#new order t-shirt is such a banger

[lesbianherald]

IM BACK WITH ANOTHER THOUGHT

Sadly all I have been able do when listening to music for well over a month is relate it to jayvik so I need to share that One Upon a Poolside by The National and Sufjan Stevens feels so Coming Home (But Not To You) to me. I think it’s actually about having to perform when depressed but some of the lines sent me into a jayvik spiral

“Everything is different. Why do I feel the same?”

“I'll follow you everywhere

While you work the room

I don't know how you do it”

(Feel so Viktor observing Jayce to me)

“I thought we could make it through anything”

Basically I am never not thinking about them dear lord

Also I cannot wait to read Here at the End of All Things but I am waiting for a moment when it won’t emotionally destroy me (I fear that moment won’t come so probably just need to bite the bullet)

Anyway hope you’ve had a lovely start to 2025 and so excited for your new projects!!!

Once Upon a Poolside you mean the iconic collab between my two favorite artists of all time?!?!? I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT THIS HAPPENED. YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HOW INSANE IT IS THAT I SPECIFICALLY FORGOT THIS HAPPENED.

I swear I was in such a weird headspace when that album came out. I am forever in your debt for reminding me that existed.

I am adding this so fast to the playlist near the songs for chapter 7 thank you.

[grittyreadsfic]

once again: happy hockey big bang! the podfic eafay70 did of don’t know what you’ve got (til it’s gone) was such a great listen, and it made me want to focus a bit more on audio storytelling for this playlist. it’s three playlists-one from nolan’s perspective, one from tk’s, and one from nico’s, but each playlist features the same artist in the same order. it was definitely a new challenge but it was a lot of fun to try something new. there’s also a version with all the songs

we start with gracie abrams, because it was listening to her songs that made me want to try and do it this way.

nolan

i love you im sorry - gracie abrams

I was a dick, it is what it is / A habit to kick, the age-old curse / I tend to laugh whenever I'm sad / I stare at the crash, it actually works / Making amends, this shit never ends / I'm wrong again, wrong again

the wedding song - renee rapp

I would have sang it to you soft and sweet / You'd want it every anniversary

feel - fletcher

Doin' time, tryna heal / Do anything so I don't feel you

after the party - the menzingers

But you just want to dance in a basement / You don't care if anyone is watching / Just as long as you stay in motion / We put miles on these old jean jackets / Got caught up in the drunk conversations / But after the party, it's me and you

this song always makes me think of tk and nolan, but it fits extra well in this fic when nolan and tk are in that weird in between of friends and something more

the story of us - taylor swift

Oh, I'm scared to see the ending / Why are we pretending this is nothing / I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how / I've never heard silence quite this loud

back to me - john allison weiss

Another damp dark room and I'm spilling my guts right out / About the love I knew that I'm learning to live without

if only - dove cameron

Don't know what I'm feeling, is this just a dream? / If only I knew what my heart was telling me

sometimes an artist has a huge discography. other times they don’t and you pull out a banger from a dcom soundtrack. much like my pets: if it fits, it sits (on the playlist)

home - catie turner

I don't take spoonfuls of romanticism in my tea / But this is not a love song / It's my truth I have to speak / Oh, you are so important to me / And I won't let you go

I won't let you go / Cause wherever you are is home

be alone - paramore

Yeah, we could be alone / But never get too low on me / We could be alone together

heaven - petal

But I will take your voice rolling over me always

gimme love - carly rae jepsen

Cause I want what I want, do you think that I want too much?

nico

that’s so true - gracie abrams

Think about your dumb face all the time

too well - renee rapp

I get so sick of myself, can't stop overthinkin' / I heard you're happy somewhere else / But I don't forget too well / I get so sick of myself, can't stop reminiscin' / I heard you're happy somewhere else / But I don't forget too well

becky’s so hot - fletcher

Cause Becky's so hot in your vintage t-shirt / Oh, she the one I should hate / But I wanna know how she taste

this is THEE nico song for this in my opinion. yeah yeah nico’s too nice to threaten to hit tk, but like. he’s got eyes, alright? he sees the appeal

casey - the menzingers

And I bet I sound like a broken record / Every time I open my mouth / I want to wander around the city with you again

holy ground - taylor swift

We had this big wide city all to ourselves / We blocked the noise with the sound of 'I need you' / And for the first time I had something to lose / And I guess we fell apart in the usual way / And the story's got dust on every page / But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now

this and casey are both songs that are a little bittersweet, looking back at a relationship after it’s ended, and i think that’s what nico does a lot during this fic

new love - john allison weiss

There's no love like new love / You're moving on and all I want is you, love

we go down together - dove cameron

If you go down / Then we go down together / If you hold on / I might just stay forever / If you get hurt / I'll try to make it better / If you go down / Then we go down together

i luv him - catie turner

He's what I want / But I'm not what he needs

proof - paramore

Then I'll believe in what you say / There's nothing left for you to do / The only proof that I need is you

nature - petal

Every fiber of my being seems to scream to me / "You are now mine in a life we both know"

i really like you - carly rae jepsen

It's way too soon, I know this isn't love / But I need to tell you something / I really, really, really, really, really, really like you / And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too?

tk

risk - gracie abrams

I’m not proud / Guess I'm just scared of you shooting it down / You can just talk, and I'll stare at your mouth / It could be bad, but I wanna find out

i was between risk and in between for tk, and in between isn’t on streaming, but risk also hits the nail on the head

i do - renee rapp

When we're saying, "I love you" / I mean it different than you do / Terrified I always will even after the day / You look at somebody else and you say / "I do"

lead me on - fletcher

So why don't you just lead me on? / 'Cause something is better than nothing at all / Yeah, I want you to lead me on / 'Cause something, yeah, something is better than nothing / Yeah, something, your something is better than nothing at all

tk truly does spend so much of this settling for all he thinks he can have, and i feel like this song really encapsulates that

time table - the menzingers

As time tables suggest / We were only just friends / In constant motions, covering stilts / I’ll give you a dollar for another ride home / Or something to mix with your Coke

say don’t go - taylor swift

Oh no, oh no, it's not fair / 'Cause you kiss me and it stops time / And I'm yours, but you're not mine

i had to do it - john allison weiss

If my heavy heart were strong enough / I'd stay and let you keep it / But to know you is to love you / And I don't want to love you anymore

sand - dove cameron

I saw the end when we began / You couldn't love the way I can / I tried to bargain with the stars / For more than half your heart / But you have more pieces of me than the desert has sand / And I have less pieces of you than I can hold in my hand

(wish i didn’t have to) lie - catie turner

I don't hate you / I just hate the way I love you / And I hate the way I tell myself I'm fine / I wish I didn't have to lie

looking up - paramore

Could've given up so easily

I was a few cheap shots away from the end of me

left a mark - petal

i was born to kiss your mouth / i was born to be the dust / i was born to cover you / i was born to leave a mark / i was born to be the light / to be the light inside your room / i was born to be the dust that covers you

runaway with me - carly rae jepsen

This is the part, you've got to say all that you're feeling, feeling / Packing a bag, we're leaving tonight when everyone's sleeping, sleeping / Let's run away / I'll run away with you

[thedragonofbadasstemple]

Got tagged by @klutenpetter to share 9 new movies, games, and tv shows I got into in 2024! Not all of these debuted last year but last year was when I started to watch/get into them so I'm putting them in!

I was away on holiday so just now getting the chance to share. I had to really think about it to get 9 choices since I didn't really pick up many new animes last year, much ones I enjoyed immensely, and I'm too busy to play video games, but overall I enjoyed some real bangers in 2024! Put everything in approximate order to when I started them...

Witch and The Beast. LOVED IT!! The anime and the portion of the manga it covers is great, the following arc is even better. Everything covered in the anime felt like an extended prologue to the actual plot. I read the Manga from start to finish after I finished the anime since I enjoyed the art. I hope the manga comes back from hiatus soon.

Slam Dunk. I watched this with my partner and we greatly enjoyed it. Hanamichi's voice actor is incredible. We did not enjoy The Final Slam Dunk very much, it was a huge let down. I really want to read the manga so I can enjoy the intended plot from start to finish, but even if half the 90s anime is filler I still really enjoyed it a lot!

Dungeon Meshi. Also watched this one with my partner! Its very inspiring, both creatively as well as in making me feel motivated. I haven't bought any merch for this series, I'm telling myself Senshi and Laios would want me to spend money on cookware and food instead lol. I would like to purchase the manga and read it in Spanish some day. We can't wait for season 2!

BANGx9 BRAVERN!!!!. FUCKING LOVED THIS. Easily in my top 10 anime of all time. PLEASE WATCH BRAVERN IF YOU HAVEN'T YET!!! My sales pitch is its Yuri on Ice but Mecha AU. There is even a yurio equivalent. Its very funny and very gay. I got one of the t-shirts Smith wears as well, he's such himbo goals.

The Fall Guy. I watched this in the theaters with my mom! We went just to have something to do with low expectations and no idea what the plot was and we both enjoyed it. I bought it on blu ray as soon as it released! I really enjoyed this film, it is filled with love for the art of filmmaking and you can tell everyone is having a great time. I'm sad its a bit of a box office bomb, it deserved better.

House MD. I picked this up to have some background noise to help me accomplish tasks since I have ADD. Kluten, who tagged me, likes it, and I like having new things to talk with him about. I haven't finished it yet, I'm on season 6, but I do really love it so far. I also blame the Rasputin AMV for making me interested too, and all the memes in general. The House MD fandom propaganda really putting in the work!

Saw. Yes, I really didn't see the original Saw until 2024. I've wanted to watch it for years, ever since I saw an (incomplete) retrospective of the series and just didn't get around to it. I thought the series was just torture porn before said retrospective, but the original film is actually quite different from how the series ended up. I watched Saw 2 right after the first and it didn't charm me as much. I do not plan to watch further entries. The original is enough for me! <3

Mouthwashing. I didn't play this one directly, I watched ManlyBadassHero's play through. I actually had to watch it twice as the first time didn't really catch me, but it exploded in popularity and I watched it again and that's when I really fell in love. Swansea/Daisuke is Calladashi but a different font for me. Somethings never change I guess LOL.

Nosferatu. Watched this in theaters in Spain with my partner. It was the first movie date we had and we both really enjoyed the film. We're both freaks and related to Ellen a lot. I really enjoyed this adaptation of Dracula and its made me want to read the book again! I really loved that Orlock had a book accurate [REDACTED], I'm still very delighted just thinking about it! I can't wait to watch it again, I'm picking it up on blu-ray when it releases!

For this I will tag @solanum-iycopersicum, @wanderingpierrot, @tardigradetv, @dagaaz, aaaaaand @themetro5000.

[fungisteri]

Live Fungi Reaction: Splatoon 3's 5.0 patch notes

It's late and I'm not in a great mood, so let's just get done with this. Been told they're mid... Surely these fuckers aren't about to make my night worse, are they?

Still disappointing it's only 8, by the way! Especially since it's the easiest part of the game to code!

Supported gear... it's going to be a t-shirts exclusive just like with folding clothes for your locker, isn't it? I swear, sometimes it feels like they're not even trying with these half-baked additions.

3 songs... now that's interesting!

On the two new main weapons- I'm not like, thrilled about either of them, but I am looking at the Dread Wringer with interest.

I'm in a rush so I won't go in depth.

Only kits I'm looking forward to are the Sorella Brella (which I probably won't play) and the Blobblober Deco (which I will 100% play- Deco just keeps dropping banger after banger, huh? truly the superior weapon brand!)

I really wish they could've given us splat bomb booyah on dynamo, but allegedly this might work as well.

Everything else is a major disappointment, ESPECIALLY the inkline tri-stringer, as a tri-stringer user myself. That said, I'll try the kit anyways because it's the first thing the weapon class comprised of TWO WEAPONS has gotten in an entire YEAR. Reeeeeaaally below rock bottom in here.

By god they are really pushing it with these.

Brellas need buffs, they heard- So they're getting the most inconsequential changes possible! Literally beyond parody. These weapons struggle killing, not regening their shields! And even then, your non-existent netcode we pay 20$ a year for makes those useless anyways! Come the fuck on, man!

And why the reeflux nerf? That thing's fallen out of use a WHILE ago, this was so uncalled for. Why did they create a missile spammer that struggles to get kills and then just bury it further?! I swear, Nintendo hates these two weapon classes specifically.

These sound interesting!

They're fairly toning back cooler meta (RIP, you were incredibly fun while you were here for a whole month or so) and making some changes to Killer Wail 5.1 I cannot understand. But that thing definitely needs changes anyways, so I'll welcome there. Zipcaster might also be interesting... Not the damage buff it needed, but could still be interesting.

Ohhhh, that's fun!

Tenacity has been irrelevant for a while, especially with the existence of Last Ditch Effort, which has been needing nerfs since the previous game. This looks promising!

Good on them for finally taking care of n-zap. Annaki really didn't deserve that though, that thing is already underused. RIP

No idea what any of this means. Cool! 👍

I've been grinding SR a lot lately due to terrible rotations in other modes, so I'm definitely keeping my eyes on this 👀

New songs... fun 👀

Only thing I care about is the last item. I mean, everything else is cool, but HOLY SHIT. THEY ACTUALLY FIXED THAT. THANK YOU NINTENDO FOR GIVING US THE BARE MINIMUM WE DIDN'T EVEN THINK WE WOULD GET LET'S GOOOOOO

I can already spend hours customizing my locker, so this is gonna be a BLAST.

It's late so I won't be looking at bug fixes.

A mixed bag of a patch, but I will say, I do like some of the changes being made. Hopefully after the pre side order drought we'll get all the things we REALLY need. But until then, I will probably be fine with this. Time to grind the upcoming catalogue whenever I have the time, I guess!

[evasive-anon]

@skykichi, I am so sorry but this ask activated my trap card and I am about to pop the fuck off and list just WAY too many recs. I have tried to give a good snapshot of what each offers so you can make an informed decision on which appeals to you the most.

General Tim Recs

Robin Vol. 1 Reborn/ Vol 2 Triumphant

Kinda like a classic introduction option for Tim. These are two collection books for Tim Drake robin content. Tim was the first Robin to be given standalone comics but these original issues also came out in the 90s so they will be the most dated content I drop on this rec list.

Vol. 1 Reborn is focused on Tim training to be the new Robin and coming into the mantle. This book is Batman #455-457, Detective Comics #618-621, and Robin #1-5. Also, if you want to die playing a party game take a shot every time they show the Jason suit memorial. This includes him training with Lady Shiva and taking on King Snake.

Vol 2 Triumphant - now Tim is in Gotham and he's Robin. For a bit he still fighting King Snake but now with Batman and Huntress by his side but this really comes into its own when the Joker breaks out of Arkham when Batman isn't around. I feel like some of things I wanna say about this book are even more fun to see as surprise but there is a point where a body shows up in the morgue and its some guy who's been beaten and murdered and dressed in Tim's costume and its like, SPICY. Joker even sings the OG version of the 'Jingle Bells, Batman Smells' ditty. This one collects Batman #465, 467-469, Robin II #1-4, and Robin III #1-6.

Note: I was just gonna put a cool panel of Tim from vol 2 down here but instead I'm going to spotlight this Tim look. His hair looks like he shoved his fork into an electrical socket and he's wearing a fucking t-shirt over a button up. What is happening here??? He wears a shirt over a button up MULTIPLE times. Why???

Note: Is Tim a nerd?? Tim is pulling invites to real parties and adventuring parties. Get you a man who can do both. 😭

Red Robin: Collision

The fun option. This is a heavy hitter! I would say the entire Red Robin run is a banger but this is the climax of the story. Tim just betrayed the League of Assassins and Ra’s plans to get even by killing everyone Tim cares about. Will you be starting the story in out of order if you begin here? Yeah, but honestly, I think it’s OK to start with dessert sometimes. Treat yourself. This is Timbit out there flexing his skills not just as a fighter but as a tactician and the latter bit I honestly feel like that is the real sweet spot of his character. This covers issues #9-12 of Red Robin (2009).

Recs for Fanon’s Favorite Moments

A Lonely Place of Living

You know when people bring up Timmy as evil gun Batman? This is the story that made it happen. When Tim escapes Dr. Oz and tries to reunite with Batman he unpleasantly surprised to discover the Batman he finds is actually an brutal alternate future version of himself, who intends to kill Batwoman before she ruins young Tim’s life. Also has some great Steph content and also touches on Tim's relationship with Jason cause he spends like a year in the bad timeline desperately tracking down every wild hint or trace to find Jay. This is also a collection book, it has detective comics #963-968 and detective comics annual #1.

Red Robin: Council of Spiders

This is the portion of the Red Robin comic run where Timbuktu loses his spleen AND blows up all the league of assassin headquarters so it’s. 2 for 1 fanon fav special. This is over issues #5-8. I also just really LOVE how Tim wakes up in Issue 5 post surgery after being wounded in the LoA base and sees the Lazarus Pit and legit thinks he was like dunked in it and resurrected and starts beating the shit out of all the assassins and his internal dialogue is like 'I must already being going insane, I can feel the burning within' and then one of the guys is just like, 'you didnt get dunked please stop ripping your stitches out' and like WOW. Embarrassing. When I said Red Robin was a banger run I fucking meant it. Tbh main rec from this is the Red Robin comics even if I think it looks like Tim is wearing a condom on his head.

Robin Issues 134-139

These comics are where Timwise Gamgee faked having an uncle in order to avoid adoption. I really think I should make a standalone post for this like the Titans Tower incident because like it’s so different than the fanon version. Bruce is very proud of the job Tim did on it and volunteered to help him with the plan after he figured it out. Tim only ended up going to the manor cause Bludhaven blew up and derailed his work. BRUCE WAS GONNA MAKE HIM A KITTED OUT ROBIN NEST. This was just a subplot over those comics but it was an amazing one and honestly the canon reaction of Bruce is ICONIC. He's just like, 'you little scamp, great work.'

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Not a comic but a cartoon movie rec. In Batman Beyond there was a storyline where Tim was brainwashed and tortured by the Joker and it comes up in fanon cause it was a fucking traumatizing event for innocent children watching a Batman cartoon. Hey WB Kids, pay my fucking therapy bills you assholes.

Recs for Tim with Jason or Damian

I almost wrote Tim with Jason/Damian for the subtitle before my brain caught up and realized that meant something very different than the and/or I intended.💀

Robin War

This story has everything for the batboys: The Court of Owls are fucking around, Dick in his spy era as Spyral, wake up Gotham new law just dropped and now being Robin is illegal and punishable by police robot??, Duke Thomas joins the crew, Damian is mean af and won't stop calling Jason and Time names, all of the boys causing trouble and drama and its great fucking time.

I think Robin War is broken into 9 different comic issues: Robin War # 1, Grayson #15, Detective Comics (2011) #47, We Are Robin #7, Red Hood/Arsenal #7, Robin: Son of Batman #7, Gotham Academy #13, Teen Titans (2014) #15, and Robin War #2 in that order. The Robin War collection book should have all of these inside.

Knight Terrors: Robin

The undynamic duo, Jason and Tim, are stuck in a nightmare realm together. There are only two issues of Knight Terrors: Robin, they were part of a larger Knight Terrors event for all of DC. I'd say the characterizations were pretty OK for a larger event and it has some cool moments. I think it would work well for someone just starting with the characters in canon. I actually have physical comics of these two issues cause I love some Jay and Tim content.

Robins: Being Robin

All the robins get together to have a meeting and settle the debate on whether Robin was actually any good for them. The meeting kicks off heavy with each one of them giving their perspective on how they came to be Robin and what it meant but before they can get to the heart of the matter together they are interrupted by a new enemy who claims to be the actual first Robin- and she has a score to settle against all of them. Tim teams up with Dick, Jason, Steph, and Damian in this one. This comic may not be loved by everyone but to me it has everything. All the robins hanging out, Tim wanting to murder, Tim being kind, Nightwing yelling at Bruce and saving Bruce, Jason and Damian being extra for no fucking reason. They even remembered Stephanie exists and was a Robin! The Robins: Being Robin collection book has Robins (2022) comics #1-6 within it and it’s $16.37 on Amazon. Or at least it is for me in the US.

Note: this last panel sometimes shows up randomly in places of all of squad trying to pull Batman off of Tim and its from this comic.

Bonus Rec

Gotham Knights (2000), specifically issue #1.

This isn’t a Tim only recommendation, or even a bat boys recommendation, this is just an interesting comic. Batman is investigating a case where a young boy was orphaned after his parents were killed- but Bruce just can’t seem to figure out who did it. Oracle, Nightwing, and Robin (Tim) on the other hand already know who is responsible- they just don’t know how to help B realize it. Also, Nightwing calls Alfred ‘Mom’ in this one. The whole run is super cool for batfam content, but since its from 2000 so it won't have Jason or Damian. Well maybe Jason in the form of his memorial display or his habit of haunting the narrative in his absence but no Damian at all.

Bonus Note:

Jason and Tim I think you will get a solid vibe for from the comics I list. Damian and Tim do have a complicated relationship, and I don't have a single comic or story rec that really sums it up. Cdelphiki has a great post on their starting dynamic here with comic issues listed. They don't really hate each other but fanon did get the initial tension pretty right. Mostly cause Bruce isn't great at parenting but also just fundamentally having an assassin kid raised in a cult join a large family would be complicated. There is a panel in Batman and Robin by Morrison where Damian admits he wanted Tim to accept him but he's also kinda asshole about it lmao. I can't remember which issue its in and honestly I don't like Morrison so I don't feel like going back to find it right now but if you're really interested in this one let me know and I might.

Hi, any recs for someone obsessed with batfam fics and looking to read canon?? There's so many series literally any guidance would be appreciated :DD

Hey @skykichi, before I give a rec let me get a gauge of what might interest you most. Have you already watched some of the animated series or are you coming in purely with a fanon background?

Also if you willing to divulge, do you have a favorite member of the batfam or a favorite dynamic? The batfam is pretty big so it’s rare you get even representation of all the characters in a single comic or storyline so if you have a preference I can try and pick one that leans your way.

[agentlilicarter]

Introduction

Hi and welcome to my blog. My name is Lili, I'm kind of new here so I'm still learning how to use Tumblr. I created this account mostly to make moodboards I enjoy (I'm amateur so bear with me) but now I reblog stuff too from fandoms I love. But I'm mostly just lurking and watching fandoms silently.

Moodboard masterlist Favourite AMVs/Fan videos Moodboard taglist

Open for requests!

If you want to use the moodboards I posted, just tell me and credit me please.

Divider made by @firefly-graphics from this post

The links to the picrews: (1) (2)* - for the second one I used some filter settings with the Gallery app.

*the link to the second picrew doesn't work, it might got deleted.

About myself:

I'm a 24 year old woman

I have hazel eyes and dark blonde wavy hair with blonde highlights

I'm Hungarian so English is not my native language; if you see typos this is the reason for that 😅

Besides Hungarian I speak German and English

I'm an introvert

The worst at socialising

I'm not the best with words; I tend to be quiet

Afraid of screwing up things

I constantly say sorry for everything even if it's not my fault (I'm trying to stop it I swear)

Moody (Blues)

I like space aesthetic.

I like to look up to the stars (if the light pollution allows to) and to the moon.

Always reading something

I mostly wear simple clothes (T-shirt + jeans combo) with darker colours (blue, black) and white because of my workplace

Night owl - hence always tired

I suck at keeping something alive - I killed so many plants lol

Music interests:

I like various genres, but I'm leaning to modern rock, pop rock and videogame soundtracks - especially the OST of Persona 3-4 and Xenoblade Chronicles X.

My favourite band is Starset, I like Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, Bring me the Horizon, Bastille, Melanie Martinez and many other artists

I'm listening to a lot of mashups. Some of them are bangers, some of them are for memes/shitposts, or can be both

My youtube recap summarizes some of it

I listen to some ambience too.

Fandom interests: (no specific order)

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Harry Potter - I would be Hufflepuff

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

The Irish Lads (all five of them)

Agent Carter

I hope we get along! 💛

[tmbgareok]

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[bananaofswifts]

Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’: Album Review

It’s hard to remember any contemporary pop superstar that has indulged in a more serious, or successful, act of sonic palette cleansing than Swift has with her eighth album, a highly subdued but rich affair written and recorded in quarantine conditions.

While most of us spent the last four months putting on some variation of “the quarantine 15,” Taylor Swift has been secretly working on the “Folklore” 16. Sprung Thursday night with less than a day’s notice, her eighth album is a fully rounded collection of songs that sounds like it was years in the interactive making, not the product of a quarter-year’s worth of file-sharing from splendid isolation. Mind you, the words “pandemic hero” should probably be reserved for actual frontline workers and not topline artistes. But there’s a bit of Rosie the Riveter spirit in how Swift has become the first major pop artist to deliver a first-rank album that went from germination to being completely locked down in the midst of a national lockdown.

The themes and tone of “Folklore,” though, are a little less “We can do it!” and a little more “Can we do it?” Because this new collection is Swift’s most overtly contemplative — as opposed to covertly reflective — album since the fan favorite “Red.” Actually, that’s an understatement. “Red” seems like a Chainsmokers album compared to the wholly banger-free “Folklore,” which lives up to the first half of its title by divesting itself of any lingering traces of Max Martin-ized dance-pop and presenting Swift, afresh, as your favorite new indie-electro-folk/chamber-pop balladeer. For fans that relished these undertones of Swift’s in the past, it will come as a side of her they know and love all too well. For anyone who still has last year’s “You Need to Calm Down” primarily in mind, it will come as a jolting act of manual downshifting into actually calming down. At least this one won’t require an album-length Ryan Adams remake to convince anyone that there’s songwriting there. The best comparison might be to take “Clean,” the unrepresentative denouement of “1989,” and… imagine a whole album of that. Really, it’s hard to remember any pop star in our lifetimes that has indulged in a more serious act of sonic palette cleansing.

The tone of this release won’t come as a midnight shock to anyone who took spoilers from the announcement earlier in the day that a majority of the tracks were co-written with and produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner, or that the man replacing Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie as this album’s lone duet partner is Bon Iver. No matter how much credit you may have given Swift in the past for thinking and working outside of her box, a startled laugh may have been in order for just how unexpected these names felt on the bingo card of musical dignitaries you expected to find the woman who just put out “Me!” working with next. But her creative intuition hasn’t led her into an oil-and-water collaboration yet. Dessner turns out to be an ideal partner, with as much virtuosic, multi-instrumental know-how (particularly useful in a pandemic) as the most favored writer-producer on last year’s “Lover” album, Jack Antonoff.

He, too, is present and accounted for on “Folklore,” to a slightly lesser extent, and together Antonoff and Dessner make for a surprisingly well-matched support-staff tag team. Swift’s collabs with the National’s MVP clearly set the tone for the project, with a lot of fingerpicking, real strings, mellow drum programming and Mellotrons. You can sense Antonoff, in the songs he did with Swift, working to meet the mood and style of what Dessner had done or would be doing with her, and bringing out his own lesser-known acoustic and lightly orchestrated side. As good of a mesh as the album is, though, it’s usually not too hard to figure out who worked on which song — Dessner’s contributions often feel like nearly neo-classical piano or guitar riffs that Swift toplined over, while Antonoff works a little more toward buttressing slightly more familiar sounding pop melodies of Swift’s, dressed up or down to meet the more somber-sounding occasion.

For some fans, it might take a couple of spins around the block with this very different model to become re-accustomed to how there’s still the same power under the hood here. And that’s really all Swift, whose genius for conversational melodies and knack for giving every chorus a telling new twist every time around remain unmistakable trademarks. Thematically, it’s a bit more of a hodgepodge than more clearly autobiographical albums like “Lover” and “Reputation” before it have been. Swift has always described her albums as being like diaries of a certain period of time, and a few songs here obviously fit that bill, as continuations of the newfound contentment she explored in the last album and a half. But there’s also a higher degree of fictionalization than perhaps she’s gone for in the past, including what she’s described as a trilogy of songs revolving around a high school love triangle. The fact that she refers to herself, by name, as “James” in the song “Betty” is a good indicator that not everything here is ripped from today’s headlines or diary entries.

But, hell, some of it sure is. Anyone looking for lyrical Easter eggs to confirm that Swift still draws from her own life will be particularly pleased by the song “Invisible String,” a sort of “bless the broken roads that led me to you” type song that finds fulfillment in a current partner who once wore a teal shirt while working as a young man in a yogurt shop, even as Swift was dreaming of the perfect romance hanging out in Nashville’s Centennial Park. (A quick Google search reveals that, yes, Joe Alwyn was once an essential worker in London’s fro-yo industry.) There’s also a sly bit of self-referencing as Swift follows this golden thread that fatefully linked them: “Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to L.A.,” she sings. The “dive bar” that was first established as the scene of a meet-cute two albums ago makes a reappearance in this song, too.

As for actual bad blood? It barely features into “Folklore,” in any substantial, true-life-details way, counter to her reputation for writing lyrics that are better than revenge. But when it does, woe unto he who has crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s on a contract that Swift feels was a double-cross. At least, we can strongly suspect what or who the actual subject is of “Mad Woman,” this album’s one real moment of vituperation. “What did you think I’d say to that?” Swift sings in the opening lines. “Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? / They strike to kill / And you know I will.” Soon, she’s adding gas to the fire: “Now I breathe flames each time I talk / My cannons all firing at your yacht / They say ‘move on’ / But you know I won’t / … women like hunting witches, too.” A coup de gras is delivered: “It’s obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together.” It’s a message song, and the message is: Swift still really wants her masters back, in 2020. And is really still going to want them back in 2021, 2022 and 2023, too. Whether or not the neighbors of the exec or execs she is imagining really mouth the words “f— you” when these nemeses pull up in their respective driveways may be a matter of projection, but if Swift has a good time imagining it, many of her fans will too.

(A second such reference may be found in the bonus track, “The Lakes,” which will only be found on deluxe CD and vinyl editions not set to arrive for several weeks. There, she sings, “What should be over burrowed under my skin / In heart-stopping waves of hurt / I’ve come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze / Tell me what are my words worth.” The rest of “The Lakes” is a fantasy of a halcyon semi-retirement in the mountains — in which “I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet / Because I haven’t moved in years” — “and not without my muse.” She even imagines red roses growing out of a tundra, “with no one around to tweet it”; fantasies of a social media-free utopia are really pandemic-rampant.)

The other most overtly “confessional” song here is also the most third-person one, up to a telling point. In “The Last Great American Dynasty,” Swift explores the rich history of her seaside manse in Rhode Island, once famous for being home to the heir to the Standard Oil fortune and, after he died, his eccentric widow. Swift has a grand old time identifying with the women who decades before her made fellow coast-dwellers go “there goes the neighborhood”: “There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen / She had a marvelous time ruining everything,” she sings of the long-gone widow, Rebekah. “Fifty years is a long time / Holiday House sat quietly on that beach / Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits / Then it was bought by me… the loudest woman this town has ever seen.” (A fine madness among proud women is another recurring theme.)

But, these examples aside, the album is ultimately less obviously self-referential than most of Swift’s. The single “Cardigan,” which has a bit of a Lana Del Rey feel (even though it’s produced by Dessner, not Del Rey’s partner Antonoff) is part of Swift’s fictional high school trilogy, along with “August” and “Betty.” That sweater shows up again in the latter song, in which Swift takes on the role of a 17-year boy publicly apologizing for doing a girl wrong — and which kicks into a triumphant key change at the end that’s right out of “Love Story,” in case anyone imagines Swift has completely moved on from the spirit of early triumphs.

“Exile,” the duet with Bon Iver, recalls another early Swift song, “The Last Time,” which had her trading verses with Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. Then, as now, she gives the guy the first word, and verse, if not the last; it has her agreeing with her partner on some aspects of their dissolution (“I couldn’t turn things around”/”You never turned things around”) and not completely on others (“Cause you never gave a warning sign,” he sings; “I gave so many signs,” she protests).

Picking two standouts — one from the contented pile, one from the tormented — leads to two choices: “Illicit Affairs” is the best cheating song since, well, “Reputation’s” hard-to-top “Getaway Car.” There’s less catharsis in this one, but just as much pungent wisdom, as Swift describes the more mundane details of maintaining an affair (“Tell your friends you’re out for a run / You’ll be flushed when you return”) with the soul-destroying ones of how “what started in beautiful rooms ends with meetings in parking lots,” as “a drug that only worked the first few hundred times” wears off in clandestine bitterness.

But does Swift have a corker of a love song to tip the scales of the album back toward sweetness. It’s not “Invisible String,” though that’s a contender. The champion romance song here is “Peace,” the title of which is slightly deceptive, as Swift promises her beau, or life partner, that that quality of tranquility is the only thing she can’t promise him. If you like your love ballads realistic, it’s a bit of candor that renders all the compensatory vows of fidelity and courage all the more credible and deeply lovely. “All these people think love’s for show / But I would die for you in secret.”

That promise of privacy to her intended is a reminder that Swift is actually quite good at keeping things close to the vest, when she’s not spilling all — qualities that she seems to value and uphold in about ironically equal measure. Perhaps it’s in deference to the sanctity of whatever she’s holding dear right now that there are more outside narratives than before in this album — including a song referring to her grandfather storming the beaches in World War II — even as she goes outside for fresh collaborators and sounds, too. But what keeps you locked in, as always, is the notion of Swift as truth-teller, barred or unbarred, in a world of pop spin. She’s celebrating the masked era by taking hers off again.

Taylor Swift “Folklore” Republic Records

[romioneficfest]

In Another Universe

Title: In Another Universe

Prompt: Date Night

Tumblr name: 

Rating: T

Brief summary: (Modern-Day University AU) Hermione Granger, brightest young lady her age, completed her PhD in Linguistics at 25. Ron Weasley, a quantum physicist with a penchant for unkempt hair and loose ties… well, he’s getting there. However, Granger has agreed to spend a night out at a pub with him, and he’s going to try his hardest to woo her with what he knows she likes best: intelligence.

Tags: mentions of alcohol, the word “damn”

-

The pub was dim-lit, crowded, and stank of stale beer. Dr. Hermione Granger was horrified: in her impossibly neat, dry-cleaned pencil skirt and button-down, she stuck out like a sore thumb in a place she never thought she’d find herself on a Saturday night. The man across from her seemed right in his element: leaning back in his chair, his tie loose and shirt undone, a shock of unkempt red hair crowning him, it wouldn’t have surprised her if he’d swung his legs and placed his feet on the table.

Smirking at her, as if reveling in her discomfort, he waved a waitress over: “Gerda, dear! Would you please get me some bangers and mash and an IPA?”

Granger’s shock only grew: he was on first-name basis with the personnel? Gerda nodded and turned to Granger, who froze for a second before remembering she was supposed to order: “Yes, ah… I’ll have the fish and chips and a glass of water, please.”

Gerda nodded again, shooting Granger’s companion a wink as she marched toward the kitchen. He winked back before looking to Granger with a teasing smile: “Never took you for such a bore, but then again, you are wearing a pencil skirt to a pub…”

“Can it, Weasley,” Granger hissed. “You begged me to be here.”

“Where else would you be on a Saturday night? Library?” he teased her again, and she flushed. He toned it down: “I’m sorry— I mean, we can leave if you want to…”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Granger huffed, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “It’s good for me to… step out of my comfort zone.”

‘And that’s putting it kindly,’ thought Weasley, taking a sip from the dark brown bottle Gerda had set in front of him. He watched Granger awkwardly sip from her glass and, realizing how uncomfortable she must be, decided to shift the conversation somewhere more familiar. “So, A Winter’s Tale.”

“Excuse me?”

“A Winter’s Tale? Shakespeare? Is that where your name comes from?”

She smiled as she took the glass to her lips again, and her shoulders lost tension. “You’re familiar with it.”

“Well, I did secondary school.”

“Good try, Weasley, but the secondary school curriculum doesn’t usually include A Winter’s Tale in its Shakespeare section.”

Damn it, he thought; leave it to Granger to know the British literature curriculum. “Fine, I Googled it.”

“Well, that’s flattering,” Granger said, raising her eyebrows. “Took time to do your homework.”

“What can I say? When you get a date with the most beautiful PhD in the uni, you’d better know your stuff.”

She blushed again, and Weasley smiled to himself: he’d gotten past the first line of defense. He decided to keep going down the conversational path he knew she’d be comfortable with: “So, working on anything interesting lately?”

Her eyes sparkled, and she finally set her glass back on the table: “God, I’m so glad you asked. As a matter of fact, we’re working on cataloging a set of Celtic scrolls we found a couple months ago— it’s fascinating.” Weasley watched her light up as she talked passionately about her work: she was a wholly different person from the demure, reserved woman who had been sitting across from him just seconds ago. He almost didn’t notice his head resting on his hand as he watched her talk, staring at her, until she cleared her throat: “Am I boring you?”

“God, no, not at all,” he said hurriedly. “All the contrary, actually. Tell me more?”

“I think I’ve talked enough,” laughed Granger, and —Weasley noticed happily— she seemed a lot more open now, relaxed into her chair and smiling genuinely. “Your turn, Weasley. What are physicists up to these days?”

“Well— a lot, actually,” he said, and he felt the familiar flame that took over him whenever he broached the subject of his work. He wasn’t at the top of his field like Granger, and he knew the other physicists often complained about his work ethic, his mess, his lack of discipline. But, in his eyes, that didn’t matter: he felt such a furor when in the lab, chin-deep in what he most loved, that he didn’t know how they could expect him to busy himself with such trivial things like organizing his files. He felt that same ardor blossom in his chest now as he talked to Granger about it (though, as he looked at her turn all of his attention to him, his heart simmered with more than fervor for physics): “A few days ago, a 2016 NASA study from down in the South Pole resurfaced. It’s crazy— they recorded particle behavior that defies all of the earthly laws of physics. They think it may be evidence of a parallel universe, where time runs backward— I mean, it’s crazy, but we can’t help but be intrigued—”

“A parallel universe? Seriously?” Granger cut him off, leaning forward with her elbows on the table and staring intently at him. She seemed genuinely interested— something that greatly delighted Weasley. “How would that even work?”

“Well, there are two big possibilities,” Weasley began. He could tell Granger was accustomed to doing the lecturing, not the other way around, but she seemed to be enjoying it. “The first has to do with the Big Bang: there’s this theory that the universe is always expanding, and when it stops expanding somewhere, a Big Bang occurs and a universe is generated; however, expansion continues in other places, and whenever it stops there, a Big Bang occurs too and another universe pops into existence. I’m fonder of the second possibility myself, honestly…”

“Well, what is it?” Granger urged him, hooked by his explanation, her eyes ablaze with the wild spark she reserved for the parts of her work she liked the most.

“Well, uh—” said Weasley, having to regain his bearings after getting distracted by how excited she seemed. “It’s the 'many worlds’ theory. According to this one, every single possible outcome to every single possible situation (be it whether the Greeks win the Trojan War or whether you decide to brush your teeth tonight) actually happens, it just happens in a separate universe. That means there’s an infinite amount of universes out there.”

“You’re telling me out there is a universe where everything is the same, but I’m wearing red instead of blue?”

“Yep, and there’s also a universe out there where I’ve finally finished my PhD because I’ve stopped pondering silly things like multiverses and learned to clean up a file cabinet instead,” quipped Weasley, and —to his surprised delight— Granger laughed.

“You’re brilliant, you know that?” she told him, and the look in her eyes had changed, softened: she was now looking at him with intent curiosity, as if she was seeing him in a whole new light. “You don’t need a doctorate to know that. I bet all those stuffy physicists are just jealous.”

He couldn’t believe his ears— Hermione Granger, darling of academic convention, bashing the very scientists that embodied everything he thought she valued most. Maybe they weren’t so different after all. He felt his ears burning, a surefire sign he was blushing: “That’s high praise, coming from you.”

“You shouldn’t undermine yourself,” Granger said, swirling around the ice in her glass with a straw. “Like I said, you’re brilliant.” And she liked brilliance, she thought, noticing how flattering that half-undone shirt was on him.

A silence ensued as they both looked at each other, broken only when Gerda set down their plates. Hermione cleared her throat to diffuse the awkwardness of the broken spell, and took to her fish and chips with her fork and knife, attempting to return to casual conversation. “So, Ronald,” she said, startling him —she’d never called him by his first name before—, “tell me: in another universe, did I agree to go out with you sooner?”

“Oh, in more than one,” Weasley said nonchalantly, leaning back into his chair. “No matter the universe, you couldn’t help but be drawn to my magnetic personality and my striking good looks…” She laughed, and he smiled dimly before dropping the joking tone: “But, in all seriousness, Hermione Granger, I think we would’ve met in any universe.”

“Well, according to the 'many worlds’ theory, you do have to account for a universe in which we didn't—”

“Oh, technicalities,” he groaned, “I’m trying to be smooth here. But I’m serious.”

“In any universe?”

“In any universe. Even in one where we go to some barmy wizard school instead of uni and you’re the brightest witch our age and I’m a clumsy git who keeps screwing up whatever he points his wand at.”

She laughed fully now, throwing her head back and flashing him a full smile: “Ronald, that’s ridiculous.”

“But I’m serious,” Weasley said, daring to inch his hand closer to hers. Their fingertips touched, and she looked him straight in the eye. “In another universe, Granger, any universe, you’re the only girl I would’ve wanted to meet.”

[lochrannn]

AU-gust: Glass Houses

Read on AO3

CW: Explicit Sexual Content

prompt no 9: Roommates

Characters: Lila Pitts, Diego Hargreeves

Relationship: Lila Pitts/Diego Hargreeves

-

Diego honks his horn as an asshole driver swerves out in front of him so that he has to slam on his brakes, hoping the car that's been riding his ass for the last two blocks doesn't crash into the back of his trunk.

But then he realizes that the asshole's vacated a parking spot not too far from his building, so Diego takes a deep breath and swings his car into the gap. Once stopped, he turns the key and pulls it out of the ignition, the shitty banger he's driving lurching a little, as the engine cuts out.

He takes another deep breath and tries to settle the undefined feeling of simmering rage and frustration.

He has only a few minutes before it will get too unbearably hot in his car without the air con on, but he thinks if he doesn't take the quick moment to settle his nerves, he might punch the next person who just looks at him funny square in the face. And all things considered, he's almost certain he doesn't want that to happen.

So he leans back against the headrest, lets his eyes slip closed and tries not to think of the mounting stack of bills on his desk back at the agency, or how later tonight he'll have to put on a brave face for Allison and Vanya or they'll again try to get him to let them help him with money, or how he's had to let out his spare room in his apartment to subsidize the rent, or how he's probably going to have to give up his dream of his own business and join a bigger agency and start working domestic dispute and divorce cases, which he absolutely hates.

His eyes snap back open at the realization that he's incapable of meditating his worries away, so he decides there's no point in staying in the car and gets out into the blazing afternoon sun.

When he walks up the five flights of stairs, because the elevator has been out of order for as long as he's lived in this shitty building, he feels droplets of sweat running down the back of his neck and into the collar of his shirt, not because he's expending too much energy, but because its a hundred and three fucking degrees in the city.

Diego unlocks his front door, kicks the bottom while pushing it open because it always jams, lets his keys drop into the little dish by the entrance, doesn't bother to kick off his shoes, and just heads straight over to the living room couch and drops down onto it.

He heaves another sighing breath, his muscles no less tense than when he was sitting in his car a few minutes ago, and he's still dreading having to meet his sisters later in this state of pent up frustration. He really needs to relax.

For a moment he considers changing into a t-shirt and shorts and going for a run or to the gym, but it's just too fucking hot for that. He thinks, with slightly morbid fascination, that the only things that can easily and efficiently relax him are exercise, a good fight, or a good fuck, and none of those options are readily available right now.

Although...

Diego takes another deep breath, tries again to empty his mind, though pretty unsuccessfully, and reaches down to the top of his jeans. He unbuttons them, pulls down the zipper and pushes his pants and boxers far enough that he can pull out his cock with one hand. He licks the palm of his other hand and then uses it to give himself an experimental tug to see if the lack of real lubrication is too uncomfortable.

Feeling a little foolish, as he's not jerked off this hastily since he was a teenager - these days he'll usually do it in the shower if he feels like it - Diego tries to conjure up some erotic images in his mind to help him get hard.

He manages to get some fantasies going behind his closed eyelids while lazily moving his hand along his dick.

Lips closing around his earlobe, teeth scraping along his neck, a hand trailing down his chest, hips colliding with his, soft moans responding to his touch.

He's so distracted, head leaning on the back of the couch, eyes closed, that he's pretty certain he goes into cardiac arrest when a clipped voice somewhere behind him says, “What are you doing?”

His first jumbled thought is for the preservation of his modesty, so he curls in on himself, to shield his exposed crotch from view, and then awkwardly turns around to see, past the door to the kitchen, his new roommate, Lila, who he had completely forgotten about, standing by the open fridge, a large bottle of soda Diego is certain he himself bought, halfway to her lips and she's pinning him with her frown, one perfectly straight eyebrow quirked up high.

Diego has no response and can't move. And, maybe because he continues to be holding his still half hard dick in his hand, his brain can't help but focus on the fact that Lila, who - he had immediately noticed the first time he met her - is incredibly hot, is wearing nothing but a tight, low-cut tank top with thin straps, and sinfully short shorts that make her legs look like they go on for days.

Feeling like the perviest deer to ever be trapped in anyone's headlights he shifts his gaze to the soda bottle in her hand and is immediately out of ideas for what else to do. Maybe he'll have the tiniest bit of luck today and there'll be an earthquake that will form a crack in his floor which he can disappear into. Or maybe, even better, the fucking moon will explode and rain fiery meteors down on him and end his misery.

The moments tick by and nothing happens to ease the tension until Lila shifts her weight on her bare feet, twists the cap back onto the soda bottle, puts it on the counter, closes the fridge door and then says in a low but steady voice, “Want some help with that?”

Diego's eyes snap back up to look at her and there's a glint in her eyes and an upwards tug playing at the corners of her mouth and he thinks she must be mocking him, until she lifts her eyebrows once at him suggestively and then starts making her way over.

There's nothing he can think of to say to that.

All blood, apparently, leaves his brain again to shoot down south at the prospect of... something... and that must be the reason why, completely on autopilot, he leans back against the couch when she stands in front of him. And then he moves his hands away to give Lila access when she drops to her knees between his, swiftly wraps her one hand around the base of his dick, slightly grinding the heel of her palm into his balls, making him twitch, digs her other hand into his thigh, and then loses no time to take him into her mouth, making him gasp.

What the fuck is happening?

It's so weird, and probably also pretty wrong to let yourself get sucked off by what is effectively your tenant, Diego thinks, but it's also so fucking hot how Lila is bobbing her head, not taking him in very deep, but she's hollowing out her cheeks and pressing her tongue against him and he's staring down at her and every so often he can see the top of her breasts and he can already feel the muscles in his abdomen tense.

He resists the urge to put his hands on her head, stifles his panting breath, hoping that the less active he is in this situation, the less of a dipshit that makes him.

Lila's hand on his thigh moves upwards and under his shirt and she lets her fingers drag across his abs. Her interest apparently piqued, she pushes his shirt up to see, hums appreciatively, and that makes Diego lose his iron grip on his self-control for a second and he thrusts up into her mouth and feels instantly guilty for doing so.

But when Lila's gaze flies up to meet his, eyes dark with arousal and want, Diego has no choice but to put his hand under her chin, touching her for the first time, and pull her off him with a small pop, or he'll come down her throat that instant and he really can't let that happen.

She looks confused for a second but then gets up and leans her hands on his chest while she swings her leg over his knee to sit down on one of his thighs, and Diego has yet to let go of her chin.

He doesn't guide her, he'd do nothing of the sort, but his hand comes along with her face as she leans in to kiss him, open mouthed and filthy, with her tongue pressing against his, right away.

Her lips taste of sugary soda, but the rest tastes of him and something in Diego's brain short-circuits and a tingle runs down his spine.

He's so engrossed in their kiss and already so turned on, that it takes him half a second to notice that Lila's wrapped her hand around his cock and is slowly pumping it up and down in time with the movement of her tongue and lips against his.

Unsure where to put his own hands without wanting to overstep whatever boundaries might still be left, Diego keeps one on the side of Lila's neck and wraps the other around her small wrist where she has the hand she's not using to drive him absolutely insane pressed up against his chest for balance.

And then he feels her rock her hips, grinding down onto his thigh and she moans into his mouth at the friction and that's all it takes for Diego's muscles to go impossibly tight and an almost blinding orgasm to rip through him. He squeezes his eye's shut, can't stop a grunt from pushing it's way up his throat, and distantly feels Lila press her forehead against his, while he holds on to her wrist and neck for dear life.

Diego falls limply against the back of the couch, Lila's weight on him disappearing shortly after, but he keeps his eyes shut as guilt and shame begin threatening to replace the feeling of bliss still running through his veins.

He shouldn't have let this happen.

He's so distracted by his spiraling thoughts that he takes no notice of the rustling sounds around him until he's hit in the face by something slightly squishy and damp that drops to his chest before he can open his eyes.

When he does, he sees, lying on top of him, a washcloth that was clearly tossed at him by Lila who's standing just the other side of the coffee table staring him down expectantly.

“Come on, clean yourself up,” she says and then comes around to drop down onto the couch next to him, leaning against the armrest, “or do you need help with that as well?”

She smirks at him wickedly as he gingerly begins wiping himself clean.

He tucks himself away, cheeks flushing, suddenly feeling overly exposed with her just sitting there, watching him.

But when he zips and buttons up his jeans she breaks the silence with amusement in her voice, “Chop chop!” she chirps. “I could do with you returning the favour right about now,” and at whatever shocked expression she must find on his face, she pouts slightly and says, “... or not. But then you'll have to ignore the buzzing coming from my bedroom for the next twenty minutes,” and she starts getting up from the couch again.

But before she's fully upright, Diego grabs her wrist, pulls her back down, and at a speed that surprises even himself, maneuvers her into a prone position, her head lying on the armrest, and he positions himself between her legs, shoving her tight tank top up with his nose, and kisses her belly button.

Some combination of his tongue and his rough stubble on her soft skin makes Lila giggle and her hands fly into his hair and Diego goes to work, all thoughts of shame and guilt completely forgotten.

[tisthenightofthewitch]

How Ghost became the face of the new generation of heavy metal

Pressure. Controversy. An army of haters. It seems like nothing can throw Ghost off-course. How Ghost's mastermind Tobias Forge took on the world… and won

Paris, tell me… did that make your asses wobble?” It sure as hell isn’t “Scream for me, Hammersmith!”  but somehow, inexplicably, this flirty, moustached, makeup-splattered dandy wiggling about in a tux and leather gloves has 9,000 people in the palm of his hand like he’s Bruce Dickinson in ’86. Hammer is at hallmark gig venue Le Zenith in France’s capital city, witnessing Ghost deliver their latest sermon.

The City Of Love might be frozen solid on this chilly February evening, but the unstoppable Swedes are heating things up in style – fire, steam cannons, confetti, a dazzling light show and enough costume changes to make Lady Gaga dizzy are just some of the ingredients reaffirming their status as one of metal’s premier attractions in 2019.

It all makes a two-hour set fly by in no time, guided masterfully by that  aforementioned, ’tache-donning Daddy. Cardinal Copia, Ghost’s Master Of Ceremonies, raised a few confused eyebrows when he was unveiled this time last year, breaking an eight-year streak of Papa Emerituses who’d fronted Ghost since its inception. But he’s since become the beating heart of a band that have continued to evolve, grow and adapt beyond all expectations.

He’s also a world away from the blue-eyed, slick-black-haired, quiet and thoughtful man we spent time with two hours earlier, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, decidedly sans-moustache and doing much less wiggling.

When Hammer last spoke to Tobias Forge, he’d recently (some may say forcefully) been outed as Ghost’s resident mastermind – its very own Wizard Of Oz, working behind the scenes and behind the mask to help orchestrate one of the most unlikely success stories of recent times.

We are creating a dynasty.

Soon after our last conversation, Ghost dropped their latest album, Prequelle – an instant classic stacked with playful menace and 80s-tinged pop-rock bangers – and have pretty much been on the road ever since.

“Hey, if you wanna rock, you gotta rock,” shrugs Tobias of his relentless schedule. “It takes a lot of effort, a lot of cogwheels spinning and turning, to make all this work.” He’s not kidding.

A weary roadie will later inform us that it takes almost four hours to pack up Ghost’s monstrous set each night – a towering, multi-platformed, chapel-esque set-up that recalls the kind of backdrops Maiden have made home for decades. “But, once you’ve got that whole machine rolling, you don’t wanna stop,” Tobias adds. “At some point, we will have to wind down a bit, but we’re not there yet.

If you wanna be comparative, look at all the big bands; even though they made it in a different time, statistically it takes five records, about 10 years, to go from nothing to something to something great.”

And that, right there, sums up Tobias Forge. The reason Ghost have been such a triumph isn’t because of great songs, a good live show and a savvy gimmick – metal history is littered with bands that never made it despite boasting all those things.

The difference is that Tobias is the man with the plan. He may not be the tortured artiste or swaggering hellraiser that rock’n’roll loves to stick on a pedestal, but he’s a leader: a brand ambassador with a calculating mind and a shrewd business acumen who knows exactly what needs to be done to immortalise Ghost’s legacy.

He’s playing the game, and he’s winning. And if you look hard enough, the seeds for it all were being sown right at the very start.

“You can find all the details in my record collection,” he says with a knowing smirk – and he’s not wrong. Before Cardinal Copia, there were Papa Emeritus I, II and III – a line of frontmen that not only enabled Ghost to set up a deep-running narrative, but change up the formula and the image for every album cycle. Sound familiar? It should – it’s what rock’n’roll superstars have been doing for decades.

"I’ve always been a big fan of Kiss,” he continues. “Most Kiss fans can tell the era [of the band] by the photo, what they’re wearing. You can say, ‘That is ’75, that is ’76, it’s in the spring, it’s in the fall, it’s Rock And Roll Over, it’s Destroyer.’ So I figured that in order for this band to age, we need to create dynasties.

"And that way, there’ll also be nostalgia. Because I come from a heavy metal background, I know how important nostalgia is, and the attention span nowadays is so short, so you need to create it quickly. You need people to be able to say, ‘I was there when this part happened.’ That’s why it was always Papa Emeritus I, right from the start.”

It’s a meticulous level of forward-thinking that has come up trumps, but amazingly, you’d have been hard-pushed to find anyone who’d have backed Tobias to carve such a path 10 years ago.

Before 2010, it was with respected Swedish death metallers Repugnant that the Linköping native had had his most ‘success’, his love of rock’s theatrical side flirted with via a splash of corpsepaint and a drop of fake blood here and there.

A spate of EPs and splits and one well-received album, 2006’s Epitome Of Darkness, ensured a small part in heavy metal folklore was guaranteed, but it was what happened next that changed everything.

Channelling his love of catchy NWOBHM mainstays like Angel Witch and Demon, Tobias wrote what would become Stand By Him – an irrepressible schlock-rock anthem a world away from the guttural noise of Epitome…

He called up former Repugnant bandmate Gustaf Lindström to help record it, and more songs quickly followed in the same, earwormy vein – “I’ve always liked the NWOBHM bands that had melody and pop sensibility,” he says today.

But there was still something missing. The songs Tobias was now writing were following a formula that had been laid down since the 70s. It needed something different. Something fun. Something… metal.

Deciding that this new project should carry an image that’d bring it a world away from its influences – a band that, in Tobias’s words, should “sound like Angel Witch but look like Death SS,” he began doodling some ideas. One scribble stuck – the image of a Pope-like character, plastered in ghoulish corpsepaint. Papa Emeritus was born.

I was 29 years old. I wasn't going to get another chance at this.

“And as soon as it was confirmed that he’s gonna be a Pope… well, when a Pope dies, you have a new one!” adds Tobias with a laugh. Soon after Papa I came the idea for the Nameless Ghouls – masked, anonymous backing musicians that’d add to the band’s hokey mystique.

By 2009, the project had an image, some songs and a name: Ghost. But it’d be a little while before things started to move forwards, and Tobias’s grand plan would take shape.

Between 2008 and 2009, there were maybe 20 people who knew about Ghost,” says Tobias, who ended up fronting the band through default after unsuccessfully offering the gig to a variety of names from around the metal scene.

“The guys in In Solitude, the guys in Tribulation, the guys in Watain… they were the only people who knew about it! But I knew at that point that it was gonna have the ability to turn heads, because it made everyone [excited].

"Repugnant were popular, but nothing I had ever done had had such an immediate impact on people. They were all like, ‘Ghost! I wanna hear more!’ I knew that there was gonna be some sort of buzz.”

A “buzz” is an understatement. When Ghost’s first songs were finally made public – on MySpace, no less – things began to move very, very quickly. Metal messageboards were set ablaze with excitement and offers came flooding in.

“I was quickly in touch with Will from Rise Above,” notes Tobias now, and he would eventually accept a deal with Lee Dorrian’s much-respected label. An album, Opus Eponymous, was recorded, and the metal underground waited with baited breath for its new favourite band to deliver on the hype. And yet, even at this stage, Tobias wasn’t totally certain just how far things would go.

“Originally, I thought that Ghost was gonna become more like a theatre/installation sort of band, like Sunn O))),” he reveals. “We would play Roadburn, arthouse concerts, five dates at the London Scala, that sort of thing.”

So a kind of ‘event’ band. You’d show up to play special shows and residencies.

“Exactly,” he confirms. “I never thought we would be the band that would play metal festivals, play in daylight, play with other bands.”

But then more offers started steaming in. Suddenly Ghost – with not so much as a gig to their name – were being asked to go on tours, play festivals and do interviews. For Tobias, there was a straight decision to be made: keep this project as a ‘cult attraction’, stay within the underground and become everyone’s favourite ‘Oh, you wouldn’t have heard of them’ reference point, or take a leap into the unknown and reach for greatness.

For a man that had spent years keeping a lid on his grand ambitions, now was the time to sink or swim. And, really, there was only ever going to be one option.

“I wasn’t gonna get another chance,” he states flatly. “I was already 29 years old at the time, so it was like, ‘This is the train and it’s leaving now.’ You can choose to stay, and sit there and fucking wonder all your life, or you can get on.”

Tobias got on the train, and it hasn’t stopped rolling. Opus Eponymous was released on October 18, 2010, and within three years intimate club shows became packed-out academy shows in front of 5,000 people, and soon after that the band could be seen supporting everyone from Metallica to Foo Fighters to Iron Maiden.

They won a Grammy for Cirice (and have been nominated for two more); they’ve been championed by everyone from James Hetfield to Phil Anselmo; their merch has become obscenely big business, t-shirts selling out in no time at gigs (including the show Hammer attends tonight) and the Ghost IP being plastered across everything from baubles to butt plugs to custom plague masks.

Tobias has manoeuvred that quick sketch of a spooky lad in a Pope hat into a machine Gene Simmons would be proud of, all underpinned by a storyline that has fans salivating as they wait for the next chapter to be revealed.

And if there was any doubt that this is still very much Tobias’s baby, you need only look at the casualty list littered with names that have crossed him. There are the disgruntled ex-bandmates who attempted to bring a lawsuit against Tobias in 2017 after claiming they were denied their rightful share of the Ghost pot.

The lawsuit was thrown out in October last year, his former colleagues ordered to pay Tobias’s legal costs (around $145,000, if you’re counting). There was also the Sister Imperator incident, where the elderly Ghost matriarch and star of their ongoing vignette series had to be swiftly recast after a mysterious falling out.

“All of a sudden, you’ve an actress who decides to start making fucking trouble and makes herself unemployable,” Tobias says. “Well, then you have to do what they do in any soap opera… a car accident.” That’s not allegorical, by the way.

Tobias literally had a new vignette made revealing that the Sister was in a car wreck and needed reconstructive surgery. The new actress was brought in so smoothly that many Ghost fans assumed it was the same person with a different haircut. How’s that for efficient?

“That’s how you solve things,” the frontman shrugs. “But that was not planned at first, because we’d been working with the same actress for three years, and then all of a sudden, things fell apart. But, you have to roll with the punch, you have to bite your finger, and come up with another plan… car accident. Boom.”

That Tobias won’t be moved on what actually happened between he and the original actress is understandable – after all, this is a man that spent years holding his cards close to his chest.

That this all managed to play out under the noses of one of modern metal’s most fanatical fanbases, however, is pretty damn impressive. Basically: don’t cross the boss.

While Tobias’s masterplan may seem iron-clad, he will at least admit that there is room for fine-tweaking along the way. He recently revealed that Cardinal Copia’s character could stick around for another five years and multiple albums – a first for Ghost, who have thus far changed up their protagonist for every record.

“That’s just because of the potential of him being a ‘Pope’ or a Papa Emeritus IV,” he explains, before adding: “If he becomes a Papa Emeritus.”

So there could be multiple endings planned for Cardi C?

“Absolutely. All of this is an organic movement, and that is one of the biggest paradoxes for me, as a control freak. To be part of this living world, I can’t control everything. I can control a lot, and I can influence a lot, but I can’t control it [all]. And coming to terms with those things and accepting that is a big struggle for me.”

He’ll also admit that being the mastermind behind a machine as big and ever-evolving as Ghost has had a serious impact on his personal life. Being a part of a successful band is one thing, but having that success rest almost entirely on your shoulders is something altogether different.

“It’s very hard to do this without any casualties,” he muses. “It takes a toll on your surroundings, your crew, your parents, your children… I have two kids, 10 years old. They were toddlers when this whole thing started. My family’s had to endure a lot for this to happen.”

He’s also had to face up to the reality that being in a big rock band means you’re going to attract the attention of

a fair few haters – and Ghost have an army of them. Check out Hammer’s Facebook page to see the dizzying levels of vitriol that a post about Ghost will attract. Recurring issues seem to be accusations of selling out, anger at Tobias’s treatment of his former bandmates and, most commonly, whether Ghost belong in our world at all (and to be fair, you’d be hard-pushed to describe Prequelle as a true heavy metal record by any standards).

“I’ve noticed it,” says Tobias. “I noticed it in the beginning. I think that it’s the same old discussion. ‘Is Ghost a metal band?’ ‘Are we a clone of Mercyful Fate?’ It’s the same old thing. But now these people are saying the new record is not as good because it’s not as much of a clone of Mercyful Fate! OK…”

Why do you think Ghost wind people up so much?

“Because we are ever-present, all the time. We are being shoved into people’s faces, and we’re rubbing it in. They wouldn’t talk about us had we not been successful. Does it worry me? Not really. If they’re talking shit about me, that’s one thing,  especially if it’s someone that I know. That can hurt me deeply. When you’re at the beginning of your career, especially nowadays, you spend a lot of time surveying what’s going on, because you need to feed off anything that’s happening to the band. So I noticed there was a lot of ‘controversy’, a lot of mixed opinions. It’s surprising they don’t understand that the more they talk about us, the more traffic there is about our band. More than we would have had had they not spoken!”

Once again, it’s there: the unnerving feeling that Tobias is metal’s modern-day puppet master, pulling the strings above a performance that we all continue to play our parts in. Whether it’s the media, his fans, his critics or the few who have attempted to foil him, everything only ever seems to play into his hands, and the Ghost train rolls on.

“A few months ago, based on metadata alone, a website made a list

of the biggest bands in metal,” Tobias reveals as a PR informs us our time together is up. “We were number four! Right up there. And that’s thanks to these people that keep on fucking hating. So I have nothing but great feelings for them.”

He makes to leave before adding: “That’s how all these bands made their careers. You think Lars would shy away every time people would talk shit about Metallica? Fuck. That.”

Hated, adored but never ignored. This summer, Ghost will play in front of stadium crowds with Metallica once again – something Tobias calls a “PR exercise” – before more global dates and, eventually, a new album that’ll reveal the next chapter of his grand plan. You can imagine that people will have plenty to say about it. And you can imagine that Tobias Forge is going to relish every second.

ALL RIGHTS OWNED BY METAL HAMMER

[vspideycaptain]

Meeting Tom

Reader x Tom Holland (Feat. RDJ, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon)

A/N: This story lives within ‘The Real War’ series I have written. This is one of three Tom centered Prologue entries. You’re the newest addition to the Gaurdians cast and as a MCU actor you obviously have to meet RDJ and through meeting him he decides you have to meet the other younger actors in the MCU circle so he sets up this lunch to do exactly that. Its surprisingly easy, except between you and Tom Holland….

This was not written well. I found it hard to communicate the scene I was picturing in my head so I’m sorry and I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Warnings: Fluff and mini angst maybe? WORD COUNT: 2347

 ---------------------------

I had met Robert Downy for lunch the day before I started shooting for Guardians of The Galaxy vol. 3. It had been the second time since I got the part that he wanted to meet with me as a from of welcome into the family and this time was already feeling much different than the last. The first time I met him it was at an office on Marvel property and this time he asked me to meet him at a burger bar in the center of LA. I had just moved to Los Angeles and I was quickly realizing that I had packed for much cooler weather than what the city had to offer (I kind of thought the idea of LA always being hot was an exaggeration but I was wrong,) So I strolled up to the boujee casual restaurant in the only warm weather option I had: My green and white tee shirt dress with matching stan smith sneakers.

I half expected Robert to be waiting for me at the door as I was clearly susceptible to getting lost so when I entered the restaurant and I don’t spot him in the hostess section I start to question if I went to the right place. Just as I go to reach for my phone to call him I hear him shout for me from the other side of the bar. When I spot him I also realize who he is with: Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, and Tom Holland…. Now Robert left the detail about other people joining us out of his invitation but even after knowing him for a short period of time it wasn’t much of surprise to me. He did mention that I should friend the “youngins’” as he called them.

Robert meets me halfway and brings me into a round of air kisses and a hug before guiding me over to the group. Zendaya gets up and comes in for a hug first, “So nice to meet you! I’m Zendaya but Zen or Z is fine too.” She gushed to me. She was even more stunning and charmingly awkward than I had ever imagined. Then Jacob met me with a handshake and a kind smile as Robert took the reigns in introducing us, “Jacob this is (Y/N), (Y/N) this is Jacob. And finally this is Tom..” Jacob cleared the way for Tom to step forward and as we both went in for air kisses we somehow picked to go the same side and for a split second our lips pecked before we drastically aborted. “Oh my gosh I-I’m so sorry! I Didn’t- I didn’t mean to do-“ Tom started to panic as the rest of the group all just froze watching the awkward unfold. I put my hands up to calm him down, “It’s okay! I went the wrong way too! It’s okay” I was just word vomiting back to him before we were rescued from the others. “Way to go, Tom.” Jacob laughed and Zendaya chimed in, “Real smooth.” The both teased him and Robert wasn’t far behind them, “That’s one way to break the ice I guess…” He said and gestured me to take the empty seat between him and Zendaya at the booth.  

In any other instance something like that would have thrown me into a panic attack but there was something about this group of people that made me feel comfortable and at ease. At least on the outside. On the inside I was definitely shouting expletives and praying to God I wasn’t blushing. I turned my attention to the menu as I tried to shake off the awkward interaction that just happened. I couldn’t believe Tom Holland, spider-man, just kissed me…. And by accident.

“So (Y/N), when do you start shooting?” Jacob asked and snapped me back into reality. I put down my menu and picked up the conversation with a new state of coolness than five minutes prior, “Tomorrow, actually!” From the corner of my I see Robert nodding as this was information he already knew. “Oh wow! How are you feeling? Excited?” Zendaya leaned in fully invested in the moment. I took a breath in to respond but once again RDJ jumped in, “She’s nervous” He exposed and I turned to him mouth agape and he instantly realized his mistake, “Dude! Don’t make me sound uncool!” I pestered him and the whole group laughed. “What are you nervous about?” Tom finally speaking, clearly having calmed down from our misstep. I looked at him directly catching his deep brown eyes. Who could lie to those eyes? So I let my guard down, “Well this is my first big thing, you know? My first movie, even!” I confessed and then watched the three of respond in shock.

“The first movie you landed is this one? Not even like indie projects or anything?” Jacob questioned. I nodded, “This is the first movie I even auditioned for. Before this I was strictly stage acting.” I informed him and Zendaya reached for my arm, “Damn. You must be good!” She complimented and again I saw Robert nodding out of the corner of my eye. He was part of my auditioning and hiring process so it was because of him that I even got the job. “Yeah,” I continued, “So I kind of have this pressure of the unknown and I really don’t want to let anyone down.” Tom had a big reaction to this, “(Y/N) don’t worry, darling. We’ve all been there and yeah its intimidating but the people who work on these movies are so helpful and welcoming. And you’re clearly well matched to the ‘big leagues’ you’ll being starring with to get the gig so you’ll fit right in.” When he finished speaking he smiled at me in such a way that I couldn’t help but return it. “Thanks. That means a lot.” I said sheepishly right before the waitress came over to take our order.

Moments later Robert excused himself for the bathroom and told us that it was our moment to talk about “young” things. The second I turned away I addressed the group, “Why does he act like he’s 80 years old?” I asked and Jacob cackled, “I don’t know. If he’s 80, he’s the chillest 80 year old I’ve ever met.”

“He does have a point though,” Zendaya starts, “Now that he’s gone this is my chance to ask…. What’s your star sign?” I laughed and looked at the guys across the table who both rolled their eyes but still seemed interested in my answer. “Guess.” I dared her and she sat back and got a good look at me. “Hmmm” she analyzed. All this staring and attention made me pretty self-conscious so I fussed with my hair and darted my eyes again to Tom who as soon as I caught his eyes darted his away. Before I could question his actions Zendaya announced, “(Y/Z/S)!”

“Wow… You’re good!” I told her. “I was right?” she clapped her hands together then brushed her shoulders, “I am good”

The rest of the lunch was pretty normal and as time progressed got less formal. I really felt like I was becoming friends with all of them and what happened as we all got up to leave only confirmed that. “Hey (Y/N) are you doing anything right now? Tom, Z and I were gonna head back to my house and go swimming if you want to join?” Jacob asked me and I immediately deflected. I didn’t want them to invite me out of pity. As much as I had a good time I still had a hard time thinking they all actually thought I was cool. “I have two suits, you can borrow one! If that’s what’s holding you up” Zendaya offered and I shifted uncomfortably. That was one of the reasons…. But it wasn’t until Tom pitched in that I became fully onboard, “You have to come (Y/N). I’m not done hanging out with you yet.” He said with dare in his voice and he sent another charming smile my way and with t hat I was in.

We bid Robert goodbye as he had other meetings to attend the rest of the day before piling into Zendaya’s car. Jacob called shotgun leaving Tom and I to sit in the back together and because of all of Zendaya’s bags and miscilanious objects in her back seat we had to squish together with me sitting on the middle seat. “Are you sure you don’t want to switch?” Tom offered kindly but I waved it off, “I’ve been small my whole life. I’m used to the middle seat.” I said back before the car was flooded with the sound of 00s bangers. The whole way to Jacobs the four of us jammed out classics like “Teenage Dirtbag” by Weatus, “Disturbia” by Rhianna, and “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne.

As soon as we arrived at Jacob’s place Zendaya and Tom made themselves at home while I pretended to settle in just as naturally. Zendaya lead me to one of his bathrooms and held out the two suits she brought for me to choose from. “Pick either one. I honestly couldn’t decide this morning and packed both so you’d actually be helping me out by making my decision for me.” She said and passed me the two suits. One was a pink blue and white paint splattered high necked two piece with spaghetti strings to tie it on and the other was a classic triangle bikini with blue and white stripes and a ruffle trim on the bottoms. I chose the latter as it looked like it would fit me better and be more comfortable in.

I let Zendaya change first and as soon as she was done she had a phone call she excused herself for and she left me alone to take over the bathroom and change. I was amazed as I slipped the suit on how myself and Zendaya were the same size and I was even more impressed with how amazing the suit looked on. The one problem was that I couldn’t seem to get the hang of tying on the strings so I did what any girl has ever done in this situation and sought out for female help. However when I peeked my head out of the bathroom Zendaya was nowhere to be found. Instead I was met with a spaced-out Tom waiting for his chance to change. If I had gone unnoticed I would have just quietly shut the door again and tried my luck with the suit myself but unfortunately for me Tom picked his head up toward me as soon as the door clicked open causing me to panic a little inside as I held the top of my suit to my body.

“Oh, hi!” Tom said as he stood up from the arm of the couch he was sitting on. Very nervous and very conscious of my newly exposed body I kept the majority of my body still tucked behind the door as I asked, “Hey. Is Zendaya around?” I asked him and I could tell he sensed my uncomfortableness. “She’s on the phone in the other room. Everything alright?” He asked and I took a moment to ask myself if I should just be honest with him and ask him for assistance instead. I went with it, “Uh- yeah… Actually I just can’t tie the back of my bathing suit… Do you mind?” I asked him and gestured for him to come over. “Um sure…” He responded sheepishly and walked over as I turned my back to him. I stiffened up as I held my boobs in place and felt his fingers brush against my skin. We stood in silence as he fiddled around with the straps of my suit to tie it. He cleared his throat to alert me that he was finished.

I turned around to him and instantly realized how close we were standing. “Thanks…” I said shyly and tried to not reveal the blushing feelings I was feeling inside. Tom’s eyes were looking into mine with a twinkle I had not yet seen. “No problem.” He smirked. The space between us was slight but thick with tension as we looked into each other’s eyes. It was awkward yet comfortable in the moment. I couldn’t help but giggle, “Oh! You need the bathroom don’t you!” I said completely embarrassed for hogging the bathroom.

I whipped around to grab my neatly folded clothing from the counter. In the swift motion of switching places with Tom, I felt something from my arms drop to the floor but before I could reach down to grab it Tom picked it up for me. All at the same time, Zendaya was returning from the other room, “What is taking you two so long!-“ She started and then stopped in her tracks realizing the situation. Myself and Tom standing incredibly close and my thong in the hands of Tom Holland. We both looked at Zendaya and noticing her confused expression and causing us to look back to each other. The instant I realized what Tom had I swiped it out of his hands and tucked it under my dress. “Shit. Sorry!” I said in a forceful whisper and watched as Tom’s cheeks turned rosy. “Sorry” was all he could let out as well before locking himself in the bathroom.

With the click of the door my attention snapped back to Zendaya who was holding back her laughter and guiding me outside to the pool. “What the hell is going on between you two?” She bantered and Jacob overheard, “Oh are we talking about Tom’s crush on (Y/N)?” We both gasped and Jacob instantly tried to backtrack, “No no… Why would you be talking about that? Tom didn’t say anything to me! Monica just broke up with him. He’s not thinking about that right now? What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As he rambled I buried my face in my hands as Zendaya tried to shush him. Seconds later Tom joined us and we all pretended like nothing awkward happened and went on with the rest of our day.

*This story has ties to ‘The Real War’ fic. If interested see Masterlist*

[pinercuba]

Mario skat

Today, after a fifteen-year hiatus from football, we can make that three. Though he hasn’t had as many outings onto the soccer pitch as he has onto the golf course or tennis court, his track record there is unimpeachable, two for two with undeniable bangers. They plan to open by the end of this month or by next month.Of his many vocations and achievements, I’d argue that one of Mario’s most successful careers has always been in football. Even if you don’t buy anything just hang out.”Īguilar and Rivera say they are deciding on two leasing space at the Lewisville Lakepointe Crossing shopping area. “The shops goal has always been to have that community were people can be comfortable to come to our store. “Obviously it’s still a business, you still want to make a living for yourself,” Rivera says. Aguilar says he likes to get feedback from local skaters over design ideas and constantly sees sale results.Īguilar and Rivera say they are ready to operate the store and hope to attach new and old skaters from the community. Same thing with boards, we test samples out before we put an order in.”Īguilar and Rivera also say that they have the advantage of having a stronger relationship with the local skate community. “All the shirts, we go through them and pick the best quality ones we can were not going to charge a crazy amount. “I’m all about quality not quantity,” Rivera says. They know that corporate stores have a lot of merchandise but say that their product is outdated and lacks quality. “Core skate shops, the ones that are own by local people, people like us, actually know the local skaters.” – Mario Aguilar tweet this Aguilar and Rivera realize they are up against cooperate retail skate stores. “Core skate shops, the ones that are own by local people, people like us, actually know the local skaters.” “If you’re a skateboarder, then you know that there’s a difference between corporate skate shops and core shops,” Aguilar says. They sell their product for a low price because they want people to try out their brand and later sell it for a higher price. The shirts can be purchase for a $10 or more. Rivera, who designed the logo, says that Lewellyn’s Print shop, located in Deep Ellum, manufactures the T-shirts. They design and build their skateboarding decks from Clutch Distribution, a California skateboarding manufacturer, and sell them for $30. “Especially when they're unknown, they don’t really know what their getting.” “Even through people are online shopping, it's like really hard for a small business to get people to shop at their online website,” Rivera says. They understand how vital it is for a small business to have an online shop and want to let new or old customers know that they can trust their product. They started to sell their merchandise online, at local skate parks, through local destination pickups and by social media. They soon found alternatives ways to sell and advertise their merchandise and saw that they still had the potential to reopen. They never let go of their passion of owning a local skate shop. “So, we would be closed and not make money.” “There were times were we couldn’t even go ourselves,” Aguilar says. It was difficult to manage the shop because both had two side jobs. They were selling their products, but only enough to pay rent and not enough to replenish what they sold. “We should have been advertising or going out there talking to people,” Rivera says. They were living the dream of operating a skate shop, but they had too many problems.įor example, they say that they didn’t really have a plan to attract customers. We made it kind of like a family.”Īguilar, 23, and Rivera, 24, say they were young and unorganized when they first opened the shop, which sold boards they designed, along with clothing and other skate gear. “A lot of people know us from back then and know who we were. They know there is a stronger connection with local skaters there. Since then, they have learned from their mistakes and plan to reopen this summer in Lewisville - a suburban area they say attracts the skating community to the city-funded Scion Skate Park. The skate shop opened in 2014 at Farmers Branch, but because of their inexperience and low inventory, the founders were forced to close the store. For the past four years, Mario Aguilar and Miguel Rivera have been trying to reopen Incite.

[wrestling-figure-enthusiast]

🤘🤘 PART 2 SWEET OF MY ORDER 🤘🤘 Up today is part 2/4 of my first official partner order with the great @rockandrollcollectibles and it’s an absolute banger. The series 2 @realkevinnash NWO superstars figure, complete with a soft goods T shirt, soft goods trousers, some Big Daddy Cool shades and the #wcwtagteamchampionship belt. Which was a prominent title for the #outsiders in there WCW early days! Have you grabbed yourself a big sexy yet? 🤘 🤘 🤘 🤘 🤘 🤘 🔗 Follow the Slink Link in my bio to all of my other socials ⚡️Follow the link in my bio for discount codes 📖 Turn on story notifications to keep up to date with the latest figure drops and news ————————————————————————————— ⬇️ Ignore these ⬇️ #kevinnash #diesel #bigsexy #nwo4life #wwe #wweraw #wwesmackdown #wwf #wcw #nxt #wrestlemania #wwehalloffame #wwehof #wweshop #wweelitesquad #wweelite #wwemattel #mattel #collection #collector #collectibles #toystagram #toyphotography #wrestling #wrestlingfigures #wrestlingfigs #actionfigure #scratchthatfigureitch https://www.instagram.com/p/CiiI3dgM6aG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[horrorpaingoredeath]

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Up now for pre-order, coming November 23rd! COATHANGER ABORTION / SACRIFICIAL SLAUGHTER / ROTTENNESS "The Hate Divide" Split Album CD :: http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com Digital :: http://hpgd.bandcamp.com T-Shirt :: http://hpgd.bandcamp.com/merch   Horror Pain Gore Death Productions is proud to present this crushing three way split of Death Grinding mayhem! Coathanger Abortion kick off this split making their HPGD debut with a brand new track of brutal Death Metal along with three covers. Next up on this brutal banger is Sacrificial Slaughter who make their epic return to HPGD with four brand new tracks of American Death Thrash. Rottenness make their HPGD debut to close out this killer release, showcasing two brand new tracks of brutal Death/Grind as well as two cover songs. "The Hate Divide" is a must have release for fans of Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Pungent Stench and Disgorge #coathangerabortion #sacrificialslaughter #rottenness #thehatedivide #cd #hpgd #horrorpaingoredeath #hpgdproductions #horrorpaingoredeathproductions #deathmetal #brutaldeathmetal #grindcore #grind #deaththrash #suffocation #dyingfetus #pungentstench #disgorge (at Relapse Records Inc) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpUo8faBFmV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=s1ti185fi0lb

[arnold-layne]

💜,💻,☺️?

thank u darling <3

💜- top 3 favorite lines

ohhh jeez that is difficult butttt im gonna try and dig them up

“Did you like it now?” Vince asked, his voice unexpectedly hoarse. “The desecration?”

jeez this. this came right outta a rhcp song and i literally squaled with joy when i put it there i LOVE references ok

Someone else also must have told a funny joke because Vince was pretty sure he heard laughter from the corridor, laughter loud enough to get through the walls of the padded cell. It got closer, and Vince realized that it hadn’t been a funny joke, because the laughter was anything but happy. As absurd as it might have sounded. He hadn’t heard crying that desperate as that laughter was.

ohhh i forgot about this line completely (as about this au) but found it now and you know what? one of my best creations. he hadn’t heard crying that desperate as that laughter was. hell yeah.

Neil sipped his cocktail. “It’s not about getting drunk, man, really. It’s about the feeling, the vibe. You see: you sit here with holes in your shoes and your t-shirt that hasn’t been washed for a month, you sit here and think: I’m trash. But then you order that fancy ass cocktail, and look! You’re not completely trash anymore, you have a fancy ass cocktail and trash doesn’t have fancy ass cocktails, ain’t got no money for that shit. That’s my philosophy. Enjoy nice things as much as you can and don’t think about the rest.”

i had SO MUCH FUN with this one. that’s from my still unfinished soulmates au, btw, and i gotta tell u, its got SO MANY bangers <3

ok these are not exactly lines, but they would make no sense out of context, so yeah, have these whole ass passages instead

💻- three works of yours that are must reads

hell yeah shameless self promotion!!!

i think y’all understand that the first on this list must be ex malo bonum. i put my heart and soul into it, you can find the traces of it in everything i wrote after that. 

another big baby of mine is what is lost, what is found. it’s unfinished, but i fully intend to do it, it’s just that its so enormous that im incapable of concentrating on it during school year.

and finally, someone new, the au i think about constantly and still cant figure out its plot, but i will some day. 

that is it, everything you need to know about me is in these three fics

☺️- a line that made you feel a fluffy happiness

khjhkjkjhg NO SUCH THING im the angst overlord i do not deal fluff- probably wilwif has some, but i havent touched this fic for 8 months, so i dont really remember anything out of it