#maybe even over a year. i have been saying since the tour was announced that she should do tour and finish the rereleases during it

[courfeyrec]

i keep coming back to 'i was a functioning alcoholic til nobody noticed my new aesthetic' because i do distinctly remember conversations about how taylor seemed to be drinking a lot more and getting drunk at like every awards show she went to. and those conversations were coming from a place of concern and of hoping that she was alright and that this wasn't a problem.

so to then say 'ugh i can't believe no one noticed this problem i had' when i know that people definitely did, and on the same album say that fans who are genuinely concerned about a new relationship that you are in are just 'bitching and moaning'? what do you want from them? you're talking about so many people who do at least believe that they are coming from a place of care and concern, and you are totally dismissing them on both ends of a scale!

not to mention that her implying that since nobody (???) was noticing her ~aesthetic~ drinking problem she just stopped having it is a bit of a kick in the teeth to people who do have drinking problems and can't just stop having them, since that's not how it fucking works.

[leclercsainzz]

hello love x

i was wondering if you could potentially do one where the reader is an actress and is in the new hunger games movies and everyone ships her with tom but she’s also dating lando … could you make a love triangle situation with these two?? like maybe she hangs out with tom more than lando or something idk lol u can come up with anything (you can decide who the endgame is) sort of like a illicit affair or where maybe she is seeing tom and everyone is aware of it idk??? (at this point im just saying nonsense i think lol)

ILLICIT AFFAIRS

PAIRINGS: lando norris x gf!reader / tom blyth x fem!reader

TYPE: social media au

WARNING: // cheating implied

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5

yourusername

liked by landonorris, tomblyth and 689,736 others

yourusername: making this movie was hands-down one of the best experiences of my life thus far! i cannot wait to share more behind the scenes content with you all:)) and with only one week to spare .. see you out there on our press tour!

view 5,846 comments

landonorris: can’t wait!

landonorris: proud of you, my love!! ❤️

↳ yourusername: ilyyyyy 😘

↳ user: lando being a supportive bf >>>

↳ user: alexa, how to get my own lando norris?? 😭

user: she’s so pretty, i can’t

user: after reading the book, i just know this movies gonna break me 😩😩😩😩

user: LANDO LET ME HAVE HER, PLEASE

user: SCREAMING!!! CANNOT WAIT!!!!

user: i have been looking forward to this movie since they announced it, can’t believe we’re only one week away

joshandresrivera: who’s the cute guy at the end??

↳ yourusername: just some guy i know 🤷🏻‍♀️

user: caNnot wait, omggggg

user: read the book and idk if i’m mentally prepared

user: you look soo good 😩😩😩

songbirdsandsnakes: our lucy gray ❤️❤️

user: i’m actually freaking tf out about this alapapalddbsod

user: YES YES YES YES YES

oscarpiastri: can i get free tickets?

↳ yourusername: absolutely!

↳ user: i love this duo so much 🤣

user: movie of the year incoming????

user: the movie hasn’t even come out yet and the amount of snow x lucy gray edits i’ve seen just from the trailer alone 😩

↳ user: i just know once the movie comes out they’ll be all over tiktok …. i can’t wait tho!!!!!!

user: i just realized that jason schwartman, viola davis, and peter dinklage are in this too!!! alwnsofnf

user: i’ve seen the trailer like 10+ times, can’t wait!!

hunterschafar: ❤️

user: will josh and jlaw be in this??

↳ user: noooo 💀 bro, this is set 64 years before them

user: she’s playing lucy gray right???

↳ user: yes

user: AHHHHHH

user: can’t wait for all the interviews omg!!!!

user: yn and the hunger games???? SIGN ME TF UPPP

user: soo excited over this

user: i wonder if lando will be attending the premiere

yourusername

liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri and 675,758 others

yourusername: last race with my favorite boyyy 🥺🧡

tagged: @landonorris

view 4,846 comments

user: LAST RACE??? WHYYY????

↳ user: she starts press tour tomorrow for the hunger games

user: ima miss seeing you in the paddock 😩

user: ima miss you in the paddock 😩 but i cannot wait for the hunger games press interviews

user: his smile 😩😩

user: my fav papayas 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 + oscar

user: the first pic 😭😭

user: last race??? nooooooo

user: wait, im confused …. why’s she leaving???

user: gonna miss you

user: last pic 😩

user: YN?!?!!? YOURE LEAVING??!?? 😭😭😭😭😭

user: my favssssss 🧡

user: ya’ll acting as if she’s leaving forever and won’t see her again lmaooo 🤣 she’s doing press tour bc the movie she’s in comes out in a week

landonorris: 😘😘😘

landonorris: gonna miss your cute face 🥺

↳ yourusername: gonna miss you tooo, pretty boy 🥺

user: the way he smiles around her

user: wait when is she leaving???

↳ yourusername: a little after the race

↳ user: wait why tho??

↳ user: she starts press tour tomorrow since her movie comes out next week lol

oscarpiastri: that smile thoooo 🤭

user: where is she going????

user: THE best couple

user: what movie is she going for?

↳ user: the hunger games

↳ user: WAIT FRR????? is it the new one???

user: parents, frrrrr 😍

user: can’t wait for press tour, i just know she’s gonna slay

carlossainz55: pic creds to me, thank you 💁🏻‍♂️

↳ yourusername: 🙄🙄🙄 yea yea

↳ landonorris: 😘

↳ user: ynlando who??? i only know carlando ❤️🧡

user: they’re the reason i believe in love ❤️❤️

user: the way he looks at her, bro 😭😭😭

↳ user: he’s sooo in love, i can’t 😩😩

user: we won’t see ynlando for a while 😭

user: my ynlando heart 😍😍😍❤️❤️

yourusername

liked by landonorris, hunterschafer and 689,945 others

yourusername: thank you, berlin ❤️ @thehungergames

tagged: @tomblyth @hunterschafer @joshandresrivera

view 7,526 comments

user: THE REFERENCE OMG!!!!

user: MOTHER IS SERVING, OOH MYYYY 😍😍😍😍

user: he’s sooo fine!! but he looks EXTRA FINE with the buzz cut & blonde hair 😮‍💨

📌 pinned

↳ yourusername: told yaaaa @tomblyth

joshandresrivera: ohh hiiii 👋��

user: yn came to serve

user: tom’s the new white boy of the month!!!

user: HER PINNED COMMENT

user: tom’s soo good looking 😩

user: she’s so beautiful 😍😍

hunterschafer: WERK

↳ yourusername: are we about to kiss rn?

user: okay but why do i ship her and tom?? 🫣

user: idc what anyone says, she looks gorgeous! 😍

user: ngl but tom and yn look good together 🤷🏻‍♀️

↳ user: she’s got a bf and he’s got a gf

user: this man’s gorgeous but i also gotta remember he’s the one responsible for finnick’s death

↳ yourusername: same bestie 🥺

↳ user: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

user: okay but her and tom look soo good 😩😩

landonorris: stunning 😍

landonorris: you’re gorgeous

↳ yourusername: 😘😘😘😘

↳ user: them >>>

↳ user: missing them rn 😩😩

user: dress is gorgeous! she’s gorgeous! i just don’t like the top of the dress, if i’m being honest

tomblyth: ❤️❤️

user: cannot wait till the movie is out!!!!

user: tHe second slide and fourth slide slandnslsmd

user: oBSESSED 😩😩😩😩

user: i can already tell yn and tom are gonna be my fav duo

user: tom tho 😍

user: you look soo beautiful, i can’t 😩

user: 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

user: i’m already a simp for president snow, and the movie hasn’t even come out yet

user: TOM, OMG 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

user: THE WAY SHE PINNED THAT ONE COMMENT 😂 yn being a coriolanus simp confirmed???

user: everything about you is soo slayyyyyyyyyy

user: nothing beats the original cast but they all look sooooo good, i can’t even lie

user: the dress reference 🤩

user: PLEASE GIVE TOM MY NUMBER!!!! OR GIVE ME HIS NUMBER EITHER IS FINE WITH ME

user: is it just me or does tom look better with the buzz cut and blonde hair???

↳ yourusername: you’re not the only one 😩 ive told him several times!!!!!!

yourusername

liked by joshandresrivera, landonorris and 699,947 others

yourusername: world premiere for @thehungergames 🇬🇧

view 6,836 comments

user: THE THRID POST ALSNDKDKDMDNSN

user: i ship

user: why do they look so in love in that third slide??

joshandresrivera: 🧡

user: yn, babe, where’s lando????

user: that don’t look like lando to me 👀

user: the chemistry is INSANE 😮‍💨

landonorris: you’re killing it, babe ❤️

↳ yourusername: 😘😘 love yaa

↳ landonorris: i love you moreeee 😘

↳ user: parents 😭😭😭

user: i hope her and tom date, they look so good together

user: ya’ll gotta stop shipping tom and yn, yn’s literally dating lando and tom’s got a girlfriend

user: tom and her look so good 😩😩😩

tomblyth: love you, gorgeous ❤️

↳ yourusername: ❤️❤️

↳ user: IM SORRY WHAT??!???

↳ user: excuse me??? sir????

user: TOMS COMMENT AKALSMDN

user: the chemistry is INSANE

user: he called her gorgeous 😭😭😭 brb gonna go cry

hunterschafer: YUPPPPP

hunterschafer: serving as always!

user: MOTHER IS SERVING 😍😍😍

user: obsessed with you and tom 😍😍😍

user: if i were lando, i would be crying in a corner rn

user: why do they look like a couple in that third slide??

user: toMs’S COMMENT!! he called her gorgeous

user: ya’ll shipping her with tom as if she doesn’t have a bf

↳ user: have you ever heard of cheating??

user: ya’ll see the interview?? she called him delicious and said that it’s so easy to fall in love with him 😭😭

↳ user: she said, “and getting to work with that is delicious to an actor like me” bffr she never said anything about it being easy to fall in love with him 🙄

↳ user: actually she did proceed to talk about how easy it is to fall in love with him?????? if anything you bffr

user: @landonorris come get your girl

user: she’s so touchy with him 🙄🙄🙄🙄

user: LANDO OPEN YOUR EYES

user: we’re all thinking the same thing right?? 😏

user: they’re definitely fucking around

tomblyth

liked by yourusername, hunterschafer and 678,927 others

tomblyth: thank you, l.a. 🤩

tagged: @yourusername @joshandresrivera @hunterschafer

view 5,936 comments

user: ngl but yn and tom look cute together

user: PARENTS FRRRR 😍😍😍😍😍

user: lando & yn >>>>>

user: they have sm tension

user: ya’ll are crazy if you think yn would leave lando for tom

↳ user: and youre crazy for not thinking that maybe yn already cheated on lando with tom 🫢

user: @landonorris @landonorris @landonorris

user: lando’s busy trying to win a race while yn’s busy fooling around with tom

yourusername: SNOW FALLS ON TOP!!!

↳ user: yes, on top of you

↳ user: nahhhhh 😭😭😭

user: how’d you know about the tattoo??? 👀

yourusername: love yaaaa ❤️

↳ tomblyth: back at you! ❤️

↳ user: @landonorris

hunterschafer: cute

↳ user: how does it feel to third wheel all the time?

user: yn’s literally soo gorgeous!!! 😩

user: if i were yn, i’d be all over him too, idcccc

user: lando’s stronger than me bc if my gf was like this with another man id be going apeshit

user: they’re 100% having an affair

↳ user: ohh definitely!

↳ user: the fact that he knew about her tattoo that none of us knew about says a lot!!!! this man has explored her body

user: yntom >>> ❤️❤️❤️

user: i wonder if lando knows about the tattoo tom was referring to

↳ user: that man is clueless like the rest of us

user: @landonorris

user: not ppl tagging lando 😭😭

↳ user: he’s gottta open his eyes

↳ user: @landonorris

imessage

— author’s note: this is simply for the story, i’m aware that rachael and tom both have partners

pt2?

[sidekick-hero]

(steddie | 2.4k | teen | tags: future fic, steddie in their 40s, second chances, mutual pining, happy ending | @steddielovemonth Love is the hope for a future together by@acasualcrossfade | AO3)

"I don't know, Robbie. I mean, it's been years! Even if there ever was a 'spark' between us, it's probably long gone."

He doesn't look over at Robin as he says this, pretending to be engrossed in grading papers. They both know that he hasn't made a single mark on the paper in front of him since Robin burst into his house with her spare key and announced, "Eddie's coming to the wedding."

"Inside voice," he had chided her, even though April was at her friend's house doing a school project. Old habits die hard.

Plopping down next to him at the kitchen table, Robin had happily ignored him as she continued, "Lucas just called me, it's going to be a surprise for Dustin. Eddie's finishing the tour two days early, so he's coming straight from the airport. But he will be there, Steve!"

Trying his best not to show how his heart had started beating faster as soon as Robin had mentioned Eddie's name, Steve had shrugged nonchalantly. "That's nice, Robbie. Dustin will be over the moon."

"That's nice, Robbie." She repeated in a surprisingly good imitation of his tone. They definitely spent too much time together. "You can act indifferent all you want, Steve. I was there when you refused to leave the house for a whole week when Eddie went to LA, remember? I held your hair when you puked your guts out after drowning your sorrows when Eddie brought what's-his-face to Max and Lucas' wedding. You two belong together, Steve! You just had bad timing. You've never both been single at the same time - until now. That must mean something. Maybe he's not just coming for Dustin, that's all I'm saying."

Which had actually led them to discuss whether Steve should put them all out of their misery by finally growing a pair (Robin's words) or decide that whatever had been between them that summer, when Eddie had recovered from almost being eaten alive by demobats, was long gone (Steve's words).

"I beg to differ, Dingus. I saw the way he looked at you at our little 'Fuck Off Upside Down' anniversary party. He spilled his beer when you walked in the room, Steve. No one else did."

"He's clumsy. You know that. I'm surprised he never fell off the stage," Steve jokes. He's not sure who he's trying to convince, Robin or himself.

Robin's expression changes to something more serious as she puts her hand on top of his, still holding his red grading pen in a white-knuckled grip. "Steve, listen. I'm not saying you have to do anything. You and Eddie have been friends for almost twenty years. We've all been. You're not going to lose him no matter what you decide. But," and here she takes a deep breath, "I just want you to be happy, Steve. You deserve to be happy. And I know that you're not unhappy, I know that. You've got April and you've got me and you've got the kids, even though they're scattered all over the country. But I also know that you've never stopped imagining a future with him, have you?"

"He kissed me," Steve blurts out, and to Robin's credit, she doesn't react except for her hand on his to twitch in surprise. She makes a questioning sound in her throat, clearly waiting for more.

"The night before he left. We had this big going-away bash, remember?" She nods. "We all got pretty drunk after the kids left and you and Vicky had gone to sleep in the guest room and I had offered to sleep on the couch so Eddie could have my bed. His back was still bothering him and he had a long drive ahead of him the next day. But he insisted on sharing and I was too drunk and tired to argue. The next morning he got up very early, probably thinking I was still asleep when he got dressed and left. Only he didn't leave. At least not right away. He came over to the bed and kissed me. On the mouth. And he said, 'You'll always be my almost, Stevie.'"

Robin looks at him with wide eyes, and Steve thinks that maybe he should have told her sooner, that maybe he violated some code between them because they tell each other everything. But something about this morning had felt, well, almost sacred in a way. As if putting it into words would make it less so.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Robbie. I just..."

"You had to keep it to yourself so it would always be the one dream you could turn to?" Robin suggests in a soft voice, and Steve wouldn't have said it like that, but she's right. Every date that didn't feel right, every relationship that went down the drain, hell, even when his marriage imploded on him, he thought of that one kiss and dreamed of a life where Eddie would have stayed. Or where Steve had followed him.

"Oh Dingus." Suddenly, Robin's arms wrapped around him in a hug, and it wasn't until he saw the wetness on her shirt that he realized he was crying. "I can't promise you it'll work, but I really think you should talk to him. Your life doesn't end at 40, Steve. You can still have the future you've always dreamed of."

Steve nods against her shoulder, tightening his grip on the best thing that has ever happened to him besides April.

Dustin and El's wedding is a small affair, just family and close friends, which is basically the same in their group.

Steve tries his best not to show his inner turmoil and mostly succeeds. There are handshakes that turn into tight hugs, hellos that turn into stories about kids and grandkids, neighbors, vacations, jobs, life. It's great to see everyone. It also helps distract him from the butterflies that have taken up permanent residence in his stomach for over a week now.

It works until everyone is about to take their seats and Eddie still hasn't shown up. He's supposed to be one of Dustin's groomsmen, along with Lucas and Mike and Will, while Steve is actually Dustin's best man. He only cried a little when Dustin asked him to.

Just as the officiant is ready to start without him, the heavy double doors open and Eddie walks in like Aragorn into Helm's Deep (Dustin insisted that Steve watch the movies if he didn't want to read the books, and Steve may have thought of Eddie more than once while watching Aragorn, sue him).

He rushes to his spot next to the other groomsmen, ruffles Dustin's hair as he passes him, and mumbles, "Sorry, shrimp, the airport lost my luggage." Then his eyes fall on Steve and he freezes for a moment before giving him a bright, dimpled smile. "Hey, Stevie," he whispers before stepping to the end of the line of groomsmen.

Steve is glad that Hopper is recording the whole ceremony, because he doesn't hear a thing that's being said.

Later, everyone gathers in the dining room and Hopper and Claudia each give a heartfelt speech before it's Steve's turn. He has everyone toast to Dustin and El's future, because while the past may have brought them together, it's the future that belongs to them and their love. He forces himself not to look at Eddie as he says this, knowing that his face would give away his thoughts.

And then Eddie stands up to say a few words as well, something no one expected him to do.

"I've known Dustin for 20 years now, and the only time I ever doubted that he was a genius was when he let El go without a fight. But you know what? I was wrong. Dustin and El may have taken the scenic route to get here," Eddie tells the guests, "but sometimes that's the best way to get somewhere. If you're willing to take the long and winding road, the road less traveled, as Frost would say, you know that whatever's at the other end is worth it."

Steve desperately wants to believe that Eddie is not just talking about Dustin and El, but he doesn't even look at Steve when he says that. He just sits down again next to Robin at the table right next to the one where Steve is sitting with Dustin and El and their parents, because Steve is part of the family, too, as Claudia had pointed out.

The rest of the evening is kind of a blur until everyone gets up to go to the ballroom where the dance floor has been set up. Dustin and El open with their first dance, "You and Me" by Lifehouse, and Steve has never been prouder of his little brother as he watches him lead El across the dance floor with the biggest, toothiest smile on his face.

"They've come a long way, huh?" says a voice next to him and Steve doesn't have to turn around to know it's Eddie.

"Yeah. I'm glad they made it." Steve agrees, his eyes never leaving the dancing couple. More and more people are joining them now, and Steve can feel the fond smile on his face grow.

Eddie's hand rests on his arm as he steps around Steve to face him. He extends his other hand to Steve, palm up, and asks, "May I have the pleasure of this dance with you?"

As if Steve could ever say no to Eddie.

Just as they step onto the dance floor, "You and Me" fades out and the next song begins. It's "Unchained Melody" and Steve suspects that Robin had a hand in it. It's the song Steve listened to a lot after Eddie left and she once complained that he ruined the song for her. Apparently not enough to put it on the playlist when he and Eddie hit the dance floor.

"I always kind of liked that song," Eddie tells him, and Steve snorts. "No, really! It's not really metal, but I don't know. I just feel it, you know? It's real." Eddie explains, veering close to rambling territory.

"Is that so?" Steve has to ask as he slowly sways, his hand in Eddie's and his arm wrapped around Eddie's waist.

Eddie hums quietly in agreement. "Back in '86, when I was trying to settle down in LA, I used to listen to it for hours." Eddie admits quietly and Steve's heart is suddenly in his throat. "I felt every single word and every single word made me think about what I was leaving behind."

"Eddie," Steve begins, only to be gently silenced by Eddie's finger against his lips.

"Please, Stevie, I have to say this now or I never will. So please, just listen, yeah?"

Steve crosses his eyes to look pointedly at Eddie's finger against his lips before looking back up at Eddie, who snorts at the gesture. "Brat," he teases, taking his finger away.

"Okay, I'm listening," Steve tells him, and mimics zipping his lips.

Eddie's eyes sparkle with amusement and affection, and something deeper. Something that makes the seeds of hope in Steve's chest tentatively open and reach for their sun.

"Stevie, sweetheart, you certainly know... I mean, you must know that I..." Eddie rambles and Steve has never seen him so lost for words. He doesn't say anything, but he brings their joined hands to his mouth and kisses Eddie's in silent reassurance.

Eddie's eyes find his and the expression in them is so unbearably soft that Steve almost has to look away. No one has ever looked at him like that before. "You were always the one who got away, Steve. My almost. Even when I was with other people, you were there. On every stage, in every hotel room, on every stretch of highway, you were there. And I almost told myself it just wasn't meant to be. I had you as a friend and that was a gift I never thought I would have, I shouldn't be greedy and ask for more."

He takes a deep breath, like he's steeling himself, gathering every ounce of that incredible courage Steve has seen time and time again, even as Eddie keeps insisting he's a coward. Steve knows better, and Eddie's next words prove him right once again.

"But the funny thing is, it never stopped me from hoping for a future with you."

They stop dancing, if you can call what they were doing dancing, and look at each other, eyes searching for answers. For reasons to hope.

Steve is the first to break the silence, a soft grin on his face. "May I speak now?"

That makes Eddie laugh softly and he nods.

"Is this what you want? A future with me? Because that means a future with a middle school teacher with a little pet tornado who's currently staying with her mom. You have to mean it for her as much as you mean it for me. This means being all in, Eddie."

Steve hates that he has to say this, that he can't just fall into Eddie's arms and kiss him senseless. But Eddie needs to know what a future with Steve means. If he wasn't sure he wanted that kind of future, then they couldn't have one together. At least not the way they both wanted it.

Eddie cupped Steve's cheek in his hand, his smile growing with every blink of his chocolate eyes. "Steve, I know who you are. I know what it would mean to be with you, and I want it so much that I can barely stand another day without it. I love your little pet Tornado, she's adorable and funny and she has great taste in music. No idea where she got that from, though," Eddie teases before sobering up. "I want to be a family. This tour was our last for at least two years. The guys need a break and so do I. And after that, we don't know yet, but whatever it is, it will be something we agree on together. You and me and April."

Maybe Steve should ask more questions, be more cautious. But he's waited twenty years for this, and he can't wait another second to finally kiss the man he's always been in love with.

He's ready for his future to begin.

[thegayloragenda]

Okay I want to put all of my current predictions out here (these are subject to change, of course):

• I think this show is going to get a little more colorful or a little bit more gay with each show because I think she’s running out the clock.

• I am CLOWNING for an eventual pronoun change during surprise songs.

• I think Karlie will probably show up again. And if she shows up for the rep announcement I will die dead.

• I’m also clowning for a rainbow variation of every outfit or perhaps a debutation variation if she plans to drop them together. Maybe a karma outfit. Idk. I don’t really know what is coming next in regard to music or if there will be anything (what if she just went black out for a year and then dropped rep next December 😂).

• I’m split because I think she’s either going to continue this Travis stunt until the Super Bowl or she’ll break up with him while on tour (if it’s real that’s totally fine but the way this relationship has been crammed down our throats gives me the ick so bad). I have no idea how that breakup will go down especially since they’ve made an entire Christmas movie about this relationship.

• I’m still assuming we’ll get a proposal / breakup.

Overall, I don’t think Taylor Swift would pander to this side of the fandom the way she has if she didn’t have a plan to blow everything up. I assume she’s a good person. I assume she’s supportive of the fans who see her. I’ve been in this fandom long enough to know what it looks like when she’s in the closet and when she isn’t. The closet isn’t even glass anymore. The closet is just invisible at this point so if she’s just a straight girl who loves rainbows, she’s absolutely diabolical in the very worst ways.

And before anyone comes for me, yes she can be bi or pan or whatever she wants to be. I don’t care about muses or labels. I notice patterns and I can’t help but connect the dots. I see bi and lesbian dresses and her calling attention to them so that’s where my focus is. I care about freedom for her (whatever that looks like) and I also think some clarity about who she actually is will help a lot of us decide if we want to keep supporting her and giving her our money. I’m placing my bet on her being who I think she is so I’m here to support her until the end of this roller coaster ride.

I will make a post on the final day of this tour but I just want to say this: I have had the TIME OF MY LIFE in this labyrinth. I have made lifelong friends because of this side of the fandom. Thank you to ALL of my friends on here who have followed me and commented on my posts and said such kind things. Thank you to everyone who has messaged me their insights and theories. And finally, thank you to my fans who have messaged me your homophobic, brain-rotted hate comments. Good luck in the aftermath!

And to Taylor (if you ever see this), thank you for keeping my mind so stimulated. I will probably never get dementia because of you. You have been so good for my brain health. Thank you for teaching me about my own history as a queer girlie. Thank you for helping me heal my relationship with my neurodivergent self. Thank you for being the “mother” who saw me when my own mother just talks about how gross and wrong gay people are. Thank you for being kind and strong and brave in the face of shame and fear and danger. Thank you for leading a revolution of New Romantics! No one does it like you, girl. I love you so much. I hope you got a giggle over the chaos and the wrong predictions. I hope this tour brought you joy and hope and peace and healing. I know I haven’t always seen eye to eye with some of your choices, but I do respect you and I do hope the rest of your life is sunshine and rainbows and you get to hug your mom forever and take really long naps with your person after all of this is over. Long live 💜

Update: I do think the election plays a big role in how loud she can be. @casuallycruel131313 pointed this out, too. We’ll get way more once Kamala has been elected! I think Canada shows will be wildddd.

[ingravinoveritas]

It's been just barely three days since the announcement of DJ Qualls and Ty Olsson's engagement, and after seeing the interview DJ did on a podcast where he broke the news, I am struck by the parallels between his comment above and things both Michael and David have said over the last five years about growing old together.

I can still remember when Michael first posted the tweet in the screenshot in 2019, and how much it stood out to me because of what was left unspoken. That he's thought about Aziraphale and Crowley growing old together. That he doesn't separate Aziraphale from him or Crowley from David--something we knew five years ago, and have become even more keenly aware of now--and was maybe, by extension, thinking of him growing older with David.

This only seems like it was cemented further by what we saw in the GO 2 interviews last year. Michael is again talking about Aziraphale and Crowley being old, but more specifically about him and David playing them that way. Seconds later, the idea of a theatrical tour is mentioned, and this time it's David who becomes the more vocal one. In this one entire moment, we have Michael revisiting that idea of playing the characters old, and David responding in a way that lets us know--without hesitation, without question--that he very much enjoys the thought of growing older with Michael.

So in thinking of what DJ said about Ty and how he wants to grow old with the person he loves, it just seems so incredibly similar to what Michael and David have said and are saying now. That they are going to be old men together, however that might look, in whatever form it could take. And given the incredibly positive reaction from the fans toward DJ and Ty (which Michael may have seen, since he does follow Misha Collins, who tweeted about the news), I would just like to hope that's what would be in store for Michael and David, too...

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG SUB] Bojan Cvjetićanin on Radio Sova (13.11.2024).

In this interview, Bojan talks about the new album ‘Souvenir Pop' and answers some questions fans asked.

Transcript, translation and subtitles by IG marija_rocen, @moonlvster and IG irenalemajic, proofread by IG GBoleyn123.

Full video and transcript below the cut👇

Host: Dear listeners, it's 8:30 p.m., you're listening to Radio Sova, a student-run show on Radio Rijeka. As we announced earlier, on the phone with us today is Bojan Cvjetićanin, the frontman of the popular Slovenian band Joker Out. Bojan, good evening and welcome.

Bojan: Good evening, thank you.

This week is a big week for Joker Out, in a little over 48 hours your new third studio album 'Souvenir Pop' comes out. I bet you're excited, but are you nervous about how your fans, and also the general public, will react to the album?

I have to admit that I am, I'm a little nervous. When you're releasing an album, I think it feels like the first time. So, even though it's our third one, let's say it's the first one this year and I'm nervous to the max.

The album is called 'Souvenir Pop'. Why that name and what does it represent?

You know, this year and a half since Eurovision ended has been really, like, interesting, to say the least. And a lot of things happened to us, a lot of new people, a lot of new places, feelings. So all of those things we brought home instead of fridge magnets, let's say, those are our souvenirs. So we said that 'Souvenir Pop' is kind of the name that best encompasses everything that happened in that period.

One of the songs on your newest album is 'Carpe Diem', the song with which you represented Slovenia at Eurovision in 2023 and the song which, you could say, opened a lot of doors for you. Your popularity has expanded from our region to Europe, but also to the entire world, which was confirmed by many sold out concerts around Europe. How much did the fact that you spent almost the entire last year and the start of this year on tour influence the creative process of creating the new album? How different was it to write and record 'Souvenir Pop' from 'Umazane misli' and 'Demoni'

Quite different. We had limited time in the studio for the first time and it was very clear in that period we had to finish the album and in that period I was writing, more or less. It was also interesting to me to think introspectively about how, in a certain period, I have to put all my thoughts into songs because I'm honestly quite a lazy author, so I don't create much throughout the year, so, to create more or less everything in that certain period while we were in the studio, was a bit hectic and tiring, but in the end I'm very satisfied with everything that happened.

What does it look like when you're in the studio? That is, what does your creative process look like? When you write the lyrics, how do you balance between personal experiences and universal ones? Do you think about what the audience will say and how the audience will experience a certain song or do you write entirely from your point of view regardless of everything else?

When it comes to writing songs, I write more or less entirely introspectively or retrospectively if I see that I’m trying to find myself in the story of someone else I know and whose feelings I want to take on and write about in a song. As for the creative process, it really depends on the song, some songs come about when I come up with the lyrics and the melody, some songs come out of a jam, from the band’s improvisation. So, there's a lot of playing, a lot of playing and it more or less looks like a playground, where everyone takes their own rakes and trucks and then we go on some kind of a trip, and try to get somewhere.

All artists draw inspiration from other artists. Is there maybe a musician or a book, a movie or a work of art that shaped you as an artist?

There are certainly quite a few musicians, I was more or less a big fan of bands from the former Yugoslavia. So, let's say, I was shaped a lot by them, I listened to a lot of Slovenian music. And as for international artists, we listened to the Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, ABBA a lot, so I think that as a band they are our mutual idols. And from our region, Indexi, Bijelo dugme, and a lot of pop, Zdravko Čolić, Toše Proeski… I mean, everything, everything, everything.

How important is experimenting in music to you, is there any musical risk you wanted to take, but you didn't have the courage or opportunity yet?

I think we experiment a lot as far as our band is concerned, at least within what we can do and what we know. I would certainly like to go down some other musical paths, but I believe that there will be some time for that as well. I don't know, right now I have a trumpet in front of me, so maybe the next album will be a trumpet solo, if my trumpet teacher allows me.

It's time for a short musical break, we will listen to the song 'Bluza.' Bojan, for everyone who hasn't heard 'Bluza' before, maybe it's best for you to introduce it?

'Bluza' is… well, 'Bluza' is lost, found and lost love in just one moment. I wrote it with a story about a kafana¹, where, let's say, I saw something that could exist, but never did, so it's for all found and lost loves in one moment that's 'Bluza'. Radio Rijeka.

¹Kafana is a distinct type of local bistro, common in some former Yugoslav countries, which primarily serves alcoholic beverages and coffee, and often also light snacks.

That was 'Bluza' by Joker Out, their frontman has joined us over the phone. Your new album comes out this Friday, and all your fans will have the chance to hear it on your album release tour, during which you’ll be performing all over the Balkans, but also beyond, so on the 3rd of December you're coming to Croatia as well, precisely, to Zagreb. How did you decide where to present your new album?

Well, you know, we spent a year and a half playing exclusively around Europe, more or less, and we weren’t present that much in the Balkans. We truly see the Balkan region as a concert at home, so at the end of the year, and for this album, we decided we wanted to feel like we're at home, which is why we have chosen those main cities, let's say, which are closest to us for this first round. I think the choice was very logical and very quick.

What can your fans who have decided to be a part of the album release tour expect? Will you perform some of your old songs or are these concerts meant exclusively for 'Souvenir Pop'?

No, of course, we'll play songs from all three albums, but we'll probably play the whole of 'Souvenir Pop' only on this tour, which means all ten songs, because later, when we make setlists, I doubt we’ll end up putting all ten songs on the same one. So, if people want to hear it from start to finish, this is their chance.

Last year you also had a fantastic concert in Rijeka which made a strong impression on the audience. How do you remember your first concert in Rijeka, and do you plan to perform here again sometime soon?

The concert in Rijeka was awesome, because many of our musical colleagues, who are a bit older than us, talked about Rijeka as sort of, how can I say this, concert treasure for musicians, because the audience is always really cool, and it truly was like that. The concert was awesome, and later in the backstage, we were joined by the members of the band… Oh, what's their name, "šč², mama šč, mama šč kupila traktora…"

²'Mama ŠČ!' is the song of the punk-rock band Let 3 from Rijeka. They represented Croatia at Eurovision in 2023. The English translation would be: "Šč, mom šč, mom šč, mom bought a tractor".

Let 3.

Let 3, Let 3, Let 3! So, we met for the first time after Eurovision, and it was really great.

So, you agree with everyone who says that our audience in Rijeka is completely different from others?

It is! I'd say that it has a bit of a punk vibe, I really like that. Aside from being in Rijeka last year, you also travelled, as you mentioned, all around Europe after your big success at Eurovision. Joker Out went on a grand tour and you certainly felt a huge growth in popularity. What did the transition from one intense experience to another one look like? What was the most challenging, and what was the most exciting thing when it comes to facing such a large and suddenly expanded audience?

Well, the biggest challenge was absolutely transportation. Even though we have a great crew and an excellent tour manager who organised everything, we were travelling last winter and it happened to us that four flights were cancelled during one night, so finding alternative options - buses, trains, and so on, that was really chaotic, because we had to make it on time for all our concerts. You know how it is - one night you're playing in Germany, the next in Poland and you have to show up, you simply have to, we were ready to run if necessary. But in the end everything went well.

I hope that you won't have similar problems on this tour.

We marathon runners³ will run the final lap maybe.

³'Maratonci trče počasni krug' - The Marathon Family (lit. Marathon Runners Do a Lap of Honour) is a 1982 Yugoslav black comedy film and it is regarded as one of the classics of Yugoslav Serbian cinematography. The story takes place in a small Serbian town in 1935, and focuses on the Topalović family, consisting of six generations of undertakers with a dark secret.

Let's go for another musical break, we'll listen to the song 'Stephanie'.

That was ‘Stephanie’ by Joker Out, whose frontman has joined us over the phone. In this part of the interview, Bojan, we have questions for you which your fans asked us on Instagram. I want to thank everyone who asked their questions. There were over 60 questions, and there was a wide variety of them and they were all great, but unfortunately I can't ask them all, so I chose some of them. I also apologise for any mispronounced usernames. Bojan, are you ready?

I'm ready.

@/talvikoira asked: What song was the last to be completed in the new album and why?

'Mesto duhov' ('City of Ghosts'). Because it was originally written in English, it was called 'Wembury Mews' and I decided to write it in Slovenian because I had that story ready about the city of ghosts I returned to after the tour, so that was the last one.

@/milapongrats asks: What's your favourite album you've made so far?

My favorite album is definitely 'Souvenir Pop'.

@/anačepelkina asked: Did you ever have a creative burnout? If yes, then how did you overcome it?

Well, I think I feel some kind of creative burnout quite often but I wouldn't say it's exactly a burnout, but let's just say I feel a little empty. But honestly, then I just talk to people who are close to me, with people who inspire me, and very quickly things fall back into place.

@/trickme asks: What kind of books do you read? What are the last three books you read?

Well, I honestly like reading all sorts of books, but the last thing I read was 'Kafka on the Shore' by Murakami. Then, I don't know what it's called, but in Slovenian it's 'Tuleči mlinar' ('The Howling Miller') by Arto Paasilinna, a Finnish author. And… How to…', I have no idea, something, How to Mend Your Mind,' or something like that.

@/GBoleyn123 asked: Do you like the interview/promo part of being a musician? What makes for a good interview?

I mean, I love doing interviews. The only part of interviews that I don't like is if I have to do them before singing, because I have to talk a lot and it exhausts me. For example, at Eurovision it was a terribly difficult part, because we had at least 40 interviews a day, and all the pressure is on you to sing your song as well as you can, so, yeah, it can sometimes be a bit tiring for a vocalist. And what makes a good interview? I don't know, good energy of the interviewer and good questions.

I hope this is one of those interviews.

Of course.

@/sara_gicevski asks: What is the most important promise or goal you made/set for yourself?

Huh! Well, I think that honestly I haven't really thought much about that and I don't promise myself many things, but I believe that once I promised myself that I would do what I believe in, that I wouldn’t create things I’m not 100% sure of and which aren’t 100% me, so there it is.

Finally, Bojan, what would you say to everyone who still doesn't have a ticket for your concert in Zagreb?

Well, to everyone who doesn't have a ticket for our concert in Zagreb I’d like to say that on the 3rd of December, December, right?

That's right.

On the 3rd of December we’re playing at Tvornica Kulture, we were there last year and it was phenomenal. We’re preparing our third album. It will be wonderful for us, so why shouldn't it be wonderful for you too, because it's more beautiful when we have a wonderful time together.

Bojan, thank you for the time you set aside for Radio Sova and we wish you good luck and a lot of success on Friday.

You as well, thank you very much.

[themultifandomgal]

From 2010- The Brit Awards 2013 Highlights

2013

Part 28

Nervously I sit down in my seat straightening my dress as I do. I sit between Zayn and Liam because Harry and I aren’t allowed to sit next to each other according to management

“You ok?” Zayn asks me as I take a sip of water with shaking hands

“Yeah just… nervous I guess”

“How’s your headache?” Harry asks from across the table

“Not great. I know it’s going to kill after tonight. I’ve got some more paracetamol in my bag if I need it”

“Just make sure you definitely have your in ears in. Even if you can’t hear us or yourself” Niall says

“But then I’ll sound terrible”

“Na we’ll keep you in time done worry” Louis says giving me a smile

“Welcome to the 2013 Brit Awards” the announcement starts and we all go quiet.

“Now look who I’ve found over here at this table, One Direction. How are we guys?” James Corden asks sitting in between Zayn and Louis

“Very well very excited” Louis replies into the microphone James is holding

“Now last year we had a chat and the next day you were going to play in America for the first time. Your now the biggest band in the world. You’ve had 2 consecutive number ones in America alone. Is it a bit much to take in?”

‘Yes imagine having many teens looking up to you as a role model and having the media pick out ever flaw and having haters online who have never met you spill nothing but lies and hate towards you and on top of that all of your friendships and romances are public so you never get a break’ is what I would like to say, but James holds the microphone to Zayn who says

“Erm yeah it’s massively overwhelming and we can’t thank our fans enough. They’re the people who got us to where we are so we owe it all to them”

“Now your performing later on tonight. Your performing your comic relief single which is currently, did you know it’s currently number one in 63 countries. I don’t even know if I can name 63 countries. Niall can you?”

“No” he replies shaking his head

“Your going back on tour right? YN when does that kick off”

“We start tour literally this weekend here at the O2 and we’re really excited”

The boys are in jeans and leather jackets while I’m in tight leather trousers and a cute white top. Music for One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks) starts and we practically jump on stage

“One way or another I’m gonna find ya. I’m gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya. One way, or another, I'm gonna win ya I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya” Harry starts the song glancing over at me before giving me a little nod

“One way, or another, I'm gonna see ya. I'm gonna meet ya, meet ya, meet ya, meet ya. One day, maybe next week. I'm gonna meet ya, I'm gonna meet ya, I'll meet ya” I sing. Thankfully I can hear perfectly fine but the lights aren’t doing anything for my headache at all. I walk down the stairs slowly, but since the boys get down the stairs quicker than me Harry runs back up and takes my hand to make sure I don’t slip while singing

“I wanna hold you wanna hold you right” I take the higher harmony again not helping my head at all. During rehearsals I’ve been told to prolong a high note which I haven’t done yet because of my headache and nausea

“I get teenage kicks right through the night” thankfully I am able to hold the note causing Harry, Louis and Niall group hug me and jump around the stage

“Brit Awards 2013 make some noise for YN!” Liam shouts. At the end of the song Harry once again helps me up the stairs before we are dropped back down.

“And the winner of the global success award is my 5 little brothers and little sister One Direction!” Robby Williams says into the microphone on stage. We all stand up from our seats and hug one another before heading on the stage

“This is really is mind blowing” Louis says taking the microphone from Robbin and holding the award “we have have to start off by thanking our incredible fans. They have been just been unbelievable and we wouldn’t be here today without them”

“This is absolutely amazing thank you so much. I just want to say thank you to our record label and Sony and Syco” Harry and I both give each other other a look when Liam mentions Syco “and to modest our management” I look down at my feet making sure I don’t eye roll. I know Liam has to say this to keep the peace but I really wouldn’t be thanking them ���also our parents are in the house tonight so I just want to say thank you to all of them. Thank you so much!”

[ghoulangerlee]

Mushy May 9 - warming them up

Aeon and Dew navigating the beginnings of their relationship - this is set somewhat shortly after Aeon takes Aether's place in the band. As per usual, my Aeon is pre-summoned, works between the grounds and the infirmary and was hand picked by Aether himself to take his place.

this was a last minute thing so aldkjf please enjoy? <3 special thanks to @forlorn-crows for putting this together. I was too shy to join in on the fun last year.

-

Aeon's hands are a strange amalgamation of warm and cold; his fingertips frigid like ice while his palms get tacky with sweat.

He thinks its mostly to do with his dual lineage; earth and quintessence.

It had never been much of an issue before joining the Ghost project full time; his hands spent most of the time buried in dirt in the gardens or sorting through tools and packaged first aid products in the infirmary.

Playing guitar, by extension, sometimes kept his fingertips from going icy, somewhat numb with it—but it wasn't an all the time thing, he thought, maybe when they'd start the tour, playing outdoors in the sun, he wouldn't have to worry about it, but in the somewhat frigid practice rooms at the church—

"Aeon," Dew's voice is sharp, cuts through his thoughts as he hits another sour chord, "Pay attention, we're trying to get through a new song," he says, trying for patience but coming across a bit mean instead.

Aeon's good at compartmentalizing, mostly, he had to be in the pits, and it's carried over through his summoning and his duties at the church, so when he catches Dew's tone, somewhat annoyed at him, he turns and looks at the fire ghoul, curls his fingers around the neck of his guitar, "Fingers are cold," he says, "Hard to feel where I need to go if I can't feel anything," he shoots back, somewhat snippy.

It's been building between them, since Aether's announcement and him bringing Aeon aboard—he'd searched him out before he'd actually told anyone about his plans, offered up his place and well, Aeon had always loved music, so why wouldn't he take the opportunity?

Dew had been mostly unhappy about it, he wasn't outward about his dislike most of the time, but he made it known in other ways—but again, Aeon had picked up on it after a couple of times, Dew's unhappiness.

He'd even asked about it, but Dew had just waved him off, said something bullshit about creative differences—whatever that meant, and continued on with this somewhat one sided feud.

And well, Aeon hadn't been trying to replace anyone. He'd made it very clear at the beginning, that Aether had asked him to step in, this wasn't Aeon shoving Aether out of the spotlight.

Dew's eyes dart from Aeon's face down to his hands, the dusky color of his skin not giving away the tingling coldness in his fingertips, before Dew's lips curl up into something unpleasant, just as his eyes do something complicated that Aeon can't quite place.

Silences stretches over the practice room, the others had sort of shuffled off to the side, watching carefully, making sure there wasn't anything bad happening, but for the most part keeping out of it, trusting the two of them to deal with their shit in a decent manner.

And then, Dew finally sighs and pulls his guitar off, moving across the room to place it down carefully, "Let's take a break now. Reconvene in about fifteen minutes," he says, his voice tired, so tired.

Aeon removes his guitar as well, placing it down with care—it had been Aether's, one of his spares, a rush of magic woven into the strings, a good luck charm for him, and he rubs his hands together, moving to go take a seat on the low stage, letting his legs dangle off of it.

The others clear out, though Aeon can see that Swiss stops by Dew, leaning down to speak into his ear, but when Dew's eyes go hard, Aeon focuses on something else, rubbing at the tips of his fingers individually to try and coax warmth from his palms back up into the stiff joints.

"The coldness is part of your nature," Dew says, stilted and jerky, he's standing just in front of where Aeon's sitting now, arms crossed over his chest, "Quintessence, right? Aether said you were half that at least, probably why it's just your fingers that get the worst of it."

Aeon watches him warily, flexes his fingers a bit, though the feeling doesn't seem to come back any, "Just my fingers," he says, "Sometimes my elbows and knees, but moving around helps keep that from happening," His fingers stop for a moment, and he tilts his head, "What is your problem with me."

A pinched expression takes over Dew's face again, his brows furrowing a bit, "Change this close to a tour has me on the edge," he says, it's robotic and somewhat a lie and he can tell the exact moment that Aeon sees through it.

"I'm not trying to replace Aether," he says, "I'm not trying to step in and step on anyone's toes. I'm just here to play some music for the band and for Papa. I'm doing Aether a favor while he takes some time away." He presses his lips together, "Whatever is going on with the two of you, I'm not going to be an outlet for your anger. Not if we're supposed to work together."

Dew makes a somewhat frustrated noise and rubs both of his hands over his face, "There's no fight," he says, "I'm dealing with this, whatever it is, but Aether and I have been on stage for many, many years and this will be the first time that—"

He breaks off, but Aeon knows where he's going with it, can smell the way his scent sort of goes sad, at the prospect of leaving behind someone so important, "Ah," he says, trying to tread carefully, "I don't think taking out your...misplaced feelings on me is how to get over it though?"

He's always been blunt, but even he winces at how blunt he sounds, the words slipping out before he can stop them and he expects a push back, for the sadness to bloom into anger, but Dew just snorts softly, amused.

"The mouth on you," he says after a moment, shaking his head, "But, as much as it pains me to admit, you're right." he moves closer, sits down on the stage beside Aeon—there's space between them, and Aeon feels a bit on the edge.

"Can I?" Dew asks, holding his hands out expectantly, wiggling his fingers towards Aeon's hands, "I'm not going to bite, even if my previous attitude says different."

Warily, Aeon offers one hand as a sort of peace offering and Dew just snorts, grabbing at his wrist and tugging it closer—there's a brief rush of brimstone before the warm tips of Dew's fingers make contact with Aeon's cold skin; almost instantly, warmth seeps into him.

"Oh," Aeon says, looking down at where Dew's got their hands in front of him, each fingertip pressed together as he gently pours magic into him, "Neat trick."

"Aether gets cold hands too, not just his fingertips, so I guess you might be a little lucky you don't have to deal with the whole thing, but we figured this out shortly after my transition. Fire magic heats up quicker and neutralizes the quintessence that causes the cutoff." Dew says, his voice low and slow, almost like he's lost in thought.

"So its a magic thing?" Aeon asks, he's offering up another olive branch, another token of peace, "Is there a way to uh. Help? Other than the fire."

Dew shrugs and lets go of Aeon's wrist slowly, allowing the other ghoul to pull his hand back, easily offering up the other one, "Might have to ask Aether. You're used to using mostly earth magic, right? That's what I can smell on you. Maybe if you give your quintessence an outlet more, it'll gather up in your joints less."

Aeon hisses at the rush of heat into his cold fingertips, shoulders sinking as he relaxes into it; "I'll talk to him," he mumbles, "Not too good at the quintessence stuff, but I suppose I could try it out." He hums, wiggles his newly warmed fingers. "Thank you."

Dew looks up from where he'd been focused on Aeon's hand, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"For warming me up," he says, rolling his eyes, "And I guess, for finally talking to me about the shit in your head." He nudges his knee into Dew's, "I know I'm not Aether, but I'd hope that my time in the band could be something fond to look back on one day too?"

"Oh," Dew says, licks his lips, seemingly out of words, "I, yeah. I think so. I think we can create something good with this."

The answer comes out a little weird, but Aeon feels Dew's fingertips press tighter against his own and Dew's knee come to rest against him and it sort of dawns on Aeon then, a secretive sort of smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he presses his knee back into Dew's, a hesitant step towards a new beginning.

[plutoccult]

HAIKYUU X THE OFFICE AU — EPISODE ONE: JAPAN PULP AND PAPER, THIS IS Y/N

pairing: sugawara koushi x female reader

description: chaos ensues when the miyagi branch of japan pulp and paper allow a documentary crew to capture their day-to-day lives in the office.

word count: 3.3k

also available to read on my ao3 here

author’s note: another work from my ao3 that i really wanted to share! i posted this back in july, and i definitely intend to write more. i refuse to let this go without writing casino night. like, come on. it’s too good! for some context, you as the reader are essentially pam, while sugawara is jim, ukai is michael, the list goes on. some characters don’t really reflect any office counterparts, but that’s okay. you can imagine i’ll be going through the motions of that torturous jim and pam slow burn but with my own pizazz. also, text in bold and italics are the interviewing part, if that makes sense. hopefully it’s a smooth transition. anyway, i hope you enjoy!!!

“are we rolling?” ukai asks the camera crew and they nod in response. “alright, cool, cool, cool.”

he takes a deep breath before doing various ridiculous vocal and physical exercises, some you would take straight out of a children’s choir practice. he even got out of his chair and tried to squat before he realized he could rip his pants right at the beginning of the documentary. one could hope it wouldn’t make it to the final edit, but it probably will anyway.

“ahem.” he coughs. “i’m keishin ukai, regional manager. um, i’ve been working at japan pulp and paper for about twelve years now, but i’ve been the regional manager for the past few years.”

“let’s try taking a tour of the office floor.” a camera guy proposes since they were currently cramped in ukai’s office.

“oh, you want a change of scenery? yeah, i can do that. come on, let’s go.” ukai stands up and allows the camera crew to make their way out before he exited as well. there was much, much more room to film around, thank god.

“welcome to my humble abode, aka the office floor.” he began, then made his way to the reception desk where you sat. you kind of hoped you wouldn’t be filmed right off the bat, but here you were with a camera now in your face. “starting off here, we have our receptionist, y/n. say hi to the camera, y/n.”

“hello, camera.” you shyly wave, then try to hand ukai a piece of paper. “by the way, you have a fax.”

“unimportant.” he immediately brushes it off.

“it’s from corporate—“ you try to say, but he interrupts you.

“y/n over here notoriously once dated a guy named mad dog. seriously. that was his name.” ukai whispers to the camera, although you could hear him clear as day, same with the microphone one of the crew members held above you two.

“i thought we agreed to never talk about that again, ukai.” you groan.

“i’m not known to be a truther, y/n.” he shrugs. “anyway, that doesn’t matter anymore because she’s engaged now. well, she’s been engaged for three years. bummer.”

“i’m just going to shred this fax—“

“woah, woah, woah. let’s not do that!” ukai interrupts you, reaching out for the fax you threateningly held over the shredder. “come on, gimme the fax.”

you stare into the camera and hand the fax to ukai.

•••

“as you can tell, i don’t exactly love it here. i mean, it pays alright, but i don’t think anybody dreams of becoming a receptionist.” you say to the documentary crew, forcing a laugh as you’re being interviewed separately. “i wanted to be an actress. as you can tell, that’s not going so well since i still work here. at least there are a couple of good things that come from working here, i suppose.”

•••

“i have to go to the bathroom.” hinata and kageyama announce at the same time. the camera crew turns their attention from you and ukai to them instead. this could be good… maybe.

“i bet i can make it to the bathroom faster!” they yell, again, in unison and rush through the doors to race to the bathroom. unfortunately, it was a tie like always.

“don’t mind them, that’s just hinata and kageyama. always got this weird ass tension, those two.” ukai rolled his eyes. “welp, anyway.”

as ukai scanned the office to think of who else he could bother, ahem, introduce to the cameras, a certain gray-haired salesman quietly whispered to himself at his desk, hoping he wouldn’t be next. after seeing what you went through, he didn’t want to be the next victim. “no, no, no, no, no…”

unfortunately, he was next.

“ah, perfect.” ukai clapped his hands together. “suga! my favorite prematurely gray sales guy!”

“how many times do i have to say my hair is ash blonde?” the young salesman groaned, pouting towards the camera.

“whatever helps you sleep at night.”

suga grumbles at his boss, who blissfully ignores him. “ah, tanaka, assistant—“

“sir, ukai, sir!” tanaka gets up from his chair quicker than one could blink, standing up as straight as possible, almost as if he’d break his spine if he tried to stand any straighter, with his hand to his forehead like a soldier speaking to his captain.

“why are you saluting at me? this is a paper company, not the army.” ukai says in disgust.

“because it feels right...?” tanaka replies hesitantly, slowly slouching back to normal posture.

“ugh, get out of my face. you ruined your intro.” ukai scoffs as he walks away, leaving tanaka with a pout.

•••

later when tanaka speaks to the documentary crew, he breaks out into tears, almost a little too dramatically. “i try so hard to receive that man’s approval. and kiyoko’s love…”

the poor guy thinks he’ll get nominated for an emmy because of this.

•••

a tall man walks in with a man bun. one could even compare him to a samurai, you think. his presence startles everyone in the office upon his arrival, but you keep your cool. well, unlike someone else you know.

“oh, my god! please don’t murder me, i’m begging you!” yachi screams out at the top of her lungs as she runs out of the office in a flash.

the mysterious man stands confused over the blonde rushing out. he looks at you shyly, so you greet him nicely and decide in your head that today was not the day to use your pepper spray.

“hi, can i help you?”

“um.” he coughs. “i’m azumane asahi from the temp agency. i was sent down to start today.”

oh… that checks out.

“oh, yeah!” you say cheerily as you waive those previous thoughts away. “i’ll get you introduced to mr. ukai.”

you show asahi to ukai’s office, knocking on the door before you’re allowed in. “hey, ukai?”

“mhm?” he looks up from his computer.

“this is azumane asahi. he’s from the temp agency.” you inform him.

“nice to meet y—“ asahi begins to speak before his words are interrupted.

“my god, how old are you?” ukai stands up to inspect asahi’s face. you could sense the poor new temp screaming in his head for dear life, so you mouth to him to just roll with it.

“twenty-three…” he stumbles with his response.

“jesus! you look like you’re heading toward a midlife crisis!” ukai exclaims.

you gasp at your boss and pull him away from asahi whose face is as red as a tomato. “ukai! you can’t just say that to people right in their face! you’re such a meanie!”

•••

“you know, people say i’m very harsh, but i think i just simply state what i think, and i think a lot of crazy shit.” ukai laughs at the camera. the crew quite literally thinks he’s clinically insane. “unless hr says something to me, i’m not stopping this ol’ noggin of mine. just like how i refuse to quit smoking...”

•••

knock knock on ukai’s door once more. it’s takeda this time around, who’s the sole part of hr. ukai’s relationship with him isn’t a love-hate one as the love part of it is dead silent. takeda thinks it’s all in good fun, unfortunately.

“ukai, i think we need to have a discussion,” takeda speaks calmly.

ukai slams his hands on his desk and stands up. “specs, you ignorant slut. i’m going out to smoke a cigarette.”

the camera crew proceeds to follow ukai as he goes outside to smoke. he’s unaware that they’re right behind him, so when he looks around to see if anyone is watching him, his soul almost leaps out of his body when he sees a bunch of filming equipment surrounding him as he tries to light a cigarette.

he takes a couple of puffs before addressing the camera, waving around his cigarette as he spoke, which made the crew worry as they tried oh so carefully to protect their extremely expensive equipment.

“yeah, i smoke.” he rolls his eyes. “i’ve tried quitting plenty of times, but it’s like mcdonald’s. even when you say you don’t want anything, you still find yourself stealing somebody’s fries.”

ukai had to make note of how oddly deep that sounded.

after finishing his smoke, ukai headed back inside the office, only to be met with chaos thanks to tanaka and nishinoya annoying kiyoko, a particularly drop-dead gorgeous employee, like always.

“daichi! pry tanaka and nishinoya away from kiyoko! their flirting skills are pathetic and we don’t need any lawsuits around here!” ukai yelled out first thing, pointing his finger at daichi to stop the embarrassment that was his employees.

“on it…” he sighed as he grabbed the two men by the backs of their shirts and dragged them away despite their pleas.

•••

“that was flirting?” kiyoko laughs hysterically at the camera. the camera crew shrugs. unfortunately, their googly eyes and drooling mouths as they asked how her day has been was flirting.

•••

“look, me and tanaka have been trying to woo kiyoko for years. one of us has to succeed, right? and by one of us, i mean me.“ nishinoya says confidently and the crew can’t help but snicker at him based on what kiyoko said to them earlier. he gives them the death glare in response and they immediately stop.

•••

long after the chaos died down, tanaka opens his desk drawer and reveals a plate with his stapler inside jell-o. he’s ultimately taken by surprise, almost unable to form words as to why this has happened to him.

“what…?” he asks himself quietly.

suga, sitting at the desk across from him, tries his best to resist the urge to grin while he plays dumb. “what? what’s wrong?”

“my stapler… is in jell-o,” tanaka says, staring at the plate.

“jell-o? lemme see!” hinata perks up from his desk and runs over to see the phenomenon, just as entranced as tanaka is.

“woah, how did that happen, buddy?” suga continues his act, this time cracking a smile as he watched hinata crouch down and poke the jell-o.

“stop poking it, hinata.” kageyama scoffs, but hinata doesn’t waver one bit.

“i… don’t know,” tanaka replies. it was like his brain literally couldn’t wrap around the situation. how could this be? he didn’t know how to put two and two together. suga found it insanely hilarious, but when he looked over and saw your little snicker as you quickly covered your mouth, it made it a million times better for him.

“obviously, suga did it, you idiot.” tsukishima rolled his eyes as he looked over at everybody with his classic resting bitch face.

“tsukki!” yamaguchi scolded him. “don’t ruin it…”

•••

“i did not get this job to endure immature pranks, especially from someone whose hair went gray before their balls dropped,” tsukishima said in a monotone voice, staring down the camera like it would become his murder victim.

•••

“how do you feel about tsukishima?”

“i’m gonna put his glasses in jell-o next,” suga said to the camera with a smile, proud of his previous work.

•••

as the day progressed, you went into the break room to eat a mid-day snack, but when you opened the fridge, you found that it was gone. “oh, no…”

“y/n? what’s up?” suga asks as he walks in, noticing the look of disappointment on your face.

you shut the refrigerator door and cross your arms, scanning the faces of your fellow employees in the break room. tanaka and nishinoya were too busy eating the jell-o from earlier in hopes to access the stapler, so you assumed it wasn’t them, but then again, you had your doubts. yamaguchi silently sipped his coffee and avoided your gaze, but you found him to be typically shy anyway, so you crossed him off.

“who ate my yogurt? come on, that was my favorite yogurt. who did it?” you ask aloud.

silence.

“meanies.” you roll your eyes and walk toward tanaka and nishinoya. “gimme a bite of that stupid jell-o.”

“mine!” they yell in unison, protecting the gelatin treat as if it were gold.

“ugh.” you huff, accepting defeat and walking out of the break room. no snack for you.

•••

“what’s y/n‘s favorite yogurt?” suga repeats the camera crew’s question, laughing nervously as a result. “why would you think i know that? i mean, it’s mixed berry, but still…”

•••

“suga said mixed berry? heh, he’s definitely onto me…” you smile at the thought of your favorite coworker knowing you so well, but then that very thought leads you to the worst possible conclusion. “hey, wait! i bet that dummy ate my yogurt!”

“we can confirm it was yamaguchi.” a crew member says to you, quickly debunking your theory, which you found to be shocking.

“what? really?” you gasp.

“we found him crying in the bathroom after you discovered somebody ate it.” they reply.

“oh.”

•••

when the work day was finally over, you start to collect your things, logging off your computer for the day and making sure you have everything before you leave. you look up and see a familiar face waiting behind your desk with his warm smile that never grew old.

“hey,” suga said, coat draped over his shoulder as he held his briefcase in his hand.

“hi.” you reply, voice shaky. he gave you butterflies for some reason…

“you walking out?” he asks. sometimes you stayed a little later than usual if there were extra things to do around the office, and suga hated to leave you hanging there. he hated sitting at the bus stop alone even more since it meant you weren’t there with him.

“yeah, lemme just get my coat.” you say softly as you grab your purse from under your desk then get your coat from the coat rack. suga waits right behind you, his shadow right in your vision.

“um, wanna stop by the convenience store on the way to the bus stop?” he adds on. it was typical of you two to grab an after-work snack, usually something indulgent like candy and a soda. suga has tried so hard to figure out what your favorite sweets were, but you were always switching it up in times you get something, so it was impossible to solve the puzzle.

“oh, yeah, sure.” you nod with a smile. “let’s go.”

you two walk out of the office building, beginning your short walk to the store and then the bus stop. it was one of the only times of the day you could share a moment with suga like this without any craziness going on from your coworkers. you liked talking to him just as much as he liked talking to you. sometimes you thought he was only your friend out of convenience and proximity, you were his coworker, after all, but it didn’t dawn on you how much you meant to him.

“so tell me.” you start the walk home conversation. suga perks up and looks over to you in anticipation of what you’re about to say, itching to hear more of your voice. “you put tanaka’s stapler in that jell-o, didn’t you?”

“what?” he laughs in your face, putting on a little act that you never failed to crack a laugh at. “what makes you assume such a thing? i’m offended, y/n. truly, honestly offended.”

“well, sorry!” you huff, also pretending.

“i mean… i totally did that to his stapler.” suga admits, and the two of you bust out into laughter. it was always easy to feel like a kid again when it came to suga. you didn’t grow up with him, but the two of you clicked on your first day like it was the first day of kindergarten.

as you arrived at the convenience store, you insisted to suga that you would wait outside while he got something. he pestered, asking if you were sure you didn’t want anything, but you said no and told him to not waste his money on you.

suga hated that you saw yourself as a waste. he knew what—or should he say who—made you feel that way, and he would be damned if you ever felt that way with him. suga knew who the real problem was, and it wasn’t you. it never was.

when suga came back outside, he had two bags. one was definitely for him, but the other one turned out to be a little surprise. “i know you said not to waste my money on you, but—“

“what, what did you do?” you questioned as if he did something bad.

“i figured you deserved this after what happened earlier.” he grinned, handing you one of the bags in his hands. when you opened it, it was your favorite, mixed berry yogurt. it was even the good kind mixed with vanilla. you couldn’t believe he’d remember such details.

“oh my god, suga, thank you.” you quickly hug him. suga’s heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest while you moved on from the close touch so quickly like it was second nature. “how much was it? i’ll pay you back—“

“no, no. it’s on me.” he interrupted. he wanted to say more, say that anything spent on you was never a waste, but that would be going too far, wouldn’t it?

“really?” you ask with puppy dog eyes. suga nods. “thank you.”

the two of you share a long pause in each other’s eyes. suga’s pupils dilate, and so do yours, but it was too dark to notice. it was like you were both in an unwavering trance, but it couldn’t last forever as the sound of your phone ringing startles you both.

“shit, i gotta take this.” you say, walking a few steps away from suga before answering the call.

“oh, yeah, go ahead.” he looks down, giving you space.

“ryo?” great, it was your fiancé, and he was pissed again. he was so sweet in the beginning, but now you were stuck. at least, you felt stuck.

“what are you talking about?! you never said anything about picking me up after work today!” you yell into the phone.

suga tries not to overhear the conversation, but from the sound of your voice, he assumed your asshole fiancé was being rude towards you again. god, he couldn’t stand it. he almost wanted to grab your phone out of your hands and tell ryo off himself, but suga had to remember his place as just your friendly coworker and nothing more.

“fine, just… drive over to the bus stop. yeah. okay. alright. bye.” you sigh as you hang up, walking back to suga like nothing happened. you always brushed off these things, and you didn’t know how to stop them. “sorry about that. let’s just… go, shall we?”

“yeah,” suga says awkwardly and continues the walk, doing the same as you; acting like nothing happened. you had that in common.

the two of you sit at the bus stop in awkward silence, your bags from the convenience store acting as a barrier between you. you wanted to tell suga what happened on the phone with your fiancé, but it was easy for him to get the gist when he saw ryo skirt down the road like it was fast and furious.

“y/n! get in the car! i don’t got all night!” he yells from the driver's seat. you quickly yell back that you’re “coming!” and run to the other side of the door, ultimately forgetting the yogurt suga bought you. ryo gives you no time to put on your seatbelt and immediately drives away, leaving suga waiting for his bus alone.

suga looks over at his surroundings, finding that the documentary crew had been recording the entire walk here. he knew that was part of the deal, he and the rest of the office signed a contract after all, but he didn’t imagine embarrassing himself in the pilot episode like this.

“you guys recorded all that, didn’t you…?”

the film crew nods awkwardly.

“damn.”

© plutoccult / 310802. please do not copy, repost, modify, or translate any of my content in or outside of tumblr. reblogs are appreciated <3

[something-bout-the-weather]

I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend / Matty Healy x Reader

Thank you to the anon that gave me the idea for this one <3 It is the friends-to-lovers story of my dreams the longest thing I've written so please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Present Day (Aged 22)

You can’t believe how quickly the past few years have flown by. Especially, now that you somehow find yourself unpacking boxes in your new home, the home you are sharing with your best friend, Matty.  

You and Matty had only recently taken the plunge to rent a flat together in Manchester. You'd just got a job here after finishing uni and Matty's band had just finished their latest tour around the UK and he was ready to spend some time relaxing and starting work on their next album. You'd been best friends for 6 years now and it had just made sense to the pair of you to save on rent and get a place together. 

Matty was unpacking his room and you yours. Music was streaming through the house and you found yourself reminiscing on the day you and Matty met at college all those years ago. 

6 Years Ago (Aged 16)

It was your first day back at college after summer and you didn’t want to be there. You’d come prepared though, with your noise-cancelling headphones and the latest album you’d been listening to, on repeat, as you walked to the first class of the day, which was actually one of your favourite subjects, music.

Arriving into the classroom you noticed a few new people coming through the door. One, in particular, caught your eye. You’d seen him and his unruly head of curly hair in the college halls, always with a guitar case on his back, but had never spoken to him before. You’d always thought he looked cool but had been too shy to introduce yourself, maybe now was your chance.

The class had barely sat in their seats when the teacher announced a group project and explained that the pairs had already been chosen. As luck would have it, your teacher had picked the curly-haired guy as your partner, so you had no choice but to introduce yourself.

 “Hi, I’m Y/N,” you announce as he made his way over to sit in the chair next to you.

“Matty,” he replies, “I think I’ve seen you in the halls but you always seem completely engrossed in whatever you’re listening to in your massive headphones,” pointing at the headphones currently hanging around your neck.

“Yeah, they are the only things that help me get through a day in this hellhole,” you joke.

“What are you listening to at the minute then?” he asked. This turned into a huge discussion about what music you listened to and how the pair of you had extremely similar music tastes.

Both of you, it turns out, had a lot more in common besides the music you listened to. You also shared some favourite TV shows and movies and even what you liked to do when you weren’t working through the endless amounts of college work. It was clear instantly that you were both going to get along. 

The class seemed to pass quicker than normal and it wasn’t long before you found yourself heading out of the door towards your next class. 

“Hey Y/N, wait up!” Matty shouted across the hallway making you turn around to find him in the crowd of students.

“Yes?” you reply, unsure of what he is about to say to you.

“What are you doing at lunch today?” he enquires.

“Nothing other than roaming these halls,” you respond, gesturing to the bustling halls around you.

“Fancy coming to the record shop in town with me and grabbing some food?” he asks with a pleading look in his eyes.

“Yeah, sure. Sounds like a plan. Meet back here at half 12?” you suggest to which he just nods, before turning and heading in the opposite direction down the hall. 

Present Day (Aged 22)

You remember that day the pair of you had spent the remainder of the afternoon in the record store, flicking through the vinyls, getting to know one another and ditching your classes. You knew immediately you’d found a best friend in Matty and the pair of you had been inseparable since. 

You hoped you'd made the right decision by renting a place with Matty as you found yourself in a bit of a tricky situation. Over the years, you'd slowly begun developing feelings for Matty. You couldn't think of anyone better to share a place with but it was a real worry for you that it would somehow ruin years of friendship if your true feelings for Matty ever slipped out. 

You were completely unaware of the fact that Matty also had feelings for you too. His started to develop a lot earlier than yours though. They started to grow back when you gave him a Valentine’s Day card 4 years ago.

4 Years Ago (Aged 18)

The last two years had passed by in a blur. You'd made the decision to go to university and so far you were enjoying it. Matty on the other hand had joined a band and they were doing everything they could to have their music heard. He'd been so busy lately playing gigs in all sorts of venues and travelling around the country. Mix that with you being overloaded with uni work, and the pair of you hadn't seen one another for a couple of weeks. 

So, the pair of you had planned on going to watch the latest Quentin Tarantino movie, on opening night, which just so happened to be Valentine’s Day.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” you shout at your best friend as he makes his way over to where you are waiting for him outside of the cinema. 

“Y/N don’t say that so loudly, how many people do you want to make think we are a couple?” he asks worriedly. 

“People can think what they want Matty, we are just two best friends here to see a movie and catch up,” you reply nonchalantly.

After stopping at the counter to get some popcorn, sweet and salty at Matty’s request, you head for your seats.

“Before this movie starts, Healy, I have something for you,” you say as you dig into your backpack. 

Little does Matty know you’ve got him a Valentine’s Day card and some chocolates. Neither of you has a Valentine’s this year so you thought it would be quite nice to get your best friend something to put a smile on his face and let him know you appreciate him. 

Holding out the card and a box of his favourite chocolates you excitedly say “Happy Valentine’s Day Matty!”

Matty takes them from you in complete shock, before saying with a look of sheer terror on his face, “Y/N! I haven’t got you anything.”

“Don’t worry my dear,” you reply, “I’m just being silly and wanted to make you smile. Please open the card right now!”

Matty carefully opens the card with two eggs cuddled up on the front and the words ‘Thank you for being an eggcellent friend. Happy Valentine’s Day!’ surrounding them. You watch him contentedly as he reads out loud what is written inside, “To Matty, thank you for being my best friend. I will always be there for you, no matter what! Love you lots, Y/N!”

You watch as the smile grows on Matty’s face before pulling you into a hug and whispering softly “Thank you so much Y/N, you know I’m always here for you too.” He slowly pulls away before looking into your eyes and pleading “Can we make it a tradition to send each other a Valentine’s Day card each year? I’ll even give you one!”

“Of course!” you reply as Matty’s grin widens and he gently places a kiss on your cheek. You can't hide the look of surprise on your face and, it seems neither can Matty as it seems to be a shock, even to him.

Life clearly wants the pair of you to sit in your thoughts about this though as if on cue, the lights in the cinema dim and the film begins. So, both of you turn back to the screen with so many thoughts whirring around in your heads. 

Present Day (Aged 22)

Even looking back on this memory you are still completely oblivious of the fact that from that day forward Matty had been slowly falling for you.

That day was also the start of one of many friendship traditions. Every year since then you'd sent Valentine's Day cards to each other, even if you couldn't see each other on the day. Always with an excellent pun on the front and some sentimental wording inside. One day you were sure it would have to stop when you got your own partners, but for now, it was a tradition you didn't want to break.

You looked back at the memory fondly and thought of all the other random traditions the pair of you held. Your favourite tradition was one which had begun two years ago on Christmas Eve. That was also the year that you started to develop feelings for Matty. 

2 Years Ago (Aged 20)

You always spent Christmas at home no matter what. So that's why you find yourself waiting outside your hometown's freezing cold train station waiting for Matty to pick you up. He'd just finished the first leg of touring with his band, The 1975, to promote their first album.

You'd not seen him for two months now and you couldn't wait to catch up and start what you hoped would be a new tradition. The plan was to go to your parent's house straight from the station. They were celebrating Christmas with friends and wouldn't be home until late on Christmas Eve. So, your house was the perfect spot for the rest of your plan. Tonight, you were going to order a takeaway and watch a Christmas movie. Tomorrow, you were going to wake up early, exchange gifts and just enjoy the festivities. 

Just before your toes became a block of ice, a car, blaring music through its speakers, pulled into the car park. Of course, Matty had to make an entrance. 

He'd barely stopped the car before he was jumping out of it as if it had burst into flames. He ran around the front of the car with his arms wide before picking you up, spinning you around and enveloping you in the tightest hug possible as he shouted "Y/N!" 

You were certain he could feel your heart beating out of your chest. You were sure that you'd avoided the cliché of crushing on your best friend but over the past few months, a feeling for Matty had started to build which you hadn't been prepared for.

Something about seeing him live out his dream, perform to a crowd and still make sure that his best friend was happy and doing well at the end of the day, had you going weak at your knees. Let's hope you could hide it and it wouldn't ruin a friendship that you truly adored.

"Hi Matty," you say back as he gently places you down on the solid ground again. 

"How is my best friend?" He asks. 

"About to freeze to death if we don't get to a warm house soon," you joke. 

"Well, your carriage awaits m'lady," he says opening the passenger side door for you to get in. 

Hours later you were both full of takeaway pizza, cuddled up on the couch watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. You could feel yourself dozing off but didn't want to spend all your time with Matty asleep but knew sleep was needed.

"Matty?" You ask sleepily.

"Yes love," he replies.

"Can we turn this off and head to bed? I'm shattered" You say barely managing to keep your eyes open. 

"Of course dear," he responds before turning off the TV and lifting you into his arms carrying you towards your bedroom. 

He places you gently on your bed before softly kissing you on your forehead and whispering "Night Y/N sleep tight, I can't wait to swap gifts in the morning. I've missed you so much," before heading back to his usual spot on the couch, in the lounge, and heading to sleep himself. 

What Matty isn't aware of, is the fact you'd heard everything he said as he put you to bed last night and it was not helping your growing feelings for him, at all. 

That didn't stop you from running into the lounge at 8 am screaming "Merry Christmas!"

Matty jumped out of bed, fists at the ready, to fight whoever had broken into your parent's house. 

"It's me you idiot," you manage to get out between giggles, "I was only making sure you knew it was Christmas." 

Somehow you find yourself all of a sudden, being thrown over Matty's shoulder, and put down on the couch before being ambushed with tickles. The pair of you can't stop laughing and honestly, you couldn't think of a better start to your Christmas, with Matty. 

"Presents time!" Matty cries out as he guides you both to sit by the beautifully decorated tree. 

You exchange a whole heap of gifts including books, records and matching sweaters for one another. 

Just when you think the gift exchange is over Matty pulls a tiny box from under the tree and gestures at you to open it. 

Inside it is a stunning necklace with his band's box logo hanging from it.

"Take a closer look Y/N, I'm not just using this gift for self-promo," Matty insists. 

You turn the necklace over in your hands to see that engraved on one side of the box is 'Matty + Y/N x'. Tears start to form in your eyes. 

"Matty, this is beautiful thank you so much," you say through tears. 

"I got it so that you have a little bit of me with you every day even when I'm away on tour," he explained. 

"I love it!" You exclaim before pulling Matty into a long hug. You couldn't ask for a better Christmas. 

Present Day (Aged 22)

Toying with the box necklace that has been on your neck ever since that day you can't help but smile. You can't believe how lucky you were to have Matty as a best friend and now as a housemate. You just hope your growing feelings aren't going to get in the way of it all. 

Suddenly, there is an almighty crash right outside your bedroom door and you immediately get up to see what it is that Matty has likely broken. Instead, you find him standing in your hallway looking sheepish.

“What’s up Healy?” you ask concerned.

“Y/N I don’t think I can’t do this,” he admits.

“I’m sorry Matty, you’ll have to be a bit more specific. You can’t do what?” 

“This,” he gestures around himself, seemingly at the towers of boxes in the hallway.

“Jesus Matty, we’ve only just got here. Give it a couple of days and all these boxes will be gone,” you reply, sounding exhausted.

“No, not that,” he stresses before blurting out, “I can’t live with you and pretend I don’t have feelings for you. I’ve been crushing on you ever since you got me that Valentine’s Day card years ago. And, to be honest, I thought you were beautiful even before then.”

You stand there in shock, unsure of what to say.

“I’ve fallen for you, hard, over the past few years. I love how much you enjoy our silly sentimental traditions, I love your company even when it's just sitting together in silence. I love your laugh, your beautiful eyes and the smile you do after eating a good slice of pizza. Look, what I’m trying to say is I love you. I can’t hide my feelings anymore and I get it if you want me to leave. But, I just had to let you know before I drove myself insane.” He confesses before looking down at his feet, clearly embarrassed.

“Matty,” you say as you take his face in your hands and look directly into his gorgeous brown eyes, “I love you too, have done for years” you confess. And, with that, you do the one thing that you’ve wanted to do for years, kiss your best friend.

Your breathing is heavy as your lips press together. It was like you’d been preparing for this your whole life as you feel yourself relax into Matty’s warmth. You can feel the thud of Matty’s heart against your chest as he threads his fingers through your hair. You both know this could easily go further, without question, but there is so much that needs to be said first.

As you slowly pull away from each other, you hear Matty mutter, “Holy shit!”

You are sure your cheeks have gone bright red but you don’t mind at all as you confess to Matty, “Well, I don’t think we can exactly pretend we don’t have feelings for each other anymore.”

“According to all our friends, I was quite poor at hiding them anyway Y/N. I mean how didn't you realise I wrote Fallingforyou about you!"

You stand there shocked at the declaration Matty has just made. 

"But it seems you were completely oblivious to that and many other things,” he jokes.

“Says you,” you manage to get out between laughs, “You were just as oblivious as me!”

You both stand there for a few seconds in contented silence, holding one another, before Matty asks “So, where do we go from here then?”

“I mean we’ve seemingly missed a few crucial steps and already have a place together so, I guess we continue unpacking, take things at our own pace and see where this goes. We already know each other pretty well and we’ve got years ahead of us, so let's just take this as it comes," you suggest. 

"That sounds perfect to me! I love you Y/N” Matty professes.

“I love you too and I'm so glad I can finally say that out loud” you declare before your lips hurry to find his again.

Looking back on it now, you can’t believe how oblivious you had both been to the fact that you had been slowly falling for each other over the years. Who knows where this would go from here? But, one thing about it is certain, you cannot wait to find out.

[missywritesfor7]

❤️‍🩹Lifeline | MYG❤️‍🩹

Synopsis: It’s long been controversial for idols to date, but idols dating each other can be really beautiful or a complete nightmare. When Yoongi's relationship with another idol is discovered, he decides maybe it’s time to break the taboo and show people it’s ok for idols to date. Instead, they find themselves caught in the midst of one media frenzy after another and struggle to keep their relationship as strong as it had been the past 2 years. Yoongi finds a self destructive way to cope, and it causes even more problems than it solves. As they fight for their relationship and their careers, they discover that sometimes, the only way to truly be free is to let go.

Pairing: idol!Yoongi x idol!OC

Warnings: nsfw, alcoholism, cheating, depression, anxiety, Yoongi goes through a bisexy ho phase, Yoongi is also in his alcoholic phase, post-military BTS

Previous chapter | Next chapter | Masterlist

Ch 35: Comeback

The guys hit the ground running as soon as their album is officially released to the world. They have a busy week of promoting which ends with their concert in Seoul. Two days later they’ll be on a flight to New York to kick off the first leg of their tour. Yoongi is excited and buzzing from a constant stream of caffeine. Hyeri is also excited because for the first time since she and Yoongi have been together she can finally attend one of their shows. Before he left for rehearsal he swept her off of her feet and gave her a passionate kiss then bounced out the door looking forward to seeing her face in the crowd later that night.

Before the show, Hyeri meets up with Yoongi’s parents and brother who are in town to see the show. They previously told Yoongi they weren’t sure they’d be able to be there, but with a little help from Hyeri they were able to make it happen. Yoongi has no idea, so their attendance will be a surprise when he finds Hyeri in the crowd and sees the rest of his family there next to her.

Being backstage before the show starts to make Yoongi realize just how much he had been relying on alcohol in the past. He found himself wandering around restlessly trying to figure out what to do with himself. In the past he’d simply have a drink, or a few, and somehow that was enough to pass the time. Now he’s sitting on the couch staring at the wall wondering what brand of paint was used.

“Hyung,” Namjoon says coming over and taking a seat next to Yoongi. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Yoongi nods. Internally he breathes a sigh of relief thanking Namjoon for coming over and saving him from the standstill of time. “I’m just ready to get out there.”

“Yeah me too. I saw the mic Rainbow got you. You think anyone will notice it’s from her?” Namjoon jokes.

“Not unless you’ve been talking,” Yoongi chuckles.

“Of course not,” Namjoon smiles. “Your secret is safe as long as you want it to be.”

“Right,” he says returning a smile. “I’m not sure how much longer that will be though.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know,” Yoongi sighs. “One minute I’m ready to tell everything, and the next I’m doubting myself. What if it causes problems for the rest of you? I can’t do anything to cause that.”

“Hyung we’re not kids anymore.” Namjoon looks at Yoongi with empathy. “We’ve dealt with worse and made it through. We want you to be happy, that’s all. If you want to announce it then we’ll support you the same as always.”

“Thanks, leader,” Yoongi chuckles. “What about Hyeri though? I don’t want this to ruin her.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine too. At this point I don’t think revealing this would be as bad as a lot of the other things that have gone around about her. If you both are really serious then you’ll have to do it eventually, right?”

“I know. She just seems to be on the fence still. One minute she’s excited about finally letting this secret go and the next she seems hesitant like she’s not sure. That’s why I’m so unsure.”

“See how she feels once the tour is over.”

Namjoon knows why Hyeri would be hesitant, the same reason he and the rest of the guys have been silently anxious about the tour. Trust takes time and if the tour goes smoothly without incident then the guys will no doubt feel much more at ease. Namjoon can only guess that Hyeri feels the same. Yoongi may have been clean and faithful so far, but the tour, the world tour will be the real test of Yoongi’s recovery.

Yoongi is no fool, he fully understands why Namjoon suggested he wait until after the tour. Hyeri knows her drama is set to premiere during the tour so she’s using that as her deadline. In her mind she truly wants to be free of this stupid secret that has caused so much heartache and pain, but she needs to feel like she can trust him just a little bit more before she finally throws caution to the wind.

Yoongi has been determined to prove himself since the moment he returned home from his 2 months in the woods. He’s trying to be patient, but it’s getting harder as each day passes. He wants to go out with her and love her openly without having to hide all the time. He typically doesn’t give much of his personal life away to the public, but he loves her so much that he can no longer contain it.

As if he weren’t already feeling impatient, during the first break during the concert that night when they all introduce themselves, he looks up and sees Hyeri. It’s as if she’s glowing like the brightest star in the sky. He’s ready to scream his love through the custom made microphone she gifted him in front of the entire crowd, but then he sees his mom sitting next to her. And his dad. And his brother. He bites his lip trying to remain composed. It’s much too early for him to start crying at the sight of his family in the crowd. His family he didn’t think was coming. His family and Hyeri. Hyeri is his family. His family.

By the time they reach their final ments at the end of the show, he’s about to burst at the seams. During his ment he wanted to tell everyone then, but he was able to refrain. Instead he mentioned that his family is in attendance and gave a very shy yet bold “I love you” to them making the crowd roar with endearment. Hyeri knows that was for her. He rarely expresses his love to his family openly and directly in such a way. Especially not in front of a stadium full of people. She smiles rubbing the necklace he bought her that’s draped around her neck and he smiles back.

The guys finish their last but not last song then head backstage to prepare for their encore set. So far the show has been incredible. Everyone is full of energy from the electric crowd and Yoongi is undoubtedly enthusiastic knowing Hyeri and his family are there. As he watches the screen backstage it seems the camera found Hyeri, and now everyone else in the crowd is just as enthusiastic as he is. She bows and waves shyly at the cheering crowd before the camera cuts to a few other celebrities in attendance. Yoongi has the biggest smile on his face when they make their way back to the stage.

Hyeri enjoyed herself more than she thought she would. This isn’t just her first time getting to see Yoongi in concert, but her first time seeing the whole group in concert. She was impressed and proud of them all, but especially her big brother Namjoon, and completely smitten and swept away by Yoongi. He looked happy and healthy and in his right mind. It’s such a relief for her.

After the show a staff member ushers Hyeri and Yoongi’s family backstage where the guys are greeting their other friends who were in attendance. With so many cameras backstage for various behind the scenes videos, Yoongi silently nods at Hyeri to follow him into another room. He can’t embrace her with so many cameras around, but he can’t contain himself either. He just wants to hug her and kiss her right now. As soon as they enter the room he shuts the door and pulls Hyeri into a close embrace.

“You don’t know how happy I am to see you,” he says giving her a long kiss.

“Your family is here too,” she chuckles returning his kiss.

“You’re my family too,” he smiles. “I’m happy to see all of you.”

“You were great out there. I’m really proud of you, Yoongi.”

“What?” He says suddenly feeling shy. “Why are you being so formal.”

“I’m not,” she laughs. “I guess it’s just habit whenever we’re not at home.”

“Right,” he says feeling that much closer to going out and kissing her in front of every camera and being over and done with this hiding. “How much longer until that changes?” He asks resting his forehead against hers.

“I told you-“

“I know what you told me.” He gives her a desperate kiss. “I know, Hyeri, but this is so hard.”

“You don’t think it’s hard for me too?” She asks returning his desperate kiss with one of her own.

“Sometimes I can’t tell.” He kisses her again and again pushing her backwards with each one until she’s pressed into the table against the wall.

“I need to know I can trust you,” she says linking her arms around his neck and connecting her lips to his once again. “I love you so fucking much,” she exasperates between kisses. “But I need to be able to trust you, Yoongi. That’s the hard part.” At this point she’s having a hard time speaking because they keep taking turns claiming each other’s tongues. The passion that had been building up all night is overflowing and neither of them can seem to stop it.

“I swear,” he says feeling more out of breath now from arousal than he felt during the entire concert. “I will prove you can trust me. I promise. You mean the world to me, I’ll never fuck that up again. I love you so fucking much.” Hyeri isn’t able to respond because their mouths collide once more and remain connected as they taste and feel the familiar newness of each other. His fingers grip her hips and her fingers find their way to his hair and give a light tug.

“I love you too,” she exhales into his mouth before sealing her words with another kiss. He’s got her nearly completely on top of the table and isn’t letting up.

Yoongi is bursting with vigor at the moment. With the great show and his loved ones in attendance, he can’t help himself. His fingers slide their way under her shirt and she sucks in a sharp breath from the chill of his touch on her back.

“Where’s Yoongi?” Someone can be heard asking outside the door. Yoongi and Hyeri slowly disconnect from one another hating the ill timed distraction for pulling them out of their bliss.

“You should go out there,” Hyeri says.

“Yeah I guess so,” he sighs. “Will you be awake when I get home?”

“I’ll make sure of it,” she smiles. “Go talk to your family and give the fans their behind the scenes content.”

“I’ll do that,” he chuckles.

He slowly and reluctantly walks out of the room into the backstage chaos of cameras, staff, guests, and for some reason a ferret. He greets everyone and as the majority of them are occupied, Hyeri slips out of the room and heads for the exit. She briefly makes eye contact with Namjoon across the room and gives him a nod and an apologetic look. She wanted to talk to him and congratulate him on a great show, but there’s far too many people pining for his attention. Namjoon simply nods back with a flash of his dimples and Hyeri takes off for the exit to head home.

Yoongi chatted with his family a bit, took photos for multiple outlets and social posts, and recorded a few group videos for YouTube. Afterwards they all go their separate ways until they meet up again for their flight in a couple of days.

Yoongi is delighted to see Hyeri is still awake just as she said she’d be when he gets home. He quickly washes up and crawls into bed next to her and wraps his arms around her tightly.

“I’m so glad you all came tonight,” Yoongi says kissing Hyeri’s forehead. “You gave me so much energy tonight.”

“Me or the 50 cups of coffee you drank?” She asks. When she returned home there was a package at their doorstep that contained many packs of instant coffee. Yoongi purchased them in bulk to take with him on tour. He completely forgot to mention it to Hyeri but he didn’t think it would be an issue.

“50?” He scoffs. “I only had 4 cups.”

“With how many espresso shots?”

“Irrelevant,” he chuckles.

“Very relevant,” she laughs. “I don’t want your heart to explode or something before you make it back to me.”

“I’m fine.”

“I mean it,” she says tapping his chest. “I’m happy you found something that gives you energy, I just worry about you. Your package was delivered and there’s enough coffee in there to last a year.”

“I want to make sure I don’t run out,” he shrugs.

“Babe,” she chuckles. “Be honest with me.”

“Always.”

“It’s something else, isn’t it?” She softly asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Has coffee…” she hesitates, but if she doesn’t get it out it’s only going to eat at her more once he’s on the road. “Become your new alcohol?” She gently caresses his cheek hoping that her question doesn’t cause him to shut down or feel attacked. “What’s on your mind?”

Yoongi tries to think of an answer, but he doesn’t have one that will keep him from having to admit how afraid he is. The fact that he’s been progressively drinking more and more coffee as a substitute for his previous addiction never crossed his mind, but with Hyeri’s question he immediately realized that’s what he had been doing.

“I’m-“ he hesitates. “I guess I’m scared.”

“Of what?” She asks feeling the pain in his admission.

“Everything. I feel like there’s so much riding on this comeback and tour that it needs to be perfect. My career, my relationships, everything is going to be impacted if I fuck this up and Hyeri I’m so fucking scared of fucking up.”

“How could you fuck up?” She asks. “I know you’re trying your best, I can see that. As long as you keep doing that then there’s no way you can fuck anything up.”

“I feel like I’ll find a way somehow. This tour, it’s…the last one was so bad, I have so much to make up for. To you, the guys, the fans, all of you.”

“But you’re not alone this time,” she says gently. “You don’t have to suffer in silence, we all are here to support you. All you have to do is talk to us. Be honest, babe.”

“You…” his voice gets caught behind the knot forming in his throat.

“I know I let you down last time when I wasn’t speaking to you,” she continues. “And I’ll always be sorry for making you feel alone when you really needed someone. I promise I won’t do that again. But this time will be different because as long as you’re honest with me and I’m honest with you we can still support each other no matter how far apart we are.”

Yoongi nods still unable to make a sound. He feels silly for not talking to her about his fears sooner. He’d only spoken to Minho about these things, but talking to Hyeri and hearing her words of support is exactly the type of reassurance he needs. He pulls her into a tighter embrace and takes a deep breath releasing his anxieties through his exhale.

“I love you so much,” he whispers.

[aois-amaterasu-painting]

2023 Christmas & 2024 (Jan-April) Twitter

22 Dec Reita: "It's Christmas, so maybe I should throw something from the stage." "A kiss, perhaps?"

Aoi QT: "I had this weird feeling of heartburn, then I checked Twitter and it was you. Mori."

(TN "森" (Mori) seems to be an inside joke rather than its usual meaning of "forest.")

Reita QT: 😘

Ruki QT: "Since it's the day before, I tried to write something enthusiastic, but then I saw this, and now I'm 'Mori' too."

Reita QT: "My dream is to make the whole world green 🌳."

23 Dec Ruki: "Hey, when did you all stop believing in Santa? I honestly thought he would come with reindeer until I was about 7."

Ruki: "I was so excited, half-opening my eyes to watch, and there was my dad stomping in, bringing the present. I had asked Santa for a figurine of my favorite character, but for some reason, my dad got the weakest enemy character instead, and I cried my heart out, lol."

24 Dec Uruha: "It's finally tomorrow 🎄 It's been just over five months since we announced it in July, and time flew by so fast. The cold adds to the atmosphere, but be careful not to get sick 🙆."

24 Dec Ruki: "I'll probably say it again tomorrow, but for now, Merry Christmas to everyone 🙏🎄 Have a great night 🕯️🌙."

24 Dec Reita: "Tomorrow, I'll paint you all red. Enjoy yourselves while you still can today."

25 Dec Ruki: "Thanks to everyone who asked if my leg is okay. You noticed, huh? Mori🌳 No worries, I'm fine 🙆‍♂️ Are your necks doing okay?"

25 Dec Reita: "Good job, everyone! Thanks to all of you, it turned out to be a wonderful night. Thank you for spending it with me 😊 Let’s meet again."

25 Dec Uruha: "Merry Christmas 🎄 Thank you for today ✨ I successfully blew my mind on this holy night. I’m overwhelmed with emotion 🙏"

25 Dec Ruki: "Thank you, 2023 🔥🔥🔥"

25 Dec Kai: "Great job at the Christmas live! Amid a pleasant sense of tension, it became such a fun show that was perfect to close out the year! Thank you. Next year, we might make you wait a little, but we’ll definitely be back! Please look forward to it! I promise 🤝 Great job, everyone 👍"

25 Dec Ruki: "Also, I apologize again for the delay in starting the show due to some trouble. Thanks to everyone who waited, we were able to put on the best live performance under that completed stained glass and lighting. I’m grateful to everyone who created that Christmas space and lived in the same moment with us 🙏."

25 Dec Aoi: "I wonder what this feeling is… This sense of emptiness after getting home, it almost makes me feel like the live concert was just a dream… Today's live was so much fun."

25 Dec Reita: "I'm drinking the alcohol Aoi treated me to 🍹."

25 Dec Reita: "For some reason, I feel like I purely enjoyed today’s live. With tour finals, I always feel a bit more pressure."

26 Dec Kai: "Good morning. Yeah. I really feel like we had a live show. Today, even if I have to crawl, I’m going to the chiropractor 🙋‍♂️.

Kai: "I'm back! 😤 Alright, shall I make a cake?"

27 Dec Aoi: "Hey, what's up? Today I'm going to have my last guitar lesson of the year. I'm good at love, but I still need to practice playing the guitar. :) See you <3"

31 Dec Aoi: "Thank you all for your continued support this year. It has been a very fruitful year, and I’m incredibly happy to have been cherished by everyone. In the coming year, I want to keep improving and repay all of you even more, while always keeping in mind the spirit of self-discipline and perseverance. As we approach the end of the year, please take care to avoid accidents or falling ill, and have a wonderful New Year. — Aoi"

2024

Ruki: "Happy New Year 🐉🔥 I’m going all out again this year. Thank you for your continued support 🙏🔥."

Jan 1 Uruha: "Happy New Year, everyone 🐲 Thank you for your continued support this year as well. Please enjoy a wonderful New Year’s holiday 🎍."

Jan 3 Aoi: "Since the new year started, all I’ve been doing is playing guitar. My fingers are stiff as a rock."

Aoi: "Even though Japan has been going through tough times since New Year's, some might think, 'Must be nice to just sit around playing guitar.' Personally, I believe that instead of tweeting about my worries here, it's better to participate in donations and trust the organizations to help those affected. I won’t tweet about this kind of thing in the future either, nor will I say 'I donated!'"

Ruki QT: "Similarly, I've decided that in 2024, I'll do everything I can to the best of my ability. I want to make sure that whatever effort I put in, even if it's just 1mm, will physically help those affected by disasters or my dear fans who send me DMs and messages. That includes donations. During the pandemic, I realized that words can sometimes be powerless, so instead of saying more, I’ll focus on doing what I can 👍."

Aoi: "But I sincerely hope that the days when everyone can smile will return soon. The sentence got cut off due to the character limit, so please forgive me."

Ruki QT: "And in the future, after the recovery, I want to be ready with the music and places that only we can create. So that when people need music, they’ll remember us first. This is something I learned in 2019 when the future was uncertain. I won’t do things I can’t continue. I’ll hold onto my core. I truly hope for a quick recovery."

Ruki: "So, in 2024, it’s unusual, but I haven’t gone anywhere yet. Instead, I’ve been watching a lot of things I didn’t get to see at all last year while at home. After watching all kinds of genres, I randomly came across a visual kei interview on YouTube, and it was edgy and really interesting."

Ruki: "I think people who are edgy or stick to their convictions are great, regardless of their age. It’s not about comparing yourself to others, but as long as you cherish your own core, that edgy part of you will probably never fade away. Visual kei is really fascinating."

Ruki: "The ones who are anxious are the people on the ground, so I’m going to refrain from shouting 'I’m worried' from a safe place and instead focus on doing what I can. I didn’t feel like being on social media at the start of the year, but from now on, I’ll be posting more. I’ll write again soon 🙏."

Jan 9 Aoi: "Good morning, my little Xiao Maos. Today, I have a special item to introduce. 👇 Be sure to get this FLEECE JACKET 👇 #theGazettE #RAD"

Aoi: "No, remember when we were at Budokan? I got "The Apothecary Diaries" manga and read it. It was so interesting that I ended up watching the entire anime adaptation too. 😁"

Jan 14 Kai: "Hearing the news day after day since the New Year, I couldn’t find the right words when I thought about the people affected. For now, I want to focus all my energy on the actions I can take and the things I need to do right in front of me. I hope that normal life returns as soon as possible."

Jan 20 Aoi: "HBD to ME 🍰"

Jan 20 Kai: "Happy Birthday, Aoi 🎂🎉 I'm going to try and get Aoi-kun in the Memo Collection lottery 🫡"

Jan 20 Ruki: "Aoi Birthday"

Jan 20 Reita: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Aoi 🍰 I’m going for a highball today! 🥃"

Jan 20 Uruha: "Happy birthday, Aoi 🎂 Cheers with wine today 🍷"

Feb 1 Aoi: "HBD RUKI 🎂"

Feb 1 Reita: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUKI 🎙️ Shall we go for an oolong highball today?!! Cheers 🍻"

Feb 1 Uruha: "Happy birthday, Ruki-kun 🎂 I hope you have a wonderful day 🙏✨"

Feb 2 Reita: "Pick playing is definitely the coolest."

Feb 7 Aoi: "The weather is nice ☀︎."

Feb 8 Kai: "Hello. The cold days continue. It seems like a lot is going around, so everyone, take care of yourselves 🤝. Lately, I’ve been rearranging my room and working in complete darkness—it’s become my new thing. Atmosphere is important, after all 🕯️. I can’t wait to see everyone again."

Feb 22 Ruki (about MASS final DVD): "Due to an unexpected issue arising in the final stage of production, the band has decided that we cannot release something that isn’t perfect as a work, so the release date will be postponed. As soon as the new release date is confirmed, we will let you know right away, so please wait a little longer 🙏."

Ruki: "And everyone, it’s been about two weeks? How are you doing? I’ve been getting beat down by the air pressure 🤜."

Ruki: "The whole 'air pressure is crazy' thing feels like something you can’t control, right? Is there anything you’re doing to cope with it? 🤦‍♂️."

Ruki: "Everyone’s replies are so warm. Looks like a lot of people are struggling with the same thing. There’s a lot of useful info, so if you’re having trouble, check out the replies 🤝☕️."

Ruki: "Here’s one useful tip from me 🤲. Goreisan (a herbal remedy) is apparently also effective for throat swelling. I was prescribed it and now I can’t go without it, so I recommend it."

Ruki: "It’s very unfortunate that my first tweet in a while is starting to look like a herbal medicine introduction account."

Mar 1 Ruki: "Thank you all for waiting. Finally, the release date has been set. I believe it’s a work that reflects the current state of the GazettE and will give you something new to look forward to this year, so I hope for your support 🙏🔥."

Mar 10 Ruki: "For our 22nd anniversary, each member has created five unique commemorative T-shirts and bears 🙏. I collaborated with illustrator Kojiman, who creates modern ukiyo-e, to have this design drawn 🔥. I've always thought his work was amazing, so I'm glad we could work together 🙏🔥. It’s really cool, so check it out 🇯🇵👘🕺.

Mar 10 Reita: "Thanks to all of you, we’ve reached our 22nd anniversary. Has it really been that long…? Thank you always! And please continue to support us!"

Mar 10 Kai: "Happy Birthday the GazettE 🎂🎉 ✨22nd Anniversary✨ Each member's unique style really shines through, and we’ve got a fantastic lineup 😌. Don’t miss it 🤝✨. By the way, the sticks my bear is holding are actually repurposed from my used drumsticks 🥁😏."

Mar 10 Uruha: "The GazettE has successfully reached its 22nd anniversary 👏🏻. Although we can’t share this moment with you in person right now, I promise we’ll take all the energy we’ve built up and deliver it to you through new music on stage soon 👊🔥. I’m grateful we could reach this day, and I look forward to the day we can meet again at a live show‼︎🙏."

Mar 10 Kai: "Since today is March 10th, I watched a few of our past live performances, and as expected, the most recent Budokan live was the absolute best! The latest and the greatest, it's that kind of work! Please look forward to it 🤝✨."

Mar 13 Reita: "Until the 18th. Go outside wearing the T-shirt and hugging the bear 🐻"

Mar 18 Reita: "Today’s the last day, so please don’t forget about our other selves 🫡."

Mar 19 Reita: "People I meet often ask me, 'Are you a hairstylist?' and I always answer, 'I’m a concept.'"

Mar 27 Uruha: "Every year around this time, my hay fever symptoms were terrible, but thanks to some recently prescribed medicine, my symptoms have almost completely disappeared. I wish I could tell my past self, who was suffering during live shows, and I’m so grateful to be free from that hell going forward 🥹🙏."

Mar 27 Kai: "Good morning, March is already almost over. Time flies, but it’s limited, isn’t it? Even if you’re going back and forth and not making progress, I believe that the time spent worrying and trying is never wasted. I really want to see you all soon 🤝."

Apr 4 Uruha: "The YAMAHA headphones I impulsively bought are amazing. The headphone cables always got in the way and killed my performance during recording, so this is the perfect solution for me. Once you dive into the world of wireless with no latency, there’s no going back."

Apr 10 Aoi: "Speaking of which, the new fan club newsletter should be arriving soon. We put a lot of effort into updating the content, so I hope everyone enjoys it. Each of the features and comments is carefully crafted, so please take your time and enjoy it. (There are still lots of different projects coming up, so look forward to them.)"

Apr 13 Aoi: "＼＼\ Saturday the 13th //／／"

Apr 14 Reita: "The delayed DVD will be released in just a few days. Please make sure to watch it 🫡."

[sidemenxyn]

Music Festival Version 1

Summary: Y/n is a famous singer and is headlining at Reading Festival and the boys decided to come join along!

Ok ik I said platonic!sidemen x Y/n are no face claims but for this I wanna do Billie Eilish since she has so many concert photos from her ‘Happier Than Ever’ tour and I love her sm so yeah… Also wanna mention that instead of doing red roots it’s the other way around. Y/n (Billie) used to have red roots and now has green. Also imagine the photos of her are in all the same fit that you’d wear or something. But anyways enjoy!

Tw: none! But it’s not proof read (like most posts😭)

–—–

@Y/n.Y/l/n

@Y/n.Y/l/n: Can’t wait to see you all tonight at Reading Festival, I have a little surprise for you all!! Can’t wait for you guys to see!! Two surprises to be revealed later tonight! Enjoy 🤍

Comments:

@TaliaMar: Can’t wait to see my girl! 🩷

– @Y/n.Y/l/n: see you there ml 🩷

@Y/n.Fan: wonder what the surprise is??? Can’t wait to watch her live!!

@ksi: 👀👀

– @Y/n.Y/l/n: 🤔🤔

@Y/n.Fan2: omg is ksi preforming with Y/n???

– @Y/n.Y/l/n: maybe, maybe not🤔

– @Y/n.Fan2: omg!!!??

And more…

–—–

You were currently back stage, people were arriving and queueing up to watch others before your headlining performance. You were sat with all the boys around and you had ordered some food before hand.

You were sat in between Talia, your life long friend and Harry. Everyone was so excited about today. Once you and Talia were down eating you both went over to your makeshift wardrobe and made an outfit for tonight. You were so excited, seeing all your fans who have been by your side for years and helping you get to where you are today, it’s a miracle.

You all were walking around the back stage area getting ready. Taking photos and having fun, you decided to give the fans and extra surprise.

–—–

@Y/n.Y/l/n

@Y/n.Y/l/n: You feel the nostalgic yet?

Comments:

@Y/nFan: OMG NO WAY FROM RED TO GREEN AHHHH

@Y/nFan2: omg her hair looks so good!!🖤💚

@behzingagram: Yes!! Y/n in her new era!! 💚🖤

–@Y/n.Y/l/n: 🫶🫶

@Y/nFan3: maybe we’ll get more of her older songs tonight!!??

And more…

–—–

After most performers had done their shows, the sun was setting and the mood was perfect. It was now your time to shine. So you went over towards the stage with the boys. You were hugging them all, Josh said “put on the best show for all of us, yeah?” You smiled and nodded “of course I will!” Harry said “I’d say break a leg but we know what happened last time!” You laughed as you hugged him and replied “yep! Definitely remember!” As you were done. You heard your intro song come on. Then it was time!

You ran out on stage as everyone cheered loudly. You waved and pointed to your hair as you knew people at the festival most likely didn’t have service. Then the crowd screamed even louder as if that was possible. You smiled and spoke into the microphone “hi guys! Do you like my new hair?” You pointed the mic to the crowd and heard everyone cheer. You said “is everyone ready!!” You heard the beginning of your song start to begin and you started to sing.

After some time, you were given a little break so the crew behind the scenes could prepare your guitar and such. You said into the microphone “ok, you guys an have a breather! We definitely went all out, huh?!” You laughed and said “make sure you drink and check up on yourself or the people around!. While everything is getting set up! I have two announcements. I don’t know if you guys have seen my post but I mentioned that I have two announcements. So imma tell you guys first!” You took a breather and said “first things first I’m glad to announce that you guys will be hearing a new album soon!!” The crowed cheered loudly. You said “also I have some special guests, they have been with me since day one, through thick and thin! Believed in me no matter what! Please welcome my friends, the sidemen!!” Everyone was cheering as they watched the boys appear from behind back stage. Walking over to you they all either dapped you up or hugged you. You spoke into the microphone “you guys should’ve seen their reactions to my new hairstyle, should I post their reactions?” And by guessing by the cheering they said yes.

The boys were on stage for a few minutes before waving their goodbyes and letting you finish up the show.

After a few more minutes the show was over. You spoke “Hope you all enjoyed tonight’s show! I love you all, hope you enjoyed not just my concert but everyone’s else’s you may have seen today. Make sure you go check out the sidemen channel and I’ll see you all soon! Bye I love you!!” You waved and bowed. Blowing a few kisses you ran off stage towards the boys.

–—–

@TaliaMar

@TaliaMar: Can’t believe this munchkin and I grew up together and now she’s preforming for headline! I might cry again… 🥹🥹🩷🩷

comments:

@Y/n.Y/l/n: please don’t cry again, I have no more tissues and your gonna make me cry too 🥹🥹😂

–@TaliaMar: we need more tissues!!

@y/nfan: can’t believe these two have come so far!

And more…

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@Tobjizle

@Tobjizle: I am so proud of my best friend, love you Y/n/n!!

@Y/n.Y/l/n: 🩵🩵

–@Tobjizle: 🩵🩵

And more…

–—–

@ksi

@ksi: Feel like a proud older brother 🖤

Comments:

Load more…

–—–

@zerkaa

@zerkaa: Favourite performer hands down! Love ya! 💚🖤

Comments:

@Y/n.Y/l/n: love you too🩵

And more…

–—–

AN: hi! Sorry it’s so rushed and such. I’ve been so busy which is no excuse. I’ve been given more exams in school, my parents are away so I’m over a family members and I’ve been busy helping them and that. Idk if you care but I’m doing ok. And I promise when I get the chance I will write out a full and proper imagine/story for you guys. Sorry about this as it probably is a bad story but I felt I needed to give you guys at least something. I may do a bit more snap story stuff to try and make up for it. Enough of the rambling, hope you guys are doing all ok! Make sure to eat and drink! Take care of yourselves and for the time being feel free to read my older posts 😂😂. Have a good day/night!! 🫶

[not-goldy]

Some Jkk are too scared to be serious, but this is how I felt ever since Jk went live and reacted to Jimin after he replied Me too on Jimin's miss you post. So one could say cool, he misses Jimin and he's promoting his solo work like a friend and bandmate would. HOWEVER, that is not what JK did. He turned it up a notch and PURPOSELY blushed, giggled, kicked his feet, stared with heart eyes, gushed and listened to love songs in between switching videos. This to me, is flat out OTT baiting if he doesn't feel some type of way about Jimin, cause he purposely acted that way knowing the camera was on him. I have had Jkk tell me its not baiting, right, if he's in love its not, but if not, to me it was suggestive in his actions, meant to get a reaction to him and Jimin and it worked and only he knows why. Even worse would be if he he's not queer but knows Jimin is and how Jimin use to feel about him and did that. I don't believe this though. I believe Jk is queer and I think the man is in love with jimin. That said, Locals were even talking about that live. Not to mention it dropped during Jk's CK clip/ambassador announcement. So they were trending with 250,000 or more tweets cause of that ad on top of his Jimin live. Ever since then I have been observing Jikook too and then JK kept coming on and doing it. Kept bringing up Jimin, even their past trip. I also look at the timing, when JK's new hang out buddy Tae was busy with his girlfriend Jennie everytime she came back from tour and Tae would go MIA. I just hope it wasn't a case of Jk just looking for company cause he was lonely cause he got ditched by his older bro for his girlfriend. TK would be hanging out while Jennie was gone, but then Jk would always show he was alone when Jennie came back. Maybe its why Jimin kept turning Jk down. Maybe he knew it. Who knows at this point. One thing I learned is Tae is proof you can bait fans into thinking you are dating your bandmate by being over the top clinging and namedropping every 5 seconds, while you have an entire secret girlfriend for 2 years no one knew about til a hacker got angry. Look at festa dinner. His clinginess to Jk had tkk declaring they were married and 3 days later he was caught with jennie in Jeju and confirmed by her leaked pics. A whole mess. I would have left town if I were a tkk and never looked back. What a slap in the mouth (deserved tho, they definitely deserved that slap to reality). I just don't ever want to see this with jikook and it turn out to be the case. I might throw up.

He's leading Jimin on??????

Funny how I used to think Jimin was the one leading him on 😂

"It's worse if he's not queer and he acts like that knowing hoe Jimin feels about him."

I think the same and actually used to say the same thing since day one of their ship inception but in reverse order I guess.

Can you DM me? I would like to go back and forth on this with you. I don't enjoy writing lengthy blogs at this point in my life.

Here's JKs profile

Shy teenage boy thrust into the midst of boys he older boys he respects and admires. He's still trying to figure out what romantic feelings are, what he finds attractive, sexually provocative, and what his sexuality is.

Here comes a hyung closer in age to him that looks- androgynous, is good with expressing himself, isn't shy to speak out and perform infront of everyone. At night he's nice to cozy up to and snuggle- and sometimes they do that naked.

It feels good but he's not sure what it is he's feeling. He just knows they spend a lot of late nights doing nothing in particular and he enjoys it. They have a lot in common, and he's emotionally supportive and creates space around him for him to be himself.

He's falling but he doesn't know it yet.

Then there's the hyung in particular, goofy as fuck messing with things he doesn't understand. He's tempting faith and he doesn't know it. Each time he pokes at this younger Maknae thinking he's in control he's not. Now he's acting a fool pretending he's on top of things. But when he pretends kisses him, he looses his balance. His heart is beating in his chest faster than he can handle.

But he's stubborn. He's not in love and it's not even a crush. Yet he can't stay away either. He can't stop. The teasing back and forth, the push and pull is getting to him. Now doesn't feel like joke when he's being teased back. Now it feels like micro rejection and he stuck wondering why this younger friend keeps pushing away. He wants to be close.

They both dancing around naked fires.

The little boy is getting a hang of it. He's sure he's not into girls. He's sure there's something between him and his beautiful hyung. He's recklessly falling and he's not afraid to fall. He's ready to quit. He can be a dancer. He doesn't have to sing. He doesn't have to be in a band. He doesn't have to hide who he is.

The hyung on the other hand, this his dream. He's worked hard to be here. He works even harder than any one else just to be on the team. He can't risk it. He's not impulsive, he's not young and stupid. He's a hyung. People have expectations of him and he can't let any one down.

He writes it on his ribs- nevermind. But it's easier said than than. He's falling and this is the moment of his youth. It's epic. But he's worried the curtains will eventually fall and they'd have to face reality.

To the best of my knowledge this is Jikook.

Do you see where in this narrative of mine Jungkook is the one stringing Jimin along??

It's always been Jimin with the ball in his court really😩

I'm gonna shed a few tears, I'll come back and read the rest of your post- can you break it into two asks so it's easier for me to respond to the 2nd part separately?

[themultifandomgal]

From 2010- On The Road Again Tour Pt2

Part 49

2015

5th June- Cardiff

After a little break we’re back on tour again. We just finished up our show in Cardiff and are now on the way to the airport to head to Austria for our next show

“I’ve been thinking” I say with my head on Harry’s shoulder

“Oh no” he mutters jokingly. I give him a nudge “ow”

“That didn’t hurt” I roll my eyes at him and lift my head up

“You weren’t the one nudged in the ribs with an elbow”

“Your such a baby” I laugh knowing Harry is only messing with me

“What were you thinking about?” Niall asks getting me back to what I was originally going to say

“Since we spoke about going on a hiatus after this year, I’ve been thinking that I would like to release an album. I’m not sure about going on tour or anything but an album would be kinda nice”

“I could speak to Jeff for you if you’d like. See what strings he could pull for you” Harry says seriously

“That would be great. I also have one more thing”

“What?” Liam asks nervously

“I want you all to help me with the album. With the lyrics and even the music if possible. I still want a part of you guys on the album in some way, I dunno maybe it will help me to actually want to release it”

“Well I guess once we’re on the plane we should get started then”

—

“Ok how does this sound, I hate to spoil the end, but the guy don’t get the girlfriend and Romeo’s a pathological narcissist, so send my love to Juliet” I sing while we’re sat on the plane

“I love it. Then you could go back into the pre-chorus” Liam says taking my notebook “I also like what you’ve written here, don’t want my love so kiss me goodbye like mwah, I think that could work in this song”

9th July- San Diego

“Guess who just text me?” I say to the boys walking into their changing room

“Liam?” Louis guesses

“Nope” I shake my head “James. As in my first boyfriend James”

“James who cheated on you with a guy?” Harry frowns

“The one and only”

“What did he want?” Liam asks putting a shirt on

“He wanted to get back together”

“What?” Nialls eyes look like they’re about to pop out of his head

“Yup”

“What did you tell him?” Harry asks

“No of course. But part of me wishes I could break his heart right back”

“Maybe you can” Louis says with a mischievous grin “write a song about it. He will know it’s about him, but no one else will he will be embarrassed”

“Will you help?”

“Course we will” Harry smiles

26th July- Minneapolis

August

One Direction Members Confirm Break

25th August 2015

One Direction are going to take their first break next year since getting together on The X Factor in 2010.

According to a report in The Sun, the group are going their separate ways in March after the release of their fifth studio album.

Apparently Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan want to concentrate on solo projects, although there's been no confirmation yet from the boys. However YN YLN tease an Instagram photo before deleting it quickly afterwards. She then announced earlier this week through Twitter that she is currently writing an album with the support of Harry, Liam, Niall and Louis.

There'll be no tour for the band's fifth album and their last full concert will be at Sheffield's Motorpoint Arena on 31 October at the moment. The group will have a break over Christmas before getting back together to finish promoting their new album in February.

[hannahklucey]

Taylor Swift is Saying Goodbye- and not just to the Eras Tour.

Hannah K. Lucey Dec 12th 2024

On Sunday night, Taylor Swift wrapped up the final weekend of her record-breaking Eras Tour, which began in March of 2023. Now, over two years since its announcement, the Eras Tour is over. But Taylor isn’t just ending the “Eras Era”- she’s saying goodbye to each era, and eras altogether. 

As we know, Taylor has been re-recording her first six albums since 2021, but she didn’t necessarily want to. Taylor allegedly tried to buy the rights to her first six albums from her old record label, Big Machine Records, after her contract expired in 2018, but was allegedly blocked from doing so. In June 2019, it was announced that controversial celebrity manager Scooter Braun had purchased Big Machine Records, which included the rights to Taylor’s work. Taylor soon reported that she would be re-recording her first six albums, has been signed with Republic Records since 2018, and has since been vocal about artists' rights to own their work. She said of her initial thoughts on the rerecording process “How can I possibly do that? Nobody wants to redo their homework if on the way to school, the wind blows your book report away.”

In her reflective Eras Tour book, which was released on Black Friday, Taylor explains that she got the idea for the Eras tour while making her album Midnights, which was released shortly before the tour was announced. She describes the songs as inspired by 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout her life, and ends the Midnights album prologue, “For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching. Hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve...we'll meet ourselves.”

Could it be that while in quarantine, re-recording her work, finding old “vault tracks,” and reflecting on the eras, Taylor Swift began a journey of self reflection that initially led her to Midnights, and ultimately, to the Eras Tour?

Now, through the Eras Tour, has Taylor Swift found a way to process her past, let it go, and find herself?

Taylor added the final song on The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, "The Manuscript," to her surprise set Sunday night, which is the only part of the show that changes every night. She included the lyric, “Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward.” Taylor may believe that The Eras Tour and re-record process was the only way she could properly say goodbye to her eras.

In her 2023 Time Person of the Year interview, Taylor said of her re-recordings, “I’m collecting Horcruxes. I’m collecting infinity stones.” At the time, many of us were surprised to see her referencing things like Harry Potter and The Avengers, when her inspiration usually seems to come from old, dusty books, ancient poets, dead divorcees, classic rockstars, and, of course, her own life. Maybe this time, she was going for accessibility- she wanted us all to get this message. Horcruxes, in the world of Harry Potter, are fractured pieces of Voldemort’s soul that Harry and his friends must collect and ultimately destroy. The infinity stones, however, represent larger forces- time, space, power, mind, reality, and only the final stone represents the soul. In Avengers Endgame (2019), these also have to be destroyed.

With the Eras Tour, Taylor is collecting her eras in order to destroy them, one by one. The destruction of eras would mean becoming one whole person, one Taylor, a Taylor who doesn’t need her eras anymore. She even hints at it in her reflective Eras Tour book, which was released on Black Friday. In the first paragraph of the introduction, about having the idea for an all-encompassing tour, Taylor writes, “...there’s nothing I hate more than doing what I’ve always done,” and what has she always done, if not eras?

She’s not the only one. Eras might be part of Taylor Swift’s image, but they’ve been a Hollywood staple for a long time. Musicians like the Beatles, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, and Madonna were expected to publicly reinvent themselves every few years to promote their next album cycle.

Taylor reinvented reinvention, though. By leaving cryptic clues for fans to find, she made guessing her next album title, track title, or even outfit into a puzzle, a mystery for the world to solve. She took her her writing so seriously that each era’s version of Taylor could even be read as performance art, with the Eras Tour being the culmination and conclusion of Taylor’s performance.

In her 2022 NYU Commencement speech, Taylor said, “Everything I do is just an extension of my writing, whether it’s directing videos, or a short film, creating the visuals for a tour, or standing on a stage performing.”

Taylor defined the Eras tour as an era itself just a few days before it began- on March 16, 2023, Taylor posted some photos from tour rehearsals to Instagram with the caption “In my Eras era,” showing her nails painted 10 different colors. Fans quickly assigned “eras” (in this case albums) to each color- green, yellow, purple, red, light blue, green, pink, grey, gold, and midnight blue (for Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), Lover (2019), Folklore & Evermore (2020), and Midnights (2022).)

Sunday night in Vancouver, Taylor reflected as she began to perform the Eras Tour one last time: “It has been the most exciting, powerful, electrifying, intense, most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.” In the Eras Tour book, Taylor calls the tour “the longest, most ambitious show I’d ever even attempted.” She describes the promises she had made to herself: to be as physically and mentally strong as possible, to be as disciplined and devoted as possible, and to deliver the “happiness and wonder” that she had promised to millions. From the introduction alone, it’s clear that every part of the Eras tour, like the rest of her art, was planned meticulously.

With the show itself, she sent us a clear message- the versions of her that we see are not the true Taylor, and now she’s going home to her true self, whoever that is. Taylor has always encouraged her audience to find her messages- through lyrics, visual effects, clothing, lighting; anything she shows us is “all by design” as she confesses in the song “Mastermind.” 

Since her Reputation era, Taylor has been repeatedly comparing herself to scorned, angry female characters- namely witches. Taylor references witches in Reputation’s “I Did Something Bad,” Folklore’s “mad woman,” and over and over again on The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, which was released in April of 2024 and added to the tour's set in May. In one of the new performances, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” Taylor sings, “So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street/Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream/’Who's afraid of little old me?’/Well you should be,” while swirling black and white visuals play on the screen behind her, evoking those in the tornado scene of The Wizard of Oz (1939). She even spins on her podium on the stage, as her dancers form a swirling circle around her.

Fan video of the performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4FOrYUsY9U&ab_channel=krhtikos4

In this song, as in many others, she characterizes herself as the witch, but interestingly, in the Karma music video, she dresses up as Dorothy instead, on a pop-up book set. With the paper set, and by changing her identity constantly, Taylor reminds us that every version of her that we see has been intentionally curated for our consumption- and not always by herself.

Perhaps the clearest message of the tour was given at the very end of the last show Sunday night, when Taylor finally walked through the mysterious door that has been appearing every night in the background during the last song, Karma.

While some fans theorize about a legendary lost album, anyone who has seen The Truman Show (1998) will recognize the door in the sky. At the end of the movie, Truman, after realizing he has spent his entire life on camera, finally walks off set, through a door in what he believed was the sky for his entire life.

Taylor also bows like Truman does, with her arms out, at the very end of every show, as Karma ends. At the end of her final performance on December 8th, Taylor turned around and walked through the door. For further context, Elton John, on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, ended the show every night by leaving through a door in the back of the stage, on a backdrop that looked like a starry night sky. By drawing our attention to Elton's farewell tour, is Taylor saying this is her last tour? By referencing the Truman Show ending, is she ending a life in the spotlight? By repeatedly referencing both The Wizard of Oz and The Truman Show while on tour, is she hoping we'll link it back to this Elton moment?

In the Eras Tour book, she writes, “...life comes in waves, in phases, in brilliant flurries of magical moments, and all of these things come together to create…Eras." For 20 years now, Taylor has been expected to transform her real life and hardest feelings, her passion, into a marketable product, and reinvent herself time and time again to get us to notice her. Now, she's done. As she sings in "You're Losing Me," she's "getting tired even for a Phoenix."

The visuals at the end of Karma are yet another clue: as the song fades out, supernovas appear on the stage and the backscreen. A supernova is a powerful explosion that occurs when a star has reached the final stage of its life- in other words, a supernova is the death of a star. The message couldn't be clearer- Taylor Swift, the star, is dying, so that Taylor can finally be Taylor Swift, the person, the artist.

In her Time interview, after comparing her eras to Horcruxes and infinity stones, she said “It’s a movie to me now." At the last show, she finished her surprise song set with the lines, "The only thing that's left is the manuscript/One last souvenir from my trip to your shores/Now and then, I reread the manuscript/But the story isn't mine anymore."

She’s letting go of it all- giving it to us.

It also seems she’s pointing us toward movies in a more general sense, and it has been announced that she has written an original script and will be directing a feature film.

Midnights in particular contains many references to storytelling and movies, like “it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero,” “this is why they shouldn’t kill off the main guy,” and of course, “Karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight home to me.”

That “guy” is not any of her actual or rumored lovers, it’s just Taylor. She’s coming home- from celebrity, from Nashville, Hollywood, New York, London, from eras. Taylor Swift is finally coming home to herself.

As we all live in the shadow of the monster on the hill that is Taylor Swift ™️, it’s natural to wonder, “Where can she possibly go from here?” While often asked alongside questions about Taylor settling down or having babies, my wonderings drift in another direction. Where can Taylor possibly go from here, not commercially, not personally, but artistically? One thing is for sure- the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. But the question isn’t “What’s the next era?” anymore. Just… what’s next?