#the one i used for this one is ny favourite so far

[stardink]

'Won't you stay with me, my darling

When this house don't feel like home?'

Island king au by @pillowspace

[weclassybouquetfun]

With the series two finale of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE here, there are a number of new interview with the cast and Rollin Jones. So far Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair (paywalled), the L.A. Times, TV Insider, ScreenRant and Decider have posted interviews. Surely, E.W. will hit soon.

NY Times has a new interview with Ben Daniels. Other than one or two interviews ahead of the premiere, Daniels has not done press due to the loss of his husband Ian Gelder (Game of Thrones). In the NYT interview he talks of not being able to watch this season due to the memories it brings back of filming while dealing with his husband's diagnosis.

In one of the interviews Sam Reid doubles down on Jacob Anderson's statement that only he and Sam will ever know what Louis and Lestat say to each other during their reunion.

Some of my favourite twitter reactions over the last few episodes.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

A Year in Review: All the times Meghan Markle been publicly called out in 2023. Highlights and favorite #MarkleMoment from last year? 📌Part 2 of 2

These are her humiliating moments over past year that she’s been publicly called out for in some way. All with proof, all archived from media reports around the world. Get cozy, save this post, and as always, appreciate the upvotes so it doesn't get targeted for downvotes! Posting it now as many of us will be celebrating Christmas with our loved ones. Although we are a diverse bunch, this unites us all :)

Here’s some from 2022 to inspire you:

Harry and Megan of “overseas”

the Funeral candle

no Jubilee balcony

voetsek Megan

I love the part where…(YouTube comments on their Netflix trailer)

Marriott Meg

12% Rotten Tomatoes rating for Netflix flopumentary, with her cutesy (mocking) curtesy

What was your favourite from 2023?

Meg inexplicably marching with the Invictus vets, at the front, while Harry is literally on the sidelines. https://archive.ph/wip/VG5SP

Meg wears a JCrew sweater to the Games. Her fans claim the Meghan effect crashed the site. JCrew comes out faster than Dior to clarify it was a confirmed outage for a website update.https://archive.ph/wufbS

Archetypes trademark abandoned. So much for the other platforms manifested clamouring for it. https://archive.ph/wip/yhziu

Embarrassing video at the fundraiser with Kevin Costner where she assumes she’s going to be given the mic by virtue of her being there, reached for it, and is very intentionally avoided and not given it. https://archive.ph/yeZDN

Despite the NDA attempts, information on how the NY Bench faux Royal visit does not let anyone speak negatively about her visit. Ever. She also demanded a new carpet. https://archive.ph/qAhnb

Snubbed by the Beckhams on their far more popular Netflix documentary. “Humiliated” by the snub from the Clooneys at their New York Foundation for Justice event.https://archive.ph/wip/GsB7j

Snubbed by Kim K birthday party, despite earlier pics with Doria and days before floating PR that Meg may do a cameo on KUWTK. Compounded by Kylie’s ‘boyfriend’ Chalomet talking about the Worldwide Privacy Tour earlier in the week. https://archive.ph/wip/BGvVP

Mocked on Family Guy for Netflix contract getting paid for nothing/ spon con Insta for Del Taco. Del Taco joins in and tweets about it. https://archive.ph/wip/Sm56V

Meg manifests a deal with Audible. Audible spokesperson shuts that down. https://archive.ph/KTLnP

William lands in Singapore for Earthshot to lit up architecture, Union Jack waving crowds, and an official tree planting at the airport. Meg and H attempt to compete by releasing a ‘candid’ pic of them at Katy Perry’s Las Vegas show (implying the standing people, phones were for them and not Celine Dion who walked in behind them). Cameron Diaz was also there, but didn’t get pics sold the same way. None of the other celebs present interact with them on camera. https://archive.ph/gnpjA

Dior signs Meg. No, not that Meg, but Meg the actress who plays Kate Middleton on the Crown. https://archive.ph/wip/lH6dY

Harry and Meg highly publicize their birthday call to Charles. The Palace discretely responds with detailed full itinerary of Charles’s busy day and evening, plus the press runs the fact that Charles doesn’t have a cell phone. Sussexes double down and pivot to it somehow being a prerecorded message sent (to where?) with Archie and Lili singing happy birthday. The world laughs or ignores them. https://archive.ph/i0uz8

Move along Meg on TikTok, after the video of her refusing to leave her basking on the press carpet at the Variety awards. Bonus is the real celebs inside clearly refused any pictures with her. The next day it’s confirmed she wasn’t even on the Guest List, which explains the Table 12 seating in no star names social Siberia. https://archive.ph/uC4Y8

Harry and Meg graciously are open to an invite for Christmas. Palace guest list leaks a day later, NFI. https://archive.ph/wip/0dEoi

Endgame is published. Omid claims to not be a friend of Meghan. Two Royal racist names are leaked to the Dutch publication based on Meg’s letter to Charles post Megxit. Omid blames the translator. No one publicly appears to believe them. There is not one single positive review of Endgame in major world newspapers. Omid later in the week acknowledges the names were in the Dutch manuscript. https://archive.ph/wip/Lr8XR

Hollywood Reporter lists Harry and Meghan as one of the biggest losers of 2023. https://archive.ph/E4hUt

Kitson’s Holiday Hypocrisy celeb window display in LA features Harry and Meg. Tik Tok notices. https://archive.ph/7yA3F

Ranker poll has both Meghan (#2) and Harry (#6) in the Top 10 list for Most Disliked Celebrities of 2023. Oprah, Hilary Baldwin,Ellen, Amber Heard (#1), and Bill Cosby also make the list. Update: They've recently become #1 and #4. https://archive.ph/OpKH5

Archewell 2022-2023 Impact Report highlighting ‘Restoring Trust in Information’, including ethical journalism, drops the same day Harry is fined $60K in court for providing misleading information - where he’s suing a newspaper. Court documents call it “ironic” given the “Duke of Sussex is responsible for misleading the court.” https://archive.ph/wip/1YtSe

Archewell’s 2022 financials reveal they only raised $2 mil (two anonymous $1 mil donations) vs $13 mill (also two anonymous donations) in 2021. Press brand it a “failure.” Notice they literally had only 4 donations in two years. https://archive.ph/wip/LqnuL

Not invited to any parties for Art Basel in Miami. Back in 2014, Markus organized a Soho party, invited Meg, and sat her next to Misha Nonoo. Context shows Meg has even less clout now than her pre Royal days.https://archive.ph/wip/aKYPL

Christmas card released. Largely ignored by world media. The response from other media: where are the kids? Called out for its embarrassing corporate look. https://archive.ph/fldEw

WME is "horrified" by Meghan Markle's sinking brand and association with Endgame, and may drop her in 2024. https://archive.ph/mye6j

(Honorable mentions to specific Harry’s moments: with Charles too busy to met, not going to France and hiking in Transylvania, and “in the realms of total speculation”. Harry pitches a Spotify show interviewing Putin, Zuckerberg, the Pope, etc on their shared bond of childhood trauma, Spare the most dumped holiday book of 2023. “Peace talks” between KCIII and Harry since he’s nearby in Germany for Invictus shut down less than 24h later. Persona non grata).

​Which ones did you not know or forget about?

It's been quite the year! To quote the Sussexes, thanks for all the support in 2023!

post link: A Year in Review: All the times Meghan Markle been publicly called out in 2023. Highlights and favorite #MarkleMoment from last year? : SaintMeghanMarkle (reddit.com)

author: somespeculation

submitted: December 17, 2023 at 02:25PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Today, on 8th February, 1976 - Queen Story!

New York, NY, USA, Beacon Theater

'A Night At The Opera Tour'

🔸Freddie Mercury was taking tea on the 47th floor of his New York hotel. In his suite. The Royal suite, of course. It was the morning after yet another triumph for Queen - that brilliant and highly original British rock band built around the outrageous ideas and stage presence of the exotic Mr.

Mercury. They had played their fourth concert in as many nights at the battered but fashionable Beacon Theatre, and wvith an album and a single in the American charts, they were riding high.

Warm tea was permitted to slide down Mr. Mercury's regal throat as he prodded gingerly at some nasty looking bruises on the side of his neck.

He explained, My very promising pop career nearly came to an untimely end last night. Two young girls outside the theatre decided to claim my scarf as a souvenir. They quite forgot that it was wrapped around my neck at the time, and they very nearly strangled me. I'm sure Her Majesty doesn't have to put up with this sort of thing. But then, she doesn't have anything in the charts at the moment does she?"

He is a wicked man, Mr. Mercury.

He is also everything that a rock idol is supposed to be, and New York has been quick to recognise this. Like Mick Jagger, Freddie has off-beat good looks. Jagger has those pneumatic lips, and Freddie has the most out- spoken set of teeth ever to have found their way on to a pop fan's wall. He also enjoys the lifestyle of a true superstar - he lives out our fantasies for us far more effectively than we could ever manage to do for our- selves. Even if we had his kind of money.

His dress sense is sensational. He seldom looks less than spectacular, and he is not the sort of chap who believes in going unnoticed. Satin is his favourite fabric, with silk coming a close second. And he loves those loose, floppy, Japanese-style jackets.

But as he is quick to point out, There is a quiet side to me too, you know.

My home life is very civilised, and I hardly ever dress up to watch the tele- vision. Unless I am watching a Royal occasion of course. Then, my dear, it's on with the tiara and the emine ..

the LOT!

But Freddie felt there were better things to do in the city of New York than sit around sipping tea and discussing sartorial matters. He in- vited photographer Terry 0ʻNeill and me to join him on a shopping expedition, and it seemed a reason- able idea. Freddie was his casual self in short fur coat, white satin slacks, white clogs and silver snake bracelet.

The problems we encountered were little ones. Like young girls sobbing softly outside the door of a shoe shop while Freddie sought some- thing for the regal feet inside. And then there was the confusion of the young lady in Bloomingdale's depart- ment store who began to give Freddie a free manicure, only to discover that the nails on his left hand were already painted with black lacquer.

Freddie said, I love America. But l cant imagine ever coming here to live.

Our music is successful over here because it is so distinctively English.

We must keep it that way. I have just bought a new house in London, and an enormous car that looks like a boat on wheels. I could never leave all that.

And I have far too much fun ever to worry about a silly little thing like tax.

I know l'm terribly extravagant.

I always have been. My life these days is one perpetual spending spree. So I suppose l am the sort of person who needs to find ways of reducing tax.

But it's all such a bore. Why don't you buy a pair of these beautiful glitter shoes? They 're outrageous. And they 're cheap. And they re much more interesting than tax, don't you think?

I did think so. But I decided against buying the lurid footwear. You have to be a star to wear shoes like that.

Somebody rather like Freddie Mercury, in fact.

[tactidoll]

Dollypop, got any rap recs?

so ive been planning on doing a series of playlists as a kinda introduction to rap, especially so after the dot vs drake beef has put rap back in the spotlight and made more people than ever actually aware of the lyrical content of these songs, its mostly been an issue of executive function beating my ass 5 ways to sunday lately, but suffice to say rap recommendations has been on my mind a lot lately

i could probably go on for a few hrs about hip hop and its place as the culmination of all music prior, but rap is a genre that more so than others rewards album listening so i will more often than not recommend albums over singles/tracks but ill try my best to isolate what i consider to be a well rounded list (no links cus i dont use spotify lmao)

theres a lotta ways to split up rap and hip hop as a whole into a thousand micro genres, especially when you take regions into consideration but i think im gonna go with just 15 tracks that cover as many bases as i can and give a little explanation for each track starting with

NY State of Mind - Nas: ny state of mind is THE classic in my books, dj premier provides the perfect boom bap beat for nas to make the final push to usher in a new generation of rap, literally sampling eric b and rakim in the chorus, the previous pair to bring the genre from the 80’s into the 90’s, furthering that push with more complex rhyme schemes and blending the street/gangsta rap of nwa and wu-tang with the jazzy introspection and philosophy of de la and tribe, a perfect set piece for the album of a desperate kid rapping and telling his stories like its his last day on earth because it just might be

Doomsday – MF DOOM: the manifesto of a super villain, a rulebook on rap, a re-emergence of a forgotten rapper, after the death of his brother and issues with the record label dropping KMD Zev Love X disappeared in ‘94 and then in ‘99 MF DOOM dropped operation: doomsday, the dizzying rhyme schemes and word play, the casual humor and pop culture and sampling referencing lends to a true statement of a song, that DOOM was here and was gonna change the world

4th Chamber – GZA: a dozen wu-tang tracks could’ve appeared on this list and all would be justified but 4th chamber is my favourite by far, starting with the now iconic samurai or kung fu film sample and then kicking into a crazy intro beat that calms slightly in time for ghostface killah to come in and pick it right back up with the first verse of this slick posse cut

Mathematics – Mos Def: Yasiin Bey Is a genius plain and simple, another track produced by preemo another masterpiece of a beat, Bey raps about the sociological statistics that work to keep the black population down in this mathematically driven guide through the politics of the late 90’s

You Got Me – The Roots: this track really shows just how good live instrumentation can be, black thought is one of the greatest of all time, simple as frankly I don’t have too much more to say its just a brilliant song

Wesley’s Theory – Kendrick Lamar: the opening to the greatest album of all time, opening with the mission statement of the album, the sample at the start before the james brown esque hit me pulls the tone back down to earth, part one of the track being a young kdots reactions to the money hes been looking for and part two kendrick plays the role of uncle sam the mascot of white supremacy looking to exploit over eager black artists and talents and lump them with a bill and lock them up when they cant pay it, the deep seeped politics, the groove of thundercat and george clinton of the parliments and funkadelic collectives and the dr dre break really helps sets the tone of the album

Jazz (We’ve Got) – A Tribe called Quest: the perfect jazz rap song, the beat was original made by pete rock before being remade by q-tip, a quintessential classic of the genre simple as

Shook Ones pt 2 – Mobb Deep: the greatest gangsta rap song of all time and frankly its not close its something spectacular, the hardest two 19 year olds ever sounded, over a dark almost evil beat produced by havoc this track is an absolute landmark for not just queensbridge but the entirety of the east coast

Introvert – Little Simz: this track is nothing short of spectacular, a powerful, cinematic, orchestral masterpiece, deep diving into her inner turmoil and her roots, the corruption of the british government, this song shook me to my core when I first listened to simbi, a rallying cry that calls for a war against the oppressing forces further tightening the chains if we ever are to be freed from the oppression

Don’t Cry – J Dilla: this song is gorgeous, chopping up I cant stand (to see you cry) by the escorts into a wonderful beat, made by jay dee in the final throws of his life, half worked on while hospital bound, frequent collaborator and fellow soulquarian questlove stated that this was a message to his mother as J dilla knew the end was near

Nuthin’ But A G Thang – Dr Dre ft Snoop Dogg: the quintessential G-funk banger the genre doesn’t get better than this

SORRY NOT SORRY – Tyler, The Creator: a weird choice for this list, I wasnt sure if I wanted to include it because its so tied to tylers discography but its honestly one of the best rap songs ever when you have the context, especially when you take into account the music video where tyler and all the various versions of himself stand before an audience of ex’s and other notable judgemental presences in his life, as he kills almost every version of himself barring the ‘ugliest’ sides of himself in igor and goblin era tyler potentially insinuating those parts of him still reside inside him

I Used to Love H.E.R – Common: this song is so very important, maybe the best use of metaphor in the whole genre, a fallen out of love story for that very same genre, fantastic storytelling and a great beat by no I.D. one of the most important producers and figures in hip hop out of chicago

Aquemini – Outkast: the title track from one the duos third album and really the record that put the dirty south on the radar on a nationwide level, a sign of their decision to stick together for as long as possible, andres verses really shows hes one of the all time greats and that big boi is not far behind at all

Hazard Duty Pay – JPEGMAFIA: this song was all I listened to for a few weeks after it release, an aggressive single verse track over a soulful beat what more could you want

[newmusickarl]

5-9’s Album of the Month Podcast – latest episode out now!

The latest episode of the 5-9 Album of the Month Podcast is here and it’s a bit of a sad one as 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt was unable to join us! So this time around it’s just me and Mama Mañana Records' Kiley Larsen reviewing five high profile album releases from the past month in music, ultimately naming one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion.

For our June 2024 episode, it was John Grant’s synth-soaked majesty on The Art of the Lie that took home the coveted Album of the Month title. For our latest episode, we look back at five big releases from July and the albums vying for recognition this time around are:

King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 by Denzel Curry

Django’s High by Future Utopia (Poll winner, thanks for voting!)

As Above, So Below by Highly Suspect

Harmonics by Joe Goddard

HEAVY JELLY by SOFT PLAY

If you want to listen to this or any previous episodes simply follow the links below, but also be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram, Twitter and now YouTube for more news and polls relating to the podcast.

Listen on Spotify here

Watch, like and subscribe to our YouTube channel here

Album & EP Recommendations

Wild God by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Let’s face it, Nick Cave doesn’t make bad records. However, even by his incredibly high standards across his illustrious career, his recent work has been truly exceptional, towering bodies of work. Fuelled by unimaginable tragedy, grief and loss, albums Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen rank among my favourite albums of the last decade, listening experiences that are beautiful yet emotionally devastating. His last album with just him and Warren Ellis, Carnage, was no slouch either, finishing in my Top 10 of the year back in 2021. Now both have reunited with the full Bad Seeds ensemble, and new album Wild God continues their recent hot streak.

Emerging out of the vast darkness, their eighteenth studio album is a much brighter and more joyous experience compared to its predecessors. Filled with uplifting, string-drenched arrangements, some of which include none other than Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood on bass duties, the lyrics also find Cave in a much more optimistic mindset. It all makes for another endlessly captivating listen, with Joy the real standout in the first half, as Cave’s poetic lyrics are spun across a mostly minimal, piano-led composition. However, the finest moments for me are in the back half, with the gospel cries and stomps of Conversion, the operatic and ghostly Cinnamon Horses and standout single Long Dark Night a particularly incredible trio.

Once again, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have crafted one of the finest albums I’ve listened to all year. Impactful and stunningly orchestrated, it’s another stirring collection of songs that will keep you absorbed across countless repeated listens.

Listen here

I Lay Down My Life For You by JPEGMAFIA

Another album that has quickly become one of my favourites of the year, NY-rapper JPEGMAFIA has followed up his sensational collaborative album with Danny Brown, 2023’s Scaring The Hoes, with arguably his strongest solo outing to date.

It’s a rap record but with punk rock energy, with most of the tracks here under the three-minute mark and plenty of heavy guitars powering the sonics. JPEG uses the record’s frantic pace to jump wildly between each bold idea, with the production never anything less than stellar. Collaborating with the likes of Flume and Kenny Beats on the production front, he also pulls in other current rap superstars like Vince Staples and Denzel Curry to lend a few bars too. It all makes for a thrilling wall-to-wall listen but if I’m to pick out just a couple of highlights, it’s the metal-charged SAN MIEDO and string-tinged experimentation of Exmilitary.

Colliding fast and furious bars with heavy punk, noise rock and industrial influences, all in mesmerising fashion, this is without a doubt the rap record of the year for me so far.

Listen here

No Name by Jack White

Another man who rarely disappoints, guitar maestro and all-round modern legend Jack White returned recently with a surprise new album. Initially stealth releasing on vinyl towards the end of July, the record officially released to streaming platforms and critical fanfare at the beginning of August. While I may not agree with the consensus that this is his best solo outing to date, there’s no denying that this is another fun and mightily impressive release.

You see while some critics have found White’s solo discography to be quite patchy, I’ve actually been a big fan of his output over the last 12 years. Blunderbuss and Lazaretto both boasted songs that could be dubbed as instant rock classics, Boarding House Reach was wild but always fascinating in its experimentation, and the duo of Fear of The Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive showed that White’s songwriting shone through, whether plugged or unplugged.

With No Name, for me, what we ultimately get is more of what White has already done before and proved he can do previously. That said, the lo-fi production and fuzzy rock riffs still sound terrific, especially on tracks like Old Scratch Blues, Archbishop Harold Holmes, What’s The Rumpus and Terminal Archenemy Ending. So, while it lacks anything new or revolutionary and brings with it an air of safe familiarity, there is no denying that White can still rock out. If you’re a fan of his previous work, you’ll still find plenty here to enjoy.

Listen here

Lagos Paris London EP by Yannis & The Yaw

And finally on the EPs front, Yannis Philippakis of Foals finally released his long awaited first solo project, Lagos Paris London. A dazzling, collaborative five track EP featuring the late-great Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, the EP is as vibrant and sonically adventurous as the globe-trotting title would suggest. While Yannis brings his signature guitar grooves to the table, some soaring string arrangements, jazz-like horns and Allen’s Afrobeat-style drums ensure the project always has a different feel to anything under the Foals banner.

Whilst the whole EP is well worth 20 minutes of your time, it is Rain Can’t Reach Us and Clementine that particularly stand out for me.

Listen here

Also well worth checking out:

DAYS BEFORE RODEO by Travis Scott

Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay

True Magic by Salute

This World Fucking Sucks by Cassyette

A Firmer Hand by Hamish Hawk

Participation Trophy by China Bears

Heartbreak Town EP by GIRLBAND!

Song Recommendations

The Emptiness Machine by LINKIN PARK

It’s been quite the month for big comebacks, hasn’t it?!

First came the colossal news that the Gallagher brothers would finally be reforming Oasis for a huge 2025 tour, before Linkin Park also made their long-awaited return, announcing new album From Zero will be dropping this November. The Emptiness Machine is the first taste of that new record and their first single to feature new vocalist, Emily Armstrong.

Emily’s arrival into the band has certainly caused controversy, with her links to Scientology already a hot topic amongst fans. While that debate will continue for the foreseeable, what is clear from this single and the band’s return livestream performance is that Emily certainly has the vocal capabilities needed to front the iconic, much-loved band. While of course no-one could fully replace the late-great Chester Bennington, I am glad to have Linkin Park back making music once again.

Listen to The Emptiness Machine here

Watch the livestream performance back here

All You Children by Jamie XX featuring The Avalanches

A late contender for song of the summer, this huge collaboration between Jamie XX and The Avalanches was on heavy repeat for me towards the end of August. Propelled by an infectious tribal beat that will just make you want to get up and dance, it’s left me hugely hyped for Jamie’s new album In Waves dropping in a few weeks’ time.

Listen here

He by Hayden Thorpe

Another album I cannot wait for dropping at the end of September, Hayden Thorpe’s adaptation of Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness will also soon be here. With book and album both inspired by Orford Ness in Suffolk, He is the ultra-groovy second single from the project. Featuring an endlessly fascinating arrangement that even includes a sackbut (a 15th century early trombone) and a spinet (a small 17th century harpsichord), Hayden's unique songcraft shines through once again.

Listen here

A Landlord’s Death by One True Pairing

And Hayden is not the only Wild Beasts alumni to be releasing new music this year. A month later in October, Tom Fleming will also be releasing his second solo album, Endless Rain. Working with acclaimed producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy, the singles so far have suggested a much more traditional and folk-inspired sound compared to his solo debut. A Landlord’s Death continues this hypothesis, featuring some stomping acoustic riffs, wild strings and a catchy chorus.

Listen here

Sick Of The Blues by Porridge Radio

Another album due for release in October, indie rockers Porridge Radio will be returning with their new opus, Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me. Sick of the Blues is the closing track for the project but also the album’s first teaser single, finding frontwoman Dana Margolin in an apathetic mood as raw rock riffs build and erupt around her.

Listen here

Straight To Heart by ALT BLK ERA

From MOBO and Heavy Music Award nominations to storming festival sets at the likes of Glastonbury and Download, there is absolutely no stopping ALT BLK ERA’s momentum right now. Now with their highly-anticipated debut album Rave Immortal due for release in January, the alternative sister duo have released the second taste of the upcoming record. The synth-soaked track highlights the continuing maturity of their songwriting, with Straight To Heart seeing Nyrobi open up and reflect on her agonising battles with chronic illness.

Listen here

Nothing Compares To Nineteen by Fiona-Lee

Another one of the UK’s most promising emerging voices, singer-songwriter Fiona-Lee has recently returned with her second-ever single. A hugely emotive track, it was written in the wake of Fiona tragically losing a lifelong friend after he took his own life. Recalling her struggles with anxiety, grief and depression, along with conversations with her father on mental health, it’s another hard-hitting single that absolutely soars.

Listen here

Split Lip by Dolores Forever

One of my other favourite new music discoveries in 2024, I’ve had the pleasure of catching indie-pop duo Dolores Forever twice over this summer’s festival season. With their debut album finally dropping at the end of September, Split Lip is one of the latest singles taken from the project and a song that really stood out in their live performances. Hugely anthemic amidst captivating vocal harmonies and shimmering synths, this upcoming record is slowly shaping up to be one of the best debuts of the year.

Listen here

One Day by Hallworth

Released at the end of August, singer-songwriter Hallworth also recently released her heartfelt new single, One Day. Inspired by the Netflix movie of the same name and written while she was in Nashville, it’s a stirring track about her struggles with a long-distance relationship. With Hallworth’s own tender vocals at the fore, it’s a gorgeously laidback love song that will have you hitting the repeat button.

Listen here

Never Meant by Iron & Wine / For Sure by Ethel Cain

And finally, this year marks the 25th anniversary of one of my favourite albums of all time and a seminal work that still inspires countless musicians today – American Football’s self-titled debut. To mark the occasion, the band are releasing a remastered version of the original record, along with a brand new covers version.

The first two of these covers have been revealed and they are both unsurprisingly stunning. Firstly, American singer-songwriter Samuel Ervin Beam transforms the iconic Never Meant into a wonderful, folky lullaby, reminiscent of Bon Iver. Then, the much beloved Ethel Cain has turned the haunting For Sure into a near 10-minute moment of beauty and ethereal transcendence.

If all the covers are to this standard, with more cuts from the likes of Manchester Orchestra and Blondshell still to come, this project could be something very special.

Listen to Never Meant by Iron & Wine here

Listen to For Sure by Ethel Cain here

Also worth checking out:

Ego by Halsey

You by Ktlyle

JACKIN’ THE SYSTEM by NOISY

Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins Cover) by Snail Mail

Hometown Edge by Kele

Bright Lights by The Killers

HERE WE GO! by Lil Nas X

Find The Way by Peggy Gou

SO WHAT by Confidence Man

SilverCane by Corinne Bailey Rae

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2024 tracks through my Best of 2024 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.Add the Best of 2024 playlist to your library here

[many-gay-magpies]

5, 8, 19 for the dbd ask game! xoxo

aaaa thank you so much for asking!! most of this has been put under a cut because apparently i had a lot to say hdhfjfbfb

5. Which character do you relate to the most?

i think out of the main cast, i relate most to niko, but i also relate somewhat to kashi—and i mean, the night nurse said they were alike, so that makes a kind of sense XD.

niko reminds me specifically of a version of myself i USED to be, or like, one that's lying dormant. she's awkward and reclusive and extremely literal with her language, and once someone takes her out of her box she's super friendly, but she doesn't know how to get HERSELF out of the box, so she needs a friend who openly and unashamedly enjoys her presence and invites her along to things (like edwin!). i'm getting better with socializing, but that definitely reminds me of MYSELF with the whole social vampire thing of, like, i wont interact with you in depth unless you invite me first. she also has a lot of knowledge about random and frequently creepy things (see "long pig"), which i relate to on a spiritual level, AND she has an incredibly bright and exuberant fashion sense, which i feel is the case for me as well. ALSO!! aro niko is basically canon as far as im concerned, and idk if thats because its actually viable; because i, an aro, projected onto her way too hard; or both of those things. honestly, it's kind of a surprise i'm not more obsessed with her, but maybe this is exactly WHY i'm not. her character's already familiar to me because i grew up with her in my head.

as for kashi, it's more like. specifically his view of his life and past experiences? like, the way he goes "really im not sure i HAVE any trauma" and night nurse goes "YOU WERE SWALLOWED BY A GIGANTIC FISH" and he smiles all wistful and goes "ah, one of life's many adventures!". even when i have bad experiences don't necessarily enjoy them in the moment, there's a part of my brain that's like. yes!! negative emotion!! so refreshing and fun!! this is evidence that we are human!! this is a symptom of life!! yes!! how joyous!! like i was a fucking alien in a past life or something and the little alien remains of my soul are so utterly fascinated by every aspect of human existence, whether its grim and painful or fun and full of love. so. me and kashi 🤝🤝🤝

8. A headcanon you have (that you havent seen talked about yet)!

idk if this counts as me not seeing it be talked about yet because the whole thing that SPURNED this headcanon was seeing someone offhandedly mention that crystal would probably be good at drawing due to having rich artist parents, but i imagine crystal being kind of an artist herself (and in fact ive written 2k words of fic about it! its on the backburner at the moment tho). her fashion sense is very reminiscent of the way an art kid would dress (see: ME), and it just feels like it makes SENSE given her parents' profession and how she might have been raised, growing up around art. i also feel like little kid crystal, seeing how much attention her parents gave to the OTHER artists in their installations, might have tried to gain their attention for herself by getting really good at art, before she realized the problem wasn't anything she was or wasn't doing; it was just her (or, more accurately, it was the fact that her parents were neglectful pieces of shit who probably never should have had a child).

19. Favourite actor from the show?

i don't really get into the actors of shows on a personal level, although i do love watching behind the scenes and interviews of them just goofing off and having a good time, so for this question—i don't really know? george rexstrew seems like a very nice and down-to-earth person, and jayden just seems cool and fun(ny), but they're all pretty much just guys (gender neutral) to me.

if we're talking acting... man idk, they're all so good. this being george's first onscreen role out of theater school is fucking amazing, he absolutely killed it, and the sheer DEDICATION is awe-inspiring (i think i read that he actually took ballet classes to help him walk and move like edwin?). all jayden's micro-expressions and actingchoices as charles blow me out of the fucking water, and kassius made crystal feel so real and genuine, and... yeah, i could go on XD.

[pick-and-shovel-laborer]

15 Questions For The Writer

1. Are you named after anyone? My mother named me after the guy in Carly Simon's song "Jesse"

2. When was the last time you cried? I think my father's funeral (July 2021)

3. Do you have kids? Nope.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Sometimes

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Stature/How they carry themselves and their body language. I'm very introverted so I watch and listen before I ever engage and so I typically see body behavior first.

6. What’s your eye colour? Brown

7. Scary movies or happy endings? Either one.

8. Any special talents? Writing, drawing to some degree, standup comedy, improv

9. Where were you born? Queens, NY

11. Have you any pets? None currently.

12. What sport do you play/have played? I used to play a little basketball; also took martial arts lessons as a kid though I never got too far.

13. How tall are you? 6'0

14. Favourite subject in school? Art

15. Dream job? Professional comic book artist/cartoonist, like Carl Barks and Don Rosa

tagging: anyone who wants to do this

tagged by: @shadowzgather

[howdidthisevenhappenanyway]

actually I’m going to do a rec list seeing as ao3 is down and also there have been quite a few hickups recently so maybe people will find it useful in the future

this year my favourite quantum bang story was absolutely a story called OB-1 by sunryder

Title: OB-1

Author: Sunryder

Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

Genre: Angst, Family, Kid!fic, Science Fiction

Relationship(s): Gen, background pairings

Content Rating: PG

Warnings: Discussion-Child Abuse, Discussion-Sexual Abuse, Discussion-Slavery, Self-Harm

Author Note: In the grand tradition of The Clone Wars cartoon, the moral of this story is: Never mistake the obedient choice for the right one.

Word Count: 79,685

Summary: For over a thousand generations, Jedi Knights have been the guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic. Force-sensitive children are brought to the Jedi Temple and there taught the ways of the Jedi. Throughout their youth these children undergo many trials, the last of which is to be chosen as an Apprentice before they turn 13. Despite his skill and talent in the Force, Obi-Wan Kenobi has been caught fighting another Initiate and deemed too angry to become a Jedi Knight. The Youngling has been expelled from the Temple to join the Agricorps instead…

(my synopsis: ob-1 is waylaid by a droid oc who will steal your heart before he headed off to bandomeer and that droids intervention not only prevented a lot of pain for Obi-Wan but also leads to a lot of very positive changes for the Jedi Order. it’s a case fic with a heart of gold)

jillyjames writes some really great sentinel fusion stories and tony dinozzo of ncis is her unicorn. my favourite of her sentinel works is by far a MCU crossover called Stick Around and its sequel Demons. The battle of new york scene remains one of my favourite fanfic action scenes i’ve ever read.

Title: Stick Around (prequel to Demons)

Author: Jilly James

Fandom: MCU/NCIS/The Sentinel

Genre: Romance, First Time, Contemporary, Crossover, Fusion, Sentinels Are Known AU

Relationship(s): Tony Stark/Tony DiNozzo (aka Dominic Rossi), Other Minor Pairings

Content Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Canon-level violence, explicit sex

Author Notes: I’ve taken liberty with the location of the FBI offices in NY—if you even can take liberties with the location of something in a fictional universe. Also, Tony DiNozzo’s name is Dominic Rossi, though he was born Tony DiNozzo. The reason for this is explained in the story. I just can’t do two people named Tony in a relationship. It’s too confusing.

Challenge: Written for the Little Black Dress Challenge on Rough Trade, July 2018.

Word Count: 24,079

Summary: In the aftermath of the battle of New York, Nick Fury recruits a sentinel to be the new handler for the Avengers. Dominic Rossi doesn’t want the gig, but Tony Stark thinks he’d like it if Dom stuck around.

she has also been writing some of the best Fox911 fanfic and singlehandedly brought me and many others into the fandom when she wrote a 911 fic for the quantumbang a few years ago. I don’t think I can choose one favourite so I encourage you to just go through the navigation of her site lmao

another fandom she brought me into with the power of fic was teen wolf with this really lovely fic. I was drawn in by the Lenny Kravitz casting of her OC and stayed for the hot pairing of mature characters.

Title: The Dark Road

Author: Jilly James

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Genre: Drama, Paranormal

Relationship(s): Gen. Minor OFC / OMC, vague hints of future Peter Hale/Noah Stilinski

Content Rating: R

Warnings: Canon-typical violence; Death of Minor Canon Characters; Murder; Character Bashing. References to hunters being raging bigots and committing terrible crimes, also references to atrocious canon events (Hale fire, everything Kate).

Word Count: ~34k

Summary: When the Hale house burned, most of his family died, and his new alpha left him for dead, one member of Peter Hale’s pack refused to leave him behind.

one more before I go clean my fridge.

ellywinkle has some great adventure stories, I love this ncis/stargate crossover:

title: Trust Issues

Author: Ellywinkle

Fandom: NCIS/Stargate Series

Rating: R

Warnings: Character Bashing, Death – Major Character, Discussion – Murder, Discussion – Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Violence – Canon – Level

Genres: Alternate Universe, Canon Divergent, Crossover, Established Relationship, Science Fiction, Slash

Relationships: John/Rodney, pre-Ronon/Tony

Word Count: 78,112

Author Note: This starts during the NCIS episode Dead Air. The Stargate Series are AU, so don’t waste a lot of time trying to sync the timelines. Also, DADT has already been repealed, because I refuse to mess with that. Thanks to Jilly James for help with the art. The line about attraction to your brother’s spouse was completely for her. While I have seen many stories use avatars for Atlantis, Keira Marcos’ Lantean Legacy was the first time I had seen it adapted to individual ships in Stargate. I hope my Alex lives up to that standard.

Summary: While taking voice prints for a case, Special Agent Tony DiNozzo stumbles across a kidnapping. His trust in his team is shattered when his expected rescue never appears. Now he finds himself forced to use every skill he has to keep himself and his fellow victim alive as he is thrust into a universe that is much larger and deadlier than he ever imagined.

[holdmeclosertinytaron]

RHW: Chapter Seven

Story Page / Playlist / Wattpad / AO3

A/N: The chapter where things...take a turn, let's say. I genuinely think that this is my favourite chapter so far. It's so sweet and just ugh! @brayndilyn

Word Count: 11.2k (the longest one yet!!)

Warnings: Explicit language, mentions of childhood trauma, smut...

March 6th, 2022

The steam that filled Liliana’s bathroom allowed her to breathe for what felt like the first time since she’d left Taron’s hotel room in New York. After an almost eight hour plane ride where she hadn’t been able to sleep, a hot shower had been first on her to-do list when she finally fell through her door. A shower in her own bathroom. Something she hadn’t realised she would miss as much as she did. 

As soon as the first drops of hot water hit her skin, she sighed happily and let her head fall forward so that the water could trickle onto the back of her neck and down the length of her back. Goosebumps raced to the surface of her skin and she shivered involuntarily. Being away from home for almost a month had stressed her out more than she thought it would have, but that stress washed away instantly in the shower. 

Every few days on tour she had been in yet another unknown bed, having nobody to talk to once Evelyn and Jacob left her room to go to bed themselves or do some work that they’d put off during the day. When she’d been in Boston, she’d been able to text Taron but after everything that happened in New York, her texts went unanswered, leaving her alone with her thoughts and the incessant nagging feeling of wanting to be home. 

In the two weeks between leaving Taron’s hotel room and getting home and him being at the airport waiting for her, she could count on one hand the number of messages he’d replied to. Things had ended so badly in New York and it was all she could think of on the flight home. She thought about going to his flat to see him and talk to him. But she didn’t need to. 

When she saw him, she had to rub her eyes to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. He was the last person she had expected to see when she got to the arrivals lounge at Heathrow. He’d made a sign reading ‘NY Bestselling Author Liliana Esme’ and held it in front of him with a grin just as cheesy as the sign. She ran into his arms and held him tight. 

He held her back just as tightly after he dropped the sign to the floor. When they finally pulled apart, Taron grabbed the handle of her suitcase while she bent down to get the sign. He looked at her curiously to which she’d told him that she wanted to keep it. 

Taron hadn’t mentioned anything about New York during their journey to her flat, or when they got back and she’d told him to make himself comfortable while she had a shower. Taron’s hoodie sat unfolded at the end of her bed from where she’d peeled it off before her shower. She’d lost count of how many times she’d worn it since that night in New York. 

Neither of them had uttered a word about that night and as much as Liliana wanted to ignore everything that had happened and just continue as they were before, she knew that it would be near impossible. They were so close to sharing their first kiss and then she’d just…walked out on him and then hadn’t spoken to him since. Not for lack of trying. 

The shower had been so hot that as she stepped out, the room was filled with a humid mist. She cleared the bathroom mirror with the corner of her towel and took a minute to really look at herself. Her skin was dull and her under eyes were such a deep purple that it looked like she’d been in a boxing ring with Mike Tyson. She tugged and pulled at her face, inspecting it close up. She let out a frustrated sigh and let her hands drop to her sides. It would take some serious skin care to make her feel better. 

The moisturiser she used everyday was still at the bottom of her suitcase and she didn’t want to mess around trying to find it so she grabbed the expensive one that she kept for special occasions from the drawers next to the sink. She massaged it into her face and let her eyes fall closed. With the steam in the room, the feeling of exceptionally clean skin, and the smell of her moisturiser, she could close her eyes and pretend that she was at a spa being treated to the good stuff. 

Even just a tiny bit of moisturiser was enough for her to feel a little better but the tips of her fingers were tingling from the dryness of her skin. She made a mental note to give herself a full at home facial the following day. Maybe she would ask Evelyn to join and they could make a girls’ night out of it. 

Her hair dripped water onto the tiled floor as she padded through to the bedroom to get changed. The sun had started to set over the London horizon– not that she could see it fully from her flat– and a beautiful golden stream of light flooded the floor, warming her feet as she scrunched her toes into the carpet, one of her favourite feelings. 

‘Taron,’ she called through the flat from the bottom of the stairs that led to the other rooms, ‘I’m just going to get changed so please don’t leave whatever room you’re in for a couple of minutes.’ 

‘Okay,’ he responded from the kitchen. She could hear the soft chuckle that laced his words and the corners of her lips twitched into a soft smile. ‘Where the fuck do you keep your mugs, by the way? This kitchen might be tiny but it’s like a maze!’ 

‘Cupboard behind the door,’ she laughed, holding the towel a little tighter around herself. ‘Why?’ 

‘Because unless you want a cuppa tea in a pan big enough to share with the entire population of London, I need to find a mug for you.’ 

‘Tea?’ She asked happily, her eyes glazing over at the thought of a proper cuppa. ‘A pan of tea sounds heavenly right now. Do you know how much I paid for a pack of twenty tea bags in New York? Eight freaking dollars! Nearly seven quid for tea bags!’ 

‘Daylight robbery if you ask me,’ Taron joked happily. Liliana smiled, happy that they were able to ignore what had happened for a little while and just be again. ‘Right, I know you’re a weirdo who has a specific mug that you like for tea and I can guarantee that it isn’t this aztec one at the front of the cupboard, so which mug do you want?’ 

Liliana’s heart soared at Taron and she took a deep breath to stop herself from doing anything rash. ‘I’ll have that one.’ 

‘Lil, which mug do you want? I know you enough to know that this is the one you absolutely do not want to use.’ 

‘You’re going to think I’m weird though.’ 

‘Too late for that,’ he laughed. ‘Which mug?’ 

Okay so put your hand on the purple heart mug, then move it back two and to the right once. You should land on a black mug that has a little patch of weird looking sunflowers on it. It’s my colour changing one. The mug behind that one should be a blue Cath Kidston one with clocks all over it. I’ll have that one please.’ 

She could picture Taron shaking his head as he blindly followed her instructions, and she winced when she heard a few of her mugs move and clash against one another in the cupboard. It took a lot for her to not run into the kitchen and do it herself, but she knew that she could trust Taron to get one. And he was being nice enough to make her a cuppa. The worst case was that she had to reorganise the cupboard when he was gone. 

‘You truly are the weirdest person I know,’ he sighed. ‘Who remembers exactly where each mug is in their cupboard? To the point that even after being away for a few weeks, they still know? Oh I know, that would be Liliana Esme.’ 

‘I like specific mugs and if people use my favourite ones I get really antsy and can’t deal with it.’ Her toes curled at the thought of someone using her best mugs. She shook her body to rid herself of the uncomfortable feeling. ‘But shut up and let me get dressed, please.’ 

‘One last question. What mug can I use?’ 

‘Whichever one you want to.’ 

‘But you just said-’ 

‘Use whichever you want. I need to get dressed.’ 

The sound of the kettle boiling motivated Liliana to get dressed a little quicker. A proper brew was all she needed to feel better. A hot mug filled with steamy tea sweetened with two small spoonfuls of sugar. She could taste it already. 

‘Lil, you have no milk!’ 

‘Oh for fuck’s sake. It’s fine, I’ll have it black please. But I’ll have an extra sugar.’ 

‘It’s fine, I’ll run to the shop quickly. What milk do you have?’ 

‘Taron, it’s fine,’ she called as she pulled her cycling shorts up her legs, jumping on the spot to get them to where she wanted them to sit on her waist. ‘I’ll have a black tea tonight and then I’ll go to the shop tomorrow morning. It’s all good, I promise.’ 

She quickly threw on an oversized t-shirt and slid her feet into the slippers at the top of the stairs. Taron fumbled around the kitchen, not sure where anything he needed was. Even though he’d been to the flat a number of times since Christmas, he hadn’t been the one to make drinks. 

‘I can nip to the shop. It’s two seconds down the road and you’ve been away and need a proper brew.’ 

‘Taron,’ Liliana whispered as she got to the kitchen. He hadn’t been looking at the doorway as he spoke so he’d missed the way she smiled fondly at him, and the way that she’d taken a long, deep breath. ‘About New York.’ 

It was a drastic change of subject but Liliana knew that if she didn’t talk to him about it then, she wouldn’t have talked about it at all. And they’d both avoided the conversation for way too long. 

‘It’s alright,’ he said quickly, turning around so that he could look at her. He let out a breathy laugh when he saw her hair in the towel at the top of her head but turned serious instantly when he saw how serious she was. ‘You were vulnerable, and I overstepped the mark completely. We don’t have to have this conversation right now. Or ever. I shouldn’t have done what I did. It was stupid and-’ 

‘You didn’t do anything wrong,’ Liliana whispered. She bit her top lip into her mouth and let it go slowly before she continued. ‘You were so sweet and caring and I just…shut you down. It’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve never been good at the whole feelings thing. Even when I was younger.’ 

‘I did do something wrong,’ he insisted, stepping closer to her, wanting to be as close as he could without making her feel uncomfortable. ‘You had just told me everything I wanted to know, you let me understand you fully and then I went to try and kiss you? That’s not a good thing, Liliana. I would have been taking advantage of you. You told me in New York that you always felt safe at my house growing up?’ 

‘I did,’ she responded, resting her body against the doorframe. She pulled the towel away from her hair and threw it at the washing machine in the corner of the room. A few stray drops of water fell onto her back as she brushed through her hair with her fingers so that it looked a little less dishevelled. ‘I still do. At Christmas when I walked into your mum’s house, something happened and I don’t know how to even begin explaining it. I haven’t felt that safe for so long. And then you walked in with the girls and I just…’ 

Liliana trailed off and ran her hands down the length of her face with a sigh. She didn’t know how to articulate the feelings that ran rampant through her. There wasn’t one specific emotion that she felt, it was more like a hurricane of different ones blowing around her head at such a speed it made her dizzy. 

‘Pictured a life where you had a family coming home to you and you got scared because you worry that any relationship you ever have is going to end like your mum and dad’s did?’ Taron finished for her. 

Liliana nodded solemnly with a small hum.‘I can’t put kids through the shit I went through. It wouldn’t be fair to them. For them to get to my age and still have nightmares about the things that they heard. To be so scared to fall in love because the worry of things ending badly outweighs every positive that could possibly happen. Even when the guy they love is the most amazing person they’ve ever met, who knows how weird they are and that they like to use a specific mug for their tea; who will laugh at them singing in the street rather than telling them to shut up; who will surprise them in New York just so they could spend time together. How did you know? That I felt like that?’ 

‘Because walking into the house that day felt more like walking into a home than it has since I was a teenager. Since you were there,’ Taron said softly, reaching forward to grab Liliana’s hands. She let his fingers graze hers before she pulled back slowly. Taron didn’t flinch. He let her pull away despite wanting to wrap her in a bone crushing hug. ‘When you told me that you were leaving and going to Edinburgh for uni, I felt physically sick for days. I thought that I was going to lose you. I guess in the end, I did. But I’ve been here this entire time. Right here, waiting. And I don’t want to wait for you anymore.

‘I don’t want to think about all the what ifs that have been running around in my head for all these years. What if I’d told you how I really felt? What if I ran away to Edinburgh with you? What if I’d tried harder? I want to try now. I want to be everything you’ve ever wanted, and all you’ll ever need. I know that you’re scared, and you have every right to be scared with everything that you’ve gone through, but I love you. 

‘I am in love with you, Liliana Esme. Whole, painful, true love. It’s like I have fireworks going off in my body continuously when you’re around, my love for you burns so intensely that I can feel it in my fingertips. I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you. Lil, you must know that after everything you’ve ever told me, I will always be in your corner. As your friend or as your partner. I want this. I want you. I already know that if you feel the same way that it’ll be hard for you to fully let yourself feel and be happy, but I am so in love with you that I’ll go at whatever pace you feel comfortable with. Even if it takes years, I’ll be here.’

Liliana could do nothing but stare at him. Out of all the possible scenarios that she’d imagined when she thought about the conversation they would have about New York, standing in her kitchen doorway with wet hair dripping down her back, Taron leaning against the worktop with two mugs behind him, his hands at either side of his body holding him up and his eyes growing red with tears wasn’t one of them. 

‘Okay maybe I hadn’t overstepped in New York. But I definitely have now.’ Taron pushed himself forward and towards the door. ‘I’ll just g-’ 

‘I haven’t slept in days,’ Liliana confessed, blocking him in the kitchen so that he couldn’t leave. ‘Because all I can think about is you.’ 

Taron stepped back into the kitchen and sniffed quietly as he looked at Liliana. He didn’t say anything else. Partly because he knew that she hadn’t finished talking, but partly because he didn’t know what to say. He’d poured the most vulnerable part of himself out to her and now the ball was in her court. 

‘When I left your room in New York, I cried myself to sleep hugging your hoodie. I thought I’d ruined everything. It was like I’d just gotten you back and my life was starting to feel like mine again, and then I left you and I just thought that I’d lost you again. I didn’t know how I was going to survive losing you a second time when I was barely hanging on the first time.’ 

‘Lil,’ Taron started, but Liliana cut him off with a soft shake of her head. 

‘They talk about falling in love like it’s this big, sudden feeling that you only know when you know. Love is described as this thing that you fall into, like a door opens and you realise that you’re somewhere new, and that you love the person in front of you. You go from feeling a kind of adoration for them to being in love with them. But nobody talks about falling in love slowly, over time, to the point where you don’t even realise that you’ve fallen in love until you’re watching them read your little sister a story before bed on Christmas Eve.’ 

They both stood in silence for a few seconds, Taron looking at Liliana and Liliana looking at the floor. Her eyes were damp and she couldn’t contain the tears that were starting to fall down her cheeks, no matter how hard she tried. When she finally looked back to Taron, his expression mirrored hers, tears falling and a grin plastered on his face. 

‘I am in love with you, Taron. That feel-so-much-you-get-scared kind of love. The kind of love that terrifies you because you’ve never felt that way before. The kind of love that makes you my every thought, and the only person I ever want to think about. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’d lay in bed trying to sleep and wondered what would have happened if I had told you sooner. Before I left for Edinburgh. Because I have loved you for longer than that. I’ve loved you since that day we got caught in a rainstorm at the top of the hill.’ 

Taron reached forward for her once more and she didn’t pull away. She let herself fall into him, and he caught her. He caught her and held her so tightly that she knew that she was safe. That she would always be safe as long as he was around. 

‘Fall,’ he said firmly. ‘And I’ll catch you. I’ll always catch you.’ 

It took milliseconds for tears to fall down Liliana’s cheeks, but Taron wiped them away with his thumb the second he saw them. He let his eyes close as he held her close to his front again where he rocked her gently and kissed the top of her head so softly she could have mistaken it for a light breeze brushing around her. 

‘I won’t let you go like I did before. I won’t let you leave thinking that you weren’t loved. Because as long as I’m around, you’re always going to be loved.’ 

‘Taron.’ She pulled out of his embrace just enough to look at him fully, a small smile tugging at her lips when she found him already looking at her. ‘I love you.’ 

Taron caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, letting the heat from her skin erupt volcanoes in his stomach. He could smell her shampoo and her shower gel and it was all too much and not enough of her. For so long he’d wondered what it would feel like to have her in his arms, to know that they both felt the same. 

Liliana looked up at him gently as she fisted his t-shirt to keep him as close to her as she could. It had taken her too long to open up to him about how she felt towards him to let him go now. He was already watching her when her eyes met his again. She took a deep breath and her chest pushed against his more. 

A noise halfway between a gasp and a moan escaped her and her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. Taron laughed softly and hooked his fingers under her chin to pull her face up to him. Her breath jittered a tiny bit at the way he looked at her, his eyes a shade brighter than she’d ever known with the most beautiful twinkle. Liliana would never look at a star the same way again. Not after she’d seen them in Taron’s eyes. 

His eyes flicked from hers down to her lips before shifting back up to her eyes again. He wet his lips as Liliana sighed softly at him. 

‘Lil,’ he whispered as he caressed her cheek once more, tiny fires igniting under her skin with each pass of his fingers, ‘I’ve wanted to kiss you every day since we were eighteen years old on top of that god forsaken hill getting caught in the rain.’ 

Taron’s confession had both of their hearts beating faster. Liliana bit her bottom lip into her mouth as she stared at him. She couldn’t look away. He was intoxicating, her favourite bottle of wine that she simply couldn’t have one sip of. She had to have it all. She wanted to have all of him, whatever the consequences. 

‘I’ve wanted to kiss you forever, Lil. I wanted to kiss you on your happiest days. I wanted to kiss you on your hardest days. I wanted to kiss you even when we weren’t together all those years. You are… God you are perfect, and I really, really, really want to kiss you.’ 

‘Then kiss me.’

Taron let his free hand find purchase at her waist as he watched her intently. He watched the way her tongue wet her lips softly…slowly, taunting him in the best way; the way she blinked up at him innocently, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks; the way that her chest rose closer to his with each breath.

Her hands found their way to his waist where she held him tightly against her, unwilling to let him go now that she had him. 

Time stopped as his breath fanned over her lips and goosebumps rose across her legs. Her breathing was shaky as she took a peek at him. Words failed them both, but their looks spoke volumes. Taron’s eyes told her that she was safe and that he wouldn’t do anything she wasn’t comfortable with, while Liliana’s told Taron that she was all in. 

They looked at each other through wet eyelashes, their cheeks stained from fallen tears, and their hearts were both full and heavy from their own confessions. Liliana, for the first time in her life, didn’t want to run away from love. 

All the feelings she’d had when previous boyfriends had told her they loved her weren’t there. She didn’t want to pack a bag and leave in the middle of the night like she’d done before, sending nothing but a text in her wake. She wanted to run into it with open arms and embrace all things that come with being happily in love. 

Liliana had known Taron for as long as she could remember. He was the person who was with her when her parents split up and she lost the ability to believe in love. He was the person who dropped everything to be with her. He was who she wanted. 

Taron loved Liliana in a way that she knew if something was wrong or he fell out of love with her, he would tell her instead of sleeping with somebody else. She could trust him with every fibre in her being and it made falling for him that much easier. 

Liliana whimpered softly as Taron leaned down a little more. Their lips were so close that it would take one swift movement for them to be pressed together fully. Taron let his breath fan over Liliana’s top lips before he pressed against them so softly they could barely feel it. It was a tickle of a kiss, but a tickle that had a zap run the length of Liliana’s back.  

She leaned her head up the extra millimetre to allow her lips to press against Taron’s completely. In less than a second, her entire body relaxed and she sighed into him. Her eyes closed as she breathed him in. His lips were soft and she wondered why they’d never kissed before. It was magical, and all that other fairytale stuff that she’d stopped believing in years before. 

It was the right kiss. 

Taron pulled her into his body even more so that their chests were flush for a second. He pecked her lips three times before pulling away. Liliana’s eyes stayed closed for a little while, taking in the moment and committing it to memory to relive whenever she needed to. 

As her eyes blinked open and she looked at him, her lips pulled into a shy smile. Taron rubbed his nose against Liliana’s before pressing one last peck to her lips. He couldn’t get enough of her. The way she looked at him took his breath away, and he had to plant his feet firmly on the ground to stop himself from swaying. 

‘God, Lil,’ he breathed. ‘You are so…I’m so…Jesus, you’ve literally rendered me speechless.’ 

A blush rose to Liliana’s cheeks as she peered up at him, her lips pulling back to his. ‘Kiss me again,’ she just about managed to mumble. ‘Please.’ 

Taron cupped Liliana’s cheeks and planted his lips over hers completely. They slotted together perfectly, and as he traced her lower lips with his tongue, begging silently to give her more, she sighed into him happily and granted him the thing he wanted as though it was the only thing she wanted to do ever again. 

His tongue explored her mouth the same that hers did his, and Liliana let out a soft, almost inaudible moan when Taron nibbled on her lower lip slightly. Liliana’s hands grabbed whatever part of Taron she could just to try and remain upright. She gripped his waist, the hem of his t-shirt, his biceps, his cheeks, his neck, his hair, and everywhere else that she physically could. 

It was an impossible task for both of them to try and find just one place to keep their hands. They played Twister around one another’s body trying so desperately to find purchase for their hands. 

The kiss was passionate, sweet but messy as they almost knocked teeth a couple of times. They needed so badly to show one another how much they meant every word that had been shared between them that evening. 

Taron wanted to show Liliana that he was going to be there for her through everything, that he wanted her through better or for worse. Liliana wanted to show Taron that she trusted him wholly. That she wanted to surrender her heart to him because she truly believed that he would be the person to look after it, and her. 

They poured two decades worth of feelings into one kiss and they were lost in it. They wanted to stay there forever, in the moment that changed the entire trajectory of their lives. Where they’d both admitted their deepest secrets to one another and were met with nothing but requited love. 

Neither of them wanted to be the first to pull away from the kiss, even when they were struggling for breath. Taron, when he physically couldn’t breathe any longer, pulled away first, just enough that they could breathe easily but where they were still tangled together. He looked down at Liliana as her chest heaved while trying to catch her breath, and she mirrored the smile on his face. 

His hands, which had finally settled on the small of her back, rubbed Liliana’s skin softly as he looked at her, so in love that he couldn’t help but just stare at her. Liliana toyed with the material of his t-shirt, something she had come to realise calmed her and helped her to stay grounded and not float into the atmosphere. 

She looked at him with a gentle smile as she stepped onto her tiptoes to press one last peck to his lips. ‘I know you said that we could take this at my pace, and I appreciate you for that more than I will ever be able to put into words, but right now all I can think about is taking you to my bedroom and showing you just how much I love you.’ 

Liliana could see Taron’s breath hitch as he looked at her with wide eyes. He blinked at her rapidly as he licked his lips and took a deep, shaky breath. Liliana’s eyes never left his and she didn’t show an ounce of hesitation, something that Taron hadn’t quite been prepared for. 

‘Lil, I meant what I said. I’m happy to just take things slow so that you feel comfortable. I don’t want to push you into something that you might not be ready for. Please don’t be suggesting this for me, because as much as I would love to do that too, I am genuinely so prepared to wait as long as it takes, years, if that’s what you need. Forever and a day, as long as you are ready. I know how hard it is for you to open up and I don’t want you to go too far too fast and then regret it. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.’ 

‘Taron,’ she said as she cupped his cheek. She could feel the beginnings of stubble tickle her skin and she smiled to herself. ‘I want to. I want to show you how much I love you. How much I trust you. I want you to show me how much you love me. Please? If you have reservations then that’s totally fine but I’m ready if you are.’ 

Taron licked his lips with a small, knowing grin that inched into a smirk as he held Liliana’s waist tightly. ‘Take me to your bedroom, Lil.’ 

***

The second they got to Liliana’s bedroom, her nerves barrelled to the surface. Taron, able to read Liliana with just one look, could tell that she was nervous so kept his movements slow and light, giving Liliana the space to step away if she needed to. He could tell that Liliana was holding back from him.

‘Lil, we really don’t have to, you know.’ 

‘No, it’s not that I don’t want to. I really do. I’m just…scared? I guess. This is a big deal and I’m a little bit nervous, which seems so silly at my age but you’re you and you’re perfect and I’m-’ 

‘Perfect,’ Taron finished for her. He kissed her lips and she turned to putty in his arms. He chuckled at her and guided her hands to his t-shirt so that she could be the one to take it off, when she was ready. ‘One step at a time, yeah? We can stop whenever. It doesn’t bother me. Even if we’re in the throes.’ 

 Liliana burst into a fit of giggles and let the hem of his t-shirt go so that she could balance herself against him. ‘Never, and I mean never, say ‘in the throes’ again. I’m begging,’ she laughed loudly. Taron laughed with her while nuzzling his nose into the top of her head. ‘I love you.’ 

The words came so effortlessly that they made Liliana stop for a second. She looked at Taron, who was already smiling down at her. Liliana was calm. She felt safe and steady rather than full of butterflies like she was used to. 

‘I love you,’ she repeated, the corners of her lips twitching up into a smile, her eyes sparkling. Taron looked at her with the same glint in his eyes. ‘I love you. I love you. I love you.’ 

‘I love you too, Lil. So fucking much. You have no idea.’ 

‘I think I do.’ 

Liliana grabbed the hem of Taron’s t-shirt once again and tugged it up over his body, throwing it to the bedroom floor before she pressed her lips back to Taron’s. She wouldn’t ever forget how perfect he was, or how right it felt to kiss him again and again, as though she’d never gone a day without kissing him before. 

Every kiss she’d had before Taron felt obligatory and as though it was just what was expected of her. And at the time, it felt right, and she’d liked it. But kissing Taron, and knowing that kissing someone could feel like absolutely everything, she knew that no other kiss had ever meant anything before. 

Running her hands over his abdomen, Liliana took a sharp intake of breath. After so many years of only being able to look, it was nice to be able to feel him. His stomach was soft and squeezable in areas but there were harder areas where his abs were starting to protrude against his skin. Liliana traced each one with a featherlight touch and he squirmed away from her. 

‘You’re ticklish?’ She giggled into his mouth, running her finger over his abdomen again to get the same reaction from him. ‘Oh my god, you are ticklish! How did I not know this? Have you always been ticklish?’ 

‘It’s mean to do that,’ he pouted against her when she did it a third time. 

Liliana caught his lip in her mouth and moaned into him when he held her firmly by the bum to crash her body into his once more. Their hips pressed together and Liliana could make out the hardness of him through his jeans. 

‘Can I take your top off?’ Taron asked sceptically, pulling a kiss from her lips before holding back to look at her fully. ‘You know, seeing as though you were mean and tickled me.’ 

Liliana nodded with one last giggle that turned into a gasp when Taron’s fingers trailed across the waistband of her shorts. He smirked to himself as he held his palms flat against her skin to push the clothing up her body while also tracing her skin at the same time. 

Her skin was soft under his slightly calloused hands and Liliana’s eyes closed at the feel of him. When he reached her breasts he paused. After her shower, Liliana hadn’t bothered to put a bra on, and Taron could tell that her nipples were getting hard from the friction of his hands and the anticipation of what was coming. 

‘Do you not have a bra on?’ He asked, though he already knew the answer. 

Liliana squirmed when he pulled her top off fully and eyed her breasts. He swallowed thickly, and even with the serious look, Liliana could still see the boyish glint in his eyes. ‘They’re uncomfortable so I just didn’t put one on after the shower.’ 

‘God, you are so beautiful,’ Taron whispered. 

With his hands on her shoulders, slowly massaging the muscles so well that her head started to fall forward, he pushed her away from him just enough that he could look at her properly. He wanted to take her in for the first time. 

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and swallowed thickly. Liliana saw the shift in his eyes. His pupils grew three times their normal size, hiding most of the green of his irises. When he let his lip go, she ran the pad of her thumb over it softly. Taron kissed it lightly. He continued to look at her bare for him, hardly able to believe that they were there. 

Liliana started to grow conscious of how bare she was and started to overthink how she looked so she lifted her hands to try to cover herself. Taron looked at her in disbelief and took her wrists in his hands to stop her from hiding. 

‘I don’t think so,’ he mumbled. He looked deeply into her eyes and leaned forward to suck another kiss from her already swollen lips. Liliana melted into him and let her arms go limp, no longer bothered about hiding herself from him. 

Taron, now knowing what it was like to kiss her, and to have her kiss him back with the same amount of passion and longing, never wanted to stop feeling that feeling. He wanted to feel that every day for the rest of his life. He’d waited every day for half of his life. 

‘You don’t ever have to hide your body from me, okay?’ He said while trailing his fingers up the length of her arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. ‘But if you feel like you want to stop then-’ 

Liliana crashed her lips to Taron’s to shut him up and pressed her front into him entirely. She could feel the firmness of his chest against her breaths. Taron stumbled back a tiny bit before he regained his balance and pulled her into him, lifting her feet off the ground as he did. 

When Liliana pulled away for air, Taron held her hand and spun her around once so that he could look at her fully. A blush rose to her cheeks but Taron whistled to himself. ‘You are perfect.’ 

He leaned in to peck her lips before he cupped her cheeks with his hands. ‘Absolutely perfect.’ 

His last admission was more for himself than Liliana, but she appreciated it nonetheless. Taron reattached their lips in a passionate kiss as he walked Liliana back slowly until the back of her knees hit the soft duvet of her bed. Liliana could feel her heart rate increase as Taron pushed her down slightly so she had no choice but to sit on the edge of her bed. 

She looked up at him and could so clearly see the hunger in his eyes that she grew wet with anticipation. After wetting her lips, which were swollen and three shades darker than normal, she gulped as Taron leaned down to plant more kisses to her lips. When he moved to kiss her neck, Liliana’s eyes fell closed. 

Taron’s lips erupted every single nerve ending underneath her skin and ignited them all in a frenzy of fireworks that made the blood rush to her core. Liliana could feel the trail of his kisses long after his lips had moved to caress another part of her skin, and she relished in the pleasure he gave her. 

He kept leaning forward until Liliana was laying on the bed, her legs dangling awkwardly over the edge. When he pulled away, Liliana scooted back up the bed to give Taron more space to get comfortable. She nervously pushed her shorts and underwear down her legs as she went, leaving herself completely exposed and vulnerable to Taron. Though she was safe in the knowledge that he loved her and that he would take care of her. 

Taron stripped his joggers and his own underwear before he joined her on the bed. Liliana tried to avert her eyes up to Taron’s face, but she caught a glimpse of all of him. She took note of how substantial he was and she felt her breath catch in her throat. He was more beautiful than she could ever have imagined and she felt so lucky that she got to see him like that, and that she got to share herself with him in such a way. 

A blush rose to her cheeks at the sight of him, but if Taron noticed he didn’t say anything. Instead he leaned down to plant more kisses to her bare skin, as though he didn’t want to leave a single part of her untouched by his lips. He was alive with passion and couldn’t help but land a small kiss to the swell of her breast on the way back to her lips. 

Liliana moaned at the contact, and saw Taron smirk to himself as he kissed her lips once again. He reached down to rest one hand on the outside of her thigh, and she inhaled sharply at his fingers dancing against her. She could feel herself getting more aroused but Taron didn’t move his hand.

He moved his lips to her neck, sucking gentle kisses and nipping at her skin with such a gentle pressure that she pressed her thighs together for any semblance of friction. She needed more so she guided Taron’s hand to her centre where he felt just how wet she was. 

Taron’s throat bobbed as he moved to look at her, the desire so evident in her eyes that he knew she wouldn’t change her mind. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. It was all he’d ever wanted. Liliana wordlessly took a hold of Taron and stroked him, sending a shiver down his back. 

His head fell into her shoulder where he kissed up her neck, over her ear and cheek and back down to her lips. His hips bucked into her hand as his fingers lifted her arousal from her entrance to her clit. He rubbed soft circles against her and Liliana moaned above him, arching her back off the bed. 

Taron kissed her before pulling away and moving her hand from his length. ‘As much as I love that, I’m going to need you to stop. Because if you don’t, I’m going to finish right here and that’s not how I want tonight to go.’

Liliana blushed a little and nodded with a nervous smile. ‘There’s a condom in the nightstand drawer.’ 

‘Expecting this, were you?’ Taron teased as he leaned over her to open the drawer and get the condom. 

‘As much as I’ve always hoped this would happen, not quite. Now isn’t the time for the story about why I have condoms in my bedside table though. I’ll tell you another time.’ 

Taron closed the drawer and ripped the foil packet open with his teeth. He rolled it onto himself and Liliana watched, licking her lips and reaching out to touch his torso. 

‘You’re so perfect,’ she told him, using his own words against him. He blushed softly as he leaned down to hover over her again. His breath caught in his throat as what was about to happen truly set in. 

Liliana cupped his cheeks and pressed their foreheads together. The simplicity of the move was slow and intimate, and they lay like that for a little while, looking at one another and taking everything in. It was more than either of them could have ever imagined and they didn’t want to take it for granted. 

Taron lined himself up at Liliana’s entrance when she nodded at him, and she breathed deeply. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ 

Liliana nodded at him. ‘I need to hear you say it. I need to hear you tell me that this is what you want, please.’ 

Taron’s voice caught in his throat on his last word, and Liliana ran her thumb over his lips as she took another deep breath, not trusting her voice to give in the same way Taron’s had. 

‘I want you, Taron,’ she managed to croak out. ‘I’ve wanted you for so long. Long before the book launch. Long before I left for Edinburgh. I cannot think of a time where I haven’t wanted you. Tonight is no different. I want this. So badly.’ 

They stare at one another as Taron pressed himself into Liliana, their lips parted at the feel of finally being connected in a way they’d never connected before. He pulled out a tiny bit before pushing in further with a little more momentum. 

Liliana’s legs wrapped around his waist and her arms wrapped around his neck as he kissed her, continuing to press into her. His movements were slow and intense, and they looked at one another deeply, communicating without words. Liliana’s moans filled the small room, but Taron swallowed them as though they were his favourite meal. 

A decade’s worth of emotion was being poured onto them as they lay connected on Liliana’s bed, and as Taron looked at her and she told him that she loved him again, tears forced their way down his cheeks. Liliana immediately wiped them away as his movements halted. 

‘I’m sorry,’ he sniffled against her, his forehead pressed against hers and his chest lowered even more over her. His weight on top of her was all she ever wanted to feel again. ‘I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you before. I’m sorry that I didn’t text you when you went to Edinburgh. You said you needed to do it on your own and,’ he paused as a hiccup erupted from him. Liliana continued to wipe tears away as tears of her own started to trickle down her cheeks. 

‘I thought I was doing the right thing by leaving you be. But I shouldn’t have. I should have followed you to Scotland and made sure that you were okay. I should have followed you. I am so sorry, Lil.’ 

Liliana wiped more tears away from his cheeks and pressed her lips to his once, so softly he could have imagined it. She sniffled as Taron hiccuped again. 

‘Please don’t ever apologise for that,’ she begged. ‘I asked you not to follow me and I still think that it was for the best. It’s made getting to know you again so much more special and I don’t take a single day with you for granted anymore. Because I know how precious time with you is, and I don’t ever want to forget that. Being away from you made me realise how much I love you, Taron. How much I’ve always loved you.

‘I think I’ve loved you forever but I’ve been too scared to let myself open up to those feelings. You were there for me when nobody else was. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to thank you enough for that.’ 

Taron kissed Liliana and thrust into her again slowly. A moan escaped her as her eyes rolled back a little. 

‘And besides,’ she continued through pleasure, ‘if you had followed me to Edinburgh, you’d never have gone to RADA and become this big shot, award winning movie star!’ 

Taron let out a chuckle as he thrust into her again, silently begging for her to come undone beneath him. 

‘Everything that happened led us to this very moment and I wouldn’t change a thing. Because this right here, what we’re doing now, connecting this way, it’s shifted something inside me that I can’t describe. I just know that I love you so much and this feels right. It feels so right, and so, so good.’ 

Taron kissed her deeply and sped up his movements, unable to form the words to converse with her. Liliana understood. She’d gone from not sharing any of her feelings to exploding all over him and he was a little overwhelmed. 

Liliana moved her hips in time with Taron’s and watched in amazement as his eyes rolled into the back of his head when she pushed her feet into his bum and pushed him to the hilt. 

‘God, fuck, Lil. Y’feel so good.’ 

He thrust into her over and over until he came undone above her, his damp forehead falling to her chest as he rode out his high. Liliana traced her fingers up and down the length of his back as she rocked with him. When he looked up at her and saw her smiling down at him, a warmth to her eyes he hadn’t seen before, he couldn’t help but kiss her lips. 

‘I love you,’ he said as he looked into her eyes. ‘Everything you said, it’s, this feels so right.’ 

‘Because it is right,’ Liliana responded. ‘This between us is special, and time is fleeting. I wish I could say I regret that we didn’t keep in touch but I’m not sure that we’d be where we are if we had. I missed you like crazy and there were days where I’d cry from the moment I woke up because I felt like I’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to me. But I think we would have been stuck in a rut if we’d spoken.’ 

‘How do you mean?’ Taron asked as he pulled out of Liliana, a realisation hitting him in the face. ‘Hold up, you didn’t finish.’ 

Liliana smiled up at him in a daze and brushed his hair away from his forehead before she kissed the tip of his nose. ‘I’m very satisfied, I promise.’ 

‘Yeah but-’ 

‘Taron, come cuddle me. Please? That’s all I want right now. I didn’t need to orgasm.’ 

‘Ew, you said orgasm,’ Taron teased with a huge grin. 

Liliana shoved him away with a guffaw, no longer caring that she was completely naked. Taron pulled the condom away and disposed of it in the bin in the bedroom while Liliana watched. 

‘Take a picture, it lasts longer.’ 

‘Oh my god,’ she laughed. ‘Do you always ruin a tender moment by being such a boy?’ 

‘Only with you. Because I love you. And you love me. You do still love me, right? I haven’t just given you the worst sex of your life have I? Oh god.’ 

Liliana grabbed Taron’s wrist and pulled him down onto the bed with her, kissing him deeply and wrapping her arms around him. 

‘I still love you. Nothing would make me fall out of love with you.’ 

Taron wrapped his arms around Liliana and held her close to his body, trailing kisses over her cheeks as she sighed happily. ‘And the sex? It wasn’t awful?’ 

‘God no,’ she breathed. ‘In fact, it was the best sex I’ve ever had.’ 

Liliana snuggled deeper into Taron’s chest as he pulled her in closer to him. She could feel the weight of her jet lag and lack of sleep finally hitting her. Her eyes felt heavy and she knew she would be asleep in minutes.

Before drifting off, she looked up and saw that Taron’s eyes were closed as well and he was already starting to snore lightly. 

Liliana planted a soft kiss on Taron’s chest and whispered ‘Goodnight T, I love you,’ against his skin, her fingers drawing delicate patterns against him.

He wasn’t completely asleep as Liliana had assumed, and he responded to her by gently kissing the top of her head. 

‘Sleep well. I love you more.’ 

March 7th, 2022 

Liliana was already two glasses of wine in by the time Evelyn arrived and buzzed the intercom to be let in. After a morning tangled in bed with Taron before he left for the theatre to rehearse, a mess of limbs playing a game of Twister on their own and lips locked over giggles and whispers of love, Liliana had poured a large glass of wine and sank into the bathtub to ease the soreness in her muscles. 

She only got out of the bath when the water was cool against her skin and Evelyn texted to see if she was up for a girls’ night, complete with face masks and a takeaway. Liliana had jumped at the offer, desperate to tell her best friend all about the night, and morning, she’d had with Taron. She poured herself another glass of wine and grabbed some clothes from her comfy drawer to wear for the evening. 

Evelyn, living up to the legend, arrived laden with more wine, her gel nail polish kit, and face masks. She took one look at Liliana and the smile crept onto her mouth quickly. ‘Go put the record on, I’ll pour the wine, then you will tell me everything that has happened since Christmas!’ 

‘I’ve seen you everyday for two months at this point, how is Christmas only just coming up?’ Liliana chuckled as she put a record on. ‘I swear we’ve spoken about this before, anyway.’ 

‘Not to the extent that we need to talk about it,’ Evelyn called from the kitchen. ‘Plus, that shit-eating grin you gave me when I walked through the door tells me that there are new things to tell so you’re going to spill it all.’ 

Liliana shook her head. Evelyn walked back through the living room and handed the glass of wine over. It was bigger than the two glasses she’d poured for herself and Liliana knew that she would be a little more than tipsy by the time she rolled into bed that night. 

Evelyn hopped onto the sofa and crossed her legs before she leaned forward eagerly and motioned for Liliana to spill everything she needed to spill. ‘Come on, out with it.’ 

‘What do you want to know?’ 

‘I want to know what happened on Christmas Eve. One minute you’re texting me to tell me that you’d had a shit evening with your mum, and then the next it’s Christmas Eve and Taron is reading a story to Matilda before bed? You left me hanging, girl!’ 

‘I’m sorry,’ Liliana said softly after she’d taken her seat next to Evelyn. She’d grabbed a bowl for the popcorn Evelyn had brought over and poured the sweet treat into it so they could snack. ‘Those few days were an emotional rollercoaster that I’ve tried so hard to forget. He came over on Christmas Eve to try to diffuse the tension between mum and me because it was bad, Ev. I’d not been home an hour before she started.’ 

‘Oh, Lili, we don’t have to talk about this if it’s too much.’ Evelyn put her hand on Liliana’s knee to comfort her and Liliana smiled sadly at her. ‘We don’t talk about your mum much and I can see that it’s already getting to you.’ 

‘No, it’s fine. He came over, Matilda loved him which I knew she would. Then Taron asked if Tilly had seen a film and she hadn’t so we watched that while mum and Hudson went out for the night. He stayed and read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and then he went home. I thought there was a moment where he was going to kiss me but he didn’t. I wish he’d kissed me then,’ she admitted before gulping down a large mouthful of wine. ‘I would have let him. He came the next day and I’d been having a shit morning. He bought me the most perfect present ever.’ 

Liliana untucked the necklace from her t-shirt to show Evelyn, and Evelyn raised her eyebrows in a knowing way. 

‘A necklace? The man’s got it bad, Lils. Did he kiss you then? Please tell me he kissed you!’

Liliana shook her head, a smile so small it could be seen as a twitch, flashing over her lips. ‘No, he didn’t. But like I said, I’d had the worst Christmas morning with my mum and I think he could just tell.’ 

Evelyn nodded but kept quiet while Liliana took a deep breath before she downed more of her drink. Her conversation with her mum that morning still ate at her and made her get emotional even though it wasn’t that big of a surprise to her when it happened. 

‘I could tell that he wanted to say something,’ she continued after a short pause, ‘but he knew it wasn’t the right time. I came home before I could see him again and say anything he wanted to. And we never mentioned it again until New York.’ 

As if cued up perfectly, Ever Since New York started playing on the record player, and Liliana chuckled softly. Evelyn could clearly see the pinkish blush that made its way to her best friend’s cheeks. 

‘You’re holding out on me, Lils. There’s something you aren’t telling me and it’s killing me, as your best friend, not knowing what you are thinking. This is the first time I haven’t been able to read your mind and I need you to tell me everything! What has happened since the book tour? The last I knew, you were sad after we left New York and you sulked the rest of the trip.’ 

Liliana took another large gulp of wine, finishing her glass completely. She poured herself and Evelyn another glass and looked through the nail colours to decide what she would get done. She wondered how Taron’s rehearsal had gone and wanted to text him, but it was her time with Evelyn. She would have to text him when she had five minutes to herself when Evelyn left. 

‘The day he surprised me in New York, thank you, by the way, for not telling me that he would be there.’ Evelyn winked with a smile. ‘We went back to the hotel after our day out and-’ 

‘Oh my god, you slept with him!’ 

‘No.’ Liliana crushed Evelyn’s dreams with one single word. ‘I told him about why I left Aber for uni, and why I struggle to go back. I opened up to him for the first time ever and it was both the most freeing and the most suffocating thing I’ve done. I’ve wanted to tell him everything for years but having him look at me with those sad, sympathetic eyes made me want to take it all back and bottle it back up. Then he tried to kiss me.’ 

Liliana bit her bottom lip hard, leaving teeth marks in the plush skin. The pain distracted her from the tears that threatened to spill. She hadn’t told Evelyn the whole truth about New York. 

‘Lili…’ 

‘I ran out of his room,’ Liliana said as she wiped under her eyes and stood up to change the record. ‘I went back to my room, I lay in bed all night barely getting any sleep and then I got radio silence from him for the rest of the trip. Until he picked me up from the airport yesterday.’ 

‘You’re welcome for that,’ Evelyn said. ‘He texted me and asked for our flight details but he wouldn’t tell me why he needed them. I gathered he wanted to do something special so I gave them to him. What happened after you both dropped Jacob and me off?’ 

Taron had insisted that they drive Evelyn and Jacob back to their flats as it was getting late and they each had a large suitcase. He drove to three parts of the city to drop them all off and they’d thanked him profusely. Though Taron, being the gentleman that he was, told them that it wasn’t a bother and that he hoped to see them again soon. 

Liliana had spent most of the drive listening to her three best friends getting to know one another and chatting about work while she sat quietly. When it was just the two of them, Taron gushed about Evelyn and Jacob, expressing how much he liked them and how he could see why Liliana loved them so much. She wanted to ask him about New York but she didn’t. Not then. 

‘We got back here and he brought my suitcase up for me. I asked if he could stay for a bit so we could talk and he agreed. I had a shower and he made a cuppa.’ 

‘Liliana, you’re making this sound so boring, I want juicy details,’ Evelyn chuckled. 

Liliana brushed her off with a playful scowl. ‘I brought New York up and he apologised, then I apologised. He then confessed that he is in love with me, always has been.’ 

Evelyn’s eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open. ‘Oh my god, Lili!’ 

‘Turns out, I feel the same way about him. We kissed right in the doorway to the kitchen, the cups of tea going cold by the second. I was freshly out of the shower, wet hair, no makeup, a pair of cycling shorts and a t-shirt but right then I felt like a million bucks. He made me feel that way just by one kiss. One thing led to another and…’ 

The second the cogs started to turn in Evelyn’s head, her eyes bulged from their sockets and she shifted position so that she was on her knees. 

Liliana’s cheeks were beetroot red by that point and were warm to the touch. But all she could feel was the burning in them from where she’d smiled so widely at Evelyn, who was so excited for her. 

She practically bounced up and down on the sofa and Liliana shook her head with a laugh. Evelyn was happy that Liliana had met someone and let some steam off. She’d been telling her for months that she needed to get laid, which is why she’d bought a box of condoms for her. 

It was even better that she’d found someone who looked at her like she hung the moon. Like she was the most expensive piece of art in the museum. Like she was everything they’d ever wanted, and all they would ever need. 

‘Lili, I am so happy for you. This is huge. How was it? Did he make you come? How many times? Was there a starter or was this a dessert first kinda meal? If there was a starter, was it reciprocated? I need details, woman!’ 

‘Evelyn!’ Liliana guffawed. ‘A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.’ 

‘You are no lady, Liliana Esme,’ Evelyn smirked. ‘You are a wild beast and I know you enjoy sharing details with me.’ 

‘You are absolutely unbelievable. There was dessert. The best dessert I’ve ever had, honestly. When he realised that I hadn’t finished, he tried multiple times to go back for starter, but all I wanted to do was snuggle and fall asleep in his arms. I was so satisfied that the fact I hadn’t finished didn’t bother me in the slightest.’ 

‘Wait, wait, so he came, but you didn’t?’ Evelyn asked, dumbfounded. 

Liliana nodded. ‘Yes, but like I said, I felt so satisfied that it didn’t matter. And he more than made up for it this morning.’ 

‘So you had sex, you didn’t finish but you snuggled until you went to sleep? Do you know how cheesy that sounds?’ Evelyn asked playfully. 

‘I do,’ Liliana responded with a small nod. ‘But there’s something about Taron that I just can’t get my head around. It’s like, I’m so safe around him, and that moment after sex, when we were in bed together just tangled up in one another, my head on his chest and his arms wrapped around me, I felt so safe. The safest I’ve felt in a long time. And I felt so loved, which after recent events was nice.’ 

‘You’re so in love. I love it! Wait, you said he made up for it this morning?’ Liliana nodded as she smiled at the memory of the previous night and that morning. Evelyn nudged her with a gasp. ‘What time did he leave the flat? Is he still here hiding in your bedroom?’ 

Liliana blushed. ‘He left a couple of hours before you got here. It’s been a…fun day.'

‘Yes girl, you get some! Ugh I feel like a proud big sister. Is he coming back here tonight? Are you waiting for me to leave so he can come back and rock your world in the bedroom?’ 

‘Evelyn!’ Liliana knew not to expect any less from her best friend, and secretly she loved how happy Evelyn was for her. ‘He’s at the theatre until late so we’re going to play it by ear. But he did suggest he goes home and you stay here for the night so you aren’t travelling back to your flat while you’re drunk and on your own in the dark. So I guess it’s up to you. If you want to stay the night, which I would love, then he’ll go home but if you wanted to go home, which is also okay, then chances are he’ll come here.’ 

Evelyn shook her head with a knowing grin. ‘I’ll go home. You get yourself laid…again.’ 

‘I still can’t believe he wants me after all these years,’ Liliana confessed at the end of her wine, tilting the glass up to get every last drop of the sweet white wine. 

They were officially out of alcohol and they had only been together for a little over an hour. Liliana debated ordering more online but thought better of it. She wanted to be coherent the next day at work. They were both happily merry, Liliana bordering on drunk but not quite there. 

‘Lili,’ Evelyn sighed in exasperation. Or maybe it wasn’t exasperation. Liliana couldn’t quite tell. ‘When are you going to realise that you are the total package and he’s been in love with you since you were teenagers? You were both just too stubborn to say anything. When he texted me about coming to New York, it was so obvious, but he made me promise not to say anything to you. And then the whole surprise at the airport and a necklace at Christmas? I wish I had a man pining after me to this extent!’ 

Liliana held the pendant of her necklace between her thumb and finger as she thought back to all of the times he’d looked like he wanted to tell her something, how she’d wondered if he was about to lean forward and kiss her. She realised that all of the time she had been pining about him behind closed doors, wishing that he would kiss her, he was trying to stop himself from doing it in case she didn’t want that. 

‘I’m just so happy that I have a chance to make up for lost time. I really love him, Ev. I’ve never loved anybody like this before and it’s so fucking scary.’ 

‘I can see how much you do,’ Evelyn smiled, finally pulling Liliana in for a hug. ‘I’m so happy for you both. You deserve all of this happiness after all of the dark days. I’ll have to nail down someone so we can double date!’ 

‘I’ll see what I can do for you. Maybe Taron has some single actor friends!’ 

‘That would a dream. Don’t forget…Richard Madden.’ 

For the rest of the evening, Evelyn and Liliana talked about work, the book tour, Harry Styles, and what Liliana’s plans were for the second book. They painted one another’s nails, Liliana opting for a pale lilac and Evelyn going for a bright yellow, two perfectly opposite best friends. 

Liliana and Taron texted multiple times, and when Liliana asked if he would stay the night because Evelyn was going home, he jumped at the opportunity and told her that he would drop Evelyn off at home so she didn’t have to take public transport. She would just have to wait until he was finished at the theatre.

Come scream at me :)

[spursdontplaybasketball]

Talk Hockey to Me

tagged by @giirlinterrupted 🤍💙

Tell me about:

1. The thing that got you hooked on hockey

I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, about an hour south of Hershey, PA. My dad grew up going to watch the Hershey Bears play minor league hockey in the American Hockey League, and he continued the tradition with me (and my sister sometimes.) At first, I only really liked to go to the games for an opportunity to spend time with my dad, which was rare sometimes, but in middle school I somehow ended up being really good at floor hockey when we played it in gym class. One day I managed to score a hat trick, even though I was terrible at every other sport. (I also had a crush on one of the players on my school's hockey team at that point.) So I just kinda thought hockey was fun at that point and started enjoying the actual games more. Then I picked a favorite player from the Bears independently for the first time, and it was Mike Green. I didn't know much about him, just thought he was cool. He turned out to be really good, and when he got called up to the NHL to play for the Capitals, I started watching the Caps games on TV. (I was also lucky that we got the sports channel from Washington DC, despite not being all that close to there.)

2. Your first ever fandom friend

I'm not too established in the hockey fandom on here. I have a personal blog that I rarely use anymore that I used to post occasional Caps stuff on and follow a few Capitals people, but that's on a different account that I rarely use. I know hockey has become a lot more popular on footieblr over the years. I remember a few years back when it was more unusual for these fandoms to overlap that I sent a message or two to people who were in both fandoms that I thought it was cool that they liked both sports like I do. Basically my only hockey friend on here is @giirlinterrupted (and I'm so grateful that she doesn't put Sidney Crosby on my dash like so many other footieblr hockey fans seem to do.) IRL I have been surrounded by hockey fans most of my life though, because it's pretty big in my state in general, so the main time I felt a little more alone on that was the 2 1/2 years I was living in San Francisco. Unfortunately I am currently surrounded by Penguins fans :( as I am living in Pittsburgh. My IRL best friend is also into hockey, but she is a Sabres fan since she is from Buffalo and now lives in Rochester, NY.

3. The jersey you would most like to own

I wish I had an old Mike Green or Jay Beagle Caps jersey. Mike Green is now retired, and Jay Beagle, I don't even know.

4. YOUR player (you only get ONE so choose wisely)

I still have an unhealthy attachment to Jay Beagle even though he's been off the Caps for years. None of the current players can live up to that.

5. A pairing that deserves more fic

Don't really read fic much, but Ovi/Backstrom (I'm so out of the loop that I don't even know if they have a ship name) are adorable together, and idk how popular they are, at least outside of Caps fans.

6. Your favourite on-ice moment

6/7/18. What else? I still cry when I think about it sometimes, and I can barely listen to "I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons without crying due to that "Worth the Wait" video the Caps put out on social media after the Cup win.

link someone else's art/fic/etc that you love & think everyone should check out

He's here on Tumblr (@mxgicdave) but I could only find my favorite pic of his on Twitter:

link something you made & are proud of & want people to see

Got nothing. I tried to write a few things about hockey in the past, but not since I was like 13. I was writing a story about a minor league hockey player whose playing got impacted by past trauma. Didn't get very far, then I was also trying to write a murder mystery featuring the Capitals, and I got even less far with that.

no pressure tagging:

I have no one to tag! :(

[onmywaytofanfic]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

Ahhh!!! This is a very difficult question!!!Thank you very much for dropping in my ask, they are always open!!! And also appreciating that you make me think so much

Hmmm right now I would say that both first parts of the comic that I am doing are two of my favourite things so far!!! It may not be full fanfic,because it is not a 100% writing but it is both writing and drawing. https://www.tumblr.com/onmywaytofanfic/720942200190566400?source=share

Then hmmm.. I ll say that BAND AU I just love, adore, whatbit is going on in this AU!!! I love what it is been made and all the people involved that allowed me to use their OC's in thid AU to create this story!!! Here is the first chapter if you want to read it!!

https://www.tumblr.com/onmywaytofanfic/714254201001213952/it-has-been-a-preassure-that-you-have-allowed-me?source=share

The third is Eiko and Ibiki!!! This one is hard, I may not have much in here but I have it in my mind and in my safe files!! My friends have suffered a lot of it. One of the most painfuls here is the Pain Arc Scene...It is hard, I can't phantom one without the other. They were born to be together

https://www.tumblr.com/onmywaytofanfic/717017820056207360/ibiki-x-eiko-pain-war-arc?source=share

The fourth one is a hard one but Chaoter 3 from Untold ):

As it can be seen I have stopped writing about Reina and Shino, this ship is getting hard to deal with. I am having problems, feeling odd about them and sad when I write about them. I believe that this cahoeter in which a huge misunderstanding leads to Reina having a broken hesrt, soeaks volumes about how I feel about them and how she feels with him. As a huge mess, unworthy and broken. She feels that she can't be with him and so do I feel like I can't or shouldn't publish them nor work on them. Luckly Reina has found someone that really iluminates her and makes sense...it just makes everything smooth, loving and charming. A clue about this new partner? Maybe...even the nee cannon ship for her? Who knows! But...here is the clue @succikko-nebulae wonderful Jirobo!! ( This is not a clue this is directly who he is)https://www.tumblr.com/onmywaytofanfic/722578140260646912/my-baby-look-at-him-he-is-just?source=share

And here is the chapter

https://www.tumblr.com/onmywaytofanfic/699494802338775040/untold-shino-x-oc-chapter-3-girls-night?source=share

Although it is not longer the main cannon...I wish to go back go it and study it better, I think there are lots of things that can be saved, or so I believe. On top of that...I want to explore it better I think I can give this some proper development. Here is part of what it used to be Reina. I believe, that although it is no longer what I pay more attention to nor work properly... It is my origins, ny beginnings in the fandom as a creator (although I believe that this word is quite big for me). I may not be as proud nor invested on it as I used to, like with the Untold stuff but still...it is the beginning. Of what? Who knows how Reina would end.

https://www.tumblr.com/onmywaytofanfic/696080207310913536/chapter-1-it-is-just-a-storm?source=share

[mysticalbookkeeper]

💖 My New and Improved Dayshift at Freddy’s fanfic, the rewritten version I have on AO3, and Lilac’s journey in Okage: The shadow King. They’re my two favourites so far because the writing is really witty and funny.

🎥 Ummm…New and Improved Dayshift at Freddy’s.

📝You want the long answer or the short one? Cause the short one is, I have no idea. The long one is, possibly over one thousand or over two million.

🤩There was someone who criticized my work (in a nice way) on my story about The Eyeless One (a Last Door fanfic on A03), and they’re advice helped me to write better in my later fanfics and fictional stories.

🔮That’s a company secret employee. 😉 (I’ll tell you sometime later).

👄I don’t have an OTP at the moment, but if I did, it might be “I won’t say I’m in Love”, or “Love will find a way” or “I see the light”. Basically almost any Disney song I can think of.

🎭 Adventurrrreeee! ⚔️

🙊I tell them obviously! Because everyone deserves to know the amazing creator behind my works.

🙌 I do have one, but I can’t remember it off the top of my head. But it’s one I’m super proud of and it’s actually in an original story of mine that I’m currently working on.

🦉My sister, Amber, long before any of us became official authors (fanfic or otherwise).

👶 I don’t think I ever met a fankid before, but if I dkd, I guess they’d be alright, as long as they’re not mean. And probably not.

🐗 Simple. I don’t. I ignore them, delete their comment and move on.

🟥 A decent enough amount of time I would say. I’m picky, but I’m not overly picky at how my stories should go.

🏡 Home.

💪A lot of things. The joy of writing stories, writing epic adventures, drawing said stories, writing about my favourite characters, even just getting up in the morning and getting ready. Also just the thought of writing my stories is enough to motivate me.

🚿 Just about anywhere, but mostly home. Even forests sometimes, or being out and about.

🌠Hell, I don’t know. 🤷‍♀️

💻 My PC and my phone.

🤔 Don’t know.

📕Go ahead.

🤷‍♀️ My first fanfic that I posted on Wattpad years ago. A Dayshift at Freddy’s…story…(Also, The Eyeless One was doing good as well, probably still is).

🍎 Nothing.

🥘🤫🤭

🦗 I prefer to write in sequence. I like the story to flow nicely from beginning to finish.

👀Unlikely, sorry to say. But I prefer to write what I’m interested in (imagine me writing Friday night Funkin'. Yikes. 😬)

😱 Losing my stories for good and unable to recover them. Which is what happened when my old phone got stolen and had my two important fanfics on them, the Okage one and the Dsaf one. I thankfully found the rest of the okage story in ny files. Sadly, the same could not be said for the Dsaf one. And I have most of my current original story stored away on a USB, in case something were to happen.

☕️ Mostly Soda, juice or chocolate milk. But I do drink coffee in the morning sometimes. I do love tea, I just noticed I never drink it while writing.

📈Don’t know.

🎬 Neither, I don’t think.

🛌None so far.

🐸Well, I have a few ideas, Beauty and the Beast, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Aladdin, and Tangled and the Lion King 2. Also, the Little Mermaid. Those are the movies I watch so far that involve romance.

👩‍🎓 Sadly, no, no, I do not. But hopefully one day.

⏳Nothing, just “keep doing what you’re doing, you’re doing a good job.” I mean my writing was terrible back then, but we all gotta start somewhere, right?

💯 Mostly Teen and General Audiences. Two in teen.

😁Kudos.

🐎 Definitely a medieval AU.

👩‍🏫Henry Miller from Dsaf.

🎵No. But there was this one song I listened to while writing Lilac’s journey in Okage. Here it is: https://youtu.be/bVvqKphTmX4?si=M5azankeJhsj6GYW

🌷I think most of them are pretty popular, so I don’t think there is one (as I hold most of my fanfics dear to my heart).

❓Hmm…what videogame fanfics have you written?

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask Game Part II

💖 Which of your fics is your pride and joy? 🎥 Pick a fic and I'll tell you the song I imagine playing during its movie trailer.

📝 How many words do you have posted?

🤩 What's the most meaningful comment you've ever received?

🔮What's your favorite plot twist you've ever written?

👄 Your OTP are having their first kiss. What song do you imagine is playing?

🎭What genre of writing comes easiest to you?

🙊Your coworkers or classmates stumble across one of your fics, but don't know you're the author. Do you fess up? Or keep quiet?

🙌What's a line or paragraph of yours that you're proud of?

🦉Is there another author that helped inspire you to write?

👶Fankids: How you do you feel about them? Would your OTP have kids?

🐗How do you handle trolls?

🟥How long do you spend in edits?

🏡What is your perfect writing envrionment?

💪What motivates you to write?

🚿Where do your best ideas seem to strike?

🌠What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

💻What do you write your stories on? Laptop, phone, paper, etc.

🤔What are some words or phrases you find yourself overusing?

📕How do you feel about people printing your fics?

🤷‍♀️What's a fic you didn't expect to be popular, but really took off?

🍎What's something you learned while researching for a fic?

🥘What wip are you most excited about?

🦗Do you write in sequence or jump around?

👀 Would you ever accept requests or commissions?

😱What's your greatest fear as a fanfic writer?

☕Coffee or tea while you write?

📈Which are your top three most popular fics by bookmarks?

🎬One of your fics gets turned into a TV series. Which one is it and what network is it on?

🛌 What's a trope you haven't written, but want to?

🐸 If you incorporated your OTP into a Disney movie plot, which would it be?

👩‍🎓 Do you have an 'official' creative writing background such as a degree or previous experience publishing?

⏳If you could go back in time and tell your younger writer self something, what would it be?

💯 What rating do you write the most? Gen Audiences, Teen, Mature, or Explicit? How many fics at that rating do you have?

😁What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

🐎 Would you ever do a medieval or pirate au?

👩‍🏫Pick a character and I'll tell you their favorite season and why.

🎵Do you make playlists for your fics?

🌷What's one of your fics that isn't as popular, but you hold dear?

❓Insert your own question here!

[eldritchsurveys]

1215.

Thoughts on Pokemon Go? >> I think it’s a neat concept. I don't play it, personally, because I'm not into the gameplay aspect of Pokémon (I just think the creatures are fun).

What podcasts do you listen to, if any? >> I don't, it's not a form of media I feel like I have any time in my life to devote to (considering all the other media I interact with already). The only podcast I ever listened to more than like 3 episodes of is Welcome to Night Vale, back when that was new and popular. I would still listen to it but I'm just so far behind in it by now that I can't be bothered. But who knows what the future holds. I do keep up with another podcast through its transcripts (I've actually never listened to it, only read it; I might go back and listen to at least a few episodes eventually now that I'm already invested, but we'll see) -- The Silt Verses.

Which period of history was your favorite to learn about in school? >> I didn't enjoy history in school at all. Which makes sense, since in most USAmerican public schools, "history class" is more like "memorise a bunch of dates and historical figures, most of which are related to all the wars the US has started or escalated, whilst we fill your heads with a bunch of patriotic atrocity-whitewashing nonsense class".

If you’re a tea drinker, what’s your tea of choice? If not, what’s your favorite beverage in general? >> Lapsang souchong is my top favourite, but that's hard to get a hold of so mostly I drink my other faves -- various herbals and such.

What was your most recent binge watch? >> I don't binge-watch things. The most episodes of something I'll watch in a day is 4, and that's for shows that run 20-30 minutes per episode, like anime.

What’s the oldest thing currently in your house? >> I have no idea.

What’s something silly you believed as a child? >> Nothing comes to mind.

What’s the last thing you cooked or heated up? >> The last thing I heated up was a sandwich in the toaster oven. The last thing I cooked was rice cooker fried rice.

Are you excited at all for the upcoming Olympics? .

Last video game you played? >> FFXIV.

Which of your parents’ birthdays did you last celebrate? What did you do? .

If you use Snapchat, do you post to your story or send individual snaps more often? .

Have you ever used a power tool? Which one? .

Is your favorite color the same as when you were a kid? >> I don't think I had one when I was a child.

Can you see a picture frame from where you are? What’s in that frame? >> The picture frame on the shelf across the room from me has a Dark Tower art print in it. The one next to it has a stylised drawing of New Orleans.

What is your go-to summer outfit? >> Cutoff shorts and a t-shirt is the easiest thing right now. I really need more clothes. The cutoff shorts technically don't even fit, they're too tight.

If you have Facebook, what is one of the topic trending right now? If you don’t, what is the most recent news you heard? >> I use the Facebook Purity extension, so I don't see any of that other shit. My feed is strictly people and pages I follow. I also haven't heard any recent news from any other source. Who was the last person you know to graduate? .

Think of the farthest place you’ve traveled to. Do you have any souvenirs from there? >> The farthest I’ve travelled is from NY to Colorado (and back). I don’t have any souvenirs from either place.

Does your town put on any fireworks displays for the 4th of July and/or other holidays? >> There is a formal display that the city itself puts on (it's Saturday the 6th, this year), but fireworks are legal for regular people to purchase too, unfortunately, so basically I've been hearing fireworks for the past week and will continue to hear them until midmonth.

Do you know the number of the fire truck/engine closest to your house? >> I do not.

Have you ever met anyone the EXACT same age as you (some birthdate and year)? >> I don't think so.

When was the last time you or someone else said/used your middle name for something? >> Whenever I go to a food place where you give your name so they can call for you when your order is ready, I use my middle name. It's easier to parse than my first name, which saves everyone time and saves me an annoyance.

Do you own anything covered in glitter? >> I do not.

When was the last time you rolled your eyes? At what? >> I did watch some Riverdale earlier so I probably comically rolled my eyes at something on there, lol. Oh you know what, it was probably when Veronica said "mobsplain". Dialogue in this show really cracks me up sometimes.

Have you ever helped plan a wedding? >> Mine, yeah. Do you get overwhelmed easily? >> You have no idea.

Do you like mozzarella sticks? >> Eh. I get the appeal when they're piping hot but as soon as they cool down even an iota they turn into like... fried glue.

What was the last blue thing you touched? >> There's a body pillow next to me that's blue, and I'm sure I've touched that at some point today.

What was the last email you sent about? .

If you had to name one of your children after a friend, solely based on their name alone, who would you choose? .

Do you like caramel? >> I do, but I'm really picky about it. I don't like the caramel you'd find in most common candies. It's like a cheap imitation of the actual thing.

[magical-xirl-4]

From worst to best (or in your case, least awful), how would you rank all the sides of the Love Square?

Oooh jeez this will be interesting because I think my opinions on it have changed a lot.

I used to be cool with all sides of the square but since the show has devolved into what it is, I definitely like some less than others. Keep in mind, I haven’t watched the show since season 3 so I might be missing some info or be wrong. These are my subjective opinion too, it’s just how I feel about each so I’m looking the writing in all of them.

Adrinette

Because of what’s happened so far in the story, I can’t fucking stand this side. To me this ship represents the entire square so really I’m almost saying that hate the whole square, but it’s not exactly true. Adrinette is so frustrating because they canonised it without giving the audience the full satisfaction of the whole square being realised. What’s the point in the LS anymore if there’s no draw to it? Why are people still watching this show? Once again I haven’t kept up with the show since S3 so forgive me if I’m wrong but; didn’t the whole square flip at some point? So, Marichat were into each other but Ladrien was not? It rubs me the wrong way because it makes me dislike how they write Adrien even more: because it’s what Adrien wants, Marinette can finally date him, even though she literally got over him??

Anyway, I used to like this side of the square second most but now it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It has so many more problems but I don’t have much time to go into them.

Edit: from what I know now with season 5, they are lowkey abusive?!?! With Adrien/Cat never being mad at Marinette/Ladybug for messing up and always giving in and forgiving her and telling her she’s right?!?! Holy shit they just made him even more of a doormat because he’s in love with her. It genuinely sounds like a reaction an abused person would have with idolising their partner, and creating an imbalance. Not to mention she doesn’t actually love the Cat Noir side of him, according to Catwalker, That’s so upsetting and genuinely fucked up, the LS is literally fucked.

Ladynoir

I always felt very meh about this side, but I understood where it had its fans. It’s kind of a shame that this side was just totally shut down by recent developments but it also makes things awkward because, Maribug had feelings for Chat at some point and Adrichat had feelings for Ladybug. They’ve definitely had romantic tension together at some point but that’s all supposed to be gone because of Adrinette. Thing is, I can totally see the writers sowing more seeds of emotional cheating because of course (I didn’t watch the NY special either but I heard that happened so).

I’ve always liked Ladynoir third most, second least? Because Ladybug clearly didn’t feel the same way about Chat. Sure further down the line she did but it started with Chat always pushing and pushing and her rejecting and rejecting. He’s tried to kiss her multiple times and even after he’s told no he still doesn’t get it (Prime Queen). Not to mention the disaster that was Glaciator.

I used to be whatever about it but now it’s just kind of sad, they could’ve had romantic tension without it being weird but now all hopes are dashed with now worries of cheating taking place. Yeah, it’s not looking good 😭

Marichat

I used to like this one the least (I never disliked it) because they weren’t mutually into each other. Since recent developments and a more of an appreciation for their dynamic, I’m surprised that it’s not my second least favourite but since they had that whole romantic confession thing I guess I shouldn’t be. Now I have no idea what the fuck is happening with this side but, good for them I guess? I have no idea how the development was handled for them developing feelings either but imagine it was somewhat okay so, big win?

Marichat always had a fun dynamic but I was indifferent to it it because I’m used to seeing “girl rolls eyes at boy being flirty” it’s just so over done in my eyes? And it almost felt like Ladynoir 2.0, because let’s be honest he WAS being flirty in Evillustrator. So yeah I was “just making sure I’m different” about it, but now we got Adrinette being that and Ladynoir being stale, I can’t help but actually appreciate this one, which, unfortunately, makes the standards quite low. Also, I never liked how much the fandom sexualised this side the most so I still have a negative bias toward it but it’s never what it used to be.

Ladrien

Onto my forever favourite side of the square, and it’s purely because of how they for the longest time had mutual feelings for each other. I always thought how cute it was that Ladybug was able to save Adrien and take his breath was taken away. Marinette got to be heroic for the boy she likes, and I can’t help but still get gushy over how Adrien swoons over her in Dark Cupid. Gorizilla is my favourite S2 episode and it’s because of the amazing Ladrien and how hilarious it is. It’s just a very bubbly feelings sort of ship, and it makes sense because 99% of the time I love my ships having mutual feelings from the get go or getting a long very well.

I have no idea currently what the side is like in the show. All I know is that they fell out of love w each other (kind of?), so they don’t have this bubbly feeling toward each other except for Maribug getting feelings for Adrien AGAIN. To say that it’s my favourite is still quite sad because there’s no hope for it.

This isn’t exactly a straight forward ranking because of my lack of knowledge and my own subjective opinion but, here ya go

[stayathomesurveys]

132.

Do you have a specialty dish that you’re really good at making? I guess. What video games did you play when you were growing up? I played PC games with my dad (Hocus Pocus, Commander Keen, Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventure, various first person shooter games, some Prince of Persia game, Galaxy of Games). When we finally got a PS2, I played Harry Potter a lot with my sister and dad. I also played Spyro and Sonic on my neighbor’s PS1 growing up. When I was a little older (9 or 10), I started playing Sims. Are you good at making big decisions alone or do you tend to seek approval from others? I tend to seek approval from others, but ultimately am a lot better at making decisions alone.

Does your town or city have good public transport, or is it easier to drive? I guess it has pretty good public transport. A lot of people utilize it. What was the last cocktail you drank? I don’t remember.

Are you good at keeping running counts and tallies in your head? Sometimes. Does your country have its own edition of Big Brother? Yeah. How often do you take a nap during the day? I try not to at all. What social media platforms do you use? Tumblr on occasion. Twitter. Insta. Facebook. Are there any foods you hate the smell of but like the taste, or vice versa? Not sure. Do you have a dishwasher? Yep.. Are you listening to anything right now? Yes.  What is one of your favourite sitcoms? Friends. Do you make to-do lists? Sometimes. If you could magically become fluent in any language, what would it be? Russian. Have you ever tried vegan ice cream? No. What pet names do you use for your friends/loved ones? I don’t really, idk. What pet names do you like to be called? Babe, baby. What was the best concert you’ve ever seen? Hmm, good question. Do you have any hobbies? Meh, I’m getting back into working out. I listen to music a lot more lately. I’m trying to get back into reading. What is your favourite pasta shape? I don’t care. Have you ever developed your own film? No. When was the last time you stayed in a hotel/motel and where was that? January 2022. Albany, NY. What breed was the last dog you saw? My coworker was showing me pictures of her bulldog today. Do you watch the Super Bowl? Sometimes. What’s your favourite Disney movie? Idk. What’s the most stressful job you’ve ever had? My last job. I was a medical assistant at a GI office in a different town and was treated like shit by my coworkers. I was also the ONLY medical assistant for 4 providers for most of my time there and was stretched too thin and paid far too little. It was a toxic work environment due to poor management and horrible coworkers. What was the last text message you received? “hey” Should you be asleep right now? If so, go to bed! In a perfect world, sure.