#(he's the main singer if anyone doesn't know what the fuck i'm talking about)

[teddybeartoji]

sorry to be on this gender train all the time (it's so much fun) but i hope you do see me as the softest most loving girl in the world but also as the biggest dipshit of a guy in the world LMAOO PLSS i mean like the dick older brother from an 00's film yk this is who i am at my core i'm afraid

[oldworldghost]

How do you think P would react over finding out Reader likes to sing? Is a duet incoming in the walls of Hotel Krat?

P with a lover who's a singer! ☆

↳ Anon this is adorable! I'm tempted to write a fic about something along these lines at a different time, but for now have some hcs :]

➸ Pinocchio finds out you sing on one of his return trips to the hotel. His attention is first grabbed by the sound of the piano, its' notes greeting him upon his entrance, and being the artistically inclined man that P is, he naturally follows it. His attention is secondly grabbed by the faint sound of a voice, half hidden by the keys and only to be properly made out that's yours when he's standing in the doorway of the library. He makes eye contact with Antonia, who sends him a smile before turning back to you, who either hasn't noticed that he's there or simply doesn't care. He supposes it to be the former, too engrossed in what you're doing to pay attention to the outside world.

➸ He, very quickly, ends up the same. Dead glass eyes watch intently as your hands glide over the keys, something akin to life sparking in them as he listens to your voice dance with the music. Pinocchios' initial reaction is that you sound beautiful, look beautiful. Though it would be more accurate, I suppose, to say that he thinks you both look and sound incredibly human. P has never heard anyone sing outside of Vinyls, at least not for long, so being able to not only listen in person but watch as you engage in the act of something as human as music has his gears speeding up. Something in them has changed, he's sure of it.

➸ It should come as no surprise to say that Pinocchio is immensely curious about [and attracted to, in your case] things he perceives as human. This is partially due to the fact that he sees them as a goal, something to work towards and obtain, a barrier to be broken between himself and humanity as a whole. And of course this extends to music and is one of the reasons his vinyl collection is ever growing, why he always finds himself returning to the piano. It is a little hard to tell whether Ps' appreciation of art is something inherent to him or if it merely exists because he thinks it has to. In all honesty it's probably both.

➸ Now, to grow less introspective about it all, Pinocchio also just really loves listening to you sing because it's, well, you. He is undoubtably your number one fan, though he's subtle about it. Gemini is the hype man, much to the embarrassment of P and the amusement of Everyone Else. Honestly it's not even really embarrassment on Ps' part, more of an annoyed "wow I wish you would shut the fuck up!" because Gemini has the talent of being able to bring you into every conversation and you being a singer just adds more fuel to a fire that really does not need it [Pinocchio would one hundred percent do the same though if he was more, you know, talkative].

➸ One of Pinocchios' main love languages is quality time, and honestly you being a singer is perfect for that. Most of his time at the hotel is spent just sitting and listening and watching. Something about your voice makes him feel safe, as weird as that may sound. Maybe it's the affection in it when you sing for him alone, or just how intimate the atmosphere ends up being. He's not even sure if he's capable of feeling comfort, but he wouldn't change whatever's in his chest for the world.

➸ In regards to duets, I think Pinocchio would actually be rather open to the idea. Now, contrary to popular belief he can in fact speak, though he seldom ever does it without prompting. He doesn't really see the point in it if we're being honest, yes speaking is human but his voice is so flat and honestly he just doesn't have a lot to say about things. So it's fairly safe to say P has never sung before, hell he's not even sure if his voicebox can function like that, but nonetheless when you bring up the idea of a duet he's not only willing but somewhat eager about the whole thing. There's really no rhyme or reason for it either, Pinocchio just likes the idea of doing something human with someone who makes it easy to forget he's a puppet.

➸ Now Pinocchios' singing voice is actually rather nice! Though it is, of course, undeniably mechanical. There's something off about it, at times sounding like a crude mimicry of a human, a constant stiffness and roughness to it. It falls into a sort of uncanny valley, however there is also something undeniably endearing about it, something human about how much you can tell he wants to express anything in it. As for sound outside of puppetry, Ps' voice is fairly deep but retains a certain gentleness to it, a smoothness that contradicts the stiffness in a really lovely way. And yes, Pinocchio has a sense of rhythm.

➸ Pinocchio has a strong preference for keeping your duets private. The best way to do that, in his opinion, is when you're both out in the gardens dancing together. Under the stars while everyone else is inside, chest against chest and voices in sync, the gentle twirls and turns as you both slip into your own little world. If you couldn't tell how much he values your duets before, you certainly can now. Kiss him after the song is done, won't you?

[hiraeth-nostalgic]

SO (sorry i was gone i'm back to YAPPING)

who the FUCK is out here thinking reki had absolutely NO growth through the first season of sk8??? I saw a post talking about how even though he is the main character we "never see any development" regarding him and i just need to tell people who believe that: you are wrong.

Listen, reki is the main character™ so let me recount some things for us all.

first thing that comes to mind: when he is experiencing the jealousy that comes from the insecurity of being left behind, but he still shows up to see Langa race Joe. He still calls out to langa, and we see that even though he was insecure and feeling left behind he STILL came to support someone. he then sees that video talking about the guy who created the track shoes that were being worn and thinks it's stupid. that if he can't be at the top of skating, he shouldn't even skate anymore. he should just give up his dream bc a couple people are better than him. He has the talk with his manager that even if you aren't the MOST talented that doesn't mean you can't be involved and Reki still isn't quite there yet. I believe it was Joe who reminded reki that they are all on different levels and reki gets pulled into the beef with Adam. NOW the beef with Adam we see Reki trying to bridge the gap. He wants it so bad. it's not that he's not a great skater, because he is, but i think it comes from the general lack of self-love/self-confidence that held him back for a couple of things. HOWEVER he avoids Adam's moves, he literally JUMPS off the side and FLIPS (something he had never done before!) reki NEARLY wins and he would've if his board hadn't snapped!!! He embarrassed Adam!! something no one else had done!!!

the second thing: We see Reki become okay with not being the absolute best of the best and how he is a great skater, in his own way. (this starts to show in the race with Adam and then at the end we see it REALLY show) sure it may take him a little longer to learn a trick or something but he still learns it. he still loves skating. he redefines his LOVE of the sport not because he's the best of the best but because he actually has a support system in skating instead of before when he had no friends who shared the interest (you know, aside from a previous friend who could no longer skate) and its the story of even if you aren't as great as someone else you know, its still okay to do things for FUN and hanging out.

like this idea haunts all of us. for example: singing? most people are fine singers!!! but because they don't sing like Beyonce or Billie Eilish, suddenly they shouldn't sing for fun bc "they can't make a job out of it" like, the same for reki. Joe, Cherry, and Shadow are all adults who have lives outside of skating but for a CHILD it's the only thing for them at this point in their life, they are still trying to figure out who they are. its crucial to teens. Reki's not getting on a national team, he can't build a career out of actually skating so does that mean he shouldn't enjoy it? no!!! he works at the skate shop, he's really talented at building the boards, designing them, and understanding what will help individual people the best!! that's more than anyone else in the S community that we see actively skating.

Anyway, reki has so much growth in not only his skating but in his mental health but because it's not as flashy as Langa's or Adam's, people overlook it and downplay it.

[bitetherabbit]

tw death, sh

really really really want to scream but I can't

i don't know how to cope with her shit anymore

like idk what i fucking did to you to make you treat me like shit!!!

not this past holiday but the year before I was really struggling and we were supposed to go to family's for dinner and we arrive but the whole way there i'm having a panic attack so I refuse to go inside because I'm crying and freaking out. and mom just yells at me the whole time and then leaves me in the driveway!! and the only person to come check on me was my grandfather. (and then no one asked how I was doing after that. nobody checks up on me ever. nobody cares. i fucking love my family and no one ever asks how i am doing!!) and nothing was said about it later. nothing. no apology from her or anything!!! so like every other time this happens i just push it down.

and i don't feel like I can talk to anyone normally anymore without masking cuz im so fucking depressed and ready to peace out of here if the right thing pushes me over the edge. ive been avoiding visiting my grandparents because i've been feeling like absolute shit and he messages me that they miss me and i should come visit and i feel even worse from that because why can't i just suck it up and go see them while they're still alive. he's sick and isn't going to get better and we don't know how long he could have and he's been a father to me my whole life when i didn't have a good one to begin with and i fucking suck for ignoring him but i shut down when i can't handle things and that includes family and friends and i know that's awful but i can't help it im just a shit person who doesn't know how to function and im probably better off gone from here.

the literal only thing keeping me going is my favorite music and my favorite show. the lead singer wouldn't want me to die. the main characters wouldn't want me to die. i just cut even more in frustration cuz that's better than dying right? and now I have to hide it cuz it's on my wrist and it's pretty visible. fuck me fuck fuck FUCK!! I JUST WANT IT ALL TO STOP!!!!!!!

[harutostablet]

Group Rock Festival II

Once their duties were done the Dandies had a few hours break where they rested, showered, and changed clothes. Time seemed to fly by before they were back at the festival. The evening set was really just a guest appearance. And thanks to all camps involved there was a huge buzz about who the mystery headliner was going to be.

Of course they had to shoot a vlog for the rock festival. Since their managers weren't around Haruto happily let Makoto take the lead. It was just something fun and quirky about growing up in Japan. Haruto fibbed a little. He could only speak about coming back to Nagoya when his dad did.

After the video they sat in the back room waiting saved for talent. There were an array of snacks and drinks both alcoholic and not for the taking. They guys were bubbling with excitement as they raided the table. Ayame-kun was far too polite to giggle.

"This is so cool!" Mako-chan said with a mouth full of cookies

"They always have snacks and stuff back here…."Haruto said as he rested on the couch.

"Not for us," said Daisuke with his own hands full of snacks. "Not before." Haruto looked at them confused but nodded,happy that they were happy.

Haruto looked at his phone. He rarely looked at social media but with all the work they were doing to build this new brand he was narcissistic enough to want to see their progress and maybe see if anyone caught their set earlier.

He scrolled through the feeds smiling at how cool they looked together. Soon he found his his way through old feeds old messages, but then when they formed the new band, some of the old blogger that followed the guys before it gave him pause. Haruto knew that the guys had followers before but it was nice to see.

The blog post was about how they hoped the addition of a second rate legacy singer wouldn't corrupt the pure sound of their music. Haruto searched through the comments about how there was so much build up about Haruto being a rising star then attaching himself to this other group. Others came to his aid with comments about how this would be good for both. One of the hardest comments was that they expected more from Akita's son.

Suddenly, there were hands over his eyes, jerking him out of his thoughts.

"Guess who?" cooed a familiar female voice.

"Bailey-san?"

The hands moved away from his eyes and the young woman sat beside him.

"How was your set?" he knew Bailey had an early set on the first day.

"It was alot of fun. We didn't have the same number of fans you had but not all of us can get on the main stage." Haruto flinched.

"At least you go to perform?"he offered.

"At least," she said. Daisuke came over to bring Haruto a drink.

"You like this this one right?" he said. "You're Bailey-san right?" Daisuke said offering her a drink as well. She looked at the Daisuke, she leaned in.

"Alot of things make sense now," Bailey whispered to the boys. "Kaito-san carrying you out of the party , those guys in or hotel room. You choose them over me."

Haruto flinched. "I don't know what you're talking about….

"A-chan and I are in the same agency. She told me everything. How you clung to Kaito-san and left her at the club. " She turned her gaze to Daisuke. "How you and your little dandies had a nice, naked, party in the hotel room." It was Daisuke's turn to flinch.

"Bailey-san stop," Haruto whispered.

"It's not that he doesn't like getting sucked off for roles, I just have the wrong set of lips.

"Stop!" Haruto barked. "You got paid off me too, right?" he looked her in the eye. "Are you really mad that I didn't fuck you? Or did you not get paid enough?" He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, pulled out a hand full of bills. He reached for Bailey's hand and forced the money into her palm. "If you want more talk to Ueno, but I won't let you talk about me or my band mates anymore."

"I'm not a cheap whore!" she glared back throwing the money back at him.

"Leave Bailey-san,"he said watching with a cold gaze. The young woman turned and rushed away from them. Daisuke knelt down to pick up the money handing it back to Haruto

"I'm sorry," Haruto told Daisuke putting the money back in his wallet.

"What she said was true about us," Daisuke said. "Even in school there were rumors about us."

"She doesn't get to say it," he said. "Not when she made money off of me too." Haruto sighed. "I know we aren't actually friends but we still have to work together. You guys have been really nice to me and that's worth something," he sighed.

"I was going to send this to you tomorrow," Daiskuke puled out his phone typing something out, a few seconds later Haruto got an alert on his phone. "That's the file for the sumo anime. I, thought about you when I wrote it."he patted Haruto on the shoulder before walking away to join the other guys. Haruto sighed again, he'd look at it later.

Haruto sat back on the couch he wanted to close his eyes until it was time to work, but he spotted his younger brother milling about.

"Yukito?" he called out.The youngest Ono looked like he was caught and went to flop down beside his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Supporting my big brother," he said looking around

"My set was hours ago,"

"Oh." Yuki said still looking around the room."Is… Kaito-san around?"

"Really?" Haruto laughed.

"What? Haru-nii gets all the cute guys."Yuki pouted. Yukito's phone vibrated. "Shit, I have to go."

"Where?"

"Uncle wants me to scout this group on one of the other stages."

Now it all made sense.Yukito hated the music part of music festivals, this was work.

"Have fun," Haruto waved a his little brother got up. Yuki tsked.

"We're coming for Dad's set tomorrow. You coming?"

"Yeah," he said relaxing into the couch again until it was time to work.

[fr3akinthecorner]

ur a boy! ur a boy! why can't I be a girl anymore? bc it's fucking sexy that's why u don't feel all that well? I'm gonna be ok dude no just wait a little while longer I'm gonna body slam u down a slide I have no idea what that means good! ur a boy! she's a boy! dude shut up I don't care anymore I'm a boy now seee we said J

it wouldn't kill u! or did it? hahahaha yea really cute and funny my girlfriend is a boy! is it gf or bf keeho? dude it's girlfriend that is not fair at all we won't talk about it too much but ur definitely going to get your fucking Virginity taken? what? hahaha what was that? I'm gonna pop your cherry hahaha I am not computing can we get some iced coffee together? no! I said no!!! where do u want to go? please don't make me punch u omg she's a boy I know it she's a boy she's gonna punch me like a boy I'm a boy for dear God this is why I'm going to he'll with lava mcgee hahahaha u were gonna say daddy keeho omg there's no way ur real father would do something like that? he has and he will u can't say it I don't want to say it hey are u alright? ur car is really cool let me take u for a ride bb ok :) call me back l8r my gf is a boy this makes everything so complicated do u have any idea on why it matters? no I don't u literally ran around the house I know but I couldn't do it ok so stop and think about how I could find u in my car if

my name is emit

my name is keeho I got the golden coin so drive a little longer to John in Portland, maine you're mine and only mine let's get this show on the road u forgot how to write for daddy so he's gonna run a few practice rounds on u and hey emit go on the highway and never come back we have a movie to start and my art is the best we can't let this little boy down and I have to take his Virginity soon yea right! ok no u can't say that let me tell u something about being my gf she's always high on meth get the ball rolling emit fuuuck! u said he would be late hahaha he never said that he said u work for door dash right gf? my little Hawaiian shordy has a date with daddy tonight don't forget the puppy emit he lives at his house? the boy u wanted to fuck? keeho none of this makes sense yes it does baby it'll make sense once you're back to normal but I'm not playing with girls ur right ok so emit has to walk a puppy to judson pointe? no ur puppy! how did u come back to this house? I was with u the whole time and they kept calling u a girl ur a boy right? yes I'm a boy finally omg! daamn baby! ehh it needs work u can have my scouts honor it doesn't need work it needs ur pushy ok so I'm gonna end this here before nothing makes sense to anyone but us! u did really good trying to find music but it is disappointing us now so what are we to do? I love you keeho I love you too boy! come on let's find a song I promise you'll feel better but what am I sad about? ur sad bc u can't be a girl why is this so sad? it's ok ur gonna make sense of it all millions of years later dude that's not right I just wanna know why! no u can't even talk to me properly because your body hasn't evolved into its full sex Magix u are a virgin! I'm gonna take it tonight oh ok well as long as what were writing isn't bad or boring to other people let's keep talking what happened to the tattoos u gave me? they might come.back why can u never give me a straight answer? bc ur a boy u don't deserve it but the joy of luck has found u so when that sets in you'll have so much fun! ur weird! im.not weird im getting ready to fuck u tonight daddy? no! stop porno Manga is back in program? yes it is and I don't want to hear anything about how awful it is to write u have much potentiontial in this field dude no I don't I completely forgot how to write it! ok so? daddy? can I have some money for my shifty writing? no! I said no!! it's going on social media for free but ffuuuck! aren't u in a troubadour family now? fuuuck! emit they found out we pretended to be punk singers daamn baby! that's my pirate and ur sucking his dick? ew! that's all I could say my love! I'm gonna fuck u so good that u die ok well thats cool I suppose u suppose? you're so bad at this call me daddy? hey I'm calling u? no baby! it's daddy! fuuuck! hey I can get you out but u gotta call me lava magma hey lava magma fix the situation ok no?!?! play nice with daddy lava magma aren't u lava mcgee too? yes school is postponed! getting high is mandatory! I'll get high either lava mcgee ok so school starts tomorrow cool will there be a fashion program? no deliveries! fuuuck! emit take the fucking puppy to judson pointe it might belong to Carlos montoya oh ok so lava mcgee wants to know if he can call your grandpa? who is he? a photographer/artist he's already calling ok so the rape thing did reset his artwork so a new lava mcgee writing room session happens when? bc devil baby

[billfarrah]

I don't know if I'm in the minority here but what I loved about season 2 is actually Simon's storyline! I get wanting to dive deeper into his family life and that better be the plan for season 3 if they get one, but all the things we did get I thought were brilliant. I loved loved Simon in season 1 but he at times he came across a little perfect with his incredibly strong morals and such a clear understanding of who he is. I mean yes he was selling booze and drugs to help him and Sara make it through Hillerska but that felt pretty justified.

I don't know how anyone can say that Simon was just reduced to a love interest this season when those romances worked so well to bring to light the way Simon struggles. We learned that he runs away from difficult feelings instead of really dealing with them, he can be talked into things he knows are not right (we can say whatever we want about Marcus and his manipulation but Simon should have never even went on a second date with him) and we learned that to an unnerving level he doesn't let himself break down (that gun scene and the way Simon held all of his anger in - chef's kiss acting from Omar).

And clearly there's something about Wille that just makes him feel all the possible emotions and he's so drawn into that and maybe a part of it is the fact that he gets a little bit off on the drama (hello the whole swinging a ball at Wille's face and then proceeding to make him jealous at the locker room and at the ball despite the fact that he knew perfectly well that Wille is already so fucking jealous). Now that I think about it, and don't hate me for it, I suspect Marcus all in all is a little too boring for him. A kid he went to pre-school with who knows all of his personal shit because their mothers are friends? That's not the life Simon wants, he doesn't want to stay in Bjärstad, he's told us this in so many ways. He wants to be a singer probably. Listen, he kissed an obviously closeted Prince of Sweden after spending the equivalent of one day with him, he is looking for drama just a little bit. Simon is good and honest and he loves the people around him so much but he's also a little messy and a little petty and he doesn't always make the right choices and all of that just makes me love him a thousand times more.

Sorry for the insanely long message I just have a lot of thoughts that I'm desperate to share 😂 Love your blog and the incredibly thoughtful conversations you are having here 💞

I love this I love this I love this I want to have this framed. This is exactly how I’ve come to view Simon’s storyline in season 2 after sitting with it for a while.

At first I was a little bummed that we didn’t get more of Simon’s family life, but if you think about the way Simon’s storyline ended in s1, it leads perfectly into his storyline in season 2. His season 2 arc begins when Sara tells him he lets everyone piss on him and when he tells Wille that he has to deal with things on his own. Simon took what Sara said to heart and said it was time to start prioritizing himself. He had no reason to stay in contact with Micke and the main thing he’s dealing with in season is his heartbreak over Wille and the video situation. What we see is a Simon who is desperate to move on and forget everything that happened the previous semester and the way he deals with that is by running away. He does it in season 1 too (for example when he runs away from his and Wille’s argument in the music room).

I understand why people say he was reduced to a love interest, but to me, the centre of this story is the love story, so of course Wille and Simon’s character arcs are going to heavily deal with that. Wille’s storyline was heavily about his feelings for Simon as well - Simon is all he wants after all. The focus of the season was them trying to live without each other and it not working.

I also agree that Marcus is too boring for Simon. It’s set up in season 1 that Simon wants more out of his life as you said and he’s very clearly drawn to Wille - Rosh even calls him out on it in season 2. He is scared of getting hurt but can’t help but be drawn in. He keeps Wille at a distance but then pulls him back in when he feels him drifting away. As you said, he’s a little messy and petty and he experienced so many emotions this season and I thought it was brilliantly done.

Simon has a fire inside of him just as much as Wille does and that’s why they’re so drawn to each other - they bring that fire out in each other.

I also loved that we got to see more of Simon’s love for singing. I thought that part of his character was underwritten in season 1 and I’m so happy they expanded on it.

I wish I had more to add but you explained it so perfectly. Feel free to slide into my DMs with your thoughts anytime; this was a pleasure to read!

[clairecrive]

"Rock my world" - Sirius Black x reader

A/n: I was thinking of making this a series but idk, let me know what you think. The band in the picture, Maneskin, are my inspiration for the marauders' band music and aesthetic. Check them out cause they're really good. They're going to represent Italy at the next Eurovision contest.

Here's their Instagram and Spotify.

Tags: Muggle AU, so ofc no magic, no Hogwarts, Marauders in a rock band, no Peter but Regulus instead, jily

Warnings: none

Word count: 2.2K ish

Summary: When y/n finally agrees to check out this band that her best friend was always talking about, she's in for a pleasant surprise and one hell of a night.

It had all started in the cheesiest and most cliscé of ways, really. Y/n had made a bet which had made you go out of your comfort zone that one night and for your bravery, you were rewarded with the most amazing boyfriend ever. It sounds like a story out of a rom-com or a romance novel, doesn't it? Well, yeah, it felt like a main character moment but, unlike what we see in those stories, it wasn't always fun and games.

But let's start from the beginning, shall we?

Y/n's best friend Jules had been nagging her about this rock band who was apparently the new sensation of the year according to her, for the longest time. So, one Friday night, when Jules had informed her that that very band was playing in a bar not very far from her workplace, she agreed to go for drinks there.

Worst case scenario, she thought, the music will be terrible but at least I get to tease Jules about it.

Still clothed in the floral dress she had chosen this morning, but adding a few glittery touches and graphic eyeliner to make her look more nighty, y/n headed towards said bar where Jules was already waiting for her.

"Finally," she huffed when y/n rounded the corner and entered her field of vision. 

"Sorry, it was my turn to close tonight," y/n shot her an apologetic smile before hooking their arms.

They made their way inside looking for a place to sit. The bar was already crowded but not in an unusual way. Maybe it was the hour or the fact that it was a weeknight, y/n didn't know but felt grateful that it wasn't packed. She really wasn't a fan of crowded places.

They got their drinks and caught up as they usually would about their week. They were almost finished when the band walked up the stage and music started playing. Even before the first note, one look at their outfits made clear what kind of music they were going to play. 

They had an interesting aesthetic, y/n had to admit. They wore the same colour but each member had their own style. The band was made up of four guys, the bassist had long straight hair and he looked a lot like the singer who instead had curly hair, the drummer had short curly light brown hair and y/n couldn't see what he was wearing past a black vest while the guitarist had black hair that was all over the place and wore glasses. 

They had an androgynous aesthetic, each of them with beautiful makeup in tones of black and grey and the ones y/n could see clearly were wearing a sort of body. They looked stunning. Y/n had decided she liked them based on this alone. She had to admire anyone who had the guts to express themselves freely especially when it was in such an open and unapologetic way of going against gender norms.

After half an hour, the music stopped and after the singer wished everyone goodnight and they all climbed down. As she expected, they played rock music ranging from soft rock edging pop to hard rock that made her think a lot of ACDC. Y/n wasn't an expert in music but she had liked what she heard and wouldn't mind listening more from them. She was sure that she was going to catch some of their songs on the radio in the future. 

However, Jules picked up the conversation where they had left it before the concert and decided that it was the time where she'd complain about her recent love interest. Each of their weekly meetings had one of this moment. Unfortunately, it looked like Jules didn't have a lot of luck when it came to guys. And as it always would, she wondered if she was the problem asking y/n if the reason every one of her relationships failed because she was unlovable. As if.

"That's not true, I truly believe that you can learn to love anyone. Lest you get to know them, of course."

"Of course you'd say something like that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you truly believe that, then you're not going to say no to this." Jules wriggles her eyebrows suggestively and y/n knew that the night is either about to become very interesting or about to go very wrong.

"The expression on your face is telling me that I should definitely say no to what you're about to say."

"Oh c'mon, it's just an innocent dare. Nothing too crazy, I promise."

"Which is?"

"You see that guy leaning on the bar? Long black hair with the black leather jacket?" Y/n turned around indulging her friend and eventually spotted the guy she was talking about. She took her time to look at him until she realized something that made her whip around to face Jules again.

"You mean the singer of the band?" y/n asked incredulously.

"Isn't he handsome?" Jules smiled wide completely ignoring the look y/n was giving her already knowing what was going through her friends' mind. "I want you to go to him and ask him out."

"What?" 

"C'mon", Jules complained reaching out to y/n over the table, "didn't you say that it was possible to love anyone? Can't you see yourself loving him?"

"That's not the point," y/n exclaimed still not believing that her friend was suggesting something so outrageous. "Can you see him loving me?" Because that man over there had "heart breaker" spelt all over him. And okay, y/n had to admit that this was a rush judgment she was making and it wasn't exactly fair but there was no way that a guy like him could be interested in a girl like her.

And yes, we could stay here and discuss all the reasons why that statement is wrong but still, if she were to put herself out there -something that was not like her at all- she wasn't going to go over someone so out of reach for her. And that was that.

"Listen, do you remember that video you sent me the other day?" Jules squared her shoulders, now looking fully serious at y/n. Unfortunately, y/n did remember the video Jules was talking about. She would have never guessed it would come back and bit her in the ass otherwise she'd never sent it.

Sighing, y/n looked down at the drink in her hands and thought about it. The video basically encouraged the viewer to go up to what they believed was the most beautiful person in the room and tell them exactly that. It may sound a little silly but at the time y/n had appreciated the sentiment. Going out of one's comfort zone. Challenging yourself. Because, what was the worst that could happen? That person shotting you down? That didn't sound life-threatening. Now though, y/n wasn't so sure. 

"Worst case scenario, just tell him I'm calling you and head back here." Jules offered, almost as if she could tell exactly what her best friend was thinking.

Looking at her best friend, something snapped in her. Jules was right. What's the worst that could happen? She already knew that the guy was going to shoot her down. She was prepared. It was a dare, a silly thing that could give her a story to tell to her nephews one day. 

What the hell, y/n thought squaring her shoulders. 

"You know what?" she downed the rest of her drink and got up from her seat, "I'm doing it." Looking in the reflection of the tissue box on the table to check how she looked, she fixed her smudged lipstick and ruffed her hair before nodding solemnly at Jules and turned around.

As she made her way to the bar, she could hear Jules cheering on her fueling her sudden confidence. 

The man of the hour was there where she saw him last. Her steps faltered as she realized that she had no idea how to approach him. What was she going to say? Oh my god, she was totally going to make a fool of herself. If she was not going to die for his rejection, she sure is going to die of embarrassment. 

She was almost about to turn around and abort the mission when his eyes met hers.

Well, fuck. There was no way she was going to back down now.

She regained her confidence and smiled at him while closing the distance between them. She smiled at him. Who was she? Did someone drug her drink?

He smiled back at her, turning so that he'd be facing her once she reached him and she almost stopped to pinch herself to see if she was hallucinating or something.

"Hey," she said once she stood in front of him. Good, she thought, let's start with something simple.

"Hi," he smiled back at her.  

Okay, okay, it's going good, isn't it? He hasn't ignored me, that must mean something, right? Yes, that he wasn't a rude asshole was her sobering thought.

"So," y/n started trying to take to time while she figured what to say, "I saw a video the other day," was what she ended up with. 

The handsome stranger lifted his eyebrows in amusement and took a sip of his beer. Y/n took that as a "go on then".

"There was this woman that basically dared anyone watching to go up to the person who they thought was the most beautiful person in the room and tell them exactly that." Well, let's just get it out of the way, I guess, she thought. "So, here I am," she added as if it wasn't clear enough.

However, as she saw the man's smile widen, y/n suddenly realized how really screwed she was. This man was way out of her league.

"Well, now that I'm here, I should also mention that you've really good at what you do too." 

"Not to sound rude or anything," he spoke for the first time that evening and y/n had already decided that he had been the gods' favourite in another life before he opened his mouth but now? as he heard his low and raspy voice? she was sure he had been at least a demi-god, "did you lost a bet or something?" he asked, his grey eyes boring into hers like he was looking into her soul.  

Who was this guy? and why was she feeling like this? Get a grip, y/n, she scolded herself.

"Is it that obvious?" y/n's shoulders slouched as some of the tension left them, a nervous laugh leaving her mouth. 

"I saw you downing your drink like it was some kind of bravery potion before you came here," he explained with a light scroll of his shoulders. "Not that I mind though," he added with what should be an illegal smirk. Smug.

"Yeah, I'm sure you've heard it countless time only tonight." Let's joke on it, she thought, there's still a chance I can come clean out of this mess. 

He chuckled and, not leaving her eyes, he slipped a hand through his loose hair pushing it back. "I meant that if you hadn't come I would probably found an excuse to come up to you too." He leaned back onto the bar looking completely unbothered, not as if he had said something that made her feel on fire. 

"Looks like I've to thank your friend for my luck." Looking over your shoulder, he held one of his hands up and lightly waving at Jules, y/n figured.

"Yeah, let's not tell her that or I will never hear the end of it." Rolling her eyes, y/n also leaned on her arm resting on the bar next to him. Whether it was the fact that all the cards were on the table or that what he said meant that he had to somewhat like her, she felt more relaxed than a couple of minutes ago.

"Before I make this solemn oath, I think it would be appropriate to know your name, don't you think?"

"It's y/n," she held her hand up for him to shake. However, he had something else in mind since when he took hold of her hand he turned it and held it up to his lips to leave a soft kiss on it. Y/n  almost rolled her eyes at the gesture if it wasn't for his eyes. They didn't move from hers and she found that she didn't want to stop looking at him. Like she was in a trance. Yes, he was handsome, even more so up close, so of course he was nice to look at but that wasn't why. It's the way his eyes glimmered as they watched her, the gentleness with which he was holding her hand, the softness of his lips on her skin. What would they feel like on her lips, she wondered.

"I'm Sirius." 

And that's how it all started. A silly video sent almost automatically to her best friend and an outrageous bet made y/n's night definitely interesting. To her luck though, Sirius became a permanent presence and not a one-night sensation.

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Tagging: @seldomabsent

[chenoehi]

My thoughts on Grammys, BTS, and the Academy's supposed 'diversity'.

Can't do 'Keep Reading' on mobile guys so if you don't care about it keep on scrolling.

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The only BTS music I thought might have a slim chance for a nomination was "Boy With Luv (ft. Halsey)" as a pop duo collaboration. That was it. Anything more than that was just wishful thinking.

The Academy (both Grammy and Oscar's) talk about diversity when controversy comes up, they give some Black artists and actors awards, they look like try-hards, and then the next year they repeat history. Each year more men continue to be nominated than women, even in years that women dominated the industry. Each year artists who push boundaries continue to be overlooked or less favored than more traditional artists. Each year recognition continues to be bulk awarded to the most basic artists with the most basic styles with the most basic music, often times the same (mostly white) artists each year. No one get me started on always having to award artists like Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran or Adele each year they make music, despite whether or not what they put out is actually good, original, or better than what they did the year before. I'm not singling them out, but I think they illustrate my point. I will make one exception for Adele because she is a phenomenal singer, although I did not personally believe 25 deserved to sweep; I've been told by fans that Ed Sheeran is a good performer, so I'll give him that but I'll keep my thoughts of his music and the rest of my opinions to myself. But I get tired of artists like these getting nominated every time or almost every time they put music out and then getting awards every time they're nominated, hence sweeping. It gets tiring when the music that frequently-awarded artists put out sucks and they keep raking noms because of who they are.

There is absolutely nothing BTS or any other Asian et al. artists can do to beat that system. None of the criticism in the world has changed it thus far and I don't know that anything ever will. It's a hard institution to tear down. They will use "diverse" artists for ratings by inviting them and having them hand out awards and, in BTS's case, making such a big deal as to even display their Grammy outfits in the museum, and then they will refuse to nominate them.

It's a back handed compliment to non-Western artists. The Academy is saying they're good enough to help win over a predominantly younger and more diverse generation of viewers but they're not good enough to be awarded for their achievements.

What's worse is, the only expectation I had was for the Academy to invite them as performers despite whatever minuscule nomination they might have garnered, because it's been clearly hinted they would attend another Grammys and the Academy would frankly be fools to not have them perform after the shitstorm going on the pop industry rn. If you know anything about the Taylor Swift situation (you may not be able to tell which one because there are always so many) who knows if she will be performing this Grammys, and her medley of her songs was supposedly going to be a highlight; something's always stirring things up so who knows if certain artists don't end up going at all or bow out of performing. Ariana Grande bailed on the 2019 Grammys because the Grammy producer wouldn't let her perform songs she wanted to, and these kinds of disputes happen and artists who are nominated become no-shows. So, the opportunity to invite a group with a huge following, who have already proved to increase ratings, seems like a sure move right?

But BTS can't exactly perform at the Grammys if they're not nominated for a Grammy; I don't see them doing a tribute any time soon either. And if the Academy even dares to invite them at this point for a performance it will be an insult and a transparent ratings grab. BTS may still go to avoid appearing as if their pride has been wounded or just because they want to go regardless. They know better than their fans how it feels to lose, to be discarded, to be overlooked. This is happening to them first and foremost, not us. And if they decide that they will deal with this the same way they dealt with all their other struggles, to push on, perform for their fans, and use the opportunity of exposure for what it's worth, then support them and their decision. I, for one, won't be watching it live regardless of whether they are there. If all the Academy wants is ratings from BTS fans when they are fine with treating them like garbage, they won't get ratings from me.

I fully believe that the Academy is not only discriminatory to non-Western, non-white artists but that failing to nominate BTS for any award at all is out of fear. Fear that their traditional, safe artists will be offended and boycott the awards if they lose out on a nomination, fear that their fanbases will retaliate, but more importantly, fear that BTS or any other gigantic force of a non-Western artist may be a shoe-in for whatever award they are nominated for and potentially sweep if allowed to compete with all other artists. This comes after BTS won Best Group at the Billboard Music Awards this year. Their first time being nominated for a major U.S. award category. It wasn't even a Best New Artist schtick. It was a main category and they were up against established, popular, Western groups like Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5. It comes on the heels of Super M earning number 1 debut album and beginning a successful tour they are on right now. It comes after Blackpink performed at Coachella and toured the country. It comes after NCT 127 and ATEEZ toured the country. Even TXT, a months old group, had successful showcases in major U.S. cities.

The Academy is too racist and xenophobic to acknowledge Asian artists--they always have been and they always will be. The most diversity we'll see is the nomination of Black artists, but still only 2 were nominated for SotY whereas 4 were nominated for RotY. I don't know the exact numbers, but any time I've ever kept up with the awards I don't see very many other diversity groups being represented in nominations either, such as artists with disabilities or LGBT artists who have different gender expressions and identities or sexual orientations that impact their music, performance, and artistry. Halsey's intimate performance at the BBMAs with that female dancer was huge because that's just not something that's really done. Still. And any time it does happen it's a Britney and Madonna moment all over again, it's a fetish to everyone. Progress has been made but it's very minuscule in comparison to the 'diversity' touting approach they've taken.

I'll just leave the words of this morning's Rolling Stone article here:

So, the Academy selectively extends its diversity goodwill just as they always have. No shade to the artist, but just using this example of Lil Nas X versus BTS, you have a young Black, gay artist who started his career in late 2018. He's nominated for some of top Grammys with a minimal discography--an 18-minute EP. This is groundbreaking, it's great. BTS, a 6-year-old established group of young Korean artists who break nearly every record there is and dominated Western charts this spring, and they continue to chart Billboard and Western streaming platforms. They earn no nominations.

The two artists ironically happen to have a collaboration in the form of Old Seoul Road.

Congrats to Lizzo and Lil Nas X (that's not shade at Billie btw) but this tweet from the New York Times is so unbelievably misguided because the Academy's conception of diversity is like seasoning with mostly salt, a little pepper and no cayenne (hate to use that analogy but am I wrong?):

I do appreciate that some artists who don't get nominated a lot got nominations, but looking at the list of top awards I just can't imagine how some of those got through. And I listen to a lot of different music and some BTS stans may have know idea who the fuck Bon Iver is and I'm not saying they don't deserve nominations period, but when you look at the list it's just mind boggling how a song like BWL that was listened to and appreciated like a summer anthem would be could not be included in that mess. (Vampire Weekend for Album of the Year, what, who the fuck, is that, they've been around since 2006, that's when I listened to nothing but metal and rock and I don't, know who the fuck this obscure band is? I may have heard of them once eons ago but they apparently made no impression? I'm sorry). I won't go as far as to say BWL was a Western summer anthem because much of the gp still doesn't know them, this is true. But apparently that's never stopped the Academy before. Bonus, anyone remember Bon Iver winning Best New Artist over Katy Perry all those years ago? No, just me? Good times. (Respect to Bon Iver, I'm just making a point that a lesser known artist won that award over a popular artist and the public went "waH?" Bon Iver being nominated for Record and Album of the Year this time honestly has the same effect as before because what is Hey, Ma even. I listen to Indie music so. What it is.)

Anyway. That's my thoughts. Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed is a myth. You will always have room to be disappointed in humanity.

Edit: while I'm at it, a big, massive fuck you to the Academy for never nominating Halsey for Without You.

[bigboxofbees]

Quicksand / Störst av allt

This is a swedish Netflix original series (the first one!) about a school shooting, so the following analysis/review will include discussions around that topic. There will also be some smaller spoilers (if you don't want those, you can stop reading after the second image. The show sets out to explore the main character's involvement in the shooting. A thing that makes this show interesting is the fact that Sweden has no history of this type of crime. It jumps between flashbacks to the present, the present being when she was found all the way to when the verdict was being read. I would like to mention that I would not recommend this show to anyone who feels like the topics of gun violence, suicide and sexual assault might be too much for you. They do show the shooting, there's mention of suicide and it has a rape scene.

In short terms, the show can be described as a Romeo and Juliet story. It's a whirlwind "love story" that ends in death. It's about two 17-yearold (later 18-yearold) teens, Maja and Sebastian (fun fact: the actor is a singer, he almost made it to eurovision), who've known eachother since they were children. Sebastian has been away for a year, he and Maja meet again on a night outside a night club. It's been made clear that Sebastian is the kind of guy who "can get any girl". He's rich and popular, yet suddenly only has eyes for Maja. She is your average girl, according to herself. Her family has money, but cannot afford the lavish lifestyle of Sebastian's family. It's the classic rich and troubled guy falls for the girl who doesn't see herself as special. Right after they met, Maja is going on a 3-week vacation to France with her family. Sebastian (and his father) meets up with Maja in France as a surprise, and this is where their love story begins.

Maja and Sebastian falls "in love" fast, it's unclear how long their "romance" lasted, but the timeline of the show seem to only stretch about a year. Although it is important to note, this timeperiod was very intense. They spent days (or possibly a week or two) alone on a luxury yacht the same week they met, Sebastian threw a huge party (drugs and alcohol included), she learned details about him and his family, they were in an accident and they went hunting with her grandfather (fun fact: my mother was in one of his movies in the 80s!).

A side character who's also of importance is Samir (fun fact: played by a former Youtube vlogger, whom I've seen live and he's fucking awesome, just putting it out there). Samir does not come from a family like Sebastian's. He does not understand what Maja sees in Sebastian, because to him Sebastian is nothing but a spoiled rich drug addict. However, he does seem to care about Maja, so perhaps his words come from a place of concern with a touch of jealousy. Sebastian seem to have made Samir his enemy, and there are definitely some racist remarks towards his parents who are immigrants from the middle east. Cheap shots indeed, but this shows that Sebastian is afraid of losing Maja to Samir; the intelligent son of immigrants who does well for himself, unlike Sebastian. He probably sees Samir as both above and below himself in a sense.

Another noteworthy character is Maja's best friend Amanda. Maja describes her as someone who "pities everyone, but equally pities herself", as "self-centered, but cares so much about everything". When Maja confesses that she may no longer be in love, Amanda (who's at least fairly aware about Sebastian's issues) says that "some people would've left him, but you aren't leaving him". She appears to be rather loyal to Sebastian, despite being friends with Maja first. Perhaps because she likes the perks of being that close to Sebastian and his way of life? However, when she learns more about what's going on the tone changes somewhat, she realizes things are bad.

Fast forward, Maja finally decides to break up with Sebastian. This is around the time when things are starting to really spiral out of control. Sebastian's father is not a great parent (I'm being generous here), an example of this would be when Sebastian is in the hospital and neither his father nor his brother comes to visit, they are on vacation. His mother is no longer in the picture, what happened to her is unknown, but there was a disturbing comment about her and his father clearly does not like her. This all becomes a lot for Sebastian, the disappointment, the drugs, the jealousy; his only escape was Maja, and she broke up with him. Maja feels even more responsibility over Sebastian, so she kind of stays with him. Maja can't bring herself to leave him, not even after he assaults her. In court she mentions that she "wishes he had hit her harder" so that she wouldn't feel so guilty about leaving him.

Maja is being detained for being suspected of murder, attempted murder and assisted murder. She is not completely innocent, that much is clear from the start, the question is what her involvement actually was. Maja doesn't seem to be able to picture herself a life after the shooting. When her legal team says "we all want you out of here" she responds with "out to where?". Perhaps she didn't plan that far, perhaps she doesn't feel like she has anything left or perhaps she didn't plan on making it out alive. What actually happened I won't spoil.

The scenes in the courtroom brings up a couple of interesting aspects of the trial. First we have witness tampering. The police didn't handle the main witness properly and therefor the witness' memories weren't clear. What this teaches us is that even if someone is not telling the truth, they may not be lying. Because by talking to other people, your memories can be altered, especially in situations like this. Another thing is the media, which played a role in the trial. As Maja's lawyer puts it: "She was already found guilty before we started". The media had been running stories about how horrible she was, which affected everyone in the courtroom. The last thing I wanted to bring up was victim blaming, we see the classics of "Did you say no? Did you report it?" and "Why didn't you leave?".

The show certainly sets out to humanize the people of the shooting, however, it does not try to romanticize the events nor their relationship. It starts out as this fantastical love story, but turns into a very toxic relationship and a downward spiral. If anything, it serves as a cautionary tale, because sometimes we can't save those we care about. Sometimes it's best to walk away.

As a final note, it does not however explain why it happened, we never got a clear motive. All we know is that the teacher had called for a meeting about Maja and Sebastian, and this is where it happened. But, perhaps, the lack of a motive is intended as a message. People do horrible things, maybe they don't always have a clear reasoning behind it; perhaps it was irratic and impulsive with no clear motive. But I would say that the shooting isn't the most central part of the show; it's their relationship. It's not a show about a school shooting, it's a show about how a relationship can turn toxic and spiral out of control.

I absolutely would recommend the show. It keeps you glued to the screen and you can easily watch it in a day (I did). It explores interesting topics and you're never quite sure whether or not you should be rooting for Maja until the very end.