#we should make modern boybands do this

[ratsprayer]

Pyramus and Thisbe sketch is actually the most culturally significant thing the Beatles ever did

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson Introduces 28: a Brand Embodying His British Upbringing, Musical Flair, and Football Heritage

Hypebeast sits down with the Doncaster-raised superstar to discover how he channeled his passions into a community-focused streetwear brand.

Many know Louis Tomlinson as a Doncaster lad-turned-pop-icon and part of era-defining boyband, One Direction. But despite his superstar status, the 31-year-old has never lost touch with his relaxed Northern soul. It’s been central to everything he puts his mind to, from music to football… and now, fashion.

After fighting his way through X Factor, growing his talent in One Direction, and going solo after their break-up in 2015, Tomlinson split fresh ground while keeping authenticity at the forefront. Embracing the rockstar lifestyle, he has traveled worldwide on his own terms, revolutionizing his sound through chart-topping hits, including Bigger Than Me, Change, and Silver Tongues.

Now fiercely independent, Tomlinson is continuing to make strides that set him apart from the crowd, releasing his debut solo album Walls in early 2020. Leaving the pop-forward One Direction sound behind, Tomlinson embarked on a journey of self-discovery by embracing his British roots and revitalizing his musical journey with a fresh mindset.

After returning to London from the third edition of his Away From Home festival in Lido di Camaiore, Italy, Tomlinson prepares to continue his global album tour for Faith in the Future across Europe. But there’s much more than music on his mind these days – before he jets off on tour, he’s sitting down with Hypebeast to discuss all things 28, his all-new streetwear label that embodies everything he has been, is, and will be.

Growing up in Northern England naturally gravitated Tomlinson to football, selling pies at his boyhood club, Doncaster Rovers. But he’s kept a keen eye on fashion since his early childhood. “When I grew up, I viewed Doncaster as a working-class town. Now, when I go back to Doncaster, the streets have a real sense of style. That wasn’t the norm for me growing up; there was just scruffy and cool — there was really no in-between. We couldn’t afford really nice clothes, so it was just about working with what you got.”

Standing out has always been of utmost importance for Tomlinson, aligning his laidback attitude with the clothes on his back. Football tops were always a staple, taking to vintage and charity shops to find hidden gems that strayed from normality. “It was always important for me to look cool as a young lad, and I always enjoyed wearing good clothes. You might think, in a place like Doncaster, that it isn’t about fashion — and fashion might be the wrong word — because the thing that would turn people’s noses was that everyone is striving to look cool.”

Known for wearing striped tees and suspenders in One Direction, Tomlinson grew into his true self after the band’s hiatus, returning to his Doncaster roots and embracing comfort at all times. “As a young lad going into a business like this, you are surrounded by people telling you what’s cool and what isn’t. I’d say the boys could relate to this; you have to go through the motions of letting the industry tell you what they think you should do — because you don’t have enough confidence in that world yet to say: actually, no, I want to dress how I want to dress,” the singer-songwriter explains.

He grew up wearing essential British tracksuits, football tops, and trainers, drastically different from the boyband style that had every member dressed in “uniform.” “It’s only as I’ve grown confident in myself that I started to revert back to how I dressed as a young lad, just a kind of modern example of that. I really do wear Doncaster on every item of clothing that I put on, even if it’s subconscious, it’s so much a part of who I am.”

Launching 28 is a tribute to his humble beginnings in music, fashion, and sport, representing his Doncaster Rovers squad number and his lifetime devotion to the football club. The brand idea came to him nearly a decade ago, taking a closer look at standard tour merchandise and finding missing pieces, feeling “a creative itch that I wanted to scratch.”

28’s first drop is a tribute to all things football, embracing the beautiful game through vintage-inspired sports silhouettes destined for summertime. Checkered green tracksuits are ideal for pre-game antics, featuring distorted and faded patterns alongside “OFFICIAL PROGRAMME” collared jerseys.

While concert apparel caterers to the general public, 28 allows his artistic talents to run wild. “That’s why 28 excites me. It’s something that can be a little bit more tailored, a little bit more stylized. I suppose it’s similar to songwriting… seeing how deep your imagination can go when creating clothes.”

When designing 28’s first drop, Tomlinson pushed comfort forward through quality craftsmanship and refined fabric manipulations. His ideas feature heavily across every design, architected on lightweight hoodies, turtleneck collars, and distressed knitwear. Abstract floral illustrations bloom on additional designs, complementing the collection with a neutral color palette. Collections will release on the 28th of each month, expanding its sportswear identity one step at a time.

28 is undeniably football-focused, making clothes he would identify with as a young boy growing up in “Donny.” Tomlinson aims to bring his community together with interactive drops and a story to tell, enlisting emerging creatives to front the brand’s first campaign. “Community is something that runs throughout everything I do, and after getting the casting ideas for the models, I knew I wanted to use street models. I didn’t want to use that traditional model face because that’s not what I grew up with,” Tomlinson says.

“If I picture that rough lad I grew up with in Doncaster, he certainly didn’t have that look — he just looked cool in the clothes,” Tomlinson says with a wide smile, “There’s a beautiful authenticity to that. I think there’s a more interesting way and authentic way of telling these stories for 28.” While Tomlinson is the brand’s Creative Director, he sees 28 standing on its own two feet without his face attached, building a core community within its evolving identity.

So what’s in store next for Tomlinson? “I’m going back on tour, which is my favorite thing to do. At some point, there’ll be a new record. I don’t know when, though; I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself and just trying to enjoy it. I’m mostly tour-focused right now — that’s why I love creating 28 — because it means that when my brain is all on touring and music, it’s creatively fulfilling to get into something else and scratch that itch.”

TEXT BY

Andrea Sacal

[hldailyupdate]

Many know Louis Tomlinson as a Doncaster lad-turned-pop-icon and part of era-defining boyband, One Direction. But despite his superstar status, the 31-year-old has never lost touch with his relaxed Northern soul. It’s been central to everything he puts his mind to, from music to football… and now, fashion.

After fighting his way through X Factor, growing his talent in One Direction, and going solo after their break-up in 2015, Tomlinson split fresh ground while keeping authenticity at the forefront. Embracing the rockstar lifestyle, he has traveled worldwide on his own terms, revolutionizing his sound through chart-topping hits, including Bigger Than Me, Change, and Silver Tongues.

Now fiercely independent, Tomlinson is continuing to make strides that set him apart from the crowd, releasing his debut solo album Walls in early 2020. Leaving the pop-forward One Direction sound behind, Tomlinson embarked on a journey of self-discovery by embracing his British roots and revitalizing his musical journey with a fresh mindset.

After returning to London from the third edition of his Away From Home festival in Lido di Camaiore, Italy, Tomlinson prepares to continue his global album tour for Faith in the Future across Europe. But there’s much more than music on his mind these days – before he jets off on tour, he’s sitting down with Hypebeast to discuss all things 28, his all-new streetwear label that embodies everything he has been, is, and will be.

Growing up in Northern England naturally gravitated Tomlinson to football, selling pies at his boyhood club, Doncaster Rovers. But he’s kept a keen eye on fashion since his early childhood. “When I grew up, I viewed Doncaster as a working-class town. Now, when I go back to Doncaster, the streets have a real sense of style. That wasn’t the norm for me growing up; there was just scruffy and cool — there was really no in-between. We couldn’t afford really nice clothes, so it was just about working with what you got.”

Standing out has always been of utmost importance for Tomlinson, aligning his laidback attitude with the clothes on his back. Football tops were always a staple, taking to vintage and charity shops to find hidden gems that strayed from normality. “It was always important for me to look cool as a young lad, and I always enjoyed wearing good clothes. You might think, in a place like Doncaster, that it isn’t about fashion — and fashion might be the wrong word — because the thing that would turn people’s noses was that everyone is striving to look cool.”

Known for wearing striped tees and suspenders in One Direction, Tomlinson grew into his true self after the band’s hiatus, returning to his Doncaster roots and embracing comfort at all times. “As a young lad going into a business like this, you are surrounded by people telling you what’s cool and what isn’t. I’d say the boys could relate to this; you have to go through the motions of letting the industry tell you what they think you should do — because you don’t have enough confidence in that world yet to say: actually, no, I want to dress how I want to dress,” the singer-songwriter explains.

He grew up wearing essential British tracksuits, football tops, and trainers, drastically different from the boyband style that had every member dressed in “uniform.” “It’s only as I’ve grown confident in myself that I started to revert back to how I dressed as a young lad, just a kind of modern example of that. I really do wear Doncaster on every item of clothing that I put on, even if it’s subconscious, it’s so much a part of who I am.”

Launching 28 is a tribute to his humble beginnings in music, fashion, and sport, representing his Doncaster Rovers squad number and his lifetime devotion to the football club. The brand idea came to him nearly a decade ago, taking a closer look at standard tour merchandise and finding missing pieces, feeling “a creative itch that I wanted to scratch.”

28’s first drop is a tribute to all things football, embracing the beautiful game through vintage-inspired sports silhouettes destined for summertime. Checkered green tracksuits are ideal for pre-game antics, featuring distorted and faded patterns alongside “OFFICIAL PROGRAMME” collared jerseys.

While concert apparel caterers to the general public, 28 allows his artistic talents to run wild. “That’s why 28 excites me. It’s something that can be a little bit more tailored, a little bit more stylized. I suppose it’s similar to songwriting… seeing how deep your imagination can go when creating clothes.”

When designing 28’s first drop, Tomlinson pushed comfort forward through quality craftsmanship and refined fabric manipulations. His ideas feature heavily across every design, architected on lightweight hoodies, turtleneck collars, and distressed knitwear. Abstract floral illustrations bloom on additional designs, complementing the collection with a neutral color palette. Collections will release on the 28th of each month, expanding its sportswear identity one step at a time.

28 is undeniably football-focused, making clothes he would identify with as a young boy growing up in “Donny.” Tomlinson aims to bring his community together with interactive drops and a story to tell, enlisting emerging creatives to front the brand’s first campaign. “Community is something that runs throughout everything I do, and after getting the casting ideas for the models, I knew I wanted to use street models. I didn’t want to use that traditional model face because that’s not what I grew up with,” Tomlinson says.

“If I picture that rough lad I grew up with in Doncaster, he certainly didn’t have that look — he just looked cool in the clothes,” Tomlinson says with a wide smile, “There’s a beautiful authenticity to that. I think there’s a more interesting way and authentic way of telling these stories for 28.” While Tomlinson is the brand’s Creative Director, he sees 28 standing on its own two feet without his face attached, building a core community within its evolving identity.

So what’s in store next for Tomlinson? “I’m going back on tour, which is my favorite thing to do. At some point, there’ll be a new record. I don’t know when, though; I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself and just trying to enjoy it. I’m mostly tour-focused right now — that’s why I love creating 28 — because it means that when my brain is all on touring and music, it’s creatively fulfilling to get into something else and scratch that itch.”

via HYPEBEAST. (28 August 2023)

[louistomlinsoncouk]

Many know Louis Tomlinson as a Doncaster lad-turned-pop-icon and part of era-defining boyband, One Direction. But despite his superstar status, the 31-year-old has never lost touch with his relaxed Northern soul. It’s been central to everything he puts his mind to, from music to football… and now, fashion. 

After fighting his way through X Factor, growing his talent in One Direction, and going solo after their break-up in 2015, Tomlinson split fresh ground while keeping authenticity at the forefront. Embracing the rockstar lifestyle, he has traveled worldwide on his own terms, revolutionizing his sound through chart-topping hits, including Bigger Than Me, Change, and Silver Tongues. 

Now fiercely independent, Tomlinson is continuing to make strides that set him apart from the crowd, releasing his debut solo album Walls in early 2020. Leaving the pop-forward One Direction sound behind, Tomlinson embarked on a journey of self-discovery by embracing his British roots and revitalizing his musical journey with a fresh mindset. 

After returning to London from the third edition of his Away From Home festival in Lido di Camaiore, Italy, Tomlinson prepares to continue his global album tour for Faith in the Future across Europe. But there’s much more than music on his mind these days – before he jets off on tour, he’s sitting down with Hypebeast to discuss all things 28, his all-new streetwear label that embodies everything he has been, is, and will be. 

Growing up in Northern England naturally gravitated Tomlinson to football, selling pies at his boyhood club, Doncaster Rovers. But he’s kept a keen eye on fashion since his early childhood. “When I grew up, I viewed Doncaster as a working-class town. Now, when I go back to Doncaster, the streets have a real sense of style. That wasn’t the norm for me growing up; there was just scruffy and cool — there was really no in-between. We couldn’t afford really nice clothes, so it was just about working with what you got.” 

Standing out has always been of utmost importance for Tomlinson, aligning his laidback attitude with the clothes on his back. Football tops were always a staple, taking to vintage and charity shops to find hidden gems that strayed from normality. “It was always important for me to look cool as a young lad, and I always enjoyed wearing good clothes. You might think, in a place like Doncaster, that it isn’t about fashion — and fashion might be the wrong word — because the thing that would turn people’s noses was that everyone is striving to look cool.” 

Known for wearing striped tees and suspenders in One Direction, Tomlinson grew into his true self after the band’s hiatus, returning to his Doncaster roots and embracing comfort at all times. “As a young lad going into a business like this, you are surrounded by people telling you what’s cool and what isn’t. I’d say the boys could relate to this; you have to go through the motions of letting the industry tell you what they think you should do — because you don’t have enough confidence in that world yet to say: actually, no, I want to dress how I want to dress,” the singer-songwriter explains.

He grew up wearing essential British tracksuits, football tops, and trainers, drastically different from the boyband style that had every member dressed in “uniform.” “It’s only as I’ve grown confident in myself that I started to revert back to how I dressed as a young lad, just a kind of modern example of that. I really do wear Doncaster on every item of clothing that I put on, even if it’s subconscious, it’s so much a part of who I am.” 

Launching 28 is a tribute to his humble beginnings in music, fashion, and sport, representing his Doncaster Rovers squad number and his lifetime devotion to the football club. The brand idea came to him nearly a decade ago, taking a closer look at standard tour merchandise and finding missing pieces, feeling “a creative itch that I wanted to scratch.” 

28’s first drop is a tribute to all things football, embracing the beautiful game through vintage-inspired sports silhouettes destined for summertime. Checkered green tracksuits are ideal for pre-game antics, featuring distorted and faded patterns alongside “OFFICIAL PROGRAMME” collared jerseys.

While concert apparel caterers to the general public, 28 allows his artistic talents to run wild. “That’s why 28 excites me. It’s something that can be a little bit more tailored, a little bit more stylized. I suppose it’s similar to songwriting… seeing how deep your imagination can go when creating clothes.” 

When designing 28’s first drop, Tomlinson pushed comfort forward through quality craftsmanship and refined fabric manipulations. His ideas feature heavily across every design, architected on lightweight hoodies, turtleneck collars, and distressed knitwear. Abstract floral illustrations bloom on additional designs, complementing the collection with a neutral color palette. Collections will release on the 28th of each month, expanding its sportswear identity one step at a time. 

28 is undeniably football-focused, making clothes he would identify with as a young boy growing up in “Donny.” Tomlinson aims to bring his community together with interactive drops and a story to tell, enlisting emerging creatives to front the brand’s first campaign. “Community is something that runs throughout everything I do, and after getting the casting ideas for the models, I knew I wanted to use street models. I didn’t want to use that traditional model face because that’s not what I grew up with,” Tomlinson says.

“If I picture that rough lad I grew up with in Doncaster, he certainly didn’t have that look — he just looked cool in the clothes,” Tomlinson says with a wide smile, “There’s a beautiful authenticity to that. I think there’s a more interesting way and authentic way of telling these stories for 28.” While Tomlinson is the brand’s Creative Director, he sees 28 standing on its own two feet without his face attached, building a core community within its evolving identity. 

So what’s in store next for Tomlinson? “I’m going back on tour, which is my favorite thing to do. At some point, there’ll be a new record. I don’t know when, though; I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself and just trying to enjoy it. I’m mostly tour-focused right now — that’s why I love creating 28 — because it means that when my brain is all on touring and music, it’s creatively fulfilling to get into something else and scratch that itch.”

[ummick]

A Night In Tokyo With Mick Schumacher and A Mercedes 190E Evo II

Driving around Tokyo is daunting. With no centre or suburbs, its road network is huge, spiralling, occasionally latticed and sometimes subterranean. At times, even Mr Roboto in the satnav gives up and shrugs directions your way. Which has happened. Meaning I'm lost while leading Mick Schumacher (behind the wheel of a stunning Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II) through Japan's neon-lined labyrinth. It's a hot, humid evening and Mercedes F1's reserve driver (and son of iconic seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher) is cutting the perfect shape of a 90s boyband member. Where I'm perspiring like a burst pipe, he palms back his blonde curls and looks effortlessly cool in his loose-fitting, oversized Tommy Hilfiger contractual clobber. Sartorially, it couldn't be more of a perfect fit for the car he's driving. Born out of German touring cars, the Evo II is a deeply lustworthy, boxy and bewinged sports saloon. With a revvy, induction-tastic 232bhp four-cylinder engine mated to a dog leg close-ratio five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive and aero appendages that get petrolheads salivating, it's a proper tip one's hat 'if you know, you know' car. Mercedes only built 502 of them (as per DTM's homologation rules) out of some 1.9 million W201 models that it's based on, so they're properly rare beasts. The fact we've got a quadruplet of Evos following Mick makes the situation we're in a bit more mind-blowing. But that's the plan. We wanted to give Mick an evening to remember, to take him away from the repetition and rigmarole of modern media junkets. We don't want to know where he keeps his ketchup, or when the last time he thought of the Roman Empire was. We want to indulge his love for cars.

"I went looking for an Evo II to buy but decided against it… for now," Mick says in his soft, geographically hard to place international accent. "It's a beautiful car and has huge sentimental value to me, the main reason being that my dad had one as a company car when he was a Mercedes junior. He spent a lot of time doing lots of laps on the Nordschleife with Heinz-Harald Frentzen. I remember within a month they had to change the brake pads and things with the engine. So it's an emotionally important car to me." Growing up in Gland, Switzerland, Mick struggles to pinpoint exactly when he got bitten by the road car bug. "Honestly, I don't really know where I got into them. Driving them around the property as a child was a big factor. The first time I had a steering wheel in my hand from a road car was maybe four or five years old, on my dad's lap. I got to drive very nice cars, very soon and very early. I guess it just grew naturally. Especially when I turned 18; then it really turned into an obsession." Raised on a healthy diet of racing, the Fast and Furious franchise and gaming, Mick picked up a penchant for JDM cars by proxy. "I just love how raw and simple they are," he says. "I enjoy playing around with them, changing stuff, tuning them and making them more fun to drive." Knowing this, we head out of Tokyo towards Chiba to meet Japan's most inconspicuous bad boy: Kazuhiko 'Smokey' Nagata. Tobacco and turbo enthusiast Smokey is one of Japan's legendary tuners. He and his company Top Secret have modified every generation of Nissan GT-R, including an R33 Skyline GT-R that managed 0–186mph in 17 seconds at Yatabe test track and 204mph in Tokyo's famous Aqualine tunnel. Like Smokey, Mick is also a GT-R fanboy, with some tucked away in a shed at home, including his R34 drift car.

"I've really got into drifting. As an F1 driver, drifting, or oversteer, is the opposite of what you want to do, but if you control it and have the feel for it, it can really help you. So I took the step of saying 'I want to try it' after the 2019 Race of Champions skill race. I was quite good, finishing second against rally drivers and everything, so I thought, 'Okay, maybe I should try this a bit more,' so I got my own car and started enjoying sideways. I love the sensation of connecting turns and being in a difficult situation, because obviously the car is upset, to then be able to control it. I think that's what's so intriguing. It's a good feeling." Mick's curiosity and JDM love resonates as he wanders around Smokey's GT-R littered shop. Not being able to speak Japanese, Mick uses international hand signals for car nuts to explain various car parts, gets out his phone to show Smokey his cars before stumbling upon Smokey's VR32 GT-R (an R32 with all the mechanics and interior of the R35 transplanted) and trying to find a way to import it into Switzerland. But we've got no time for this, as we've got the legendary Bayshore Route to hit and a car meet to get to. For someone so young, 24-year-old Mick is at a rather quiescent point in his career. Having had a triumphant run in his youth coming second in karting in the World, European and German Junior Championships, then switching to Formula 4 in 2015 and finishing second overall in both the German and Italian F4 championships, before becoming European Formula 3 Champion in 2018 and FIA Formula 2 Champion in 2020, Mick made it to the big leagues and bagged himself a seat in F1 with Haas. It wasn't easy. In 2022 Mick lost his seat after a difficult second season that saw him struggle to match teammate Kevin Magnussen for form. He recorded a best finish of sixth in Austria, one of two points finishes during the season, but it was not enough to save his seat. For 2023, Mick dropped his Ferrari junior ties and linked up with Mercedes (the last team his father raced for in F1), picking up the role of reserve driver.

"Being a reserve driver gives you tremendous insight, especially at Mercedes," Mick says. "I miss driving, I'm not going to lie, but the main thing I've learned since moving from Haas to Mercedes is how the team operates, the tools they have, how they use them and the communication. They're big learning points. It has opened my eyes in a lot of ways and has made it clear why Mercedes is as successful as it is. The worst part is sitting in the garage and seeing everybody drive out and do what you love to do." Part of Mick's remit is to join Mercedes trackside at all F1 race. That's how we're able to blat around Tokyo for a night before he heads to Suzuka to support the team. But time in Merc's state-of-the-art sim back in Brackley is also key. Mick was praised by Mercedes' technical director James Allison for a 2 am shift he did during the British GP weekend, turning the car's "woeful" one-lap pace on Friday into a competitive car and set-up for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to compete with during quali and the race on Sunday. With every mile behind the Evo II's wheel, Mick's smile grows to match the width of its monstrous rear wing, especially when he realizes it shoots flame on the overrun after a 7,600 rpm toll booth roll out. We cross over to Yokohama and swirl down a concrete pillared plughole, arriving in an unsuspecting parking lot that doubles up as the epicentre of cool Japanese car culture in Japan: Daikoku PA. Mick, having never been to a car meet before, has his eyes widened. Even though it's a school night, the place is pumping. Mick walks around curiously, showing his girlfriend, Danish model Laila Hasanovic, Veilside-kitted Mazda RX-7s, how riveted wide arch Liberty Walk bodywork hangs from an R35 GT-R for the ultimate kerbside stance, and the extended provenance from the flood of awesome, rare Mercedes (including the original 190E Evo I, an AMG-clad W124 and a custom Cosworth 2.5 boasting Penta wheels and Brabus brakes) that are all parked honourably in their uniform herringbone bays. As Mick gets under the bonnets and kindly signs carbon airboxes for marginally hysterical owners, I wonder if he's handy with the spanners.

"I wish I was," he says, "but I don't have the time. I'm starting to bring more of my cars over to my place so that I eventually will be able to work on them myself and change things that I want to change. Currently, I am very good at taking things apart… maybe less gifted at putting them back together." But since the meteoric rise of social media and documentaries like Netflix's Drive to Survive, racing drivers' personalities have been mainlined into public consciousness. Nowadays, it appears drivers' human interests need to be put on display like the plastic dishes outside Daikoku's service station restaurant windows. Yet here, tonight, Mick seems completely at home and relaxed. "It's risky because I feel like I'm a very private person. I like my privacy. Sometimes when you get people wanting to know more, they get a bit too snoopy. I feel it should be my choice how much I share, and what I share, not people trying to figure that out for me." In this job you get to sniff out the car nuts from the blaggers, and Mick's passion is palpable. It's refreshing to see, and a welcome break from the headlines and hearsay currently surrounding him given he's caught in a gloopy limbo where F1 politics, money and raw talent are all currently fighting each other to work out where he'll race next.

As I type, Mick's currently linked with an LMDh drive with Alpine in next year's World Endurance Championship, a move Mercedes F1's big boss Toto Wolff is fine with, as Mick is "part of the family" and "will always have a home." Mick's tone becomes more forlorn when talking about the future, obviously having had a tough few years and aching to get back into an F1 car. I wonder if it takes its toll, and how he pushes through in times of uncertainty. "Having the right people around you," he says. "You need to try and be mentally in the right space and try and get the best out of the situation so that you can, whenever it's necessary, be in the position that you can jump in and be ready to go." After an evening with Mick, you can't help but wish him the best of luck. If all else fails, he could always lean into drifting and see where that takes him. Sideways Schuey. Has a good ring to it, doesn't it?

[coulsons-fullmetal-cellist]

The Last Temptation of Dieter

(Dieter x horror loving female reader)

Summary: Dieter is faced with his old temptations from his past

Warnings: mentions of drugs and alcohol, lots of angst from Dieter, don’t worry though, lots of fluff at the end, some swearing

Check out masterlist here

Your phone woke you with a start.

Normally, it would be turned off by now but this night, you had that feeling that something just wasn’t quite right. Dieter was busy filming a music video for some hip upcoming boyband, so you hadn’t been together for a few days. He would always send about a million kissing emojis to your phone before you went to bed, but he hadn’t done so tonight, hence the worry.

You had trouble hearing what was on the other end of the phone, but you knew it was your boyfriend.

“Hello Dieter?”

There were noises which were hard to distinguish, unsure whether they were from pain or pleasure.

“Dieter, are you there?”

Finally, a soft whimpering was heard.

“Sorry…didn’t mean to wake you”.

“Dieter, what’s wrong?”

He was choking out his words now: “Ummm…I…they invited me…private wrap party…they…they”

“Dieter, where are you?”

“I’m hiding in a bathroom”.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

“…don’t know…went in someone’s car…”

“Dieter, stay where you are. I’ll come and get you”.

“No…don’t have to…”

“I’m going to come and get you, okay?

He barely managed out a reply, but you felt sure he wouldn’t move.

*****

Thankfully, you installed a find-my-phone app, as Dieter was notoriously losing his. You noted the address and left almost immediately. It wasn’t busy at this time of night and soon you parked outside a gawdy too modern looking mansion.

A party was definitely underway.

You were glad you never underwent any American education, the whole college campus lifestyle a weird alien culture you witnessed only in films growing up. Kids who looked like they’ve just come out of puberty were running around drinking and dancing, screaming at each other for no reason. Expensive furniture was littered in various types of alcohol and drugs were openly on display, no care whatsoever taken with the environment they were in. You felt glad that you were old fashioned, kids these days had no respect for anything beyond their own self-image.

After searching through too many rooms one should have in a house and too many bathrooms in various states of disgusting disrepair, you finally found Dieter. He was curled into the corner of a bathroom, his broadness lost and shrunken in hiding. You gently squeezed his knee to alert him of your presence. What you were met with were pools of sadness, his eyes having lost all forms of light. He barely whispered your name, unsure if you were actually there. You gently reassured him that you were and will be getting him out of this hell hole. You firmly held his hand as you lead him out of the maze of the house, Dieter only looking at his feet as he shuffled behind you.

Hopeful that you managed to get to the car without running into any issues, you managed to bundle Dieter into the car. But as soon as you closed the door, the predators descended on their prey, surrounding you; this must be the hip songsters you didn’t know the names of, their presence not worth knowing.

But they started the taunting:

“Hey Bravo, where’re you goin’?”

“We thought you were a party guy?”

“We thought you were a man!”

“You’re just some washed up actor!”

“A pathetic loser!”

“Is your mummy taking you home Bravo?”

Something about their whiny voices with their pathetic jibs made something snap in you.

“Well, maybe I should call all your mothers and tell them about your pathetic behaviour!”

That started them and you continued.

“You know what real men do? They take responsibility for their actions and work to make themselves better. This man right here has struggled with his problems and worked hard to make his life better. Then you twats come along, thinking you’re invulnerable because you’re young and good looking. But that’s all you’ve got going for you and you’ll be replaced as soon as the next young thing comes along, and you know it. So instead of bettering yourselves, you take out your insecurities by bullying and making yourselves feel superior. Well, it doesn’t work, you just end up looking like pathetic little cretins!”

You were yelling at this point and the crowd had backed away from you in fear. It would almost look funny as they towered over you. You gave them the hardest stare you could muster before heading towards your side of the car.

“And none of you have bothered to change the toilet rolls. You wouldn’t survive a day out in the real world!”

At that, you sped away.

*****

You didn’t know Dieter’s address, so the logical thing was to take him back to yours, him having been there several times before.

He would’ve immediately crawled under the covers of your bed if you hadn’t convinced him to at least change into some sweatpants first. After, you changed back into your pyjamas, you crawled in after him.

“They’re right, you know” he mumbled, “I am a pathetic loser”.

“Oh Dieter” you kissed his forehead “You’re not. All that stuff I yelled to those idiots was true”.

“Really?”

“Every word”

He seemed to lighten up a bit. “You definitely scared them”.

“I did, didn’t I?”

You both chuckled at this.

“They wouldn’t survive a horror film”.

“They’d be the first killed” you agreed.

“I wouldn’t survive a horror film”.

“Don’t worry, this final girl will protect you”.

He looked at you, the light finally returning to his eyes.

“You’re my final girl. In fact, I need to tell you something”.

He firmly grabbed your hand.

“I…I love you”.

You sighed in happiness and gave him the softest kiss, passing on all your love.

“I love you Dieter Bravo”.

“You do?”

“Of course, I do”

His face beamed with so much happiness, he could reignite a dying star with the light that shined in his eyes.

“You actually already confessed your love to me”.

You snuggled into each other, his chest being the best pillow, his arms the best blanket.

“I have?”

“Yeah, you left a drunken voice message a few weeks ago”.

“Fuck, I’m sorry”

“No, it’s fine. It was quite cute actually. I’m never going to delete it”.

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

I started following you long ago for the lotr works and your work about renaissance Venice that are all greats and already complimented you so sorry If I pop up totaly random again, but I'm amazed by your Marsilio Ficino posts, because I've been into 15th century Lureantian Florence for ages and although at some point I started to read everything else, now I'm returned to my old habits and is so so nice to see anyone interested on Ficino and his boyband the Neoplatonic Academy!

On an exclusive pairing term I'm interested in all thes possible relationships between anyone who lived in 15th century Florence, having been an arts management/culture economics major I'm more into painters/artists/sort off, in particular Sandro Botticelli and his relationship with the Medicis, with Poliziano, Leonardo, but I'm also a Lorenzo/Poliziano/Pico truther, etc. I have to say that with time my appreciation for the Medicis decresed and now I'm more interested in other rich families, patron dynasties and drama annexes including the Pazzi ofc, and with them anything else that went wrong with the 1478 conspiracy.

And Giovanni Cavalcanti/Marsilio Ficino, so many memories from uni years! (I'm Italian so this is our standard study program eheh). I just remember how MF was down so bad for his platonic bro :')

I wanted to write to you a better paragraphs but my brain at the moment is all "yay Pazzi ooooh murder wooo so much philosophy, now I'm going to read a 1919 essay on Jstor about a sodomy process occurred in 1501 of an obscure venetian totally random poet".

Have a nice week and good Ficinanti lectures! <3 (and with all your amazing, wondersful, show stopping lotr fic!) ;D

Ficino and his Boyband is a) a great band name in and of itself and b) accurate because he was forever haranguing them to play music with him since we all know beautiful music, alongside staring at hot men, is a prime way to help get closer to God and the Truth etc.

He even has Luigi Pulci for his Dastardly Band Rival

Lorenzo: can I like both of you?

Ficino: absolutely not. you have to choose. and it should be me.

Lorenzo: mmmmm no.

but yeah! I love when people pop up who are also into all things Ficinian! My brief past life in academia was all social history of early modern Europe - and while I did meddle with things like translation and state and social identity in colonial New Spain (what is now Mexico) and political/state identity in reformation England, my real love was always the Italian city states. Each and every one of them a fun and exciting hot mess. (And particularly queerness and the state in 15th and 16th c...there might be a thematic trend here)

I had an ex describe Florence from 1430-1510 as "a bunch of toddlers piled on a tricycle going downhill at top speed with no breaks" and I think that's accurate.

-

in particular Sandro Botticelli and his relationship with the Medicis, with Poliziano, Leonardo

I just have this image of Botticelli in the background yelling commentary at people who are like "that's nice Sandro". For some reason that's how my brain imagines both him and Poliziano.

Foreground: Ficino & Lorenzo arguing about church taxes or something, or Ficino & Pico arguing about Platonic Concepts of Love or whatever

Background: Poliziano and Botticelli sharing a pack of cigarettes making scathing soto vocce commentary on what is happening.

In the wings: Giovanni trying to convince his boyfriend not to do anything too stupid, or at the very least Don't Write It Down & Have It Printed, while Luigi Pulci is like "this is Marsilio we're talking about here. He loves writing things down and having them printed then becoming very annoyed when the Church arrives to knock-knock-knock on his parish door."

-

So I'm working on a Ficino book and I have this mental image in my head of him and Giovanni on a rooftop. It's like 2am. They're trying to get Ficino's father Who Is Now A Demon/Revenant For Reasons into a bag. They look over and see Leonardo da Vinci on the roof with them in a strange contraption.

They all stare at each other.

Giovanni: hey Leo.

Leonardo: hey Giovanni. Nice night for it Marsilio.

Marsilio: . . ...

Leonardo: is that...is that your father with glowing red eyes?

Marsilio: my father is dead, Leo. You know this.

Leonardo:

Leonardo: ok.

Leonardo:

Leonardo: have you told him that? he doesn't look dead.

Marsilio: go away, Leo.

Giovanni: are those.

Giovanni:

Giovanni: are those wings? like....are those wooden wings? are you....are you going to try and fly?

Leonardo: um. yes?

Giovanni:

Giovanni: ok.

Leonardo: this is a uh...this is a moment where we all pretend we didn't see each other isn't it? This is one of those moments, right?

Marsilio: yes. yes it is. Bye Leonardo.

On the street 9 year old Machiavelli escorting his drunk dad home from the tavern: NICE UNDEAD FATHER YOU HAVE THERE FICINO.

Marsilio: oh my god shut the fuck up

Anyway - please enjoy this scene that has been rotting in my head for a fortnight now.

-

I'm also a Lorenzo/Poliziano/Pico truther

always and forever I am with you as a Lorenzo/Poliziano/Pico truther. You don't bury two men in the same grave* unless there are Reasons!

(*you do, in fact, sometimes do that. But I'm ignoring this)

I remember when I was doing grad work at uni Pico and Poliziano were The Hot Thing to gossip about in the staff room. Like I had profs, after a bottle or two of wine, being like "well, Piero poisoned them because of politics, sure, but also mostly because they were probably shacked up with his father at some point and he felt weird about it"

As always, there is the Formal Historian Opinion and the I've Had Two Bottles of Wine and/or My Writer's Hat Is On Opinion. Two, sometimes radically different, things.

Anyway - I'm here for Poliziano/Lorenzo/Pico. At the very least it was Ploziano/Lorenzo then later Poliziano/Pico and maybe there was one really messy Carnival week when it was Pico/Lorenzo. Also maybe Pico/Marsilio but they never, ever talked about it ever again. Marsilio would have felt so ashamed and guilty and Pico would be like "it's kind of like fucking an older brother/uncle and I don't want to think about it" and Giovanni is like "Excuse Me I am your Soul Husband, Marsilio" and Marsilio is like "you have four daughters with your mistress - we have Complications in our relationship ok?"

god everyone was a WRECK

-

I just remember how MF was down so bad for his platonic bro :')

They were married! In their souls! I don't subscribe to it being a one-sided thing. I know some historians and writers have argued that it was one-sided with Ficino being desperate for Giovanni who didn't return the same level of feelings. But I don't really subscribe to that for various reasons.

Now, how their relationship manifested between them, in terms of physical and non-physical love, who knows.

Ficino entered the priesthood in his forties and I believe it was a natural progression for him in terms of his own philosophical journey. It was also a bit of a God Found Me moment. Like a real calling, versus "third son and I need an occupation" which was the case for obviously 95% of the clergy. We know Ficino took his role as priest very seriously and undertook all his duties with diligence and dedication. He kept accounts, did all the smaller administrative tasks that a lot of priests would shove off onto the shoulders of someone else. Nothing was too small or humble for Ficino's attention.

Given that aspect of who he was, and his seriousness with which he undertook his own philosophical teachings and practices, I presume he took all of his vows earnestly and seriously, not least the vow of celibacy. Or he would have tried very, very hard.

Obviously, celibacy in the Catholic Church has a long, complicated history and even in Ficino's lifetime there were still some mutterings about it. Though he was absolutely not one of the people going "hm, maybe priests should be able to have a wife or something."

Ficino's relationship with sex and physical desire was clearly complicated. Made worse, likely, by the fact that the object(s) of his desire were fellow men and we all know what that means in the year of our lord 1470-something.

That said, physical desire was very much intertwined with God, Beauty and Truth in his ladder of love/salvation. It's something he struggled to reconcile - the fact that he firmly believed perception and engagement with Beauty by the Mind, Soul and Spirit of a person is how we are to become closer to God and a person comes to find and know true Beauty through desire. It's one of the foundations over which he and Pico quarreled as it relates to the Platonic understanding of the ladder of love.

Pico felt Ficino's insistence that physical desire be part of salvation was too risky and would lead to sodomy/sinful things while Ficino couldn't perceive a world in which Beauty was understood or discovered through means that were entirely non-corporeal.

It's all a little pear shaped.

The mind tries to reach God through beauty, which is determined by desire.

For a man who was so very cerebral and spiritual - who bled into the mystic and ecstatic traditions of Catholic spirituality - he was at the same time incredibly earthy and corporeal. I suspect his being quite aware of his own body and its urges is what drove a lot of this push/pull that we see in his writing.

There are plenty of letters where he writes Giovanni in a manner that suggests they have certainly partaken of physical displays of love with one another. There's that one where he writes about how he and Giovanni don't need tongues and hands to show love to one another implying, of course, that they have done such things.

He wrote to Bernardo Bembo that Bernardo must have the eyes of a lynx for he perceived that Giovanni and Marsilio were soul-married (or whatever) long before they themselves were aware of it. Which makes me laugh because of what a perfect fucking fanfic set-up that is. Like what? Next you're telling me, Marsilio, that you and Giovanni were travelling once and Oh No There Was Only Bed**.

Bernardo: GET A ROOM.

Marsilio: ?????

Giovanni: ?????

Bernardo: I swear to God and the good mother Mary you two are gagging for each other and need to just fuck about it or something.

Poliziano, in the background: I've been saying that for yeeeaaaars.

(**never mind that everyone shared beds back then so it would have been very normal and they just would have been like "why would there be more than one bed?? you can fit so many people in one bed and we all have minimal furniture. It's 1473.")

-

now I'm going to read a 1919 essay on Jstor about a sodomy process occurred in 1501 of an obscure venetian totally random poet

oh my god, Venetian sodomy stories break my heart because Venice went so hard on punishment in a way Florence just...didn't.

This is what happens when you put a city on a lagoon! It makes everyone paranoid that if they offend God he will sink them under the waves.

Granted, it was quite something in the 17th century when the Ten ordered a review of the Venetian merchant fleet, have heard that there was Much Sodomy & Other Vile Things Occurring and found that yeah, everyone has been fucking each other on boats for centuries now.

And the Ten were like: :O whaaaat and God didn't strike us down??????

Pokemon meme: The Ten Hurt Themselves in Their Confusion.

-

I remember reading one account of a man (I want to say he was a cittadini merchant) who began an affair with his rower. It was a long term thing, the rower even married a (probably illegitimate) niece or something of the merchant. They were very much clearly Lifers.

Anyway - got found out and the two were rounded up and the cittadini guy told his rower, 'Look, just say I forced you. Say it was unwilling on your part and I was making you do it' etc. because he figured as a member of the cittadini class he had a better chance of getting off the hook than his lover who was as a no one.

His lover was reluctant to do that but agreed to the rouse - however, the Ten were on a serious crackdown that year and hauled him in for torture anyway. Despite his being a "victim" and therefore, traditionally, not seen as being as much to "blame" for the sinful acts etc.

During the torture, the rower ended up confirming that no, it was not forced. Yes, he was very much into it. The big kicker was that one of them ended up admitting that they switched "roles" so both topped and both bottomed, which was obviously a big deal in terms of perception of masculinity and culpability in these cases.

Sadly, they both ended up on the pyre and were burned to death between the pillars of the Lion of San Marco and Poseidon in the palazzo di San Marco.

(nb: the details are sketched out loosely here, it's been a while since I read that case so I could be misremembering exactly how things played out)

-

Every time I see pics of tourists between those pillars I'm like, "Do you know how many men were burned to death for sodomy right where you're standing? And how many members of government were hanged for treason (or "treason") and their bodies left so their colleagues got to walk by them on their way into work? I bet there's a ghost in your picture."

It's a bit of a mood killer for tourists, apparently.

annnnyway. Venice and sodomy laws! Heartbreaking!

-

Despite that, the city did have a thriving sodomy scene which is hilarious. Though, as the famous saying went, It takes only seven days for the sun to set on a Venetian law and they must recreate it.

Love that bit in Sanudo's diary where he's like: The Ten, in their wisdom, issued another promulgation reminding everyone that sodomy is illegal and it was read aloud in the Rialto and everyone in the market laughed.

--

ok, my turn to apologize for making this WAY too long. I just - I have the worms they are in my brain and they are going !!!!!!!! about all things relating to Ficino and also 15th and 16th century Venice.

<3 <3 <3 <3

[angst-fairygodmother]

Idiot (Affectionate) ~ A Bad Samaritan Fic

CHAPTER THREE: CHANGING TUNE

Pairing: Derek Sandoval x (fem)Reader Word Count: 2646 Rating: T - angst (self esteem issues/abandonment issues) canon-typical language A/N: This here is a Cheese sandwich on Whole Angst Toast. I also feel like I should say thanks to the folks who made some suggestions for me, even though I ended up going with a different song. 

Previous Chapter | Masterlist

“Shit,” you muttered, looking up with a grimace of disgust, half-poking your head out from under the awning. You had forgotten your umbrella on your way to work earlier that afternoon, and had spent the whole shift praying that the rain would hold off long enough for you to get home. Unfortunately, it hadn’t and was coming down hard.

“Sean…” you whined, turning pleading eyes on your cousin. 

“No. Y/N, you know I love you, but I can’t. I’m supposed to meet Riley right after work,” he said. “And I’ve already been late to her place three times this month.”

“You’re just going to ‘watch a movie’ and then kick her roommate out so you can fuck. How is that something you can be late for?” you said petulantly.

Derek guffawed. “She’s got you there, man.”

“Just for that,” Sean said, waggling a finger at you mockingly. “Even if I could have given you a lift, I wouldn’t.”

You stuck your tongue out at him, making Derek laugh even more, until you turned your childish, affronted glare on him. 

“I’m glad you find it so amusing that my cousin, my own flesh and blood, would betray me like this,” you huffed dramatically.

Sean rolled his eyes.

“I could walk you home,” Derek offered with a shrug.

You eyed him suspiciously.

“I don’t have an umbrella but it wouldn’t be so bad with company right...like I dunno, solidarity?”

“You’re just hoping the rain will be enough to make my work blouse see-through, aren’t you?” you teased. 

“What, nah! I’m a gentleman, I swear,” he said, placing a hand over his heart. “I want to make sure you get home, that’s all.”

“Don’t you have your car tonight?” Sean pointed out. 

“Come on man, why you gotta blow my cover like that?” Derek hissed with a laugh. 

“What was that about being a gentleman?” you quirked an eyebrow.

“Alright, so it was a little bit about tryin to see your titties. But can you blame me, I mean come on, girl, you’re gorgeous.”

“You are such a dick,” you cried, laughing, punctuating your words by playfully batting at him with fists and the sides of your hands.

He yelped, ducking your ‘blows’, trying to hide behind Sean and the podium.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Mercy!” he gasped through his laughter. “I’ll drive you home, just stop hitting me.”

Immediately, you let up on your attack. “You don’t have to, honestly,” you said, waving aside the offer. “I’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure you can’t actually drown in the rain.”

“You were gonna let Sean drive you.”

“Yeah. But he’s family. He’s supposed to help even when it’s an inconvenience. You have no such obligation.”

“That’s what friends are for though, right?” Derek asked. 

“You’re not an inconvenience,” Sean protested at the same time. “Usually.”

“Friends don’t let friends drive the opposite direction of home just because the drivee friend forgot an umbrella in Portland. That’s like forgetting sunglasses in L.A.”

Sean sighed, rolling his eyes. “Y/N. Just take the ride. Or don’t and get totally soaked. I’m sure your uniform will dry out in the...thirteen hours before you have to be back here.” He shrugged with a pointed look at his watch.

Somehow, in the course of the conversation, the rain had picked up even further, now pounding down in sheets. Very cold sheets. You looked at the waterfalls off the awning with disdain. 

With a grumble and a reluctant protest, you agreed to let Derek drive you home. 

~

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as Derek navigated the slick Portland streets. You gazed out the passenger side window, lost in random thought, listening passively to the radio, until you became aware of something beneath the sounds through the speakers, almost hidden by the thrumming bass. 

Slowly, you realized that it was Derek, singing along. 

You felt your breath catch, turning to stare at him in awe. He was really, really good. Trying not to call attention to the fact that you were listening, you shifted in your seat, tuning out the radio to focus on him. It was a crooner’s voice at heart, like smoke and honey, soft and warm with sharper hints of something more versatile and modern. You felt hypnotised as several songs went by, drawn in like a magnet to his sound. At the points it lacked technical brilliance, it was made better for its honesty, like no matter what he was singing, he meant it with heart and soul. 

Eventually, Derek seemed to notice your attention. 

“Y/N?” he asked, his normal conversational tone jolting you out of the near-trance he had lulled you into. “You alright?”

“I didn’t know you could sing,” you blurted, voice breathy and soft with awe.

A deep red color crept up his neck, splaying out over his ears and face all the way to the hairline and maybe beyond. He chuckled nervously. It was honestly kind of adorable, and you mentally kicked yourself as the thought crossed your mind. This was Derek you were talking about. The only way he should be paired with that word was if it was in the sentence ‘look at the adorable kitten/puppy Derek is holding.’ 

“It’s just along to the radio, nothing special dawg,” he rushed to claim.

“No. I heard the radio, and I heard you. That was different, you were different. And better.”

“You’re just sayin that.”

“Have I ever said something nice to you just to say something nice?” you asked, your face skeptical. 

He laughed, unable to stop himself. “I don’t think you’ve ever complimented me at all before.”

“Kind of proving my point for me, aren’t you?” 

He snorted.

“I’m serious. Definitely the kind of voice that teenage girls would pay too much money for tickets just to scream over it in a concert.”

“Ya think?” there was a note of hopeful excitement in his question, and he seemed to turn even redder at your words.

“I mean, I’m no expert,” you shrugged. “But I did used to be one. A teenage girl that is.”

“Huh.” 

Silence, save for the upbeat pop song now playing in the background, settled back over the car as he continued to drive, pondering what you said, and you let your thoughts drift aimlessly.

“So what about you?” Derek suddenly asked, making you jump again.

“What about me?” you asked. 

He paused, a spark of tension crackling between you. He reached a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. 

“I mean, were you...did you used to scream over boybands and shit?” he finally managed to say.

“Nah. I never had the money for concerts. Besides,” you flashed him a sheepish half-smile. “I liked some of it, but my taste was mostly more along the lines of Bowie, Broadway, and Cash than it was Fall Out Boy or whoever.”

He seemed to consider this. “Maybe I’ll have to learn some of that for you then.”

“I bet you could do a good Life on Mars,” you suggested genuinely. “Still won’t get you in my pants though.” You couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at your lips.

“Ouch!” he laughed with mock-hurt. “You still think I’m just playin you?”

“Obviously,” you shrugged. “I’m too smart to think otherwise.” 

‘No matter how much I wish you weren’t,’ you thought fleetingly. 

Derek frowned, catching something in your tone, below your usual teasing. Something...sad? No, defeated?

“You don’t think I could be serious? Or...actually into you?”

“Please,” you scoffed.

His frown deepened, hurt that no matter how close you’d gotten of late or how you acted, you still thought that low of him.

“I know I’m not really someone worth sticking around for,” you said softly. “And you’re sweet sometimes, but...that doesn’t change facts.”

He opened his mouth to protest but you kept talking.

“My own parents figured that out, I’m sure you will too. Everyone does. I don’t even mind anymore,” you chuckled bitterly. “It’s just the trying to pretend otherwise that hurts.”

He was silent, unsure where to even start. He wanted to tell you that you were wrong, he wanted to prove it. He wanted to keep the tears he could see building up from ever falling.

 The car slowly rolled to a stop outside your apartment. He realized that somewhen the rain had let up to a fine drizzle, but the gloom had moved inside the car instead. You flashed him a smile that didn’t meet your eyes. 

“Thanks for the ride,” you said, leaning slightly on the doorframe as you got out, and wringing your hands. “I’ll see you tomorrow. And...uh...try not to worry about what I said. It’s...no big deal.”

The car door sounded heavier than ever as it closed and you headed up the walk, turning briefly as you put your key in the lock to wave. 

He continued to sit there, well after you had disappeared inside, trying to wrap his head around what had passed between you. Eventually, he had an idea.

“Sean!” he said into his phone when the Irishman in question finally answered. “Yo, I know you’re wit’ your girl, but this is important.”

~

A week or so later, Derek offered you a ride home again, even though this time it was a perfectly clear night, if a little chilly. There was no need for it, and equally no need to agree.

“Sure,” you said, shoving your hands into the pockets of your jacket and leaning against the building. “If you really want.”

“Great,” he smiled and there was no guile or joke or performance in it, just him, happy that you’d agreed. “We just gotta cash out with Nino and then we’ll go?”

You nodded. Sean lingered at the door, a smug, knowing look on his face.

“What?” you asked, defensive.

“Nothing, nothing. Just quite the shift from ‘oh no I don’t want to be a bother,’” he said in a tone that you thought was meant to be an impression of you, but a very bad one. “To ‘sure, Derek, I’d love a ride home.’” He batted his eyelids for added effect.

“Oh shut up,” you grumbled, feeling your face heat. 

“Admit it. You’re into him.”

“You’re impossible.”

“That’s not a no.”

“You’re right...it’s not.” You looked down, fiddling with a pen you had found still stashed in your pocket.

Sean’s eyes widened. “Really?” He couldn’t contain the excitement in his voice.

You countered it with a glare. “Keep your mouth shut. And go cash out, before you get ripped off by your alleged best friend.”

~

You settled easily into the pleather passenger seat; Derek started the engine and the radio crackled on. You closed your eyes, letting the music wash over your exhausted mind, secretly hoping that he’d sing again. It only took a moment to register this was very different music than what he’d been playing the other night, but before you could ask about it, he started in, humming the opening, gradually gaining energy until he was belting out the lyrics.

“Thanks to you, Bonnie babe, I can make plans again. I've got lots o' reasons to keep livin' Its true that love can set you free, And this world will remember me.”

Swept up in the moment, you answered with the next verse in equal passion and drama.

“You said you'd go straight. Clyde, I wanna be in movies. I can't name one movie star who's doin' robberies on the side. I know in my heart, babe, that Hollywood is callin', How can I be in the spotlight if we always have to hide?”

The pair of you grinned at each other as you continued the back and forth, voices syncing surprisingly well for having never sung together before. You couldn’t help the sort of giddy rush you felt, losing yourself in the music and the character.

As the last note chopped off, you reached over, turning the radio down enough to have a conversation over it.

“You’re pretty good at that, Bonnie,” he joked.

 “It helps to have a good partner, Clyde.” You winked dramatically.

“I try, I try.” You weren’t sure, but you thought you might see a hint of color on his cheeks. 

“You know,” you mused, with a quirk of an eyebrow, “I didn't take you for a Bonnie and Clyde fan, so I’m guessing it didn’t just happen that you were listening to one of my favorite musicals.”

“It kinda did,” his mouth twisted ruefully. “I know you said to forget it, but I couldn’t stop thinkin about the other night and I,” he glanced over at you, checking to see if you were angry before continuing, “wanted to show you that you’re important to people, that we...I...care about you. So I asked Sean what some of your favorite songs and stuff were.”

You swallowed, fighting back a wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm you. Still, when you spoke, your voice came out soft and breaking. “Oh.”

“I was gonna surprise you by learning some and then find an excuse to sing 'em for you or with you or something, but this is the only one I got so far, and it was by accident.”

“What do you mean?” Curiosity overrode everything else for the moment.

“It just gets stuck in your head man. I’ve been listening to it for days.”

You joined in his laughter. “It does doesn’t it?”

“I can’t figure it out.”

“Probably because it’s so relatable. The dressing’s complicated, but in the end it’s just about people in love, people with dreams.”

He fell quiet, considering. 

Something hung over the pair of you that you couldn’t quite find a name for, or didn’t want to maybe. It felt safe though, whatever it was, and you wanted to cling to it.

Not sure what else to say or do, you nudged the volume up and threw yourself back into the musical, hiding yourself in Bonnie Parker for a time.

~

That girl's got somethin' Nothing scares her Only piece of luck that's ever come my way

Derek was singing softly, and his hand reached out, fingers tentatively brushing against yours. It was on instinct that you turned your hand and slipped your fingers through his, lacing them together for a moment, the action just feeling right. Seconds later, your mind caught up to what your body had done and you recoiled, jerking away as if his touch had burned you. 

“I don’t know why I...I mean I wasn’t...I...sorry,” you stammered.

“Don’t be,” he replied with a half-hearted shrug. “You uh, you have soft hands.” 

Almost in a whisper, he added, “I liked it. I wanna keep holding your hand, if you want me to.”

You glanced down at his still outstretched hand, and then back up at his face. He stared resolutely ahead, eyes fixed on the road, as if that could hide the waiting tension that he practically hummed with. He’d told you, in a way, how he felt and now he was leaving it up to you. 

Hesitantly, you reached back, sliding your fingers back to where they’d been. You chewed on your lip, staring nervously at the juncture where your skin touched, mind racing. You weren’t sure what it meant, or how it would change things, and you were afraid. Derek was already important to you (you took a moment to marvel at that change, wondering when exactly it had happened). If you let the connection grow…You debated retracting your hand. At least if you pulled back, it would be your choice, for once, to lose. 

You felt a slight pressure as he squeezed your hand comfortingly and flashed you a grin. You smiled back. 

Maybe this — maybe Derek — was worth the risk.

[yaz-the-spaz]

What are your theories about this pr*gnan*y? You think they will fake a miscarriage, that G*gi's a surrogate or she will fake having a baby bump and then we will never have news about this b**y?

Anon #2: do you think quarantine made it easier for them to do babygate, which is why they’re pushing it now, or do you think it was already planned for this month / date? what do you think?

putting my answer under the cut for reasons*

i’ve said it before in tags but yeah, as absolutely shitty and diabolical as it sounds, a miscarriage is basically the only realistic way i see this playing out for her cause it just does not make any level of sense for her to blow up her entire modeling career right at its height and saddle herself with a whole child i.e. a whole 18-year commitment THIS young and with a man she can barely even maintain a stable relationship with no less (and had also only just gotten back together with - for the 678th time lol - around the supposed conception date), while also risking her own health and her baby’s health (given her supposed hashimoto's disease which would make this both a miracle pregnancy and a high-risk pregnancy, ripe with the threat of a multitude of dangerous complications) all for A LITTLE extra attention.

and while i think there’s a possibility it may have already been planned for sometime around this period, i absolutely think quarantine made it easier for them to do this right now b/c they’re able take huge advantage of the fact that this is a time where no one can really confirm anything outside of family for a good long while, so there’s less opportunity to invite questions and speculation since there’s no one else really seeing her that would be able to go and say well she definitely didn’t look pregnant when i saw her, or to let something slip about how she was doing stuff that a 5-month pregnant woman - esp a high risk pregnant woman - should not be doing (nvm that she slipped up all on her own by posting shit of herself riding horses, and drinking wine and coffee and her stomach looking flat af in the weeks prior to this announcement lmao) but the fact remains they can very easily keep everything locked up tight within the family, where the story and any others details or pics and vids that are released can be very much controlled

also news is fairly slow rn and everyone is literally just sitting at home with not much else to do THAN watch the news (for updates of this virus situation mostly ofc, but it also kind of forces a wider audience that maybe wouldn’t normally see it/pay attention to it to now be inundated with announcements of it whenever they go to check into the news) so in terms of making a huge splash this is probably literally the BEST time in actual modern history that they could have conceivably done this because it is one of the only big things/news items going on for ppl to talk about rn outside of the pandemic

tl;dr - b/c as usual this got way long but anyway all that said, the short of it is that the only way i can really realistically see this playing out in a way that makes sense for her, as shitty as it may sound, is that they're trying to make a huge splash/huge deal out of the fake pregnancy news, which they’re gonna milk for as long they can while playing around with camera angles and clothes, and take advantage of this quarantine where no one can really confirm outside of family for a good long while and where the story and surrounding “evidence” can be easily controlled, and then claim she had a miscarriage or something (or maybe just complications that resulted in the loss of the baby) due to her hashimoto’s disease to make an even BIGGER splash from the ensuing sob story

again, its SUPER fucked up but it's the only thing that makes sense cause i really cannot see her destroying her career and foreseeable future over all this just to get a little more attention. alternatively there’s the possibility that she is pregnant (but just not by zayn obviously lol) and has just been extremely reckless and unsafe during this pregnancy in her hobbies and eating/drinking habits, and therefore this baby is severely underweight and that’s why she’s barely showing at 5 months and doing things that she should really not be doing, esp this far along into what should be a high-risk pregnancy if she does in fact have hashimoto’s and that was not just a giant lie too to cover up her alleged drug use and fluctuating weight...but again, given that she was just at the height of her modeling career and presumably still has a fair bit of opportunities that she would lose out on by getting pregnant and taking on the responsibility of raising a child right now, i would think she would do everything in her power to avoid getting pregnant (or going through with the pregnancy once she found out she was) and bury the story. not shout it from the rooftops as loud as she can and create a whole narrative around starting a family with a man that just last year she made out to be “too unstable” to even maintain a two-person relationship but is suddenly stable enough to raise a whole child???

a man who btw has literally not said A WORD about any of this, and whose family i’m pretty certain have also not said A WORD about it publicly. a man who has has not been "present" for his gf’s or any of the hadid family members "announcements" about it either and like...in what world is that normal lol? like first off in what world is someone who's being painted as such a happy/proud boyfriend and father-to-be NOT there with his gf and/or her family for the announcements being made about his own soon to be family lol? and second of all, and biggest of all, IN WHAT WORLD WOULD THE BABY-LOVING CLOSE-KNIT AF MALIK FAMILY NOT BE LOSING THEIR MINDS WITH OVER THE TOP JOY AND PRAISE AND EXCITEMENT OVER A NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY (if it was real lol) FROM THEIR BIGGEST PRIDE AND JOY ZAYN??????

and moreover, i’ve said this before also and i will say it again as many time as i need to, but why is no one seeing how weird it is that so many members of a boyband have babies by women they're not married to?? when THE FUCK has it been normal for so many members of a boyband to have kids before the age of 30 and NONE OF THEM BE MARRIED TO THE ACTUAL MOTHER OF THEIR CHILD???? like i know the people behind the scenes are trying their absolute hardest to make that seem normal and like it's just the millennial way or whatever but THAT IS NOT FUCKING NORMAL

[cominguproses13x]

Does he make you laugh in the same way I did? We were driving down a small lane and some dick thought it’d be clever to drive without headlights, and I almost swerved us into a tree and your hand flew to my chest. And you swore and people want a tragic romance, they like to think that with one last breath they’ll get one last look but in the thick of it they really only panic, and try to get another breath for themselves and they’ll mourn and feel bad later for letting you die but they did. They let you die.

When I swerved, the cynic in me expected me to want to save myself. I should have known I’d have zero self preservation, I fell in love with you didn’t I? So I swerved and I didn’t know what I was doing until minutes later, when I’d taken in every tiny detail. I’d become fluent in your eyes and I could read your skin blind. I didn’t panic or cry or worry about whether or not I was going to go to hell. I just turned my head and I looked at you and I learnt you. Turns out, really, I want you more than life. And I can say that with conviction because when I was faced with a tree shaped like a black cloak and a scythe, all I wanted to do was see you again.

You made a morbid joke. I laughed until everything went blurry. You smiled breathlessly, and I have never seen someone smile without breath. You manage it. You were giddy and I couldn’t stop looking at you. You were beautiful and alive and I said something stupid that made you laugh more. Best night of my life. We went home and got pissed and had sex and I don’t think any of it sunk in until a couple of weeks later when I saw the ring and I knew that was the one. You were the one. You were gone before I could so much as open the box to check it was still there.

So does he make you laugh the way I do? His name is strange, and he looks like you in some ways, and he looks so different in others. He has your boyband hair and your shade of blue and he has the sort of shyness that make people hate me in comparison. But he looks weak. Weak in ways you never were. What sort of name is Daegal? Does he make you laugh? You fucking deserved to laugh, and if he does it without almost killing you then even better.

I’ve kept the ring. My sister told me not to wait. She says waiting is a fool’s game and she’s right. I’m a fool for what I did. For giving you what I gave. We’re modern and new and love shouldn’t be reckless I know that. Love isn’t priority I know that. Love isn’t a saviour or a certainty and I know that now. I loved you too hard and I’m sorry I was never told I could do that. I hope he loves you right. I hope he buys you a ring and the right ring. I hope he makes you laugh.

And I’ll keep the ring, because there was no one else. There will be no one else. I would look to no one else before I die. I would save myself before everyone else, but not you.

I’d save you, I’d see you, I’d love you. No one else.

[slinglouis]

september fic rec!

this one is coming at you all very late, but here are my favorite fics from august that i think you need to read this september! i read a TON of fics last month so these are the ones i absolutely loved! (**  my FAVORITE FAVORITES) 

mine would be you by crinkle-eyed-boo, 115k

Louis blinks his eyes open, his eyelids fluttering as the room swims around him. He takes several gulps of beer once he confirms that he’s definitely not hallucinating, that the very first portrait Harry Styles ever painted of him is hanging on that wall.

Louis stares at the wall, his heart jackrabbiting in his chest as he realizes that there’s not just one painting of him, there’s five, the portraits lined up like they’re some sort of storyboard depicting the rise and fall of his deepest love. His greatest heartache. A pain that cut him so deep that he left the fucking country, severing all ties with his life in New York, now suddenly surrounding him as if he’d never left.

Fucking shit motherfucker fuck.

Louis returns to New York City five years after he left it – and the love of his life – behind. He didn't intend to see Harry again, but fate has a funny way of pulling them together, whether they like it or not. After making a begrudging truce, they both start to wonder: Would it be so bad if history repeated itself?

robbers and cowards by louistomlinsons, 33k

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost think that you’re enjoying yourself.” The familiar voice immediately gets Louis’ blood boiling, shoulders tensing as he calmly spins around, trying not to draw any suspicion to the pair. “You don’t know me at all,” Louis spits, managing to maintain the polite smile he’s been wearing all evening. “You’re just some asshole who always ruins my nights.” “If I keep ruining your nights, why do you keep going home with me?” Harry asks, taking a sip from his own wine glass. “I don’t go home with you by any choice of my own,” Louis says. “I think you’re annoying and I have no idea how I keep ending up in your bed.” “You end up in my bed because you knock on my apartment door at two in the morning.” Louis wants to punch the smirk right off of his face. “Maybe you should move,” is what he says instead. or a modern day robin hood au where louis and harry (don’t really) hate each other but they hate greedy billionaires more

Need So Much of You by lululawrence, 47k

“Alright, I’m just going to get right down to it,” Jess said. “We were contacted yesterday by Harry Styles’ team with some information regarding his own schedule and promotion that is going to have some bearing on Louis.”

“Me specifically or all former members of the band?” Louis asked, confused.

“You specifically,” Jess said, looking at Louis with a heavy gaze. “Harry’s going to start his own promo for his second album in the coming months, which is going to include a coming out.”

“That’s great,” he said, nodding. “Is that it? Or is there more?”

Mark shifted in his seat and Louis watched his expression change. “We’ve discussed it and we think it would be best if you came out as well and had a promotional relationship with Harry for the album drop through both of your tours next year.”

Louis started laughing in surprise, but no one else joined in. Shit, they were serious.

Or the would-have-been canon compliant, fake relationship, friends with benefits, friends to lovers fic where Louis wonders if this thing going on with Harry is going to break him or change everything for the better.

waiting for the tides to meet by nauticalleeds, 60k **

Louis lets out a deep breath, thinking about Harry’s soulmate. Thinking about how Harry’s soulmate is probably as beautiful as Harry, some person that Louis cannot compare to, and how the universe has chosen them to be Harry’s. Fuck the universe. “Fuck you,” he calls out to the universe. He’s aware of how crazy he sounds.

Maybe he is crazy, with how he’s falling for Harry. And fuck that, too.

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

Featuring a lovely cup of OT5, a road trip down the coast, and a scene where Harry eats a whole head of lettuce. Don't ask why.

Spirit to a Dove by alienharry, 97k **

For as long as it’s been on the air, Harry’s been an avid watcher of Trivialities. He’s always imagined what it’d be like to compete on the show himself, and when the opportunity arises, he’s fast tracked to join the new cast for the show’s eighth season.

Alliances are formed, strategies are planned, and Harry finds himself with his very own nemesis. Between trivia and physical challenges, Harry’s making the most of his time in the house, but nothing could’ve prepared him for Louis Tomlinson.

Stranger Stars by shaylea, 212k **

Five years ago, Africa offered a grieving Louis Tomlinson an escape from an England he couldn't tolerate. Now it's become home as he leads overland tours across the continent with his best friend and driver Zayn Malik. What's meant to be just another ordinary six-week trip from Cape Town to Nairobi turns into anything but, when future lawyer/current photographer and songwriter Harry Styles and his friends join Louis' latest set of passengers.

another hazy may by deLILah, 41k **

louis is a terrible poet and harry lives in the now and they have six weeks to fall in love but, really, it only takes six seconds. bookshop meets military meets summer romance au ft. marlboros, the backstreet boys, and underrated literary devices.

Anonymous Said by alivingfire, 21k

When Harry was sixteen, he reached out for someone, anyone, to help him through the hardest days of his life. When Louis was eighteen, he answered. While they didn't know each other's names or faces or lives at all, really, it didn't stop them from falling a little bit in love.

And when Harry moves to Manchester for uni two years later, he meets a boy in a bookshop named Louis and wonders why it all feels so easy.

Or: two boys, two blogs, two years of anonymous messages, and a bookshop where it all comes together.

kiwi by fondleeds, 24k

With a stuttered mixture of a laugh and a groan, Harry lets his head droop, pushes his forehead against Louis’ chest and leans into him, fingers curled around the railing.

"You’re driving me crazy,” he breathes.

Louis lets out a puff of laughter, and when Harry lifts his eyes, the look in Louis’ gaze is one he knows too well, so distinctively coy and mischievous and gently charming, his lips quirked up with a smirk. Harry’s heart falls into the palms of his playful hands. “You’re into it.”

AU. Harry plays on Saturday nights at The Motley. Louis bartends on Saturday nights at The Motley.

It’s a thing.

True Love’s Gold by alivingfire, 28k

Gemma starts responding to every single one of Harry’s texts—regardless of subject—with i don’t care, talk to louis. Liam lets Harry complain to him for hours on Skype, pretending he’s not doing other things while Harry whines about his problems. Niall thinks the whole thing is hilarious, texting Harry links to articles titled So, you want your man to propose? and 15 ways to get him ready for the aisle! and follows each of these up with page upon page of laughing emojis. Harry tries everything, literally everything he can think of short of grabbing Louis by tattooed forearm and yelling, “PROPOSE TO ME BEFORE I COMBUST.”

Or, it takes a village to arrange a proposal, but that doesn't mean it's going to go as planned.

When It’s Late At Night by Rearviewdreamer, 26k

Louis has zero interest in an ex-boybander turned solo artist when his appearance on the show gets announced, but that's exactly who he gets stuck with when Harry Styles shows up at the Late Late show to promote the release of his debut album. For an entire fucking week.

you’ve set on me by lissome, 31k

Harry’s been completely blindsided, is the thing. Like a car without headlights crashing into him. It’s not that he thought he’d never see Louis again in his life. It’s just this. He wasn’t ready for this.

au. louis' in an obscure band. harry's an international popstar. their paths aren't meant to cross, not like this, but when louis' band signs on as harry's opening act, both harry and louis are forced to confront the open wounds of their shared past.

[allaboutthebooz]

I See The Light Pt. One

Summary: Tony takes the team to Walt Disney World and Steve is understanding why it’s so magical.

Pairing: Steve x Reader

Warnings: Just toothache inducing sweet fluff.

A/N: Since coming home from my trip to Disney, I’ve been a little blue and figured what better way to help than to write a painfully sweet Steve x reader fic. Thank you, @jamielea81​ for being my beta for this part and my saving grace and for the help with getting this idea off the ground. I’m so so so excited about this and I hope you all love it as much as I do.

The excitement of the other’s around him made Steve truly feel like the old man he is. He couldn’t understand what was so great about this park that Tony dragged them all too. What was so great about a park dedicated a mouse and his friends? Even Bucky, who mopes and moans about everything, is smiling and letting Nat drag him by the hand to the long lines meant for the entrance.

Disney World. Steve has never been to Disney. He was 101 years old and he had yet to visit these parks…or any amusement park really. Too busy saving the world. Before the reset, all Steve did was work, eat, and sleep. Now that everything was back to normal (as normal as it can be with half of the population suddenly returning after being gone year), Tony decided everyone deserved a break and vacation. He bought everyone tickets to all of the parks and rented everyone a room for two weeks at the Grand Floridian Resort. He didn’t give Fury a chance to argue, simply stating that they saved the world plenty of times and never once asked for anything in return. He wanted to give the team this trip as a way to say thanks. He also wanted all of Morgan’s aunts and uncles to see her first experience at the ‘most magical place on Earth.’

They’d gotten checked into their rooms and got a good night’s sleep, before waking up at the crack of dawn to eat breakfast and pile onto one of the small ferry boats that would take them over to the park. As soon as the castle came into view, the girls (who were trained killers) and Morgan started squealing and clapping. All the guys could do was smile at each of them. These grown women who have crushed men’s heads between their thighs, turned into fangirls at a boyband concert. Each wearing their “Mickey Ears” that they picked out the day before at one of the Disney Springs shops.

Getting through the lines and the main gate, Tony tells the other’s that they will meet up for lunch before letting Morgan drag him and Pepper away.

Steve turns towards the others, Wanda already dragging Sam in the direction of the shops that line Main Street, Nat and Bucky looking over the map and deciding where to go first, and Y/N was staring straight down the path, a smile brighter than sun spread across her face. He follows her gaze, but only sees the giant castle.

“Well, where to first?” He asks the small group.

“Buck and I are gonna head over to Tomorrowland and get in line for Space Mountain. I heard it’s a rollercoaster that’s completely in the dark.”

“We should see if there are any FastPasses left before you do that. I really want to see if we can get one for Peter Pan. That line is always at least an hour wait and it’s one of my favorites.” Y/N explains.

“There’s a ride for Peter Pan? The old play?”

Y/N smiles at Steve and shakes her head. “No, but in the 50’s Disney made an animated film based off of the play and they made a ride for it.” Her eyes grow wide. “Oh! And we need to ride Haunted Mansion and Pirates of Caribbean! Maybe if we go now, we can get on one before the line gets too long.”

Ignoring her, Bucky and Natasha head towards Tomorrowland and Y/N disappears into the crowd, the only tell of where she is are her bright red sequined ears. He quickly catches up to her, not knowing which direction Bucky and Nat we’re going. He grips her by the elbow to let her know he was behind her, and she turns to give him one of her bright smiles. The view making his heart stutter for a moment. The happiness radiating off of her with the blue castle in front of them and the hundreds of balloons and people crowding the street, giving Steve a brighter view of where he was. She guides them through different paths until the cross under a sign reading “Adventureland” all without a map, he notices.

“Where are we going?” He inquires.

“Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“How do you know where you’re going?”

“This is my favorite place to be. My family used to come every year before my mom died when I was fifteen. Then my dad decided he would rather have money for drinking than for feeding me, he sold me than for feeding me, he sold me to Soviets, this beginning my time in the ‘Red Room.’ So, this brings back happier times. Though it’s been forever since I’ve been here, it hasn’t changed.”

Steve nods, remembering reading about her time with Natasha in her file the Fury gave him. “Well, lets hope it lives up to its memory.”

Another smile. “It will.” She takes his hand and pulls him the rest of the way to the entrance for Pirates. They wait in line for thirty minutes before being ushered into a boat with other people. Y/N squeals when they start to move, the smile never leaving her face.

Their boat floats in the small river tail with the echoes of ‘Dead men tell no tales’ being heard through the tunnel. The cave shining with blue lights to resemble the glow of the moon in a clear night’s sky.

Looking around at the detail that was given to the cave, Steve catches a glimpse of Y/N. The excitement has yet you leave her face and her smile is even bigger than he thought was possible.

“Ah, but they do tell tales. So, says I, Davy Jones.” The eerie voice calls through the speakers, following them through the cave.

They come upon a sandy beach filled with treasure, a pirate’s flag and skeletons. Lightning in the close distance, signaling a storm ahead. High winds blow onto a wrecked ship with one lone skeleton steering the wreckage.

A quick flash and then they are descended down a dark slope with no telling how far it goes. Y/N squeals and Steve gives a quick laugh of shock, before the boat settles onto even waters, the tunnel opens out into a night sky with a large ship firing its cannons onto a tower, water splashing around them, cannon fire exploding from each direction. Loud music filling the speakers.

The air is suddenly pumped full of strong scent that is hard for Steve to understand. “What is that smell?” He leans towards his friend, keeping his voice a low level but loud enough for her to hear.

She leans closer to him, careful not to poke him with her ears, “A burning city.”

He’s confused for a moment before understanding her simple sentence. They glide into a well detailed city full of people. Civilians and pirates all around. One man, being dunked repeatedly into a well while being prodded for answers about the whereabouts of a man named Jack Sparrow. A woman calling from an open window, begging him not to talk.

Y/N, still leaned into Steve’s shoulder, says, “I’m not sure if this is right, but I’ve always thought that this town was called Tortuga like in Haiti. I only think that because of the movies. Though I could be wrong because they were known to raid a bunch of towns.”

“I’ve never seen the movies.”

Her eyes grow wide. “Are you serious?” He nods. “Well, I know what we are watching tonight.” She tells him before turning back to the ride.

The next scene looks to be an auction of some sorts. Well-dressed towns people lined up to sell their items to which ever pirate has the most coin.

“This scene used to be different. They never used to have the people selling their stuff. It used to be the pirates were auctioning off the women in this town.”

“Why did it change?”

“The modern generations didn’t like what it stood for. Even though that is exactly what they were doing in those times. Rape, pillage, and plunder. That’s what the pirates lived by.”

Steve hums. They spend the rest of the ride like that. Y/N explaining what was happening and what it all meant. Never pulling any further away from each other than they were. Shoulders touching, heads leaned close together so that they could talk without disturbing the other riders.

The ride ended all too soon and then they were unloading their little boat and walking up a ramp and out into a little shop filled with souvenirs and people.

“What’d you think?” Y/N asks after they clear the shop and step into an area that was easier to breathe in.

“It was cool. I liked all of the little details that they out into it. The smells and affects.”

“And it only gets better from here. All of the rides are like that. Walt Disney was great about the details and his team still makes sure that it is always like that.”

He nods. “Where to next?”

“Um.” Y/N looks at her watch on her wrist. “We still have a while before we are supposed to meet the other’s for lunch. We can get in line for another ride or we can watch a show. Whatever you want to do.”

Steve looks around, unsure of what to do. “Lead the way. You know this place better than I ever will.”

Y/N laughs. “Alright, um we’re close to Jungle Cruise. The wait is long, but not terrible.”

He holds an arm out, instructor her to take the lead. She grabs his hand and pulls him along.

They spend most of their morning in lines and on rides. They just unloaded the Magic Carpets When their phones chimed. Both pulling them from their pockets to see Tony sent a message to the group chat, letting them know that Morgan was hungry and that they were heading back to the resort for lunch if anyone wanted to join them.

Y/N makes a face. “Back to the resort? I was hoping he would just eat in the park.”

“It’s Tony. He probably doesn’t want to wait for his food like a normal person.”

“True. Well do you want to meet up with them or just find something here?”

“We can get something here. I don’t want to leave and then have to deal with having to get back in.”

“Okay. We can do that.” She heads back towards Pirates and finds a little place to eat called Tortuga Tavern.

They fill up on food and spend the rest of their day trying to get on every ride they can before meeting up with the others at their reserved location for the Nighttime Spectacular show at the castle.

Steve didn’t think he could have as much fun as he did today, but he was wrong. Y/N was always his favorite person to be around. Aside from Bucky, she had become his best friend. They ran missions together while Nat was off getting intel and hacking programs for Fury. They worked out together before Sam joined the team. She helped pull him from his depression after waking up in a different world than the one who knew about.

She always made him laugh and knew what he needed when he needed it. He was happy to spend more time with her. Watching the happiness never leave her face and all of the little facts that she knew about this place, made him happy. Her being happy, keeps him happy.

He knew he should have been watching the show and the fireworks, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t peel his focus off of her. She sang every song that played and got super excited when one she really loved played next. She’d bounce on her feet and clap her hands while she sang.

Why he never wanted that look to leave her, he didn’t know. But he did know that he could die with that being the last thing he ever sees.

Tags:

Marvel:

@shreddedparchment @wonderlandfandomkingdom

Forevers:

@jamielea81 @gh0stgurl @pretty-fortune@psychoredpanda@mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @tmiships4life@babypink224221 @20gayneen @simonsbluee @flamencodiva @captaindorit0 @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @glennacocoa@aomi-nabi @invisibledevour @wayward-river @housav @crystallstaircase@jessieray98 @logical-princey@cookiechipdough @81mysteriouslyme @deans-baby-momma

*If you would like to added to the tag list, please send me an ask. I am able to keep up with them better that way!

[honeyrosesins]

To everyone who likes Kpop and teen bands in general,

Recently, My male friend told me, upon reviewing a song, that he’d ‘feel’ it better if he grew up as a female because he doesn’t he gets the concepts in the song. That notion brought me to a bit of thinking about how music relates to growing up as a female.

With this personal research, I decided to go all out to find how music influences a young girl. I found a video (linked below) of a young girl that is singing to a song at a concert while crying. It didn’t just tug at my heart strings because it’s a young child crying but it tugged at them also because I finally got it. The video encapsulated growing up as a girl with music.

I grew up on the most classic boybands of the 2010’s like One Direction, the Jonas Brothers. It was so normal for me to do so and all the other girls in my class were listening to them.

Whenever I listened to my favorite boyband song, I didn’t critique it for its basic beats or judge it for the ‘bad’ singing. I didn’t know nothing about how someone could just make a boyband for profit. I instead listened to the words, and I listened really well as someone who with English as their second language, and received every corny line and sweet words as a promise or something said directly to me.

That’s silly, you might say. But in secret, all of the girls I knew did it. We all gushed about all the celebrities like as if they were our friends or future boyfriends. And we felt appreciated. We felt validated in a world that expected us to restrict ourself from boys who were allowed these cool things and we weren’t. I was allowed to be vulnerable while listening to how an ‘industry plant’ is the only one talking about me and only me. And that was a magical moment of growing up as a girl. Feeling validated for the first time, time and time again with each new song. There’d be a song for every problem of mine.

Now that I look back on this world, I realized that these bands and singers that made words for younger audiences gotten little critique from their fans at the time. Almost all of the negativity when it comes to this type of music was journalists and tabloids and grown adults.

That was my whole problem with the music industry for young people. And I asked around and I found that the biggest teen crushes and babes of the young audiences got the most shit, even back in the 70s. The Beatles got shit. By grown adults. For nonsensical reasons. I see it now as well, with the rise of social media and open comments about things.

Grown adults are tapping into a precious little thing that is growing up as a female and ruining it. I don’t know why. They see these basic lyrics of ‘Youre perfect’ and ‘you deserve a person who is attractive and takes you to dates’ and they think, let’s hate these people. Let’s ruin their reputation.

Now, I don’t get into modern teen music, I’ve found my music taste to adjust over the years. Time and time again, this phenomenon repeats. Bands and singers come out, this time with a little more international influence and the media portrays the performers and the fandoms as some kind of devil. They never review their music and if they do they call it basic.

Have they ever thought that maybe artists make music for a certain demographic? For example, let’s take country singers. They have a certain demographic and they tap into that by talking about marriage and married life and having your life developed. More mature audience and they stay in that lane, mainly. Teen music is teen music.

It’s made for someone who grows up like I did, never sure if I ever get validation. I can’t tell you how much I cried when I heard ‘The Climb’ on the radio the other day and every single thing came back to me? And then I read some 20 year old dude on the internet with an edgy picture claiming that Kpop is shit. Well, yeah dude, it’ll be bad because you can’t relate to it. It’s not made for you.

And I’m not saying that music should stay in their lane the entire way but when I see these people who clearly don’t enjoy this type of music judge it and say that the lyrics are dogshit, I feel compelled to just say ALL of this.

So to conclude everyone who likes a band right now, especially those who like Kpop bands right now, please shine on and don’t let any grown man criticize your music and fandom if they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.

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A post shared by COMMANDER LEXA (@lesbiantumblr) on Mar 29, 2020 at 5:54pm PDT

[pikelansource]

Happy pikelan day!

Modern adventuring au where Scanlan used to be in a famous boy band when he was in his teens and early 20s. And it was one of those situations where there was a very public meltdown and breakup and an ill-fated attempt at revival when several of the members were hurried out of rehab for an international tour that didn’t pan out.

And he went into musical recluse. Writing songs for some people but growing a beard, trying to be there for his daughter, staying out of the limelight.

But also taking bardic jobs with different teams for several years. Until he keeps working with the team who eventually becomes Vox Machina.

He never intended to tell them who he used to be but he’s a bard and it’s not like he can avoid singing forever.

So one day Vex storms in to the diner they have breakfast meetings in and slams her phone on the table, playing one of the many videos of boy band Scanlan, going “Ha! I knew it!” And the jig is up. And he winds up having to spill a lot about his real life.

Amongst the razzing he gets it’s a revival of discussions he never wanted to hear again— such as, who the hottest one in his group? which contemporary boyband was better? like really what bad illegal things happened on tour? do you still talk to the hot one (the one Scanlan was a better singer and performer than but who was taller and blond and a better dancer and went on to have a multi platinum solo career? No they’re not in touch.)

Vex and Keyleth keep singing the chorus to some of the hits. Not even maliciously, absentmindedly, which is worse than the teasing. Grog and Vax however never miss an opportunity to make boyband joke. Even Percy makes an off hand jibe about that time he’d had highlights that actually makes Scanlan feel a bit wounded. And stuffy ass waspy Percy dunking on him in a way that worked marks as the lowest point of revealing his past to his friends.

Without Scanlan even noticing himself he, sort of, stops singing. He sticks to silly, downright irritating quick and simple inspirational riffs and rhymes. He’s not really going to any effort like he might have a few times for these people.

It’s not even something he notices really until one day Pike sits down next to him on the street, where he’s sitting with a drink, not drinking it, outside of Vex and Vax’s, where a party is going on inside.

And she says, “I didn’t really listen to pop music. Back in high school. So if it makes you feel any better I never read about you in Teen Vogue.”

He laughs but he’s not really in it. Because fuck. He didn’t even think about That. Pike was his age. Boy bands by nature of what they were, attracted younger fans. So while of course Keyleth and Vex knew all the radio hits, Pike had been a level headed Pike-teen at the time. She would’ve been inclined to think of him as a joke before they even met.

Then in a softer, closer voice, she says, “if you want, I’ll make sure no one brings it up again.”

Part of him is mildly alarmed that it’s so obvious he’s bothered by it. He’s not faking it good enough, which has never been a problem before. But he shakes his head. “It’s not even them. Not really.”

When he doesn’t speak she just presses against him, knocking her shoulder into his.

“Sometimes it’s just hard to know you peaked before you were a legal adult. I’ll never be as famous as I was when I was a stupid kid, when I didn’t know what to do with it. For something I wasn’t even that good at. That I didn’t even really enjoy, because I never got a break, not even at parties. I’m a better musician now. I wasn’t even that bad back then, but none of that matters when you’re just ‘the funny guy’ in a boy band. I’m always going to be some schmuck kid from Teen Beat, no matter what I say or do.”

“Scanlan,” she says by way of admonishment but doesn’t have the usual laugh in it. “You didn’t peak. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

It’s a sentiment he’s heard before but it never once gave him a sense of relief or freedom or whatever it was supposed to give him. So he doesn’t say anything. Just stares ahead.

Until Pike slips her hand into his and squeezes. “I’m sorry we all teased you about it, but for us it’s only funny because... none of us can even imagine what being a famous pop sensation is like. It’s, well, sensational. What you do now, for us, with us, for your daughter... that matters so much more, Scanlan. It’s impossible for you to have peaked then when you’re so much more important to us now.”

There’s a huge mass of something lodged in his chest. But he musters enough breath to say “Thanks” and squeezes her hand back.

“I can still tell everyone not to bring it up again. But we’re all just a little jealous.”

He shrugs. “It wasn’t really a great time. I had to work all the time and I was never alone. Lots of creepy industry execs, lots of paparazzi, hangers on.”

“Yeah, I guess we just don’t think of that in the peanut gallery.”

“I did a lot of drugs and had a lot more sex than a teenager probably should.

“Well, I mean I figured Kaylie came from somewhere.”

“Not a lot of be jealous of, is my meaning. Except for the money. Which I wasted a lot of.”

“I mean you did once spend, like, what was it? A hundred thousand dollars on a purple-ly fancy guitar? That you didn’t even play on stage except once in Europe.”

Scanlan stares at her for a long moment as the most mischievous smile breaks across her face.

“It was a custom Les Paul and it was only fifty thousand.”

“Oh well that’s much more reasonable.”

“I thought you didn’t read anything about me in Teen Vogue. I thought you weren’t into pop music.”

Pike shrugs too nonchalantly with a non-subtle innocence. “There were other magazines you were in.”

Pike stands up abruptly but but reaches a hand down for Scanlan.

He doesn’t really have any other option than to take it.

[shipsrulemylife]

Jily Fic Rec

Surprise, surprise. Guess who’s back with another fic rec!

It’s Jily this time because who doesn’t love a good enemies to friends to lovers trope?

EDIT: apparently the links only work if you click on the read more??? why is tumblr so weird

Key Limes by cgner [Rated T]

In which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the mysteries of Prince James’s gold star system.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7402624

Mother Deer by GhostofBambi [Rated T]

Euphemia Potter is the unequivocal boss of everyone, including and most especially her son, and if the sweet, bright-eyed redhead who frequents her coffee shop doesn't know that yet, she's about to find out.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13594827

Polyjuiced by ladyoftheknightley [Rated T]

A very pregnant Lily invites the Marauders round to help her entertain James. Somehow, this degenerates into 4 Jameses wandering around her living room, with her having to guess which is her actual husband or (horror of horrors) lose a bet against Sirius Black.

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10101206/1/Polyjuiced

Salmon Fishing in the Olympics by GhostofBambi [Rated T]

Modern Era AU: When Lily Evans seeks assistance from James Potter to avoid the attentions of a suitor who just won't take no for an answer, she accidentally lands them both on the front page of every gossip magazine in Britain. She should have thought about that before pretending to be the girlfriend of a famous athlete.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11393601

Cat in a Fifth Floor Flat by GhostofBambi [Rated T]

Modern Era AU. When Remus Lupin moves out and Lily Evans moves in, James Potter finds himself instantly drawn to his beautiful new neighbour. Little does he know that a mysterious force of nature is secretly pulling the strings.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10610682

The Yeast I Can Do by elanev91 [Rated T]

Dr Lily Evans had an absolute shit day at work. Luckily, there's a bakery nearby that offers a course that she hopes will take her mind off of things.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11677191

Try, Trial, and Try Again by BeeDaily [Rated G]

Spell engineering has never been so complicated than when an afternoon of trying and trialing leaves James and Lily in an interesting position.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12404292

Supermarket Sweep by GhostofBambi [Rated T]

Modern Era AU: James Potter can find anything he needs in his local supermarket - bread, milk, the woman of his dreams - they've got it all.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11608353

we could be gigantic by elanev91 [Rated T]

Lily and James have been best friends since they were kids. Uni, a band, a trip abroad, a few tours and a couple of albums later, things start to change. Half an email fic, half a regular ol' narrative.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13926795

Swipe Right, Swing Left by ShadowRose997 [Rated T]

The unspoken rule of using dating apps in D.C. is that you always start with where you work. James Potter, it seems, never picked up on that one.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16743499

Erotic Porridge by elanev91 [Rated T]

Euphemia Potter thinks her doctor needs to go on a date with her son. This story is so named because I saw it somewhere, could not stop laughing, and my best friend professor-riddikulus hates it so much that I just had to. This story has nothing, literally nothing, to do with porridge. (I really should give my stories better names) - Muggle AU

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10475154/chapters/23112117

Elevator Love Song by BeeDaily [Rated T]

James unexpectedly finds himself trapped in a dodgy apartment elevator with Lily Evans.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13814355

Motionless by lovesickjily [Rated T]

James Potter always had thought that he was the only person in the world who had the power to stop time, but somehow, just the sight of Lily Evans makes every second feel like an hour.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16720791

Pickup Limes by elanev91 [Rated G]

Lily loves to blow off steam in Waitrose. Tonight, she spots an unbelievably gorgeous man in the bakery. Modern AU, Muggle AU, Grocery Store AU (still def not a thing)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11603553

Orange Cardamom by ShadowRose997 [Rated T]

James may not believe in love at first sight, but he's beginning to think there may be some merit in love at first sip.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16412123

Too Fic Too Furious by elanev91 [Rated T]

The M25 needs to undergo massive emergency repairs and the entire motorway has been shut down for, well, probably the rest of eternity. Lily Evans was foolish enough to think she could make it through before the traffic properly started. She's absolutely dying of boredom when she spots the guy in the car opposite.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14990837

you exist behind my eyelids by lovesickjily [Rated T]

How could they be in love with someone whose existence was only known because they frequented each other's dreams?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15861750

the one with the white suit and the red beanie by Apalapucian [Not Rated]

james agrees(?) to be a model for lily's photography class project, and jeanne, james, and lily all fall one way or another in the duration of it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16018502

Wishing you all a Good Evening by thejilyship [Rated T]

Lily Evans is a news anchor for her college news station and James Potter is a football star who has gained quite a bit of local notoriety. Lily's not impressed by him and his arrogance, but James is quite impressed with everything Lily does. After the blunder that was their first meeting, James is determined to change her mind and she's determined not to let him. College!AU

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15408027/chapters/35760174

So Just Act Like You Love Me by twilightstargazer [Rated T]

Lily was looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas by herself. Instead she's heading back home for her sister's engagement party with a fake boyfriend in tow.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11616078

the one with the storm and all the texting by Apalapucian [Not Rated]

James and Lily get stuck in a coffee shop during a storm.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16044326

Unexpected Perks by thejilyship [Rated T]

James and Lily meet in an airport after missing their flights, though by the end of the day, it all sort of seems like fate.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15368979

Sing A Reckless Serenade by twilightstargazer [Rated T]

“What kind of work thing?” James asks, warily. Lily takes a breath. It seemed like a brilliant idea last night, when she was more than three drinks under, but now in the light of day it just seems… pathetic. Still though, she needs help, and needs it soon, so she finds herself blurting out: “I need you to fake date me for a week.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9794741

Dr. Jones and the Witch by jamespotterthefirst [Not Rated]

Who is the stranger Lily drunkenly met at a party? And why can't she stop texting him?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16477184

no matter what (i love you) by softjily [Rated G]

When Lily’s aunt Rose introduced her to a scrawny twitchy eleven year old boy with frantic hair and glasses that were too big for his face, she certainly didn’t think she’d spend the next seventeen years beside him." Or, the VirtueMoir AU no one asked for.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16216460/chapters/37903337

Have a Biscuit by PetalsToFish [Rated G]

No matter how many biscuits it took, Minerva was too invested in James Potter's relationship with Lily Evans to tell him that he needed to stop eating all her biscuits.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16301453

The Engagement by itsa_bee [Not Rated]

Lily and Marlene decide to go wedding dress shopping, even though neither of them are even in a relationship much less engaged. One thing leads to another, James Potter enters the scene, some fake dating ensues, and then they eat an engagement cake!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15728991

Sixty-Nine, Nice by a_collection_of_nonsense [Rated T]

In which James Potter and Lily Evans are in a math course together and have absolutely no chill.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15663510

#Jily by Chie (Chierafied) [Rated G]

Twitter seemed awash with the hashtag Jily. Lily blinked at in confusion, until she realised it was one of those silly couple monikers people had bestowed on her and Potter. …Though there was a small dissenting crowd following a tweet from Potter’s bandmate Sirius Black: Jily? Hah! More like LAMES.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7292149

victorem by gryffindormischief [Rated T]

When God closes a door, sometimes you have to jump out a window.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14134368

Cheers to That by wotcherpotter [Rated G]

Breakout star James Potter has seen success on the new hit comedy Have You Ever, and has been nominated for his first BAFTA. Upon the announcement he receives congratulations aplenty online, including from fellow actor and long time crush Lily Evans.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12185553

follow your heart gently; by lilevans [Rated G]

social media au + “after lily spotted james on campus, she posted a video to her university’s campus story, telling james: ‘To the cute guy wearing the blue jersey in the university’s snapchat story, I’m seriously in love with you. find me.’ a modern day cat and mouse game ensues with the whole campus urging romeo and juliet to meet because oMG its love at first sight!!”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12130413

Questions and Answers by lizardcookie [Rated T]

The simple question of whether or not they're dating doesn't exactly have a simple answer. Seventh Year Jily.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7723105

Upside Down by Bob_The_Other_Zombie [Rated G]

Lily’s pop star career seems to be hitting a rut, until her publicity team comes up with the perfect plan- a fake relationship with James Potter, frontman of the hot new boyband The Marauders. Lily’s less than enthused- last time she and James were in the same room together, there was vomit involved, all over her nicest pair of shoes. After a few dates, however, lines begin to blur, and suddenly things between them don’t seem to be just PR anymore...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7500300

Sweet Tooth by mylifeissocoollike [Rated T]

Lily and James were best friends growing up, but when he moved away and they drifted apart they thought that would be the end of their friendship. But fate has a funny way of working out, and Lily can’t keep herself away from the brownies in the grocery store.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7301335

Lilium Regale by jewishwondergirl [Rated G]

Flowershop!AU. Lily works in a flower shop, and every Friday James comes in to buy flowers. For this prompt: "you keep buying a bunch of flowers so i think i have no chance but it turns out theyre for ur mum" Written (early) for Jily Trope Fest! Nothing but fluff.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7065067

The Benefits of Recklessness by madnessandbrilliance [Rated T]

Some people really were lucky they had good medical insurance. A Jily AU.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6779974

Darkest Night by thelittlegreennotebook [Rated G]

"It’s a tiny place, warm and welcoming with soft light and softer croissants. A place so small that if you happened to, say, run into the bloke you had been hell-bent on avoiding—well, there would be no avoiding about it." The third and last in a series of Jily college AUs for the November Fanfiction Challenge.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2563049/chapters/5699597

Happy reading!

[wackygoofball]

Hey, I want to say that I absolutely love your Jaime x Brienne moodboard AUs and cannot WAIT for Season 8 to kick off! I was watching Music and Lyrics the other day and was wondering if you'd done a moodboard for that yet? Because I think that would be amazing!

Hi anon, thanks for the lovely suggestion and for enjoying my moodboards! I love the movie to bits and pieces, it’s such a fun movie. Since I haven’t created a moodboard yet, it is now done. I hope it is to your liking:

Jaime Lannister is afailing musician. Back in his prime, his little brother and he started a kindof boyband, or a “mock band” as they called it, formed for the sole reason tospite their father and repay him for the unfair treatment particularly towardshis youngest son. Jaime played guitar, composed, and was the lead singerwhereas Tyrion took care of writing the lyrics, background singing, and themarketing behind the scenes.

Surprisingly, their mockband proved successful and soon they were actually superstars, gave concerts,landed on cover magazines and were offered dozens of contracts. In fact, theymade enough money to have a chance to break free from the family business, awelcome opportunity after Tywin threated to disown them both, should they continue“this utter folly any longer.”

However, things turnedsouth after that rather quicly: Jaime and Tyrion parted on very unkind terms,resulting in the younger brother going to Essos whereas Jaime remained in Westeros,with their mock band’s success soon no longer living up to its former glories.

Not wanting to crawl backto his family, Jaime decided to stay in the music business on his own andattempt a solo career. However, that didn’t work out greatly either, which lefthim under the belief rather fast that Tyrion was right with what he said to himbefore they parted – that Jaime never had any actual talent as an artist and hadonly ever been there for the looks. Then, Jaime got into an accident whileonstage, which left his right hand permanently damaged, thus making itimpossible for him to play instruments the way he used to.

In the present day, Jaimelets his not-at-all-too-great manager Bronn Blackwater run his business andorganize gigs in theme parks, furniture stores, and for mall openings where he performsthe old songs from the mock band all by himself.

Bronn surprises him withthe sudden job offer by rising star Daenerys Targaryen, a blonde beauty whocaused one sensation after another back in Essos, and now wants to launch hercareer in Westeros. She is invested in mixtures of modern beats with touches ofthe music of those places she visited on her journeys, including Dothraki folkmusic. Daenerys is looking for someone to write her a love song after she justrecently had to break up with her boyfriend Daario Naharis, to pursue her musiccareer in Westeros.

Bronn’s first attempts tofind Jaime a songwriter, since Jaime refuses to write songs, well aware that heis “not good with words,” quickly end in disaster when the man thinks his edgylyrics will do them any favors and insists on his artistic genius whereas Jaimejust finds that he is a pain in the arse.

His attention soon driftsaway from the self-absorbed guy over to the mannish woman who suddenly winded upat his apartment this very day to water his plants. She appears in place forhis old friend Catelyn Stark who normally volunteers to the task because shewants to check on him and Jaime just lets it happen so Cat won’t make noiseabout it. The blonde woman keeps humming along to the first music tunes Jaimestarted to put together, but soon makes up her own lyrics as she continues towater his plants – including those made of plastic – and Jaime must say: herlyrics are on point.

On a whim, he decides tofire the self-absorbed pain-in-the-ass songwriter and asks the woman carrying ablue watering can whether she wants to become a songwriter for him.

“… I don’t even know you. Iam just here to water some plants.”

“The name is JaimeLannister, pleased to meet you. And I think you drowned all of themsufficiently, Miss…”

“Brienne of Tarth, butBrienne’s enough.”

“Well, Brienne, then I’m just Jaime to you. So now that we are on firstname basis, how about you reconsider my offer? You would be paid real goodmoney and did I mention that you would be writing for Daenerys Targaryen?”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“She is the next risingstar in the music industry.”

“I honestly don’t know herand I should be on my way. Good day, sir, I mean… Jaime.”

And with that, shedisappears as fast as she came. Normally, Jaime would leave it at that and lookfor someone else, but time is scarce and he has to get that tape to DaenerysTargaryen as soon as possible if he wants to have any chance to get out of the endlesslimbo of mall openings and having his butt grabbed by way too eager fans. Thus,he continues to chase the woman, thankfully, Cat proves useful by providing himwith some information about her, though she cautions him that she is protectiveof her employee and won’t allow any harm to come to her.

“I wouldn’t ever. Cat, you knowme.”

“Well enough to know thatthis is right up your alley.”

“I thought you grew tobegrudgingly accept me.”

“Because you helped me getmy girls back. Other than that, I still consider you a nuisance at best.”

“You always have such nicewords for me, I feel blessed.”

Jaime eventually tracksBrienne down and confronts her about his offer another time, finding himselfalmost (but just almost) pleading herto at least give it a try.

“I need someone to writethe song for me.”

“But you are a musician. Youare a professional. Can’t you do that yourself far better?”

“I’m not a songwriter. Ican’t write lyrics for the life of it. I shit you not, I even struggled readingin school. C’mon, help a failing artist in need, wench.”

“What did you just call me?”

“I love old insults.”

“You are serious aboutthis.”

“As serious as someonefrequently showing up at furniture stores with sequined jackets can possiblybe.”

“Wow, you are desperate.”

“You have no clue.”

“Well, I suppose it can’tharm. And anyway, I still ought to water your plants.”

“They are all dead, buttheir sacrifice will be worth it so long you write this song for me.”

“They are all dead? What?”

“Well, the plastic ones arejust drenched. But that shouldn’t matter, we ought to get started. Now.”

And so, Brienne findsherself at Jaime Lannister’s apartment, pondering song lyrics for the veryfirst time in her life. It’s not like writing is at all unfamiliar to her. Backin college, she even took writing classes, always having felt an affinity forknightly tales already during childhoold. And of course there was that oneshort excursion into the life of an author, but that is something she won’tever revisit in a lifetime.

No thanks.

She remains surprised athow enthusiastic and eager Jaime is about her lyrics, which poses a starkcontrast to him being annoyed with her and her methods half the time, butBrienne finds that Jaime has to deal with that if he wants those lyrics fromher.

Though he won’t stopcalling her wench, no matter her insistence.

And Brienne must say, JaimeLannister is not at all what she first thought him to be, even more so aftershe watched some odd videos of hispast performances and finds herself dragged to one of his gigs in a theme parkshortly thereafter. Because Jaime did not lie about the women grabbing him in very inappropriate places. While he canbe a pompous ass, Brienne soon has to realize that beneath the sequined jacketsand easy smiles is a man who struggles with his identity as a musician afterhis injury made it impossible for him to compose the way he used to, thus beingforced to keep that old spark alive with playback tunes of the former mock band’sgreatest hits.

And oddly so, she findsherself relating to that. Because Jaime Lannister is not the only onestruggling with coming to terms with the past.  

The deadline keeps drawingto a close, but they are making good progress. To celebrate, Jaime invites Brienneto have some dinner in his favorite restaurant just down the street when thingstake a sudden turn. Brienne storms out of the restaurant when she catches sightof a man enjoying dinner with some business friends, it appears. Jaime chasesafter her and has to tease it out of Brienne that she and the man in therestaurant have a history:

Some years back, Brienne workedat Renly Baratheon’s company as his personal assistant but soon grew to be hisright-hand woman, impressing with her writing talent that soon surpassed thoseof any other senior, something that did not sit well with most of thepredominantly male staff. Though Brienne didn’t really care in the beginning,since she joined to be around the man she was secretly in love with, she becamemore conscious of her position as she was more and more successful over time.However, then Brienne found herself caught up by sudden attention coming from anumber of co-workers who suddenly wanted to date her. One man went too farduring a team-building exercise, and she pushed him away, only for him to burnhis arse in a campfire. As a result, she was ordered to a mediation sessionwith him and personnel manager Randyll Tarly, the very same man currentlydining in the restaurant. When the guy threatened to sue for assault, Briennethreatened back with charges for sexual harassment, only for the man to saythat this was “not worth the wager.” It was thus revealed that he and the guyswho wanted to suddenly date her had a bet on who would get her to sleep withone of them first. Brienne thought Mr. Tarly would be on her side, but, despitehis insistence that he would have sanctions be handed out to the menresponsible, insisted that she certainly was to be held responsible for it aswell. What did she expect, as a woman in her position, taking up all thatattention?

That alone nearly brokeBrienne, but things just kept getting worse because Renly’s company had to filefor bankruptcy and he had to return back to Storm’s End. Not wanting to accept“defeat” and to go back to her father as utter disappointment, Brienne took theoffer Catelyn, a business partner she got to know through Renly, made her inthe aftermath. Thus, she departed from Bitterbridge and followed Cat to King’sLanding to start working for her instead.

Brienne spent most days inhiding thereafter, always feeling haunted by rumors about her, a circumstancethat found its epic peak when Randyll Tarly published a guidebook for personnelmanagers wherein he described ��fictional cases,” at the heart of which stoodBrienne’s case. And the light he shed on her was not at all favorable, to saythe very least. To make matters impossibly worse, the book became a bestseller,as most people found Mr. Tarly’s dry and tough retellings oddly amusing.

“End of story.”

Brienne doesn’t want to goback into the restaurant at all, which is why she begs Jaime to just leave andgo somewhere else, but Jaime decides that it’s time she lives up to her ownbest example, being stubborn and brave past the point of sense at times, andfinally confront the man who brought her so much harm.

Brienne reluctantly agrees,but remains somewhat mute, until Jaime takes the lead and echoes what she toldhim, emphasizing how she is now a successful songwriter. Mr. Tarly lives up toany negative expectation Jaime may have had of the guy, revealing himself asthe cock he took him to be. Brienne is utterly shocked that Jaime comes to her defenseand understands just how much it hurt her, since she is so used that men expecther to always be strong and tough when deep-down, she could use some support,too. But Jaime gets it – and gives it to her when she needs it most.

In the aftermath, the twofall into bed together, or rather, under the piano, no longer able to denytheir burgeoning feelings for one another, no matter how dead Jaime’s plantsmay continue to be as a result of that union.

As things continue, Jaimealso finds himself opening up to her about how he ended up where he is now, howTyrion went behind his back to destroy his father’s company and that this wasthe reason why they broke up their partnership as fellow musicians and puttheir relationship as brothers on a hold.

Jaime admits he becamehesitant to compose, let alone write lyrics, after his injury, and after hissolo album flopped so badly that no one bought the last CD in the store downthe road for the past years – and he should know, he marked it. Jaime stuck toplaying the old songs because he doesn’t have to present anything new. Instead,he can just hit play button and make his audience happy.

It is Brienne who encourageshim to try again as a composer, to dare to be an artist again, after he came tobelieve that he never was one. After all, they will have to present somethingnew to Daenerys if they want to convince her. She also encourages him to takeadvantage of “the flaws” Jaime now finds in his music that come due to hisinjury, telling him that this is what she aimed at when she unsuccessfullypublished her own book as a struggle against Mr. Tarly that sadly failed, towrite flawed characters, and cherish their imperfections.  

“That’s what makes theminteresting. That’s what makes them unique. And that is what makes your musicunique, too. I think you have to dare to tell your own story, because there issurely a lot to tell. But for that… you have to dare.”

The two make it at the verylast minute to deliver a decent song, and at last they meet the starletDaenerys Targaryen. While she likes the song and agrees to go with it, shedemands that they compose another verse.

As the two continue to worktowards the new deadline, they enjoy their blooming romance, but drama is justaround the corner when Jaime finally meets Daenerys’s manager – namely hisformer manager, Tyrion.

The younger man actuallypushed some buttons to get Jaime on Daenerys’s list because he hoped to takethat as a starting point to renew their relationship, but Jaime feels all themore betrayed because he does not need his brother’s pity.

“You made clear that youthink I don’t have talent, but if you think that pitching me as a partner foryour client only just to get closer to me again, then you are perhaps not thebest manager after all.”

“I am honest about this.”

“You knew that I was andwon’t ever be a gifted songwriter. That was always you, not me. So why assignme to a task involving such to repair our relationship? Why embarrass me likethat?”

“Because I… I was wrong andwanted to show you that you were never without talent. It’s something I saidout of anger, to piss you off. And I stopped writing songs long time ago.Daenerys writes her own. I am just… a shitty manager, it appears.”

“Well, I don’t need yourpity points. I managed without you, even after you abandoned me.”

Jaime feels like cancellingthe entire plan for a while, and is surprised when Brienne isn’t in the leastmad at him but shows understanding for his situation, actually supporting himwhatever decision he may make. While she insists that she believes what theycreated thus far is better than just “pity points,” she will respect hisdecision, so long he commits to it. Jaime eventually agrees to carry on and thetwo get back on track to finish the last verse.

They are invited to seeDaenerys before the deadline, who says she did some adaptations to the songsshe would want them to hear, but neither one can say they are particularlyimpressed.

“I believe this is thesound of a Dothraki wedding, and those are scary as hell, involve sex andpotentially murder,” Jaime whispers at Brienne, though he won’t say so out loudwhen Daenerys wants to hear their opinion, declaring how proud she is of theproduct since it is a way for her to “honor” her “heritage.”

Brienne wants to tell herthat she finds the song horrid, but Jaime prevents her from it, something thatupsets her very much since Brienne always lives by the paradigm of honestyforemost. However, Jaime says that she asked him to commit, and he committed tohave that album produced.

“If we tell her that thisis shit, I will get fired and we end up with nothing. Then all of this will befor nothing.”

“You wanted to call it off before!”

“Because of my brother. Thatwas something entirely different.”

“And not because theproduct is bad? I thought you wanted to finally become an artist in your ownright.”

“Well, maybe that’s just asfar as I will ever get. Ever crossed your mind? I also have to pay a rent, youknow? And who knows, maybe other arrangements will follow after I get my footback into the door of the industry. You told me I should stop standing still,and now you tell me to do just that. You have to make up your mind at somepoint.”

“You are craven.”

“Well, that’s rich comingfrom a woman who spent her entire career in hiding. First under Renly, thenunder Cat. You could be so much more if you finally stopped tailing afterpeople who treat you with no more than basic human decency. You knew Renlywouldn’t love you back, and yet you stayed. Why? Because you hide away as muchas I do. Because you are afraid of actually… being in love.”

“I did love him. What are you saying?”

“You loved him because itwas safe from a distance. You had some bad experiences with those guys, but notall are like that. You hide away from love because you are afraid of people’simperfections. Because no one will ever match those knights you write about. Becauseyes, I read your book. I bought it like you bought my last CD.”

Brienne is all the moreshocked, not having anticipated that suddenly, this conversation would be aboutthem as a couple the same way it is about them as partners in the production ofthis song.

“You told me you embracedthose flawed characters. I read every single page. That guy? He is bloody wellall that you thought Renly was to you. Flawed characters don’t have happyending stories, Brienne. They don’t realize how wrong they were all along andfinally go for the girl who’s hidden in the shadows. They make mistakes, a lotof them. They sometimes love so much that it hurts. You are in love with afantasy of what love is, but you wouldn’t know what it is if it bit you in the arsebecause you can’t even bring yourself to love yourself despite or ratherbecause of your flaws. So really, get off your high horse and stop blaming mefor not living up to the fantasy of a man you will never meet because he is notreal. This industry is no fairytale, we are no characters in this fairytale. Thereality is that I am trying my best, but if that is not good enough for you,then maybe you should see whether your expectations, in any way, match realityof… life, not fiction.”

“Why are you saying that?”

“Because I am not Renly.Because I am no knight in shining armor. I am a failed musician who is holdingon to his career by a single thread who listened to you and now is getting shitfrom you because he is doing just what you told him to do.”

“I told you to commit.”

“And I commit to my career.”

“You commit to thisbullshit she calls a song.”

“Because that is thebusiness.”

“Which is why I can’t everbe a songwriter, I fear.”

“I fear so, too. Because theenvironment wherein you can live and never eat some crow along the way, acceptsome missteps, is, in fact… nothing but fiction.”

Brienne storms out afterthat, leaving Jaime to finish the verse by himself, even though that provesnearly impossible, considering that all he can think about is Brienne. To hissurprise, Brienne forwards the last verse to Daenerys to save his career, whichmakes him feel doubly bad for how they parted and what he said to her. However,it may be true that their fantasy is over and they played their final song.

Or maybe not?