#I haven’t been able to listen to the new album yet :(

[yes-armageddon-it]

[folkloresthings]

❛ HEAVEN KNOWS ❜ ❨ lando norris x singer!reader ❩

📻 track three: you’re just a boy (and i’m kinda the man)

in which the they were the perfect couple, until they weren’t. or in which we take a look back into what made heaven itself fall apart.

… OCTOBER 2023

INSTAGRAM. october second.

liked by irisapatow, rachelzegler and 810,673 more

yourusername time for another track! 🤡 i first started writing you're just a boy (and i'm kinda the man) after listening non-stop to taylor swift and shania twain and i decided what i really needed was to take those feelings and make a female power song of my own. so i wrote one! it helped me to remember that losing the love of a man does not make you any less of a person, and i hope it can do the same for others. oh, and it's also a bop.

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user QUEEN

taylorswift you're kinda making me feel like... i'm the man 💪👸

user i fear this will tear lando's ego to shreds

⤷ user it doesn't feel fair on him, like he doesn't get to tell his side of the story

⤷ user girl there's definitely a reason he's kept quiet 😭

lissiemackintosh soooo excited for this one!!!! my new karaoke song?

⤷ yourusername come at do it at the concerts

⤷ lissiemackintosh i like your fans too much to do that to them

user CLOWN LANDO ERA

REWIND... OCTOBER 2022

"guess what, guess what!"

lando was mid-game when you rushed into the living room, glancing up from the television when you bound into view. he slips back one side of his headphones, eyes following suit a few moments later once the screen is paused.

“what?”

“guess!”

lando sighs, but a smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. “lewis finally retired?”

“no, silly.” scoffing, you slap at his arm and plonk down next to him on the couch. “management just called — i’ve been asked if i want to do a world stadium tour. the bowl, wembley, madison square garden!”

lando’s mouth fell open in slight shock, your excitement obviously contagious as his eyes light up. in a split second he wraps his arms around you and hugs you tightly.

“holy shit, babe,” he murmurs, squeezing your waist.

“i know,” you squeal quietly, muffled against his shoulder. “they just need to set up the next album release and then announce the dates.”

behind your embrace, the cogs of lando’s head start to turn and calculate the information. sitting back, he looks at you with confusion set in his brow.

“when would that be?” he asks, head tilted.

you shrug, not noticing his growing resentment of the news. “depends. they want the album done for late summer, so that means an autumn release. so probably in the new year.”

“the second half of the season?”

lando’s cold tone makes you smile, almost uncomfortably, waiting for his former excitement to return. uneasily, you nod.

“well, yeah, but—”

“i thought you said you were going to come to all the races, since you’ve only been to monaco and silverstone this season?” he cuts you off. you catch the frustration in his eyes like a hawk, shifting off of his lap before it bubbles over. “you’re not going to be able to do that if you’re on tour.”

“that’s not true,” you try and reason, hopeful that your calm tone might balance his. “there’s texas and vegas. besides, i don’t even know what dates i’ll have shows yet, i could fly in for race days.”

lando shakes his head, pushing himself from the couch cushions and onto his feet. “that’s not the point. you promised you’d be there for me this season. i actually have a chance for once, and you don’t even care.”

the dismissive tone that spits off his tongue makes you flinch, a heavy frown falling around your cheeks. “what am i supposed to do? turn down my biggest tour yet to come watch you race every single week?”

“yes!” lando exclaims, turning sharply. “that’s what good girlfriends do — look at kika and lily!”

anger pricks at your eyes and throat, swallowing hard to keep it at bay. “you haven’t been to one of my shows in months. you don’t even have time to listen to demos when i ask you to. there are two of us in this relationship, lando. it isn’t always about you.”

you see his defence ready behind his lips but you’re quicker, ready before he can speak.

“i went to every single race last season,” you tell him. your tone is calm, steady — making the words even more intense. “every one. i have been your biggest fan since day one. so don’t ever, ever, say i’m being selfish.”

lost for words, lando stares at you. only because he knows it’s true does he halt his argument there, turning and storming into the bedroom to preserve some dignity. you stare at the slamming door and wonder how he can watch on so easily as you slip through his fingers, and not want to do anything at all?

INSTAGRAM. november twenty—fourth.

liked by danielricciardo, maxfewtrell and 928,244 others

yourusername always your #1 fan (even when you dnf) 🫶

view all 630,737 comments

carlossainz55 did he get a lollipop for being a good patient?

⤷ yourusername and a sticker 😄😄

user poor lando

landonorris my favourite nurse ❤️

user they’re sooooo cute

user that crash looked bad

yourusername dw guys i’m giving him lots of kisses and rubs better !!!!!

⤷ landonorris not as many as i’d like 😏

⤷ yourusername you’ve got a hello kitty plaster on your head you cannot be seductive right now

"oh, shit."

the fight that dreaded evening had hung over both you and lando for weeks, both of you much too stubborn to admit to any wrongdoing or, god forbid, apologise. but you carried on. if anything it was worse than not speaking. it was like nothing had happened, as if the conversation never even happened, as long as neither one of you mentioned it. still, there was a tension holding you at arms length from each other.

so to not bring up the same argument again, you followed lando to the next few races. come vegas, you had given yourself so much time to think about things and the way lando had handled it all that your mind was screaming at you to leave. to book a flight home, pack up your stuff and go. because how much more of this could you take? you weren't the trophy girlfriend, the wag whose only job was to look pretty beside her accomplished boyfriend.

you would do it after vegas, you decided. there was a few days off; time for you to talk to lando and explain your feelings, before walking out with your head held high just in time for the next race. then, the worst happened.

chatting idly to lily, the race only just beginning, you almost missed it. for a moment, you thought it was oscar spinning out. the bright orange sparks masked which number was painted onto the car, spinning drastically until the nose of the vehicle slammed into the barriers. lily grasped your arm, her sympathetic eyes making you look twice. number four, lando.

in a daze, you followed the one of the marshalls through the busy paddock until you reached the ambulance area. he had already been loaded in, paramedics and mclaren employees surrounding him. there wasn't enough room, they needed to go now.

"hop in, i'll drive you," charlotte's gentle voice appeared beside you, guiding you into the car as the ambulance hurried off. "they said he's probably fine, they just want to do the usual checks."

you nod, trusting her. you could always trust charlotte, right?

after what felt like hours, you arrived to the hospital and didn't think twice about elbowing every single person out of your way until you reached lando's room. he was laid still on the bed, eyes watching the small television in the corner. his leg was strapped up, an iv stuck into his arm, various bruises littering his skin and face. he looked up when he heard you, a crooked smile playing on his lips.

"it looks worse than it is," he assured you, noticing the panic in your eyes straight away. you breathe out some of the relief, the rest coming in a sudden pool of tears. "hey - hey, c'mere."

lando outstretches the arm that doesn't hurt like a bitch, ushering you to his side. you don't hesitate, lip wobbling as you hurry over and perch yourself on the side of the bed. tucked into his shoulder, you nuzzle as closely as you can without hurting him.

"i'm sorry, i'm so sorry," you mumble, and you both know just what you're apologising for. what was a stupid fight worth when chalked up to all of this?

"me too," lando replies quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of your head.

sitting back, you look over his face. a small scratch from the helmet, just above his cheekbone. his eyes are drooping, tired from the impact and the drugs. you sniffle and smile sadly, thumb brushing over the wound.

"i'm going to move the tour," you tell him, and note that he doesn't protest. "if i'm on the other side of the world and something happens, i—”

lando shakes his head, cutting you off with a kiss. "nothing's going to happen. i'm still in one piece, aren't i?"

you hesitate, then nod, letting him shift over so you can lay next to him. resting your head on his chest, both of you quietly watching the rest of the race, you feel your head spin. maybe he had been losing you, but could you survive losing him?

writers note: we're back baby. lando count yr days my man

taglist: @openthenyoor01 @racingheartsworld @celestialend @cha-hot @gr1mes-cc @bingussthirdtoe @destinyg237 @theonottsbxtch @allywthsr @imsorare @youdontknowmeshh @bellewintersroe @orangetreekid

[hello-sweetheart]

Fame and Fortune

Do you dream of glory? Crowds of thousands all adoring beneath you. The roaring cheers echoing in the arena. Countless of small white lights held up like beacons creating a sea of waving stars all for you. Breathless exhilaration has your chest heaving, skin glistening and damn. To feel like a god: never ending, eternal.

What would you be willing to do to get it?

What are you willing to sacrifice for fame?

Who are you prepared to lose?

Could the love of millions be worth the love of one?

——

[Backstage: Corroded Coffin Global Tour-Los Angeles, Ca]

Eddie is pacing, more than just pre-show nerves numb his hands. His cigarette burns quickly, ash falling on the carpeted floor, but no amount of nicotine filled lungs will fix this. Gareth, his drummer and long time friend, is watching him pace, eyes pleading.

“Is it worth it, Eddie?

We all got what we wanted; why are we miserable? You can’t lie to me, we all feel it. I see it in everyone, even you! You haven’t been the same since—“ He receives a withering glare from the frontman and sighs, speaking softer.

“I miss mom and my little sister. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them… I’m no longer drawn in her crayon family portraits, did you know that? Does Anne even remember me, anymore?

How can you keep going like this and expect us to do the same? I’m grateful—I really am—for you. You got us where we are now, a fantasy that we never even dreamed would become reality. It was amazing, I’m glad I got to experience it all with you, but I’m tired. I’m so tired guys.

I just want to go home.”

The long drag he takes burns his throat,

“Look, we’re all tired, I get it. Really, I do, this tour has been… particularly grueling I’ll admit, but come on. This is our last show, the big finale! We’ll give them all we got and then we’ll be able to take a break to freshen up before doing what we do best: creating kick ass music.

Like always. You’ll feel better after this, we always do after the last show—“

Gareth cuts him off, his patience clearly stretched thin.

“No, Eddie, listen to me! It’s different this time. I’m happy with the money we’ve made, we all have enough to live comfortably and I’ve been thinking that, you know, it’s time to settle down. I can’t do that if I’m always working. This, the band, it doesn’t… it doesn’t make me happy anymore.”

Jeff stands and his imposing figure makes Eddie pause from wearing a path into the floor.

“He’s not the only one, man. Im sorry, but its killing me. We don’t expect you to give it up either, you can keep the band name, find new members, keep signing… But for us? We can’t keep going, man. This is the end of the line.”

‘Not him too. Fuck. Fuck!’

“No! What am I—I’ve given up too much for this, you can’t just, fucking, bail on me!” This band, playing with his friends, it’s become his entire world. He’s lost too much to get here.

“Woah, woah, hey! No one fucking told you to and you know it. We’ve always had your back no matter what, but anything you chose to do is on you. Not us. The least you could do is extend us the same fucking curtesy and respect the fact that we’re fucking done with this bullshit.”

His gaze is venom as he looks at band, Grant and ‘Freak’ silent but agreeing with the rest. They refuse to meet his gaze.

“Fine. Do whatever you want.” He turns and leaves. They’ll be starting in 15 minutes.

Fucking cowards. Ungrateful bastards.

A memory plays in his head. Brief and intrusive. The voice of someone long gone from his life rings in his mind.

“I’ve missed you, Ed. Are you done at the studio, yet? When are you coming home?”

“Steve, this is important. You know this. I’ll be pulling a few more all nighters here—this album has to be perfect, baby.”

A crackling sigh is barely audible through the phone.

“I know, I know. I’m just being selfish. I’m sorry. Miss waking up to you next to me.”

“Miss you too, baby. You’re my world you know. Love you more than anything.”

“More than music?” It’s a timid question.

“Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he’s the only one to laugh into the receiver.

“Right… night, Eddie.”

“Wait, Stev—“ fuck. It was only joke. Whatever, he’ll apologize tomorrow.

Right now, he has music history in the making.

[bad268]

Seven

Breaking News (Part 3)

(Max Verstappen X Reader, Charles Leclerc X Ex! Reader)

Fandom: RPF/Formula 1

Requested: Nope (I had an idea, Mr. Krabs)

Chapter warnings: cheating mentioned, sex references, song referenced belongs to Natiale Jane.

Pronouns: They/them

W.C. 1672

Chapter Summary: "Seven" is released during the race week, and Y/n sees Charles for the first time since their split.

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

(^Came from 2 pics on Pinterest)

<- Previous Part

It’s been months since I last saw Charles. It was not really a concern for me anymore. He can do whatever he wants, and I can do whatever I want. And what I want is to attend the race in Austin.

It was Wednesday, and we just flew in a couple of hours ago. We settled into our hotel room before Max went into the bathroom to shower before we went to dinner. Once I was dressed in a semi-fancy outfit, I decided to sit on our bed and wait for him to finish up. I had started scrolling through countless comments on my newest single, “Seven,” when Max came out of the restroom. He was wearing a black button-up and jeans, but at least it wasn’t Red Bull merch. 

“What are you looking at?” He asked, coming up to look at the comments from over my shoulder. “Is that the new song?”

“Yeah,” I chuckled lightly, leaning back into him. “They’re loving it so far.”

“Well, of course, they are,” he retorted, standing up and pushing me to lay on my back as he leaned over me. He placed a couple of small kisses around my face before placing a final one on my nose. “You wrote it. Why wouldn't they love it?”

“It was just really different from my normal songs, I don’t know,” I sighed, setting my phone to the side as I wrapped my arms around his neck and played with the ends of his damp hair. “It’s also the second single for the album.”

“You haven’t even finished the album yet,” He shook his head with a laugh. “They’re your fans, liefde (love). They’ll love anything from you.”

“Doesn’t make the release any less daunting, schat (darling),” I whispered, pulling him down to kiss him. We moved in sync before ultimately needing to pull apart for air. “You ready to go?”

“Of course,” He said, lifting himself up before holding his hand out for me to stand beside him. “What kind of food are you feeling?”

~

Thursday is media day, so Max was off doing his own thing. It works because I had a virtual interview anyway, so I was able to hide out in Red Bull hospitality to do the interview in peace. 

“Y/n L/n, your newest song, ‘Seven,’ is smashing the charts,” They started off, “Tell us about the story behind it.”

“Honestly, I think everyone knows the story behind it,” I chuckled. “I wanted to try something new, so I continued the fuel from my last relationship to make this song. I’ve never really done something like this, but I really liked it, and I think the fans do too.”

“They certainly do!” The interviewer reassured. “The story, the beat, everything is just so catchy! It’s an amazing song! What was your favorite part about writing this song?”

“The lyrics were really fun, and I got a little help from my new boyfriend for the melody,” I admitted. The interviewer’s eyes widened as they let out a gasp, and I just smiled wider. “He was actually the one that came up with the chorus beat.”

“Did he write any of the lyrics?” They asked quickly.

“No, he left that to me. He just listened to every draft,” I laughed as I remembered something. “About a month ago, I woke him up at like two in the morning on a race day because I had a dream about the lyrics. He loved it so much, it’s now the chorus. He also was not very happy that I woke him up that day. He had to be on track at like five, and I woke him up just before his alarm.”

“That is gold,” They laughed as well. “We have some fan questions if you don’t mind. One person asks what is your favorite lyric from the song?”

“Not a lyric, but the laugh before the first chorus,” I answered after a second of thinking about it. “While recording the gap between the first verse and chorus was missing something. I tested with more lyrics, but ultimately, the laugh sounded the best.”

“The laugh does make it better,” The interviewer agreed. “Next question, has your ex or his girlfriend reached out, regarding the songs you’ve released recently?”

“No, but there was an article that announced their relationship right after I released ‘Ava’ and she stole lyrics from a fan cover as her original caption,” I remembered. “I was tagged in a fan cover of ‘Ava’ where they portrayed Ava. It was actually amazing, and I loved it! They did an amazing job, and one of the verses was ‘if he’s your man, why’s he still in my bed.’ I, personally, find it funny, but everyone likes to paint it like there’s bad blood between us,” I explained, going off on a short tangent. “Sorry, but to answer the main question, no, they have not said anything to me specifically.”

“Do you wish they did? I mean, these two very popular songs of yours are centered around them, so do you wish that they acknowledged them?”

“They did, technically,” I replied. “The fact that they announced their relationship right after I released the song and used a fan cover of my song to jab at me kinda validates that they know about it. Plus, it’s funny that his teammate loved both songs. He’s told me that he blasts them in their garage all the time.”

“Well, that’s all the time we have today,” They wrapped up, satisfied with the answer. “Thank you for your time, and we’ll look forward to the full album.”

“Thank you,” I replied with a smile as I left the call. I let out a sigh as I leaned back in my chair, laying my head back and closing my eyes to rebuild my social battery. 

“What album?” A voice asked from across the room. It was a voice I have not heard for month, causing me to immediately shoot my head up. 

“What do you mean, ‘what album?’ I’m a songwriter, Charles,” I snapped. “Did you forget that’s my job?”

“No, just,” He took a breath, trying to recollect his thoughts. He hesitates for a second as if he didn’t want to say what he was thinking before just spilling, “Is the whole album about the breakup? Are you that caught up on it?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted, moving to stand up and approach him. “I haven't written it yet. Might be, the fans seem to love this era. So what if it is? What are you gonna say?”

“This is defamation,” He seethed, coming up to stand chest-to-chest with me. “I could sue you for both songs.”

“I don’t name you in either of them,” I scoffed. “Ava is a basic name. I could mean anyone named Ava, not just your girlfriend. Even in interviews, I won’t answer questions if they mention your names, and my answers are always vague. You have no grounds to sue me for my success. You just want to rain on my parade. I’m climbing in popularity, and you’re not. Admit it.”

“You’re only getting popular because you’re fucking Max,” Charles replied bluntly. Behind him, I could see a door opening, but I couldn't see who it was.

“Oh, please. If anything, I get hate for fucking Max,” I laughed. “At least I’m getting satisfied. With the way you’re acting, I’d say it's been at least a month since you got laid.”

“You’re one to talk,” He tried to start before I cut him off.

“Not like it’s any of my business what you do with your girlfriend,” I said with a sly smile. “On a side note, what are you doing in here? Ferraris aren’t allowed in Red Bull hospitality, last time I checked.”

“Yeah, Charles, you should head back to your own hospitality,” Christian pressed as he was the one to walk through the door with Carlos, Max, and Daniel, who was holding Max back.

“You’ll hear from my lawyer,” Charles spat toward me before turning and walking out the doors. I just rolled my eyes and bit my tongue before I made the situation worse.

“Did I hear an album?” Carlos asks sheepishly.

“I will send a signed copy to my biggest fan once I get it written,” I teased him as Christian and Daniel ushered him out to follow his teammate. Carlos shouted back a thanks before taking off. I shook my head with a small laugh as I walked up to Max who had calmed down since Charles left. “Thank you for mentally killing a man in my honor.”

“Always,” he joked back, “I’d do anything for you. Was he serious about suing?”

“I don’t know, but it’s just going to waste his money cause I worked with my publicist to make sure they couldn’t sue for defamation,” I reassured him, cupping his cheeks and leaning our heads together as he placed his hands at my waist. “Y’know, in case you didn’t know, I love you.”

“I have loved you since we were 18,” He whispered back. My eyes widened as I took in his words.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” I gasped out.

“It was before we both thought the same things,” he chuckled. “Your music was taking off, and I was still a rookie. I remember you said that you wanted to wait until you were in a stable place in your career before you started a relationship.”

“I was like 12 when I said that!” I laughed, shocked that he actually remembered that. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I always knew I would end up with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He jokingly took offense as he tightened his hold around my waist.

“I told all of my friends and family I would date you at some point,” I admitted lowly. He immediately began beaming at my confession. “No one believed me, but now…oh, if they saw us now.”

~~~

Next Part ->

~~~~~

© BAD268 2023. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[hunieday]

Re:vale - Dengeki Girl's Style February 2018 interview

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access them, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

This is an interview from 2018, which means it's been released before part 4!

Interviewer: Thank you so much for your hard work with the shooting and outfit change!

Interviewer: Without further ado, let's start the interview right away in this room. Pleased to work with you.

Momo: Yes! Pleased to work with you too!

Yuki: Likewise.

Interviewer: Congratulations on the release of your new single!

Momo: Thank you very much! Have you guys listened to our CD yet!?

Yuki: I don’t think so? I heard that it comes out at the same time as this magazine.

Momo: Hng! I can’t wait for everyone to listen to it soon!

Yuki: I’m sure they’ll be buying it along with "DENGEKI Girl'sStyle". Right, everyone?

Yuki: Oh, am I not allowed to ask like this?

Momo: Those kinda lines from you excite Momo-chan greatly.

Yuki: I know.

Momo: You know~~!

Yuki: And anyways, I’m sure whoever’s reading this interview right now is already our fan.

Momo: That would be awesome! After all, the cover of the February issue of "DENGEKI Girl'sStyle" is...

Yuki: The cover is...?

Momo: We, Re:vale, were in charge of it!

*Applause*

Yuki: It's an honor to be chosen for the first cover of the new year.

Interviewer: The honor is ours to be able to work with Re:vale! Thank you very much.

Interviewer: How was the photoshoot for the cover?

Momo: The shoot used props that had New year’s vibes! Especially Yuki's fan!

Yuki: That's true.

Momo: The outfits we wore were cool, but Yuki holding the fan looked like a timeless hunk, which was awesome!

Yuki: Thank you... But isn’t “timeless” a bit of an exaggeration?

Momo: Really? You were in a good mood, talking like a lord during the shoot!

Yuki: Well, I might have said stuff like "approach at once" because of the fan.

Momo: And then I said "I shall approach immediately~!" and moved closer!

Yuki: I feel like I looked more evil than usual on the cover, but that's probably because I was getting into the role of an evil dictator.

Momo: Ahaha! Don’t worry, Yuki is handsome even as a villain!

Yuki: Thank you.

Momo: But if someone was intrigued by the cover with us on it and picked it up, won’t we startle them!?

Momo: Re:vale is always full of surprises!

Yuki: Just don't step on the gas too hard.

Momo: I'll make sure to hit the brakes!

Interviewer: I think your interactions would be an enjoyable read!

Momo: I’m glad!

Yuki: Then let's continue with our usual selves.

Momo: Yup!

Interviewer: Please carry on!

Interviewer: Now, please tell us about the songs you recorded for the album and what we can look forward to in it.

Momo: The lead song "NO DOUBT" is the theme song for the "Mission" movie Yuki’s starring in, so many of you might’ve heard it in commercials or something?

Yuki: We approached the song with a high level of production, including the music video. Please listen to it.

Momo: You should definitely watch it if you haven’t yet! The MV was crafted with the world of "Mission" in mind.

Momo: Yuki's role as a detective is super handsome!

Yuki: My role as a detective is directly carried from the drama so it's not that fresh. Momo's role as a mischievous criminal is probably more refreshing, right?

Momo: Ehehe! As Yuki mentioned, Momo-chan also appears as a mischievous criminal!

Yuki: Because it’s a Re:vale MV, it has to be Momo and I.

Momo: Thanks, it was nerve-wracking though~! I didn’t want to ruin the “Mission” world Yuki had built!

Yuki: You say that, but I wasn't worried. In fact everyone in the production team praised the MV when they saw it.

Momo: Really!? That's a relief!

Yuki: The B-Side track "Taiyo no Esperanza" is a passionate song with a bit of a Latin flavor, which I think will give the listener a fresh feeling.

Momo: The outfits are also styled based on the image of a bullfighter, with red and black as the main colors!

Yuki: Yeah. The instrumentals, lyrics, and outfits are provocative and unusual for Re:vale.

Momo: At the risk of sounding conceited, I think listening to it will greatly motivate you!

Yuki: Indeed. I'd be happy if it could inspire you to do your best.

Momo: Everyone, please support Re:vale's new single~!

Interviewer: I'm looking forward to listening to it even more now! Thank you very much!

Interviewer: Now, let me ask the next question. As the cold days stretch on, could you please tell us your recommended way to spend them?

Momo: He-he-he! Let Momo-chan give you a direct answer!

Momo: My recommendation is to have Yuki make a delicious hot pot and eat it together, warming both your heart and body!

Yuki: That's an experience only Momo can have.

Momo: Oh right… I recommend it, but only I can experience this precious feeling…

Yuki: So you want me to do it for someone other than you?

Momo: Ugh...

Momo: I want to say there's no way, but while Yuki’s mine you are also everyone else's... I can’t be greedy...ughhh…

Yuki: Are you seriously struggling with this?

Momo: Umm, everyone should have hot pot with their loved ones! That's all!

Yuki: Haha, you sure put an end to that question.

Momo: Momo-chan will make you cook it again today!

Yuki: I didn't know that.

Interviewer: So you’re eating Yuki-san’s hot pot tonight...! I’m jealous of you.

Interviewer: Finally, please give a message to all the readers!

Momo: Yes, yes! Thank you for always supporting Re:vale! We were featured on the cover of a magazine so early in the New Year and released a new CD thanks to you!

Momo: ...But, since it’s still December right now as we speak, they haven't been released yet! Um, I believe it's been released by now without trouble!

Momo: We'll do our best together this year too, so please continue supporting Re:vale!

Yuki: Momo said everything, so I'll keep it short. I hope you’ll listen to a lot of Re:vale's music this year as well.

Interviewer: Thank you both very much!

The End.

[bwabys-scenarios]

Hi hi it’s your favorite sleepy fic advisor/Kurapika stan!!! I’m playing hooky to go to the lake today fuck a minimum wage job in a capitalistic hell world heehoo

What do you think Kurapika’s love language(s) is/are? He’s a thoughtful dude, so I feel like gift giving is his time to shine, but at the same time acts of service when you’re overworking yourself- ugh he’s such a sweetheart lich rally the perfect man 😫💗

My own bf just snagged me a record player at a garage sale yesterday after years of having his own record collection and begging me to start one as well. The first thing I did was order Hozier’s new album. I could see Kurapika doing something similar, especially with how they both share an mbti type :’) cozy nights spent listening to vinyl music. He gets a gift that you’d love, not expect, and could enjoy for a long time together. He checks off the Perfect Gift Trifecta every time.

I’m all over the place here, it’s earlier than I normally wake up and my ADHD meds haven’t quite kicked in yet I apologize. Brainstorming with you and helping on Fixer Upper has been the highlight of my summer, seeing ideas we collaborate on come to life in real time is just *chefs kiss*

I gotta pack my bags now before I go but just thought I’d drop in here, pet the cats for me and hang in there, the weather will cool down soon enough!

-K.A.

How Kurapika shows his love:

Acts of service

Kurapika hasn’t always been there for you when you really needed him, meaning now that he is, he would do next to anything for you. He’ll run to the store to grab your favorite snacks when you aren’t feeling well, gently massages all your sore spots, accompanies you on shopping trips.

He wants to do things for you, even if it’s as simple as opening a jar of pickles, he feels so in love when he’s able to do little things that are of service to you.

Gift Giving

Kurapika is a gift giver, through and through. He has trouble holding himself back from buying every little thing that reminds him of you. That keychain with your favorite character on it, those shoes that would go nice with your favorite dress, and flowers of all kinds.

He also enjoys making you gifts, mostly consisting of clothing. He’s really good at sewing, and you taught him to knit, so he’s always making you new dresses that fit you perfectly. He’s weak for a good sundress, and when you’re wearing something he made you it’s hard for him to keep his hands to himself.

Words of Affirmation

Kurapika wants you to know how much he adores you, so compliments and little words of adoration are commonplace in your shared home.

It’s like he can’t go one second without telling you how amazing you are, and how in love with you he is. You’re his angel, his princess, the love of his life. He’ll plant kisses on your neck as he coos about how beautiful you are.

What he wants from his partner:

Physical Touch

As I’ve said before, Kurapika is TOUCH STARVED!! Before you, he hadn’t been held by another person since he was a child, so once he gets a taste of your touch he craves it.

His favorite thing is to lay his head in your lap, face buried in your tummy as you run your fingers through his hair. Kurapika could stay like this forever if you let him.

When he gets you pregnant, all he wants is to nuzzle against your baby bump, leaving kisses against your skin. He loves you so much!

He also enjoys just being held in your arms, with you rubbing soothing circles into his back. Kurapika can be a bit of a clinger once he gets comfortable around you, so he prepared!

Quality Time

Once Kurapika comes around to his feelings for you, all he wants is to spend more and more time with you. He needs you to hold him, to want to do fun things with HIM!

His favorite thing is when you have him sit at the kitchen table while you bake, feeding him bits of frosting or jam. He also likes cuddling up with you on the couch, watching some random movie. He enjoys accompanying anywhere you wish to go, as long as he gets to spend time with you he’s happy!

Words of Affirmation

It may not seem like it, but Kurapika is actually pretty insecure about his body. He struggles with believing you’re attracted to him, even if you’re always heating up when he’s around you.

Praise him, tell him how pretty and handsome he is. He needs to know you find him attractive. There are many other men in your life that he thinks look way better than him, so reassure him that he’s the only one for you. It makes him swoon!

[metallicaislife]

Daydream Pt 2

A/N: this is a follow up to Daydream

Daydream Pt 3

Genre: Angst with a hopeful ending

Word Count: 889

Warnings: Drinking alcohol and mentions of Cliff's death

I was walking down the street minding my own business when I accidentally ran into someone. 

“I’m so sorry!” I said. 

“Y/N?” They said at the same time. A voice I hadn’t heard in person in years. I looked up and my eyes widened. 

“James?” He looked so different and yet exactly as I remembered. 

A smile broke out on his face, and I couldn’t help but smile back. 

After the accident, I unintentionally drifted apart from the rest of Metallica. They were busy with tours and I filled the hole in my heart by working more and keeping myself busy. Months went by, then years slipped through my fingers in the blink of an eye. 

I was brought out of my thoughts when James brought me into a hug. 

“I’ve missed you.” He said. I held back tears and hugged him back. 

“I’ve missed you too.” I told him. 

“Do you have time to grab a drink?” He asked as he pulled away. I looked at my watch and nodded. “Great!” He grabbed my hand and my heart skipped a beat. 

James and I had always been close before we drifted apart, he was my best friend, I still considered him that despite the years we’ve spent apart. 

We weren’t far from a little dive bar so we went in and he pointed out a small table and said he’d be over with drinks shortly. 

I sat down, I couldn’t calm my heart. 

I was brought out of my thoughts again as he sat across from me placing a Mojito in front of me and taking a sip of his beer.

“You remembered my drink?” I asked. 

“Of course, I remember lots of things about you.” He replied, “How are you? What have you been up to?” He asked. He didn’t give me time to process his first statement. 

“I’ve been well. Nowadays all I do is work. How about you? How are you? I listened to ‘And Justice for All’, it was really good.” 

“I’ve been fine. Thank you, I appreciate that, I’m glad you’re still listening to us.” He grinned, “we’re actually getting ready to release an album soon.” 

“I’ll always listen to you guys, I’m a day one fan and I’ll brag about it to anyone. I’m excited to hear your new album.” I smiled and he chuckled.

It was as if no time had passed at all. He told me stories of shenanigans he and the rest of my friends had gotten up to in the past few years. We conversed with ease, I missed this so much. 

“You know, I had the biggest crush on you.” James confessed. 

“Me?” I asked, pointing at myself. James chuckled and nodded. 

“But you were Cliff’s girl, and I respected that. I’m just curious, and you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable, have you been in a relationship since Cliff?” James asked. I took a deep breath processing his confession. 

“I’ve been on dates, but I haven’t been in a relationship. It isn't because I think I had one shot at love and Cliff was  it. I’m just scared. I don’t want to give myself so wholly to someone when there is a chance they could be gone in the blink of an eye.” I answered, my throat growing tight with emotion. James grabbed my hand and gave a comforting squeeze. He didn’t say anything, but just knowing he was there and being able to share this with him helped. 

“Sorry.” I said and wiped a tear, “let’s circle back to the fact you had a crush on me.” I said as a grin took over my face. James shook his head with a small chuckle. 

“You’re still stunning.” He said. I could feel my cheeks heating up. “But that’s a lot of information. We can circle back to that another night.” He winked. 

“I’m sorry I never reached out.” I apologized. 

“I didn’t reach out either.” He said. 

“Let’s not go years without seeing each other again.” I said. 

“Now that we’ve crossed paths again, I’m not letting you go.” He said firmly. 

I smiled softly at him in adoration. 

“If I’m going to be stuck with anyone I’m glad it’s you. I know it’s silly, but I still consider you my best friend.” I replied. He smiled at me. 

“Can I walk you home?” He asked, I nodded. 

He settled the bill, despite my offering to pay. 

Then we walked in a comfortable silence with his arm around my shoulder. 

“Okay but like how long did you have a crush on me?” I pestered. 

“We can talk about it another time.” He answered.

“You brought it up!” I jabbed him playfully in the ribs. He held his ribs pretending I’d actually hit him hard. 

“Yeah, and now I’m telling you to wait. Can you be a good girl and be patient for me?” He asked. I halted as my cheeks caught fire. He looked back and chuckled. He pulled me back up to him and kissed my forehead. 

I’d gone years without seeing my best friend, and now I don’t think there is going to be a day that goes by where we don’t see each other. The thought makes me happy, but most of all it makes me feel hopeful.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to request or chat :)

-Isa

[halfagonyandhope]

ignite the stars │ch. 19

first chapter (x); previous chapter (x)

Satine Kryze is an internationally-recognized scholar in genocide studies who recently resigned from the Department of State over her concerns regarding the agency's ethics. Ben Kenobi is a tenured professor at Georgetown University studying the use of religion to justify military conflicts. Once high school sweethearts, the two haven't spoken since parting ways for university. That is, until Satine accepts a research fellowship - at Georgetown.

---

The next day, Satine drops the shrug and gown off at the dry cleaners. When she picks them up a week later, the cherry blossom petals have begun to fall in earnest, and they are replaced by dense green foliage and muggy afternoons.

Ben is still wary to let her wander too far alone, and if Satine is being honest, she’s glad for his company. He insists on paying as they pick up the garments at the cleaners - as they leave, he murmurs “Your exertion in those pieces was initiated by me, after all” in her ear, causing her to blush deeply - and he walks with her to Embassy Row to return the gown to Breha.

Bail is the one who greets them this time, opening the door with the same enthusiasm that Breha did a few weeks prior. He shows them inside, and as he catches up with Ben, whom he hasn’t seen since his campaign, Breha says, “Padma mentioned she instructed you to get pictures at the fundraiser. I hope you haven’t disappointed her.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” says Satine, and she pulls out her phone to show her friend.

Ben had sent her the pictures he’d taken of her, of course, but her favorite is one of the two of them taken by the event’s photographer that had been posted to the department’s social media page, an album celebrating the success of the event. They’re dancing, him holding her close against him, his hand on her lower back. Satine thinks she remembers the exact joke he’d been telling because she’d already etched that particular smile of his into her memory - she’s tilting her head back in laughter and his eyes are bright with amusement and mischief as he watches her.

Breha squeals. “Like a fairytale,” she says dreamily. “You could be a duchess with her duke consort.”

“Ben would loathe such a life,” Satine says immediately.

Breha quirks a brow at her. “That is not the face of a man who would loathe a lifetime attached to your arm.”

Satine just looks at her, exasperated.

Breha shrugs. “It’s the truth. Regardless, you looked gorgeous.”

“Thanks,” says Satine, genuinely this time. “And thanks again for lending me the dress.”

“It probably will be a while until I would be able to wear it again anyway, if my appointment coming up goes well,” says Breha under her breath. “So I’m glad it got some use. Let’s catch up again soon, okay? Sometime without any Y chromosomes in the room. I sense there have been developments, and I want the details.”

Satine laughs. “Deal.”

---

The following week, Padma invites Satine to tour her office on Capitol Hill. Congress, of course, has long outgrown the main building at the far east side of the National Mall, so most of its members do the majority of their work in various office buildings adjacent to the Mall. Padma’s office is located in one of the buildings to the south, and one of her interns is at the entrance to meet Satine and guide her through security and then to Padma’s office.

Satine has been in the building before to listen to committee hearings and testimonies, but she’s yet to visit any of the offices. The New Jersey flag hangs alongside that of the United States just outside of Padma’s office door, and the intern brings Satine inside, guiding her through the common area and toward Padma’s private office.

It’s a typical junior politician’s office, with a large desk and wood paneling lining the walls. But it’s warmer, perhaps, than Satine had expected: Padma has found ways to incorporate fabric from India, where she was born, on table runners and decorative pillows.

“Satine!” says Padma, standing up to greet her and embracing her tightly, her body language making it clear that Anakin has filled her in on how Satine’s professional life has begun to bleed into her personal one. Padma closes the door behind her, gesturing for Satine to sit in the chair in front of her desk. “Anakin had something he wanted you to know, and given what Ben found in your office, Ani and I agreed it would be best to tell you away from campus. The security here is a tad better.”

Satine laughs at this. “As it very well should be.”

Padma sits down at her desk and rests her hands over the papers strewn across it. “Ani may have gone a bit overboard looking into this,” she warns. “But you’re Ben’s person, and Ani adores Ben. So…”

Padma looks slightly embarrassed as she continues.

“He found two different receivers in the Intercultural Center. One was hidden in the office belonging to the person who bugged your office - Malek. It was deep in a filing cabinet and must have been missed when the room was being cleared out by whichever underpaid employee had to get rid of his stuff.”

Satine nods. “And the second receiver?”

“He doesn’t know for sure because he didn’t break into the office to search, but he thinks the signal is being transmitted to the department chair’s office.”

Satine’s heart drops.

“Dooku Serenno’s office?”

Padma leans forward. “I have the resources of the Library of Congress and the Congressional Research Service on my side. I was able to make a discreet request to look into Serenno. His CV is lengthy, but it turns out that he omits one interesting accomplishment.” Padma takes a breath. “On the CV published on your department’s webpage, Serenno is listed as having obtained one master’s degree and one doctoral degree. He actually has two master’s degrees, though, one of which appears to be scrubbed from the internet.”

Satine thinks she knows where this is going.

“Who was on his master’s committee?” she asks. “For the degree he’s hiding?”

“One Secretary of State Sheev Palpatine,” says Padma. “I’m sure you know he was an academic before going into politics.”

Satine nods.

“Is there anything else I can look into for you?” Padma asks. “Anything else I can help with?”

Satine leans back in the chair, wishing this piece of news weren’t so easy to digest. She thinks back to Asajj’s words about hitting the dark academia jackpot.

She gives Padma a strained smile. “No,” she says. “I mean, if there is, I’ll reach out. I mean it. And thank you. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate what you and Anakin have done for me.”

Padma’s gaze is knowing. “I can tell you’re tired of thanking people for helping you,” Padma says gently. “It’s a valid feeling.” She takes a deep breath. “But you should know…Ani and I, like Ben - we’d help you even if you didn’t ask. And we don’t care about gratitude, or thanks. We just want to keep you safe. It’s the reason I went into politics, really. I’m tired of government making people less safe. That’s not what it’s here to do.”

Satine nods, and they both stand. 

“Can I call you a cab?” asks Padma, stepping toward her.

Satine shakes her head. “Ben is waiting outside,” she says. “But thank you.”

And this time, Satine is the one to initiate the hug.

---

Moments pass, and then minutes, and then a month.

Satine submits her grant application. When she tells Breha, Breha shares news of her own - miraculously, against all odds, the first round of IVF has taken, and she is pregnant. Satine is sworn to secrecy, but by now she can keep a secret.

On Ben’s birthday at the beginning of May, Satine manages to bake him a cake without setting anything on fire. The icing is sloppy and ridiculous - who knew you were supposed to let the cake cool before applying the frosting? Certainly not Satine - but it tastes just fine, and Ben is clearly overjoyed.

That evening, she straddles his hips in bed, pushing him back against a mound of pillows.

“I’d like to propose another thought experiment,” she says, “this one more…prurient in nature.”

She immediately has his attention, his hands on her hips. “Propose your terms,” he says. “Though I can’t imagine I wouldn’t agree to them with you looking like that.”

Satine grins, beginning to unbutton her blouse. When she reaches the final button, she shrugs out of the shirt, letting it fall over his legs behind her.

She shifts slightly, purposefully creating some friction between them. “I’ve noticed you enjoy foreplay,” she says. “And, in particular, banter. But something I'm wondering about - something I'd like to learn is...what do you like? Physically, that is. I didn't know that part of you when we were teenagers."

Ben's gaze on her softens. "You want me to show you?"

She nods. "Guide me, more like."

His hands push her hips down. "I think you'll find I'm pretty easy to get off," he says. "Occupational hazard of not tending to think too much about sex. So when it's presented to me - especially so appealingly - I'm usually not fatigued."

Satine stills. "Is that you saying you don't masturbate?"

He laughs. "No, I definitely do. I think it's probably just not nearly as often as someone who doesn't identify as ace. My libido is...well, to me it's not weird, but to others it might seem strange. I can go entire months without thinking about sex, and it literally doesn't bother me."

Suddenly Satine is worried. "But you...you do enjoy it, right? You like when we're together?"

Ben takes her hand and places it on him so she can feel for herself the answer to that question. 

"Asexual doesn't necessarily mean indifferent to sex or sex-repulsed," he assures her. "Sometimes it means only interested in sex under the right conditions. And you, my dear, are absolutely the right conditions."

She nods, still a little unsure. "If there is ever a time when I initiate that you aren't receptive..."

"I'd tell you," Ben says. "But the fun part of having an ace partner - at least for you, given my particular flavor of ace - is that even if I'm not feeling particularly like receiving, I'm nearly always interested in giving."

"But if you're not - "

He cradles her jaw. "I will tell you."

Satine leans into his hand. "Are you..." she begins. "Are you feeling open to receiving now?"

Her hand is still under his, resting on top of the buckle of his belt. He moves his fingers to drag her own down his body.

"I'll take that as assent," says Satine, and she moves to unbuckle the belt, to unzip the fly.

She pushes layers of fabric out of the way and then ghosts her fingers over his skin, delighting in the way his breathing becomes uneven.

"Will you show me now?" she asks. "What you like?"

And so he does.

She follows his movements, learning how to unravel him with sure strokes of deft fingers. "I have lube in my nightstand," she says. "Do you want - "

She loses her train of thought as he lifts her hand to his lips, licking her palm, and then guides her hand back to him.

"I suppose that works just as well," Satine says, feeling faint.

And true to his word, he approaches climax fast. He shows her how to bring him there, and when he crosses the precipice, it's glorious. He spills into his hand, trying to prevent a mess, and she watches him, enthralled.

Satine lets herself fall into him as he comes down from his high.

Ben’s arm tightens around her, holding her tight to his chest, as he catches his breath. “Holy fuck,” he says.

Satine kisses his neck. “Good?”

“So fucking good,” he groans, still out of breath. He kisses her, and Satine holds him as his breaths return to normal. 

Then he whispers in her ear.

“You made quite a mess. Help me clean it up?”

She grins, pulling him toward the shower.

---

The next morning, she hears him stir. She’s not ready to wake yet, not ready to move away from him, so she feigns sleep.

Ben kisses her elbow, where the bruises have long faded but memories remain.

“I love you, Satine,” he whispers against her skin.

Satine fights to keep her breathing neutral.

She wants to cry. He’d tried to say those words when they were eighteen, when they were at the precipice of parting for the final time. She couldn’t bear to hear the words then, and she doesn’t think she’s any more ready now.

But his tone - dear God, his tone - it’s like he never stopped believing the words, like he’s been holding them in too long, like he couldn’t wait a second longer to tell her.

So why on earth isn’t she brave enough to open her eyes, to tell him she’s awake? That she’s heard him? Why can’t she be brave enough to say the words back?

Why can’t she be brave enough for him?

---

May bleeds into June.

Satine finally manages to get referred to a psychiatrist, and the doctor is able to prescribe her an as-needed medication to help with her anxiety attacks. She uses the medication for the first time about a week after she picks up the prescription, saying a silent thank you to the universe that she’d brought it along in her purse to her second attempt at taking the citizenship exam.

It’s a hellish sort of déjà vu, standing inside the USCIS federal building in Virginia, hearing the clerk tell her she’s failed the exam again.

This time, Satine expects the result, but it’s no less painful.

Now that classes are out for the summer and there are no department obligations to consider, Ben is waiting for her outside. She shakes her head at him, and he gathers her into his arms.

“I requested a hearing to contest the results,” she tells him as she pulls back. “Normally they schedule those within thirty days of the second failed test, but they told me they’re understaffed and won’t be able to get me in until October 1st.”

Ben sighs. “So much for my grand plans of trying to convince you to extend our stay in Paris. Good thing our flight back leaves immediately after your keynote address.”

There’s something off about his tone, and Satine says, “You don’t think they’re actually understaffed, do you?”

“You don’t think so, either,” he points out.

Satine exhales sharply. “No,” she admits. “I think it’s very convenient that my hearing can’t be scheduled until after I give my speech, a speech which I’ve been warned must go well. A warning given by two unsavory individuals.”

She’d shared Padma’s information on Serenno with Ben almost immediately after Padma had given it to her, and of course Ben already knows of the threats from Malek.

Ben pulls her toward the bus stop. “Let’s go back to my place,” he says, clearly uncomfortable with saying more in public. “We’ve much to discuss.”

---

Once back in the privacy of his home, Ben grabs a pint of ice cream and two spoons and meets Satine on the couch. She leans back against his chest without a word and reaches for a spoon, aggressively digging into the tiramisu-flavored ice cream.

“So - to recap,” Satine begins. “Palpatine is influencing the results of my citizenship application. He might intend to deny my appeal at the hearing regardless of how I give my speech, or he might be using the hearing as incentive for me to give the speech he wants to hear.”

Ben nods. “Seems like it. And any good that came from Malek being ousted was essentially negated with the knowledge we got from Anakin tracing the bug’s transmission back to Serenno. It seems increasingly unlikely that Serenno’s comments at the fundraiser were sincere. Or, rather - they were sincere. But a sincere threat.”

He scoops some ice cream with his spoon, but before he can bring it to his lips, Satine grabs his wrist and steers the spoon to her mouth instead.

Ben chuckles. “I’ll allow it given the shit day you’ve had.”

She kisses his jaw. “So what are our options?”

His arm tightens around her waist. “I think I should start looking into the process of immigration to Norway. Just to be safe.”

She turns to look at him. “Ben - ”

“I know you want to stay here,” he says, “but we need to be prepared for every eventuality. I proposed this a while back as a new backup plan. I think it’s time we greenlit it.”

He takes in her devastated expression.

“This doesn’t mean I think it will come to that,” he adds. “It just means we’re being careful.”

“Your parents…your brother - they’ll all hate me if you move to Norway.”

Ben moves some wayward strands of hair out of her eyes. “They could never hate you, Satine. You’ve met them; you know they love you.”

“They got along well with teenage Satine,” she points out. “They don’t know thirty-six year old Satine, the woman with cPTSD and the wrath of the State Department out to get her.”

“Details,” says Ben. “Is it okay with you if I begin the process?”

She burrows into him, resting her head in the crook of his neck, and then she nods.

“Backup plan is officially in motion, then,” he says, kissing her temple. “And now - how are you feeling about options for your speech?”

“There are two. The first is to give the speech that Palpatine wants me to give.”

This speech, in fact, is already written. She’d woken up in a panic a couple weeks prior and hadn’t been able to fall back asleep, so she’d gotten to work. She’d printed out speaker notes along with the presentation slides and had wanted to vomit; it had felt as though the Secretary had attached strings to her fingers as she typed, manipulating her from above like some sick sort of marionette.

She continues. “All I need to do is get the speech to Serenno ahead of time, at least I assume. He’ll be able to make sure Palpatine receives it. Then I give the speech as written. And et voilà - problem solved. Probably.”

“And the second option?” Ben murmurs.

“I stand up in Paris and give all but a literal fuck you to Palpatine, Malek, and Serenno by giving the speech I’d originally intended to give. And then Palpatine refuses to let me back in the country after the conference.”

The pint of ice cream is almost empty now, and Ben scoops up the last of it, offering it to Satine. She doesn’t refuse. Then Ben sets the empty container on the coffee table along with the spoons, pulling Satine more firmly against him.

“There is,” Satine whispers, “a potential third approach. I play along for now; I send the script to Serenno. This gives me more time to decide my course of action. It gives me more time to decide whether I’m brave enough to give the version of the speech I want to give.” She shrugs. “Who knows? Something may happen that implodes American politics before September - maybe Palpatine will die of a stroke or something.”

Ben gives her a sad smile. “Satine, you know you’ve already been brave enough for multiple lifetimes.”

She ghosts her fingers over his jaw, his lips, his nose. “But not brave enough for this lifetime. And this is the one that counts.”

His look is pensive. “Being brave - it’s not about being fearless,” Ben points out gently. “It’s about being afraid but pushing forward regardless of the fear.” He falls silent for a moment, and then he says, “Can I tell you something?”

“Always,” she murmurs.

Ben stills for a moment, his eyes unfocused, looking past her. 

“Ben?” Satine asks.

Ben seems to steel himself. “After I graduated from West Point,” he begins, “I commissioned. That process meant attending basic training, what we call the Basic Officer Leader Course. After that, I went immediately to Ranger School.”

His eyes are still unfocused, but Satine knows he’s seeing something - even if it’s just memories.

“When I told you I did a tour in Afghanistan…that wasn’t completely accurate. It was just easier than explaining. Most Rangers live in the US on base, and we get deployed on various missions. The goal is for us to serve a few years as a Ranger and then take what we learn with us to other areas of the military. Or at least,” he says, grimacing slightly, “that’s the official story. I suspect a lot of it is to disguise the high turnover. Those kind of missions…it takes a special kind of person to be able to do them more than three years or so. And I wasn’t cut out for that.”

Satine rests her hand on his arm.

“My deployments abroad were mostly recon assignments. Gathering intelligence - missions where I could use my Arabic. There were some deployments where we engaged combatants. And some were a mix of both.” He swallows. “In early 2013, we’d gotten some intel from an informant, a civilian. It was good intel, and it helped us save a lot of Afghani lives. We were on our way back to extract our source - because we’d promised to get him and his family out of the country in exchange for more information. But the Taliban got to him first.”

His voice breaks on the last sentence, and Satine bites her lip. Nothing she can say will make this easier for him.

“His home was rigged to blow when I showed up to extract him. He died instantly. But his wife, and his daughter…I could hear them inside still. I couldn’t really see, my team was still stunned from the explosion, and everything was on fire, but I could hear his family inside. I got the woman out and went back for the daughter. And then one of the structural beams collapsed. I was able to keep her protected, but the beam pinned me down.”

He shakes out his left arm, stretching his fingers, as though he can still feel the heat, can still feel the flames.

“I was stuck long enough to suffer the burns, but my team got me out.”

“And the girl?”

“Alive,” says Ben, and he looks at her for the first time since beginning the story. “We kept our promise to our informant: we got his family to the US. As far as I know, they’re still here. The daughter will be going to college this fall, I think. I never did catch her name.”

Satine pulls his hand against her chest.

“That’s the moment that haunts me most,” he admits. “There’s something about the fire. The heat. I saw war crimes being committed by both sides that were arguably far worse than that fire, but the fire is what fucked me up. So when I said trauma isn’t rational, that it doesn’t make sense…well, I was speaking from experience.”

Satine nods. “So you left the Rangers after?”

“I couldn’t complete any missions after that. It was my time; I recognized it.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

“You should feel honored.” He laughs. “I haven’t even told my therapist the full story.” 

Her tone, however, is far more serious. “I’ll guard it with my life.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he says, smiling softly. “But the sentiment is appreciated. And in case you’re wondering: I hadn’t told Ventress this. She surmised some of the details, but I never told her. You’re the first.”

Satine slides a hand down his left upper arm, tracing his elbow and then forearm, before returning her hand to cover his own.

Ben breathes out deeply. “For so long, part of me was trapped there, in that burning house. But telling you this…” he trails off, and suddenly his eyes become focused again. He holds her gaze. “It’s like dousing the fire with water. It doesn’t feel like a fire any longer, at least not one that’s out of control. It’s more like…burning embers.”

Satine squeezes his hand.

“Anyway,” he says. “The reason I bring this up is because a while back - do you remember when we were over at Quinlan and Ventress’ home? The night you told them about…well, everything? You saw me struggling to light a match, to light the fire.” He takes a breath, and then another. “And seemingly without thinking about it, your first instinct was to stand beside me and offer to help. You didn’t push; you asked if I needed help. You didn’t know exactly why I was struggling, but you knew that I was - and then you were there. Right beside me.”

Ben breathes in again.

“I guess my point is…you can let yourself be afraid, Satine. Because I’m going to be there for you if you’re scared or frightened. I’m going to be by your side, just like you were for me. Just like you are for me.”

His lips form a soft smile.

“If you’re struggling to find the sunlight,” he says, “I’ll help you ignite the stars.”

---

The next Monday, they go into campus to work at Satine’s request instead of working from hom. Ben picks the lock on the door to the lecture hall he’d used last semester, the room where they’d reunited, so that she can practice her keynote address. He sits in the first row, ready to give pointers.

Satine knows it’s a good speech. It’s not a great one; it can’t be unless she goes off script from what Palpatine and Serenno want from her. And while she hasn’t ruled out that option, for now she is undecided.

But there is one thing she’s decided on. Maybe Satine can’t quite be brave about everything else just yet, but she can be brave about Ben.

So after her last slide, before Ben can speak, she says, “There’s one more thing I wanted to practice.” 

She’s still standing on the raised platform, one hand on the lectern. She sets her PowerPoint remote on the podium and holds her hands at her sides.

“Marry me, Ben,” she says, and her voice is sure and steady.

Ben seems to freeze in place, all except for the blood that has drained from his face. Then her words appear to sink in. He stands slowly.

“Is this my girlfriend Satine asking or…” He hesitates. “Is this my Satine asking?”

She knows the difference. “Both,” she says helplessly, and now that the words are out, she can’t stop. “I know I’m doing this all out of order - and three months too early - but nothing makes sense except you being in my life, Ben. And then on Friday, you told me you’d start working on the immigration process to Norway. For me.”

And damn it all, her eyes are blurry with moisture again.

“I know we’d agreed on September, and I know this is fake, or it was fake - I’m not really sure what we are anymore - but there’s nothing fake about how important you are to me. I know I’m not ready to say the words yet, but I’m working on it, and I know this is madness but I need you to know - ”

She can’t help but ramble, but it doesn’t seem to bother Ben in the slightest - the shine of his smile is practically luminous.

“I need you to know how much I - ”

She curses at her brain’s inability to let her speak, and suddenly Ben is there beside her, one step below her. “I know,” he says, his hands resting on her elbows. “You don’t have to say the words. I know.”

Satine wipes at her eyes. “I want to marry you, Ben. I’ve wanted to since I was sixteen. And I know loving me was never easy but I - ”

“There was never anything difficult about loving you, Satine,” says Ben quickly.

“Well, we both know that’s not true, but I appreciate you lying to make me feel better,” Satine says, blinking furiously. “I…” She starts over. “I just want to be the person who stands beside you who helps you be brave,” she whispers. “And I want you to be the same for me. And I don’t want to wait any longer before looking for jobs with you, whether it’s here in America or in Norway or whichever country will take the both of us.”

Ben reaches up to wipe a tear from her cheek.

“My heart isn’t quite ready to give away,” Satine whispers. “I’m still putting the last pieces of it back together. But what I’m trying to say is - when it is ready, it will be yours.” She breathes in sharply. “That is, if you’ll have it.”

“Of course,” he says, the awe obvious in his tone, in his expression. “Of course I will.”

And he steps up onto the platform so that they are eye to eye, and he kisses her soundly. He kisses her senseless.

And then they are laughing with joy and nerves, and she throws her arms around his shoulders, and it’s like Valentine’s Day in the library or the day in her office when she’d been offered the keynote address - he spins her around and holds her tightly, and it just feels right.

Then Ben sets her back down, and he steps back. “One second,” he says, and he steps off the platform to move to where he’d been sitting, and he rummages in his crossbody bag.

He returns to the platform, revealing that he’s holding a small, velvet box in one hand. He kneels beside her.

In the box is a simple, gorgeous golden band with a single diamond.

“Lab-made,” Ben says. “In case you’re wondering. You told me back when we were seventeen that you’d never wear a blood diamond.”

“You remembered?”

“Oh, that piece of information haunted me for many years,” he admits. “I thought I’d never get to be the one who bought you that ring.”

He holds up the ring.

Satine examines it. “How long has that been in your bag?”

Ben grins. “Since approximately the weekend after Valentine’s Day.”

Her jaw drops. “You’re not being serious.”

He takes her hand and slides the ring onto her finger. “Oh, I assure you, I absolutely am.”

She pulls him to his feet.

“I left my heart with you eighteen - ”

He corrects himself.

“- now nineteen years ago, Satine,” he says as he stands.

He kisses the ring on her finger.

“Thank you for keeping it safe.”

[cialovesklopp]

𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑 -> 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆?

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 — after the release of her latest album, amara imani has everyone questioning who she declared her love to

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 — @aechii @locedes @lorarri

masterlist

If you haven’t listened to amara imani’s newest album, “mon amour” yet, then truly … WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?

the so-called princess of pop and r&b came back nearly two years after her career and image took a major hit and released a whole new album, with more to come, to declare her undying love to her new beau.

even though the album is only a few days old, it has already climbed the charts and positioned itself on the top. after beyoncé, amara imani is the second black woman to have her entire album in the top of the charts after only a few days. and in addition to that, she broke the record of most streams in one day on spotify and apple music. it seems that everybody wants to be part of her new lovestory.

the nigerian singer wrote fourteen astonishing love ballads about love and the feeling of experiencing it and even added two more (streets, best part ft. h.e.r & daniel caesar) after the successful numbers of her album.

but the question we’ve all been asking ourselves is of course: WHO IS SHE DECLARING HER LOVE TO? we are truly dying to know who the new man is who was able to make amara imani write an entire love album for. after all, we can count on our hands how many songs ex-boyfriend evan henderson had gotten during their relationship (and not all of those were about positive things).

the singer has confirmed that there is a new man present in her life with posts, where the singer is seen with a love struck expression on her face as well as talking in about him on jimmy fallon about her new relationship but has not revealed his identity yet. imani was also spotted with a new ring on her finger, which must have certainly been a present from her new boyfriend but has not been seen with him yet in public.

but even without knowing who her new beau is, we can all be assured that he loves her if he was the inspiration for mon amour. after listening to pov and lover, i’m sure we can all agree that we all want to be loved like that.

whether amara imani has planned a world tour is unsure yet, after the events of her last one but one thing is undebatable — again, amara imani has exceeded our expectation with her love ballad album. we desperately hope to hear an announcement or confirmation soon, so we can all thank the man who made amara imani write such a beautiful masterpiece.

𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌

𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚.𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢

liked by liyah_clark, harrystyles and 23.046.851

amara.imani thank u so much for allowing me to place myself next to beyoncé in history. this is truly incredible and i am thanking everyone for their support, no matter where — streets and best part OUT NOW, hope you enjoy

view all 94.502 comments

username when i say streets has become my new anthem, I MEAN IT

username FR CAUSE THAT SONG HAS NO RIGHT TO BE THAT GOOD

graceywood so proud of how the covers turned out, especially that second one 😏

amara.imani i’ll tell him that he did a good job

username NAH AMARA DOES NOT PLAY, SHE SERVED

username but also her with daniel caesar >>>> THAT SONG HAD ME IN MY FEELS

username i felt single the whole time because no one will probably ever love me like that

liyah_clark again another slayyyy, proud of you 🫶🏾

amara.imani did you force everyone to listen to it again?

charles_leclerc yes she did

maxverstappen1 THAT’S A LIE, liyah never forced us to listen, it’s all charles and his fangirling

danielricciardo you’re saying that as if you didn’t memorize the whole six minutes of rocket

username daniel exposing max for having exposed charles, THIS IS EVERYTHING

username the way i’m smiling because my two world are colliding

jkeey4 amazing song amara, another one of my faves

amara.imani thank you so much jules 🫶🏾

𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚.𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢

liked by liyah_clark, graceywood and 22.195.304 others

amara.imani karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight home to me

view all 69.241 comments

username MADAM 💀

graceywood who is that fine lady, is she single?

amara.imani sadly she is taken

username taylor x amara, a combo i never knew i needed

username bi panic immediately incoming

username you open this app and see your wife with another man 🥲

username not my queen with a m*n

liyah_clark wonder who that is 👀

charles_leclerc 👀

antogriezmann 👀

username PLEASE TELL US WHATS GOING ON

username YESS PLEASE WE ALL WANNA KNOW WHO IT IS

pierregasly stop acting dumb, we all know who it is

liyah_clark isn’t that top mine?

amara.imani maybe…

liyah_clark just wait till i get my hands on your pink louboutins

username amara, please come home, the kids miss you

username it’s useless, she’s already gone

k.mbappé posted in his story 2h ago

amara.imani reacted to your story

amara.imani is that your version of a soft launch?

k.mbappé i just spent ten minutes googling what that even is

amara.imani omg i’m dating an idiot

k.mbappé a very handsome idiot

amara.imani an idiot that is about to be single

𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

[mindvice]

Now that I’ve had a good chance to listen through the album multiple times, here are my thoughts, in a random messy order similar to the album itself 🙃

Overall it’s okay. It’s not a horrible album but it’s definitely one of my least favorites.

Half of the songs could be cut. A lot of the good songs could be even better with some more polishing. In a way it feels like a first draft?

It’s hard to get past this being a Matty album. I’m not a fan of his and I really don’t get why she seems more into him than the guy she was with for 6 years.

Speaking of Joe, I hope this album isn’t the first time he’s hearing about Taylor’s Matty fantasies. Guilty as sin? Yeah, maybe. Emotional cheating is still cheating.

That said, the masturbation song is really catchy

If I were Matty, I’d be a little weirded out by how obsessed Taylor is with him. But maybe that’s something he’s into. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get together again at some point.

She’s kind of saying she’d leave Travis for Matty if given the chance huh 🤔 Wonder if Travis has really listened to the full album and what he thinks of it.

Post Malone is so underutilized in Fortnight. I was hoping for something more like exile/coney island

Most of the songs I like are from The Anthology, probably because of Aaron Dessner

I feel like if Joe is going to only get a few songs, they better be amazing. So Long, London lacks the emotion I wanted.

Clara Bow is decent but feels so out of place. It reminds me of Olivia Rodrigo (as well as imgonnagetyouback obviously)

My top 3 (for now): I Hate It Here, I Look In People’s Windows, imgonnagetyouback

But if you had asked me earlier I really liked these too: Down Bad, Guilty As Sin?, The Black Dog

I hate the emphasis on Joe’s mental health. Looking back on her older songs, it seems like it was always an issue for her

Is it possible Joe didn’t want to marry Taylor partly because he knew she loved Matty? I don’t want to ruin the previous albums for myself but pretty sure there have been more songs about him than I realized

I wish I didn’t know so much of the Taylor lore. I think casual fans who know nothing about her personal life might enjoy the album more.

The Kim K song was unnecessary

The Alchemy and So High School are so cringe. But even though I don’t like Travis, I prefer him to Matty

I’ve been called out in But Daddy I Love Him. I didn’t sign that petition or anything but yeah I have no regrets about disapproving of someone who’s made racist and misogynistic comments.

I know a lot of people are comparing this album to Midnights. I haven’t been able to decide which one I prefer yet

I do agree that this is one of Taylor’s most honest and vulnerable albums.

“Lights, camera, bitch smile” is going to be my new affirmation

As parasocial as it is, I really do hope Taylor finds whatever she’s looking for, which I guess now seems to be marriage and children. But I think she has too much baggage from these past relationships that only time and therapy can fix

This photo is STUNNING. Why wasn’t this the album cover? Why don’t the other photos and the music match this aesthetic more?

Also here’s what I’d pick for the album (tracklist in this order):

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

Guilty As Sin?

But Daddy I Love Him

Down Bad

loml

The Black Dog

I Look In People’s Windows

I Hate It Here

The Albatross

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

imgonnagetyouback

Peter

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

The Prophecy

How Did It End?

Also I love the chorus of Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me. As a big MCU/Scarlet Witch fan it instantly made me think of this part of WandaVision:

[bonesandthebees]

Hey, just wanted to check in on you. I know a lot of your fics center around cwilbur/ctommy. I hope you’re doing ok with the news. I’m so proud of the community not tolerating this.

I feel kind of guilty though. I listened heavily to love joy as I related to it and it’s been helping me get through rough times. But now I’m sitting here wondering “does that make me a bad person?”. I stopped listening to Lovejoy YCMGA and MSR but am I a bad person for relating to those songs?

I can’t listen to them anymore without feeling sick, knowing something that once brought me so much comfort was created by a man doing the same thing I’m trying to escape from.

I still want to listen to them sometimes though, but I refuse to support a man like that. I’m also a little nervous about fics. Me and my brother would read your fics together as a way to bond even through long distance living. cwilbur was one of my brother’s favorite characters and he loves your fics.

I haven’t talked with him about it yet, though I probably should. I feel like all in all I just need time to plant my feet and get it back together.

But in the meantime I am so endlessly proud for seeing how everyone has been encouraging and supporting Shelby. I know how scary it is to speak up about what has been done to you and I’m so proud of her. I’m also proud of how the community has refused to support him at all.

Shutting down accounts, turning the Wilbur subreddit into a Wilbur Wright subreddit, I’m proud that so many people have taken action while the rest of us are still reeling

Thank you for letting me vent, I hope you are taking time and space to care for yourself during this as well

thank you anon, I spent the last week talking extensively with people in my inbox about the whole wilbur situation and it really helped me process a lot of my emotions at the time so I'm doing alright now. while I'm not taking any of my old fics down, I'm still figuring out what I'm going to do with my ongoing fics that center around c!wilbur, so we'll see where I end up landing with that

I'm also so incredibly proud of the community for not tolerating this. like, you gotta admit, this was one of the most cohesive ways I've ever seen a fanbase dissolve. sure there are still some freaks sticking around, but the vast majority of us got up and left.

now, don't ever feel like you're a bad person for relating to the lyrics wilbur wrote. although many of the songs feel different now with this new information about him as a person, he wrote about mental struggles in a way that MANY people connected with. there's nothing wrong with having those kinds of struggles. what's wrong is when someone dealing with those kinds of things is hurting other people, is made aware they're hurting other people, and then refuses to do anything to try and change for the better. wilbur refused to try and be a better person. he chose to keep abusing his partner and hurting the people around him. that's what makes a bad person.

I do think separation of art vs artist is possible, but it gets trickier when financial support comes in. that's why I suggest if you want to keep listening to lovejoy, piracy is always an option. the mp3 youtube downloader is your best friend there. MSR is a bit trickier though given that we know MSR was entirely written about wilbur's perspective of his and shelby's relationship, and now we know the truth of what that relationship was actually like. his own narrative that disregards the abuse is what makes up the album itself. personally, I don't think I could ever listen to MSR again without feeling gross.

that makes me really happy to hear you and your brother bonded while reading my fics. like man that's so sweet, I really hope you two will be able to keep enjoying the same things. whether you're both able to separate character from cc and continue reading c!wilbur content, or finding another interest to share in the future. take your time though. there's no rush to talk to him. let your feelings settle.

and yes I'm also incredibly proud of shubble as I'm sure we all are. coming forward like this is a terrifying thing to do but I'm so grateful she did, because now we all are aware and aren't unintentionally platforming a dangerous person like that. I'm so proud of this community. we really all came together in the end.

take care of yourself <3

[thisaintascenereviews]

Happy Birthday, Infinity On High.

Everyone’s got those albums that mean the world to them, whether it’s an album that they have specific memories attached to, an album that changed their lives in some kind of way, an album they just love, or an album that got them into music itself or a certain style, and I’m no exception. There are many albums that mean a lot to me, for one reason or another, and I’ve been wanting to work on a top albums list, because I haven’t done that in over a decade, but there are a select few that I put into the upper echelons of my favorite albums. These are the albums that are the best of the best for me, and I don’t have a whole lot of those. I’ve always thought there is a difference between my favorite albums and what the best albums of all time are, because I may love an album and it may be one of the best albums ever made, but it isn’t one of my personal favorites. I need to make a list of my top 25 favorite albums of all time, because that would be a fun and ambitious project, but that’s for another day. Nonetheless, It wouldn’t be a secret to say that my all time favorite album is Fall Out Boy’s third album, and major label debut, 2007’s Infinity On High.

I’ve made that clear many times over the the last decade, at least since I’ve been writing about music, but this is a record that can’t be understated. I’ve written about it a lot, but it’s worth writing about again, because it celebrates its 17th anniversary today. I’m writing this on its anniversary, and I felt compelled to talk about this record again, but I wanted to add something new to the conversation that I haven’t said yet. I’ve already talked at length about how catchy, infectious, and accessible this album was, especially for the band. They signed with Island for this record, and got a huge leg up when it came to guest spots, such as Jay Z providing some vocals for the first track, as well as Babyface writing and producing a couple of songs, which is reflective in its pop, soul, and R&B sound that shows up throughout the album. Infinity On High is their first blatant foray into pop, whereas 2005’s From Under The Cork Tree only flirted with it, and this album set the stage for most of their career afterwards. I would say that this is their most “experimental” album, although 2018’s Mania closely follows that, but Infinity On High is still my favorite album from them, as well as the album that got me into music. Without this album, I don’t know if I’d be the person I am today, or love the same music I do.

That’s also something I’ve talked about at length, but I find myself enjoying this album for different reasons as I’ve gotten older. I used to love it because it was an album that I had never heard before, especially as a teenager. Infinity On High wasn’t bound by labels or ideas, and it moved through different sounds and genres like it was nothing, but these days, I love the album for its unashamed experimentation and willingness to branch out and try new sounds. I didn’t know much about the band going into this album as a kid, but with all the context, and knowing how their career has gone, it makes the album hold up even more. Its experimentation is something I really love about it, but I do love this album for its hooks, melodies, and Patrick Stump’s vocals (the first time he was really able to express himself as a vocalist, and not be held back by standard pop-punk songwriting).

I love this album for different reasons now, but I can’t lie and say that nostalgia isn’t a big part of that. The album holds up extremely well, but this is one of those albums that has the power to take me back to when I was 13, and this album just came out. I have memories listening to this album in a Walkman in 8th grade, as iPods had just come out, or were starting to evolve, and I also kind of remember picking this up when it came out. Music used to come out on Tuesdays, and I didn’t get to go anywhere until Saturday, so I would always go to Target on Saturday, and pick out an album or two, then I’d spend that week listening to them, and only them, so that’s where my “rotation” comes from. I like to listen to a select handful of albums every week or two, at least until I get sick of them, but I remember picking this one up because I had sort of listened to Fall Out Boy before, and I saw that it came out, so I thought, “What the heck,” and the rest is history.

Fall Out Boy became my favorite band after hearing this, and they have the distinction of being my favorite band all of these years later, but it feels right. I’ve had other favorite bands throughout the years, but my music taste has changed, yet the one constant is Fall Out Boy, and that’s the big takeaway from my yearly celebration of this record. Even as I get older, and this record gets older, I still love it, especially as my taste has changed over the years. This is a record that I still love, 17 years later, and I still find reasons to love it even now. I’m gonna play this record today in honor of its birthday, and hopefully you do, too.

[iamnotawomanimagod]

I’m stoked for The Great Impersonator, but I totally agree that it’s been a long wait. I had no clue the website was launched back in January. 9 months ago!! I do think, though, that the album was going to come out sooner, and then Taylor announced TTPD, and no one wants to compete with that, so it was delayed. Could be completely wrong, but it felt like we were getting breadcrumbs, and then they just stopped altogether around when TTPD was announced.

And I get what you mean about the song snippets. I haven’t even heard Ego yet because I didn’t like that I had already heard 3 songs, and I feared that the album would only have like 10 tracks (so happy it’s 18!) and that’s I’d have already heard like 1/3 of it. So I haven’t listened to Ego, and I won’t be listening to the new one. It’s hard, but I want as many songs as possible to be entirely new to me.

I’m excited to see where it all goes, though! And I know we only have a few so far, but what’s your favorite ‘impersonator’ look so far? The Dolly one was insane.

You might be right! We'll never know for sure, but that would make sense. I'm not sure how much Halsey is personally chasing charts, but maybe it's something their label encouraged them to do. It's definitely felt like an unusually long rollout, and that does make me think the album may have been due earlier. Plus all of those dates on the fake "Lucky" magazine and how they ended up meaning nothing - that was a bit weird, and not usual for Halsey's easter eggs.

All the looks have been sooo good! It's kind of crazy how much she can look like some of these artists? I really liked the PJ Harvey look, and I'm sure Halsey looooved being able to pay homage to her, because she's been a huge influence for a long time.

Here's hoping I can match some of your self control and stop myself from listening to all of the snippets, haha <3

[kulturegroupie]

Every single Jimmy Page quote from the 1980 European Tour

“Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Nice, right, well we’re here aren’t we? OK, We got a little number now. It’s called, in a bit of a rough translation ah, Schwarz Hund.”

— Dortmund, Germany, June 17

“Good evening. Good evening. Nice, well a little ditty from the past. Not so far back, but still from the past, and it’s called, no it’s Schwarz Hund.”

— Cologne, Germany, June 18

“Aye, bon soir. Merci. Ah Hello, hello, OK, Chien Noir.”

~~~

“Hey hold on. Listen. I tell you what, we came here because we really loved you. We really wanted to play to you. The trouble is, at the moment, I can’t even hear meself play. So if you could keep it just a little quiet for a moment. Thank you very much.”

— Brussels, Belgium, June 20

“Good evening. Good evening. That’s right don’t get out of your seat yet, we’ve got a bit more time left. Ok, we’ve got another number coming if I can remember what it is. Yeah, it’s called ah, it comes off one of the earlier albums, if you can remember those, and it’s called, it’s called Black Dog.”

— Rotterdam, Holland, June 21

“Good evening. Good evening. Well I know you wonder why you’re all here tonight, but we’re gonna find out, and we got a number coming up now, a really old one, well not that old, it’s called Black Dog.”

— Bremen, Germany, June 23

“Good evening. I said good evening. Yeah, yeah. How bout that then? I thought I’d take me glasses off. Might be able to see the fret board better. Well we got a number now. An old one ah, hasn’t been put out to pasture yet, but it’s old and it’s called Black Dog.”

— Hannover, Germany, June 24

“Good evening. How are you? Good evening. Good evening. Well with you with you. OK. Right. We got a number, a nice little number about 36-23-36, and it’s called well what’s it called in German, Schwarz Hund, Black Dog.”

~~~

“Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Hold it. We haven’t been here for seven years you know, and ah, sure we’ll play Rock and Roll, but we haven’t been sitting around on our asses for seven years. We got a lot of new songs to play too. Would you like to hear those? We’re gonna do that and we’re gonna play Rock and Roll too, Ok?”

— Vienna, Austria, June 26

“Good evening. Good evening. That’s better. Right, well there’s two of us tonight that aren’t feeling at all well. We got a bit of stomach trouble, so we’re gonna do our best whatever as usual, and ah, the next number sort of reflects how I’m feeling, and possibly the other member. It’s called Black Dog.”

— Nuremberg, Germany, June 27

“Good evening. I said good evening. Right, right, right, right, right. Well if you’ve noticed, I just took me glasses off so I can see the guitar a bit better and see you a bit better too. Right, right. Ok, we got an old one. I hope you can remember it cause it’s quite an old one. It’s called Black Dog.”

~~~

“Thanks very much.”

— Zurich, Switzerland, June 29

“Good evening. Good evening. One and all. Yes, well it’s good to see ya, and it’s good to be seen. So hey I’ve seen you before haven’t I? Yeah. Sorry about that strip just now but it’s probably as hot up here as it is down there. Ah next number is an old one, so old I hope I can remember. It’s called Black Dog.”

— Frankfurt, Germany, June 30

“Good evening. Good evening. That’s better. Right, yes, yes. I can hear all that . Right, we’re gonna do a number. It’s called ah, strangers in the night. Black Dog.”

~~~

“Right, ready? Are you ready? The worst bloody noise. I don’t think they’re ready for it, do you?”

— Mannheim, Germany, July 3

“Good evening. Good evening. Right, a happy gathering yes. Well we got a little number now from the annals of rock history, and it’s called Black Dog.”

— Munich, Germany, July 5

“Good evening all. I said good evening. Right, well it’s nice to see you and it’s nice to be seen, I can tell you that. We got a number ah, from the annals of Rock History. It’s not called Black Dog Jimmy. It’s just called Schwarz Hund.”

— Berlin, Germany, July 7

[conceptalbummultiverse]

References in chapter 36 of Strange Fascination

I know, I haven’t even made a post promoting it yet, but ssshhhhh…(yes, there is a new chapter!) I thought that I’d make a quick post about a few song/real life references in this chapter, since @tabb1tha pointed out one that I didn’t even intend. (Ziggy having white blood is not a reference to the Aladdin Sane album cover- I think that the mysterious liquid on his chest is supposed to be a teardrop, and as for why I gave Ziggy white blood, I've just always liked that concept in general; I first used that concept for a non-human OC in a story I wrote when I was about 10/11 and I wanted to bring it back- but I like that interpretation, it very well could be that!)

The most obvious one is the line “I’m never ever gonna die, and I’m never ever gonna get old” from “Never Get Old” by David Bowie, off his Reality album! (I like Reality a lot, and as an aside- I like the album cover, you guys are just mean.) I wasn’t intending to reference this song as there’s supposed to be a theme to the songs I do reference (that aren’t from the concept albums that I based the universe on), but I think I had been listening to Reality and just felt like throwing it in there.

When Whatsername reads the katakana on the back of Ziggy’s cape (side note- I’m not sure if you’d call it a cape? you know, that thing that Bowie’s wearing at the beginning of the Ziggy Stardust filmed concert that gets ripped off him? but I wasn’t sure what to call it), she reports that it says “hamburgers.” This is a reference to the last line of my personal favorite David Bowie song, “Sweet Thing” from Diamond Dogs. (Well, the entire Sweet Thing Suite is my favorite song of his.) I needed to think of something kind of dumb and silly that could be written on the cape- in my head, Ziggy’s cape was custom-made and the designer who made it had included it as a joke because he knew that the clueless English people (or… English-presenting in Ziggy’s case) who had ordered it wouldn’t be able to read it and would just think it looked cool, so he could write anything he wanted on it and they’d never notice. He was right. Anyway, I chose “hamburgers” because I always thought that non-sequitor at the end of “Sweet Thing” was funny, as if the narrator is losing their train of thought: “If this trade is a curse, then I turn to the crossroads and… hamburgers…” I don’t actually know if there’s a way to write that word in katakana, but… *shrug* Apparently in real life, Bowie’s cape said something badass like “breath of the dragon" and it was rendered in such a way that the letters, when read out loud phonetically, said “Bo Ee.” (I can't find the link where I read this originally, so I might be wrong about that.) I figured I couldn’t use that in my fic because I would have wanted it to be “Zig Ee,” and that didn’t fit the mood of the scene that I was going for.

The outfit Ziggy is wearing below the cape is this outfit from the 1980 Floor Show:

I like this weird-ass outfit. Not much more to say here!

As for non-Bowie-related references, it’ll become more apparent in the next chapter, but Whatsername’s letter begins with “Where have all the riots gone?”- the first line of the song “Letterbomb” by Green Day.

If you’re keeping track of lyrical references- by all means, do so! There is a rhyme and reason to how I chose them- I’d say about 99% of the lyrics I reference in the narrative that aren’t from the albums that the fic is about are from the same two OTHER albums. Both are by the same artist, and both were released in the 2010’s. And yes, that artist made one of the albums that the fic is about. (I feel like this has narrowed things down maybe a little too well, but I don’t want to start the hunt for lyrical references until the story is over and they’ve all been used.)

[agentmmayy]

may music rotation

this month might not have been a super great month for music but from what i found it was a FANTASTIC month for lyrics and summer-esque songs!!!!!!!

back home - mila ziska: this song is so melancholic and sweet and it embodies the spirit of summer so cleanly. ‘harvest all the seeds i’ve sown pick the fruit once you come back home’  ‘i have this force within me it pulls me like the ocean tide’ and ‘oh growing up is a strange thing it’s like it happens over night’ i’ve been here for centuries. i’ve been here for days. i am every age i have ever been but i still know nothing. i am old and i am young and i am trying to come home. i want to go home. all stories are about coming home!!!!!!!

also this song is formally VERY similar to ‘the best day’ by taylor swift so that of course made it hit even harder

quarter life crisis - isabel dumma: talk about bop!!!! the chorus is amazing and so so so accurate and then the bridge??? ‘floatin’ ain’t the same as swimmin’ i know i ain’t drowning but breathin’ isn’t livin’ 

vagabond - overcoats: THIS song. this song has been the one i’ve played most this month because one it’s an absolute banger and second of all it read me for filth and the lyrics are so beautifully crafted and honest and pure and delivered impeccably. it’s a sweet, slow melody and coupled with the lyrics it reached into the depths of my soul and pulled out everything i can’t say and put it into this song like 

‘i’m just learning how to make peace with feeling small’ ‘but i might drive off if it gets too hard’ ‘there’s always a sunset that i wanna run into’ ‘i’m searching but i’m not lost’ and my all time favorite lyric that put me on the floor when i heard it the first time- ‘i’m a growing tree a few missing leaves i can’t shelter you don’t sit under me’ HELLO????? 

anyway, i am a HUGE fan of the overcoats and i am so proud of them for their success and for their new album!!!!! which is where this song is from but have i been able to listen to it yet? no i keep playing this song on repeat 

fireworks - JOSEPH: now for ANOTHER song that read me for filth. lately i’ve been feeling this exact way since all my friends and people around me have reached certain milestones in life- such as getting married, settling down, etc- that i haven’t and i’m left even more alone and bereft. but THIS SONG said that’s okay!!!!!!!! this song understood!!!!!! it said i’m not alone feeling this way!!!!

every lyric absolutely sent me through the roof but these especially:  ‘all these long songs might be no good for me’ ‘how long will i wait to be happy all my friends ask me’ ‘what if i’m wrong wrong to think there’s more to this story’ ‘an act of faith even though it hurts to shut that door am i holding out forever?’ ‘am i headstrong or foolish every night waiting for lighting to strike whole you’ve got blue skies?’ and my favorite- ‘i wish i could just flip a switch and accept your kind of muted bliss’ WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! once again HOW did they put it into words!!!!!! this song has such a special place in my heart. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve not only listened to it but also screamed along and cried to it 

also, JOSEPH always creates the most compelling and just fun to listen to songs and this is no exception!!!!!!!!! the harmonies are delicious and the music dropping at certain points is incredible and the beat has me dancing around the room. filed right under beach music! 

waves crash - JOSEPH: ok yes another song that turned me inside out and shook loose every embarrassment and fear and secret that i kept hidden and turned it into a song that said it’s okay!!!!!!! i understand!!!!! you are still worthy!!!!! 

again, every lyric is a masterpiece. ‘i’m a tall tall tree reaching up in the breeze’ *crying* i AM a tree!!!!!!! ‘i’m a limb of goodness in motion’ you’re getting emotional over nature comparisons? THE TREE AND OCEAN METAPHORS GOT TO ME OKAY. speaking of oceans in this, the chorus is insane. ‘waves crash clouds break yet here i am ashamed of all the cracks trying to glue the right mask in place’ shut up!!!!!!!!!! it’s a ballad. it’s everything. the vocalizations made me cry. they are cries. it sent me to my knees 

wild uncharted waters - jonah hauer-king: i saw the little mermaid in theaters recently and boy was i NOT prepared for eric to sing but honestly????? best song in the movie and on the album. idk if it was the euphoria of hearing it for the first time or the sheer surprise but this song is a banger. 

‘all i ever wanted was the open sky and sea’ SO REAL. ‘now i am on the shoreline but i am still lost at sea’ ‘in my mind your melody goes on stronger than the undertow’ ‘when your eyes outshine the horizon line’ ‘now i’m right here on the shoreline i’m right where you left me’  how am i supposed to live laugh love in this situation!!!!!!!!!! do i even need to say it!!!!!!! 

look back - dora jar: so delicate!!!!!!!! had my attention right from the jump. the imagery is spun with each lyric and metaphor (more ocean metaphors!!!!!) and the overall tone of grief and determination and love. ‘but i think i saw your memory washed up on the sand i let it stick to my skin traced it with my hand’ wtf. it has such strong apocalyptic vibes. not necessarily apocalyptic in the strict sense that the entire world has been destroyed and is suffering but apocalyptic in the sense that one person’s world has been destroyed whether by their own volition or not

bonus songs:

tunnel vision - imani graham: poignant!!!! ‘am i to blame for your bad habits oh i wish i said something but ignored all my needs’ ‘I stumbled through the chaos but found what I believe in tripping on the eggshells that you placed underneath me’ WHEW! 

also formally reminds me of both ‘want want’ and ‘anywhere with you’ by maggie rogers

red wine supernova - chappell roan: this song is weird and i love it. i also love everything chappell roan produces, of course, but i really love how clever she is with lyrics and ‘you said you like magic well i got a wand and a rabbit’ BLEW MY MF MIND also her vocals are insane 

all the stars - mree: the album and and the title got to me okay? i love how groovy and gentle this is