you to see anything at all, and those things tend to cost a pretty penny,” Foggy says, grandly. “And also, on a much more serious note, go fuck yourself.”

Matt laughs and collapses against Foggy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I just know how much you hate running.”

“Which means you’ve entirely missed the inherent capital-R romanticism of me offering to do it for you! Classic Murdock. Absolute philistine behavior. I should expect it by now.”

“Your gallantry is wasted on me,” Matt agrees, still doing that thing of being too honest.

“I know,” Foggy sighs, theatrically, “and yet, here I am.”

“Why are you here, anyway?”

“Missed you, came looking. Same as ever.”

“Aw,” Matt says, leaning into his side even more. “You’re right, I really don’t deserve you.”

“I never said that. You said that,” Foggy says, poking him. “But anyway, I lied and the real answer to your question is that I got tired of girls coming up to me and asking where my handsome friend had got to.”

Matt knows two things with a decent degree of certainty: Foggy hadn’t been lying when he gave his first answer (Matt would have heard it in his heartbeat and likely noticed any other number of tells that Foggy has when he does lie, besides) and that no one would have had to ask him to go looking for Matt after he disappeared. His joke about homing pigeon-like tendencies is more truthful than either of them would like to acknowledge. When Matt goes missing—as he very frequently does at these types of things—Foggy always comes to find him. Matt’s been doing this since way before he met Foggy—having overly heightened senses does not make crowded social functions more manageable in general—but he can probably admit that he does it more now that he knows someone will come looking for him.

He also knows that girls like Foggy a lot more than Foggy thinks they do. He’s always talking about how girls seek him out to get in with Matt, but Matt doesn’t really believe that. There have been a few girls, here and there, certainly enough that Foggy’s right to be a little paranoid about it, who have turned their sights from Foggy to Matt, which on top of being unkind is just bad business sense. Anyone with a brain in their head would see that Foggy’s the better option of the two of them. And Matt’s got plenty of flaws, but he’d certainly never take up with anyone who hurt his best friend, so it doesn’t work out the way anyone hopes it will, anyway, when they do. Still, he's sure Foggy could have found a nice girl to keep him entertained until Matt got back to the party, if he put his mind to it, and that maybe he'd just been looking for an excuse to duck out himself when someone asked about Matt.

“This is where I got to,” Matt says, with a slightly pathetic shrug.

“Who says I meant you?” Foggy asks, absently. “I have other friends that are handsomer than you!”

“Not only do you not have a single handsomer friend in all the world,” Matt says, belatedly unsure if ‘handsomer’ is even a word, but otherwise too confident to turn back, “you don’t even have another friend at this party.”

“I’m exceedingly charming, Matthew,” Foggy over-enunciates. “Everyone at this party is my new best friend.”

Matt loops his arm through Foggy’s and leans his head back against the wall. “Sounds like I’ve got a lot of competition.”

“You’re not having fun?” Foggy asks, the change of topic so sudden and his tone so unexpectedly serious that Matt has a brief moment of confusion that he means with this joke they’ve got going. It takes a second to realize he means at the party in general.

“It’s fancy.”

“Too fancy, you mean…”

“You know I don’t go in for all this stuff,” Matt says, shrugging. 

“Like I do, you mean?” Foggy asks, lightly, even though Matt can feel him warming with embarrassment. 

“Like I used to,” Matt clarifies, and trusts his meaning to be clear.

“Right,” Foggy says, and the tone in his voice is the one he uses exclusively when he refers to Matt’s ex-girlfriend from junior year who almost caused him to drop out. “Fair enough, I suppose.”

“You can head back. Really, I don’t mind. I just need a few more minutes.”

“No, you’re right. It’s…a bit stuffy, isn’t it?” Foggy muses. “I mean, I didn’t even know people still had apartments like this, outside of, well, the Rockefellers.” 

The apartment belongs to the parents of one of their friends from law school and the only reason they have free rein over the place is because the parents are vacationing in Aspen with friends. Even without being able to see it, Matt can tell it’s a swanky place. The rug he’s currently sitting on is so plush that he can basically sink his entire hand into it. Every table he passed on his way to this hiding place smelled so strongly of Pine-Sol that there has to be a maid on staff, if not a team of them. He’s fairly certain this random hallway he discovered is actually a back passage to the kitchens, so the servants don’t have to be seen coming and going. He's not sure if he asked their host about it that they'd even know it existed. And Matt’s shoes, as well as most of his clothes, are secondhand.

“You were having fun until I made you feel bad,” Matt says, tucking his chin onto Foggy’s shoulder and trying to look contrite.

“No, I mean—I like having you around, Matt. You keep me honest,” Foggy laughs. “Two and a half years of law school, four years at an Ivy before that, I think I’ve just made peace with having to go to parties in uncomfortable clothes and to make conversation with people I don’t really like. I don’t think I’d call it fun, but it’s a social life of some kind, I suppose.”

“We should have gone to Josie’s,” Matt says, holding onto him too tightly, even with the excuse of a few drinks.

Foggy snorts, thinking of the beloved dive bar they sneak off to in Hell’s Kitchen whenever they can, whenever they’re home. It’s only a matter of blocks to get there, but sometimes, at school, it feels farther away than all that.

“I don’t dare imagine the caliber of our prospects for a kiss at midnight there,” Foggy says, with an exaggerated shudder.

“Can’t be any worse than our prospects here,” Matt replies. 

Foggy whistles, low, under his breath. “You’re going to be disappointing a lot of nice girls with that kind of talk, Murdock!”

“Better to disappoint them now than later,” Matt says, fully burying his face in Foggy’s shoulder now. He gets like this when he drinks. Foggy's used to it.

“Oh, that’s right. You don’t do the whole ‘going steady’ thing anymore,” Foggy says, leaning in conspiratorially. “You’re too damaged and that means you’re never going to get married, so you’d rather not lead anyone on.”

“You say that like it’s not true,” Matt whispers back.

“It isn’t true, you moron!” Foggy laughs. “One day, some beautiful girl is going to turn your head so quick, you’ll have neck problems for the rest of your life!”

“Sounds uncomfortable,” Matt says.

“And I’ll be there,” Foggy continues, like Matt didn’t even speak, “laughing.”

“Well, as long as you’ll be there, Foggy.”

“Did I mention you’re a moron?”

“Yes. A few times now, in fact.”

“Then, I’ve done my duty.”

“And what about you?” Matt asks. “When’s somebody going to turn your head?”

“Somebody turns my head every goddamn day, it feels like,” Foggy grumbles. “The problem isn’t my head. It’s everybody else’s.”

“There’s plenty of girls who’d be more than happy to trap you in matrimony.”

“Hmm, well, I’m sure that’s true enough,” Foggy replies, thoughtfully. “I guess it’s more about finding someone you wouldn’t mind being trapped with.”

“And you haven’t found her yet, I take it?”

“No,” Foggy says, sadly. The girl he dated for most of their sophomore year—the one everyone had been certain Foggy was going to end up marrying—had just gotten engaged last month. Foggy still wasn’t entirely over it, Matt was pretty sure.

“And you’re certain she’s not here?” Matt asks, encouragingly.

“Unlikely,” Foggy says. “None of the girls here would be caught dead with me in the daylight. One of them might be unscrupulous enough to let me kiss her at midnight, though.”

“So, go back,” Matt replies. “Find the girl in that room with the lowest standards and lay one on her!”

“I will if you will.”

“I don’t know this for sure, but I do have serious doubts that any girl in the room will let the both of us kiss her at midnight.”

“I meant, you should—you know what I meant!” Foggy exclaims, embarrassed again. 

“I was trying to be funny!”

“‘Trying’ being the operative word there…”

Matt sighs. “What’s the point of kissing someone at midnight when there’s almost no chance of seeing them ever again after tonight?”

“You’ve just described the point yourself! It’s just for fun, to start the year off right! There’s no pressure!” Foggy says, disbelieving. "What’s gotten into you? I thought zero expectations romance was your specialty!”

“Maybe I’m just not a New Year's kind of guy.”

Foggy hums thoughtfully. “Can I tell you my theory?”

“Your theory? About what?”

“About you, and New Year's, and all of that.”

“Oh. Sure. Go ahead.”

“I think you’re afraid,” Foggy says.

“Afraid?” Matt asks. “Of…New Year’s Eve?”

“You don’t want to participate in these silly little rituals, like kissing someone at midnight, because you’re secretly terrified that something good is going to happen to you, and then you won’t know what to do with yourself.”

“Really, Foggy. Be serious!”

“I am serious,” Foggy replies, casually. “You’re scared of being hit over the head with it again.”

“Hit over the head with what?”

“Love,” Foggy says, simply. “You felt it once and it nearly derailed your whole life, so now you avoid any situation where you might accidentally meet someone interesting or have more feelings than you’ve carefully rationed out for yourself for that particular day.”

Matt swallows, feeling utterly exposed. It’s not something he would have been able to say for himself an hour ago, but the words feel true to him coming from someone else. He doesn’t like anybody knowing him well enough to know all of that, though, and if it wouldn’t be so utterly obvious, he’d pull away from Foggy right now just to be safe. Like that would even help, he thinks reluctantly.

“You missed your calling not going into psychiatry, Foggy,” he says, stiffly, once he’s gathered his wits enough to form sentences.

Foggy’s hand, warm and a little damp, closes over Matt’s where it’s still resting on his arm. Matt wants nothing more than to flinch away from it, but he controls the urge in the interest of saving face.

“Don’t be mad at me,” Foggy says, quietly, like there’s a chance they might be overheard somehow and he wants Matt to be the only one who hears this. “I’m just trying to tell you that, in avoiding fun and frivolous things, you are not sparing yourself from being hit over the head. If you’re meant to get hit over the head, it’ll happen whenever and wherever Cupid so chooses. It’ll happen at the deli or the bank or while you’re waiting for the bus. Which means that the only thing you’re ultimately sparing yourself from is fun and frivolity, and that’s a stupid way to live your life. That’s all.”

“I think you just called me a moron again,” Matt says, weakly. He doesn’t know what else to say. The rest of it is...too much to consider.

“I called you stupid, actually, but I see your point.”

In the distance, Matt hears the noise of a crowd of people all simultaneously trying to shush each other, with limited success. He imagines even Foggy can hear it too a moment later when they all begin counting aloud.

“Last chance…” Matt says, tipping his head backwards in the direction of the room where everyone’s gathered.

“It doesn’t matter,” Foggy says, apropos of nothing, as far as Matt can tell. He’s about to ask what he means when Foggy continues, anyway. “I have someone who meets your criteria.”

“My criteria?”

“Yeah. You’ll only accept a kiss from someone you’ll see again after tonight, right?”

“Uh, I don’t think I said ‘only’, I just meant—”

“Too bad,” Foggy says, as the countdown reaches its conclusion. “Happy New Year.”

Matt’s halfway through formulating a question or an objection of some kind, which is the only reason he turns in Foggy’s direction at that moment. It’s clear from the noise of surprise Foggy makes that he absolutely had no intention of kissing Matt right on the mouth and was probably, in fact, aiming for his cheek, trying to be funny and charming after Matt was such a spoilsport about the whole kissing at midnight thing. If Matt hadn’t moved, there’s no doubt in his mind that that’s what Foggy would have done and then it would have been over and they’d already be laughing about it and moving on. But Matt did move and, even awkwardly off center, Foggy is kissing him on the mouth right now and they’re both just frozen like that, shocked and useless.

Matt doesn’t give himself much credit for genius. He’s reasonably smart, and can be even smarter if he applies himself to a subject and really studies up on it, but there’s plenty of people in any given room smarter than he is, most of the time. He has his moments, though, and this is one of them. He sees very clearly the two paths available to them. Down one, this moment stretches awkwardly and they allow it to become a source of discomfort and then outright pain that they'll avoid talking about for years, or maybe possibly forever. Regardless, it has the power to ruin their friendship and Matt simply can't abide that. Down the other, they don’t flinch from it and they don’t make it any stranger than it has to be and it becomes one weird but not fully objectionable moment in their long and storied relationship. They’re not going to trot it out as an anecdote at parties, sure, but they’re not going to become crazy about denying it happened either. If Matt can steer them in the direction of the latter, he thinks maybe it will all be okay, but it’s going to require him not to make matters worse. For whatever reason, the only way he can think to not do that is by kissing Foggy back.

It’s immediately apparent that, momentary genius or no, while it does not technically make things worse, it also does not make them better. Then again, Foggy makes a sort of interested noise as he feels Matt return the kiss, which Matt is infinitely better off for knowing about and having heard and being able to think about some other time when he’s alone preferably. 

They don’t take it any farther than just that. They’re not necking in some random person’s hallway or doing anything truly objectionable. They just stay there, mouths pressed together so that Matt can smell (and sort of taste) the champagne Foggy’s had and the last cigarette he smoked and a hint of that sugary gum he always chews, even though he hasn’t had a piece since before they came to the party. It mostly feels, more than anything else, like they’re breathing together and it’s not sexy the way wild, passionate groping in the dark can be, but it’s intimate in its own unique way. Matt, against his own better judgment, puts a hand on Foggy’s cheek, and he doesn't really know why beyond just really wanting to and that seems to be reason enough.

Foggy doesn’t try to slip his tongue into Matt’s mouth—despite the alarming reality that the moment Matt realizes that’s not what he’s doing, he also realizes he’d let him—or try to escalate matters one bit. His hand is still grasping Matt’s collar from when he first pulled him in, but his other one doesn’t roam. His lips, still pressed to Matt’s, only move to exert a little more pressure and to alter the angle at which they meet slightly. He takes precisely zero liberties and makes no effort to get fresh with him at all. It’s very gentlemanly, and Matt doesn’t know what to do with himself because it doesn’t feel awkward or fumbling at all. It feels like restraint, and once he knows that, everything is different.

The tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ reaches him from the other room, but it’s drowned out almost entirely by the sound of Foggy’s heartbeat in Matt’s ears. Foggy must hear it too, though, because he breaks their kiss with the worst sort of gentleness, pulling back only enough for them both to have space to breathe but not far enough that Matt can’t feel that breath on his face.

Matt traces his thumb over the curve of Foggy’s cheek before dropping his hand back down into his own lap and licks his lips as he slowly turns away. 

“Happy New Year,” he says, aiming for calm and unaffected and likely missing it by a lot.

“You too,” Foggy says, even though he already said it first. His heart is still beating too fast and too close and too loud for Matt to read his tone, which is too bad, because he’d really like to know how Foggy feels right now and if he feels anything like Matt does.

Because Matt feels like he’s been hit over the head.

✨

[gloombeauty]

I discovered something about Lana's show in Fenway Park in Boston. It's not sold out at all. You can Google it and check other sites but here are the tickets for Lana's show for sale at Stubhub. Some are descent prices like $200 and some tickets are almost 3k. But tickets are there to buy and some are being sold by bots. Her fans were complaining on her managers page. His name is Ben. He deleted all the comments but one stan confronted him and I found the screenshot on X. I don't understand why lanaboards and Ben shamelessly lied about the show being sold out. Lana has stayed silent so far. 🤷‍♀️

Okay.

Let me swallow all this in.

So, the official tickets from Ticket Master are 100% sold out.

However, the tickets are being sold at these sites:

1 - Vividseats

2 - Ticketboxofficesales

3- Seat Geek

The prices are ranging from $200 to $5,000.

So technically, it's sold out but not really sold out because ticket scalpers are now re-selling them.

I solely blame this on Lana Del Rey.

If The Cure, Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, Yungblud, Greta Van Fleet, Bruce Springsteen, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, AC/DC, Radiohead, Pearl Jam and many more artists can stop ticket scalpers, why can't Lana do it too?

All Lana has to do is click on a button online that says "do not allow re-sale of tickets" and that's it. Taylor Swift could have done it as well, but she let that slide through because what does she care? She made her coins. She couldn't care less that some poor dad working 60 hours a week has to pay over 10k to get his 3 daughters Taylor Swift Era's tickets. Taylor is a multi millionairess as is Lana. These people couldn't care less for the common man or how expensive concert tickets are. That's just how rich people are. It's rare when they do care, like Pearl Jam and the other artists I mentioned above.

Lana's manager Ed is an asshole. Always has been. He deletes comments all the time for the stupidest reasons. Of course these are gone. All this just makes Lana look bad because she is basically sitting back and watching her fans spend thousands of dollars on re-sold concert tickets.

Lanaboards - don't even get me started on that dumpster fire cesspool trash site. The chick who runs that page literally looks like a blowup doll.

Anyway, all this drama just to watch a 38 year old woman sing the same exact tired setlist. Adding the fact that she only whisper-sings nowadays and points the mic at the audience so they can sing her songs. She doesn't even do the whole song. She whispers-sings a little, does a little half-ass shimmy move and cuts the song onto the next one. All this while a back track vocal recording is playing in the background with 15 tacky dancers.

People actually are willing to pay for this?

It's one thing to buy the albums and watch the videos, which is all I do - but what else is there to do? I'm not putting any of my hard earned money to see this boring mess. That is where I draw the line.

I won't even buy any of Lana's official merch tees because the designs are so hideous. Overpriced hideousness. No thanks.

Lana is a great singer (in the studio - not in concert) and songwriter. Nobody can take that away from her. In a live setting? Boring as hell and not worth all the money fans are paying to see her whisper and half ass shuffle on stage.

This is the Lana worth every penny to go to:

This Lana Del Rey is gone. Has been gone for 6 years.

The last time Lana sang with heart and soul was in 2018 for this concert in Brazil:

That's all I really have to say on this sad subject. I miss the old Lana Del Rey. The Lana who use to sing and made an effort on stage.

Lana was at her best on stage during the years 2011-2016, although that 2018 Brazilian show wasn't bad. It just wasn't her best. It was the last time she actually opened her mouth and sang which is why I added it here.

There is an interesting thread on Reddit about artists preventing this re-selling crap from happening. It's a good read.

[cowboylikemeaaron]

Masterpost on taylor and olivia's relationship (but taylor is at fault)

it's an ugly theory for taylor.. so if you can't handle criticism for her please don't read!

I'd like to start by saying I'm not an olivia stan, I've been a taylor stan for 10 years but this is the theory I found to be logical.

Firstly , let's look at this blind item posted on may 22/2023 because it's the spark for this theory

AA is taylor, AB is Matty healy, AC is olivia.

AD could be beyonce or Ariana but it is irrelevant

AE is deja vu and AF is hayley william

AG is good 4 u

So anyways now that we have layed the ground for the theory let's discuss

From olivia's dawn of time to April 2021:

Olivia has always talked over and over how she's the biggest swiftie on earth.. and in January 2021 taylor commented the famous "I say that's my baby and I'm really proud" and she was also sending Olivia gifts.

And then Fearless TV is announced, and the also famous reel of Olivia and Conan on White Horse TV

Also note that taylor sent olivia the Red ring and olivia talked about it which was in march 2021

So far everyone is everyone's bestie right and they're both in each other's business?

And it continues, and they meet in 11 May 2021 in the BRITs awards where they photographed together and it's all very cute

Now before we move on to the sour release let's talk about olivia for a little:

She was just 18 at the time, she was resembling to taylor's style in many ways:

She wrote about her personal life and had drama around her with her ex and how he cheated

She wrote all her songs and her style is close to Taylor which is fast songwriting and just gets the idea and write about it.

BUT also she differed from Taylor in the following and I'm here talking about late taylor pop album Lover because folklore isn't in the same category:

She made her album very short which helped in the streams

She chose the best singles for her album

She got viraled on tiktok with most of her tracks

Now keep in mind that lover technically flopped (IN TAYLOR'S EYES ONLY), and while folklore has just won AOTY, fearless TV also wasn't that huge of a success (which might be okay as i don't think she thought that the rerecords would make that much of a hit) and ofc evermore also flopped in her eyes (I just know that the willow flop incident is still hunting her), and as a Taylor fan we all know how crazy she gets when her albums aren't breaking all records left and right, and how especially in the lover era she was talking about how she's never gonna get more famous, but then ofc folklore happened, and she started gaining some new fans this time and also the rerecording thing boosted her, but in her head she had about 3 out of 4 albums that weren't up to her standard.

Panic in swift city:

Sour release May 21

Sour is released, olivia is breaking every record left and right and taylor's records, and her spotlight, and her fans because everyone saw that they were friends so they were double stanning. And ofc, miss swift who wrote nothing new would start to feel threatened right? She did.

Sour dropped and taylor had "non collaborative credit" on a song, which is "1 step forward, 3 steps back" that was sampled from new year's day, now of course Olivia got approval for this her and Taylor are besties, and when the album dropped taylor had credits for this one song, and knowing taylor which is also miss "get a good lawyer" she wouldn't let Olivia not write her credits on only one song if there was another..

Video below has olivia talking about the album and she mentions she got approval for 1sf3sb

Now let's talk about the first thing that could be shady:

May 28 2021: evermore vinyls release

So after 1 week of sour, taylor finally drops the evermore vinyls. Like imagine if the situation has been reversed and another huge artist drops something 1 week after taylor's album release? Girl would have eaten them alive. BUT ALSO, she could have scheduled it from early. But also also, she could have postponed it for 1 week. I can't really tell but it just seem weird to release them when Olivia is your baby right?

Which btw resulted in Taylor of course dethroning Olivia the next week. Yes it is weird.

July 9th 2021

Taylor and Jack got writing credit for deja vu which was a mega successful hit, which is weird.. why now? And they say it's because "cruel summer" influenced deja vu, which if you ask me doesn't make sense if you listen to the songs, but anyways it happened suddenly?

My theory is, taylor saw how sour preformed, and how big deja vu was and of course olivia has told her that cruel summer inspired that, and probably asked her if she was okay with it, and taylor said yes. But then she changed her mind with how well sour got and wanted a piece of the pie, so maybe she threatened a lawsuit? Maybe she just said she'd unleash the angry swifties? Maybe olivia just wanted to be polite? Who knows

After that and for most of the year, they stopped mentioning each other and it was radio silence.

December 6 2021:

Grammys change their rules, which meant that taylor wouldn't be getting a grammy for sour.. which of course made taylor even more mad because we all know how much she loves getting a grammy. Now ofc red tv was released and she was getting more loved by everyone and she was everywhere. But nothing is ever enough for taylor on a famous level, or a grammy level.

April 4,2022:

Taylor and Olivia are at the Grammy, supposedly they're still friends, taylor should be supporting olivia for her album with 2 taylor influence right? no. They don't interact all night and sour wins 3 awards and does a 2009 Fearless Taylor moment, while Taylor gets 1 award which is still huge, but Taylor gets jealous of Olivia being in the spotlight for 1 year, and wining all those awards and most of all, being compared to her all the time.

Keep in mind that swifties were dragging olivia left and right and they kept saying she was benefiting off taylor and she was a fake because they claim olivia betrayed taylor for some reason, olivia was (and still) gets hate everywhere and even snake emojis. Which is something taylor could stop with a tweet/story mentioning Olivia in any good way which will result in swifties stopping acting like assholes.

After and until now, olivia never mentions taylor, only Conan Grey who is olivia's bestie and also a diehard swiftie as he used to claim said that he didn't get a chance to listen to midnights which fueled swifties.

Now there could be 3 things:

1. Taylor was really jealous and threatened by Olivia so she cut her off and took the credit out of jealousy and probably in a not nice way in july 2021.

2. Olivia wanted to separate herself from Taylor because swifties were saying she's using taylor for clout (that's the most popular narrative)

3. Olivia is the shady one and didn't want to give taylor credit (highly unlikely because she was just debuting and she's a huge fan of Taylor)

Personally i do not think olivia or her team would let her be stupid enough to start a feud with taylor, we all know how this ends. And especially when Taylor is a role model to her. So why would she fight with taylor and risk her getting angry and get endless hate from her army that holds grudges till the end of time against anyone that comes near taylor? Additionally, I think even if there was a little tension, olivia still wouldn't cut Taylor off because she's useful to everyone who's her friend as i said swifties hold grudges but they also worship anyone who's her friend. So my guess is taylor is the one who started this thing, and regarding the second possibility, maybe olivia wanted not to be in the shadow but Taylor got hurt over this.

Let me know what you think!

[abeinginsand]

Swiftli + videogames for the hc ask? (are videogames one word or two...?)

Thank you for the ask and, yes, videogames works as a one-word prompt! :) Ao3 ---- "Hey, Link..."

"Hm?"

"Link, c'mon, let me ask you something."

Lincoln's half asleep, watching Taylor play some persona series game in the Swift family living room on a Friday evening. Was it persona 3? 4? ...Or maybe 5? There were probably other numbers, either way, something about watching Taylor stubbornly replay a dungeon fight for the sixth time was quite the effective lullaby.

"Liiiinnnkkk"

At least, it would be if his friend stopped trying to get his attention.

"Yes," The athlete says after a few minutes, closing his eyes and resting heavier against Taylor's side.

"You haven't heard the question yet! What if i asked you something weird?"

"Weirder than that time I carried you on my shoulders and used your feet to signal you when to strike?"

"It's not weird if it's cool."

"Mhm, fair point, rule of cool....is cool, yeah, dude."

His head is resting on his shorter friend's own as he talks in an increasingly quieter way. It would be a lie to say their hair was soft and comfortable. The grease prevented that but at least the somewhat messy hair smelled nice. Like a mix of cherry blossoms and honey, a side effect of Taylor's want to try a new perfume and body wash out each month. Personally Linc preferred sticking to generic non-scented brands for himself (or whatever was available).

He's picturing a soccer team full of walking and talking body care products when Taylor, having enough of being ignored, pauses his game and squeezes one of Lincoln's hands. His tail was wrapped around one of the soccer player's legs before. Now it was lightly smacking against the couch. Linc gets the signal that this may be something more important than he assumed. He sits up, eyes opening, and looks over to his friend.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Really tired today, but you've got me now, Tay. What's up?"

"Can I stay over at your house next week?"

"Yeah, of course," Lincoln replies, making sure to squeeze Taylor's hand back now. Though its not combat, he finds himself switching quickly over to protective paladin mode. Looking Taylor over for scrapes or other signs of discomfort. Its not the first time the anime-lover asked to come over, but it is one of the rare times Taylor's happy tone doesn't match his gaze. "Is your mom okay?" "Yeah, she's good. I got a text from her earlier and--" Taylor smiles, because he loves his mom and will take most opportunities to talk about her and her work. The text sits heavy in his stomach anyway. Feels like the expired bag of pocky he had one time at a con and he was hoping gaming would help get rid of the feeling. (It hadn't) "She said there were technical issues with the recording equipment and stuff, so she'll be gone for another week." "Oh, that's..." "And I don't mind. Mom seems really happy with this gig and we're going to voice call on Monday too." Taylor lets go of Linc's hand now, arms crossed as he presses into the arm rest. He's got his arms resting on his knees now, legs pulled close to himself as he keeps on talking. "It'll be great and we'll go out to eat when she gets back. I'm thinking about sending her a cake today." "Shouldn't she be sending you one? It's your birthday on Monday." Whatever smile Taylor had on falls completely and Lincoln regrets blurting that out right away. He really did like Ms. Swift a lot, but sometimes Linc...felt frustrated with her on his friend's behalf. She'd missed his birthday last year too--and like fair, there was a whole apocalypse going on. But how many other birthdays had she missed before all of that? There's a sound of a sniffle and Lincoln refrains from saying anything else on the topic. He watches Taylor rub at his face with a hoodie sleeve. The athlete moves over to his companion's side of the couch and offers a hug. His friend is quick to tackle him, leading both to fall and lay onto the couch cushions fully. The game controller topples to the floor and seems some button got pressed to resume the fight. Music plays as the sniffling turns to muffled sobs. "Better think about your game. Are you sure your next move's the right one for you?"

Link's only sure of his worry at the moment and tries to ignore the noisy song. Taylor's laying his head on his chest and Linc has one arm around him, the other gently combing through his hair. A few more verses pass them by as the shorter teen calms down. "You'll never see it coming. You'll see that my mind is too fast for eyes!" The taller boy looks up at the ceiling, trying to think of what to say to cheer his friend up. "...Hey, Taylor," He says in a similar tone as when the other teen called to him earlier and then adds, "I have a question." Link feels a little squeeze of his shirt in the hug and continues talking. "Its about the game and I figured you're the best person to ask." His friend's demon tail is now moving again, swaying in the air from side to side though Taylor keeps their face hidden in the fabric of Link's garfield comic strip patterned hoodie. Lincoln hears the gamer take a shaky breath. "What do you wanna know?" "If we could army of two beat up the...phantom...phantom uh insert name here. Could we take the whole group down? If we met them in some place like goofs realm. Instead of that evil baby, we have a kitty with a sword to fight. How would that go?" Taylor starts laughing a little at the 'insert name here' and 'evil baby' comments. Link grins at the sound (and the feeling of the vibration too). Success The song lyrics fade into the background. Afterward, the ranger lifts his head up. Any tear tracks are overshadowed by the passionate twinkle now back in his gaze and tone. He rambles about how they'd take on the phantom thieves properly together. Lincoln still doesn't know much about the game, but its always nice to hear Taylor talk about something he loves. He listens mostly and adds in his thoughts or more laughter here and there. Eventually, the two end up falling asleep, this time Taylor dozing off first. Disappointment, frustration, and the game itself all but forgotten for the moment. .

.

. Lincoln wakes up the next morning to find a blanket wrapped around them both and the game screen on a paused battle success image. There's the sound of Mr. Foster very loudly bumping into stuff in the kitchen too. Probably due to wings if Lincoln had to guess. Its easy to notice who it is anyway based on the familiar low voice sputtering curse words and pondering 'where the hell does Cass keep the sugar again?' After all the chaos of the world was mostly dealt with, Taylor's dad was making more efforts to visit more. Especially when Cass had to go on long trips like currently. The revelation of the hell prince being there leads to him nudging Taylor awake. He's about to offer his companion their cane until Taylor winces. Its easy to carry him into the kitchen instead though and nice to get the chance to hold onto Taylor a little longer. After some hugs and other greetings, the three have a nice breakfast. All of this may not make Taylor miss his mom any less; however, its a heartwarming reminder that he isn't alone this time. That he's still surrounded with his loved ones. He will have that chance to celebrate next week whether it be through the phone, sharing breakfast with his dad before he heads to work, or with an exciting week-long sleepover with his best bud.

[whoiwanttoday]

Here is Taylor Swift for no real reason I can think of. In the sense that she hasn't been at an event or anything. I know the reason, I had a dream and she was referenced in the dream. She wasn't there but I was really annoyed with her in the dream, though I don't know why exactly. I can't remember. I have tried to trace this and I think it's because the record store day release list came out yesterday and she has a record for Record Store Day, it's some sort of sessions around Folklore and I thought, "Oh, that might be good but it will be a giant pain in the ass to get". This is not her fault, this is the fault of the entire system. Record Store Day started as a way to help small independent record stores by driving people to them. Artists who release stuff for Record Store Day should be commended. It sadly has never really worked right since day one, it mainly is the domain of scalpers for the big releases. For example I really, really wanted Charli XCX's Vroom Vroom, a thing I missed the first time cause it sold out in hours, so the Record Store Day release was something i was after and my city received exactly one copy. There were however, over 100 copies for sale online before my store even opened and it was selling for hundreds of dollars. This is because whatever is supposed to happen, some people somehow manage to get their hands on them before they ever hit store shelves. That is sorta whatever, there are always people who engage in that kind of thing, the issue is that for a thing that is supposed to support small stores it doesn't. The few major Independent chains get all the records. Technically independent but they are such a big footprint their distributors fill their orders first. So it's a rich getting richer kind of thing. So I think this is what caused my dream about Taylor Swift. That or weird, deep seeded complex feelings about her as an artist anyway. Something. So here are pictures of her because I assume that's the normal way to react to all of this, posting pictures of her online. Today I want to fuck Taylor Swift.

[hoes4hoseok]

txt as taylor swift

disclaimer: i am referring to taylor swift's self-titled debut album! to see the other albums' versions, head over to my masterlist. also...oh my goodness! for once, the album order lined up with their age order! love it 🤧🫶🏽 && thanks to @lethekoo! i missed having you help me with these.

yeonjun as tim mcgraw

"i was right there beside him all summer long, & then the time we woke up to find that summer gone"

yeonjun would give you one hell of a summer if you had a fling (in a good way LOL)

i gave him the way i loved you in my fearless post but i think this is kind of a different healthier version of that

i can just picture him having such a pure relationship of fun & happiness with you for that summer

but it obviously had to end because that's not what real life is 🤧 but he'd always remember you when he heard your favorite artist on the radio 🤧 & all the good times you had together 🤧

oh man 🤧 i need to write a fic about this

soobin as a place in this world

"even though i'm not the only one who feels the way i do, i'm alone on my own, & that's all i know"

i see soobin as very gentle-hearted

obviously, he doesn't fit this song in every way (he probably knows his place in this world by now lmfao) but

"got the radio on, my old blue jeans, & i'm wearing my heart on my sleeve" that's so clearly soobin ✋

also he's not alone

but debut soobin give me debut taylor energy what can i say?

beomgyu as the outside

"so, how can i ever try to be better? nobody ever lets me in"

beomgyu is not on the outside (he's on the outside of the hyung line though LMFAO ✋🙄)

i just think he matches this song's enthusiasm really well! it's very silly & was kind of a reach 😞 let me know if you have a better idea!

taehyun as should’ve said no

"i can't resist, before you go tell me this...was it worth it? was she worth this?"

taehyun gives me a similar energy to the one this song emits: passion! in this case, in the form of anger 👊🙄

when i picture it, i don't think he'd cheat on you, i think you'd cheat on him (no offense)

so naturally if you cheated he'd be pissed as hell but what really gets me about this song is the bridge (i love it)

above all, it conveys that he wishes that you didn't. it's an earlier stage in moving on than picture to burn, for example, because he's still grieving the relationship

man this song is so good & it makes me miss my senior year of high school :) (i didn't get cheated on, i didn't even have a boyfriend, i just played this song on loop anyways)

hueningkai as mary’s song (oh my my my)

"take me home where we met so many years before, we'll rock our babies on that very front porch, after all this time, you & i"

the amount of sheer childhood friends to lovers energy this man holds is incredible (it might be me typecasting him at this point but i'm completely oblivious to it so let me know lmfao)

hueningkai would totally catch feelings for you while the two of you were growing up & it would just unfold so naturally because, obviously, you caught feelings too 🫶🏽

&& at a certain point, you would be certain that you'd spend your life with him. after hitting every roadblock in the past, after loving each other for so long, it would be easy. 🤧😭

also side note this one's for my 04's 🤌 "I'll be 87, you'll be 89" mhm mhm 😊 (or the 00's? that could technically also work)

enhypen version ☆ 1989 version ☆ masterlist

[jakeperalta]

Happy songs that aren’t about falling in love

kintsugi - gabrielle aplin

no time (for my life to suck) - nina nesbitt

solar power - lorde

I can't help myself - kelsea ballerini

shake it off - taylor swift

I miss those days - bleachers [technically this is more sad lyrics happy vibe but it makes me happy to listen to anyway]

send me a word/phrase and I'll make a short playlist based on it 🫶

[lordstormageddidnt]

Alfie's End of Year Rec List 2024

Out of 447,090 words and 141 total fics, this year I wrote a whole 224k and 78 fics, which is a lot more than last year. I wrote for 10 different ships this year, including 3 new ones. Yay for progress, I guess.

Anyway, to celebrate a rather productive year here at the_oncoming_stormageddon's AO3 dashboard, I've decided to compile a list of all of my favorite fics that I would reccommend :D number three will shock you!

In a shocking turn of events, I lied, sorry. This is about my graphs. It's always about my graphs. All graphs are up to date as of 12/21/2023, and there isn't even a missing word somewhere that has to be accounted for!

(Did I type all of this up, realize I had another fic to post, and then have to go back in and fix everything? ...perhaps)

Anyway. Let's start with Taylor Swift.

As always, "Other" corresponds to fics with titles from other artists, "Non-Album" refers to titles from Taylor Swift songs that aren't on an album or are unreleased, and "None" refers to titles that weren't from any lyrics. Orville Peck and Maisie Peter were the big contributors to the "other" category this year. The second graph shows the percent of the number of fics, while the first graph is the combined word count. Also, I did have 1 fic with an If This Was a Movie title, and I categorized it under "Speak Now TV" instead of Fearless TV. Yell at me about it in the comments if you really care, since it's technically incorrect.

Last year, I had a big Fearless slice because of the Hey Stephen series, and it was kind of surprising to me to see how much I slowed down in doing those, with Fearless only having 4 fics to its name. The disparity between the number and word count of the evermore was a little odd to me, until I realized that my longest fic ever (Tuesday Night at Olive Garden, a destiel murder mystery) was named after an evermore song. One thing that did not surprise me was folklore only having 1 fic, because that is my least favorite album.

So...the destiel thing...

The SPN hyperfixation took hold of me in Feb/March of this year and has not let go yet. Looking at my all-time graphs (where its about 33%/40% destiel/solangelo for word count), I didn't think it was that bad, but plugging in the numbers for just this year...uh, yeah. It's that bad. Sorry.

I had a really strong streak of posting solangelo every month until March hit. Again, destiel hyperfixation in visual form. This year, I wrote lokius (L/MMM, from the show Loki) and sterek (DH/SS, from the show Teen Wolf) for the first time. I also posted destiel (C/DW) for the first time (the bad destiel fics of middle school alfie are staying in locked docs where they belong).

As expected, I had a bit of a drop-off in the summer months, but it was surprising for me to see that it never went back up after school started again. Last year, I had a huge spike in September, October, and December, but this year stayed relatively mellow. Next year, I'd really like to see which trend I follow monthly.

Anyway, that's the end of the graphs I have prepared for you (I will spare yall from the more complicated ones). Next year, I'd really like to start finishing up some of the unresolved fics and series I have (mostly solangelo ones that got drowned in the destiel flood). I'm doing my first ever big bang (for the Professor Layton fandom), so katriana (KL/EP) will make it onto my graphs for next year, as will destiel and solangelo.

Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoyed :D congrats on making it to 2024!

[that-crazy-five-foot-two-chick]

So yeah. I did it. I'm that stubborn. And I'm so happy about it actually. As I said I would, I put every single Taylor Swift song ever that I could find and I technically didn't include her xmas album songs or the singular song off an EP that was basically just a part of Debut except for that one song with their corresponding abbreviations into a spreadsheet, alphabetized and color coded by album for convenience so that I can FINALLY FREAKING DECODE SWIFTIES' KEYBOARD SMASHES FOR MYSELF DADGUMMIT—

And I got on a giddy high earlier when I actually had to use it and it was useful 😌

✨anyway✨ if I missed something or if I should add those three (3) songs lmk and I'll change it. Edit: also lmk if one of them is the wrong color because I had them right and then realized most people that aren't me actually look at spreadsheets in light mode ew what is that so I just changed half the colors in the thing so that for example Lover isn't a weird shade of purple/maroon

Fun fact: rep has some of the most/longest keyboard smash titles and folklore (and after) have some of the fewest 👉🏻👉🏻

[daveyfvckingjacobs]

okay pack and get text to speech to read these

i’m listening to taylor swifts 1989 as i write so GOODFUCKINGLUCK

ok so i was drawing socks and crutchie being the devious little bastards they are then came up with some fun headcanons for the socks boy :3 socks is my oc so he’s obviously canon but WHATEVERRRGGGEG

you said this technically but socks finds fucking FUEL for crutchie’s slingshot he 100% collects like pebbles and rocks and shit for crutchies slingshot

he also attempts to guide crutchie in who he should hit ( 90% of the time he misses and hits someone they both actually like )

when the strike starts socks is actually shocked that everyone’s so passionate. he’s never seen some of the kid’s faces light up like that before until they hear jack speak so openly about the struggles of the poverty

when crutchie gets taken to the refuge , socks tries fucking everything to ALSO get into the refuge but Snyder has a gaydar and just ignores him knowing socks would probably plan an epic escape bru

other newsies socks is close with other than crutchie bc i need to talk about them too!!: splasher, jojo, mike and ike but he can’t tell them apart 90% of the time, romeo and our boy race ofc

he quite literally has to find other irish newsies to translate for him sometimes because nobody understands him ( anyone else with irish newsies ocs ✊ )

socks actually loves reading and he saves enough money one day to buy a copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and he reads it every night in the lodging house when he can’t sleep ( inspired by me ofc. i love that fucking book

other newsies headcanons i have in general

davey is a pro at cards. idk why. he just gives that vibe??

jack gets very frustrated that davey is better than him at cards

katherine has to intervene during their games of cards

ok i think this one is a general consensus but jack 🤝 crytchie 🤝 race are brothers/related in SOME WAY

in modern les is one of those kids who has a minecraft shirt and matching shorts, backpack, hoodie, and lunch box and drinks bottle and nobody questions it

i think that’s it plz consult if you want more i’m so bored it’s so cold in the mountains of wales

I have packed!! it’s quite literally all tshirtsies, newsies merch or clothes a newsie would wear but I did it!! now hcs!!

also 10/10 music taste anyways

these are all so cute I cannot

ALSO I HAVE FOUND A HITCH IN OUR ‘crutchie can’t understand the irish’ JOKE: HES EXPLICITLY IRIHS IN HARD PROMISES AND ITS SO UPSETTING NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT

I did frankenstein for my a level english lit, didn’t actually finish it, drove my teacher mad by being an annoying prick, wrote delancey instead of de lacy in the exam and loved every second good book choice

davey thinks out cards a lot more than the others, and it means he wins way more hands than anyone expects. he’s also way too good at bluffing for no reason whatsoever it’s a little alarming. autism straight face™️

[iron-parkr]

As I try to write down everything I can remember about Supernatural seasons 6-15 for funsies, having not watched almost any of it since my first viewing almost 8 years ago (at least for 6-11), please enjoy these excerpts of my favorite bits so far from s6 & s7 alone:

"Dean gets hatecrimed by all the microaggressions"

"No thoughts in my head about this episode"

"This episode has everything: Cas, Balthazar, Sam and Dean in an alternate universe that's supposed to mirror our universe, alpacas, Eric Kripke being shot by an angel of Heaven on the set of Supernatural.... Oh, can't forget Misha being fucking killed as well"

"Literally what kind of drugs were the writers on and can I have some"

"Another balls-to-the-walls insane classic"

"Supernatural truly is an unparalleled media experience"

"FUUUUUCK"

"And at the end, he opens the gate to Purgatory to absorb all the souls and become God. Hot girl shit!"

"Cas still in his hot girl shit era"

"I mean it's absolutely sacrilegious as all hell and he'll regret it later but he looked hot doing it so it's okay"

"Anyway, this is also when Cas does his hot girl walk of shame into the reservoir and melts like the Wicked Witch"

"They had TWO SEPARATE WIDOWER ARCS AND EXPECTED US TO BELIEVE THESE BITCHES WEREN’T IN LOVE"

"Of course they name her Amy Pond, Amy Pond is a fantastic name and I'm not saying that because I'm slightly in love with the real Amy Pond"

"Plus ghost Jo is in it, which like ow that hurts but also heyyyy missed you bitch"

"These boys are more constipated in their emotions than my gut is off my meds, dear lord"

"Wait, this is manly-man Supernatural written primarily by men, of course they did that"

"Half the time I feel like my brain went 'I pretend I do not see' when I watched these for the first time"

"10 bucks says this is a Bucklemming episode just because they always fuck shit up"

"I don't know or remember who Eliot Ness is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask"

"Call me Taylor Swift 'cause I've got a blank space where this episode should be"

"Fucking clowns, man"

"THE RETURN OF THE KING!!!!!!"

"I know he like murdered people and fucked shit up but he meant well :("

"CHARLIE MY FAVORITE FUNKY LITTLE LESBIAN!!!"

"Why do you, as a man, know how to flirt with another man, Deanathan Winchester? Hmm? 👀"

"Gayyyyyy. Or technically biiiiiii"

"But the bees!!! Cas watches the bees!!!!"

"Cas you silly goose"

"There are probably so many innuendos I could make if my brain was working"

[323398149]

It's been 10 years

I'm low-key not even a swiftie anymore (kinda, sorta)

I'm living my dream career (technically) (sorta)

And it's not once an hour, it's not once a day, it's not once a week, a month, or a quarter. It's more like once a year that I miss him. It's not even miss, it's more like think about and contemplate the past and relate it to my present.

I don't even know him. I just know the concept, the memory.

And I know that even the memory was terrible and gross and toxic.

But let me explain what happened recently that triggered these annoying, lame, over-done thoughts:

I got new skincare. I've been eating and sleeping well. I've been praying/meditating. I've been maintaining a positive outlook and been happy and hopeful recently. I finally started wearing nice makeup and I finally have the most fire wardrobe rn that I coulda only dreamed of in the past.

And so I've been getting a bunch of compliments recently of ppl telling me I'm glowing. Specifically three ppl from different parts of my life all used the same word.

But the thing is that none of those compliments feel like they hold any weight.

I already pulled the hottest guy in our grade. He was in love with me. ME! AND keep in mind that that was the ugly, loser, insecure, shitty, judgemental, mean (honestly SO mean), stupid, fifteen year old version of me. Not this sorta stable, medicated, whole, adult version.

Remember that gorgeous older white girl that asked him out? Or all those gorgeous tall academic girls crowding around me in grade 12 asking me questions about him because they couldn't understand how this RUSH loser could have been worth his time? and they wanted to know everything they could find out about him from me before they made their moves. Or when tiffany didn't talk to me for a year and then later apologized because she felt bad for letting a man pit her against me. And Jessica obviously (that one was just sad). ALSO LETS REMEMBER all of this was grade 11+12 so I didn't even have any communications with him at this point but I was still being interrogated about him.

Anyways my point is lmaooooo I think when my heart broke at 16 idk but maybe a part of it really did die. It's hard to describe it but I feel like a part of me is dead inside. Ever since then, anytime I've gotten attention I haven't felt special or grateful. I almost resent it. I feel annoyed that they're telling me something I already heard in a way more special way. Like they're parroting and copying it but they'll never be able to meet the magic or rush I used to feel when he said it.

There isn't a magic to it anymore. Now love feels very clinical. I guess I stopped believing in love? I guess at too young an age I became bitter and now just chalk it up to hormones and chemical imbalances.

And recently I heard someone talking about falling in love and I literally thought "agh that sounds terrible why would anybody want to FALL in love??! sounds like it would hurt smh". I just want to gently like drift into a soft stable comfortable kindness with someone. That's all.

Anyways idk if it's the new taylor swift album coming out (which pls be proud of me I haven't heard all the way through yet and I'm hoping to never hear it and stay halal) but yeah idk if I'll ever love anybody like I did that one time at fifteen which didn't even lead to anything and had zero payoff so it feels so wasteful and annoying that it happened.

But then I think about how like what if I end up dying alone and that ends up being the only thing I ever had worth remembering so maybe it's not so bad and maybe even tho it didn't pay off in a bigger way, maybe it was worth something.

Anyways but loooooooool like LMAO don't get me wrong like I know I know let's definitely not forget that it was literally NOTHING. Absolutely nothing happened but two teenagers feeling seen by eachother.

Tbh one of us should cash out on it and write a teen novel.

Wait after typing that out I just had a terrible realization. Lmaooooo jeez Louise this is why I'm supposed to journal so I can make sense of my toxic period thoughts.

With j I felt like "well duh you should obviously be saying that to me because you don't even compare to him. You saying that does not validate me in any way. I'm out of your league." BUT GUYS IT'S NOT MAGIC HELPPPP

I think I'm just finally grown up and confident and whole??? I don't feel "magic" from external validation. I know I'm a baddie helpppppppppp which I didn't know back then. Which is why I'd probs get hella endorphin release when he'd write those damn poems because I wanted someone ELSE to tell me good things about me. But now I know them in my own brain. Woah. Big thoughts. So maybe we're grateful to him for giving me that back when I really needed the attention. And now I'm ok with dying alone loooooooool and I don't need anybody to make me feel good. How interesting.

Well that was a weirdly wholesome exercise/rant. Glad we did this lmao @ my multiple personalities. Catch y'all on the flip side.