#i closed all the images before i wrote down who took each photo and i'm sorry it's 1am i'm simply not going back to find them again

[girlfriendline]

Ovi and Sid vs. The World

"I think we both probably want to stick around a little longer, so it's not time for those beers, or whatever we'll drink, yet."

― Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin 'saved the NHL', but they're not done yet (Rossi, 2023)

(Photo credits: Getty Images)

[defdaily]

‪[TRANSLATION] Arena Homme+ Magazine April 2021 Issue featuring JAY B

Translated by defdaily.

JAY B is free and starting again from scratch. That is what JAY B has in mind. GOT7’s leader announced that he would be leaving JYPE as the group stays together. JAY B is preparing to debut as a solo musician while planning to also release mixtapes and hold exhibitions as Def. We had a chat with JAY B, who has gained more freedom and strength, at the swimming pool about courage, depression, literature and aspirations.

Did you come here alone?

Yes. I took a taxi here. I was the type to go around freely even when I was in JYPE but catching the taxi to work this time around felt new.

All GOT7 members decided to leave JYP but stay together as a group. As a leader, you needed to make a decision, right?

Although we ended up leaving JYPE, we wanted to continue as GOT7. We all agreed to leave [JYPE] and try it between ourselves.The product made from me taking responsibility/taking charge was the single 'Encore’ that was released not too long ago. I was involved in the whole process with a new record label. I was happy to see a good response [to the single]. It was lacking in some areas but I was just very proud that we were able to show a different step. Since we showed through this single that “we did not disband”, what’s next is more important. When we left JYPE, Director Jung Wook mentioned "Your role as a leader starts now." I'm realizing it now.

”I wanted to learn everything about the process of releasing an album and how difficult it is. I wanted to start again from scratch.”

Your role as a leader actually starts now.

I used to find the role of a leader burdensome at times but now I feel a greater sense of responsibility. While supporting each person’s journey, I thought I needed to be the one to step up once we got back together. We also talk regularly in our group chat. Not long ago, Jackson went to China. When Mark went to the USA, I could see him off but when Jackson was leaving, we couldn’t be together because of a schedule. So I told him to have a safe flight, apologised for not being able to see him off and thanked him too. He replied saying he’ll take care and be back.

What motivated you to leave the large agency you've been working with for a long time?

The thought came to mind suddenly as we were promoting as GOT7. Am I taking all these benefits I get for granted? When a schedule is released I just do it, and when they ask me to confirm things I do, but what kind of long process has it gone through before it came to me? Who sends a request and how is it processed? Why am I only waiting until it reaches me and simply watching it unfold? I wanted to be directly involved in that process. I wanted to learn everything about the process of releasing an album and how difficult it is. I want to be humble and start from the bottom again.

Didn't you need the courage?

Of course I did. I was also afraid. My position has risen to all the way up here, but when it comes to my actual knowledge, I think I'm only down there. I was afraid that the difference would feel too big once I left the company. But I think I would have been more afraid if I stayed at JYPE. Since that difference would have grown bigger and bigger. My real self is here, so I should face it head-on a little faster. That's what I thought.

As JAY B or as Def. who releases mixtapes and holds exhibitions, you must have had the desire to do something new.

I want to do research and build it up step by step without haste. JAY B will show hip hop and RnB music that appeals to the general public and Def. will do activities that Def. wants to do. It could be mixtapes or exhibitions, or other different kinds of fictions. Def. is the nickname I used as a bboy before I became a trainee. It’s like air floating about freely. It could be house or soul or acoustic or even modern rock. In a way, you can say that Def. is close to my “main self” but since I debuted as JAY B, I’ll also show a devoted side of myself through JAY B. I want to be a person who can do both what he has to do and what he wants to do freely.

Listening to your mixtapes, and hearing that you like the styles of D’Angelo and Ray Charles, you seem to be attached to the Southern US rhythm and blues and soul music.

I do like them a lot. I like the entire hip-hop culture that originated from there. That culture also includes DJing, graffiti and even bboying. Since I started as a bboy, I would look up older videos to watch, study the culture and also look into what each dance move symbolizes, with my bboying crew and that's how I became fascinated. What captivated me the most was their obstinacy. I felt respect towards the conviction and obstinacy they carried with their culture.

Is that mood still incorporated in your music and dance?

Yes. For example, I don’t think choreography is dance. I think dancing is when music plays and you like the rhythm and start humming and bobbing your head and moving your body. I think dancing is a free act you do out of enjoyment.

What was the reason you joined an idol group after starting out as a bboy?

I gained an interest in music too, not just dancing. When I was young, I listened to D’Angelo’s music and wanted to become a singer like him. But I was rebellious when I first joined JYPE. Haha. I was even suspended for a month once as a trainee. I definitely said hello but they said I didn’t so they said "If you're going to be stubborn, then go home" and me with my young heart replied “Then I shall head home.” and left. Then I met up with my bboying crew after a long time, and in just a few months it turned into a different world. The crew members were above me and I was worried because I could feel myself far away by myself. Should I go back to bboying? Should I continue as a trainee? In the end, I wanted to do my very best in whatever I chose so I decided to focus on becoming a singer. Since I wanted to do music, it was a choice I made with no regrets.

You started as a dancer and ended up as a main vocalist. What was music to you back then?

It was a challenge. Trainees are divided into singing and dancing. I joined as a dancer but what I wanted to do was become a singer and not just do dance. But since I was put into the dancing division, I worked even harder with singing to break that prejudice. I often felt defeated. I still feel defeated with singing. Haha. But music is about endless research. Now it’s more about research than studying.

You grew up as an only child to your parents who did farming?

I was an ordinary kid. I enjoyed Haruki’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage and thought the “colourless” kid was just like me. I was a calm kid who helped his parents with their farm work. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have any older siblings but they said I used to talk to myself a lot. My mother said there was a way she would know if I was home or not. If I was home, she would hear me talk to myself and be like “Oh really?” “Yes really” haha.

It’s extraordinary to read Haruki at that age.

There was an older friend that I knew and he was really cool. He looked really cool reading on the bus with his legs crossed. He said “Hey, Read a book and build up some knowledge.” As I was trying to be cool like him, I gained a favourite author and started reading more since I enjoyed it.

What kind of books do you like?

When I was a teenager I often read Kafka On The Shore. It felt like Kafka was just like me, and so while reading it, I even cried. The style of Murakami Radio was also interesting. The ending phrase “But I like that more…” was very witty. I’m collecting books from secondhand bookstores from authors who won the Young Author awards. I like Lee Jang-wook's short story Byeon Hee-bong. The main character knows the actor Byun Hee-bong, but the world doesn't know him. He would ask "Don't you know Byun Hee-bong from the movie The Host?" But no one knows. I like stories that don’t intend to be funny but they end up making me giggle.

What do you read these days?

I try to read poetry. I purchased and read the first volume that appeared on Moonji’s Poetry Collection, but it has too many Hanja characters. Haha. I started with Munhwak’s Poetry Collection. I have volumes 1 to 85. I also read poet Park Joon's collection of poems and poet Lee Eun-gyu's Affectionate Name. I even underlined and wrote things down.

Among the idols and musicians I’ve met, I think you are the most extensive reader.

We went on tours often and we would have a lot of time in my hotel room. When I went out I took pictures and when I stayed in my hotel room I read books. When I go on an overseas tour, I pack around 30 books in my suitcase. Then I bring back the books that left an impression on me, and those that didn’t sometimes I dispose of them there. These days, I look for independent publications too. I often look for independent publishing bookstores in Nakseongdae or Haebangchon. There are many books that contain honest stories that are not refined, and the power of those sentences is great.

How does reading influence your work?

The poetic expressions with poetic license help when writing lyrics. You read a new sentence and think “What is this expressing?” You receive inspiration from that image being expressed in a new way. I think of lyrics as poetry too. There are times I write how I feel honestly, but when I want to include a certain meaning I’d want to write the lyrics like poetry.

In your photo exhibition <ALONE> last year, you took pictures of objects and signs in the middle of the road.

Wouldn't it feel very lonely if you think about it from an object’s point of view? The camera captures just an instance but the object will stay there. I think each person has an insatiable loneliness. I like the artist Seonglib’s works, and I feel loneliness in his drawings. I don't know why I keep talking about loneliness, I guess I’m familiar with loneliness.

Seems like you take more pictures of objects and landscapes than people.

I don’t really like taking pictures of people. You can clearly see a person’s emotions in their eyes. I prefer hiding things rather than revealing them too much. I prefer objects, backgrounds, and natural objects rather than subjects that openly express 'It's me!'. Tranquil things, I like when you go past something and go “that’s how it was.” I try my best since my job requires being presented to people but that’s also how I am.

Who do you like as a movie director?

I like Woody Allen’s directing. My favourite is Match Point. It's a love story that goes beyond taboos, and it's electrifying. The face of the actor who secretly asks the reunited lover to give him her number remains in my memory for a long time. How could he direct such a real-looking, raw look in their eyes? When I was a theater and film major, I used to take directing classes rather than acting. If I were to direct a film, I would like to shoot an eccentric witty romantic comedy like Love Fiction directed by Jeon Gye-soo.

Are you self-conscious as an artist?

I’m interested in a variety of genres, and interact with crews often, but I think goofing off just because they are an artist is an arrogant attitude. Everyone is their own artist, no matter what they do, right? I'm not trying to be pretentious, I just think there's a difference in expression, and people who work in the office are also doing their own art. That’s why I’m a little shy about the title “artist.” Is there a need to be puffed up with pride because I’m an artist? I’m just a person.

While filming for “What's in my bag” and revealed your medications for depression and panic disorder. When did you face your depression?

I didn’t know I had depression. I thought I was being weak for a short while and let it pass. But on an occasion I got examined and found out I had depression. They asked how I lived by without going to the psychiatrist. I said I just thought I was the type to feel blue. Haha. I’m the type that doesn’t show [what is wrong] but they said I was in a state where I needed treatment. After going to counselling and taking medications, I’m much better now.

“I just wanted to talk about it. It may not show, but depression is both a common and dangerous illness.”

I think you’re cool for having the courage to talk about this.

I got diagnosed and looked at the people around me. There are friends who are ashamed of it and try to hide it, and there are friends who talk about it as if it’s insignificant. I just wanted to talk about it. It may not show, but it’s both a common and dangerous illness. A mental illness is an illness too. Among my fans, or those who read this interview, if there is someone who feels depressed, don’t be ashamed of it and I hope you receive treatment and overcome it. It’s not an embarrassing thing and it doesn’t need to be hidden. And I was filming content where I show what’s inside my bag; I can’t lie. I wish everyone would be healthy.

Are you bad at lying?

Yes. If I have to tell a lie, I think it’s just better to not say anything. Since I’m the type that’s honest and straightforward, I also don’t like beating around the bush.

Can you share a way one can take a step forward towards recovering from depression?

Look at the world in a broad view. Know that there are many places you haven’t been to yet and there are many things you haven’t felt yet. It's also good to take a walk and go off your usual route and take a path you've never been on. Small adventures can also be of great help. Just by leaving the house you’re already halfway there. I think there are more ways you can refresh yourself outside rather than inside. Also, I thought I was an honest person but after being diagnosed with depression, I thought I should be more honest with myself and more faithful to myself. At times like this, think of yourself before others.

What do you believe in?

I just believe in god. I don’t have a religion. I don’t know what kind of existence god is but I do believe that there is a god. When I’m thankful or am having a hard time, I pray. “Thank you.” “Please let me get through this wisely.”

What is the greatest motivation that moves you?

As long as I’m alive, I want to continue doing work that will leave a message. I believe that there is no next life. I think I should live this time diligently to the fullest. To have no regrets.

Translated by defdaily.

[the-witches-you-couldnt-burn]

It started with a whisper

I originally wrote ‘Like I did with you’ as a one-shot but people wanted a sequel. This turned out to be waaaaay longer than expected (4.7k word count). Inspired by Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. I hope you lot enjoy!

Ao3

(Also this is Mari’s new outfit, all credits go to the original artist)

————

Two teens stood upon the balcony of a large banquet hall, exposed to the midsummer night air. The sky was a lilac blanket that hung over the Parisian buildings, speckled with glowing stars. The moon, with it’s crescent smile, beamed down of the young couple.

Hey, baby, won't you look my way?

Marinette’s eyes were closed as she rested her head upon his shoulder, relaxing after the night’s rapid escalation. Tonight she had arrived at the ball with the intent to be there for her friends, but somehow she found herself within the arms of Gotham’s (and probably Paris’) Ice Prince. She had overheard his nickname from the Gotham students, one of which being Jon, who was in the middle of mocking the young Wayne. She had never considered that nickname as suitable; sure he was temperamental & had a tendency to snap, but icey to the core? No.

I can be your new addiction

Damian was calm. For the first time in his life he felt like he could take a breath. His exhale was carried off by a small gust of wind, the bush over hanging the stone railing rustled. With his inhale, the scent of Marinette’s perfume became present once more. Mixed with the crisp night’s air, her usual scent of pastries was mixed with what could only be described as ambrosia. His phone vibrated within his pocket, it was never on volume due to the potential risk it caused during his heroic activities.

“Shit.” Notifications covered his screen, multiple tweets, Instagrams and Tiktoks in which he had been tagged in. But the alert came from his family’s private messaging chat. The whole thread was a shit storm, Grayson and Todd’s messages were completely capitalised (he learnt years ago this meant ‘to yell’ in writing form) and both had multiple ‘keyboard spasms’. Drake, like the thorough detective he is, had combed through the images and videos, investigating their validity. His honorary sisters had replied with ‘awwwww’(s) and ‘Omg we MUST meet this girl! I need to know how she tamed the demon!’. He could practically hear Brown’s shrill voice from across the ocean.

Hey, baby, what you gotta say?

No reply from his father or Alfred. The two of them were the only semblance of ‘normal’ paternal figures he had within his life, after the sham of a relationship he had previously held with his grandfather. Their silence unnerved him.

Marinette had noticed his attention had shifted to his phone, her own mobile was buzzing away within her baby pink purse. Messages, notifications of account tagging and comments galore. A sigh left her lips when she saw her parents seemed to be none the wiser. Good, she didn’t need to deal with future adoration for ‘The boy who swept our daughter off of her feet’ (or something along those lines).

Her cheeks regained some of the warmth they held before as she thought of her parent’s reaction. Scrolling through her Twitter she saw her friends had posted multiple images of the night’s events, majority being her shared dance.

Chloé Bourgeois @TheBestBourgeois

what kind of Disney shit is this? (Insert video of two teens dancing around an mostly empty dance floor.)

Alix Kubdel @Sk8trGirl

Replying to @TheBestBourgeois

I KNOW RIGHT?! THEY WERE FUCKING FLOATING!!!

All you're giving me is fiction

She was thankful that they hadn’t tagged her but she hadn’t been spared by others in attendance. Her post thread had blown up, thousands had commented and even more had viewed the evidence. There was no way she would come out of this unscathed.

“Has anyone been on Twitter today?” The blonde of the family asked as she walked into the dining room. Her eyes focused on her scrolling screen, brows furrowed in confusion. “Actually has anyone seen what’s happening on any of our socials?”

It was early in the afternoon and the family had recently returned home after a straining stakeout. The Joker had broken out of Arkham and the Batfam had to deal with his minions. Dick’s arm was in a sling (sprained from a grapple gone wrong), Jason was icing his hand, Alfred was stitching Bruce’s chest wounds while Tim and the girls escaped without severe injuries. All were still recuperating and finally able to recharge.

Alfred always enforced a strict ‘no devices at the dinner table’ rule; no matter how urgent it was, it could wait until after sustenance was consumed. Tim strongly opposed this, but there was no arguing with Agent A. This all surmises that probably no one had seen the crap storm on social media.

I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time

Bruce sighed, bringing his free arm up to rub his eyes. Tilting his head back to look at Steph, “Who was it this time?” Barbara quickly took out her phone to see what Stephanie was talking about, all the while glancing accusingly at Dick and Jason. Both of whom held up their arms (or in Dick’s case arm), declaring their innocence.

“It wasn’t fucking me!”

“Jason! Language!” Dick shot a glare at Jason and was met with one in return. “It wasn’t me either.”

“Then who-“ Bruce started before being cut off by his most rambunctious daughter.

I found out that everybody talks

Stephanie with a squeal, exclaimed that it was Damian. Visions of what the Wayne brat could have done flashed through the heads of everyone in the room. He had been sent overseas before the quarantines and lockdowns hit. During Damian’s first month in France he had been forced into online schooling and then finally when he got to go to in-person classes he hated it. Described the class as a kindergarten with petty and vindictive toddlers.

Had he broken someone’s arm? Was that person of such importance that it had spread over multiple social media platforms? France’s government had announced on June 15th, that teens were now being inoculated so him having COVID-19 was doubtful. Had he insulted the wrong person? Had he taken over the government? He certainly had the potential.

Everybody talks, everybody talks

What they saw stunned them, even Steph as she watched it for the 7th time. Damian Wayne was dancing. But not only that, he was dancing with a girl.

It started with a whisper

“What is this shit?”

No one verbally objected to Jason’s outburst but he was sent a harsh glare from Alfred, Dick and Bruce. Their focus soon returned to the images and videos before them. Babs’ and Steph’s phones were returned to them as the others ran to grab their own devices. They all met back at the table, comparing the posts and comparing their notes.

I can hear the chitchat

“There’s no way this can be real.”

“Jesus Tim,” Barbara rolls her eyes, “have you seen the amount of posts there are? You’d be an idiot to think otherwise.”

Take me to your love shack

“I’m with Tim, how do we know this isn’t some skit. I mean, Demon Spawn almost looks normal. That’s a matter of concern.” He almost dry heaved when he agreed with Tim. Damian couldn’t be capable of naturally exuding that amount of humanity unless there was something in it for him.

Mamas always gotta backtrack

“I was just saying Babs, that we should check the credibility of these images. For all we know they could be gorilla glued together and trying to get unstuck.” Tim cringed at his own reasoning, he really needed to either sleep (probably not going to happen anytime soon) or find his favourite coffee brand (which had been one of the first to vanish after the covid hoarders appeared).

When everybody talks back

Dick was too busy freaking out and spam messaging the youngest Wayne, to defend Damian’s humanity. The family saw this and followed suit, wanting to get information from the source.

Chat name: Alfred supremacy

BigBird: AHHHHHH DAMIAN!

BigBird: YOU LOOK SO CUTE!!!

BigBird: HAIFJDNDNFI

LittleWing: WTF HAPPENED DEMON SPAWN YOU LOOK ALMOST HUMAN

Babs: who knew the city of love would influence the brat

Blondie: they are so cuteeeeeee!

Blondie: We HAVE to meet her!

Silent-but-deadly: agreed.

Timbo: YO DEMON

Timbo: Apparently the videos are legit

Timbo: are you being blackmailed?

And it just devolved into more chaos from there, fueled by the fact that they saw Damian’s ‘Blood Son’ account appear online before vanishing once more. Dick shrieked, “I FOUND HER ACCOUNT!”

The family gathered around the eldest son, peering over his shoulder to view his iPhone 12max screen. They saw a young girl’s Instagram account. It was locked but they could see her profile pic, the girl had black hair and looked to be if Asian decent. They compared it to the videos but it was hard to see due to the hall’s lighting and the minimised facial features of the pfp. Alfred suggested that they search up her username and see who has tagged her, some might have other photos of her.

After research for awhile, the family began to get frustrated with lack of results.

Hey honey you could be my drug

You could be my new prescription

“Come on!” Jason complained, “What kind of teenage girl doesn’t post her life online?” He ignored the girls glares and went back to researching. How had the account by the name of ‘mariiiiinette’ to managed to prevent the entire Wayne clan from accessing it? Damn Instagram privacy settings. He groaned, dragging a hand down his face, “We are fucking stupid. Why don’t we just use the Bat-computer? It would be so much fucking easier.”

“It shouldn’t be used for civilian issues-“

Too much could be an overdose

“The girl could be a meta for all we know! We aren’t safe until we know who she is.” Jason points a finger at Tim, his paranoia flared up and even though he would never admit it, Jason would do anything to protect each member of his family (although Bruce is still debatable).

All this trash talk make me itching

Barbara and Tim took their usual positions as Oracle and Red Robin (who had been banned from patrol due to lack of sleep). The rest of the Batfam stood behind them either with arms crossed or still failing at researching.

Oh my my shit

“The account is owned by a girl called Marinette Dupian-Cheng. She is French-Chinese and her parents own a popular bakery. Also if it wasn’t already obvious, she goes to Collège Françoise Dupont, aka Damian’s French school.” Tim begun informing his nosy family, “But this account has been inactive for the past 6 months, which is strange due to her frequent posting schedule before hand. It seems she probably has a second account and this is her old one.”

Everybody talks, everybody talks

“Not only that,” Barbara interrupted. “There are unopened messages from other accounts that accuse her of being a bully. There is a whole Facebook page about this girl and how she has been hurting her old friends, but neither side seems reliable. The so called victims seem to be twisting the truth but there is barely any information about Marinette so we can’t disprove it either.”

“Read out some of the messages.” Bruce took a cup of coffee from Alfred and sipped it.

The main screen of the bat computer displayed a Facebook group with the banner picture being a photo of Marinette. “They are mostly complaints expected of teen girls when there is a girl they don’t like; ‘Marinette is such a know-it-all’, ‘She is constantly insulting Lila’s intelligence’. They go on to talk about how Marinette was briefly expelled from the Collège before being reinstated by the principle for a reason unknown to them.”

Everybody talks too much

“Her school reports up until this year were good. The newest one states, ‘While Marinette is a wonderful and bright student, I encourage her to settle her disagreements outside of class. This seems to only be a recent occurrence and I implore her to go to the guidance council if she is in need of help.’” A beat of silence echoes through the cave, Tim sighed. “Jason’s meta theory could be correct. She could have just recently started exhibiting her abilities and using them to get what she wants.”

“Bruce what do you want to do?”

“We’re going to Paris.”

She opened her eyes to the blaring morning light that streamed through the blinds. Her lashes still painted with mascara that refused to leave. She felt a pang of sorrow when she was removing her makeup and dress last night, she never wanted the night to end. She shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen, covering her mouth when she yawned. She greeted her mother as she entered the kitchen to get breakfast.

She glanced at her phone and there was the chaos that was started hours ago and it was still occurring. It was the weekend, she wouldn’t need to deal with her classmates until Monday. But she would still have to survive her parent’s interrogation. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her mother smirking at her.

Everybody talks

“Nadja told me some interesting news about last night.” Marinette held her breath, glaring at the toaster, willing it to hurry up so she could escape. “Well,” Sabine patted her shoulder before rubbing Mari’s back. “I know you didn’t want to go but I hope you had fun.”

With that she exited the kitchen, probably going to help her father in the bakery. The ravenette stared after her, eye widened in shock, jumping when the toaster went off. Buttering her toast she went over the conversation, her brows furrowed in confusion. She had expected a ‘When do I get to meet the oh so famous prince?’ or ‘Should I be expecting a new guest sometime in the near future?’ or at least a ‘Who was that young man, Bǎozàng (宝藏 it means treasure)?’ But she said nothing.

A small smile was plastered upon her face as she changed and went down to help her parents in the bakery. Her father didn’t say anything either, he gave her a knowing smile before continuing to kneed the dough. She sat at the the store front as the cashier whilst her parents were busy making ‘Paris’s Finest Pastries’.

Her musings slowly faded as she was brought back to reality by badly hushed whispers. Two young preteens were by the bread roll casing near the door. She had seen them come in before with their parents, the girls went to the prestigious international school over in the 16th arrondissement. The one with purple hair kept whispering to the brunette, both ‘subtly’ glancing towards her. Using her enhanced hearing she listened in on their conversation.

“That’s her, I swear that’s her in the video.”

The blonde’s face soured likes she sucked on a lemon. “No, it wasn’t good lighting there is no way he would dance with someone like her.��

Everybody talks

Marinette had tough skin but their words had an impact, only a small one due to her defence mechanism of repressing emotions. She stopped listening and went back to drawing in her sketchpad, she was in desperate need of a new school outfit.

The two girls eventually came up to the counter, goods in hand. Marinette rung up and bagged their items (paper because save the turtles sksksk) in a tired daze. A phone was shoved into her face, her eyes barely adjusted to view the screen before the blonde spoke.

“Is this your instagram?” She asked in a tone so snobbish that it should be illegal from a person her age. Marinette finally was able to view the screen that was barely an inch from her face. Her old Instagram ‘mariiiiinette’ was displayed on screen, she hesitantly nodded, gaze flicking back to the two in front of her.

The blonde’s nose scrunched up and the purple goth girl squealed in delight. They soon after left the store, their conversation had devolved into ‘See! I told you’ and ‘Yeah, yeah. You were right.’

Walking to school on Monday, she had finally come down from cloud nine. She still rode the tail end of her high as she rushed along her path to her campus, she wasn’t going to be late but she sure wasn’t going to be early. She had spent the better part of the weekend designing and sewing a brand new outfit. Her new look was composed of a black cropped singlet (L'amour gagne hemmed into it and it’s straps), paired matching peach plaid cropped overshirt and a-line miniskirt. Her hair was down, ballet flats were worn and her makeup was the usual with the added edition of a rose gold eyeshadow.

Even though her face was covered in a black and gold mask, she looked hot.

She reached the campus and the whispers started again, people were still buzzing from Friday night. Her classmates, the majority of her grade and the younger years seemed to gossiping before class about the formal’s events. She couldn’t spot any of her friends or the two Gotham transfers, so she was stuck listening the the chitchat. Why couldn’t she have been late like usual?

Damian had a fowl disposition and it showed in multiple icey glares (and that was before he even reached the collège). His family had made their appearance known in Paris at 1am Sunday morning. He could have used his dorm to escape but his family didn’t have the word ‘privacy’ within their vocabulary. He didn’t want to have to pay for a lock replacement due to his brothers’ (most likely Todd with Drake & Grayson laughing at him) lock picking habit.

The Ice Prince was back with full force. He had just been... influenced by all the other couples. Yes he did respect Dupain-Cheng and he appreciated her company & pleasant conversations. He would struggle to hide a small smile at the memory of the dance, even if he denied himself the happiness of normality, he felt content when reminiscing.

“Ooo the Ice Prince is here, did he have a fight with his princess or something?” The voice seemed to mock him.

“The Disney Magic is gone. The demon is back.”

Everybody talks

At the second jeer he shot a glare at the perpetrator. Jon held his hands up in an ‘I surrender manner’, laughing as he joined Damian at his side. The two entered the school’s large foyer and looked to see if any of the classes were open yet. Sadly they weren’t, before he was wrong and the his class was plain torture but this was truely hell.

He saw Dupain-Cheng sitting alone on the stairs, drawing within her sketchpad. He wondered how a girl like her, who always seemed to be involved in other’s lives (for the better) was ignoring all of the comments about her. She felt his focus centre on her, eyes flicking up to meet his, she provided him with a small wave before continuing to draw.

Jon nudged him with an elbow to his ribs and dragged him off to the side, into the boy’s locker rooms. Jon scowled at the door, “It’s a mad house out there. You’ve heard what some people are saying right?”

“Why would I care about these imbeciles?”

Jon jabbed Damian in the chest, causing the demon to stumble. Green eyes darted from blue eyes to the tan finger. “You care when lies hurt people you care about.”

The day began to rapidly decline once the two dance partners took their seats, next to each other. They had both been placed up the back of the class and them sitting together hadn’t been a problem until now apparently. She wasn’t even safe when the teacher started their lecture, whispers and glances were cast towards them. Once the two got to biology it was better, Ms Mendeleiev was a strict teacher and was able to control the class.

Everybody talks

But the recess came. When the bell rang she slowly started packing up her equipment, Alix and Max (who she shared biology with) waited for her; she watched as the Ice Prince left through the door. She knew she didn’t need to be concerned about her friends joining in with the gossiping, if anything they would dispel people and tell them to ‘Mind their own fucking business’ because this whole situations is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

She did receive some slight teasing from Alix about being a Disney princess, but Marinette quipped back about the skater’s fairytale story being ‘Pinknette, the Geek and the Beast’. The three met up with the other two of their group, they had just come from geography. Kim was complaining that Argentina was a state in America.

“That’s Arkansas you idiot!” Chloe shrieked, lightly hitting his arm with her white handbag. Max held his head in his hand as he approached, how had his tutoring sessions failed so badly?

Chloe turned to Marinette, a smile forming from her glare. The blonde examined the designer’s clothing, nodding. “You look like you are about to have a hot girl summer.”

Marinette’s face burned, the tips of her ears coated in red. Alix chuckled and nudged her shoulder.

Everybody talks

“Look at her, she is so desperate for his attention that she probably copied those designs.”

“Why do you think he danced with her anyways? Maybe she has something on him? I mean, she forces him to sit next to her in class, who knows what else she has done.”

What. The. Fuck.

Chloe glowered towards Lila’s posy. “We have a fucking seating plan, those cretins-“ She made a motion to storm over but was caught by the ravenette, looking back to Mari, her rage decreased from a boil to a simmer.

“No Chlo. It’s fine, it’s not worth it.”

Everybody talks... back

The group walked out to the school’s front steps, it was a mad house... a mad courtyard? Students sitting on the stairs, on the grass and standing around mingling, all of them now were staring at her. She held her backpack close to her chest (she had swapped her signature coin-bag purse for the pastel pink bag), pretending its a shield. Her friends circled around her becoming an obstacle to prevent their stares. If people were afraid of a scowling Kim then they don’t know the scorn of Chloe or Alix’s bite. And Max, sweet quiet Max.... you better hope he doesn’t have blackmail on you (he probably does), he can dismantle your life with a single anonymous post.

Rushed footsteps approached them. The group was broken apart by a rude Wayne boy, he swept Mari away from the school and the gossip crowds within. Her four friends shouted at him and he kept walking, shooting a glare at them in response. He kept pushing Marinette forward with a hand placed on the small of her back, her backpack was now swung over his other shoulder.

They ended up in her favourite alcove. She had brought him here with the other Gotham transfers for a native’s tour of Paris. It had always been her safe place to be creative.

It started with a whisper (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“My apologises for our rushed departure but you seemed to want to get out of their anyhow.” His gruff tone danced through the silence, his head still peaking around the corner; watching for any unwelcome guests.

“Thank you.” She whispered, her voice almost being carried off by the gentle wind. A genuine smile illustrated upon her face.

“We weren’t able to converse after the events of the other night. I would like to formally apologise once more for my actions causing this adverse reaction. If I had kn-“

“You don’t need to apologise!” She squeaked, hiding her eyes behind her fisted hand. Her shoulders curled inwards as she tried to make herself seem as small as possible, a side effect of her common use of her secondary miraculous form: Multimouse.

“I chose to dance with you, you don’t need to apologise for my own actions.” He stared at her with confusion. He had taken the blame so she wouldn’t need to do so herself; but she had taken it anyways. He had given her an out. Why does she always take the blame, even for things out of her control?

“But if I hadn’t danced with you then you wouldn’t have been the focus of the entire school.”

Marinette stepped forward, her eyes hardened and blazing. “Damian Friday night I went there out of obligation to my friends, I didn’t want to be there. But dancing with you? That was the highlight of my week, probably my month too. I enjoyed our time together.” Her face softened, lips twitched downwards ever so slightly. “I don’t regret anything about that night, but do you?”

He was bad at comfort. Everyone in his family avoided him when they were in need, he plainly didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t visibly upset but he sensed that she is disappointed that he apparently didn’t share the same opinion of the night. The only thing he regretted about that night was letting Jon call him a coward, but then again if he didn’t he never would have danced with Dupa- Marinette.

He picked up her clenched hand, the tension in her body alleviated at his embrace. He remembered how Grayson would apologise to Kor’i or how his father interacted with Ms Kyle. He brought their hands up and placed a kiss upon her knuckles.

And that was when I kissed her (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“I do not regret anything either—“ he cleared his throat, “In fact, I’d appreciate if we would be able to interact more, especially outside of that cesspit.”

Was he...?

It didn’t matter.

She smiled the same dazzling smile she gave him at the dance. She nodded while laughing, “I’d love that.”

Everybody talks

The two stay talking, hidden within their secret alcove for the rest of the day. She texted her parents to say she was with a friend and would be back later that night. Damian didn’t bother texting his family, Marinette knew he had to be back soon due to his dorm’s curfew.

The sun was setting at they walked back together, he did the gentlemanly thing and dropped her off at her bakery door. She could see her mother behind the register inconspicuously looking over at the two of them. Damian’s lips quirked upwards, she was satisfied with his kinda-smile.

He walked back, hands in pockets and a neutral expression upon his face instead of a scowl. He reached his door and took his keys, he found that it was already open. Damn.

His family was splayed out within his two roomed dorm. Todd and Drake were fighting over a place to sit on his bed, whilst his father sat at his desk, watching the commotion. The three of them turned to him as he enter the room, they were the only family members able to attend on short notice; Cain had a ballet audition, Gordon & Brown had concert tickets for tomorrow, Grayson had to take care of Mar’i while Kor’i was on Tamaran and Alfred stayed to ensure no one died during their night time activities.

“We need to talk Damian.” His father stood, leaning onto the desk chair. “The school called and said you had an unexcused absence for half the day. Where were you Damian?”

Damian stared into his father’s eyes. He was fifteen, almost an adult, but was treated like he was ten again.

“I was with a friend.”

“Probably the girl from the dance. Marinette, right?” Todd mocked him. Damian snapped his head in the direction of his bed, glaring at both his brothers.

“That’s what I want to talk about with you Damian. Now I don’t know her personally but from what we’ve discovered through our investigation we have some concerns. What’s happened Damian?”

The youngest Wayne’s glare shifted off of his brothers to the floor, and then finally to his father; his family sitting in wait for his answer. Straightening his posture, his shoulders clicked as he rolled then back. His statement’s tone was sure and steady, “Everybody talks father.”

Everybody talks... back

[milazka]

August twelve — Rudy Pankow

image found on pinterest

summary: the one where it’s your boyfriend’s birthday and you planned an amazing day for him.

request: yes

content: fluff

author’s note: i didn’t add a smut part because i feel like i’m only writing smutty imagines and i needed to write a fluffy one with this hottie! my requests are open and you can find my masterlist at the end of this post if you feel like reading more of my stuff!

warnings: most of my stories may contain mature themes such as swearing, underage drinking, substance abuse, sexual language and scenes, fights and more. also, i do not intend to be offensive towards anyone who reads this blog, if anything written can be perceived as hurtful to any community or person, i apologize, it was never my purpose while writing it.

word count: 1700.

She was standing in the frame of the door, her pretty eyes observing the young man lying on the bed, his body half covered by the grey blanket. His chest was rising at a peaceful rate with no sign of trouble apparent on his angel face. A little smile slipped over her rosy lips as she thought about how lucky she was that this man was still a part of her life, twenty years later. Both born in Ketchikan, Alaska, just a few months apart, Rudy and her had grown up as a duo. hey did everything together. Rarely did you ever saw one without the other; she was the Bonnie to his Clyde and nothing in the world could have changed that. Over the years, they both had a few meaningless relationships, and they never lasted long. The girls were envious of his closeness with Y/n while the boys were quick to understand that she would never look at them the way she looked at Rudy; he was her person, but she hadn't figured it out yet. It was on a cold December afternoon, a few days before the New Year’s eve, that they exchanged their first kiss, their lips frozen by the Alaskan winter, both seated by the burning fire in the chimney. Five years later and in a much warmer town, she was looking at her sleepy boyfriend with the same sparks in her eyes.

“You're staring at my butt, aren't ya?” 

Rudy's sleepy voice took her out of her thoughts as she laughed. His eyes were half opened and he had pillow marks all over his right cheek. His disheveled blond hair was falling out in front of his pretty ocean colored eyes. She carefully made her way to the bed, trying not to knock over the breakfast tray she was holding with both hands. 

“I made you waffles” 

“The blueberry ones?” he asked with his childish voice and she nodded. “For what occasion?”

“It’s your birthday, remember?” she chuckled as she watched his facial expression change from confused to excited. He has always loved his birthday, especially since the day she became his girlfriend and always planned a day full of surprises for him. Rudy grasped her blue sweater sleeve and lured her towards him to kiss her lips tenderly.

“Mmm you taste like maple syrup.” 

“I may or may not have already eaten a waffle while cooking them,” she smiled, tilting her head to the side to give him her guilty puppy eyes, making him fall more in love with her. “I planned the whole day so you better start eating your waffles now because we’re leaving in an hour.”

“Did I ever tell you you're the best girlfriend?” he mumbled with his mouth full of waffles dipped in maple syrup.

“Many times, but I'll never get tired of hearing you say it, lover boy.”

“Good, because with such a good waffles recipe, you're stuck with me for a while, pretty girl!”

─── °• ❀ ───

Chase picked them up around eight pm in front of their apartment with his black truck, the rest of the cast were already at the the Pate’s house, decorating and preparing the cake. She had blindfolded his boyfriend and he kept asking where they were going every single minute of the trip like a child. He had done the same thing a few months ago when she took him skydiving for the first time, it was almost routine for her to hear him complain in the back of the car. 

“Stop asking, you big baby!” she said to him, turning her upper body toward the back of the car where he was seated. “It’s a surprise, I’m not gonna ruin it because you can't wait for a few minutes.”

He gave her his pouting face and crossed his arms on his chest, knowing she would not say a word to him about it even if he tried harder. A few minutes later, Chase parked his truck next to Drew's car. She walked to the left side of the car to opened Rudy's door, quickly kissing him on the lips and automatically causing a big smile to cover his pouty face. She guided him to the backyard with Chase’s help. He opened the back yard gate, letting them pass in front of him before closing it back so Lilah's dog would not run away like he did multiple times when they filmed the first season of the show. All the cast members were silently gathered in front of a multicoloured cloud of balloons and were holding a sign that said 'Happy birthday, Rudy!' 

“Okay, you can take your bandana off!” she said to his ear and he could feel the excitement in her voice. 

Slowly, he pulled his blindfold down and a wide smile slipped on his lips at the sight of all his friends singing happy birthday to him. He squeezed his girlfriend's hand while his friends were still singing and she couldn't help but let a few tears of joy run down her cheeks when she saw him so touched by the surprise she had planned for him. 

“Thank you for all of this, baby. I love you more and more everyday my sweet girl,” he whispered to her ear before leaning down to kiss her soft lips that tastes like caramel due to the caramel macchiato she drank in the car.

“I’m happy you’re happy, lover boy,” she said to him as he pressed his cheek against her palm, a smile at the corner of his lips. “Now, go hug your friends!” 

─── °• ❀ ───

After her and Rudy hugged and thanked everyone, they all swapped their clothes for bathing suits that would come in handy during their little boat trip of the afternoon. Jonas had let them borrow his boat, taking advantage of the fact that his children were with them to spend a day with his wife at the spa. Drew was at the helm of the boat while the others were all sitting on the benches, toasting to Rudy's birthday just before Chase announced that they were far enough away from the shore to put the tube in the water. JD, Rudy and Y/n were the first ones to shotgun a spot on the pneumatic tyre.

“Babe? Can you help with the zipper?” Rudy asked his girlfriend, frowning completely clueless.

“He’s twenty-two and still needs his girlfriend to zip his life jacket,” Jonathan mocked him, resulting in him being pushed in the water by a proudly smirking Rudy who quickly followed him the water, grabbing Y/n by the waist to take her with him. She surfaced quickly thanks to her life jacket, clearing her face of wet hair and sending a wince at her boyfriend. They all swam to the tube, splashing each other on purpose along the way. Rudy climbed aboard first and reached out his hand to Y/n to help her climb up. She sat between him and Jonathan, clutching a black rubber handle with one hand while the other was firmly intertwined with her boyfriend's hand. 

“Are you ready?” yelled drew, turning his upper body toward the back of the boat, his right hand resting on the wheel. 

“Aye aye, Captain!” Rudy screamed back and the boat begun to pick up speed. 

The water was splashing back in their faces and they could barely keep their eyes open, but they couldn't help smiling stupidly. The three of them let out cries of surprise and laughter every time they jumped a wave and almost got ejected from the tube. They could see Madison and Chase laughing at them while Madelyn filmed them for her next tomfoolery instagram post. Drew took a sharp right turn, dropping Y/n and JD on Rudy. She firmly grabbed her boyfriend's bicep after she lost her grip on the handle and pushed JD back up with her shoulder so he could settle back into his seat. Just when they thought Drew was done messing with them, he suddenly accelerated, ejecting them out of the tube like three little rockets. 

“You fucker!” Rudy shouted to his friend, laughing before turning towards his girlfriend. “You okay baby?”

“All good and still in one piece!” she replied, swimming back to the boat where Deion gave her a hand to climb up. A few seconds later, she felt a towel being placed on her shoulders and two arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled, turning her head to meet the face of her boyfriend who had pressed his chin to her shoulder. He placed a few kisses on her neck, making her squirm under his grip from the tickling of his lips against her wet skin. 

“Look at them! You guys are so cute,” whined Lilah, taking a picture of them. Y/n blushed while Rudy smiled proudly. “Can you send me the picture? I'm gonna post it on instagram.” rudy said as he grabbed his phone and sat on one of the benches while Chase and Madelyn were putting on their life jackets. She sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and playing with the hem of his boarding shorts, a gift she gave him for his birthday last year, right before he started shooting for Outer Banks. He quickly wrote a caption and posted the photo of them on his instagram, getting hundred of likes and comments only a few seconds after. 

‘My sweet girl. Thanks for the amazing birthday surprise! Love you to the moon and back, my love.’

“I love you too, baby,” she cupped his face with her palms and kissed his salty lips. “Oh, before I forgot,” she brought her face close to his and took her sensual innocent voice. “Since it’s your birthday, I’m gonna let you do whatever you wanna do to me tonight.”

His eyes opened widely and he cleared his throat. “Fuck, you’re gonna be the death of me, pretty girl,” he kissed her, nibbling at her bottom lip. “I’m gonna please you so much tonight that you’re gonna beg me to stop.” 

She smirked at him and grazed his crotch with her fingertips. “I look forward to it.”

─── °• ❀ ───

mila’s masterlist

taglist (send me an ask if you want to be added)

@milaonthemoon @spilledtee @pogue-writings @thebutterflyonhischest @ilovejjmaybank @bananasfromtarget @drewstarkeyobx @void-maybank @prejudic3 @pit-zuh @starlightstarkey @lefthandwritings @theonetheonlyalexbrown

[cackle-and-hex]

Day 8 Prompt: Frame

This story is super late, as well as the others. Don't worry. I will continue to work on them and get them out.

However, the reason this took so long is because I made the mistake of writing my story in the Tumblr app, and it accidentally refreshed when I was putting in my tags. I lost all of it, and it really just deflated my creativity.

I'm back though. Just needed a couple of days.

Also, this story is a bit long. Not sure if it's longer than others, but it's at least 3 pages.

I hope you enjoy!

Philip held the slide between his thumb and forefinger towards the light as he stared at it through a jeweler’s magnifying glass. The slide contained a single photograph taken by a novice photographer from the 80s, a young woman by the name of Sally Mitchell. He was verifying its authenticity by comparing it to the record journal Sally kept of all her photos. Without the journal, anyone could claim they owned the slide, as nobody knew what was contained in the image’s frame.

Until now.

“Holy sh-t, Mary, and Joseph,” Philip exclaimed after his examination. He pulled back as a huge grin formed on his face. “It’s real. The motherf-cker is real. And I own it.” Bringing it to his lips, Philip planted a kiss on it before getting up and moving to his wall-safe. The safe was hidden behind a painting of his idol, Aleister Crowley.

Aleister Crowley was a renowned occultist and collector of supernatural objects. Philip became fascinated by Crowley after reading the man’s authored works in college. As a fanatic, Philip started practicing Thelema, a mystic religion created by Crowley, attending group seances, coven rituals, and private gatherings utilizing s-x magick. Along the way, he met other collectors, saw objects up close and personal, and experienced real supernatural events.

The frame was rumored to be cursed. Any who wielded the slide, either physically or simply by possession, would suffer grave misfortune.

Philip’s wife, Veronica, begged him not to buy it. She said it was either untrue and completely frivolous, especially with the amount of millions Philip paid to acquire it, or it was true and it would ruin their lives. But he wouldn’t listen.

Many claimed they had possession of the slide. Some even flaunted the fakes to the other collectors in person, saying they used powerful magick to protect them from the curse.

None of it was true, as Philip witnessed several times.

Then, he heard about Miss Mitchell’s journal, and he scoured many nations to obtain it. He spent so much in resources that he drained his entire account filled with millions. There were other accounts in other names, off-shore accounts, physical objects worth the amount he spent alone. Veronica refused to understand, crying that Philip was ruining their lives, their son’s life and future.

Her whining only fueled Philip’s determination in his mission.

The journal said the photo was taken during an Indian Summer at a local lake in Oklahoma, where Sally attended college. She and a few of her roommates chose to go swimming and enjoy the warm weather, and Sally brought her camera to get a few shots for a class project. According to her records, Sally said she took thirteen photos, detailing what each frame contained. However, after she developed the film, Sally saw that the photo didn’t show what she wrote down. Instead of it being “Friends in Lake,” it was a dark picture of a man’s face, or at least it looked like a man. To her, she believed it was a man, up-close to the lens, grinning menacingly in a pitch-black room. Knowing she couldn’t have taken this, Sally reported the event to the police, as she believed someone gained access to her camera, which she always kept close by, and took the photo. She felt her safety was at risk.

From that point, the film from that day at the lake was taken into custody as evidence. The police tried to find the culprit, but there was little they could find based on the photos. While in police custody, the film was cut and each frame placed in it’s own individual slide. After the investigation, the slides returned to Sally.

News articles from that time claim Sally was murdered in her room during a burglary. The culprits took everything in her room that wasn’t bolted down, including the slides. The very same police department that couldn’t help Sally before tracked the thieves to their hideout, filling them full of bullets. Again, the slides were placed in police custody.

A few months later, a fire erupted inside the evidence room, burning the entire department down. Clean-up crews gathered the rubble and took it all to the local landfill.

Amongst the debris were the slides, which were kept in a secured, wooden box. One of the landfill workers came across it during his shift, and he figured he’d take it home to investigate. Unfortunately, the young man choked on food and died as he was reviewing the slides.

The landlord of the worker’s apartment found the man dead, as the landlord received several complaints of a foul smell coming from the man’s apartment. The tenant had no family, so the landlord donated all of his belongings to a church for charity. A few weeks later, the landlord died in a car crash.

To raise funds for their dilapidated church roof, the clergy auctioned off many items in their possession, including the wooden box of slides. A wealthy benefactor won the box of slides for a few thousand dollars, though he was more concerned about helping the church than owning some photographic slides. Sadly, an outbreak of MRSA killed off all members of the clergy, and the church was forced to close down.

Somewhere along the way, the benefactor lost possession of the box of slides, and it ended up in the ether as nothing more than a rumor.

Once Philip had the journal detailing the slide, he was able to find and purchase the slide from a curator of American photography in Boston. The curator claimed it was donated anonymously. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any other information as the previous curator, who was in their early seventies, had died.

Philip saw his wife in bed, turned away from his side. ‘Probably still mad at me,’ he thought as he slid underneath the covers. “It’s real, Veronica. I found the slide.” He wasn’t sure she heard, but he noticed her take a deep breath and hold it. “I know I used up a lot of money, but the slide will bring in so much more than you can imagine. Just wait and see.”

Veronica began to turn around, and Philip went to wrap his arms around her, bringing her into his chest. Instead, she brought her arm around quickly, so quick that Philip didn’t notice the knife in her hand. She stabbed Philip in the neck first. Her face was filled with rage. Then, she climbed atop of her husband and brought the knife down several times.

Now Veronica owned the frame.

[rinasred]

Night falls, I'm cast beneath her spell.

An hournite fic -

Summary: Rick has been engaging with a mystery girl online, he hopes that she reveals herself to be his long time crush beth... maybe he gets what he's hoping for. <3

read on AO3

---

Rick had always been good at keeping things to himself. He never understood how some people can go around telling others every aspect of their own lives. He was especially that way in school and on social media. His classmates knew absolutely nothing about him, if you asked them they'd probably just say he's the angry kid with the drunken dad (of course no one knew he’s actually his uncle). Or recently they'll mention how he hangs out with those weird girls all the time, meaning Beth, Yolanda and Courtney. But that's about all the knowledge Rick's peers have about him.

Sitting on his bed rick scrolls through his Instagram feed, where he keeps himself anonymous. A noise comes from his phone to show that he has a notification. It's a message, and there's only one person it can be from. He checks it to see that it's from a user by the name of BubblyGirl04. A grin comes across Rick's face as he reads the notification. Rick and this girl have been messaging non stop for the past months, they've been talking even before he found out about hourman and the JSA.

With a giant smile on his face Rick opens the message to see an image attached, it's a photo of delicious looking pasta. Under it the mystery girl wrote.

Bubblygirl04: So... What do you think? Do i just get better or what?

YellowMustang: It looks amazing, my mouth is actually watering up... And to answer your question, yes, you do in fact get better.

Bubblygirl04: Thanks!! You're too sweet for you own good!! <3

Rick looks up from his phone, his face heats up as his cheeks turn a reddish color. Luckily he was alone in his room, he would die if anyone caught him blushing the way he is now.

BubblyGirl04: So tell me, do you think that i should join the cooking class at our school? I don't want that to make it easier for you to figure me out.

YellowMustang: Join as you please, I don't think the cooking instructor will see you coming. She's probably gonna have to call up Gordon Ramsay to our school.

YellowMustang: Alsoooo... What's so scary about me figuring out who you are??

Bubblygirl04: Lmaoo Gordon Ramsay? No i definitely can't handle the pressure of him tasting my food, i would go into anxiety overload. And we talked about this, I don't think i'm ready to reveal who i am... Not quite yet anyway.. sorry :(

Just like that, he could feel his heart sink in his chest. Like blades being pulled out of it, he would always suggests that she tells him who she is, but she never seems to be ready. But Rick could understand, he wasn't sure if he was ready to reveal himself to her yet. He would never admit it but he was afraid she'd be disappointed. She's sweet, smart, talented and funny, he couldn't imagine losing her because he wasn't good enough.

Yellowmustang: Yeah ok, don't be sorry, i understand.. it's just.. sometimes i wish we could be something real.

Bubblygirl04: We are real?? Are we not??? We talk everyday, and we tell each other everything about our lives?

Yellowmustang: ... It's not real until i get to hold you... It's not real until i get to whisper in you ear that you're mine..

-read-

Rick's mind made up so many situations as to why she didn't reply, it's been forty minutes since he had sent the text and still, nothing. He lays down on his bed with both palms covering his face. He groans when the thought of his message comes across his mind. He wonders if he should get up and do something to distract himself, but honestly nothing can really take him mind of this girl.

A ping can be heard from his phone, Rick jumps up and sees the phone laying at the bottom of his bed. He chuckles with the hope that it's a text from the mystery girl. Leaning forward he grabs the phone and checks the notification. The banner across his phone reads "JSA GC". It was from the imessage group chat that him and the girls made a few weeks back. His excitement toned down when he realized it wasn't from the girl he had hoped.

Courtney: Rick!! WTF!?!??! You're like super late, where are you??!?!

Yolanda: Relax Court, i'm sure he's just held up... Rick we need you here, pat has a whole thing set up for us... You know how he is.

Rick: Sorry, i had something come up. But i'm on my way.

Rick sends the text and quickly gets up and puts on his shoes. He puts his hoodie on and rushes out the door. He knew that if he were any later, he would never hear the end of it from Courtney. He gets in his yellow mustang that belonged to his father, thanks to pat it's now a working engine. Driving to the Pit stop where the group is, Rick couldn't help but ponder on everything that happened with the mystery girl. But he knew he couldn't think about that at practice, he needed to have his full attention on practicing, the injustice society was still out there somewhere and they needed to be stopped.

Arriving at the pit stop entrance Rick is approached by Courtney immediately.

"What the hell rick? It took you long enough, doesn't taking down the ISA mean anything to you?" Courtney lectures.

"Yeah of course it does you know that, i just.. got caught up in something but it's fine now."

Yolanda walks towards Rick as she stands besides Courtney. "You okay rick?" Yolanda questions. She looks at Rick with a sincere concerned look, she could tell something had been bothering him.

Rick pretends not to notice her concern. "Yeah, i'm fine. Can we just get started already." He says while walking further into the pit stop. He notices Pat has dummies of the ISA up again, well at least they aren't as cheesy looking as the ones Courtney destroyed. There are around four cpr dummies on sticks decorated with makeup and costumes resembling the ISA members. Wow, is this what pat spends all his free time doing? Rick thought.

"Rick! Good to see you buddy. Alright now that we're all here, i'll tell you what we're going to be studying today." Pat stated to the four teens as they stand in front of the bleachers awaiting his instructions.

While Pat was rambling on about teamwork and it's important on the field, Rick zoned out after noticing Beth. Something was different, her hair wasn't down as it usually it, it was braided down into crown braids. Rick stared in awe as she shyly looked at Pat while paying close attention to what he was saying, she cared so much about these missions and never missed a single practice. Rick admired her efficiency, he admired her everything.

"Alright so today we're going to be focusing on how your abilities work together on the field. So we will start off with each of you being paired with one another and we'll see how you can use your powers to help each other out. Then we'll do one last practice with all four of you, got it?" Pat explained.

"Got it." The three girls say in unison.

"O-oh, yeah got it." Rick says shortly after them once he's focus is back on pat and off of beth.

Pat sets the dummy of icicle in the center of the room. "Alright first we need Courtney and Yolanda, let's see how stargirl and wildcat can work together to beat icicle." Pat states.

Courtney picks up the cosmic staff from beside her feet, she gets in a fighting stance. "Alright, i was born for this." She lets out eagerly.

"Uhh, Yeah me too!" Yolanda adds on.

"Okay let's go, and while we're practicing, Rick and Beth you guys can wait on the bleachers until it's your turn." Pat explains.

Beth goes to seat in the middle of the bleachers and sits down before taking out her phone and staring at it longingly. Rick's eyes follow her as he can't help but to gaze at her.

"Gee, i get lectured for being late only to be benched? Quite a team we have going here." Rick complains sarcastically before walking to sit next to beth, his legs began to rush because of his excitement of finally be able to be with her all day but he tries to slow down as to not seem too eager.

Booms and zaps can be heard as Courtney and Yolanda practice on the dummies. As always Courtney is complimenting herself after every success and Yolanda is just excited to put use of all the amazing things her cat suit can do. Rick watches them practice for a second before turning to Beth, she still had a sorrowful look on her face as she stared at her phone.

Rick notices she hasn't said a word to him all day, which was unusual of Beth, she's usually the first to initiate every conversation. She didn't ask anyone how their days were or talk about all the amazing things her and chuck talked about, nothing.

Taking a deep breath Rick tries to think of something to say to break the silence. "So... How are you beth?" He asks, sliding closer to her on the bench.

Beth looks up from her phone and towards Rick, their eyes meet. Rick heart begins to beat out of his chest as he glanced into her honey brown eyes.

"Oh hi rick.." Beth says looking up from her phone. "I'm fine... Super excited for practice.. How about you?" Beth says, not sounding like her normal chipper self.

Rick couldn't help but think back to the mystery girl, because for a while he had hoped beth would reveal that she was behind the account. It made sense, both beth and the mystery girl had so much in common. They both are have no siblings, they have distant parents and not to mention their talent for cooking and baking. But Rick thought he was just getting his hopes up, he felt as if he let his existing crush on beth cloud his judgement.

Even though Rick really liked this mystery girl, his heart belonged to beth since the first grade. Ever since she was the only one to remember his birthday (rick's asshat of an uncle was too drunk to bother remembering). She brought him in cupcakes that she made herself, they were chocolate and fudge, with vanilla frosting and the words "happy b day rick" written on top in green frosting. Him and Beth sat together at recces that day and at the cupcakes on the bench.

Rick was never the type to remember specific details, but he could easily go on about the gorgeous blue sundress beth wore that day, he remembered her telling him she wanted to wear something special for his big day. She sang him happy birthday in the most beautiful harmony. He never forgot how beautiful she sounded, even when the teachers couldn't bother to do something for his birthday, he knew he could always count on beth.

"I'm okay i guess." Rick responds fidgeting in his seat.

"Well thats good to hear." Beth says going to look back at her phone.

Rick notices how often she had been staring at her phone screen today, which was fairly unusual. Beth was never the type to use her phone during conversations. "You waiting on a text?" Rick suggests, hoping to get some type of explanation out of her.

Beth jumps and quickly puts her phone away upon hearing those words. "No, it's nothing i was just thinking about something a friend of mine sent me." She says vaguely, turning her vision to rick finally.

He could tell something was wrong, he knew her better than he knew himself. "Hey, how about we let wildcat and stargirl do their thing in here, and go get some fresh air while we wait for our turn." Rick suggests, hoping to get some alone time with beth for the first time today.

"Sure! I could use a breath of fresh air." Beth responds, getting up and walking towards the exist, rick follows behind her.

The summer sun rays touch Rick's skin, the heat was really starting to come in now that summer has officially started. He smiled and watched as beth took off her cardigan and tied it around her waist.

"So, umm beth... I think i have something that i want to ask you, i mean i have been wanting to ask you about this for some time, but i was a little too embarrassed in case you'd say no and it's well its a lot-" Rick rambled on, preparing himself for what he was about to ask, he couldn't believe he had finally gained the courage to do so.

Beth walk closer to rick, placing her hand gently on his arm to calm his nerves. "What is it rick? You know you can tell me anything!" She reassures him.

He did know, thats what made her so amazing. "Beth... I have feelings for you." Rick admits.

For a second it felt like time had stopped as rick glanced at beth's precious face to see her reaction to his words. She gapes her mouth and her eyes widen in shock. He soft hold on Rick's arm becomes a soft grip.

"You... have feelings for me?" Beth asks rhetorically. Rick nods his head in responds, he slightly pouts, afraid of what she might say next.

"Do you feel the same way?" He asks. He could feel his heart beating out of his chest, his palms were dripping with sweat. He felt as if he could faint any second.

Beth eyes light up, her shocked expression turns into a grin. "Oh my god- RICK!?!? OF COURSE I LIKE YOU!" She shouts as she rushes in for a hug.

The warmth of Beth affection calms Rick down immanently, a grin as bright as the sun comes across rick's face as he sighs out of relief. They embrace each other for some time, not even realizing how much time had passed.

Once the hugs ends, beth lays her hands on rick's shoulders, as he grabs her waist slighting to bring her closer to his height. Rick's heart flutters as he stares into beth's eyes, he would always catch glances of her eyes when they hung out, but he was always to shut to look into them for too long. But not today, he felt like he could stare into her eyes forever, looking at her had always made him feel safe.

Rick couldn't even think about the mystery girl, whoever she was, if she wasn't beth, it didn't matter to him.

"Can i confess something to you Rick?" Beth questions, with a look of concern in her eyes.

"You can tell me anything, beth." Rick replies, he knew that she couldn't say anything that would dim his happiness. The girl of his dreams had just admitted to having feelings for him too, this moment was too special to be ruined.

"Well, i've kind of been having a thing with this guy-" Beth begins, those words sank Rick's heart. He never experienced such intense jealousy in his life, the euphoria he felt had slowly began to fade away as he listened to beth speak.

"And well we met online and never actually talked in person, in fact i'm not exactly sure who he is. And I don't know if i'm gonna keep talking to him, because... whenever i talk to him, i've always imagined you." Beth lets out.

Rick's joy comes rushing back upon hearing the end of beth's sentence. She imagined him, even when she talked to other guys, he always dreamed of being on her mind as much as she was on his. Then slowly, rick's logic comes into play when he ponders upon beth's situation with this guy.

He thought back to how he was in an exact similar situation but with a girl, could it be? After all this time imagining beth, could it actually be that Rick was right.

Before he could even think of the words to say in response to beth's confession, rick leans in his lips brushed her, delicately. The warmth from her lips caused rick to shiver as he cupped the back of her neck with his right hand.

After a while, when the kiss is over, rick dazedly stared into beth's eyes again. She stared back, her face surprised but pleased with Rick's response.

"Hey beth." He says.

"Yes?" She replies.

Rick leans into her ear and whispers, "You're mine." He could feel beth freeze up upon hearing him speak those words, just like that it clicked to her as well. "Now it's real." He says finally.

[shawnpetermuffins]

Pictured with You (xi.)

A/n: I literally hate this chapter with everything I have but like okay. It had potential and then my depressed ass wrote this.

Summary: and suddenly Brian has become your middle man.

Warning: just trash writing and it's told in both POVs

Word count: 1.7k (it's really short I'm sorry!!!!)

***

"Dude, you literally suck at this game!" Brian exclaims as I throw the controller on the small table in front of us. "That's the fourth one in a row."

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, I know."

"Another round?" He asks, shrugging his shoulders.

I just shake my head, "I don't think I'm feeling it anymore, bud."

Brian nods and turns the TV off. "Well what are you in the mood for? You want to go to the gym? Or we could go around town and try to find different coffee shops."

I'm scrolling through my Twitter feed while he talks, not really interested in any of the suggestions that he's putting out there.

"Or we could ignore our best friend who is trying to get your mind off whatever's still going on. That's cool too." He claps my shoulder and I sigh, locking my phone.

"I'm sorry, Bri. I just can't stop thinking about that night."

"Dude, what happened there anyway? By the time I got to the dressing room, she was already yelling at you. Nobody's really talked about it after that. We're probably all just scared she'll snap at us the way she did at Andrew. So we don't ask."

I furrow my brows. She did what? "It's too long a story. I really don't want to get into all the details of it. It was bad and I fucked up immensely. It just wasn't at all what I planned."

"Well give me the gist of it. What was this thing about six months?"

I groan and hold my head in my hands, trying to figure out how much I can tell him, how much I can leave out. "Okay, so you already know that we had sex, what, two months ago now." I wait for confirmation even though I don't need to. "And I mean, things were weird for a few weeks after that. Even though they shouldn't have been. We could have been fine, but she left that morning and just stopped talking to me and I don't know - I mean, she told me why she did it, but I still don't understand. I don't understand what would be so wrong if we just started dating now. But she's adamant about not doing this on tour." I run my fingers through my hair. "But anyway, after the Boston show, I texted her and I just said that we should probably talk. So we did."

"Right, which is why you guys were finally able to sit at the same table again. Which, I'll be honest, made me happy. I missed hanging out with that girl."

"Yeah," I mumble. "Me too."

"But you guys were good for a few days. What happened?"

"Well, that night that we talked... she wasn't feeling well. So, we walked to the drugstore. Someone, somehow, caught us out and they took a picture. I don't know, I was kissing her forehead or something and it reached Andrew. He made it a big thing and told me how I can't have a girlfriend right now. Y/n tried to stand up for me, I realize that, by saying she wasn't my girlfriend. But I guess hearing her say it like that to someone other than me just flipped a switch. And I said something I shouldn't have."

"Which was?"

I grunt in frustration, throwing my head back in frustration. "She told Andrew she wasn't my girlfriend. I didn't mean for her to hear it, nor did I mean to say it. But I said something like 'yeah, you've really made sure of that, right?' And… well you caught it from there. She asked me to wait until tour was over and then we said we would try dating. But I've fucked up exceptionally. I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to date me now."

"Shawn," he shakes his head and bites the inside of his cheek, no doubt searching for the right words. "You're right. What you did was messed up. But I don't think she's over you."

"She said she wouldn't be anything more than my photographer. She doesn't want me, Brian."

"Right now. She doesn't want the relationship right now. Give her time, man. Girls need that."

Yeah, because that's all she's asked of me and I didn't give it to her. "I hate not knowing how to fix this."

He sighs, "look, I know that these feelings have been brewing for a while, but are you sure it's not just a crush? I mean, you're a songwriter, man. You feel things intensely; this could just be a fling."

I shake my head vigorously. "No. No, it's not. I can't- Brian, I've never felt this before." I laugh despite myself. "I know it's gonna sound so crazy stupid, but she's the biggest paradox I've ever known. She's insecure about everything, but loves herself for everything she does. She's warm and comforting and there one minute, and the next acts like she doesn't care what I do. Some days we can spend hours talking about everything, and others I can't even get her to look my way. She confuses me in every goddamn possible way. But I do know this: no matter how fucked we both might be, I am incredibly, undeniably, incoherently, unfathomably in love with her. And… I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do about it now."

My best friend just sits there in silence, trying like hell to find something to say. But no words come out. Because there are no words left. Because there is nothing you can say to a person who is wholeheartedly in love with someone they can't have. You just have to let them be, and let their heart break when the time ultimately comes.

---

I've just finished putting all Shawn's photos onto a flash drive so I could clear my memory card when there's a knock at my door. I furrow my brows because Connor just left about twenty minutes ago, so it shouldn't be him. I just hope and pray that it isn't Shawn or Andrew while I walk to the door. The first thing I see when I look through the peep hole is red hair and I'm relieved.

"Brian, hi."

"Hey," he smiles sheepishly at me. "Can we talk for a second?"

I nod, "Sure. Come on in." I move to the side and he walks into the room, hands in his front pockets, making him appear much shorter than usual. "So, what's up?"

He clears his throat, "It's about you and Shawn."

I freeze. "Umm… o-okay."

I take a seat on the edge of the couch and Brian sits on the coffee table, hands clasped in front of him as he leans forward, elbows resting in his knees.

"I just, I want to know what's going on there. You two obviously have chemistry, it's almost laughable how good together you guys are together."

I feel my cheeks grow hot. "Thanks, I guess."

"What's keeping you away? Is it the fans? Because yeah, I know they're crazy, but you get used to it after a while. The shock of it all doesn't last that long."

"No," I shake my head, "it's not the fans. And its not Andrew, either." Even though it partially is.

"Well if it's not that then… Why aren't you with him?"

"I'd destroy him."

"He'd be into that."

I laugh, not believing that this is actually what Brian and I are talking about right now. "Brian, I'm not right for him. It doesn't matter how much I like him, We're too different."

"Are you?" He clears his throat, "Because I swear I have never seen any two people more perfect for each other. Your souls mesh together like nothing I've ever seen. You need to go for it, if it's what you want."

I shake my head, "It's too hard, Bri."

"Relationships are. But you're literally his photographer. You're always here to spend time with him. You're with him like twenty-four/seven, eight months out of the year."

"For now," I remind him.

It takes him a while, but I see it finally register on his face. "That's why you want to wait for tour to end."

I nod, crossing my arms over my chest. "Yeah."

"He's not going anywhere, you know."

"That's what he says," I look down at my feet. "But what does that matter? He can't stay in one place for long and… I can't ask him to do it, either. He'll eventually grow tired of doing the same old thing, being with the same person for so long. He needs excitement and movement, and I can't give that to him."

"Y/n, he's crazy about you. I've never in my life seen him so smitten with a girl. He would give up anything if it meant he could be with you."

"But I don't want him to give anything up. And I can't handle being in the spotlight. I take the pictures, Brian, I'm not in them. And if I start dating him, I'll see myself plastered everywhere. That's not what I want." I play with the hem of my shirt. "I want people to know my work. Not my relationship status."

"Okay, that's fair. But close your eyes, I want to try something."

I do as told and let out a deep breath through my nose.

"You and Shawn are walking down the street, you have your camera with you and he's got his arm around you. How do you feel?"

I smile at the image in my head, his large hand holding mine over my shoulder, lips against my forehead. My arm is draped around his torso and the sun is basking us in that golden hour light. It doesn't get better than that. "I'm… happy… I feel loved."

When he doesn't say anything for a while, I open my eyes to find him smiling at me. "And if you feel it from him in just your imagination, then how do you feel about him in real life?"

"God," I shake my head. "Do you really want to hear me say that I'm in love with him?"

"Yeah," he nods. "I did."

"Well, now you've heard it, but it doesn't change anything."

"It does," he starts walking toward the door.

"What?" I follow him. "How does it change -"

"Because he loves you too." And he disappears into the hallway, leaving me there staring blankly at the dark wood separating me and reality.

***

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[i-choose-liam]

Stress Buster - King Liam x MC

A/N: I apologise for the length of this post for those who want to scroll past. I wrote this on the fly and I'm posting it from mobile, so I couldn't add the "Keep reading" line. Sorry! 💙

Hello! This is my first time posting a fic in quite a few months. So any feedback is appreciated. It's sort of a continuation (with a major leap in between) of my TRR Chapter Tie-Ins series. You don't have to read the previous parts to make sense of this story. For those who haven't read the previous parts, my MC in this series is Riley Spencer, a law school dropout and twin sister to Dani Spencer, the MC from Lovehacks. So this is actually a The Royal Romance and LoveHacks crossover.

This is for the anon who asked me to write a fanfic about Liam teasing a tired Riley. It's a bit different than what you asked for, but I hope you like it, anon! ☺️

***

It was the end of a long, tiresome week. Liam was holding himself back from grabbing Riley and jumping into bed together. He took deep, calming breaths as he sat on the ottoman and took his shoes off, watching his Queen fire away some rapid texts on her phone. He wondered how it was possible that she grew more and more beautiful with each passing day. There she stood by their bed, holding her phone up at eye level.

"Constantly looking down at the phone causes neck and spine problems, babe", she had told him once.

A small smile curved the corner of his lips, as he took in the sight of her. Those silken locks in ombre, which he had curled around his fingers nearly every night since their wedding. The graceful bearing with which she carried herself, even as she stood still. And that face - the one which had illuminated his life, like the moon did to a clouded night.

"Are you texting Madeleine?", Liam teased.

"Yes"

Normally, that name was enough to make Riley roll her eyes or crack some joke about the Countess. But she kept typing away, filling in Liam about some event she had to attend on Monday and how important it was for the apple export. It didn't sit well with Liam to see his lovely wife in her Queen mode when they had done with their duties for the day and were now alone in their bedroom. He shed his coat and unbuttoned his collar as he walked to her. The fading smell of her shower gel and deodorant, with just a smidgen of that womanly musk, was what greeted him first. Liam placed his chin on Riley's shoulder from behind, letting his arms wrap themselves around her. He closed his eyes as he kissed her cheek, gently rocking her sideways in his snug embrace.

"Honey, not right now. This is important stuff", she said, without looking back at him.

Liam didn't get upset or angry. He smiled in defeat as he recognised what was happening. He let go of her, but couldn't help putting his hands on her shoulders. He said,

"Do you realise what's going on?"

Riley said, still looking at her phone screen,

"What?"

"You're pulling a Riley"

That earned him a tired glare from over her shoulder. Liam grinned.

"I'm sorry but that's what this is. You have been doing so much these last few weeks. And unlike a normal person when overworked, you just jump deeper into the deep end"

She said, pouting a bit at her phone as she typed,

"This is not a "Riley". I'm just... just busy"

"Darling, you remember what happened the last time you got overburdened and wouldn't let anyone help you?", Liam reminded her, "You ended up eating all the cake at Maxwell's birthday, you called Drake a denim whore, then you wept while hugging both our corgis, and kept saying "It's a cool name, Mr. T! Mr. T's a cool name!*"

Riley's shoulders stiffened a bit under his hands. Liam smiled and massaged them.

"Do we want an encore of that?", he asked, trying to keep the smile out of his voice.

His wife was stubborn as she was beautiful. She said,

"There's not going to be an encore cause I'm not overworked. I've got everything under control. Totally"

She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and took her phone to the bathroom. Liam decided to let her have her privacy. But he was worried about her now. She had confided in him about her law school days, and how she had been put on "leave" by the school for reasons concerning her own mental and physical well being. That was when she had started working as a waitress and met him.

'Ah, fateful night', Liam thought.

How fearless and carefree she had seemed to him then. In a way, she was still all that. But her type A personality reared its head every now and then when the going got tough. If she kept throwing herself into work 24x7 like she had been doing lately, Liam was sure there would be repercussions for her health.

'If only there was someone who could...'

Liam smiled to himself. There was. There was someone who could pull Riley out of her workaholic spiral. The only person who could do it in fact.

Liam checked the time, and making sure it was still daytime in San Francisco, he called.

"Liamm, hii!", answered the voice from the other end.

Liam grinned at that enthusiastic tone and the thumping sound of music coming from somewhere behind his sister-in-law. He said,

"Hello, Dani"

***

Riley had back to back appearances scheduled before apple picking season. As a suitor for Liam's hand in marriage, she had hated the Cordonian obsession with apples. But as the Queen of her people, she had come to realise that the apples were a symbol of the Cordonian spirit. The Cordonian Ruby was one of their most valued exports and she knew its importance to the Cordonian morale and economy quite well.

"Riley, this is such a lovely dress. I didn't know you had something from Ana de Luca's summer '19 collection", Hana said.

Riley had to turn her head to look at Hana, who was sitting next to her in the car. At first glance, she saw a large apple in place of Hana's face.

'What?'

Overworked for the last few days, she had to shake her head to clearly see the winsome face of Lady Hana Lee.

"I haven't even seen Ana's summer collection this year, let alone buy something. What are you talking about?", Riley said.

Hana showed her the webpage on her phone, the picture just taken that morning... of Liam and Riley leaving the Parliament.

Her mind was so bungled with apples and all the bullet points on her schedule for the day that she had to take a minute to think. Hana pointed out,

"This was taken a few hours ago. But you've been with me since morning"

Riley asked, clearly confused,

"What?"

Hana looked concerned. She said,

"Riley, you were photographed with Liam outside the Parliament this morning. But that can't be you cause you have been with me all day. So who is this? And what happened to you? Are you okay?"

In a quick snatch, Riley had Hana's phone in her own hands. She speed-read through the article and slowly scrolled past the three pictures. Only her side profile was caught in the pictures, most of it hidden by a gigantic hat. Riley scowled, angered but not scared. She handed the phone back to Hana.

"That's my twin sister", Riley said, "And she and Liam have a lot to answer for when I get to them"

***

Come evening, Riley nearly stormed into the palace, followed by her assistant who frantically tried to keep in pace with her. She had confirmed with Liam's assistant that he was at home after the day's work. Dani she hadn't bothered calling because her head already felt like it would burst. If she had to argue with her reckless, impulsive sister for one...

"That's one big butt to carry on your neck, butthead"

Riley turned around at the call that had come from behind her. Dani stood laughing in the distance, in casual attire that made her stand out even more amidst the palace interior. She met Riley halfway, hugging her tight.

"Oh Riiless, it's been sooo long!"

Dani hugged her tight, shaking her a bit. Riley would have offered an even tighter hug which her family, the Spencers, were known for. But she remembered what had put her in a bad mood for the entirety of her day.

"The photos this morning", she said, without any emotion.

Dani drew back, still grinning,

"Your press secretary didn't tell you? I was on my way to surprise you here at the palace. She... what's her name... like that cookie Mom likes?"

"Madeleine?"

"Yeah, that one. So she saw me and she was like, "Ah the twin sister". I tried to be polite and all but she didn't seem to have time for that. She asked me if I'd be okay to stand in as you for a few pictures for the paparazzi. I thought what the hell, and did it"

Riley folded her arms and asked, raising her eyebrows,

"Oh really? You just conveniently happened to run into Countess Madeleine and she asked you, even though I was just a phone call away, to take pictures with Liam? And for whom, the paparazzi? Dani, I know this is some stupid prank of yours but you've really lost your touch. That is so absurd I can't even..."

"I'm not kidding, seriously", Dani explained, with an earnest expression, "I told her that someone might notice the slight differences in our features. You know, twins being mirror images and all. She said that your face was plain enough to not warrant such close scrutiny. Yikes"

Riley bit her lip. She said,

"Fine. That does sound like something Madeleine would say but it doesn't make any sense why she would want me and Liam to be photographed together by some paparazzo"

Dani explained,

"Right? I asked her the same thing. She said it was because rumours have been going about your marriage losing its spark cause you two are barely seen together in public anymore"

Ouch.

It took Riley a moment to counter that. She tried,

"But... it's not... it's just because we've both been busy with our individual duties. There's nothing wrong with our marriage. We love each other"

"I'm sure you do, Riles. Don't listen to what the haters say. They have nothing better to do", Dani assured her.

Riley couldn't stop thinking about it though. Had it really been so long since she and Liam had been seen together in public? She couldn't recall the last time they had had a private moment together let alone one in front of other people. She had thrown herself into the role of the best Queen she could be and yet...

"You okay?", Dani said, "If I had known it would bother you so much, I wouldn't have done it. That Madeleine said she would let you know and you'd be okay with it"

What hurt her - more than the speculation about her marriage - was the fact that Liam had gone along with this scheme. He had let himself be photographed with Dani as a substitute to his lawfully wedded wife.

Riley had to ask,

"What did Liam say? He must have felt pretty uncomfortable pretending you were me"

"I don't think he noticed it was me and not you. We didn't say anything to each other. We just walked side by side, not even holding hands. And that was it", Dani shrugged.

'No way. Not in a m...'

Riley shook her head, giving a little laugh of disbelief.

"Now that's taking it too far. Liam would have immediately known it was not me. Or Madeleine must have told him it was you. Yeah. That's why he..."

Really? She thought to herself. Did Liam really not care or notice that the woman next to him wasn't his wife?

It hurt. But Riley endured. She put on a smiling face for her sister and saw her to the guest chambers.

***

Riley dropped the impassive act when she walked into her own bedroom that she shared with Liam. He was sitting on the settee, reading a book. Like a child in want of attention, Riley walked over and stood right in front of him. Liam looked up at her from his book then, asking,

"When did you get in, my love?"

Oh the nerve.

She folded her arms across her chest, trying her best not to let her cheeks swell in anger like they always did. And which was enough to make Liam not take her seriously as he kept trying to "puncture" her cheeks instead.

"Did you seriously pose with Dani this morning and not know it wasn't me?", she asked.

Liam closed the book, his perfect eyebrows furrowing just a bit. He asked sweetly,

"Dani? Your sister?"

"You posed for paparazzi bait shots with her this morning. Did you really not know it wasn't me?"

Liam stood up and peered down into her face. He said sincerely,

"Riley, I really didn't think for a moment that it wasn't you. And Dani... when did she arrive? And why was she the one posing with me?"

Riley recapped for him what Dani had told her. He sighed, scratching the side of his brow.

"That's too much, even for Madeleine. I'll talk to her"

"I'm not jealous or something that you posed for a picture with my sister. It's not that", Riley said in small voice.

"What is it then?"

She could feel her stupid cheeks inflate as she spoke.

"It's just that... you couldn't even tell that it wasn't me. I know Dani and I are identical twins but I thought...", she mumbled, "I thought you would always be able to tell"

"Oh"

That's it? Oh? That was what he had to say in his defence?

Liam said, a bit sheepish,

"Well, to be honest with you, we didn't talk during the photos. She was wearing a very... interesting hat that hid nearly half her face from me. I supposed that you were busy and didn't want to talk, that's all. I didn't want to annoy you"

This wasn't something she had expected to hear from her Liam. Riley gripped his arms with her hands, saying,

"You don't think I'd ever be so mean and want to avoid you? Not you, Liam. You're the only reason I'm even here. You know that, right?"

He took her in his arms. But cautiously, she noted.

"I know. I'm sorry", he said, "It's... you have been so busy lately. I know how hard you try to give your best to everything you are called upon to do as the Queen of Cordonia. I just didn't want to annoy you when you have been working yourself to the bone lately"

That sure did it. Riley could feel the tears murking her vision. She had been so occupied with being a good queen lately that she had forgotten who she was doing it all for. The man who was holding her in his arms like she were made of fire and would burn him any instant.

She didn't want to know the answer to it but she asked anyway.

"Liam?"

"Yes, dear?"

"You're not scared of me, are you?"

He stroked her hair away from her forehead, smiling.

"Of course not, my love. I'm in awe of your strength and your courage every day. But you have never given me any reason to fear you"

Throwing herself into his embrace, Riley muffled her face against Liam's shirt. He seemed to panic.

"Hey. You okay? What's wrong?"

Riley mumbled,

"I pulled a Riley"

She could feel the laugh reverberating through Liam's chest. He kissed the top of her head, saying,

"There, there"

"I'm so sorry", she said, sniffing.

"Don't be. I appreciate how much effort you put into being a good ruler. You have no idea how grateful I am for that", Liam held her face so she was looking up at him, "But nothing's worth the anguish and damage to your health. You are the most important person in the world to me. And if anything were to happen to..."

Riley sniffed petulantly, interrupting him,

"Why am I like this?"

Liam kept reassuring her, kissing her tears away.

"There's nothing wrong with you, my love. I just wanted to remind you to take it easy"

She wiped another tear falling down her cheek. The exhaustion of the past few weeks was catching up with her. More than that, she was chiding herself for reverting back to her old workaholic ways. She didn't need all the stress when they were trying for a baby.

Liam looked at her like a sad, guilty puppy, which just added to her confusion. He suddenly pulled her closer.

"Oh my darling, I'm sorry. Don't cry. I'm so sorry", he said.

"Why?", she wondered.

"If I had known it would make you feel so bad, I never would have agreed to Dani's plan"

Hold up.

Riley looked up sharply through tearful eyes that were now blazing with a slow fury. She repeated,

"Dani's plan?"

Liam confessed,

"Yes. I asked her if she knew how I could stop you from overworking yourself to a burnout, and she said that she would fly to Cordonia and help. She didn't tell me much. She just said that I shouldn't speak a word to you or her today if we met in public, and that she would handle the rest. I knew it was not you with me this morning outside the Parliament, but since she had forbidden me from speaking to either of you, I didn't say anything"

Liam was startled when a woman's voice in an American accent called him "Tattle tits!". Both he and Riley turned to see Dani standing in the door to their bedroom, with her hands on her hips.

"For the record", Dani said to her sister, carefully taking a step backwards, "Lady Hana and Madeleine were in on this too. So you can't just punish me for the whole thing"

Riley gave her husband a sweet smile that spelled murder. She said,

"I'm going to deal with you tonight, right after I kill my sister"

She could tell from Liam's eyes that he was up for whatever sexual punishment she had hinted at. He said softly, so only she could hear,

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me"

She shook her head at him in horror, saying,

"Oh my god. You only spent like half a day with her... Jesus Christ. Dani!"

Liam couldn't help but grin as he stood there watching. Dani dashed out of their rooms with a laugh, followed by the Queen of Cordonia and her shoe.

"Oww!", he heard Dani yelp from somewhere outside, "That hurt, you jerk!"

The loud bickering he - and the guards - could hear outside reminded him of similar occasions from his own childhood.

Not wanting to get in Riley's way when she was in an avenging mood, Liam took his phone and dialled a number.

"Leo?", he smiled on hearing the voice, "Hello to your filthy self, brother"

He sat down to catch up with his own sibling while Riley punished her imp of a twin outside.

---

*That line's from a Key & Peele sketch. God I miss that show.

[madphantom]

The Sound of Life: Chapter 2

They were told that Winslow was in operating room 3 and searched for it. Phoenix soon became very sleepy, but she was determined to stay awake. After a while Harold almost had to carry her.

"I suggest we sit down and wait," Archie said.

"Yeah," Jeffrey agreed when suddenly the door to the room opened.

A doctor walked out and Phoenix rushed over to him. "How is he?"

"We're working on him," the doctor said. "Uhm, by the way, Miss, do...do you know, by any chance, what his name is?"

"Winslow Leach," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Winslow Leach." She looked him in the eyes.

He frowned. "But...hold on, sorry, but... Winslow Leach? The composer? Didn't he die?"

"Yeah, I thought so too," Phoenix sighed. "Listen, Doc, I've had a rough week and an even rougher night and I am so tired..."

"Alright, alright. You can sit down here on the bench. A nurse will come to you when he wakes up."

She nodded sleepily. "Uh-huh."

The Fruits and the singer sat down on the bench. Phoenix fell asleep almost immediately. Archie disappeared into the cafeteria and reappeared with a bag of crackers that the Fruits shared.

"Thanks Doc," Harold said when he noticed that Phoenix was already half asleep on his shoulder. "Come on, Goldfish, time to go to bed."

"So, what are we gonna do now?", Harold asked. "Swan's dead. Not that I liked the guy. But he filled up our pockets. And we're not even remotely close to being talented enough to write our own songs."

Archie laughed. "Yup. Thinking about it... we're just a bunch of losers Swan made popular."

"Yeah," Jeffrey agreed.

"Any jobs you guys had before this apeshit pop star business?", Archie asked the others.

Harold nodded slowly. "I was going to work in a supermarket. But the boss hated me. I don't think he'll take me back."

"Nope for me," Jeffrey admitted. "I failed school as thoroughly as possible."

"Really? I thought you'd be the teacher type."

Jeffrey laughed. "Good joke."

"So, in conclusion, we're just three dudes who lost their job," Archie concluded.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a while.

"T'was nice though," Harold suddenly said. "Being in one band, you know. Going on tour together. Seeing our photos in the news. All that. Not because of the fame, just...you know, I like you guys. You're my best friends. My best and only friends."

"Honestly," Archie agreed. "I hate to be sentimental, but it was amazing. You guys were so much fun. I loved being one of the Juicy Fruits. You guys rock."

"Absolutely. All that touring together, the jetlags, the shows, getting yelled at by Philbin...it was such a great time and now... it's just over."

"Just over. All the illusions are gone. What's left are just three guys sitting in a hospital with a sleeping chick on their laps that isn't even their girlfriend."

"Strange place for the story to end, isn't it?"

"Strange place."

"I'm gonna miss it."

"Me too."

Finally the door opened and a nurse walked out.

Harold gently tapped Phoenix. "Hey. Hey. Phin'. The nurse is here."

Phoenix jumped up. "How is he?"

"He's awake now," the nurse said.

"Can I see him?", Phoenix asked. "Please!"

"Yes. He asked to see you. But-" The nurse handed her a noteblog and pen. "-we had to take off the device he used to speak. He can't wear it until the wound has healed."

"Okay. Thanks." Phoenix hastily rushed into the room.

Winslow was lying on the bed. Machines were buzzing around him and a beeping sound told Phoenix how rapid his heartbeat was.

"Winslow," she whispered.

A wince escaped his throat. It was obvious that he was trying to speak.

"The doctors said that you can't wear the voice box until your wound has healed," Phoenix explained. She handed him noteblog and pen and sat down at the edge of the bed. "How are you?"

He gave her a weak smile.

"Okay I guess" he wrote down.

"Does it hurt?"

"Just a little. They filled me up with painkillers."

"Good. I mean - good that it doesn't hurt that much." Phoenix smiled helplessly. Winslow laughed a little.

"You gotta explain a lot to me," Phoenix said.

"I guess I do." Winslow sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything. From the beginning. Why you came to New York. What Swan did. How you survived." Phoenix looked him in the eye. "Everything."

"Well..." Winslow started scribbling. After five minutes he gave Phoenix the first piece of paper and she started reading.

Suddenly she dropped the paper in shock.

"Swan had your teeth pulled out?!"

Winslow nodded.

"Why would he do that?!"

Winslow shrugged his shoulders and wrote something down. "Humiliation I guess."

"That's horrible!" She hesitated. "Can... can you show me?"

He nodded slowly and opened his mouth. Two rows of blinking metal glittered in the light of the lamps. Phoenix gasped.

"Oh my God...how cruel is that?"

He laughed a little.

"Winslow, you were tortured."

He shrugged his shoulders again. His expression said I know.

Phoenix picked up the paper again, but was quick to let out another gasp. "Wait - what?!" She looked Winslow dead in the eye. "You were at the audition?"

He nodded.

Phoenix took a deep breath. "Winslow Leach, are you honestly trying to tell me that I was right thinking that you were always around whenever my career got another boost?"

He laughed and nodded. Phoenix facepalmed. "Oh...my...God. This is the worst. I'm so embarrassed right now."

Winslow smiled a little. Then the smile died down.

"I know that I hurt you, that night, on the roof," he wrote down. "And I know that there are wounds that can never be closed. But I hope that we can at least try."

"Winslow," Phoenix whispered. His eye widened in fear. "Winslow... I've forgiven you already. Whatever you did that night, you've redeemed yourself by saving my life. You were ready to give your life for mine. The only question is... can you forgive me?"

A wince escaped his throat and something, a sound, that slightly resembled that of her name. His lips twitched and then he smiled. It was a weak smile, but it was sincere.

Suddenly the door slammed open and the Juicy Fruits stormed in.

"We investigated!", Harold panted.

"Yeah, we couldn't believe it, but...!"

"We thought we owe you an apology...!"

"...scraped this together...!"

"I even went to the police station and told them to fucking investigate, but Swan controlled everything...!"

"Guys!", Phoenix calmed them down. "Guys, relax, Winslow literally just woke up!"

Archie and Jeffrey shut up, Harold kept talking. "... anyway, Mr Leach, we decided we owe you a big fat apology, scraped together seventy percent of what we earned with Faust and hereby hand it over to you." He gave Winslow a thick envelope. When Winslow opened it dollar bills fluttered out.

He gasped, counted the money, then gasped again. The sum was enormous.

"Thank you!", he hastily scribbled down.

Archie shrugged his shoulders. "Seventy percent. You probably deserve more, but the bank thought I was high again and wouldn't give me more. Besides..."

"It's enough, it's more than enough!" Winslow laughed. Harold and Jeffrey sighed in relief.

"Hallelujah," Jeffrey said most sincerely. "We were so worried that we messed this up."

"We didn't want to be dicks, you know?"

"Just wanted to do our job and ended up being the bad guys."

"Relax, I'm not angry. Sorry for trying to bomb you guys up."

"Is my singing that bad?", Jeffrey asked.

"Yes, it is," Archie replied. "Sometimes even I want to bomb you up, man."

"Thank you." Jeffrey glared at him and Harold laughed out loud.

"What are you guys going to do now?", Winslow scribbled down.

The Fruits fell silent and threw each other nervous glances.

"Well...", Harold began. "We discussed that outside while you two were talking here and...uhm..."

"We decided to split up," Archie said quietly. It was obvious that the words were hurting him.

Phoenix' eyes widened. "Split up?"

The Fruits nodded.

"Swan's dead. Death Records is finished," Jeffrey explained. "We're not even remotely close to being talented enough to write our own songs. They just used us as mannequins. We've got no image."

"Swan was always the biggest ad. Swan presents the Juicy Fruits - you can't believe how much more the Swan presents counted." Harold sighed.

"You don't have to split up," Winslow wrote. "You can try and start again, only this time being yourself instead of being someone you're not."

Archie laughed sadly. "There's no ourselves. Ourselves are boring talentless farts who can't sing or write or play anything."

"That's not true," Phoenix suddenly said.

The Fruits laughed. "It is."

"No, it's not. Archie, I saw you improvising at that one show where the guitarist was sick. And Harold, I have a copy of that duet you sang when you weren't famous yet. It's awesome. And Jeffrey - you've got potential. Loads of it."

The Fruits blushed.

"Uh, thanks," Archie mumbled.

"You've got that duet? There were just, like, fifty copies!"

"I know." Phoenix smiled bashfully. "Found it in a thrift shop and thought, hey, why don't you listen to what your colleagues did before they got famous."

"Oh my God."

Winslow snapped his fingers to catch their attention again. "Is anyone here interested in founding a label with me?"

Silence.

"Hell yeah, that's genius," Phoenix suddenly said.

"Right."

"Awesome."

"We're in."

[tswiftisgay]

Out of the Woods is about the pain of bearding 💔

Out of the Woods was written and produced by Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff, released as a promotional single prior, and then again on the album 1989. The song is believed to have been written in October 2013. It was the final music video released for the 1989 era.  

I would like to argue that OOTW is a song both about bearding with Harry Styles and dating Dianna. It is a mirror image of I Know Places. Let’s dive in.

1.   First, let’s look at the song within context.

It follows Style on the album, which describes an on and off relationship: “When we go crashing down, we come back every time/ 'Cause we never go out of style.“ This is similar to how the Out of the Woods relationship is described: “We were built to fall apart /Then fall back together.” I Wish You Would, How to Get the Girl, and All You Had to Do Was Stay all play with this theme as well. In this way, Out of the Woods fits into the larger themes and narrative of the album.

Another song on 1989, I Know Places talks about running and hiding to protect a relationship. This sense of paranoia and fear is only present in one other song on the album--Out of the Woods.

2.    Now let’s discuss the inspiration behind OOTW as understood by the GP and Kaylor fans.

GP: It’s about Harry Styles as make clear by references to last December, a snowmobile accident, wearing his necklace, paper airplanes, and the thematic similarities to Style, which is also about him.

The main problem with this take is that Haylor was a joint PR bearding relationship. (See this timeline and search my blog for the haylor hashtag if this is still not clear to you.)

However, if you still aren’t sold that Haylor was fake, these lyrics don’t seem to match with the narrative for their split: “Remember when we couldn't take the heat / I walked out, I said, I'm setting you free.” They supposedly split because Harry was flirting with other girls. How did that have anything to do with heat or pressure?

Plus Taylor’s own explanation for the album changed a lot. Despite implying that Style is about him in her first 1989 interview with Rolling Stone, she later distanced herself from that interpretation. In fact, her overall narrative focus shifted during her album promo, making it unclear which Taylor to believe.

Kaylors: It’s about Dianna with whom Taylor had a tense on/off relationship while bearding with Harry. Taylor dropped clues linking the song to Harry to appease her het fans, as she did in many songs.

The problem with this take is that it is more than just a clue. Taylor spends an entire verse describing a snowmobile accident. Taylor makes repeated and extremely specific references to Harry and their public relationship.

Some may argue it was all a metaphor. Paper airplanes are certainly a powerful metaphor for something fragile, but your necklace hanging from my neck is pretty clear cut. Others may say that there was another similar experience she was actually alluding to, like how she later carefully set up Calvin stunts to mimic actual Karlie moments. But unlike a stunt photo or quote, an injury is hard to fake. In fact, Harry tried to hide his injury when he was being papped. Fans only know about it because of the photos leaked from a party he attended later with friends.  

3.   Another less popular analysis reads this as a song about bearding with Harry. 

“This is a pretty obvious closet metaphor. Are we in the clear? Are we safe? Did it work? Did we fool the world again? Is our mutual secret still hidden?

“So while the marketing is exploitative and icky as usual, the song itself could possibly be the one honest introspective statement we’ve ever gotten on the Haylor debacle.” from @at-your-liberty ‘s post (Also see this post.)

Please note that Jack Antonoff has been a co-writer and producer on some of Taylor’s most intimate, personal, and queer songs on her last two albums. You Are in Love, Dress, Call It What You Want, and New Years Day, are the most obvious examples. I would argue Out of the Woods is another one.

I think given the absolute plethora of lines pointing to Harry this is a very logical analysis. I also agree that the theme of fear and running match perfectly with the process of bearding.

4.   I would like to posit that this song is actually about two different people simultaneously. 

Taylor has a knack for creating songs with layered meanings. White Horse is ostensibly about a failed relationship but also about a loss of innocence—or even about accepting the loss of a heterosexual fairytale. This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things is ostensibly about Kanye West and feuds, but as many of us have noticed it also unmistakably correlates with her relationship with fans. There are countless more examples, especially when you look at the real inspiration behind many of her songs.

In the case of OOTW, Taylor did not need to be vague about it because her topic was more or less Harry Styles, even if not in the way her general audience would expect. Haylor was one of Taylor and Harry’s most intense and public beards. (Hiddleswift being the only thing to compete with it.) There were pictures and articles released almost every day of December 2012. At the time Taylor is had rekindled her relationship with Dianna, while Harry was dating Louis Tomlinson, who was notably a complete wreck during and after the stunt. Louis consistently spoke of Taylor with disdain and jealousy.

So she wrote retrospectively about navigating a public fauxmance and a real romance, reflecting on how bearding is a painful, emotionally taxing activity. 

Looking at the Lyrics

Looking at it now

It all seems so simple

It was a simple plan, like any other bearding arrangement, but it didn’t end up being simple for them.

Her relationship with Dianna was also simple or straightforward in the sense that they both liked the other. But being queer was deemed potentially destructive to their careers, which is when things stop being simple.

We were lying on your couch

I remember

You took a Polaroid of us

Dianna, Harry, and Taylor are all well known for using polaroid cameras. There are Polaroid photos of Swiftgron. I think it is notable that Taylor and Harry were both close friends with Ed Sheeran. ( Ed was even present at many of their stunts.) It is very likely that they met in social circles—and maybe even took a Polaroid together--before doing the stunt. 

Then discovered

The rest of the world was black and white

But we were in screaming color

Screaming color is both a good and bad thing here. It is describing something beautiful and real--real feelings between Taylor and D--but it is also describing how rainbows stand out too much, something Taylor and Harry both had in common as they dove into a bearding commitment. They both had something to hide.

And I remember thinking

Are we out of the woods yet?

Are we in the clear yet? In the clear yet, good

The chorus is where Taylor describes the feeling of trying to convince the public that Harry and she are involved—and both straight—while trying to improve or hold onto what remained of her relationship with D. Taylor had been bearding heavily in 2012, first with Connor Kennedy and then with Harry. This was taxing on her relationship with D, which noticeably fell apart around the time she started bearding with Kennedy, rekindled but then disappeared until after Taylor and Harry split. (See this Swiftgron timeline for more info.) She was just trying to succeed and make it through to the other side of her bearding arrangements.

Looking at it now

Last December (last December)

 This is a pointed reference to December 2012 when Haylor was “official” and inseparable.

We were built to fall apart

Then fall back together 

As noted in the bearding analysis linked above, they were built. This implies some forethought while the phrasing removes the agency from the “we” themselves. They were constructed to fall apart when the contract ran out. This also mirrors the D storyline of on and off relationships.

Your necklace hanging from my neck

Again a pointed reference to Harry Styles, with whom she supposedly shared a paper airplane necklace. (In reality, they were not the same necklace, just similar.)

The night we couldn't quite forget

When we decided to move the furniture so we could dance

This is very reminiscent of their night out after 1D’s first Madison Square Garden performance when they did karaoke and danced around in what was an otherwise packed area. They both went back to Taylor’s hotel late at night, the beginning of an extensive series of pap shots of them entering and leaving Taylor’s hotel.

However, the line also seems to be a metaphor for the whole performance of bearding. Neither Taylor nor Harry had ever taken bearding so far as to heavily imply that they were sexually involved. They couldn’t quite forget it no matter how much they wanted to because it was so well documented.

Baby, like we stood a chance

Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying

Paper airplanes is a reference to their shared necklace, but it is also a metaphor for something that can go far but is fragile. Both Harry and Taylor’s reputation and fame was a paper airplane at that point, with Taylor breaking into pop music and Harry breaking into the American music world while trying to hide their true selves. Trying to sell the Haylor stunt and distract from other narratives was perilous, and in the end they didn’t really stand a chance. The media mocked their intense relationship, some even calling it out as a PR set up. But more importantly, both of them failed to hold it together.

CHORUS 

Remember when you hit the brakes too soon

Twenty stitches in a hospital room

When you started crying baby, I did too

But when the sun came up I was looking at you

This references the snowmobile accident on their ski trip and Harry’s injury, but it is also about both of them reaching their breaking point with pretending. They were both crying, hurting, and suddenly looking at each other clearly. They saw how horrible the situation was for both of them and their respective relationships. Harry had been away from his band and bf for most of December, creating strained and painful interactions even visible in interviews. Taylor and D did not appear to be on good terms either.

I believe the last two lines also reference clearly seeing D again and realizing that bearding wasn’t worth losing their relationship.

Remember when we couldn't take the heat

I walked out, I said, I'm setting you free

The pressure of trying to sell their fake relationship is too much. Taylor decides to agree to end the stunt earlier than intended, setting Harry free.

But the monsters turned out to be just trees

When the sun came up you were looking at me

Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. The fear of being locked into bearding, spending all their time together, and continuing the lie turned out to be just trees. They were able to navigate the PR narrative so they could leave the relationship but still milk it for press and inspiration. Harry is looking at Taylor and seeing her not as a captor but as someone sharing his situation. There is a lot of empathy in these lines. 

Again, I think those lines also read as D looking back at Taylor and understanding her situation.

Ultimately, Taylor and Harry are able to get out of the woods/bearding and back to their real selves and real relationships. 

Last but not least: The fact that I Know Places and OOTW are the only songs with the theme of fear on 1989 is very interesting to me. In my opinion, IKP is about hiding and protecting the real relationship while OOTW is about selling and getting through extremely public (as Haylor was amazingly well documented) bearding. If we ever wondered if Taylor was able to hide relationships, we know from IKP she can but doesn’t choose to with Harry. 

I Know Places is about running, hiding, and trying to protect a secret relationship.

Out of the Woods is about being extremely public and constantly acting to sell a fauxmance.

They are two sides of the same story.