#for reference : the album is The Age Of Consent

[cherry-pop-soda]

okay but does anyone listen to bronski beat and does anyone GET IT. they released an album, completely unashamedly gay, in the 80s, during the AIDS crisis, during a time of insanely rampant homophobia and over the top conservatism. they released an album with the age of consent for homosexual activity in every european country listed on the sleeve and the phone number for a legal advice hotline for queer people etched into the grooves of the vinyl. they released an album with the opening track dedicated to a hate crime victim, featuring vocals from an openly gay choir. they released an album with songs about homophobic violence, the dangers of following the bible too closely, about leaving behind everything you know and starting over, about homophobic family and homophobic bullying. they wrote about being gay and being proud of it and knowing that there is nothing wrong with who you are. in the face of all the hatred going on in the 80s they released an album that was in-your-face gay and fuck-you queer, and i love them for it.

(see original tags for a lot more commentary)

[acquiescest]

So I've seen this quote pop up from time to time; everyone thinks he was being gross (and fair enough, he's certainly said his fair share of gross things ://) but I think he was probably referencing a gay rights issue in this instance. Getting the age of consent lowered for gay men to be equal to heteros was a huge gay rights issue in the UK in the 80s/90s. The law was finally changed in 2001.

And Noel absolutely would have been aware of this. For example, just off the top of my head, the line about being over 21 in Suede's Animal Nitrate is a reference to the age of consent for gay men, as is the Bronski Beat album The Age of Consent. "The inner sleeve of the album has a table listing the minimum age for lawful homosexual relationships between men in each country in Europe, accompanied by the telephone number of a service giving gay legal advice."

[jet-bradley]

None of you were here for UTAU drama involving American kids recreating the voice of like, Michael Jackson for fun in JPN abandonware in 2015 and it shows. People have been making freeware synths to imitate famous people without their consent for ages with fucking freeware. The problem goes beyond AI.

Just some random ones from a precursory search:

Michael Jackson UTAU + VB

Rick Astley UTAU (This is unlisted, since they know they're doing something worth flaming them for, but duckduckgo could link me to it (?))

"Unreleased" Michael Jackson UTAU "Maikeru Jakusan" who appears to be abandoned since 2015. It says it's unreleased, but you can find downloads for the VBs on the Facebook page in here.

Michael Jackson UTAU video from 2017

And that's only the ones that haven't erased themselves entirely from the internet. It was definitely a big deal back in the day that people (see: hobbyists) (see: kids) would make UTAUs out of random celebrities without much thought into the ethics of the matter given that they were 13. They'd get flamed and they'd take the thing down. Like. You don't need neural nets to do this shit, you need freeware and free time, both of which kids unsupervised online can easily get.

Meanwhile, professional AI speech synth products DO obtain consent from their singers to train their synthesizers. From Solaria's (SynthV AI) product listing page: "While a standard voice is recorded as brief phrases sung at a static pitch, SOLARIA is based on entire song samples from her voice provider Emma Rowley." What they're referring to is how Vocaloid and normal SynthV banks are made: a singer sings syllables at one pitch with no vibrato, etc. and these are combined to form syllables and tuned by the voice engine and the computer.

Even something like a SynthV AI voice requires isolated vocal samples from the VP's songs, and to get those at a quality to use in a product you're selling, you... basically have to get them from the singer. Since differences in microphones between albums will give the product a different tone, I'm not convinced the singer still didn't have to sing fresh samples for them in a studio for this.

Stop using AI as a catchall word for "technology I don't understand and don't like". Fearmongering about what AI is capable of HELPS companies sell their AI products. Spreading misinformation about "unique" capabilities of AI, like imitating peoples' voices without their consent, helps them too. You are doing their advertising for them.

"You aren't OK with AI Voices but you're OK with Miku????"

First off, never insult my dearest friend Miku like that ever again.

Second, Miku isn't stealing the voices of other people. That's the issue with AI voices. They're stealing other people's voices. Miku is her a funky little hologram with a funky little hologram voice.

Big difference.

[cyarskj52]

How is this guy not cancelled for this?

6 Times Drake Allegedly Groomed Young Girls

His relationship with Millie Bobby Brown is what started all the speculation.

Isaac Serna-Diez

Is it about time we cancel Drake? Or, since “cancel culture” is a sort of fictional prison sentence, is it about time we hold Drake accountable for his actions? Maybe boycott his music?

No, I’m not referring to the fact that his recent album, “Certified Lover Boy,” was mid-tier, at best. I’m referring to his alleged history and allegations involving the grooming of young girls or underaged women as a fully grown — now 35-year-old — man.

In case you’ve forgotten all of the times the Canadian rapper was accused of grooming underage girls, we’ve rounded up the most infamous occasions.

Here are 6 times that Drake allegedly groomed underage girls.

1. Ogden Theatre concert in Denver, Colorado, 2010

On May 17, 2010, Drake performed at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado, around the start of his career.

He had released singles for his debut album, "Thank Me Later," but had so many songs from his mixtape, “So Far Gone,” that he would perform on his promotional tour. The tour would eventually jumpstart his career after he signed with the music label Young Money.

RELATED: Machine Gun Kelly’s Creepy History Of Sexualizing Underage Girls

During the concert, Drake called a fan onto the stage during an interlude, and started to kiss her neck and hug her from behind, before saying that he was getting “carried away” and asking her what her age was.

She replied that she was 17 — which in Colorado is the legal age of consent — to which Drake replied, “I can’t go to jail yet, man,” and stopped doing what he was doing.

However, he continued, saying he didn’t know if he should feel guilty or not, but that he had fun, and sent her off the stage with a kiss on the cheek.

In 2010, this seemed like a harmless misunderstanding. Drake was 24 at the time and at the very start of his career, but it would devolve into much worse later on.

2. Kylie Jenner’s '16th Birthday Bash', 2013

In 2013, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arranged for Drake to perform at Kylie Jenner’s Sweet 16 — a surprise she had no idea about.

Drake was 27 at the time, but this didn’t stop rumors and speculation that the pair were seeing each other behind the scenes.

Rumors of which were given slightly more credibility due to the fact that Kanye West recently talked about how Drake slept with Jenner behind his buddy, Travis Scott’s, back.

Not only that, but for a long time Jenner and rapper Tyga started seeing each other before she legally became of age and officially announced their relationship.

3. Bella Harris and the Summer Sixteen Tour with Future, 2016

In 2018, Vice published an article reporting that Drake was dating an 18-year-old model named Bella Harris, who is also the daughter of legendary music producer Jimmy Jam.

Drake was 31 at the time, but if that doesn’t raise enough eyebrows or red flags, finding out when the two met definitely will.

Harris and Drake met during the rapper’s “Summer Sixteen” tour with other rapper Future in 2016 to promote their collaborative album, "What A Time To Be Alive." At the time, Harris was 16 (how ironic), and Drake was 29.

In an Instagram post that has since been deleted, Drake is seen being very close and handsy with Harris, causing people to call him “creepy” and speculate about the pair’s history.

Page Six reported that Drake rented out a restaurant to dine privately with someone who many speculated to be Harris, but the model later denied those claims on Instagram by saying she spent the weekend working in New York.

4. Jorja Smith and the Scorpion track “Jaded,” 2017

Drake has never been the artist to come out and say exactly who his songs are about. In fact, his breakout song, “Best I Ever Had,” started with lyrics that reference exactly that and how women will often think his songs are about them.

“You know, a lot of girls be / Thinkin' my songs are about them, but / This is not to get confused / This one's for you,” he said during the beginning instrumental.

However, many people speculate that the song “Jaded” off of his 2018 album, "Scorpion," is about English singer Jorja Smith, who was 10 years younger than him when they were rumored to be dating in 2017.

She was 19 and he was 30 when they were rumored to be dating, which while still legal, matches Drake’s strange track record of chasing after women who are much younger than he.

RELATED: Bob Dylan Isn’t The Only Musical Icon Who Allegedly Pursued Predatory Sexual Relationships With Minors

People also believe that a line from the last record on that album, “March 14,” which is about his son Adonis, is about Smith as well. “I got this 11 tatted for somebody, now it’s yours,” references Smith’s birthday, which is June 11.

Drake seems to like referencing people’s birthdays, which is something we’ll bring back up a little later.

5. Billie Eilish’s 18th birthday and Drake texts, 2019

Billie Eilish, born in December 2001, made a post on Instagram on December 17th, 2019, the day before her birthday, with the caption “18 tomorrow.”

Allegedly, some jokers thought it would be hilarious to edit a screenshot of the comments section to include a comment from Drake’s Instagram account, @champagnepapi, that said “I’ve been waiting,” with an emoji of streamers and another with a hot, sweaty face.

While everyone says it’s not real and the image is doctored, the joke came from an interview that Eilish did earlier that year with Vanity Fair where she talked about the superstar rapper.

“Drake is like the nicest dude I’ve ever spoken to,” she said when talking about the famous people who follow her on Instagram. “I mean I’ve only texted him, but he’s so nice.”

Of course, everyone immediately jumped on this interview and called Drake, who was 33 at the time, creepy.

“Everybody’s so sensitive. A grown man can’t be a fan of an artist?” she said in an interview with Vogue last year. “There are so many people that the internet should be more worried about. Like, you’re really going to say that Drake is creepy because he’s a fan of mine, and then you’re going to go vote for Trump?”

The skepticism from fans also comes from Drake’s behavior with the famous actress, Millie Bobby Brown, back in 2017-18.

6. 'Hawkins Very Own' Millie Bobby Brown and Drake talk about boys, 2017

The “6 God” himself met “Eleven,” played by Millie Bobby Brown, from the hit TV show "Stranger Things," back in 2017 and commemorated it with a post on Instagram.

The post was captioned, “Hawkins Very Own,” making a play on words with the name of his record label, “October’s Very Own,” since his birthday is in October.

At the time, he was 31 and she was 13, so instead of automatically pinning Drake as a child predator, everyone just thought he was a fan of the show and wanted to take a picture with her.

A year later, however, while Brown was being interviewed by Access at the 2018 Emmy Awards, she talked a little more about her friendship with Drake.

“I love him. I met him in Australia and he’s honestly so fantastic and a great friend and a great role model,” she said of the rapper. “We just texted the other day and he was like ‘I miss you so much,’ and I was like ‘I miss you more!’”

Related Stories From YourTango:

Why Drake is telling a 14-year-old girl that he misses him as a 32-year-old man is unknown, but it gets a little bit weirder.

When asked what kind of advice he gives her and about what, Brown said, “About boys, he helps me. Yeah yeah yeah, he’s great, he’s wonderful, I love him.”

The interviewer prodded further, asking Brown what his advice with boys is, and she says, “You know, that stays in the text messages.”

This interview raised a lot of eyebrows and concerns with people, especially given his already-shaky history.

Brown, of course, responded to the allegations in a similar manner to how Eilish would respond a couple of years later.

“[You] guys are weird... for real,” she wrote in her Instagram story about the press who wrote about her friendship with the rapper. “I’m lucky to have people in the business extend their time to help me further my career and offer their wisdom and guidance. I’m very blessed to have amazing people in my life.”

All of these allegations have hurt a small part of Drake’s career and weened a lot of people off of the rapper’s music, but so far, nothing has been substantiated or proven.

Maybe Drake just has a lot of friends, but no one really knows the truth except for him.

RELATED: Why Young Stars Like Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo & Millie Bobby Brown Date Much, Much Older Men

Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.

Sent from my iPhone

[lavelled]

how it dwells.

I’m used to celebrities giving a subtle nod to my predicament, but never has an actor become internationally famous for acting, in feminist terms, like a megawatted asshole.

Team Rachel 623: Your pearl-clutching, hospital-corner, sorority-hazing client must be numb to morality. This is some sick cruel stuff. I had a cousin share personal items without knowledge or consent. And share he did. This is worse. Is the rental accomplice just passing through? I think I can writerly outrun you.

She and her Team have benefitted from a decades-old wellspring imprisonment, pushed their climber toward even more notoriety with a regal marriage to none other than enemy number one, allowed disturbingly theatrical speeches on ivory tower racism and hardship, both of which are untrue and unladylike, and showed contentment only for professional births and payday.

Her Hallmark movie, Dater’s Handbook. The title alone. 8. Jail. Booked. Oh, the lucky break of forging career mileage in code fluency. I don’t understand the decision, as a 40-something, to do the flippity flipping flipsters act, yet has sex with the ghost of the rapey man who stole my life, gets wedded to him, does rockstar crowd greets and magazine covers, accepts awards, and has his babies.

This isn’t a job. It’s life.

And her lying evil husband took away my life choices.

Two women with integrity: Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas. I’m sure they’re beholden to royal NDA laws. However, their marriages expose your perverse nefarious intentions, their link to a distanced British girl, and how the ending should go.

By and large, the approximation of tragedy is fueled by your family and your wife. From stabbings in Solingen, Germany to NYPD officer, Gregory Purvis, shooting himself last week.

XXXTentacion—the rapper and writer was fatally shot in the Riva Motorsports parking lot in Deerfield Beach, FL. Almost exactly one month after your wedding. June 18, 2018. His debut album was titled 17. He was 20 years old. His little brother, 13, is Aiden Kerr.

Denis Yurievich Ten—the Kazakhstani figure skater and 2014 Olympic Bronze Medalist was stabbed to death in July 2018. Two months after your wedding. Middle name sounds like You’re Rich. He skated beautifully to Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain at the 2013 Worlds. He was 25.

Yountville Veterans Home—a residential treatment facility for brain injured post-9/11 veterans in California. The gunman, Albert Wong, a former patient, fatally shot three female health workers and then himself. March 9, 2018. Two months before your wedding.

Parkland High School Shooting—happened on Valentine’s Day. February 14, 2018. Three months before your wedding. Seventeen students were killed that day. Ages range from 14-17. The perpetrator was Nikolas Jacob Cruz. Cruz told a psychologist that he committed the shooting on Valentine’s Day because he believed that no one loved him and thus wanted to ruin that day.

Steve Bing—Hollywood financier, founder of Shangri-La Entertainment and Shangri-La Music; produced The Polar Express starring Tom Hanks. On June 22, 2020, he jumped to his death from the 27th floor of the Ten Thousand Building in LA. He said he couldn’t take the lack of human contact during quarantine.

Four students from the University of Idaho were all stabbed to death at their home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. November 13, 2022. Victims: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.

What country can you guys get kicked out of next? Denmark? No. That’s my King Frederik X. Norway? No. That’s my Marius Borg.

The scripted controversy over a Blackamoor brooch in 2017. Google it. I detect an unavoidable Sicilian reference and a concession in there. However, it’s also Harold trying to reinforce marked minor territory, which was collaborated together—despite real hate crimes and a known rape-bed desire—by her team.

As long as Rachel and Harry live better lives than most, including myself, getting richer with no public divorce, they will be flanked by critiques on why the world should tell them to go away.

Hope you had fun; she’s the last woman you’ll touch.

K

[uelden]

Vanity Fair interview translated

Just a side note before the actual translation; I don't know why, but instead of reporting the full questions and answers in full as she should, the journalist decided to report only summarized fragments of what Måneskin said and patch these fragments up into messy clusters. She also worded a couple phrases in a very confusing way (and yes, she's fully Italian). In short, she did quite a poor job, so the final shape of the interview is not that good. I didn't expect top-tier journalism from Vanity Fair but ffs. You'll see what I mean.

I translated it as it is, adding just a couple footnotes to give you insight on Italian pop culture references.

Translation under the cut

Måneskin: "Different from whom?"

by Lavinia Farnese, 09 June 2021

"True justice is being judged for what you do and not for what you are." The ones who are convinced of this are Damiano, Victoria, Ethan and Thomas who, by being the emblem of a generation that is finally free, refuse labels and conformism. In life, in love and on the stage. Where, maybe precisely because of this, they're winning everything

With the still unexpected (first place at Sanremo Festival) and the incredible (triumph at Eurovision) in their eyes, Måneskin are on the sofa of the house-studio they rented - to resume writing songs and rehearsing them - like you are after a won battle: lying in a calm and unreal silence, alert and a bit irreverent, happy.

In the garden there's the tennis table and the pool, the light of summer when it's starting and calming the country all around, and it filters inside from the large windows, and it goes onto the shining black of Ethan's hair, which blends with Thomas' eye shadow and the butterfly he has tattooed oh his naked forearm, which completes the picture of Victoria's golden crucifix hanging between neck and tank top and ends on the black nail polish of Damiano's stretched hands.

It's a human fresco, a Theatre of wrath [translator's note: "Teatro d'ira"] - to call it with the title of their latest album, a platinum record already - where their flaunted 20 years of age, their irregular femininity and virility are grown into proud and challenging custom, a pop glam rock generational manifesto of hard-earned liberties in a finally-unconditional expression of the self.

To watch them from any angle and from another age is to think that a great love will be born in those who'll understand: this new way of being in the world, the true and sovereign realm they hold where "diversity=exceptionality", the power of the artistic and cultural revolution of which they are healthy carriers in establishing in all lyrics and gestures the right to live according to one's own nature past the "people (who) talk, the people (who) unfortunately talk, and don't know what the fuck they're talking about." [tn: "Zitti e buoni" lyrics]

We go where we're afloat, where the air isn't gone. [tn: journalist's own variation on "Zitti e buoni" lyrics]

Miley Cyrus says hi – The numbers of a phenomenon

"The streams of Zitti e buoni are growing by the second, and they bring us above Muse, at the top of English charts, twelfth in the Spotify Global Chart. Followers almost tripled, in the post-Rotterdam period (from 1,4 to 3,3 millions, ed.) Contagious and universal folly: t-shirts and merchandising sold out in 10 minutes. Like the records, the tickets for a tour that keeps adding dates and expanding over geographic maps. They're contacting us even from some festivals were The Rolling Stones went." Thomas

"After the pretextual controversy over cocaine that France built against us, later disproven by my drug test, some graffiti popped up in Spain depicting me as a “No drugs” poster guy. Some tweets made us laugh: "Congratulations, Italy! I've never been more certain that four people have had sex with each other." Miley Cyrus started following us -You're great. -You guys are greater." Damiano

From the garage to the stars – Story of a flight

"It was only 2016, and we played in restaurants, in the streets, in via del Corso. Damiano without even a microphone, Thomas' guitar with wonky strings, Ethan was drumming on a cajón. During Rome highschools' sit-ins (Kennedy, Virgilio, Mamiani) we had our first confirmations and half-hours of celebrity, playing among those who criticized us and those who went "wow they're really cool." One of the rare times when they would have paid us – 50 euros each – we gave the money to the next band in the lineup so that they would make us play in their spot, later in the day, when there would have been more people. We had already realized how things worked. Visibility mattered more than money. And we still think that." Victoria

The intimacy of rock – Choice of a genre

"Music allows us the miracle of extending to others some very personal and private topics, sometimes even difficult and thorny ones. They are and they remain deeply your own, but at the same time they become a confession that reaches a wider audience, and in this passage that is alike a delivery, they find a place in you as well, a processing of them. You overcome them, you accept them. One second it's something aggressive, the next it's a ballad. Cathartic». Damiano

Against panic – The stage as therapy

"I've suffered a lot from anxiety and panic attacks, it's an issue I've worked on thanks to a psychotherapy course, my friends and my family. Playing helped me in not letting myself be paralyzed by my fears, not making myself limited in my private and professional life. I've learned to accept, to live with this side of myself. I don't hide it. I don't feel ashamed of it." Victoria

Analysis as necessity – Relying on someone saves you

"This belief that only madmen go to the psychologist is a widespread ignorance. No-one's born learned. [tn: common Italian saying] And it's often hard to understand the very reason why we're here, let alone the origin and direction of our desires. It's a long and legitimate journey towards lucidity, a kind of backing to become transparent." Damiano

Being out of our minds – But different from them [tn: "Zitti e buoni" lyrics]

"When you feel a strong passion towards something that is not a canonical job but an artistic language, that already puts you on a level of anomaly, which is not superior or inferior to other people, but it puts you in the position of the one who breaks the mold and also works at a loss, the one who sustains great risks while trying to do something that who knows if it will take you anywhere. "Why do it if it doesn't pay?". You want to give this dream of yours an aesthetic, but it becomes "You're dressing so weird! You must be gay!" - now that I'm 22 I laugh about it, but when I was 17 it had an effect on me, too." Damiano

The beauty of uniqueness – Of believing in it and defending it

"And I mean, at the end of the day if we're all different it's not because we want be alternative but because, really, no-one is the same. Justice is being judged on what you do and not what you are. Justice is equality, respect, beauty." Ethan

Fluid sexuality – Pride is freedom

"Heels for men that like themselves in them, kisses among ourselves, we have an open, extended mind, and we're proud of it. The horizons become vast, past the oppression of conservative families. With the information on the web knowledge becomes greater and with it the possibility that minorities will be less and less minorities, because the majority will be less of a majority. This way we'll make insults and bullying grow quieter. If social media get to a village of 50 souls and reveal to a girl who's afraid of the dark that someone has felt her same fear, then there's no reason to give a name to that fear, to mark it with labels which also limit and restrict. Definitions always had this effect on me. You shouldn't even consider the gender when judging someone, let alone their orientation." Victoria

Sexism – A culture to be dismantled

"Emma [tn: Emma Marrone, Italian singer] drops the bomb: “At Eurovision when I was there they massacred me for a pair of shorts, while they said nothing to Damiano – bare-chested and in heels.” The easy judgment against women is more fierce, constant, debasing (if I have a lot of sex I'm cool while Vic is a whore, where I show myself strong I'm a leader while Vic is despotic and a pain in the ass who reached success because she's hot.) As a male I'm privileged, the abuse I get is not comparable to those a woman has to live through, the comments over my aesthetic are centered only on my aesthetic and don't insinuate anything about my professionalism and my competence, while women are victims of this kind of thought in a systematic way. It happened though to find myself standing with a woman who while pulling me to herself to take a selfie, started licking my face out of the blue... I mean, what the hell do you want? Who asked you? Consent exists, and it's due." Damiano

Grow yourself – The only commandment

"To me conformism is the opposite of education [tn: could also mean "politeness"] and is the asphyxia of expression. I fortunately never endured heavy bullying, heavy enough for the the judgement of others to change me. But the mold of the small crumbs of bullying I got and of the kind of aggression that scars is the same. If I'm a kid who dances and likes dolls you have to let me do what I like. I was a kid who wanted to keep his hair long and played with Barbie. As a teen, my friends looked at my hair: " You have to find a girl with short hair to be at your side." My grandparents took away my dolls: "Stop it, they're not for you." Ethan

"When I was six I was already sick of them, the distinctions between masculine and feminine. I've always had strong ideas about how I wanted to be. I refused things that were typically defined as girly, and all around me they mocked me because I went skateboarding, I played soccer, I didn't wear skirts, I was giving myself the chance to be as I wished. I endured it a little, I suffered a little, but I had courage, and now thanks to that courage I know that I could have gotten even much more hurt, otherwise I would have left to others the most important choice: the one about myself." Victoria

Love in progress – Music, girlfriends

"I've been married to music for the last 20 years. I can't wait to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary." Ethan

"Everyone makes their own experiences, sometimes it goes well, sometimes it goes wrong, but it's always not anybody's business." Thomas

"When I first felt feelings and attraction towards a girl it was a bit disorienting because I had never had the courage of going beyond the limitations I had put for myself. For society being heterosexual is the norm and so you often define yourself in that way automatically, depriving yourself of the freedom to live many shades and faces of love. Once I overcame the initial insecurity of having to call into question my certainties I've lived my sexuality in a very natural and free way, as it should be for everyone." Victoria

"I had paparazzi at my door every day and night. So, after four years of relationship, I revealed her name. I still have paparazzi at my door every day and nigh, but at least I don't have to hide anything anymore." Damiano

The worth of the group – Phenomenology of protection

"The true engagement though, the true family is among ourselves, our band. We've believed in it since day zero, even before we called ourselves Måneskin (Moonlight in Danish), even before Ethan drew a giant moon on the flier for the first concert we ever did. We share everything, even the pain for the tragedy of Seid Visin, who committed suicide at 20 because of racism. [tn: I think the journalist asked them their opinion about Seid Visin's death, which was a current events topic in Italy, and then pasted it syntaxically in the middle of Thomas' answer, which was not a great move] A group is what we all should be: stay united and not back down an inch in the face of oppression that is generated by a distorted view of diversity." Thomas

I'm not of the right age – Like Gigliola [tn: Gigliola Cinquetti won Eurovision with her song "Non ho l'età", which means "I'm not of the right age"]

"Before you the only one who won both Sanremo and Eurovision on the same year was Cinquetti (1964). If there's anything I feel I'm not of the right age for? No, honestly no. Maybe having children. Regarding children I'll be honest: I'm not of the right age." Damiano

Having touched the sky – The fears that remain

"We're more than inside the dream, we're in the conquered dream. When you fly high there's the risk of plummeting and hurting yourself, but we'll work hard not to end up like Icarus, who burns his wings with the sun. Everything is in our hands. And this - a bit pretentiously - reassures us rather than scaring us." Damiano

[danvillecheese]

hi I love oversharing so I wanna talk abt how queer this drawing is:

the background is very much a direct reference to bronski beat’s 1984 album cover, age of consent. all the members were openly gay and all their songs are very queer themed

the pink triangle represents its use in the 80s as a symbol for queer people, reclaimed from the holocaust. more here!

I also like to think that lindana was a queer icon in the 80s bc she’s an ally for sure!!!! none of her kids are cishet lol

ferb. need I say more

mum's concert tee slays almost forty years on

[thatesqcrush]

Voire Dire, Pt. 2

Rafael Barba x Reader. Warnings: heavy kissing/touching, some language. WC: 4,072. Episode References: 19x13 & 22x04.

A certified workaholic, Rafael had little to no time for any kind of romantic relationships. His last one, with Yelina, years prior, ended badly. It was during that relationship he had expressed deep feelings and she rebuked him, using him as a stepping stone to his former friend, Alex Muñoz. That was not to say he was celibate; he had needs - desires; and he bid his time with men and women who also exhibited similar interests. They warmed the bed, but never the heart. It was just easier to focus on work - work required no emotion.

Rafael found his mind wandering as the cab took him home. He was drawn to you the moment he stepped through the 8th floor doors where all the junior ADAs were working. He recalled when he sat in a similar room, in Brooklyn, before he made his way up the ladder. Things were so much easier then, even if he didn't recognize it at the time. The world was an old movie: all black and white and it was high noon. He was Gary Cooper and absolutely sure absolutely who were the good guys, who were the bad guys.

The kiss replayed in his mind like an endless looping device. You had bright, lush lips that he was pretty sure were designed to drive anyone of any orientation mad. When you had kissed him, it certainly took him by surprise - a wonderful surprise. He allowed himself to relish in the taste of your kiss - the invitation you gave when you moaned and opened your mouth more, so he could slide his tongue into your mouth. 

For the briefest of moments, he ignored the rational part of his brain. All cares were thrown into the wind. And then his moral compass, which was spinning and spinning and spinning, came to a sudden stop as it dawned on him that you had been drinking.

The kiss - was an impulse born out of your drunken stupor. He hadn’t missed however, the look of disappointment on your face when he broke the kiss and stated he should not have done that.

When he finally made it back to his apartment, he found himself unable to wind down. The mind of the prosecutor now turned defense lawyer, was racing with a million thoughts at once. Despite the busyness of his mind, there was one thing that he was sure of. 

Kissing you was tantalizing. And he wanted to do it again.

He changed into burgundy sweatpants and his old ratted Harvard shirt and poured himself a night cap. He was certain your email was like his when he was there: first name (dot) last name (at) manhattanda (dot) org. Ever the perfectionist, he opened his email and looked up the D.A. 's office's website. Sure enough, there was your contact information (and he was right about your email). 

The plan seemed simple enough: first, apologize once more for doing anything without your explicit consent; second: ask for a do-over but he didn’t want you to feel any kind of pressure. Nor did he expect you to acquiesce - and that if he did indeed overreach, it was noted and he would keep things completely professional. 

He hovered over the send button for longer than he would have anticipated. Finishing his drink, he took a deep breath and hit send. And then went to bed feeling antsy - like a child the night before their birthday.

**

The sun shone brightly the next morning, filtering through the partially open shades. Rafael groaned as he stretched, with his back and shoulders making a cracking sound as the bubbles burst in the synovial fluid around his joints. It was simultaneously satisfying and a reminder of his age.

The coffee maker beeped, signaling it was done brewing. Rafael made way to the bathroom to take care of his morning ablutions. He helped himself to coffee and then sat back in bed to read the paper on his iPad and get caught up on the latest happenings while he was asleep.

For a moment, he forgot about his email to you. He opened his inbox, mentally gearing himself for an email from you rebuking him, or worse, no response at all.

His normally steel stomach flipped when he saw there was an email.

Rafael, you have nothing to apologize for. I would love a do-over. Name the place/time, and I’ll meet you. My phone # is 718-371-5952. -Y/N

Rafael looked at the timestamp on the reply. You were up early. He scratched his beard and wondered if it was too early to text. 

‘It’s too early to text Rafael, coño.’ He chastised himself. ‘Es muy temprano; después. Ya no eres un hombre joven; necesitas relajarte.

**

You were distracted at work. You couldn’t focus one bit. You tried to immerse yourself with work, but you were anxious. You kept checking your phone to see if Rafael had texted you. Groaning, you took your phone and threw it into your drawer. You opened a new browser window when Marjorie strolled in. She had black oversized glasses and a hoodie. In her hands were two coffee cups and a brown paper bag. 

You were relieved when you saw her - talking with her would help keep your anxieties at bay. 

You stood and turned the corner of your desk and hopped on Marjorie’s desk.

“Morning!” You replied cheerfully. 

Marjorie groaned. “Why are you so loud? Why is it so bright in here?” You reached for a coffee and she protested, reaching for it. You held it back, smirking.

“Someone had a bit much I suppose? Woke up full of regret for poor life choices?”

Marjorie took off her sunglasses. “Yes.” She hissed. “You had a lot to drink too; why are you so chipper? Did you get laid or something?”

You paused and it was a long enough of a pause for her to jump all over it. “Oh my fuck, who? Spill. Carisi?”

You barked out a laugh before taking a sip of the piping hot coffee. “No. God knows I love him, but not like that.” You narrowed your eyes and leaned down to whisper, scanning the office.

“Um - what are you doing? We’re the only ones here working today.” Marjorie cocked her brow in response. 

“This place leaks like a sieve, Marj - you know that.” You warned. “Can’t be too careful.” 

Marjorie sighed and put on her sunglasses once more. “Sorry, it’s too bright. Still too drunk.”

You shook your head. “Um. It was Barba.”

“You fucked Barba!” Marjorie shrieked loudly. 

“Would you lower your voice?” You replied sternly. “No. I did not sleep with him. But we did kiss. And he sorta asked me out.”

“Holy crap on a cracker.” Marjorie replied, astounded by the news. She opened the other coffee and pushed the brown paper bag towards you. “Bear claws. So how was it? Is he as silver tongued as he is in the courtroom?”

Your cheeks burned as you replayed the kiss in your mind - how his tongue followed yours, deepening the kiss. It was full of enthusiasm and how he pulled you against him, his body solid and warm. If you tried hard enough, you could still taste the mix of scotch and coffee that was his kiss. “He was very… ” You trailed off slowly, trying to search for the right word. “... passionate. Yes, very passionate. Knows what he’s doing.”

Marjorie tipped her coffee at you. “Well then.”

**

When Rafael did eventually text you, he suggested a restaurant in the NoLiTa section of Manhattan. He insisted on meeting you at your place, as to him, it was the proper thing to do. You declined, insisting that a boomerang trip was uneccessary and that you’d meet him at the location. From the sidewalk on East Houston Street, under a grimy red awning that appeared to belong to a fading pizza parlor, Emilio’s Ballato didn’t look like much.

Rafael waited outside for you, rubbing his gloved hands together and when you crossed the street, he smiled. He had planned the whole night to a tee and it was going to be perfect. Rafael would settle for nothing less. 

You kissed each other on the cheek and then took his hand. On the walls were framed album covers and snapshots of various stars, from stalwarts like David Bowie and Billy Joel to the titans of film, like Frank Sinatra and Martin Scorsese. 

“Mr. Barba!” A voice cried out. You looked and the voice belonged to a hulking minotaur of a man who was sitting like a wary sentry at the first table. He was armed with a cup of espresso that looked like a thimble in the paws of a giant.

“Emilio!” Rafael greeted in return. The two men broke into Italian and you cocked your brow. You had no idea what they were saying and when ‘Emilio’ looked past Rafael and to you, you waved with a small smile.

“Come this way. I have a table in the back - more private.” Emilio replied in a thick Italian accent. “Welcome to my restaurant. We will make sure you’re taken care of.”

A waiter came by to take your coats and winter wear. As you shimmied off your coat, Rafael found his mouth suddenly go dry. You wore a blue velvet wrap dress with long sleeves and v-neckline. Black tights and black knee high boots rounded out the look. 

“You look stunning.” Rafael complimented as he handed his camel peacoat over.

You felt your cheeks burn and you were grateful for the dimmed recessed lighting. Rafael looked equally as handsome in charcoal slacks and a white button down fitted with a navy suit jacket. 

“Thank you counselor, likewise.” You replied. Rafael was ever the gentleman, helping you to your seat first before taking his place across from you. Soft jazz music played, but not so loudly as to be interruptive to conversation. The two of you were just settling in when Rafael’s phone rang loudly. Rafael reached for his phone, looked at the caller and sent the call to voicemail.

Rafael apologized for the interruption and you waved your hand, while shaking your head. “No worries.”

Another waiter came by, with a bottle of red wine, compliments of the house. 

“So what “in” do you have in this place?” You asked as you took a sip of the wine. 

“Emilio - back in the day when I was an A.D.A, had a family member who was assaulted. I was the prosecutor on the case. I put away a violent sociopath and rapist for a very long time. Emilio told me I was always welcome to the restaurant. I - I never really had anyone to bring here.” Rafael replied.

“Until now.” You finished, chewing on a sesame breadstick. 

“Until you.” Rafael clarified, causing your heart to flutter. 

Over dinner, you got to know each other better. You discussed how you ended up on the lawyer track and how you were study buddies with Carisi and Marjorie. 

He shared his fascination with The Waves by Virginia Woolf and The Count of Monte Cristo. Rafael went into passionate detail for the French literary classic by Dumas, recounting "This is the first book I remember my father giving me to read. It was my favorite book growing up. It's an easy read. I was a boy in middle school. I fell in love with the world and the drama of it. What’s your favorite novel?”

Again, Rafael’s phone rang, interrupting. Rafael let out a quiet swear as he reached for his phone. “I swear, I put it on vibrate.”

“Someone’s mighty popular.” You gave him a wink as you reached for your glass of wine.

Rafael blinked and let out a deep exhalation. “So you were going to tell me about your favorite novel.”

Rafael reached for your hand across the table and you were about to grasp it, when the waiter arrived to serve dinner. You jumped back slightly as the food was placed before you. Rafael had pasta with mussels, while you had pasta cacio e pepe. 

Picking up your fork, you nodded. “Love in the Time of Cholera. Florentino Ariza suffers from lovesickness as one would suffer from cholera, enduring both physical and emotional pains as he longs for Fermina Daza.” 

Rafael cocked his brow. “For my taste, there are too many long passages of exposition with Garcia Marquez explaining what the characters are going through. But as easy as the story is to follow, and as seductive as it is, it never gives away what is really going on.”

You scoffed. “So I suppose you don’t believe love conquers all?”

Rafael gave you a coy smile. “In the end we’re all passing through.” You laughed and it was music to his ears. 

More wine was had and conversation flowed easily. Emilio insisted that you both stay for dessert. At some point, your chair shifted and you were sitting right next to Rafael as you split vanilla panna cotta. Rafael’s eyes shifted from your eyes to your lips as you licked the spoon clean. You put the spoon down and could feel the sexual tension rising. As soon as you reached for him, you accidentally knocked over your glass of red wine, and it spilled in the direction of Rafael, all over his white shirt.

“Oh fuck, I am so sorry.” You apologized profusely as you frantically dabbed at his shirt with the cloth napkin. 

“It’s okay; it’s just clothing.” Rafael replied as he too blotted the stain.

“It’s not.” You disagreed. “Here I am, trying to make a good impression, ya know, be all charming and sexy for you - the Rafael Barba - and instead I am a klutz. Ugh, that is going to set if we don’t take care of it.”

“Did you say sexy?” Rafael questioned, a smile dancing on his lips. 

You opened your mouth to reply when Rafael’s phone rang again interrupting your thoughts. Rafael threw the napkin on the table, letting out an irritated sigh. When he saw the name, he held up a finger. “Let me just answer this.”

“Liv, what is-- yes now is not a good time.” Rafael hissed into the phone. “Tomorrow. That’s all I got. Okay. Okay. Talk then.”

Rafael tossed his phone onto the table and threw his head back, rubbing his hands over his face.” When he sat up, he noticed the bemused look on your face. You reached up and began dabbing his shirt once more. 

“It’s really not a big deal.” Rafael replied softly. He grabbed your wrists gently, pausing your movements. His hands were warm and they circled your wrists easily. 

You allowed yourself to relax in his grasp and crinkled your nose. “It really is going to set. We should go and clean it. Otherwise it’s ruined. And this shirt is nice; it’d be a shame for it to get tossed.”

“At this hour? And where?” Rafael replied incredulously as he signaled the waiter for the check.

“We… could go to your place.” You suggested softly. “I am pretty good with stains. Just need some salt, boiling water, and white vinegar.”

Stunned silence followed - it was brief, but it felt like an eternity when he spoke again. “Sure.”

**

It didn’t take long to get to Rafael’s. “I am so sorry again.” You apologized as you stepped off the elevator.

“Accidents happen.” Rafael replied as he led you down the hall to his apartment. If anyone had told you that you would be on a date with Rafael Barba, you would have laughed in their face and asked them for some of the good stuff that they were smoking. But here you, in front of a rather ordinary door marked 6C. Once inside, Rafael turned on the light and you took in the apartment before you. It was freakishly spotless and you wondered if you had entered a living ad for Architectural Digest. The apartment was sleek and modern but carried a warm ambiance. Colorful artwork hung off the walls and there was a built in walled library filled with all sorts of legal texts and what appeared to be vinyls. His apartment smelled like a mixture of leather and tobacco and books plus whatever cologne he had donned. 

“I’ll go get changed.” Rafael replied. “The kitchen is over that way and there is vinegar and salt in the cupboards. You nodded and made way, rummaging through his kitchen. His cupboards were as meticulous as his apartment and you smiled at the things that you found as you searched for the items you needed to clean the stain, like a box of peanut butter cap ‘n’ crunch.

You found the salt and vinegar when Rafael came back with his ruined clothes. He had changed into another undershirt and a pair of dark jeans. You felt the air get sucked out of his chest at the sight of him so casual. A tuft of chest hair poked out of the v-neckline and a gold chain glinted in the light. You took the clothes and spread them out on his kitchen counter and set to work. 

“Want anything to drink?” Rafael asked. 

“Water would be nice.” You managed to squeak out before you tackled the stains. Rafael watched you as you methodically worked out the stains. Your brows were furrowed in concentration and he found you adorable.

Rafael placed a small glass of water by you and then walked over to his music collection before choosing a record to play. The all too familiar instrumental notes of one of your favorite songs began to play. 

“Is that--?” You paused, looking at him curiously.

“Vitamin String Quartet.” Rafael expanded. “Lana del Rey.”

“Never had you pegged as a Lana del Rey fan.” You murmured continuing to work on the stain. 

“Plato said that music is moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Rafael stated. “I have a very eclectic taste in music and if you go through my collection, you’ll find everything from Biggie to Celia Cruz to Lana del Rey to Prince - and everything else in between.”

“Impressive.” You replied. 

“And what would you have me pegged as?” Rafael prodded. He had also poured himself a glass of water. 

You stopped and looked up at him. You were overwhelmed by how handsome he is. Eyes that were biscay green and a strong aquiline nose. His hair, now bordering on more silver, than salt and pepper, made your hands twitch, as if your muscles instinctively wanted to run through it. You licked your lips and sucked in your bottom lip. You didn’t miss how his eyes darkened. 

“You’re the infamous Rafael Barba. Boy wonder. Taking on cases that everyone ducks with your big, brass…” Rafael’s eyebrow cocks and you smirk as you finish, “ego.”

“And baby killer.” Rafael interjected. His tone was acidic.

You flinched. “You’re not a baby killer.”

Rafael cocked his head. “Aren’t I?”

“Depends on the jury.” You replied, walking over to him, crossing your arms, which only served to push up your tits more. “But really, I don’t think of you like that. I know there is more to a person than just that one thing.”

“Not according to the court of public opinion.” Rafael managed to croak as his eyes drifted to your chest. “There is a reason I have kept a low profile all this time.”

You closed the gap between you and him and pressed your palms against his chest. He was solid and warm. You could feel his pectoral muscles twitch. A spark shot through your body, settling between your legs.

Rafael’s hands settled on your hips. The velvet of your dress was softer than he imagined and he could picture the dress pooling down at your feet. Part of him wished that the date had gone better. It did not go as well as he had planned.

“I’m sorry for tonight.” Rafael murmured as he wrapped his arms loosely around your hips. “This was not what I had planned for us at all.”

“I’m not.” You replied, looking up at him. You now wrapped your arms around his neck, pressing even closer against him. “I don’t need fancy dinners. I am just happy to spend time with you. I really had a good time. I am sorry about the shirt, but it seems all fine now.”

Rafael searched your eyes. The tension in the room shifted. Your heart began to pound and your breathing became more shallow. 

“I… the stain… it’s lifted.” You whispered shakily. Rafael lowered his eyes to your lips and recalled how good it felt to kiss them. He wanted to do it again. So he did. You didn’t hold back, moaning as his mouth crashed against yours. He pressed his mouth against yours with more force, crushing them. He took the opportunity to trace his tongue against the seam of your lips, seeking entrance to your mouth.  You acquiesced his request by parting your lips, and he deepened the kiss by sliding his tongue into your mouth. You responded in turn by pulling his bottom lip, sucking and nipping. His chest rumbled. Rafael lifted you up, his hands going to your thighs, encouraging you to wrap your feet around his hips. 

Rafael carried you to the couch, walking backwards until he felt the couch and threw himself down, bringing you with him. You let out a squeak but that turned into another moan as his lips found purchase along your neck and he took the opportunity to suck a bruising mark into your skin. 

Your nipples were hard like diamonds and the strip of material that dared call itself underwear was ruined. Rafael’s hands slid down your back to your ass and he gave each cheek a squeeze. 

You rolled your hips, feeling how hard he was beneath you and then slid your hands under his shirt and through his chest hair, confirming how solid he was. You raked your nails down his chest and Rafael let out a groan of a man who had been denied too long. “Oh Rafael.” You breathed into his ear as you pressed kisses upwards along his neck to his cheek and then to his earlobe where you sucked and flicked your tongue against the thin flesh.

“Keep that up and I’ll…” Rafael groaned. His hands move to the front of your dress squeezing. You pulled away reluctantly and looked into his eyes, which were blown with lust.

“So soon old man?” You winked. “We’re just getting started.”

“I am not that old.” Rafael retorted. 

“Even if you were - which you’re not, it wouldn’t stop me.” You replied before ducking down to kiss him once more. You rolled your hips again, grinding harder against him. You took his hands and placed them on your breasts, sighing as he squeezed them. His fingers moved to play with your nipples and when he gave them a firm but gentle pinch, you couldn't help but shudder. You were melting under his touch.

You were just about to tell him to take you to bed so you could ride him into next week, when your phone began to sound. 

“I should get that.” You replied, giving him an apologetic look. 

You climbed off and Rafael let out another groan, his eyes laser focused on your ass as you walked away. “Mierda.”

“It’s SVU. They need me to come down.” You replied as you checked your phone. 

Rafael let out a deep sigh. “Do you want me to come down with you?”

You shook your head. “It’s fine.”

“It’s late Y/N, let me at least walk you over to the precinct. It’s a few blocks away.”

“Okay.” You relented. 

The walk over was quick. You got to the steps of the precinct and looked up at the door and then at him. “Raincheck?”

Rafael nodded. “Raincheck.” He pressed a soft kiss to your lips and then you bounded up the stairs, turning to give him a quick wave. Rafael watched you until you were gone. He dropped his head as he began to trek back home.

‘What a fucking disaster.’ He thought miserably. He looked at his hands before he shoved them in his pockets. ‘I guess it's just us for tonight.’

TBC.

Tag list: @madpanda75  @tropes-and-tales @delia26omg-blog @mgarner1227@beardedmccoy @youreverycolor @neely1177 @witches-unruly-heart @mrsrafaelbarba @skittle479 @ottosuricato @sass-and-suspenders @mommakat32 @dreila03  @beccabarba @garturbo​ @lovebennycolonmiguelgalindo @imjustreallynosy @sweetsummertime99​ @whyissvuruiningmylovelife @annabelleb49​ @scarletsoldierrr​ @cesarofangirl78​ @redlipstickandplaid​ @redlipstickandblacktea​ @zoeykaytesmom​ @differentshadesofgray​ @misssirenlove​ @esparza-army​ @bananas-pajamas​ @mishaissocoolike @thefanficfaerie​ @theenchantedgalleryofstories​ @catnip987 @choppedgalaxynerd @pieceofshittytitty​ @ktiz90​ @evee87​ @itsjustmyfantasyroom​ @detective-giggles​ @rampantmuses​ @jazzyjoi​ @caked-crusader​ @rachelxwayne​ @prurientpuddlejumper​ @lv7867​ @permanentlydizzy​ @bisexual-dreamer02​ @madamsnape921​ @averyhotchner​ @teamsladsandgents​ @qvid-pro-qvo​ @alwaysachorusgirl​

[a-dorin]

celeb au — maul

this is a very very rough outline of the celebrity au — which includes maul, savage, and other star wars characters. it’s also a modern au (with lots of pop culture references) so here’s what i got so far:

maul — actor, known for his range (has several awards and accolades), working in a large production with famous director sheev palpatine

savage opress — fitness guru/influencer, viral on tiktok for many reasons (whether it’s taking videos of maul without his consent, his motivational monday tidbits, or random videos), wildlife/preservation activitist

feral — indie singer (kinda of like ... a bon iver or city and colour type genre, dabbles into some hozier), travels the country on tours, is working on his upcoming album (has a few grammy awards sitting above the toilet in the guest bathroom of his home)

obi-wan kenobi — actor, been apart of the industry for years, has all the connections you could ever dream of, had his major break in a coming-of-age film when he was eighteen, has a very thick, very prominent scottish accent

anakin skywalker — child pop star turned actor, taken under the wing of obi-wan after a huge scandal, started acting when he was nineteen, and has grown into a pretty successful celebrity/restore his name/grown as a person

let me know if y’all want more!!!

[moonlitdiane]

Hello! I moved from my old blog, @dianethus​ to here, you can probably call this a re-intro!

Diane | 18 | Filipino-Chinese | She/They | Pansexual | Scorpio | xNTP | Neurodivergent | Psychology Major | Graphic Designer | Practicing Wiccan

I’ve been trying to write since I was around 12 years old with silly little k-pop and percy jackson fanfics. Even though I cringe now whenever I think about the things I wrote, I still believe it was a necessary phase that all writers have to go through to become better.

I mainly write for the #OwnVoice movement that focuses on the South East Asian experience and especially the experience of being queer in an Asian environment. I aim to give the queers of Asian history whose stories never got to be told a voice. I write to expose the world to Philippine Mythology and the stories passed down from ancestor to ancestor. I also aim to conjure up nostalgic imagery in the readers' minds.

low fantasy. I'm not that really good at world building but I'm in love with the idea of everyday magic.

supernatural.

historical.

angst. I'm SORRY but writing and describing pain is a different kind of joy for me.

found family. I'm gay.

cosmic motifs.

enemies to lovers. oh for someone to see all my worst parts and still fall in love with me. also consider: childhood friends to enemies to lovers.

religious trauma & guilt. I went to a catholic school what did you expect?

The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified.

Evil Is Sexy.

Trapped In Another World. I want to be Isekai-d so bad.

Song Fic. Most of my titles are actually song lyrics or my basic outlines follow the structure of a song.

“Slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl,”

Somewhere In Limasawa Street is a queer historical fiction story set in 1898 when the Philippine-American war is just beyond the horizons and 19 year old mestiza, Lucena Candella is in the middle of a war with herself. Sheltered and painfully aloof, she meets brave but brash, Urduja Kalangitan, who is as emotionally aware as a rock and who happens to be the Revolutionary Army's best gunman—maybe that's what pulled quiet Lucena to her.

Between paper planes, porcelains, and battle scars, Lucena slowly learns to love, and that scared her. It scared her because she wasn't allowed to love that woman with the scarred smile and wild hair.

This is my main WIP and my passion project. I really wanted to write something that I can dedicate to the queers of history, the indigenous and people of color whose queerness is never told.

The title is a reference to Limasawa Street by folk pop band, Ben&Ben, I actually used the album and a few singles as inspiration for the plot. 

WIP Playlist. This story will be unapologetically Filipino.

“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil,”

The Devil’s Choir is a low fantasy story following the adventures of seven unlikely friends who just want to go apeshit and run away from their shitty town. That is until they’re thrown into a you-need-to-save-the-whole-world mess without their written consent. Lucifer and Dionysus show up at their door step, dragging them head first into an abyss that even the Gods refuse to fall into. A war between the golden age and the future, it’s now up to this peculiar gang to save the world from the real threat.

The seven deadly sins but make them moody teenagers. this story has gone through so much revising for years! Found family, enemies to lovers, and unwilling heroes? check.

Unintentionally a copy of American Gods. It was too late until I realized the plot was kind of similar to American Gods. Help. 

WIP Playlist. I smell chaos, don’t you?

“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”

Manila Encounters is a paranormal urban fantasy story unfolding right in the pearl of the orient seas. When the clock strikes 3 AM and the lights of the skyscrapers turn dark—when the city sleeps, the monsters roam free. Deep between the alley ways of Manila city, look out for kids with a certain glow and bite behind their smiles. Look for the ones with sunkissed tans who speak in tongues. Look for the ones whose feet barely dip into murky bay waters and fingertips grazing moonlight. 

A dummy’s guide to Filipino folklore. Manila Encounters was inspired by a hashtag on Twitter of the same name where people wrote their own twist to Filipino urban legends and folk stories.

Oh great, another Percy Jackson rip-off. the main characters are demi-gods or descendants of Gods. Original, I know.

WIP Playlist. driving at midnight sort of vibe.

"You may forget but let me tell you this: someone in some future time will think of us."

And I Love her is a queer romance story about a girl who just recently moved into an old but well maintained cottage in some seaside town in Europe—and she finds in the middle of dusty furniture and underneath cobwebs, a rotary telephone sitting there unused for decades. It rings unexpectedly one day and what greets her is a soft voice belonging to someone who lived 60 years ago.

a dreamnotfound fanfic inspired this. and the South Korean horror film, The Call. 

gay yearning agenda. so much yearning. so much. I’m projecting.

WIP Playlist. My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand, taking mine, but it's been promised to another

A selected list of fics from my AO3 account. It’s gay.

I drowned a long time ago. Sakusa Kiyoomi isn’t in love. He’s devoted. Serial Killer AU.

Maaaring bang magkunwaring akin ka pa? A Tagalog Haikyuu fic based on the movie, Camp Sawi.

Marupok na puso ko. A Tagalog Haikyuu fic where they do the Filipino thing and get drunk.

My good puppy. My first try at writing smut. Jesus Christ.

Be my mistake. Where Kuroo Tetsurou calls up Tsukishima Kei one last time.

Make it hurt. The two times Atsumu Miya saw the entire universe behind Sakusa Kiyoomi’s eyes.

I still have a lot of stories that I hope to finish, I find it hard to discard or erase story ideas. So I hope one day, you can all watch me finish this list.

We Don’t Belong Here / Viva La Filipinas / Luna De Sangre Conspiracy / Lilith and Lysander’s Guide To Immortal Godparents / Lonely Hearts Club / A Lady’s Guide to Princes and Principles / Attack Block / Empty Thrones /  A Double Take / Stupid Cupid / Idle Town / Alice? / The 30 Day Deal / Lost Stars / The Apocalypse Program / Heartstrings  / Disastrously Danae

[eloisevisualculture]

the hypersexualisation of young girls in the media

The abuse and use of children for an adult’s personal gain is an issue that has always existed, regardless of the existence of the internet and the media. But the propagation of this platform (social media, entertainment or fashion magazines) has lead to a whole new sets of problems like the hyper-sexualisation of children, particularly young girls. The dictionary Larousse defines “hyper-sexualisation as “in society, the fact of giving an increasingly important place to sexuality, by multiplying references to it in the public space (media, advertising)”. In some cases this has been so normalised that criticism of these portrayals can be described as purist and excessive. What is the consequence of hyper-sexualisation of children in social media? The purpose of this essay will be to discuss the way the different ways children are sexualised in media and advertising and the effects it can have on their lives. It is not uncommon to hear the phrase “they grow up to fast nowadays” when referring to the youngest generations, as a result of their exposure to the media. Of course if the only thing young girls had to fear from acting like ‘grownups” was wearing makeup earlier in life, then there would be less cause for concern. Unfortunately, the dangers always revolves back to struggle of the ill- intentioned praying on the weak and easily influenced, and the continued danger of a patriarchal mentality passed down through generations. In the highly publicised fashion industry for instance, that holds a great influence on our society, there have been many instances of very young girls chosen as models, and put into adult life contexts. A notorious example is the 2011 edition of Vogue Paris, who published photographs of Thylane Lourby-blondeau, a 10 year old model who was pictures, in revealing clothes, makeup and jewellery, lying on a bed and looking at the camera with a sultry air.

It sparked a controversy and brought up the issue of the hyper-sexualisation children. Many people and parents stated that it was inappropriate and dangerous to picture a young child in an undeniably sensual light, and that directing a shoot to appeal to post-pubescent men, while the child was too young to understand the implications.  Thylane Loubry-Blondeau, on the cover of Vogue Paris, 2011, January edition Others defended it simply as ‘art’, the portrayal of a girl playing dress up, which ultimately does little to justify morals. Art was also the excuse Irina UNESCO gave after photographing and publishing albums of her daughter in sexual, pornographic scene, also nude, from the age of 4 to 11. In an interview with the purple magazine, Ionesco reflects on how her mother used her for years for her own personal gain and career, her works being widely known because they were so scandalous; “She would put make-up on me when I was a child. I slept very little, didn’t go to school. She took erotic photographs of me and made me act in erotic films, of which I was the subject. It wasn’t just about the photos — her entire approach was abusive. Sometimes she would send me to other photographers. She’d say: “You’re going to see such and such a photographer. It’s not great, but you’re going anyway.” It was becoming very dangerous.”(Ionesco). One of the disturbing things about the work Irina published about her daughter is that it is still available to purchase today, and even praised for it’s artistic value.

Eva Ionesco in her adult years has described in detail the “loss of childhood” and the life long effects she had to deal with from being sexualised and abused from such a young age “You were thrown into a world of adults, of nightlife, sex, and art very young — from the age of 12 or 13. And in one of the most liberal periods we’ve seen so far in terms of morals.” She went on to write a film inspired by her childhood and relationship with her mother. As with everything, it is important to avoid blind censure, and condemn anything without a deeper understanding. It is very easy to doggedly pursue a cause and become set in our opinions, and not allow freedom of expression to well meaning individuals, if their children are understanding and willing participants. The artist Sally Man was criticised for publishing nude pictures of her children. They were done as a celebration and a chronicle of her children’s evolution, childhood and slow progression to adulthood, and were done with the children’s understanding and consent, as was made clear in an article in the New York Times “The collaboration of the children in their mother’s work is apparent to anyone who spends time in their company. They are impish, argumentative participants, not robots. (When a photographer asked them what kind of portrait of their mother should accompany this article, they shouted, “Shoot her naked, shoot her naked.” She did.)”(2015).

Sally Mann put the safety and wellbeing of her children above personal gain, choosing to publish her photo album ‘Immediate Family”, when the children would fully be aware of their choice. “I thought the book could wait 10 years, when the kids won’t be living in the same bodies. They’ll have matured and they’ll understand the implications of the pictures. I unilaterally decided.” (2015). One of the effects of the explosion of social media, and their ease of access, is that young children know have the ability to not only watch content that might not be suitable for age but to create content themselves. On Tiktok for instance, there is a lot of content based on visual, and sensual appeal, like women doing suggestive dances in revealing clothing. Women who are old enough have the experience and sense to be fully aware, and take distance themselves from the comments, they are doing it for their own enjoyment. Young girls watch these videos and see the adulation and attention these influencers get, and want to try it out for themselves. Dr Elaine Kasket explains this system on TikTok is artificially amplifying a natural phenomenon. Unfortunately, the same ease of access that allowed the children to post these videos also means that the people who want to abuse them can see them too. Not only do they write inappropriate sexual comment in the comments, or encourage more extreme behaviour for their own benefit, they also get in touch with the minors, and message them privately. Dr Kasket explanation is well illustrated by the 2020 film Cuties shows the traumas and effects of young girls lives governed by social media. This film portrays the journey of a young eleven year old Amy, as she joins a self organised preeteen dance group and is confronted with a whole new world of social media, pressures to be sexual and grown up.

"Teenagers are naturally interested in taking risks and they’re naturally interested in finding out about sex and The sexualisation of young girls is an issue which can be confused, but is also linked to their natural desire to imitate their mother, or older siblings. Every single child has tried at some point to act like their parents. But with the rise and ease of access of social media (instagram, TikTok), children have access to whole new world, and many try to imitate what they see on these platforms. discovering themselves as sexual beings and exploring that. "They are open to flattery, they are open to seduction, they are open to the verification they get from the hearts they get and the likes they get”. (2020, The Sun)Unfortunately, the same ease of access that allowed the children to post these videos also means that the people who want to abuse them can see them too. Not only do they write inappropriate sexual comment in the comments, or encourage more extreme behaviour for their own benefit, they also get in touch with the minors, and message them privately. Dr Kasket explanation is well illustrated by the 2020 film Cuties shows the traumas and effects of young girls lives governed by social media. This film portrays the journey of a young eleven year old Amy, as she joins a self organised preeteen dance group and is confronted with a whole new world of social media, pressures to be sexual and grown up. Through their imitation of sexualised adult women on the media, young girls inherit patriarchal and misogynistic ideals that superficial beauty determines their worth.The child beauty pageants are intensely popular in America, and raise a lot of money for charity. They parade toddler and young children in false nails, high heels, heavy makeup and heavy wigs, and are trained like performing animals to smile, pose and wave at the camera. 

Naturally, many people argue that the simple fact of wearing makeup does not affect the girls in the slightest, and while that is true on the surface levels, there is much more than meets the eye. By dressing them up in all these gowns, and covering them in makeup and accessories to make them look “prettier”, the young girls are being taught that their natural appearance is not enough, and  moreover that they need all these additional to get praise and win in life. 

These little girls might enjoy looking “ like a princess”, but they are also adopting restrictive and superficial beauty ideals, and learning the all importance of appearance. Naturally, it is important to avoid completely vilifying pageants, they are not always the traumatic experience described by anti pageants or even shown behind the scenes pageants show. In her article for The Cut Goode collects the testimonies of other pageant stars and they are a mixed bag. Some describe that they have fond memories of competing, as ' bonding experience with their mother. An other used the platform to raise awareness about suicide, after her mother took her own life when she was 10 years old.But most often pageant are for the parents gain, and while women and mothers are often the ones organising them, they are, unknowingly or not transmitting the pressures of performative femininity to their daughters. Perpetuating a patriarchal and misogynist mindset in which Women must prioritise their appearance above all else, as the only thing giving them value. 

And this cult of appearance and the emphasis on changing your appearance too fit the standards is the reason why eating disorders are so common in young girls and women. It could be argued that this is not the same as sexualisation of young girls, but beauty ideals and sexualisation are often intrinsically linked, especially if children are trying to abide to rules set by adults.  While this essay has been essentially focussed on young girls, because they are the most targeted and at risk, the sexualisation and perpetuation of beauty ideals gives a toxic example to a future generation of men. Young boys are taught from a young age that pretty girls must look a certain way.

Conclusion:The sexualisation of children is a topic that is heavily discussed, by those against it and those who deny it’s existence or effects. The fact remains that sexualisation along ever occurs for an adult’s personal gain, or benefit.Little girls want to be pretty and attractive, but it is rarely for themselves.Admiring and wanting to be an adult is the most natural thing in the world, it is just tragic that they incorporate toxic ideals of femininity and beauty at the same time.

Bibliography

COTTAIS, C. LOUVET, M. (2021). The dangers of the hypersexualisation of young girls: a stolen childhood​. ​growthinktank.org.​ ​[online]​ Jan. 2021​. at https://www.growthinktank.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/The-dangers-of-the-hypersexualisation-of-young-girls_-a-stolen-childhood.pdf(Accessed 8 apr 2021)

Woodward, R. B. (2015) ‘The disturbing photography of Sally Mann’. The New York Times. At:https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/the-disturbing-photography-of-sally-mann.html(Accessed 5 apr 2021)

Cuties (2020) Directed by M. Doucouré. Available at: Netflix (accessed 20 April 2018)

Ionesco, E.(unknown date) ‘Eva ionesco’. Interview with Eva Ionesco. Interviewed by O. Sham for The Purple Magazine, Paris issue num 32At: https://purple.fr/magazine/paris-issue-31/eva-ionesco/ (Accessed 9 Apr 2021)

Good, L. (2012) ‘I was a child pageant star: Six Adult Women Look Back’. The Cut. (November). At: https://www.thecut.com/2012/11/child-pageant-star.html (accessed 18 April 2021)

Hall. D. ‘How ‘supercharged catnip” Tiktok is fuelling the sexualisation of young girls an exploitation of teens.’ The Sun online. At: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10941512/tiktok-catnip-sexualisation-teens/ (Accessed 18 April 2021). 

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mod a’s lgbt musicals

Hi there! I’m a big theatre kid so I thought for pride month I’d put together a list of LGBTQ musicals. Despite its association with queer people, musical theatre is not known for its amazing representation. I’ve put together a list here of musicals I know of with queer characters. I’ve tried to avoid those where the queer characters are incredibly minor roles or those where the representation is just not good enough to be salvageable (*side eyes Legally Blonde*) I know there are many musicals I will have missed out but these are the ones I am most aware of. Feel free to add more! So without further ado, here it is.

Fun Home

The big Tony winner of 2015! Based on Alison Bechdel, a butch lesbian cartoonist. At the age of 43, she looks for new material by trying to explore her past and her relationship with her closeted gay dad. Looks back at a version of herself when she was 10 and a “tomboy” and at 19 when she came out and got her first girlfriend. Has very cute lighthearted moments as well as very sad moments. Has a beautiful song where small Alison sees a butch deliverywoman. Problems in that since the original broadway cast, Alison’s costume has got less butch. Content warning for suicide.

Here’s their Tony performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAuesRJm1E

The Color Purple

Based on Alice Walker’s novel about black women in the 1930s. Follows Celie who has been abused by men her whole life who discovers she is a lesbian but also makes a journey of self discovery and learns to love herself. Her love interest is a bisexual woman. Won best revival at the Tonys in 2016. Content warning for discussion/implied sexual abuse.

Here’s their Tony performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k2xzQyT2bk

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

A teenage gay boy in Sheffield wants to be a drag queen and go to prom in a dress.Also a nice touch that is does not focus on him having a relationship (since he is sixteen) and him having to come out as he is already out. Focuses on his close relationship with his supportive mother. Has a diverse cast. Jamie is currently played by a black actor and his best friend wears a hijab and has a very diverse ensemble as well. Unfortunately has a part where Jamie responds to a homophobic bully by calling him a bunch of ableist and classist slurs.

Here’s a clip of the most popular song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7C3FuFWDdw

The Prom

Emma is a lesbian teenager in Indiana whose prom is cancelled by the PTA after she requests to bring her girlfriend to it. A group of Broadway actors come down to help her campaign to be allowed to attend prom, as well as styling her, helping her work on her confidence and educating the town’s people. What ensues is basically a two hour musical episode of Queer Eye. Cheesy and fun with so many musical theatre references crammed in. My one issue is that the show is rather harsh on people who are closeted since Emma has conflicted with her girlfriend Alyssa because she is not ready to come out.

Here’s a clip of their Tony performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcG_r5xv3E

Rent

Probably the most well known on this list. Artists in New York during the AIDS crisis. Two of the main couples featured are queer: Maureen is bisexual and in a relationship with Joanne who is a lesbian, and Angel is a transgender woman of color in a relationship with Collins, a presumably bisexual man. However, she tends to be played bi cis men and there are instances of her being misgendered by the main characters uncritically. In Rent Live (2019), all instances of her being misgendered were removed and her gender identity was confirmed. She was played in this by Valentina, an nb drag queen and has also been played by Pose’s MJ Rodriguez, a trans woman. Very diverse with Jewish characters and people of colour and in the live show, only 1 of the 8 main characters was white. Has been criticised over the years, mainly for its biphobic portrayal of Maureen who is promiscuous and implied to cheat, but in the 90s did a lot for the LGBTQ community and is more progressive than a lot of media even now.

Here’s a clip of Maureen and Joanne from Rent Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06oCfKYYPTY

And here’s some Angel and Collins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hl-M94o_x8

Falsettos

Marvin comes out as gay in the late 70s but decides to move his ex wife and son in with his boyfriend. Addresses AIDS crisis in Act 2. Has “lesbians from next door” in act 2. F Revived on Broadway in 2016. All of the characters are Jewish. Unfortunately, in revival casts, very few actors tend to be Jewish.

Here’s the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjnAHOdMQVk

Come From Away

In the aftermath of 9/11, 38 planes are diverted to a small town in Canada called Gander. Shows people of different races and nationalities bonding in a scary time. Addresses Islamophobia. Has one song called Prayer where prayers from different religions overlap. Has an interracial gay couple called Kevin and Kevin. They break up in the end but are very important characters. Won best direction of a musical in 2017. The Broadway production starred Jenn Colella who has referred to herself as ‘mostly gay’.

Here’s a clip of Jenn Colella singing a song from the musical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ukgH6U-d0

Head Over Heels

Honestly I don’t quite know what this musical is about, even by reading the plot summary and listening to the soundtrack. I know it’s set in a Tudor fantasy world and that there are wlw couples as well as an explicitly non binary character, played by Peppermint, a trans woman, and that there are interracial couples and plus sized actors. It is a jukebox musical using songs by the Go-Gos and yes the wlw anthem that is Heaven is a Place on Earth is one of them. The soundtrack is fantastic even if you can’t follow what is going on.

Here are some show clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx2qQ7QAPm0

Spring Awakening

German school kids in the 19th century discovering their sexuality. Two of the schoolboy supporting characters, Ernst and Hänschen, have a romance when they have a reprise of an earlier song in Act 2.  A BIG content warning as it has graphic discussions of rape and songs about it and a sex scene with very dubious consent. However there was a very wonderful 2016 revival using deaf actors and sign language.

This is another one you can very easily find the full show of on YouTube which I won’t link. However here’s the Tony performance for the revival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSagsMcak4Q

If/Then

A woman named Elizabeth (originally played by Idina Menzel) moves to New York after a divorce and contemplated how different her life would be if she took two different paths. Four supporting queer characters. Her ex-boyfriend is bisexual and played by Anthony Rapp (who is bisexual in real life) and he gets a boyfriend in one timeline. Another of her friends is a lesbian called Kate who marries her girlfriend in the musical. Problems occur as in both timelines, cheating goes on in the lesbian relationship although they stay together in one. Elizabeth also says she doesn’t believe in bisexuals, a view no one ever challenges her on, however Lucas is very clearly bisexual which is some proof for the audience that she is wrong.

I’m not going to link it here but there are many very high quality bootlegs on it on YouTube if you want to watch,

Ghost Quartet

A bit of a weird one. This is more of a concept album. There are four performers who each play instruments and they tell the stories of many interconnected timelines. It is very hard to explain but there are souls travelling through time who keep being reincarnated as different people with different relationships to each other which usually end with one woman killing the other. In the song Soldier & Rose, the ghosts Rose and Pearl are lovers as Rose seduces the soldier for her honey.  In the song Four Friends, for one chorus the men sing “I like to put my hand on a pretty girls’s knee” and the women sing “pretty boy’s knee” and then they switch for the next chorus so they’re all bisexual. In general, a lot of fun if you like weird musicals and I mean really weird.

The full show is online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJSaEJm8pCE

Mean Girls

Yes there’s a musical of it. I was not looking forward to it when it was announced but have actually grown to quite like it. It’s hardly lyrical genius but the songs are fun and a lot of the problematic aspects of the film have been fixed. Damian is more explicitly gay in the musical and sings about an ex boyfriend in one song. Janis is heavily implied to be a lesbian (confirmed by actress offstage) and she doesn’t end up with Kevin Gnapoor. She is played by a queer actress in the tour cast. Both queer characters are much bigger roles than in the movie and get several songs each. I’d consider the musical to be quite white feminist but it does address issues such as the sexualisation of teenage girls and the notion that to be ‘sexy’ is ‘empowering’.

Here’s a clip of one of Damian’s songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-zM6QKkxEQ

& Juliet

An English jukebox musical about what might have happened to Juliet in Romeo and Juliet if she had not died at the end. I haven’t seen it but I’ve listened to the soundtrack and it is mainly comprised of 21st century songs by women. One of Juliet’s best friends is non binary although is played by a cis man as far as we know. Also I went to the same school as one of the actors which is a bonus for me. Very diverse cast.

Here’s a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm2k9nS3o20

In Transit

A capella musical about several people’s adventures on New York public transport. Two of the main characters in this ensemble cast are an interracial gay couple where both are pocs. They are engaged but one of them is having trouble coming out to his mother. I found it refreshing in that his fiance for the most part was not upset with him at his struggles in coming out and they were both able to live fulfilling lives despite this. I am always astonished by the talent of a cappella singers.

Here’s a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhvik6qoass  Another one where the bootleg can be found very easily on YouTube

Firebringer

Remember A Very Potter Musical? Well, the company that did that are still putting out new pieces of theatre on their YouTube channel. In 2016, they put out their ridiculous comedy musical Firebringer, about a group of bisexual cavewomen. I won’t spoil the ending but trust me, it’s great. You may know it from the viral clip of one of the main characters singing ‘I don’t really wanna do the work today.’

You can watch the full musical here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmVuNlu0LCk

Special Mentions

Company

Musical by Stephen Sondheim about a man unable to commit to a relationship, surrounded by his friends who are all in couples. However, the award-winning 2018 West End revival chose to change the genders of some of the characters. The main character Robert became ‘Bobbie’ (although all of her love interests were gender-swapped as well). One of the originally M/F couples became an M/M couple. It opened on Broadway for about a week before the Covid outbreak so that will be one to look out for.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtDK03y4gT0

In the Heights

A musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda about the Latin American community living in Washington Heights in New York. The original theatre production has no explicitly queer characters. However, in the upcoming movie version (that was meant to be released this summer but has been pushed back to next summer) it has been confirmed that the characters of Daniela and Carla (Daphne Rubin-Vega and Stephanie Beatriz) will be explicitly a couple.

I absolutely love this musical and the trailer for the movie looks beautiful check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CL-ZSuCrQ

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6 Times Drake Allegedly Groomed Young Girls

His relationship with Millie Bobby Brown is what started all the speculation.

Isaac Serna-Diez

Is it about time we cancel Drake? Or, since “cancel culture” is a sort of fictional prison sentence, is it about time we hold Drake accountable for his actions? Maybe boycott his music?

No, I’m not referring to the fact that his recent album, “Certified Lover Boy,” was mid-tier, at best. I’m referring to his alleged history and allegations involving the grooming of young girls or underaged women as a fully grown — now 35-year-old — man.

In case you’ve forgotten all of the times the Canadian rapper was accused of grooming underage girls, we’ve rounded up the most infamous occasions.

Here are 6 times that Drake allegedly groomed underage girls.

1. Ogden Theatre concert in Denver, Colorado, 2010

On May 17, 2010, Drake performed at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado, around the start of his career.

He had released singles for his debut album, "Thank Me Later," but had so many songs from his mixtape, “So Far Gone,” that he would perform on his promotional tour. The tour would eventually jumpstart his career after he signed with the music label Young Money.

RELATED: Machine Gun Kelly’s Creepy History Of Sexualizing Underage Girls

During the concert, Drake called a fan onto the stage during an interlude, and started to kiss her neck and hug her from behind, before saying that he was getting “carried away” and asking her what her age was.

She replied that she was 17 — which in Colorado is the legal age of consent — to which Drake replied, “I can’t go to jail yet, man,” and stopped doing what he was doing.

However, he continued, saying he didn’t know if he should feel guilty or not, but that he had fun, and sent her off the stage with a kiss on the cheek.

In 2010, this seemed like a harmless misunderstanding. Drake was 24 at the time and at the very start of his career, but it would devolve into much worse later on.

2. Kylie Jenner’s '16th Birthday Bash', 2013

In 2013, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arranged for Drake to perform at Kylie Jenner’s Sweet 16 — a surprise she had no idea about.

Drake was 27 at the time, but this didn’t stop rumors and speculation that the pair were seeing each other behind the scenes.

Rumors of which were given slightly more credibility due to the fact that Kanye West recently talked about how Drake slept with Jenner behind his buddy, Travis Scott’s, back.

Not only that, but for a long time Jenner and rapper Tyga started seeing each other before she legally became of age and officially announced their relationship.

3. Bella Harris and the Summer Sixteen Tour with Future, 2016

In 2018, Vice published an article reporting that Drake was dating an 18-year-old model named Bella Harris, who is also the daughter of legendary music producer Jimmy Jam.

Drake was 31 at the time, but if that doesn’t raise enough eyebrows or red flags, finding out when the two met definitely will.

Harris and Drake met during the rapper’s “Summer Sixteen” tour with other rapper Future in 2016 to promote their collaborative album, "What A Time To Be Alive." At the time, Harris was 16 (how ironic), and Drake was 29.

In an Instagram post that has since been deleted, Drake is seen being very close and handsy with Harris, causing people to call him “creepy” and speculate about the pair’s history.

Page Six reported that Drake rented out a restaurant to dine privately with someone who many speculated to be Harris, but the model later denied those claims on Instagram by saying she spent the weekend working in New York.

4. Jorja Smith and the Scorpion track “Jaded,” 2017

Drake has never been the artist to come out and say exactly who his songs are about. In fact, his breakout song, “Best I Ever Had,” started with lyrics that reference exactly that and how women will often think his songs are about them.

“You know, a lot of girls be / Thinkin' my songs are about them, but / This is not to get confused / This one's for you,” he said during the beginning instrumental.

However, many people speculate that the song “Jaded” off of his 2018 album, "Scorpion," is about English singer Jorja Smith, who was 10 years younger than him when they were rumored to be dating in 2017.

She was 19 and he was 30 when they were rumored to be dating, which while still legal, matches Drake’s strange track record of chasing after women who are much younger than he.

RELATED: Bob Dylan Isn’t The Only Musical Icon Who Allegedly Pursued Predatory Sexual Relationships With Minors

People also believe that a line from the last record on that album, “March 14,” which is about his son Adonis, is about Smith as well. “I got this 11 tatted for somebody, now it’s yours,” references Smith’s birthday, which is June 11.

Drake seems to like referencing people’s birthdays, which is something we’ll bring back up a little later.

5. Billie Eilish’s 18th birthday and Drake texts, 2019

Billie Eilish, born in December 2001, made a post on Instagram on December 17th, 2019, the day before her birthday, with the caption “18 tomorrow.”

Allegedly, some jokers thought it would be hilarious to edit a screenshot of the comments section to include a comment from Drake’s Instagram account, @champagnepapi, that said “I’ve been waiting,” with an emoji of streamers and another with a hot, sweaty face.

While everyone says it’s not real and the image is doctored, the joke came from an interview that Eilish did earlier that year with Vanity Fair where she talked about the superstar rapper.

“Drake is like the nicest dude I’ve ever spoken to,” she said when talking about the famous people who follow her on Instagram. “I mean I’ve only texted him, but he’s so nice.”

Of course, everyone immediately jumped on this interview and called Drake, who was 33 at the time, creepy.

“Everybody’s so sensitive. A grown man can’t be a fan of an artist?” she said in an interview with Vogue last year. “There are so many people that the internet should be more worried about. Like, you’re really going to say that Drake is creepy because he’s a fan of mine, and then you’re going to go vote for Trump?”

The skepticism from fans also comes from Drake’s behavior with the famous actress, Millie Bobby Brown, back in 2017-18.

6. 'Hawkins Very Own' Millie Bobby Brown and Drake talk about boys, 2017

The “6 God” himself met “Eleven,” played by Millie Bobby Brown, from the hit TV show "Stranger Things," back in 2017 and commemorated it with a post on Instagram.

The post was captioned, “Hawkins Very Own,” making a play on words with the name of his record label, “October’s Very Own,” since his birthday is in October.

At the time, he was 31 and she was 13, so instead of automatically pinning Drake as a child predator, everyone just thought he was a fan of the show and wanted to take a picture with her.

A year later, however, while Brown was being interviewed by Access at the 2018 Emmy Awards, she talked a little more about her friendship with Drake.

“I love him. I met him in Australia and he’s honestly so fantastic and a great friend and a great role model,” she said of the rapper. “We just texted the other day and he was like ‘I miss you so much,’ and I was like ‘I miss you more!’”

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Why Drake is telling a 14-year-old girl that he misses him as a 32-year-old man is unknown, but it gets a little bit weirder.

When asked what kind of advice he gives her and about what, Brown said, “About boys, he helps me. Yeah yeah yeah, he’s great, he’s wonderful, I love him.”

The interviewer prodded further, asking Brown what his advice with boys is, and she says, “You know, that stays in the text messages.”

This interview raised a lot of eyebrows and concerns with people, especially given his already-shaky history.

Brown, of course, responded to the allegations in a similar manner to how Eilish would respond a couple of years later.

“[You] guys are weird... for real,” she wrote in her Instagram story about the press who wrote about her friendship with the rapper. “I’m lucky to have people in the business extend their time to help me further my career and offer their wisdom and guidance. I’m very blessed to have amazing people in my life.”

All of these allegations have hurt a small part of Drake’s career and weened a lot of people off of the rapper’s music, but so far, nothing has been substantiated or proven.

Maybe Drake just has a lot of friends, but no one really knows the truth except for him.

RELATED: Why Young Stars Like Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo & Millie Bobby Brown Date Much, Much Older Men

Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.

Sent from my iPhone

[enthusiasticmusicalquotes]

QUESTION OF THE DAY #12: What is your opinion on theatre bootlegs? Spill as much or as little tea as you want.

MY ANSWER: it would be incredibly hypocritical of me to say there’s nothing good about them. i discovered a couple of my all time favorite shows through bootlegs, and when i was a high school/college-aged theatre nerd stuck in the midwest (which i still am, just a bit older now), they brought me a lot of comfort that i could relive my favorite shows again. that said, i can understand POVs re: they weren’t filmed with consent from the actors. however, actors who are speaking out against them need to realize that mainstream theatre needs to be made more accessible in one way or another for poor, disabled, and international theatre fans. tldr: bootlegs aren’t going to go away if celebrities disavow them, but theatre might be able to become more accessible if more of them talk on THAT instead of how evil bootlegs are.

SUMMARY OF ANSWERS: out of 41 responses: 21 were an enthusiastic heck yeah, 13 weren’t as enthusiastic but still along the lines of yeah i support them, 3 answers were like eh i can see both sides i guess/leaning towards no, and 4 people outright said nah bootlegs are not the answer. All the answers under the cut!

if you wanna fight or agree with anyone, refer to the # and send in an ask or reply to this.  

also: while i agree with much of what was said under the cut, i will not come out and say which ones i agree with and what i don’t. my opinion is above and that’s all you need to know about what i think. i do not necessarily condone or agree with anything below. okay, enjoy reading.

1. Anonymous said: I may not be the biggest fan, but I totally get why they exist and have watched a few when they pop up

2.  Anonymous said: for the qotd: bootlegs are godsends

3. Anonymous said: oh god i literally just went on a tangent on twitter just now but bootlegs good!!!! people willingly watch blurry footage of a show bcs they want to know what the show is like, want to experience it live. bway shows arent accessable for everyone (due to prices and distance) but ppl still want to know what its like performed on stage. bootlegs literally dont harm the community. ive seen poto boots, proshots and the tour yet id willingly pay 2 watch again. boots make theatre more accessable imo !!

4. Anonymous said: Boots are good to get a glimpse of different productions? Like even despite Proshots existing of certain musicals, I'd still be curious regarding other interpretations of it! And also besides this it definitely helps make shows accessable to people who physically cannot watch the show!

5. galactic-greens said: I truly see no harm in bootlegs as long as they are treated respectfully. While the creation and consumption is technically a crime, it by no means whatsoever makes you a bad person. It's essentially documenting theatre, and ensuring generations to come will be able to experience what could have been so fleeting. They maintain a community, and as long as NFT dates, masters, and general spread of bootlegs are respected then there really can be no problem. It's just a way to immortalize the art!

6. Anonymous said: On bootlegs: oftentimes they’re the only way someone could be able to see a show, because not everyone can afford the tickets or even the cost to just go to New York for a show. However, it should be acknowledged that filming obviously in the actors’ faces is pretty rude, but at the same time bootlegs at least give a chance for people like me to see shows I might never get to see otherwise.

7. Anonymous said: I love bootlegs because I don’t have the means to be able to travel to see shows or afford tickets, i also do theater and i feel like the point of the art is to share it as much as I can

8. Anonymous said: i've never seen a large-scale live show bc they are not accessible to me. bootlegs are amazing. truly glorious.

9.  Anonymous said: i understand that this is a rather unique experience, but i live in nyc, so bootlegs never measure up to the real thing for me. i know that this isn't something everyone can be lucky enough to say, but live theatre could never be captured in the form of a bootleg-- i don't even like released proshots as much as the real thing

10. Anonymous said: for me bootlegs are fine for those who can't see it live because of the price and they are living from another country though i know there are a lot of actors disagrees about it

11. Anonymous said: as someone who can't afford to go to a professional production of anything, absolutely gimme a bootleg. obviously I wouold prefer, like, a proshot of a show and I really hope that becomes more of the norm (I watched the Newsies proshot on Disney+ and had the happy wiggles for hours afterwards, and I can't wait for the Hamilton one to come out) but until that starts happening I'll take a bootleg any day.

12. Anonymous said: I like that it helps people get into fandoms/musicals that they wouldn’t’ve otherwise but I would prefer if theatres professionally films them.

13. maycombhoney said: they will be a part of theatre culture until live theatre is made accessible for more people

14. Anonymous said: bootlegs are great and until the theater community decides to produce pro-shots i’m all for them

15. zoueriemandzijnopmars said: I would personally feel kinda bad for watching bootlegs, because it won’t directly bring money to the people who worked on the show. I don’t judge people who do watch bootlegs though, because let’s face it, bootlegs are not a replacement for actually going to the theatre and it’s not gonna lose the creators actually money. It might even make them money, because people will listen to the album/buy tickets anyway when they can. I’d just personally be more comfortable watching a proshot

16. Anonymous said: I don't pretend bootlegs aren't stealing but whatever harm they do is abstract enough - and my decisions are drop-in-the-bucket enough - that I do it anyway

17. Anonymous said: I’m totally fine with bootlegs. I’ve watched so many of them that it wouldn’t be fair if I wasn’t. The fact is most people just aren’t able to see shows. Either they live too far away or they can’t afford it, and if this is the only way someone can experience a show, it’s better than never seeing it at all

18. Anonymous said: i think bootlegs are important for accessibility but i really wish more theatres would release proshots. i wouldn't even mind if it were after the broadway run or after the original cast is switched out, but i think it's valuable to have those recordings out during the run of the show to get more people interested and actually wanting to go out and see it. plus, if they're worried about money, they wouldn't *have* to be free. just cheaper than tickets and travel.

19. Anonymous said: about the question of the day, honestly i think bootlegs are fine as long as they're done respectfully and the filmers aren't distracting with it

20. locke-writes said: For the question of the day: If there’s absolutely no way I can see the show live or from a professional recording then I’m going to watch a bootleg. Theater should be more accessible and sometimes a bootleg is my only way to access a show. Having been part of film crews who have shot live theater I think a lot of the lack of pro recordings is the idea which that theater is difficult to record. It isn’t. Give me a pro shot show over a bootleg anyday but I’ll take what I can get

21. Anonymous said: My opinion on bootlegs is I prefer professional recordings ONLY because bootleg quality is terrible for my auditory processing problems and I hate the washed out quality. But since professional recordings are rare (unless you are, interestingly enough, Sight & Sound Theatre); for everyone else: BRING ON THE BOOTLEG! ~ Stripe Conlon

22. Anonymous said: Bootlegs are complicated! As a fan/consumer I think they’re okay, especially considering how inaccessible theatre is for people living in other countries, people who can’t afford to experience shows live, and disabled folks. But as someone who also performs, i understand that it can be distracting and legally complicated for actors who are trying to do their best and did not consent to being filmed that night. I just hope that pro shots will become more common.

23. penguinated said: Bootlegs are fine. They don't cost Broadway a thing since people will literally never not pay to see live shows (except during covid of course). and for many people, seeing a certain show with a certain cast will NEVER be possible, so what's the harm in watching the bootleg? The bootlegs aren't the problem, it's the inaccessibility of live theater, ESPECIALLY Broadway shows. If more things were available to stream (i.e. BroadwayHD) there wouldn't be a need for bootlegs. Bootleg away, imo.

24. Anonymous said: until theatre is made accessible to everyone and there is a proshot released for every show, bootlegs are absolutely necessary for the prosperity of theatre

25. Anonymous said: It's so sad that people think bootlegs are necessary! and it's even sadder that in a way they are. however, too many people use them as an excuse to not pursue alternate affordable alternatives for theatre (such as broadway hd, pursuing local shows including high school and college theatre, and utilizing legally free shows online). In addition, bootlegs absolutely CAN be unethically sourced- recordings of locally produced shows can get theaters in trouble and bankrupt them with legal fees. and if you're recording something from Broadway (which is fine imo usually), if you're actually making people PAY for your illegal recording, that's profiting off the work of others and is both very unethical and exploiting the very people many bootleggers claim to work for the benefit of. When it comes to bootlegs, it's one thing to pass around shows that have finished their runs on Broadway for free- but there's too much unethical and even HARMFUL bootleg behavior and it needs to stop.

26. Anonymous said: since Broadway is too rich and doesn't wanna spend money(for some reason) streaming their shows, then bootlegs are the only option.

27. Anonymous said: Theater is so inaccessible that bootlegs are necessary for a lot of people because with a lot of shows you can’t get a good idea of the show just from the soundtrack but people that share nft boots are assholes

28. Anonymous said: Bootlegs do more good than harm. Those against bootlegs are elitist and don't understand some people cant afford hundreds of dollars in theatre and plane tickets. Bootlegs make people crave the live experience more, a dark and shaky video with shit audio doesn't satiate the desire to see a show live. And if the show is closed all the more reason to watch a bootleg!

29. lynntjeeee said: Theatre bootlegs are amazing and are why there are fans. I live in a country with no musical theater (except the occasional sucky original production with a local celeb who can't sing) so if it not for bootlegs I wouldn't be able to watch any shows and wouldn't be a fan (thus not spending money on cast recordings, etc). People need to realise this, bootlegs do not harm the theater, in fact it only helps it. If there were official recordings, there would be many more fans (and thus more profit!)

30. Anonymous said: Opinion on bootlegs: They wouldn't be necessary if the theater industry would get with the times and release professional shots of their shows on streaming services/cable.

31. Anonymous said: I think that people are really overreacting about bootlegs. ESPECIALLY bootlegs if shows that have already closed- you may never get a chance to see that show! Ever! Now there’s an affordable and accessible way to see shows that people would kill and die for. It isn’t losing Broadway money, in fact it is bringing more people into the medium. Maybe if full proshots were more common I would feel differently, but since there is literally no other way, boots are fine.

32. Anonymous said: Bootleg opinion: just go absolutely hog wild. Fuck it. Be gay do crime.

33. Anonymous said: Bootlegs are one of the few things that are keeping me sane right now, plus the fact that not everyone has dat cash money to see the shows live, so yeah they're good stuff (as long as they are available online w/ at least vaguely good sound quality anyway 😆)

34. Anonymous said: I see it both ways. I can understand why those in the profession are against it; it’s their hard work that’s getting pirated. But I’m also poor. I have no access to theatre outside of cast albums and bootlegs. I don’t watch bootlegs because I personally feel guilty, but I will not and do not judge others if they do.

35. whatdoscissorsdo said: I think broadway bootlegs r okay?? eat the rich amirite

36. Anonymous said: I trade and watch bootlegs and don't plan on stopping, but I've recently realized that it must be super uncomfortable for actors to be filmed without their knowledge or consent, or just to have to have on their minds that they might be being recorded at any time in a performance. Like, I've happily watched Many™ Spring Awakening videos in the past year, but I doubt Alexandra Socha is that thrilled knowing there are videos up on YouTube of featuring her nude at age nineteen.

37. i-am-having-an-emotion said: they will remain a necessary evil until theater is more accessible to the masses. seeing real live theater is always better than a boot but literally like 95% of people can’t access live theater, especially at a broadway caliber, so like..... do The Poors not *deserve* theater??? what are we supposed to do BUT make bootlegs?

38. ope-okay said: bootlegs are blessings from heaven and no one can convince me otherwise

39. Anonymous said: I think it can really hype up the want for the musical. And a really good boot release can bring new creations to an otherwise small fandom. Personally I’m more interested in seeing the musicals I’ve seen boots of than the musicals I haven’t

40. Anonymous said: On the topic of bootlegs, I think they’re great but like especially for people who do not have the means to go see the shows during their runs, I feel like if you do have the means to go see the show you should do that instead

41. Anonymous said: I have a REALLY hard time with bootlegs. Because artists deserve to be paid for their work, and there are a whole host of copywriter issues that come with the mass production of a show. In addition though, I understand the anger you feel at not getting to see a show live, however there are so many resources available to help people get the idea of their favorite show even if they never see it. Honestly Wikipedia is my favorite resource, as often that has a full synopsis of the show. I’ll read that and then listen to the recording a bunch so I can understand the story and imagine what it may look like. A lot of shows put clips on YouTube, the Macy’s parade, the Tony Awards, NBC does a whole broadway week, there are so many ways that you can get glimpses into these shows without resorting to bootlegs (which at this point are still illegal) I’m not a supporter of the “theater must be seen live” idea. While I LOVE live theater (and as a performer I like feeding off an audience) but I’ve see shows with just proshots or just the movie version and they are still just as good. Unfortunately I think the only way we’re are going to make theater more accessible to audiences is through time. Bootlegs I think only make people less inclined to record shows and mass produce them. There are a whole lot of legal things that go into that as well. What I can say is what I’ve done. Read up on the show, watch all the clips you can, sometimes scripts are posted online maybe read those, listen to the album, look at pictures. It SUCKS that theater is exclusive, but bootlegs are not the solution.

let me repeat: if you wanna fight or agree with anyone, refer to the # and send in an ask or reply to this post.

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 98

 Chapter Summary -  Tom and Danielle enjoy a few days in Ireland after the world learns about them.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

I put photos in to give an idea of the areas Danielle and Tom are in and visiting. I will add more for the next few chapters (since I have now figured out how to do so)

I own none of the images used, all Copyright is of course, to the owners of these images. I am merely using them to shamelessly show off my lovely country.

Okay, few things.

- The Burrows does not exist as far as I am aware. - The place in Galway does, it is called McDonaghs and I love it! - Irish people until recently tended to have big families, my mother is one of 7, my dad is one of 14, my partner's mother is one of 9, his dad is one of 7, you get the idea, cousins are something that I seem to have everywhere.

Much of this is seen in Ed Sheeran's Galway Girl video

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​​​ @jessibelle-nerdy-mum​​​ @nonsensicalobsessions​​​ @damalseer​​​ @hiddlesbitch1​​​ @winterisakiller​​​ @fairlightswiftly​​​ @salempoe​​​​ @wolfsmom1​​​​

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

Tom adored Ireland, it was just like Scotland in most ways and as Danielle had stated, most everyone did not seem to care about their being there. A few people seemed to recognise them, but they did not seem overly bothered by the fact there was someone famous nearby as they walked through the narrow streets of Galway City.

They had stayed at Danielle’s grandmothers the night before and with consent from Lourda and Michael, had gone to Galway to get one or two things sorted for it. Danielle had taken a slightly larger loan than the cost of the house and the solicitor fees, Tom had realised, as she wanted to fix one or two issues in the house while they were there. He smiled as she walked through the city and got what was needed to be ordered and paid for. “It’s about an acceptable time to eat dinner, right?” She asked as she looked at her phone.

Tom checked his watch. “Yes, what have you in mind?”

“Fish and chips, really nice ones.” She smiled.

“You’re not going to convince me they are any better than the ones in Aldeburgh, let us just put to rest that argument here and now,” Tom stated firmly but with a large smile on his face.

“We’ll see.” Tom’s smile faltered with the smug grin on Danielle’s face.

Tom had to admit, it was delicious, the cod was almost equal to the place near his mum, but the chips were incredible, giving it an edge, the smile on Danielle’s face only grew as she watched him eat. “Fine, it’s amazing.” She grinned widely at that admission. “The batter is nicer in The Burrow’s though.” “It is, I will concede, but the chips make this better.” “We did not discuss the chips, only the cod, so I am right.” Tom goaded, Danielle gave him a warning glance, “You know it’s true.” “We’re in public, so I can’t fight you on this one.” Tom laughed at her annoyed expression.

* “Why did you leave?” Danielle looked at Tom as they walked along the path next to the ocean in a small area of Galway Danielle had called The Claddagh. “It is so beautiful here, how did you decide to leave?” “There’s nothing here. I mean jobs are still being lost a lot, even though it is not as bad as it was, but there was nothing for me, I also needed to get away, I felt like I would just combust if I stayed, I felt so alone and lost after Dad and Mam left. I didn’t even know where to go.” “Why Suffolk?” “I fell asleep watching TV and when I woke up, a documentary was on, Suffolk, Cornwall and I think…Isle of Wight, or was it the Isle of Man, regardless, they were on it. I had thought about going to England, but I was sort of lost about what to do, it was a documentary on why certain people retire to those areas and it sort of led from there. I felt like the cities were too big, they were a good size and fit for me.” She looked up at him. “It worked out well in the end,” Tom looked down at her. “Had I decided to move to London, if I was some girl you walked passed getting out of a Tube or walking down the street, I may never have gotten to know you; and why would I? I would never have afforded a place in Belsize, maybe I may have chosen a house near Emma, but would I have started talking to her, probably not, I would never have gotten to know you. That random show on TV is why Suffolk, your mum saying hello as she got her shopping out of the car the day and being nice to me while I was waiting for the estate agent was why that house.”

Tom stayed silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. A simple little decision, made when tired and lonely was the reason they were introduced and in turn together. “It’s weird how one thing leads to another.” “Yep. Everything we have done to date has led us here.” Danielle smiled. “We are always the results of our actions or inactions.” “I wasn’t meant to be home that weekend you moved in and I wasn’t supposed to go with Emma that day for the hotel choosing, but I was, I remember that day, you were not taking any of the hotelier’s bullshit and you were incredible.” “Is that when you realised I was amazing?” Danielle jested.

“Yes, it was.” She paused and stared at him. “I spent a year of my life in love with you and did nothing about it. I did not do anything about it and caused myself more than a few miserable nights thinking about it, over and over. We could already be together for far longer, I…” He looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping. “I have to confess, I have not always slept well since we have been together.” Danielle frowned at his admission. “I have woken a few nights, thinking of ‘what ifs’ and one that gets me every time is what if when you were with Paul and you had gotten pregnant, not this other woman. I literally cannot get that out of my head.” “We never…” “But you would have, sooner or later.” Tom pointed out, Danielle could not argue, if she had remained with Paul, sooner or later, yes, it would have happened. She would have still been on contraception, but there was always a chance. She physically shuddered at that. She was not ready for children yet, but with Tom, she believed she could make it work, she did want it with him down the road, but with Paul; that was a terrifying prospect to her. She would have felt trapped then. “Are you okay?” Tom noted her shuddering but did not know the reason why. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I…the idea of that, of alternatives to this…I don’t like it.” She explained, “But we are not in those alternatives, I think about it sometimes too, the weird little voice in my head playing games with me, but you can’t listen to it, it’s not healthy.” She pointed out. “Now, we better drive back to the house, we have an early day tomorrow.” “I never actually asked, but where else is planned on this little holiday?” Tom asked curiously. “Galway is incredible, I can see why Sheeran sang about it.” Danielle looked at him. “Ed Sheeran has a song about Galway on his next album, or more about a girl from Galway, falling in love with an English man,” he laughed. “It’s a lot like you actually.” “How do you know what is on his next album?” “He was in Rome last summer when I was there, I was in the room when he…” He stopped talking. “You were there when he let Taylor listen to it.” She completed, Tom nodded sheepishly. “I see.” She said nothing more until they made their way back to the car.

Tom looked at her worriedly as she sat in and started the engine. “I could drive if you would like?” “No offence, but this is a city with a serious one-way street system, watching you get flustered would be hilarious, but I really just want to get back to the house.” She laughed. “Come on.”

“Elle, did I…?” “Make things weird back there by ceasing to talk when it came to referencing an event that occurred in the three months of your life that you had lost the absolute run of yourself? Yes, you did. Was I ignoring it because I don’t want to make a big deal of it, yes, I was.” She replied. “You did stuff in your time together Tom, I know no one wants to talk about that stuff with the current partner, nor does their current partner want to hear those things, especially if they think they are comparing them, but what you were saying had little to do with Swift, you were talking about Sheeran, I had no idea he was out there.” “No one did,” Tom informed her. “I am not comparing you to her by the way, and if I did, you’d win.” “Obviously.” Danielle smiled, but she bit her lip after. “I sometimes feel like the money thing is an issue though.” Tom’s eyes widened slightly. “I have nowhere near your money, I never will.” “What the hell does that matter?” Tom got a little angered by her words. Her income was good, good enough to afford her everything she needed, that was all that mattered to him. In truth, Tom worried about that being a point of contention between them, Danielle was too proud and independent to ever take handouts, he’d known that before he ever offered to help her with the house, but he also knew that she would compare herself to other women of better income. As she had said before, Taylor had been able to private jet anywhere she wished, Tom wondered how that may have affected her self-esteem. “I don’t want someone based on their bank balance, I am not like that, I want someone that makes me happy and who is a pleasure to be around.” He argued.

“I know, but I wish I was able to afford to drop everything and get a private jet across Europe or to afford to go to exclusive expensive restaurants, but…I’m not.”

“I know, and I like that about you; you weren’t raised with a silver spoon in your mouth, expecting everything to be given to you. When I was nineteen, my parents didn’t have the money to get me a car, but I wanted one. I got a waiting job in a posh country club, and fuck me, was every one of them an ass. They were so rude, self-centred and all round horrible.” He stated. “I swore that summer I would never be l them, or surround myself with people like them, for fear I would turn into one.” “So you are using me to keep you grounded, to still feel like you’re part of the normal set?” Tom looked at her horrified, his face calming when he saw her sticking her tongue out between her teeth as she did so, a large grin on her face. “Behave.”

“Make me.” “What day are we heading on?” “We are going to Clare tomorrow.” “And we are not returning to your grandmothers?” “No, we are staying down there, then heading to Kerry, then to Cork before heading up to Dublin to go home, why?” Tom’s smile grew as she spoke of London as ‘home’. “Because when I get you to Clare, I am going to make you.” Danielle’s brows rose at that statement. “What do you say to that?” She opened and closed her mouth a few times silently at that. “Lost for words Darling?” “It’s going to be a difficult night.” She admitted; her voice slightly higher in pitch.

“And why is that?” Tom’s voice deepened as his hand slid up her thigh.

“Tom.” “What Darling?”

“Don’t.” she warned.

“Don’t want?” “Tom, I swear, I am finding it hard enough to stay behaving myself at Nan’s with you rubbing your crotch into me in your sleep, making naughty noises, adding to that is not fair.” Tom slipped his hand further up her thigh. “I swear to God, if you make me crash this car,” Danielle warned, but she was smiling and did not take her eyes off the road.

“Is it a B&B in Clare?”

“Yes, a nice one. I stayed there for a wedding before, good thick walls.” She grinned.

“How do you know about the walls?” Tom asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. “My cousin had a girl to the next room, let’s just say, going into my room, I could hear a lot, in my room, I heard hardly anything.”

“You have a considerable number of cousins,” Tom noted.

“Like you can talk.” “I have eight, you seem to have…”

“Forty-three first cousins.” “Jesus Christ.” Tom stared at her.

“Fine Catholic Irish families. Mam was one of nine, so you know how it is.” Danielle shrugged. “I am the only only-child on both sides.”

“That is pretty insane,” Tom commented. “It happens a lot in rural families.” “Will we meet any of them?” “I dunno, do you want to? I haven’t seen any of them since Mam died. I only talk to one or two on Facebook at birthdays.”

“It’s sort of sad you’re not close to them.” “If I had been, I would not have left, so selfishly, no I am not bothered by it. I have you instead now, I prefer that; plus, I love having Emma and your Mam, and even the Duchess and everyone else. I am happier over with you all.” “Well, we sort of are your family now.” “I take it you’re not getting the updates from your sisters.” Tom looked at her confused. “Your Mam was mentioning hotels.” “For what?” “Wedding receptions.” She glanced at him for a bare moment as she waited for them to get their turn to enter a roundabout. “Yep, I kid you not. Emma has had to tell her, more than once, to stop.” “You’re kidding, why have I not been told this?” he stared at her as though expecting her to erupt in laughter. “Elle, are you serious?” “Ask Sarah.” “Wait, you said she was talking to Emma.” “Yes, and Sarah.” She laughed.

“You’re lying.” “Ask her.” Tom took out his phone and typed a message to his sister, he looked at Danielle again before pressing send, Danielle not looking at him as she focused on the road. Only a moment later, there was a beep to tell him he received a new message, looking at it, his eyes widened. “Jesus, Mum.” “Told you.” “She’s even hinted at places here apparently over the last day or so.” “Ha-ha.”

“Elle!” “What, it’s funny. Let her have some fun, we are not getting married so it’s not like she is actually interfering, she is only…” “Getting completely ahead of herself, how are you not running for the hills?” Tom looked at Danielle, who clearly was just finding the whole situation amusing. “Because I am not bothered, yes, she is getting a tad ahead of herself, but if it keeps her happy, she’s not harming anyone. I actually love that your Mam thinks that that would be a good step for us, have you any idea how terrible some people have it with their partner’s mother?”

“But we’re not even together a year, marriage…” “Is not even on the cards yet, I know, but leave her have her fun, saying something may cause her to feel hurt, saying nothing and letting her have it when it is a non-issue is far better for everyone involved.” She smiled.

“So, this is not scaring you off?” Danielle laughed as she used the indicator, then turned the car up the smaller road they were driving to. “No, it does not. I actually like it.” Tom looked at her worriedly. “Not because I want to get married in the next week or so, but because it makes me feel like this is something that matters.” She explained, smiling as she did so, but not taking her eyes off the road.

Galway City - including a castle in the centre of it.

The Claddagh

Connemara, where Danielle's grandmother's cottage is.

[starqueen87]

October 4, 1951: Henrietta Lacks died from cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who was the unwitting source of cells (from her cancerous tumor) which were cultured by George Otto Gey to create the 1st known human immortal cell line for medical research.

This is now known as the HeLa cell line.

In 1955 HeLa cells were the 1st human cells successfully cloned.

HBO announced in 2010 that Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball were developing a film project based on Skloot's book, and in 2016 filming commenced, with Winfrey in the leading role of Deborah Lacks, Henrietta's daughter.

The film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was released in 2017.

DIAGNOSIS:

On January 29, 1951, Henrietta went to Johns Hopkins Hospital because she felt a knot inside her. It all started when she asked her cousins to feel her belly, asking if they felt the lump that she did. Her cousins assumed correctly that she was pregnant. But, after giving birth to her fifth child, Joseph, Henrietta started bleeding abnormally and profusely. Her local doctor tested her for syphilis, which came back negative, and referred her to Johns Hopkins.

Johns Hopkins was their only choice for a hospital, since it was the only one in proximity to them that treated black patients. Howard Jones, her new doctor, examined Henrietta and the lump in her cervix. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. He cut off a small part of the tumor and sent it to the pathology lab. Soon after, Jones discovered she had a malignant epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix Stage 1 (cervical cancer).

Lacks was treated with radium tube inserts, which were sewn in place. After several days in place, the tubes were removed and she was released from Johns Hopkins with instructions to return for X-ray treatments as a follow-up. During her radiation treatments for the tumor, two samples of Henrietta's cervix were removed— a healthy part and a cancerous part— without her permission. The cells from her cervix were given to Dr. George Otto Gey. These cells would eventually become the HeLa immortal cell line, a commonly used cell line in biomedical research.

Lacks returned for the X-ray treatments. However, her condition worsened and the Hopkins doctors treated her with antibiotics, thinking that her problem might be complicated by an underlying venereal disease (she had neurosyphilis and presented with acute gonorrhea at one point as well).

DEATH:

In significant pain and without improvement, Lacks returned to Hopkins on August 8th for a treatment session but asked to be admitted. She remained at the hospital until her death.

Though she received treatment and blood transfusions, she died of uremic poisoning on October 4, 1951, at 12:30 A.M. at the age of 31. A subsequent partial autopsy showed that the cancer had metastasized throughout her body.

BURIAL:

Henrietta Lacks was buried without a tombstone in a family cemetery in Lackstown, a part of Clover in Halifax County, Virginia. Her exact burial location is not known, although the family believes it is within feet of her mother's gravesite. Lackstown is the name of the land that has been held by the (black) Lacks family since they received it from the (white) Lacks family, who had owned the ancestors of the black Lackses when slavery was legal. Many members of the black Lacks family were also descended from the white Lacks family. A row of boxwoods separates the graves of whites from those of the blacks buried in the family cemetery. For decades, Henrietta Lacks' mother has had the only tombstone of the five graves in the family cemetery in Lackstown.

In 2010, however, Dr. Roland Pattillo of the Morehouse School of Medicine donated a headstone for Lacks after reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The headstone, which is shaped like a book, her grandchildren wrote her epitaph:

"Henrietta Lacks August 01, 1920 – October 04, 1951

In loving memory of a phenomenal woman, wife and mother who touched the lives of many. Here lies Henrietta Lacks (HeLa). Her immortal cells will continue to help mankind forever. Eternal Love and Admiration, From Your Family"

RECOGNITION & LEGACY:

●In 1996, Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, the state of Georgia and the mayor of Atlanta recognized the late Henrietta Lacks' family for her posthumous contributions to medicine and health research.

●Her life was commemorated annually by Turners Station residents for a few years after Morehouse's commemoration.

●A congressional resolution in her honor was presented by Robert Ehrlich following soon after the first commemoration of her, her family, and her contributions to science in Turners Station.

●Events in the Turners Station's community have also commemorated the contributions of others including Mary Kubicek, the laboratory assistant who discovered that HeLa cells lived outside the body, as well as Dr. Gey and his nurse wife, Margaret Gey, who together after over 20 years of attempts were eventually able to grow human cells outside of the body.

●In 2011, Morgan State University granted her a posthumous honorary degree.

●On September 14, 2011, the Board of Directors of Washington ESD 114 Evergreen School District chose to name a new health and bioscience high school in her honor. The new school, scheduled to open in the fall of 2013, will be named Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School. "It is such an honor to name our new school after a person who so impacted the world of medicine and science," said school board member Victoria Bradford, who also served on the naming committee. "It is also a privilege to be the first organization to publicly memorialize Henrietta Lacks by naming this school building after her."

●October 11, in Atlanta, Georgia, is Henrietta Lacks' Day

IN THE MEDIA:

■In 1998, a one-hour BBC documentary on Lacks and HeLa directed by Adam Curtis, won the Best Science and Nature Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Immediately following the film's airing in 1997, an article on HeLa cells, Lacks, and her family was published by reporter Jacques Kelly in The Baltimore Sun.

■In the 1990s, the Dundalk Eagle published the first article on her in a newspaper in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, and it continues to announce upcoming local commemorative activities.

■The Lacks family was also honored at the Smithsonian Institution.

■In 2001, it was announced that the National Foundation for Cancer Research would be honoring "the late Henrietta Lacks for the contributions made to cancer research and modern medicine" on September 14. Because of the events of September 11, 2001, the event was canceled.

■In 2000 Mal Webb released a CD with a song about Lacks called Helen Lane.

■In her 2010 book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot documents the histories of both the HeLa cell line and the Lacks family. Henrietta's husband, David Lacks, was told little following her death. Suspicions fueled by racial issues prevalent in the South (see Night Doctors) were compounded by issues of class and education. For their part, members of the Lacks family were kept in the dark about the existence of the tissue line. When its existence was revealed in two articles written in March 1976 by Michael Rogers, one in the Detroit Free Press and one in Rolling Stone, family members were confused about how Henrietta's cells could have been taken without consent and how they could still be alive 25 years after her death.

■In May 2010, The Virginian-Pilot published two articles on Lacks, HeLa, and her family.

■On May 17, 2010, NBC ran a fictionalized version of Lacks' story on Law & Order, titled "Immortal". An article in Slate called the episode "shockingly close to the true story."

■On May 31, 2011 Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine released the CD Enhanced Methods of Questioning with a song about Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa immortal cell line called "The Cells That Will Not Die".

■In May of 2012, self-proclaimed "Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel" band Yeasayer officially released "Henrietta", the first single from their third album "Fragrant World". Lead singer Chris Keating reports that Henrietta Lacks' legacy inspired the creation of this song.

LAW & ETHICS:

◆Neither Lacks nor her family gave her physician permission to harvest the cells. At that time, permission was neither required nor customarily sought. The cells were later commercialized.

◆In the 1980s, family medical records were published without family consent.

◆In March 2013, German researchers published the DNA code, or genome, of a strain of HeLa cells without permission from the Lacks family. This issue and Mrs. Lacks' situation was brought up in the Supreme Court of California case of Moore v. Regents of the University of California. On July 9, 1990, the court ruled that a person's discarded tissue and cells are not their property and can be commercialized.

◆In August 2013, an agreement by the family and the National Institutes of Health was announced that gave the family some control over access to the cells' DNA code and a promise of acknowledgement in scientific papers. In addition, two family members will join a six-member committee which will regulate access to the code.