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newlabournewromantics · 5 months ago

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okay so i'm not british (i'm just a teenage girl hungry for knowledge 😔✊) but i watched one video and as a result i've been consuming an insane amount of new labour media for the past week even though i've never been interested in uk politics besides keeping up with global news LMAO i genuinely wanna know more so where do you think i should start with books films etc 😭

hiii!! excellent question id be more than happy to help! this will be sort of an overview with general recs for newlab beginners (why am I treating this like its a profession omg) so just lmk if you want more specific recs + I've highlighted my favs

books (from the outside)

(by from the outside I mean written by people not directly involved in newlab, so historians/journalists etc)

the two classic newlab texts are servants of the people and the end of the party, both by andrew rawnsley from the observer. provide nice, extensive but not overly fussy histories of newlab from opposition to 2010. good balance of gossip and actual information!

my personal favourite is rivals by james naughtie (bbc reporter), I find the prose in it far more compelling than any other book on this list.

brown's britain (robert peston) is also very good!

you've mentioned that you're not from the UK, so I really really really would recommend reading a book/a few articles on the broader history of the British Labour Party, just so you can understand why newlab was so revolutionary. I quite like keeping the red flag flying

autobiographies/diaries/books from ppl directly involved:

(these will inevitably be more biased)

the new machiavelli by jonathan powell is my absolute favourite self-written newlab book - and you might learn some stuff ant machiavelli whilst ur at it so this is an essential imo

my life our times by gordon brown is another one I really enjoyed, although it's less gossipy than some of the other books on this list. admittedly I do agree with basically everything gordon brown has ever said so this is a very biased review, but I would give it a go!

obviously alastair campbell wrote a load of diaries. I would be careful with which volumes you choose to get - go for the ones published 2010 and onwards bc he made the choice to omit stuff from the first few volumes he published so that it wouldn't' hurt gordon's premiership. also, they're really long and really extensive, so pick which volumes you want to read based on which specific period of newlab you find yourself drawn to!

as a comms/polling fan (boo) I really liked unfinished revolution by philip gould, but this might not be the best book to start with.

damian mcbride's power trip (more diaries) is also interesting

big fan of point of departure by robin cook asw!

I found tony's books excruciating to read but that's bc im crazy and think I know the inside of his mind like its my own so they might be good for you. his new book is FASCINATING but only in the sense of it exposing how big his messiah complex is. don't read any of his books if you're not down to hear about sex and/or technology.

oh a note: mandelson has written books but I don't like him so im not going to recommend them <3

tv/film

tony and gordon aren't really all that into big heartfelt chats about newlab, esp not together, but a few good docs have been made

blair and brown: the new labour revolution (bbc, 2021) - this is a classic, it's where I got my newlab start as a tender sixteen year old politics student u can't beat it! watch this one first

the blair years (bbc 2007)

out of the shadows and we are the treasury (here and here)

blair's thousand days (1 2)

if you're into tbgb, please please please watch the deal. I don't like much of the michael sheen as blair content, but the deal (2003) is so good.

if you want me to rec bits of tv from the newlab years that I think r cool and worth watching then send another ask and ill tell u! but obv theyre not much use if you're just getting into newlab :)

alastair did interviews with tony and ed miliband 6/7 years ago. not all about newlab, but very interesting to watch and observe the dynamics!

podcasts

matt forde of the political party has done interviews with a lot of newlab figures, from tony all the way to the more junior spads. I especially like the joint one he did with ed balls and alastair campbell, and the first tony one. these r less good for actually learning facts about newlab but really like listening to them as a way to sort of get into these ppls heads and observe them in a more casual setting. also a gordon interview asw !

if you can bear listening to george osborne talk (I can but others r more sensible) then political currency is also a good place to get lil tidbits of newlab gossip, bc ed balls is one of the hosts and he's super messy he loves chatting abt gordon.

ideology/boring stuff etc!

ok u can ignore this section if you want but these r some books about the ideology that underpinned newlab - I think it's fascinating!

the third way by giddens (literally the newlab bible and I think the only theory that blair took seriously)

crosland’s the future of socialism!! influenced gb and caused so much internal labour drama so evidently its excellent

if you want a really interesting essay on Iraq I recommend this

podcast on centrism that touches a lot on clinton/newlab/blair etc

oh and just for fun!!!!! here's a playlist of all the songs written canonically actually irl about tony blair.

lmk if you want any other recs!!!!!

#new labour #asks #she speaks #recommendations #(very good ones)

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mudkippies · 8 months ago

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babe. do you have any anime recs

OF WHAT KIND. What sorta genre are you going for? Feel good? Lighthearted? Or smth more action-filled?

Are you lookin for a short series or smth longer? Generally they come in sets of 12, 24, or. super long. Or maybe movies?

For sweet/happy ones, Makoto Shinkai movies are MY FAV. Particularly I enjoy Weathering with You and Your Name. And if you like those, watch Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop- its literally one of my favorite movies of all time ever. Its super cute n sweet + has a beautiful style.

For more intense I would say MONONOKEEEEE not the ghibli movie but that ones really good also. Mononoke 2006 is a 12 episodes (+ 3 in a prequal series) with this super interesting style. Its about a shaman sorta guy who like. exorvmcises evil spirits? Just watch it pls pls pls

Dementia style (<- More like. heavy & confusing) I wld always say Serial Experiments Lain. Is ur into psychological movies check out Satoshi Kon's work- he was a GENIUS in that genre frrrr

Im a big fan of Sci Fi so some popular ones you should watxh are Trigun ('98 is closer to the original manga bit like. barely. Stampede is more entertaining tho), Cowboy Bebop, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. OOOH and Cyberpunk edgerunners. That ones super gorey tho.

If you like Cowboy Bebop or even if you dont u should watch Samurai Champloo. Its abt this girl, a samurai, and a vagabond sorta dude on a mission to find this "samurai who smells like sunflowers". Its SO good and the music is AMAZINGGGGGGG

CHECK OUT SCIENCE SARU'S STUFF ALSO my favs from them are Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken- its a 12 ep series abt the three most autistic girls ever starting an animation club in their school. And then Japan Sinks 2020, which is abt a family surviving after a tsunami starts to literally sink Japan. SUPER sad but also beautiful.

If u want a mystery one watxh Erased- its a time travel sorta show abt a guy who goea ba k jn time to solve the murders of these three kids from his elementary school. Oshi no Ko is another mystery show with beautiful art abt idols and solving the protags moms murder.

Heavenly Delusion is one I havent actually finished but its 12 (?) episodes in a post-apocalyptic future? Its a litte hard to desvrjbe but its rlly cool.

OOOOH the great pretender is a fun show abt scamming + a new movie for it is coming out soon. super cool style as well.

Sorry ive been writi g this between doing stuff in class I gotta stop here for now. If any of these interest you lmk and I can give a list of trigger warnings since almost all of them have. a lot.

ALSO I HAVE MORE. IF U HAVE A PARTICULAR HENRE OR VIBE U WANT LMK DOESNT MATGER HOW SPECIFIC

#these are all fairly popular so lmk if u want more niche ones #I just have. basic taste #theyre popular for a Reason okay

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miumura · 2 years ago

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first impression of ur moots?

oh em gee tysm for this ask anon !! this is gonna be long so .. for the moots i havent put on here, please lmk if you want me to say my first impressions on you !! (only cause this post is getting a bit long, so i can do the rest in the comments !!)

@son4taa - sona seemed funny but awkward when we first ever talked / seen her around .. tbh i thought she was gonna appear and then disappear for the next few weeks LMFAO (really thought she was a roleplayer istg SHE SAID SHE WAS BEOMGYU n i was like.. okay so youre one of those ppl huh.. but i ignored that and prayed she was joking , and she was thankfully.) but i really wanted to get to know her the first time we talked ^^

@hannikz - i seen xin around a couple of times bc of my other moots so when i checked out her acc, it was literally so pretty n cute like HELLO?? it was around the time where i think xin first started out with the jungwon smau?? but yeah i thought she was pretty cool and wanted to be moots with her LMAO love u xinnie <3

@kynrki - i was very shocked when kim followed me back .. i was like "um are my eyes playing with me rn??" BUT KIM SO COOL FRFR kim was like my role model im so serious. i was too scared to interact 💔💔

@soov - shut up i was scared of rei. I DONT KNOW WHY its just something with the pretty accounts. i think i seen her around on my other moots accs be4 and I THOUGHT SHE WAS SO COOL . her works are literally mind blowing its crazy. i actually screamed when i saw her follow back (and i was too scared to interact... haha!!) but yes rei the coolest fr fr!!

@sunoksunny - sunny n rei best duo , no lies told!! i always thought sunny was very very nice ^^ i think she was like either my 3rd or 4th moot on blr.. it was either i found out reis acc thru sunny or someone else... i honestly forgot . but sunny also very cool fr !!

@yenqa - YEN!! idk maybe i was intimidated when she followed me back (i think i followed her first) but we interacted a little bit and i thought she was pretty cool ngl .. like i would giggle n wanted to talk to her more ^^ but she an og fr !!!

@urszn - esther pookie !! i remember her ever since her iconic beomgyu pfp (if you know YOU KNOW !) . esther was vv nice and was around during like my admiring you / mppww posting time (i think..) BUT YES she was around when i had like 80-100 followers believe so.. love u esther bae 😘

@wonieleles - literally i didnt know why i didnt follow her when i first started using tumblr.. BUT i read pss and it was one of my fav jungwon smaus frfr !! i giggled n screamed when sia followed me back U DONT UNDERSTANDDD . but sia was trying to interact and i really appreciated that 🤭

@haknom - i think i got to know kayla thru sona (+ walmart enha was the start of it all) ..

sona : oh my god im such a big fan

me : oh let me check them out !

and sona was right. kayla was so nice and i always see kayla update stuff so im like DAMN okay kayla best writer !! so i think i reblogged kaylas fic and she responded quickly to it like 😧 but yes super nice 😍

@redm4ri - i always thought she was super chill and nice !! i met mari through walmart enhypen and im glad i did !! tbh i thought mari would not interact as much but she did (which im glad)! but yes mari is vv sweet <3

@ddenoudepression - i think diana joined walmart enha kinda late but kinda not ?? idk but i met her bc of the you know what situation .. (sunoo) . but yeah i actually thought she was friends with cough cough SO I DID WONDER WHY SHE GOT INTO WALMART ENHA BUT THEN SHE CLEARED IT UP SO !! but yes i did think she was pretty chill <3

#sophs asks!#🐼 — games !

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sunaluvs · 3 years ago

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Me again, and I…I can’t even speak right now. That was quite possibly the most beautiful, intimate, SOFT love song I’ve ever listened to. It rivals I Will by Mitski. Oh my God I’m yearning like I’ve never yearned before, like I can’t even put it into words how absolutely cathartically gutted I am by that song, it’s like being killed and embraced all at once. And making matters even better is that it reminds me immensely of my top selfship, so into the playlist it goes.

Do you have any more reccs from the band, or songs similar to it? I need more!!!

AAHHHHHHHH IM SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT OMG!!!!! IM SO EXCITED THAT ITS DRIVING SOMEONE ELSE INSANE TOO OH MY GOD ITS JUST SO..... ITS SO DEAR TO ME SOSO DEAR TO ME

some other songs by them that also make me crazy are marbles, welly boots, the unwanted animal, farewell wanderlust (one of my fav songs EVER), the horror and the wild, the old witch sleep and the good man grace (THIS IS TOUYAS SONG ITS LITERALLY HIS IDC IDC), pray, & the rockrose and the thistle. i have lots more by them but ill js stop here for now LMAO

other songs that are similarly lyric based are tongues & teeth, pretty little things, metaphor, and never love an anchor—all of which are by the crane wives.

#TAD have 3 albums out and like... every song they have on there is a banger. so really id js rec all of their music LMAO #the crane wives r also p good! i havent listened to them lots but they do have a couple good songs #also not all of these are romantic but just generally heavily lyric based songs that talk ab a lot #if u want romantic specifically... lmk :3 tho i listen mainly to like.. sad romantic stuff BDNDHJSBJD #ALSO I WILL BY MITSKI MAKES ME SO MISERABLE LMAOO every time i listen to her songs i end up writing angst thats painful as shit lol #have fun listening to these!! and lmk which ones r ur favs once ure done <3 #a.answers #[ ♡ ] — anon #aether talks music

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nulltune · 3 years ago

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😳

lemme scream abt our muses!!

you: -joke abt throwing all ur muses at me-

me: bet?

childe: hakuno can be reaal chaotic too don't get me wrong (canonically likes reckless bond quests! and candy :pleading: she is a sweets luvr..) but i feel like she'd def try to prevent childe from doing anything too crazy sdfghj stop him from commiting atrocities, y'know! i feel like what would be sooo interesting to explore when it comes to them would be... family. hakuno doesn't have one! (she is so lonely actually ^_T) from what i'm reading from his character stories, he's being compared to wolves a lot (tho ngl i get more fox vibes but lmk what u think ta!) and i simply hold up bunnykuno (my hakuno is very bunnygirl coded. nodnod) because i'm basic but it's a neat trope!

gorou: i knowww i mostly talk about hakuno being a catluvr (they are her favs... along with foxes!) but she's a luvr of "fluffy-wuffy" (<- actual words she said) in general! what i'm saying is that she'd find his ears and tails super adorable :pleading: saw that he can speak to dogs too, and i think she would be so hyped about that VDNFBS sparkly-eyed stoic and all! i see that he likes sweets too so they can be sweets buddies methinks! (hakuno shares all her candies with him because she thinks his tail wagging when happy is the cutest thing-)

albedo: NONHUMAN FRENS..... ok but humanity is a really important theme for my hakuno and i think these two would be real interesting for that! really like it too because albedo's more of the logical type while hakuno's more emotional (though both of them really have that :| energy GDJFSH). albedo's line about socializing makes me really want them to have a chat about bonds and connection thooo (<- also a really important theme for my hakuno!) i know he likes desserts too so like- they can also be sweet buddies ! :pleading:

ayaka: not to say frens in all caps after i just did but leT AYAKA HAVE SOME FRIENDS!! one of which being a lovely little moon lady (who also wants friends, so it's perfect) uwu✨️ hakuno may look all elegant and ladylike but like i mentioned in the previous ask for murr-- she can be pretty damn chaotic! nothing too bad, but i think it miight help ayaka have a little more freedom in her life mayhaps? loosen up a little and enjoy the simpler things in life :,) her line about stability "I only wish life could be as leisurely as this a little more often... How greedy of me." is something that i can really imagine hakuno saying as well

aimé: HEEELLO TA OC?? 😳 seeing how he roams teyvat, i think he and hakuno could meet easily! maybe they could even wander together in a kinda adventure buddies kinda dynamic? hakuno isn't the best cook either but him liking charred food is so,,, FDJDHSHD (hakuno vc that's... really sad..) but yeah, after knowing that i think she'd definitely try to make him something, y'know, not charred! (pls drop the lore on what his favorite food is hehe-) if you wanna talk abt him :eyes: :eyes: I AM SUPER HYPED 2 LISTEN OKOK! would love to know more about him <3 LEMME LOVE HIM!

hiyori: hiyori being so bright and cheerful v hakuno's gentle radiance is a real nice contrast of vibes methinks! giving me sunshine and moonlight vibes respectively.... i also literally see him be described as overly blinding sgdjgs but that’s also interesting to me because hakuno is more of the type to fade off into the background (f for moon girl-) — not the only point of difference between them though! i kid you not, in canon hakuno was so broke she made a king cry and she’s really conscious about her spendings so-- on a comedic note, i feel like hakuno would pass out internally whenever she sees hiyori so effortlessly make a pricey purchase DVFKSBFN hopefully i've established hakuno as a fluffy-wuffy animal luvr because she would love to see his pics of bloody mary sm!!! would also love to see her okok <3

nazuna: i see nazuna places a strong value on honesty and hard work-- two very hakunocore traits i must say, i'm sorry!! they're both worrywarts that take care of others more than themselves i think, so i feel like they might nag on each other (/POS) a bit. it's because they care tho! i feel like hakuno would find nazuna so cute actually... and my hakuno is very much onee-san coded so- she’s naturally very caring but she’d extra look after him methinks! i see that nazuna does his best to encourage and support others and :pleading: hakuno def needs that kind of positivity in that life :,) she’s a tough cookie to crack though, i must warn you on that! would also just like to mention how they’re the same height (160cm) and i’m sorry but another warning: hakuno can be a gremlin and i just think she’d put on heels just to tease him about that sdfghgdh

ritsu: I DIDN’T EXPECT TO SEE SO MANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HIM N HAKUNO ACTUALLY... okok but starting off, he likes to tease people to see their reactions and i’m so sorry because again, hakuno is literally so 😐🧍‍♂️ fdsfgdhj her cuter more expressive side shows when you get closer to her!! they’re both very intuitive which is interesting when you take into account their similar traits (i.e. ABANDONMENT ISSUES- yet distance themselves from other in a way ^_T). ritsu gives me cat vibes too so like,, can imagine her lowkey doting on him. if she finds him passed out somewhere, he won't have to worry abt a thing be stronk kuno can carry him to safety ! 💪 they both play the piano too so idk idk i think it’d be neat for them to play something together! also, i’ve mentioned hakuno’s sweet tooth a lot but!! i still have to say it: she’d love to try his sweets okok :pleading:

kaoru: if he tries to flirt with her then good luck kaoru because this girl's denser than a harem protagonist FHDSHD hakuno's 🤨 about flirts though, so i feel like there could be potential for some bit of tension there, but i don't think it'd be anything particularly bad! hakuno would definitely understand and relate to his want for validation and i feel like she'd be able to see more to him than just a "playboy" kind of image :thonk: i see that he gets along with the "eccentric" types anddd hakuno could def fit right in there lmao - she may look all cute and elegant, but she's pretty quirky chaotic! it'd be sweet for them to slowly befriend and open up to each other methinks :pleading:

#majesticmulti #&&. out of #I KAME KAME HA MY LOVE N HEARTS @ U!!!!!!#hi 😳 SURPRISE!! SDAFGHJSDK #DID UR G.ENSHIN N E.STARS MUSES BC IM FAMILIAR WITH EM BUT #as i've said; feel absolutely free to throw anyone u wanna @ m #@ mE!!!! <333 #also these are all like rapidfire shots sdfdg but if any interests u in particular feel to lmk!#always happy 2 ramble hehe-

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bikerboyfriend · 3 years ago

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hello dino i just wanted to ask what buck tick albums would you recommend someone who is sort of new to them. i've heard darker than darkness 93, their 2016 record, and mona lisa overdrive which is my favorite (and wasn't even available to stream in the US until several months ago lol) also what are ur favorite songs by them? mine are dress, zangai shape two, girl shape two, black cherry, and boy spectum peccata mortalia >U<. sorry this ask is so long i had a lot to say. have a good day :D

heyooooo <3

okay so—I would've recommended darker than darkness 93 (my personal fav) BUT since you've already listened to that I'd recc:

狂った太陽 (Lunatic Sun) • 1991

ONE LIFE, ONE DEATH • 2000

TABOO • 1989

And my personal favourite songs are dress, ao no sekai (青の世界), cyborg dolly: phantom (細胞具ドリー: ソラミミ:PHANTOM) and yuuwaku (��惑)!! and np i like your asks g, lmk what you think of those albums too

i also have a buck-tick favs playlist heree if u want

#moonbox #anonymous

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zainabi · 6 years ago

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do you have any makeup products you’re in love w rn/would recommend (i hope you’re having a lovely day also! 💜)

sis dont get me STARTED

1. this hydrating mist i got from superdrug for £3 it smells like coconuts n it makesu look so glowy n dewy im just AH

2. nyx cant stop wont stop foundation bc its so versatile its the only foundation in the drugstore and even in high end tht ive tried and that matches me perfectly ...... u can mix it w stuff n its just so nice n golden love it my shade is nude i think?? highly recommend for any skin type

3. maybelline superstay liquid lipstick my FAV shade is 135 i use it everyday it stays PUT ,ake sure ur lips r moisturised first tho but not too much ygm? just a pea size of lip balm to make sure it doesnt dry u out

4. hudabeauty overachiever concealer this shit covers so well my friend got it for me at this chairty influencer event for like £5 imagine ?! its lasted me since november and i use it almost every day a little goes a long way

5. benefit rollerlash got this at duty free when i went bosnia like a month ago or so? got two for £30 which is a bargain tbh bc one is usually like £25 so tht was great. it curls ur lashes up like properly my lashes are straight and i used to use an eyelash curler for every day and now i only use it if i want a dramatic look (+ i lost the rubber bit on it so i just dont use it at all now bc i dont even need it) this mascara is amazing i recommend however it is a pain to get off but i figured out a way to remove it properly it just takes bare long desafortunadamente.... still tho its great for like straight thin asian eyelashes

lmk if u guys wanna kno my skincare this is just my top 5 makeup products atm i should probably do a video like this lmk if u wanna see it ill film bare after exams im just too busy to do youtube rn anyway im rambling try these products out!!!!

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jalnandanz · 3 years ago

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OH MY GODDD that thing which happened to your finger literally reminded me of something else (tw mention of blood, its kinda graphic???) but in the first flat that i lived in when i first moved to the uk back when i was tiny there was this girl (who i still keep in touch with but we're not super close anymore) who i was friends with who was a year younger than me. so when i was 4 and she was 3 she was leaving the building and accidentally trapped her finger in the door and her finger CAME OFF?? LIKE THE TOP BIT???? talking about it now makes me laugh so bad but i remember hearing about it and being so disturbed SHE HAS A FINGER NOW THOUGH they had to go to the hospital and glue it together or smth i don't remember. but anyway my finger is mostly better it feels a bit weird but it seems to be healing fine 👍👍

yes i will watch "i want to eat your pancreas" !!! hopefully soon- ive heard of it but i never watch sad things so i'll try it!!!

have a good day/night!!

-:0

oh my god .... u mean the finger ???? like the flesh part finger ??? not the fingerNail ,,,, 😭😭😭😭 that sounds so bad i hope she is okay now oh my god 🧍AND GLUE ?? GLUING THE FINGER BACK ON 😭😭 that must be so painful holy shit ,,, also hope ur finger fully heals soon bffie !!!

YES do lmk when u have finished it and ur thoughts on it!!! its one of my favs 😍😍🤞🤞🤞 have a good day/night too my :0 anon ^_^

#:0 anon! ★

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sadrien · 8 years ago

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goodbyes & hellos

on ao3

im so so so late but hey this is for first day of prompt week for @thinkoutsidethelovesquare!!!! day one: wrong number

this was a lot of fun tbh and ive been dying to write this ship. alyas texts are italicized, adriens are underlined on ao3, just bold here bc tumblrs a butt. shoutout to @reyxa for the title <3

enjoy!

Alya narrows her eyes at the new message that lights up her phone. It’s an unknown number that she doesn’t recognize — not that she’s given her number to anyone recently — and it’s also seven in the morning . Anyone how knows her at all should know that she doesn’t wake up before at least nine on the weekends. (And that has nothing to do with the fact that she doesn’t sleep during the week and tends to go to bed after two in the morning.)

She groans as another message shows up on the screen. She squints and lets the messages flow in, figuring she can tell the person they’ve got the wrong number after they’ve finished whatever they have to say. Or she can decide that it’s unimportant and ignore it and go back to sleep.

She likes her second plan the best.

unknown number: Hi!

unknown number: Just wanted to let you know the start time for today has been moved from 10 to 9:15

unknown number: My father has a meeting at 1300 so he wants to get it all done as soon as possible

unknown number: And I know you mentioned wanting to have him on set yesterday

unknown number: I hope it’s not too much of an inconvenience! Your agent should be calling you soon, but I thought I’d give you a heads up

Alya squints at the screen. She doesn’t want to care but she’s curious. And curiousity killed the cat and all that but she’s used to letting her nosiness get the best of her.

unknown number: agents???

unknown number: 1st of all srry u have the wrong number

unknown number: 2nd of all were u talking to a movie star or smth???????

unknown number: book writer??

unknown number: what kinda person needs an agent

unknown number: Oh I’m sorry! I must’ve gotten the wrong number from someone

unknown number: I’m really sorry if I was bothering you

Alya rolls her eyes.

unknown number: u woke me up but its chill cause now im curious

unknown number: Curious? About what?

unknown number: way 2 keep avoiding the question

unknown number: ???

unknown number: u said the person u meant to text has an agent

unknown number: how fancy r they

unknown number: Oh! She’s a model!

Alya’s eyes widen. The most famous person she knows is that thirteen year old that was in her school who has ten thousand subscribers on YouTube because she makes lyric videos. The second is a boy who has a few thousand instagram followers because he has nice abs and lots of white boy clothing and muscle shirts.

unknown number: u kno a model????????

unknown number: Uhh

unknown number: I’m not sure how much personal information I should be giving to a stranger

Alya sighs. So close.

unknown number: its fine dude (dude? u good w that? lmk if u arent) i getchu

unknown number: u can just stop responding if u dont wanna talk

She locks her phone and slides it back under her pillow. She stares at the ceiling for a few more minutes, wondering if she’ll be able to fall back asleep. As much as she’d like to take the train back to dreamville, she can’t. Because now she’s awake and now she’s wondering. And once she stops wondering, she doesn’t stop.

She’ll probably stop thinking about this random wrong number in a few days and in a few months, she’ll forget about them entirely but…

Ugh.

Sleep definitely isn’t an option anymore.

Leaving her phone in her bed, she pads to the kitchen, twisting her hair up into a messy bun as she does so. No one is up yet — of course they aren’t, it’s seven on a Saturday and everyone is taking advantage of every precious minute of sleep they can get — so she has the run of the house to herself.

So she makes herself some coffee and a bowl of cereal and turns to television on. Her initial plan is to just leave it on whatever channel that’s playing when she first turns it on, and luckily the twins were the last ones to use it. Saturday morning cartoons. Score.

Alya stirs sugar in her coffee as Cyber Chase plays in the background. It’s not much more than background noise, it’s the middle of an episode and she doesn’t really know what’s happening, but she does snort at a few of the bad jokes.

“You’re up early,” her mom says before dropping a kiss on the top of Alya’s head.

Alya hums. “Got a few text messages and they woke me up.” She notes how her mom purposefully avoids eye contact as she opens a cabinet. Alya rolls her eyes and eats a spoonful of cereal.

“School friends?” her mom asks carefully.

“Yes,” Alya lies. Better than her mom asking more questions. The biggest one being why were you talking to a complete stranger?

“Are you going to see them before we leave?”

Alya glues her eyes to the TV. “If they’re around.”

Her mom makes an unimpressed sound and Alya resists the urge to roll her eyes. She texted a few of her friends the other week, but the conversation was awkward and stilted. They all had the same sort of idea about cutting ties.

Alya sighs and puts down her spoon, twisting around in her seat to face her mom. “I promise I’m talking to them.”

Her mom gives her that look— the one where her lips purse and a crease between her eyebrows that’s becoming more and more permanent; the one that says she wants to push for more details, but won’t unless they’re volunteered first. Which Alya is not doing, thank you very much. “If you say so, honey,” her mom says, turning her attention to the breakfast she’s making.

Alya stares down into her cereal bowl.

Time to evacuate to her bedroom.

She finishes her cereal as quickly as she can without choking and dumps her bowl and spoon in the sink as she passes it, taking her coffee with her to her room. New plan: curl up in bed with her laptop and hope her mom just leaves her alone until they move.

Alya’s almost forgotten about her phone by the time she flops onto her bed. It vibrates almost as soon as she opens her laptop. She frowns as she pulls it out from under her pillow.

unknown number: Dude is fine for me

unknown number: He/him pronouns please

unknown number: Thanks for asking I really appreciate it, actually

unknown number: People don’t always ask

Plan trashed. This is a better plan.

unknown number: she/her for me

unknown number: and no prob man

unknown number: i wasnt gonna assume ur gender

unknown number: ok that mightve sounded bad but i didnt mean it in a bad way like the ‘lol dont assume my gender’ way jerks do sometime i meant it in like a genuine

unknown number: if u have smth u wanna say u should say it because i am very tired and i can go on for a while

Whoops.

Alya can’t say she’s known for her stellar first impressions but she usually doesn’t ramble her way into an awkward corner. She mindlessly flips through apps as she waits for a response.

unknown number: Don’t worry about it! I didn’t take it the wrong way or anything

Alya smiles to herself as she responds. He keeps leaving her openings which is nice. Based off his initial reaction, she thought he’d shut this down as fast as possible.

She realizes this is probably a little weird. But it’s the most exciting thing to happen to her since school let out so…

unknown number: so whats up stranger??

unknown number: b4 u ask im just sitting in my room doing nothing but text u so thats my morning

unknown number: I actually have work soon, so that’s fun

Alya raises her eyebrows. She forgot age was something else she didn’t know yet.

unknown number: oo work that sounds fun

unknown number: what do u do???

unknown number: I work for my dad, it isn’t anything special

unknown number: But it gives me something to do with my time so I don’t mind that much

unknown number: If I randomly stop responding without warning, that’s why

unknown number: good 2 kno

unknown number: can i ask what u do 4 ur dad or is that 2 personal

unknown number: I uh… I just do whatever he needs me to do

unknown number: I don’t get paid or anything but

unknown number: ay it still works as a resume builder

unknown number: Yeah exactly!

unknown number: thats cool that ur dad can get u a job!! my mom and dad could never w their jobs so i just suffer

unknown number: not that thats any different from what i would do anyway as a teenager

Alright, perfect. She’s brought up the age question in a really clunky and awkward way. Better than nothing.

unknown number: Oh how old are you?

unknown number: I’m 15

Alya lets out a sigh of relief.

unknown number: ayy same!

unknown number: just ur fav teenage superhero blogger

unknown number: doing nothing with her life

unknown number: You like superheroes?

unknown number: yeah!! i love comic books. you??

unknown number: I don’t have time to read many but yeah! I’ve always loved Spiderman

unknown number: wonder woman is my g i r l

unknown number: superheroes are just so cool

She waits a few minutes before she decides that he must have gone off to work. Bonding over superheroes, that’s good. A shared interest. She scrolls through their conversation, rereading some of the earlier messages before she creates a contact for him. She makes the name ‘stranger’ and leaves it at that.

It’s not like they’re meeting up or anything. Even if he is an ax murderer, can’t kill her if she never sends him her location.

Alya spends the next couple of hours avoiding her mom as much as possible. She takes her sisters to the park and then goes to the library after she brings them home.

She doesn’t want to talk about it.

She’s clicking through a webcomic that she missed a few weeks worth of updates when her phone buzzes. She glances down, expecting it to be a text from her mom asking if she has any plans or to do chores or something, but is pleasantly surprised to see a message from her stranger.

stranger: Sorry about that, work ran long

stranger: Admittedly, I don’t know very much about Wonder Woman, but she looks very awesome

unknown number: !!!!

unknown number: when ive got more time remind me to tell u all abou t her

unknown number: and to rec some comic books even if u dont have time

stranger: Is she your favorite?

Alya sits back in her chair. This conversation is going to be a long one.

Alya finds herself randomly texting her stranger for the next few days. He doesn’t always respond quickly, but he responds eventually, no matter how weird her original message.

That’s more than she can say for most of her friends.

She texts him as she’s sitting on the counter in her kitchen, stirring a pot.

unknown number: hey stranger whats up

stranger: Just reading, you?

unknown number: making box mac n cheese

stranger: Sounds fun

unknown number: yeah im gonna eat it straight from the pot

The three dots bounce on the screen as the stranger takes his time with the next message. Alya snorts and turns off the stove, straining the pasta and moving to the fridge to find butter and cheese. He’s found his words by the time she’s letting the butter melt in the pot.

stranger: Straight from the pot? Why?

unknown number: because i live life on the edge

unknown number: and also because im too lazy to clean the dish later

stranger: You know what? That’s fair

Sometimes, Alya thinks that she probably shouldn’t think about someone who she doesn’t even know the name of as often as she does, let alone text him as much as she does. But sometimes she’ll see something, and she’ll immediately think of him. Or she’ll just be randomly upset and feel the strong urge to pick up the phone and see if he’s available to vent to.

She knows it’s kind of weird, but she can’t help herself.

One night, at around two in the morning, she finds herself messaging him.

unknown number: hey did i ever mention i was moving

She’s almost asleep, slightly more okay than she was before she sent the text, when he responds.

stranger: You haven’t but we also don’t talk about where we live

Alya stares at the screen for a long moment, the bright light in the darkness making everything on the screen blur into nothing. She just feels kind of numb.

unknown number: yeah

unknown number: like 8 hours away from where i live now

stranger: Wow that’s a big move

unknown number: yeah

stranger: I’m guessing you don’t want to go?

unknown number: not really

unknown number: did u know ur my only friend right now

stranger: I am?

unknown number: me and my other friends sort of cut ties

stranger: The internet exists

stranger: Phones exist

stranger: FaceTime and Skype both kind of suck, but they exist

unknown number: yeah i guess

unknown number: i guess its just too hard for any of us to try

stranger: I have no idea how far apart we live

stranger: We’re doing just fine

unknown number: yeah

unknown number: yeah ur right

One of Alya’s small comforts that comes to mind whenever she thinks about moving is the fact that she’ll have her phone on her and a portable charger. Her stranger will be with her every step of the way.

He’d managed to get her to talk to some of her friends. She doesn’t really think it’ll last once she’s in Paris, but the attempt is nice. And it gives her other people to talk to for the rest of the summer.

It’s too early in the morning when they leave for the last time for her to get really emotional about moving. All she has the energy to do is to take a picture of her old apartment, caption it ‘one last goodbye to marseille’, and save it before sending it to her friends over Snapchat. Before she falls asleep against the car window, she texts it to her stranger.

She wakes up to a new text among the goodbyes from her friends.

stranger: Have a nice car ride! I’ll let you know when I get back from work <3

Alya hides her smile from her sisters and screenshots the text for later.

She texts him from the floor of her new bedroom while her dad starts moving boxes. They’ve been in the process of moving for a while now, shipping most of their things to Paris beforehand. Now all that remains is the actual unpacking.

Alya doesn’t have the energy for that. She just lays on the floor and stares at the ceiling for a while. Then she picks up her phone and sends him a text.

It’s been about an hour since they last talked. She’d talked to him for a good majority of the car ride, only stopping when he was busy and ending the conversation when they arrived so she could get her things out of the car and help her sisters with theirs. She’d sent him a picture of her empty bedroom and said ‘let the unpacking begin :P’. He’d responded with a ‘Good luck!!’ and ‘I’ll let you get to work!’

Alya’s thumb hovers over the send button for a few seconds. She’s never really pushed him for any sort of personal information before.

New city, new Alya. Or something.

unknown number: hey just wondering

unknown number: what do u have me in ur phone as??

unknown number: i have u in here as stranger

stranger: Your contact name?

stranger: Uh awkward but you don’t?

stranger: You’re the only one I just have the number for, so I know who you are that way

Alya reads his texts a few times before she responds. She doesn’t know what she expects in return, but she figures she has nothing to lose.

unknown number: im alya

unknown number: in case u were wondering

stranger: Hi Alya

stranger: I’m Adrien

#adrien agreste #alya cesaire #alyadrien #outsidethelovesquare #miraculous ladybug #my fics #oof its done

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