#the brilliant future tour

[afterglowsainz]

so it goes… | carlos sainz

summary: carlos has the biggest crush on the famous up and coming actress but she doesn’t know who he is

fc: anya taylor-joy

warnings: this is my first smau so plsss tell me what you think <3 i made it a bit long cause i’m use to write detailed stories but is worth it i swear!! also english is not my first language so there might be mistakes

liked by carlossainz55, bffusername and others

ynusername life lately 🧚🏼‍♀️

view all comments

user1 she’s so pretty ughhh

user2 y/n please give me just once chance i’m beggin

user3 simping respectfully

carlossainz55 que linda! (so pretty!)

user4 hello??

user5 ariana what are you doing here 😭

bffusername literally my wife 😮‍💨

ynusername me and you forever 🤭

user6 mother

liked by bffusername, charlesleclerc and others

carlossainz55 great weekend all in all 🏆 podium and good points for the team, ready for the next! 🔜

view all comments

user4 let’s gooo smooth operator‼️

user7 forza ferrari 🐎

charlesleclerc great job! double podium next race 👊🏼

user8 brilliant drive carlos!!

user9 VAMOOOOS (let’s go)

user5 okay we see y/n’s best friend in the likes 👀

user10 i think she’s a ferrari fan!

landonorris congrats on the podium or whatever 🙄

likes by carlossainz55, landonorris and others

ynusername emma is now on streaming platforms !!! go watch it 🫶🏽

view all comments

user1 and they call her the it girl !!!

user2 favorite movie of the year 💞

user3 y/n y/l/n future oscar winner‼️

bffusername GO WATCH MY WIFE’S MOVIE OR ELSE

ynusername you heard her!

carlossainz55 loved the movie!

user4 okay but are we believing he actually saw a romantic period piece or?? 🤨

user5 idk why i kinda believe it solely on the fact that he’s obsessed with y/n 😭

user6 i don’t see the appeal, she’s not all that :/

user4 now i know you did NOT just said that about THE Y/N Y/L/N

user7 y/n drop another movie i’ve already seen this one a thousand times :( (liked by carlossainz55)

likes by charlesleclerc, carlossainz55 and others

ynusername italian nights 🧿

view all comments

bffusername my girlfriend the prettiest of prettiest 🥰

user1 picture at a church and partying with måneskin? ohhh she’s cool cool

user2 carlos i understand you completely

carlossainz55 beautiful!

ynusername thank you! 💕

user3 omg did she actually??

user4 somebody make sure carlos is still alive and breathing pls

user5 finally! my boy has been in the trenches for monthsss

landonorris 👀

user6 now lando what do you know??

(ynusername has started following carlossainz55)

likes by ynusername, scuderiaferrari and others

carlossainz55 summer break 🏁

view all comments

user1 well hello there

user2 weird way to ask me to marry you but ofc🤭

user3 not carlos immediately posting a thirst trap after yn followed him 😭

user4 thirst trap seems a bit much…

user3 him just casually posting the most earth shattering hottest pictures out of nowhere??

user4 okay you may have a point

user5 post a warning or something next time jesus

user6 I AM ON MY KNEES PLEASE

user7 dinner would be served, house would be cleaned, kids on bed, anything he wants

ynusername 🥰 (liked by carlossainz55)

carlossainz55 🫶🏽

user8 girl me too

liked by carlossainz55, maxverstappen1 and others

yourusername beautiful beautiful madrid 🤍

view all comments

user1 omg you’re in my city!!!

user2 someone send this to carlos quick!

user3 you’re so beautiful 😻

user4 carlossainz55 my guy this is your chance

user5 you’re STUNNING 🤩

carlossainz55 i need to show you all the nice places🫶🏽 (liked by yourusername)

yourusername omg please!! i need a local tour guide

carlossainz55 😊

user6 omg is this the beginning of something???

user7 i’m shipping them already 🤭

user8 someone check on carlos please‼️

[yallthemwitches]

United Front

Lily and James have the best intentions when showing up to Petunia's engagement party.

Written for Day 2 of Jily Week (hosted by @sunshinemarauder and @kay-elle-cee) , Prompt: Partners in Crime

AO3 link Here

“She’s going to be cruel.”

“Brilliant, I love women who are dastardly.”

“No, I mean she’s going to find the thing deep inside you that you hold most dear, taunt it to oblivion– then crush it.”

“Very poetic of you Evans.”

“James, I need you to be serious. I need us to be a united front.”

They walked down the main street of Cokeworth. On a normal day where she wasn’t dreading her near future, Lily would have relished the idea of taking James on a little tour of her town. The fall leaves were littering the walkways and little shops had placed out intricate decorations ushering in the fall weather. 

Lily stopped abruptly and James followed suit. Paces ahead of them was a heavily flowered awning with large pink and yellow bows plastered all over it. Cresting the door to the building was a large sign that read in flowing script:  Congratulations soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Dursley.

“Don’t weddings usually happen in a church for muggles?” James fingered one of the balloons, making it bop back and forth. 

“It’s not a wedding. It's the engagement party—now let me see you.”

Lily gave him the once over. His button down was undone just enough to see where his clavicle connected to his chest and his slacks were well fitted on his bum. 

“Damn—you’re too fit,” she breathed out. James beamed and gave her a soft kiss. 

“Thanks–”

“No, I mean really, you're too fit. She’s going to be so cross.” James’ brow crinkled. 

“Er, I’m not following.” Before Lily could explain, the door to the house burst open. Petunia was in a light yellow and peach party dress that looked like it was straight out of a 1950’s refrigerator ad. 

“What? You just going to hold court there all day?” Petunia clasped the door tightly with one hand. 

“Hello to you too Tuney.” Lily tried to remain composed. “Congratulations on your engagement! We brought you some flowers.”

Petunia took one look at the bouquet in Lily’s arms. “You really shouldn’t have.”

She took them and walked around the porch, setting them in the back corner where they were hardly visible. 

“There,” Petunia said with a nod. “Now they won’t clash with the decoration.”

James side-eyed Lily whose friendly facade was crumbling fast. The smile on her face quivered with rage.

“Who is this, why is he here?” Petunia didn’t even look James in the eye, rather giving him a once over before turning a hot shade of pink that clashed with her dress. 

“This is my boyfriend—you said I could bring him.”

“Where’s the other boy?” James head whipped over to Lily who looked just as confused as he felt. 

“What other boy?” Lily spat back, flustered. 

“You know the one who always looks sickly.”

“Oh, Remus? He’s not my boyfriend Tuney—you knew that. James is.”

James decided he had enough of being talked about without any interjection. 

“Nice to meet you…and congradu—”

Petunia gave him another once over, but this time with a more discerning eye. Her pale ears turned red. 

“I mean honestly, Lily. I can’t believe you would do this to me, you always need to be better—well come on.”

She turned her body to the side leaving an opening to enter the house. Lily grabbed hold of James’ arm and tugged him past and down a hall that was draped with various silk bows.

“Uhm—I know I’m not keen on the muggle ways of conversation but—what was that?”

Lily trudged forward still holding his forearm tightly in her hand. 

“She thinks you're fit. I told you she’d be angry—don’t worry about it.”

They reached the sitting room where a backdoor was open and a cacophony of people wafted into the house. Lily stopped walking and turned to James. She put both hands on either side of him and he instinctively lowered his forehead to rest upon hers. 

“We’re a team. A united front. We will survive this.” Lily chanted to herself with her eyes closed. 

James gave her a little squeeze and pulled her into his chest. 

“Don’t worry. We’ll have some drinks, talk about muggle stuff that I’ll pretend to understand, and then I can take you back to school, get you out of this gorgeous dress, and then we can shag all the stress of the evening away.”

Lily snorted and James made a soft smile. “You’re a git.”

“Love you too.” He gave her a kiss on the nose and they locked hands to enter the back garden. 

Outside a large table had been adorned with enough frill to supply the entirety of England. A table of drinks had been set up and Vernon stood with a few men Lily didn’t know drinking beers around it. On the other corner of the garden, a bunch of women stood tightly in a circle only to break apart to eye another party guest with disdain. 

“So—a drink?” James offered. Regardless of being the most out of place in the whole event, James carried himself as though the party was meant for him. It was a trait that in other moments might have annoyed her, but she was thankful to have some relief from the suffocating feeling of anxiety. 

James pulled Lily over to the drink table and Vernon turned with heavy effort to intercept them. 

“Lily–” Vernon didn’t smile. His eyes were wide to the point where they actually seemed to fit his head for once. He looked at James with the same expression and James’ face eluded pure joy. If there was one thing James Potter could sense, it was someone he could take the piss out of. 

“James Potter.” He offered his hand which Vernon eyed with utter disdain. James lowered his hand back to his side, unfazed by the rejection. If anything he smiled wider. 

“This is my sister's fiancee, Vernon,” Lily gave James hand a squeeze. She knew his mischievous grin from anywhere. 

James ignored her signal. “Absolutely charmed.”

Vernon coughed at the mention of charm and Lily shot James a warning glance.

“Er—I was actually hoping to see you two before Petunia came back out—could we?” Vernon gestured over to a secluded spot in the lawn far away from any of the other guests. Lily and James followed him as Vernon made a little bit too much of a show of not wanting anyone to notice.

Before they could say anything Vernon’s wide eyes soured into a deep anger. He directed his words at Lily.

“I am well aware that we were obligated to invite you on the account of you being family, but I am just going to say this once: if you plan to have any sort of performances this evening that could spoil the night, I suggest you save it for whatever circus you came from. I’ll not be having your kind come and mess up my lovely evening.”

Lily’s cheeks flushed and her eyes became glassy. She had expected them to be rude, sure, but not downright hostile to her—and even in front of someone they had no reason to question.

James’ grin had disappeared and now his jaw was locked. “Excuse me–first off you can stop pointing at my girlfriend like that,” Lily had not noticed that Vernon had clutched a finger outwards between them during his little speech, “second, what exactly are you implying?” Lily grabbed hold of James’ forearm, but he shrugged it away. 

“James–it's fine, let me handle it.” Lily tried to sound stern, despite feeling shaken from being threatened by her own future brother in law.

“Well Vernon,” Lily’s eyes were slits, “I wasn’t planning on any performances as you call it, but seeing as you are being such a bloody arsehole—” 

James hid his laugh with a cough. Vernon’s eyebrows shot up his face, his cheeks reddened to the point of purple. Petunia, who had caught sight of their gathering from the window, came rushing out towards them, looking panicked. 

“Vernon darling, what has happened?” She whipped her head towards Lily. “What did you do already?”

“Well, your bloody freak sister and her punk boyfriend just insulted me—at my own party!” Petunia rubbed Vernon’s arm while darting her head to either side of the garden, hoping that no other party goers were listening in. 

“We didn’t say anything that wasn’t already provoked, you know for invited guests and family you haven’t exactly made us feel welcome,” James shot back. 

Petunia whispered some words into Vernon’s ear and he mumbled in response back. He shot James a dirty look before thundering back over to the drinks table where the men surrounded him once more. 

Petunia watched as he left and faked a sickly looking smile at the guests who glanced their way. She spun back towards Lily.

“You need to leave. I knew this would be a mistake.”

Lily’s face flushed. The battle between anger and sadness culminated into rosy blotches on her cheeks.

“Fine. We were just going anyway. This party is a drag. Come on James.”

Lily stormed back to the door and entered the house ahead of him. James opened his mouth to say something to Petunia, but she had already departed their corner and was chattering amongst the group of women, acting as though she hadn’t just banished her own sister from her party. 

James found Lily sitting on the front stoop of the house, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. 

He sat down next to her, procuring two cans of gin and tonic from his pocket. “Nicked these as a souvenir.”

 Lily let out a meek laugh and took one from his hand. He scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her, softly stroking her hair. 

“Sorry if I wasn’t a good teammate today,” he pushed his lips into her hair. 

“Nah, you were the best. Sorry my family is such shit—at least now you have witnessed it.”

“Yea, honestly—fuck ‘em.” Lily let out a real laugh this time and James leaned down to kiss it. 

“But, to be fair,” he continued, “ it's not everyday we get to take an excursion out of school and I get to see you in a bloody fantastic dress so, despite the tiny upset I’d say this was a success.” 

Lily leaned her head on his shoulder and took a breath. The sun was setting and the cool air was setting in. 

“What was it you promised me when we got back? To shag all my stress away?” The second it left Lily’s mouth, James’ body perked up.

“I mean, it was an awfully stressful night.”

“Yeah, awfully—we should definitely, definitely do something about that.”

James grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her up. She laughed at his enthusiasm as he practically ran them past the gate and back onto the mainstreet where Sirius’ motorbike lay waiting for them. The night born anew.

[it-happened-one-fic]

Bridal Visions: The Video Ad - A Bright Future

Summary: Being friends with Chiori always had its risks, including her habit of teasing and pulling strings solely in the name of enacting her teasing. Which was exactly what was going on here with her having you and Thoma model the final set of clothes for her bridal line.

Type: Female reader/ 800 Followers Event/ series/ sfw/ fluff/

Bridal Visions Series Masterlist

Word Count: 1125

“I thought you were only going to do one outfit set for each nation?” I crossed my arms as I looked at Chiori, who smiled at me smugly. Like she’d known the Traveler would choose me as one of the models for an outfit.

And perhaps she had. I wouldn’t put it past her to have pulled some strings.

“Well, I doubt anyone will complain that I’ve designed an extra set of bridal outfits for my homeland. And if they do, they can take it up with me,” I snorted at the way she held up her needle as she spoke before snipping the thread that held it connected to the clothes I currently wore with a degree of finality that brooked no room for argument.

But her meaning was obvious. People could talk at their own risk, and no matter what they said, she wouldn’t care. Which honestly should’ve gone without saying considering this was Chiori.

I glanced down at the outfit she’d made and just finished the final touch-ups on, half smiling at the brilliant red of the colorful overcoat that went over the pure white kimono, “An Iro-uchikake, hm?”

She nodded at my words, confirming that was the style she’d indeed gone with even as she stood and I looked back at her, “So what are me and Thoma going to be doing for this advertisement of yours?”

Chiori smiled, crossing her arms smugly, “Well, you already saw the set. We’ve made it look like a shrine, and you two are just going to walk through while the camera follows you and takes video.”

I hummed, curling my fingers along the edges of my sleeve as I eyed my robe before looking up at Chiori, “Lead the way then.”

She smiled, obviously pleased, as she led me out to where they had indeed created a set for us. And Thoma was already present in similarly traditional clothes to mine, though he was in black rather than red.

He blinked, his eyes widening slightly before he brightened and waved at both of us, half-trotting over to greet us with bright eyes. As if he were truly looking forward to modeling wedding clothes at my side.

“Any final instructions for us?” I glanced over, questioning Chiori before she could silently withdraw, and she paused.

A smile spread across her face as something glimmered in her eyes, “Make sure you two look like you're in love… Not that you’ll have trouble with that, I imagine.”

I outright frowned at her as Thoma flustered beside me, already trying to stammer out an explanation as Chiori strolled off. Leaving us to deal with her words without allowing us any explanation.

But she’d always been a tease like that, and if I didn’t know any better, I would say she’d plotted this entire thing just so she could harass me and Thoma.

I glanced over at him, smiling slightly as I lifted a shoulder in almost apologetic fashion, “I guess we’d better get started strolling around then.”

Thoma blinked at me before a smile spread across his face and he chuckled, offering me an arm, “Then shall we, my lady?”

I felt myself smile at his light-hearted teasing, dipping my head in a slight nod as I let my hand rest lightly in the crook of his arm as we took off. Strolling leisurely along the set even though I had absolutely no idea where the cameraman was hiding out at.

I imagined that was purposeful, though. If Chiori had wanted us to know where the cameraman was, she would’ve told us.

“I’ve actually already toured the set while I was waiting for you to get ready,” Thoma explained softly, and I glanced his way, tilting my head slightly.

“Is it all as detailed as it looks from a distance then?” I smiled as I questioned him in a hushed voice, and he bobbed his head.

“Yeah, if you look over there, they even have a bell. I don’t know if it’ll actually ring, though,” He pointed, and I leaned slightly to look around him before nodding as I caught sight of the offertory box and the bell that hung over it.

“Think we should head over there and fake pray for a happy union then?” I questioned softly, and he chuckled.

“Can’t hurt, and it’d probably look good too,” He grinned at me, and I nodded, feeling my own smile spread at his words as we shifted direction to walk over there.

We didn’t rush, though. Instead, we took our time strolling leisurely and chatting all the while.

“I was surprised when the Traveler chose both of us,” Thoma mused aloud, glancing around before hurriedly looking my way with widening eyes. “I mean, choosing you made sense, but I wasn’t expecting to get picked to model clothes!”

I snorted at his explanation, shaking my head slightly before I met his gaze with an amused grin, “I think it makes more sense to pick you, Thoma. There’s a reason all the ladies in Ritou are after you.”

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously even though he and I both knew that he was perfectly aware of his popularity as we came to a stop in front of the offering box and faked praying as if we were a genuine, newlywed couple asking for good fortune and a bright future.

And as we straightened, and I felt myself smile over at Thoma, I heard Chiori’s voice from off to the side, “Cut! We’re all good!”

I blinked, turning to look at her in slight surprise that we were already done even as I noted her smug smile. And her next words only confirmed my suspicions, “I knew having Traveler look into you two was a good idea. You were the perfect choice to model these clothes and even look the part of a young, newlywed couple.”

I crossed my arms as Thoma let out a laugh, and I knew that he’d figured out that Chiori had definitely pulled some strings just like I had, “So you did push for them to pick us.” 

I eyed her amusedly, and she lifted a single shoulder. Wholly unapologetic. “I just made a suggestion. I’m well within my rights to do that since I am the designer of the clothes.”

Thoma’s hand rested on my shoulder as he leaned over, his grin a little more clever as he held her gaze, “And we thank you for the opportunity.”

And one thing was definitely for certain. I knew for a fact that Thoma would definitely have a bright future as a model if he were to choose that path. Even though me and Chiori both knew that wasn’t about to happen.

If you would like to read more:

Previous

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Electrons, not molecules

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TUCSON (Mar 9-10), then SAN FRANCISCO (Mar 13), Anaheim, and more!

When hydrocarbon barons do their damndest to torch the Earth with fossil fuels, they call us dreamers. They insist that there's a hard-nosed reality – humanity needs energy – and they're the ones who live in it, while we live in the fairy land where the world can run on sunshine and virtuous thoughts. Without them making the tough decisions, we'd all be starving in the frigid dark.

Here's the thing: they're full of shit.

Mostly.

Humanity does need energy if we're going to avoid starving in the frigid dark, but that energy doesn't have to come from fossil fuels. Indeed, in the long-term, it can't. Even if you're a rootin' tootin, coal-rollin' climate denier, there's a hard-nosed reality you can't deny: if we keep using fossil fuels, they will someday run out. Remember "peak oil" panic? Fossil fuels are finite, and the future of the human race needn't be. We need more.

Thankfully, we have it. Despite what you may have heard, renewables are more than up to the task. Indeed, it's hard to overstate just how much renewable energy is available to us, here at the bottom of our gravity well. I failed to properly appreciate it until I read Deb Chachra's brilliant 2023 book, How Infrastructure Works:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/17/care-work/#charismatic-megaprojects

Chachra, an engineering prof and materials scientist, offers a mind-altering reframing of the question of energy: we have a material problem, not an energy problem. If we could capture a mere 0.4% of the sun's rays that strike the Earth, we could give every person on the planet the energy budget of a Canadian (like an American, only colder).

Energy isn't just wildly abundant, though: it's also continuously replenished. For most of human history, we've treated energy as scarce, eking out marginal gains in energy efficiency – even as we treated materials as disposable, using them once and consigning them to a midden or a landfill. That's completely backwards. We get a fresh shipment of energy every time the sun (or the moon) comes up over the horizon. By contrast, new consignments of material are almost unheard of – the few odd ounces of meteoric ore that survive entry through Earth's atmosphere.

A soi-dissant adult concerned with the very serious business of ensuring our species isn't doomed to the freezing, starving darkness of an energy-deprived future would think about nothing save for this fact and its implications. They'd be trying to figure out how to humanely and responsibly gather the materials needed for the harvest, storage and distribution of this nearly limitless and absolutely free energy.

In other words, that Very Serious, Hard-Nosed Grown-Up should be concerned with using as few molecules as possible to harvest as many electrons as possible. They'd be working on things like turning disused coal-mines into giant gravity batteries:

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/02/06/this-disused-mine-in-finland-is-being-turned-into-a-gravity-battery-to-store-renewable-ene

Not figuring out how to dig or flush more long-dead corpses out of the Earth's mantle to feed them into a furnace. That is a profoundly unserious response to the human need for energy. It's caveman shit: "Ugh, me burn black sticky gunk, make cave warm, cough cough cough."

Enter Exxon CEO Darren Woods, whose interview with Fortune's Michal Lev-Ram and editor Alan Murray contains this telling quote: "we basically focus our technology on transforming molecules and they happen to be hydrogen and carbon molecules":

https://fortune.com/2024/02/28/leadership-next-exxonmobil-ceo-darren-woods/

As Bill McKibben writes, this is a tell. A company that's in the molecule business is not in the electron business. For all that Woods postures about being a clear-eyed realist beating back the fantasies of solarpunk-addled greenies, Woods does not want a future where we have all our energy needs met:

https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/the-most-epic-and-literal-gaslighting

That's because the only way to get that future is to shift from molecules – whose supply can be owned and therefore sold by Exxon – to electrons, which that commie bastard sun just hands out for free to every person on our planet's surface, despite the obvious moral hazard of all those free lunches. As Woods told Fortune, when it comes to renewables, "we don’t see the ability to generate above-average returns for our shareholders."

Woods dresses this up in high-minded seriousness kabuki, saying that Exxon is continuing to invest in burning rotting corpses because our feckless species "waited too long to open the aperture on the solution sets terms of what we need as a society." In other words, it's just too late for solar. Keep shoveling those corpses into the furnace, they're all that stands between you and the freezing, starving dark.

Now, this is self-serving nonsense. The problem of renewables isn't that it's too late – it's that they don't "generate above-average returns for our shareholders" (that part, however, is gospel truth).

But let's stipulate that Woods sincerely believes that it is too late. It's pretty goddamned rich of this genocidal, eminently guillotineable monster to just drop that in the conversation without mentioning the role his company played in getting us to this juncture. After all, #ExxonKnew. 40 years ago, Exxon's internal research predicted climate change, connected climate change to its own profits, and predicted how bad it would be today.

Those predictions were spookily accurate and the company took them to heart, leaping into action. For 40 years, the company has been building its offshore drilling platforms higher and higher in anticipation of rising seas and superstorms – and over that same period, Exxon has spent millions lobbying and sowing disinformation to make sure that the rest of us don't take the emergency as seriously as they are, lest we switch from molecules to electrons.

Exxon knew, and Exxon lied. McKibben quotes Woods' predecessor Lee Raymond, speaking in the runup to the Kyoto Treaty negotiations: "It is highly unlikely that the temperature in the middle of the next century will be significantly affected whether policies are enacted now or 20 years from now."

When Woods says we need to keep shoveling corpses into the furnace because we "waited too long to open the aperture on the solution sets terms of what we need as a society," he means that his company lied to us in order to convince us to wait too long.

When Woods – and his fellow enemies of humanity in the C-suites of Chevron and other corpse-torching giants – was sending the arson billions to his shareholders, he held back a healthy share to fund this deceit. He colluded with the likes of Joe Manchin ("[D-POLLUTION]" -McKibben) to fill the Inflation Reduction Act with gifts for molecules. The point of fantasies like "direct air carbon-capture" is to extend the economic life of molecule businesses, by tricking us into thinking that we can keep sending billions to Exxon without suffocating in its waste-product.

These lies aren't up for debate. Back in 2021, Greenpeace tricked Exxon's top DC lobbyist Keith McCoy into thinking that he was on a Zoom call with a corporate recruiter and asked him about his work for Exxon, and McCoy spilled the beans:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/01/basilisk-tamers/#exxonknew

He confessed to everything: funding fake grassroots groups and falsifying the science – he even names the senators who took his bribes. McCoy singled out Manchin for special praise, calling him "a kingmaker" and boasting about the "standing weekly calls" Exxon had with Manchin's office.

Exxon's response to this nine-minute confession was to insist that their most senior American lobbyist "wasn't involved at all in forming policy positions."

McKibben points to the forthcoming book The Price Is Wrong, by Brett Christophers, which explains how the neoclassical economics establishment's beloved "price signals" will continue to lead us into the furnace:

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3069-the-price-is-wrong

The crux of that book is:

We cannot expect markets and the private sector to solve the climate crisis while the profits that are their lifeblood remain unappetizing.

Nearly 100 years ago, Upton Sinclair wrote, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Today, we can say that it's impossible to get an oil executive to understand that humanity needs electrons, not molecules, because his shareholders' obscene wealth depends on it.

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

[skepticalarrie]

To your anon who feels that One Direction is over and there’s nothing left of it:

Grieving for the band is a natural outcome of grieving for Liam, and I respect your feelings about it all. Might I offer that those feelings can change, for the boys, for you and others who feel like this today, and for future fans?

Here are a few examples from my lifetime. It sucked when the Beatles broke up, and while I liked some of their solo music, it wasn’t quite the same for me. Then two of them were gone, and it was awful. But the other two are still active in the industry. I’ve seen Paul McCartney twice in the last 10ish years. He’s old, but he puts on a great show, with Beatles tunes as well as Wings tunes (his post-Beatles band), and other solo work. Beatles music lives on. You know who knows a lot of Beatles music? My kids and my grandkids. Because I still play it all the time.

I recently saw the Doobie Brothers & The Eagles—both are missing original members, but their old music is still awesome and their show was amazing. And they had highly respected musicians sitting in with them (to fill out instruments & sound), and even one of their adult children. Fans loved the show, sang along to every word, shed some tears during some solos and film footage of the missing members. But the music lives on, and so does the joy.

Last example is Queen. I’ve seen them 3 times in the last 10 yrs. Adam Lambert does an excellent job with Freddie’s vocals and also with respecting & honoring him. Only two original members are left, but some of the “new” guys have been around a long time, and sometimes Roger’s son sits in on drums. They play all their hits plus new music. Shows are sold out on their worldwide tours because the music is brilliant, the shows are incredible, and fans want to be there to sing along.

Will 1D ever perform again? Not in the same way, but maybe. And the fans who love them and their music will be there. In the meantime, we have four solo artists who give us more amazing music, cover some songs from the band, and put on great shows. Enjoy what you can when you’re ready…and perhaps someday there will be more. I hope you’ll be able to be there should it happen. I hope you’ll share the 1D music we have and your love for it with the next generation. The music will live on if we want it to.

Thank you so much for sharing this, anon! I have nothing else to add ❤️👏

[marta-diablo]

‘Noel and Julian were possibly aroused’: The Mighty Boosh turns 20 – in pictures

 ‘Something magic happens when they get together’

While filming the surreal comedy, Dave Brown AKA Bollo was on hand with a camera to snap awkward kisses, creepy venues … and crack foxes ordering pie and mash

Tony & Dennis (Series 3 – The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox, 2007)

Dave Brown: ‘Lunchtime on set was a feast for the eyes. It was always a treat seeing cast members milling about munching on a jacket potato with ridiculous full face of makeup, asking for more cheese on their beans. Here, Noel Fielding (Tony Harrison) and Julian Barratt (Dennis the Head Shaman) pose for a quick shot before tucking into their pasta bake. Behind the Boosh 20, an exhibition by Boosh cast member Dave Brown AKA Bollo, is at the pop-up Behind the Gallery, London, 10-13 October. All photographs Dave Brown

Up on the Roof (Series 3 – Party, 2007)

‘During a particularly long scene, Noel and Julian look a little nervous and possibly slightly aroused as they contemplate their upcoming big kiss scene. I love the light and composition of this shot’

Tony & Saboo (Series 3 – Eels, 2007)

‘This was a particularly special scene. On Head Shaman Dennis’s stag do, Saboo rubs sun cream into Tony Harrison’s smooth pink crease, saying: “Don’t leave it in thick blobs, rub it in. Factor seven?! Shit off! I need factor 67 you ball bag!” It was always a hilarious pleasure to witness Noel and Richard Ayoade riffing off of each other in scenes, kinda like jazz, but jazz on bikes. Two very funny humans in ridiculous costumes at the top of their game, trying to out laugh each other with hilarious absurdities’

Luna Looks (Luna Park, Melbourne comedy festival, 2001)

‘Noel throws me his best blue steel look beneath the giant face of Luna Park as I lie on the pavement among the chewing gum and cigarette butts trying to get the angle. Melbourne festival was always very special, such an amazing city with brilliant crowds’

Come Play With Us (Aberdeen Future Sailors Tour, Press and Journal Arena, 2008)

‘The last gig of an insane tour. A strange place to end things after 99 dates that included Brixton, Wembley, Manchester and Sheffield but still, it was a great gig. Rich Fulcher was doing his usual dicking about pre-show in the corridors, grooving to tunes, practising his fossil moves. As I walked around the corner he was at the end and the blue suit reminded me of the Shining twins. I took two shots of him stood holding his own hand then comped them together. Way more terrifying than Kubrick’s version’

Hitcher Nabootique (Series 3 – Eels, 2007)

‘Loved this set: the sign, the lighting and one of my favourite characters, the Hitcher. Him walking up to the door in the rain was just a perfect moment to capture. All undercut by the ridiculous graffiti. Not sure why “loose change” makes me laugh so much, it’s one of those perfect examples of Noel and Julian’s writing and their way with language’

Noel Draws (Noel’s House during the Future Sailors Tour, 2008)

‘I spent many an evening pre-tour and sometimes during tour, in my flat or at Noel’s place, scribbling artworks for tour posters, DVDs, the book. The two of us produced all of that material. Old art school mates getting busy with the fizzy. We could draw those Boosh faces in our sleep, which became a bit of a problem some nights on tour in posh hotels’

Moody Naboo (Series 3 – Journey to the Centre of the Punk, 2007)

‘Naboo was indeed an enigma. Often found gazing into the middle-distance meditating deep astral conundrums, solving some of the world’s biggest problems and answering those age-old impossible questions like what flavour Pot Noodle he was going to have later when watching Columbo. Here is one of those moments in-between scenes shooting series three in a warehouse in a disused Ministry of Defence site somewhere in Surrey’

Foxy Man (Series 3 – The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox, 2007)

‘One of my favourite characters: those two voices, the laugh, the costume and makeup, terrifyingly hilarious! This is me capturing Julian just after lunch break walking back on set. It was a wonderful vision seeing the Crack Fox stood upright on two legs by the catering van ordering pie and mash from a visibly disturbed catering assistant, all while the real hungry Hackney crack foxes looked on through distant bushes in awe and jealousy’

Fossil Faces (Series 3 Rehearsals – American International Church, London, 2007)

‘Rich isn’t really acting in The Boosh. The character Bob Fossil is 92.4% Fulcher. A force of nature, he will crush any down moment anyone is having with his comedy fists and have you wetting your little blue pants in a hot minute. These shots were taken during rehearsals for series three in the American church on Tottenham Court Road in London. It was a pretty intense afternoon with some writing issues and a few moody clouds brewing. Then Rich provides these six faces and everyone’s laughing again’

Hippy Boosh (Series 2 – The Call of the Yeti, 2005)

‘Vince, Parsley and Naboo in full Polyphonic Spree get-up in front of the big blue studio 11 doors at 3 Mills Studios in east London. We’d just been shooting the song scene in Call of the Yeti and I was still in my Bollo suit. It always amused me when cast and crew from other shows filming at 3 Mills would walk past and assume this show had a Gorilla as the official set photographer’

Bendelack Directing (Pilot Episode –Tundra, Pinewood Studios, 2003)

‘Steve Bendelack directed loads of our favourites: Lee and Herring, Newman and Baddiel, League of Gentlemen. So when he was directing the pilot episode of Arctic Boosh at Pinewood Studios it was a pinch-me moment. Paul King took over from Steve when the first series was commissioned by the BBC. Steve was no doubt busy on something else. Or maybe he swerved it? Stewart Lee, who directed Noel and Julian in the Arctic Boosh stage show for the Edinburgh fringe in the late 90s, said it was like ‘trying to direct smoke’

Mutant Readers (Series 1 – Mutants, 3 Mills Studios, 2004)

‘Mike [Fielding] having some down time in his dressing room sipping on a brew and glancing across at a coupon for 10p off Monster Munch. Two trained thespians sit beside him on the smallest sofa in Europe; one reads a crime novel and an unshaven Pete from Dixons in the middle reads about how Bolton are on the brink’

Graffiti (Series 3 – The (Power of the) Crimp, 2007)

‘I’ve known Noel for over 30 years and Julian for over 25. Something magic happens when those two get together. They’re one of the great double-acts. It was never easy getting a decent shot of them together. Noel on his own was easy; he’d spot a camera lens a mile away in heavy fog. Julian, on the other hand, was usually eating, talking, squinting those already tiny eyes or hiding somewhere in a cabinet. I love these two nincompoops like brothers’

x

[virginiaisforvampires]

Hi!

Hope all is well with you. I know that until further seasons air the VC books will be re-read and Seasons 1 and 2 rewatched repeatedly. We’re going to have a great time.

I’m an over four decade fan and in my re-reading am commiserating about and chuckling about Armand. Not chuckling over Armand’s trauma, no never! But of his adolescent behavior. In over 500 years, he has not matured. Assad plays Armand so perfectly capturing the “evil”!adolescent who has no sense of working things and situations through positively. This brings back Marius warning that a vampire should live a full life. (Of course Marius is partly responsible for Armand’s behavior, but that’s for another post)) Armand suffers partly from arrested development and I so enjoy how Anne delved into that aspect of his personality AND Assad’s portraying that.

Sorry that I’ve rattled on but each visit and revisit to this work of art uncovers so much and I am thrilled with that.

Peace and joy❤️

Hello! ❤️

Oh yes! We are in for a thrilling ride! 🤗

I think what struck me the most about Assad in 2x05 is how perfectly Armand he was. Like you mentioned, it’s just a certain level of adolescent behavior combined with the full-fledged unhingedness of a traumatized adult.

For me, it was the fact Louis was in the bedroom in excruciating pain while crying and screaming. Horrifying and sickening. I kept thinking to myself “ARMAND! HELP HIM!” (Lestat would’ve lit Armand on fire for this one.)

Meanwhile Daniel is having his meltdown and passing out on the floor.

Meanwhile Armand is just like a curious animal, totally ignoring Louis, and fixated on Daniel and why he’s so fascinating.

It was bonkers. Absolutely bonkers with Armand at the helm.

Assad owned this. Just brilliant. It was like the worst example of hopeless psychological torture. It felt suffocating and agonizing. My stomach was in knots. It’s my favorite episode of S2 and that’s thanks to Assad doing the thing and stepping up to the plate with the superb likes of Jacob and those two giving us the most jaw-dropping tour-de-force performance of Armand and Louis…..it was a 10/10 for me.

For me, Assad fully became Armand in this episode.

It made me giddy to know these characters are being handled by these three — Assad and Jacob and Sam.

We are so lucky, and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for them.

[chaifootsteps]

I’ve heard this a lot from the fandom after apology tour

“Blitzø and stolas were both so protective of each other at the party even though they were fighting, shows how in love they really are”

I thought so many people said it so it must be true. I rewatched the episode and—Did I miss something? Gen question. Stolas was horrible to him. He smirked at the idea of blitzø getting “fucking murdered”shoved a sheet in his face, into a corner, yelled at him openly and told him to go home, then slobbered all over someone else. And blitzø said he’s never seen stolas so drunk, realising he’s an alcoholic. Blitzø self deprecates heavily to build stolas up so he stops crying. Then Stolas finds some other object to flatter him. Some fans even said “Notice how they both drink heavily and throw themselves at other men when they fight, they were made for each other!”

Are we….romanticising being an alcoholic now? They trigger each others alcoholism so…they should be together?

Remember in Bojack, when he and Diane were alone in each others houses, after Cordovia and post fracking incident, all they did was isolate, drink, skip work, bemoan how pointless life is and encourage each other to wallow and be more depressed. That’s how I see these guys future relationship. It also says a lot to me that when they were on that “””date””” stolas’ first suggestion was to get extremely drunk on wine red and white, and champagne. After they become “canon” Octavia leaves and stolas moves in (under duress) he’s just going to drink the whole time. And poor Loona will have to take care of both of them when drink.

It sort of looks from leaks that the message was “be careful what you wish for” and that running off with his childhood fantasy means losing Via. Theres a shot where Octavia disappears behind ice, leaving stolas reflection, then he collapses and we see Blitzs face. As if asking Stolas "was it worth it?" That could be brilliant if the message was "dont betray the people who already love you to chase after someone else's love"

I sent a similar anon a while back with the suggestion of replacing the anti depressants Via shoves in his hand with the imp doll in his portrait symbolising Blitzo. A lifeless smiling bed companion in a silly bowtie. That makes Octavias line "have a great fucking life with him, dad." more impactful. As if saying "if youd rather stay being a child playing with your little toys than be my dad with me as the child, fine. Go do that."

Sometimes it genuinely does seem like these people are watching a completely different show, or maybe blacking out and making up a different show.

If I shipped Stolitz -- and I used too -- I would have been horrified at Apology Tour, and a lot of people were. Here are two characters you want to see in a loving relationship that improves both their lives, are promised it's coming, and all they do is scream, shit-talk one another, drink heavily, throw themselves at other people, and talk about how miserable they make each other.

I think even comparing them to BoJack and Diane's relationship is giving them too much credit, because BoJack and Diane had fun and cared about each other's well-being somewhat. I see together Stolas and Blitzo as this, but not funny.

[heretherebedork]

Why do we make so many promises? I'll be waiting for you when you get out.

They found each other again and now there's a promise awaiting Name and there's Saifah waiting for Name and they're going to find such a bright and brilliant future waiting for them someday, a whole world tour that will let them be free and joyous and they will be happy someday, they will.

[hldailyupdate]

“This has been a fucking incredible tour already, unbelivable. I think we’ve got about a week left… [pauses as a fan shouts that that’s wrong] is that wrong? Is that wrong? It feels about right. I’m not including the UK bit of the leg. [fan says ‘oh’] You get it now? You’re up to speed? Brilliant. [continues his speech and goes back to the fan afterwards when he sees they want to clarify] Yeah! you were right and I was right, we’re both right love, don’t worry.”

-Louis discussing with a fan about when tour ends.

Faith In The Future World Tour: Cologne. (17 October 2023)

[glassprism]

Hey so the 2025 US tour is supposed to be like the previous tour or more current West End production?

Well, the previous (US) tour was the restaging, so it's almost almost certainly not that. And the (US) tours before that were full-blown replicas, but CamMack and co. have made it pretty obvious that that's not going to happen for any future tours. Anyway, the official website states pretty firmly that the upcoming US tour is going to be based off the current West End production:

Cameron Mackintosh’s legendary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is back to thrill American audiences once again! A revitalized production featuring Maria Björnson’s brilliant original design, which was rapturously received by London critics when it reopened at His Majesty’s Theatre in 2021, will launch in a multi-year North American Tour from November 2025...

And this is about what I expected. I think the restaged tour was too different for many fans and critics and the powers that be were aware of that, but the current West End production, which is just different enough to be cheaper and easier to tour but not so different that it will confuse and anger viewers, is the perfect solution for them, and I expect it to be kind of the go-to for future touring productions, save for those tours that opt for a complete non-replica (e.g. the Middle East / European Tour).

[themculibrary]

Body Swap Masterlist 2

part one

Amateur Theatrics (ao3) - galaxysoup T, 26k

Summary: In which Thor’s primary problem-solving method (a mighty blow from Mjolnir) fails to have the desired effect on a magical artifact, and his secondary method (a mightier blow from Mjolnir) proves to be actively disastrous.

A Matter of Perspective (ao3) - MagicMysticFantasy T, 5k

Summary: Matt and Foggy wake up in each other's bodies. This causes them many problems, as well as opening the door to a couple of conversations long overdue between them.

A New Point of View (ao3) - waitingondaisies pepper/tony T, 67k

Summary: Peter rushes out of school to join Tony in fighting the aliens that appear over New York, leaving behind the problems that plague his life.

He ends up leaving them behind for far longer than expected when an alien substance causes him to swap bodies with Tony. They agree to live each other’s lives to keep the mishap under wraps, giving each of them an up-close and personal view of the other’s hidden problems.

Peter will come to learn that Tony’s life isn’t as glamorous as it appears, and Tony will come face to face with all of the things that Peter never told him about: bullies, unfair teachers, and economic struggles.

Binary Stars (ao3) - SageAndSourdoughBread G, 6k

Summary: Frigga once told Loki and Thor that they were like stars, rotating together and making the world brilliant with their own radiance. Loki hadn’t said anything, but he knew deep down that it wasn’t true. To both be stars…you had to both be equals as well. One day, Loki decides to pretend to be Thor for a little while, just to see how it feels. Of course, it doesn’t go very well.

Pre-Thor 1

Body Swaps Can Sometimes Be Helpful (ao3) - killianthebee G, 2k

Summary: Peter and Mr. Stark swap bodies, and Peter learns a few things along the way.

Freaky fri... Nevermind (ao3) - Kenny_the_blink ned/peter, betty/flash T, 12k

Summary: Flash Thompson and Peter Parker don't like each other, that's an understatement, they hate each other. After a particular argument they find each other in the other's body, and it just so happens to be the day before their big events.

Hugs Around The Multiverse (ao3) - felisnocturna steve/tony M, 3k

Summary: A whirlwind tour of Steve/Tony hugs, each of them set in a different universe.

i bet we’d have really good come right on me, i mean camaraderie (ao3) - NotesAppWitch

Summary: Someone groans weakly. With tremendous effort, Wade lifts his arm, it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, and tries to scrub at his face.

“Oh fuck no,” Wade says but—

Well Wade, this Wade, your humble narrator, does not say it with his mouth. But his voice says it, and it sounds weird, like he’s trying to make it deeper than it is.

Wade scrubs at his face, clearing dust from his eyelashes.

Yeah, okay. He doesn’t have those.

His hands touch his face. The most obvious bit is the beard, but it’s also the exact slope of the nose and the cut of the cheekbones and when he finally gets his eyes open, he looks at blue gloves.

“Oh fuck yes,” Wade says. With Logan’s mouth. The voice rumbles through his ribcage, higher pitched by a bit through Logan’s ears but he just knows it's deep and scratchy and so sexy.

Juvelen Av Trollmenn (ao3) - asgardianstarfish (vyxythepixie) loki/stephen M, 22k

Summary: Saving the world comes at a price. Loki and Stephen Strange, who are emphatically not together, find themselves suddenly parents. Can they reach an agreement on what this will mean for the future or will something sinister tear apart life as they know it?

Nowhere Near as Fun as it Sounds (ao3) - ABrighterDarkness steve/tony T, 3k

Summary: “You’ve never said anything. At all. To anyone,” Tony blurted, the words and realizations that smacked him straight in the face in the most bizarre way possible. Mid-mission, at that. Terrible timing. But…he felt like this was one of those things he should have somehow already known. Something he’d have somehow already addressed and fixed. And not just because he was the one that was now suffering from the lack of knowledge.

“Neither have you,” Steve said, quiet and solemn.

Swapsies (ao3) - dyano86 carol/daisy M, 2k

Summary: Daisy Johnson and Carol Danvers swap bodies - and almost immediately fuck.

Switch (ao3) - Oracle_Belmont namor of talokan/shuri E, 4k

Summary: Shuri and Namor switch bodies for a bit

...and Shuri gets curious.

switched (fanfiction.net) - WetPaperTowel loki/tony T, 16k

Summary: A freak accident during battle causes Tony Stark and Loki to swap bodies. The hero and villain are forced to spend time together to figure out how to switch back, which leads to awkward, hilarious, and disastrous situations. Will they figure it out in time, or will they kill each other in the process?

The Mix Up (ao3) - CapandCarter G, 32k

Summary: Tony keeps switching places and he doesn’t know why.

The Upside (ao3) - otpcutie bucky/tony E, 2k

Summary: Tony and Bucky give each other permission to get off while body swapped.

this time, unchained (ao3) - bittercape frank/jason M, 3k

Summary: “Well, shit,” Natasha says, voice deep and gravelly, and holy shit tall, Jason tilts his neck back to look up at her. Him.

Himself?

unexpected swap (ao3) - mrstinky N/R, 1k

Summary: After spiderman tried to save ironman from a huge gunshot it turns out the bullet wasn't a bullet at all, it was a body swapping ray gun.

This isn't how Peter wanted his Monday to go but at least it's entertaining for everyone else

Your Body Suits Me Not at All (ao3) - sofreakinmanyfandoms T, 1k

Summary: In which Loki makes mischief, Bucky is So Done™️, and Clint is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[warwickroyals]

Sunderland's Royal Jewel Vault (12/∞) ♛

↬ Queen Matilda Mary's Pearl Fringe Tiara

Out of all the tiaras in Sunderland's royal jewelry box, Queen Matilda's Pearl Fringe is perhaps the most remarkable. The tiara, which Queen Irene once called a wall of diamonds, is instantly recognizable due to its classic design with an intriguing twist. In 1908, the Prince and Princess of Danforth celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. The occasion was a great excuse for lavish celebrations and, more importantly, for Sunderland's courtiers to curry favour with extravagant gifts. Predictably, this turned gift-giving into a fierce competition between aristocratic families, who vied for the most expensive gift. To produce a magnificent gift, a group of prominent women formed an uneasy alliance. The three women included: the Marchioness of Bathurst (wife of the current Conservative prime minister), the Countess of Bloor and the Countess Farnsworth (the paternal great-aunt of the future Tatiana, Princess of Danforth). Pooling their combined wealth, the women were able to afford a major piece of jewelry for the princess. They quarrelled throughout the process, notably over the tiara's design and who would present the gift at Chester Palace, but the princess herself was impressed with their effort. The resulting tiara was a spectacular fringe tiara of white and yellow gold set with diamonds. Much to Matilda's delight, the tiara bore similarities to Queen Caroline's Fringe Tiara, a favourite of her estranged mother-in-law Queen Alexandra. The tiara featured sixty brilliant-set graduated bars and drop pearl toppers which cloud easily removed. Futuring over 400 diamonds, it cost around $7,480. Princess Matilda took an instant liking to the tiara, choosing to debut it at the wedding of her eldest surviving son, the Duke of Woodbine to Lady Anne Sunningdale, in 1913. At the wedding, the tiara generated interest from the press and public, who marvelled at the tiara's dazzling beauty. When Matilda Mary became queen in 1921, it continued to maintain the title of her most recognizable tiara. When Matilda Mary died in 1945, it was inherited by her daughter-in-law Anne. Despite having not one but two other fringe tiaras, wore the tiara consistently throughout her husband's reign. Posing in it for multiple portraits. Queen Anne died in 1973, and along with most of her personal jewels, she bequeathed the tiara to her granddaughter-in-law, Queen Irene. The piece quickly became a central part of Irene’s jewelry collection, being worn frequently throughout Irene and Louis's first European tour in 1973-4 where the press once again gawked at the tiara's enthralling row of diamonds. It is one of the few tiaras Irene has worn consistently throughout her tenure as queen, having appeared during foreign tours, at royal premieres, and at state banquets across the world.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Since we're all in our feelings today and I'm going through my drafts to figure out what these half-baked ideas are I'm still kind of blown away at how Taylor's now using her own discography to flesh out old stories or tell new ones.

The mashups on tour are brilliant, and not only seem to have reenergized her (as if she needed it) but are such a testament to her creativity and storytelling. She's taken songs from different eras, genres, inspirations, etc. and melded them together to tell a different story, or make a new one altogether, and it's been so cool to see. It was neat when she first did Is It Over Now/Out of the Woods from a performance point of view, but it almost feels like she took that as a challenge and was like "wait, what else can I do with this?" and took songs that not only sounded good together, but ones that could be dissected and put back together to give us something entirely new.

And I think that dovetails with what she did with the TTPD pre-release playlists, too. If you listen or read her introductions to the playlists, it's really illuminating to hear her speak about why she's chosen the songs. Depending on the grouping, it's because the songs have thematic similarities (denial and acceptance) or she felt the emotion while writing them (anger, bargaining, depression). In some instances, it takes songs that were once heralded as being about one thing (e.g. a bunch of the love songs on the denial list) and completely reframes them. And it's not that she's saying, for instance, "this was a lie," it's more like, "I believed this was true at the time, but I've since grown and learned that's not what I want anymore" or whatever situation applies.

It's not that "Lover" is delusional in itself, it's that she thought at the time they would be together forever, unaware that the problems they'd face would be insurmountable. It's not that False God isn't sexy, it's that the communication issues they thought they'd be able to solve with sex ended up breaking them down. And so on for the other songs and other playlists.

We've seen the same thing with the mashups. Many of them make a lot of narrative or sonic sense. But the ones where she's made pairings to tell a new story are really fascinating. For instance, one of the early ones that stands out was Would've Could've Should've/ivy, taking a song about trauma and a song about yearning love (albeit forbidden) and telling a dark story about someone's actions taking root to turn love into a weapon. Or how New Year's Day/Peace spelled out an entire future she wanted to have with a person, ending with "you and me forevermore."

It's just really cool to see this all play out in real time through the tour and through the release of TTPD; the story isn't hers anymore because it's an organic entity. It is constantly evolving and even moments that seemed set in stone in the past take on new light. Honestly think this has been not only some of the most brilliant promotion for the album, but also a goldmine of creative inspiration for her (and the fans). I'm glad that this far into tour, she's still finding new ways to tell new stories.

[savebylou]

About Louis' setlist.

Louis is the artist, he makes the decisions of his professional life, of how he wants his shows and his setlist. The social media of Louis' team is not a mail box for Louis, that is not ok. If fans keep doing this, we will get something like what happened to Krystle today for other people on his team and that will be unfortunate, that they can have nice comments from fans because of this other fans. Louis' team work for him not for the fans.

Louis knows what he is doing, he has 14 years of experience in the music industry, don't understimated his ability to move in different spaces in music. The decisions he has made make him get two solo succesful albums, two world tours, 4 afhf festivals, his own clothing line, booking like 18 music festivals in different countries this year.

Louis is proud of his past in One Direction, he can sing whatever he wants to sing of those albums he was part of. Just trust & support Louis, he knows what he is doing and he will keep shining his brilliant talent to the world with the decisions that he makes, he has a vision and an amazing future.

[hotpocketpena]

Pop Princess

Pedro Pascal x Fem Reader

Summary - you’re a superstar. Having performed on some of the most famous and largest stages in the world, you are in your peak.

You’re a huge Star Wars fan and when you get invited to The Mandalorian Season 1 premier by an old fried, you meet an unexpected man, who you never thought would catch your eye…

Warnings - Swearing & mention of kissing.

Notes- I’ve been throwing this idea around in my head for so long, I just never knew how I’d want it to play out. Well finally I think I made it go in an ok directionnnnn, anyways enjoy😬

Also I apologise for past and future posts for BUTCHERING the beautiful Spanish language😢

———————-

Adrenalin.

A euphoric high, combined from nerves, excitement and thrill. That is how it felt for you every time you picked up the microphone & sang to hundreds, if not thousands of people.

The bass from your music blasting through the huge stadium speakers sends vibrations up and down your body as you dance to the ending of your final song of the night.

“Thank you so much Miami! You have been amazing! Goodnight!” You cheer into the bejewelled black microphone & jump down the disappearing part of the stage.

Your fans still screaming for more as you use the crawl space under the stairs and head to your dressing room to wind down.

“Amazing job tonight killer Queen!”

“Best show of the tour so far!”

“You never fail to amaze us!”

The crew shout as you walk past them. You smile at everyone as you walk into your dressing room, your manager following closely behind.

“Uh, Ben. Can I have just ten minutes to myself before we talk?” You ask, throwing yourself on one of the couches in your dressing room.

Ben, your tour manager of four years sits on the armchair across from you. “I’ll just be brief.” He says.

But it’s never brief.

You roll your eyes and rest your head on the top of the couch, ready to heard whatever Ben has to say about the show. He always has some input on how you can be more energetic or more enthusiastic on stage. And you always tell him the same thing.

“Now that show was brilliant, don’t get me wrong.” His thick British accent makes it really hard to be annoyed with what he says. “But I think you could just be-“

“More energetic sweetheart. You are amazing already but the show needs more sparkle!” you mock him, with a terrible attempt at his accent.

He opens his mouth to speak but closes is quickly. “I do not sound like that.” He whines.

“Well no. But, you do say that to me after every show. And I always give my all when I’m out there.” You say.

He sits in the back of his chair and crosses his arms. “Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the fans need more. Maybe more fireworks or more dancers or-“

“Ben.” You sternly say his name, knowing where this is going.

“I love you, but you need to get out of my dressing room.” You say as sweetly as possible.

“Fine! If you don’t want to hear about my amazing ideas, then I’ll go and tell them to someone how appreciated them!” He taunts, standing from the chair and swaying his hips to the door.

“I hear Danny from sound looooves your ideas! Go tell him!” You shout, silently thanking the heavens that he’s leaving.

Ben leaves you at peace, and you settle back into the couch, kicking your feet up on the coffee table.

Just as you’re about to sigh, there’s a knock at the door.

“God damn it! Can’t a girl just have five minutes of peace after doing a very long two hour work out while also singing!” You groan, hoping the person behind the door can hear you and will take it as a hint to leave.

“I guess I’ll just leave you to it then princesa del pop.” A beautiful, husky voice shouts from the other side of the door.

It’s a voice you’ve been waiting to hear for 10 days. And you’ve been itching to see the beautiful face behind it.

You jump from the couch, using the last bit of your energy and make a b-line for the door.

“Pedro!” You scream, jumping into his arms. You wrap your legs around his hips and he grips onto the bottom of your thighs.

“Hello baby. Have you missed me?” He chuckles speaking into your hair.

You give him a big squeeze and jump down from his embrace. Your lips crash against his in a hungry but loving kiss.

Your lips move together in sync, releasing all the built up tension of not being able to kiss his sweet lips for so long.

When you break from the kiss, he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and takes your chin between his thumb and index finger.

“I only managed to catch the last forty minutes but you were amazing tonight my little superstar.” He says sweetly, his voice like honey.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to make it!”

“Well I had to sneak away from set and get one of the assistants to lie for me to make it, but I’m here.” Pedro plants a quick kiss to your lips.

He takes your hand into his and you both walk into your dressing room. You notice he’s not in his usual casual attire. He has makeup still on from filming and his hair is all messily done.

“Did you-did you literally take of from the Mando set and rush here for me?” You ask with a serious tone.

“I would have been here sooner, but the fuckers make me take the suit off the second the cameras are off and we’re done filming. Normally I head over to wardrobe to take off all the under garments that go under the suit, but I escaped before they could catch me.” He chuckles, dressed in an all black mesh outfit.

You gasp at him. “Yeah because last time you came to one of my shows in the whole fucking suit. And got so drunk that you drank beer out of the helmet. And then threw up in it once you drank all of the beer.” You laughed, sitting next to him on the couch. He pats his knee for you to put your legs up and you do with gratitude.

“And you know that it’s against the Creed that you should never take your helmet off in front of a living being.” You smirk, knowing he hates how much you love the show.

He tuts and rolls his eyes. “My god you need to get a life.”

You chuckled. “The way of the Mandalorian is my life.”

Pedro pondered for a second. “Hang on, we started dating after the premier of the first season of the show right?” He asked, his brows raised while he ran his hand up and down your leg.

“Yeah, why’d you ask?”

“And we’d never met before the premier?”

You had a feeling you knew where this was going.

“Uhhh,” you stuttered. “Yeah I think so.”

“Now correct me if I’m wrong, but before the premiere of the show, I’m pretty sure you didn’t know who I was. And I obviously knew who you were. I’m sure I went to say hi to you, but you just smiled awkwardly and walked away. But right after the showing, I swear you were all over me like a fly on shit.” Pedro’s voice was inquisitive.

He was right.

You got invited to the premier as John knew how much you love Star Wars, and Boba Fett was your favourite character. So when the opportunity to go to The Mandalorian premier, you squealed and cried.

—————

The day of the premiere you were so excited. Taking inspiration from the Mando armour, your designer created the most beautiful 2 piece suit in the colour of the armour.

You knew of Pedro before the premier, having seen a few of his movies, but you’d never met him. On the red carpet, you two did have an awkward encounter. Pedro was the star of the show before you showed up.

As soon as you walked on the carpet, all the cameras and eyes were on you. You’d said that you didn’t want all eyes on you or to take shine away from the amazing people who had worked on the show, so you took a few photos and headed inside where you could mingle with a few people.

Just before the showing, Pedro walked over to you, a clear attraction from his side, having watched you perform at events for many years, he took a serious liking to you.

You thought he was cute, but because you didn’t know him, you just thought of him as a cute guy. He walked over and said hi to you. You gave him a sweet but awkward smile and excused yourself to head to the bathroom.

The show had started and boy was it amazing. As soon as it ended, John and Pedro stood from their seats, giving small nods while looking around at everyone cheering them on.

Pedro looked over to you and gave you a wink. You felt your heart stop and your palms began to sweat.

Is this what love at second sight looks like? You thought taking him all in.

Once everyone had disappeared from the theatre and headed into the bar area, you were on the hunt for him. Wanting to continue the ‘what could have been’ conversation. If only you had taken a few seconds to speak with him before, this would be a lot less awkward.

You take a deep breath in and begin your strut towards him. Luckily, he’s with John, so if things go awkward, you can lean on him to get you out of a sticky situation.

“Hey! Look who it is! We were just talking about you!” John cheers, holding his glass of brown liquid towards you to join him.

Pedro quickly spins to face you and his face turns a blush red. He clears his throat and wipes his sweaty palms on the back of his pants, hoping that it’s not too obvious that he’s nervous.

“Who knew you had such talent in that big ol’ head of yours!” You joke, pulling John in for a hug. He hugs you back, squeezing you just a little too tight.

You let out a joking ouch and break from the hug. You turn your attention to Pedro and butterflies erupt in your stomach. He’s beautiful.

You both look into each others eyes and not a word is spoken. It’s like everyone in the room has just disappeared and only you two remain. You could stay looking into his beautiful chocolate eyes forever.

“Now I want you to meet the star of the show.” John snaps you out of your trance. He moves around the small circle table and throws his arm over Pedro’s shoulder.

“This is Pedro, our very own Din Djarin. The man behind the mask.” John beams, being very proud of Pedro.

“And this lovely lady is-“

Before John could finish, Pedro interrupts.

“We’ve met before.”

You let out a shy laugh averting your eyes from him. He doesn’t take his eyes off you and a smile beams across his face at your laugh.

“I’ve been to a few of her shows actually, she’s brilliant.” He says with adoration.

He’d been to more than a few. At first, Sarah invited him to go, as she also really enjoys your music. He didn’t think anything of it first, but once you got on stage, he was hooked.

Pedro had been to about 20 of your shows over the years, sometimes even going alone just because he wanted to enjoy the shows you put on and admire you from afar. When he found out you were coming tonight, he wanted to shoot his shot.

Usually when celebrities come to your shows, you invite them backstage and hang out with them for a few drinks, discussing the show and other things. Pedro never made himself known, he’d been too nervous to go backstage.

You blushed at his comment. He’d been to a few of your shows? He’s never been backstage? You thought, wondering why he never took the invite, but you brush the thought off.

John rambles on about how the promotion for the show has been going and gets called away by someone, leaving you and Pedro alone at the table.

“So, how did you find the first episode?” He asks, shuffling on his feet.

“It was truly a masterpiece. You were amazing!” You express, trying to keep it cool.

He blushes, taking a step closer to you. “Thank you. It means a lot coming from you. The way you perform on stage is a work of art.”

Wow, your heart flutters

You engage with him in some casual conversation and head to the bar together to grab another drink. You both hit it off.

“So, uh, what are you doing in three days time?” Pedro ask taking a sip from his glass of whiskey.

“I’m performing at the Oscar’s.” You say. “Why’d you ask?”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink after? I’ve been invited to the Vanity Fair after party, but I can ditch that if you’re free?” He says, the whiskey giving him the courage he needs to ask you out.

“I was going to head to the Vogue after party but, I’d like to have a drink with you.” You blush, your wine helping you in this situation massively.

—————

“Now that I’m actually thinking about it…Did you only come over to me and John because you liked me as Din?!” Pedro gasps, pinching your legs.

You yelp and laugh. “Nooooo, of course not!” You lie. You never wanted to admit to him, but it was true. There was just something about him being the man behind the Baskar that turned you on.

“Oh my god it’s true!” He laughs, quickly standing from the couch.

He stands in front of you with a shocked face and hands on his hips.

“If I never took the job, you never would have gone for that drink with me would you? And you’d be shacked up with someone else who’d be playing Mano!” Pedro tuts, but his tone is jokey, wanting to get a rise out of you.

“Baby, come on. Please don’t make me say it.” You groan, throwing your head back on the couch.

“Say it.” He demands, kneeling down in front of you, placing his hands on your knees to balance himself.

“Fine! I felt more attracted to you as Mando. There!” You admit to defeat, wanting this conversation to be over and done with.

“But! The more I got to know you, the more I loved the man behind the mask. And I do! I love you more and more everyday, so it shouldn’t matter how I became attracted to you in the first place.”

Pedro laughs, patting your knees and playing a kiss on your forehead.

“And I love you princesa del pop. Even if you are a Star Wars loving freak.” He chuckles

“Your Star Wars loving freak.” You say, rolling your eyes at him.”

“Yes, yes you are.” He smiles at you lovingly.

———————-