#then i had to tell her that nas and lil nas x are 2 different people lmao

[anotherpapercut]

last week I was talking to my partners sister in law about music and I mentioned that I love hip hop and rap especially from the 80s and 90s and one of his sisters was like "I would NOT have thought you liked rap" and I can't stop thinking about it. what part of my vibe says I don't like rap and how do I fix it

[belphiesgirlfriend]

Obey me! Brothers music taste headcanons

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more like ramblings than headcanons tbh but i had this stuck in my head and needed to get it out, also feel free to send requests for diff headcanons!

Cw’s: none!

Little bit satirical (i over exaggerate sometimes cuz it’s funny) but pretty in character overall i thinkk

——————————————————————————

Lucifer:

• You know this motherfucker listens to classical music and classical music only cuz he’s boring

• Okay but jokes aside i see him listening to like 30’s 40’s 50’s music especially the love songs.

• Like straight up fallout 4 soundtrack music, he’d listen to it while doing paperwork or unwinding

• He’d definitely be really prideful (no duh) about his taste in music, he’d feel all fancy and refined when he tells people

• Type of dude to be like “modern music simply can’t compare to the classics…” shut up grandpa we get it u know bach’s zodiac sign, penis size, and mothers maiden name

• Wants to be different so bad, he’d strictly listen to music from his vintage record player or some shit cause it’s the “most authentic” way to listen, fr acts like a manic pixie dream girl (he’d hit me upside the head if he heard me say that sorry luci🫶)

——————————————————————————

Mammon:

• r&b and spanish music

•but i feel like he’d like 2000s party music from all the clubbing and casinos

• def a weekend listener and like 90’s rap

• but also like i wouldn’t be surprised if he listened to some 90s rock too

• he’d listen 2 sublime or nirvana or local h (i’m projecting on the last one)

• but anyways he’d be a #1 rihanna fan he’d blast her music in his room but then deny liking her💀make it make sense!!

• also he knows her best album is loud CAUSE HE HAS TASTE!!

• also tyler the creator i get the vibe he’d love him

• kali uchis fan too

•ALSO i feel like he had a phase where he listened to juice wrld and was like “these cheating lying females….” after he got his heart broken by a witch YOU CANG TELL ME IM WRONG😭😭 it’s okay though cause he’s embarrassed by it now

• oh childish gambino too duh forgot about him

ALSO LET ME MENTION DINERO IS LITERALLY HIS SONG ITS ACTUALLY HIS

——————————————————————————

Levi:

• this one’s gonna be real fucking short IM SORRYYY

• he listens to anime openings and game soundtracks

• also vocaloid

• that’s literally all i can think of dude

• he’d be like “i don’t have time for normie music…”

• his room is literally that old caramelldansen meme from 2019/2020

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Satan:

• this one was harder for me to pinpoint

• first instinct would be classical music but it’s canon he likes ska music too so 🤷‍♀️

• i really do feel like he’d listen to all types of music, like a true jack of all traits, if he likes it he likes it so his playlist is allllll over the place

• for some reason i get a vibe he’d really like 80s music in particular though

• the song that pops into my head is who can it be now? by men at work idk why

• maybe even older music i feel like he’d like sam cooke

• OH both him and belphie would like mazzy star and fiona apple idk why but they would

——————————————————————————

Asmo:

• okay crucify me for this one but…mitski I JUSG FEEL LIKE HE WOULD

• but i also see him loving lady gaga a lot cuz he has taste

•omg he’d listen to old katy perry too

•but yea also probably lil nas x he’d have a celeb crush on him

• oh tyler the creator too with his gay ass, him and mammon both love him, they def have done a duet to see u again

• he’d be a barb probably defend nicki too😭

• and as much as it pains me to say it, he’d fucking listen to ayesha erotica and be like “this is so good!!!”, hed post a devilgram story with one of her songs and then get cancelled on twitter

• “I made a severe and continuous lapse of judgement…” and then did the same thing a week later

——————————————————————————

Beel:

• type of guy when you ask him what music he listens to he goes “idk i don’t really listen to music”

• he legitimately looks up “hype playlist” on youtube to work out and that’s the extent of it

• really can’t see him being a big music guy

• if u invited him to a concert or something he’d go though for food

•he’d give you a piggy back ride so u can see better

• tbh if u were to put on music he would not care much no matter how good/bad it is

• you could walk in on him working out and literally listening 2 cbat or some shit

• HE LITERALLY IS CBAT GUY😭 he’d be like “i always use this song when i’m working out..

——————————————————————————

Belphie:

• emo fucker

• i feel like he’d like emo/ 90s rock ( but more “rockish” than mammons 90’s rock)

• but he’d also love any more relaxing music with softer vocals

• he’d be a deftones fan I KNOW GHATS FUCKING BASIC AND UR ROLLING UR EYES BUT LISTEN

• they have the combination of 90s rock but also more soothing calming vocals, theyd literally b perfect

• and for that reason his favorite albums r koi no yokan and saturday night wrist, also their self titled,

• would call mammon a poser for his music taste “nirvana isn’t even *real* rock idiot🙄”

• but nah, also like i said in satans fiona apple and mazzy star fan

• he’d suck so bad though he’d go on twitter and be like, “if you like deftones ur a poser” (while being their number 1 fan, fucking brat) then turn off his phone and take a nap for the funny

[moonflowerdamie]

ok so i just watched volume 2. gonna tell you guys my thoughts because WHAT THE FUCK.

⚠️STRANGER THINGS V2 SPOILERS!!!!!⚠️

seriously. what. the fuck. did i just watch.

i have so many thoughts about ep 8 and 9 so i’m gonna try and condense them into lil sections for y’all so. here goes.

•brenner’s death•

-we were supposed to find it…sad? the death of the man who kidnapped and abused children for his own gain? yeah, nice fucking try duffers, with the ‘sad emotional music’. honestly i’m glad the fucker’s dead. one of the only good things to come out of vol 2.

•will and mike•

-i now understand why the duffers waited until after pride month to release the new eps because wtf??? they’ve built it up that will’s in love with mike the whole season (the whole damn show) and then he just…doesn’t say anything? sure he had that monologue where we all know he was talking about himself and not el but. he didn’t even come out to mike? or anybody for that matter. sure, the scene with jonathan is undeniable that jonny boy knows and accepts him and it was a really sweet scene, but it felt like a cop out. will didn’t ever actually confirm anything. fucking bullshit. william byers get behind me, i’ll protect you from the duffers this time.

•stancy•

-fuck ME i hated this storyline. i fucking HATED it. i’ve already spoken on here about why steve and nancy should never be romantic again, and the fact that the duffers tried to push that arc was bad enough but. also. did you guys clock how ooc steve was because of it??? like, he just starts spouting shit about wanting six kids and a perfect life to nancy, who just NEARLY DIED, and then does it again in the woods when robin runs off alone—completely ignoring her well-being and safety in favour of trying it on with nancy again. that’s so not the steve we know. the steve we know and love would never let robin run off alone, and he certainly wouldn’t be basically ambushing a girl with his fucking life plans that make no fucking sense. and if that all wasn’t bad enough, THE WHOLE PLOTLINE WAS IRRELEVANT ANYWAY. they don’t get together because nancy’s still with jonathan and it never gets addressed again. fucking idiotic storyline.

•jancy•

-ok so can we all agree that this ship has run its course? like, don’t get me wrong, they’ve been cute the past few seasons, and i wouldn’t hate it if they were endgame, but. come on. jonathan is STILL LYING TO HER about college, their plans clearly don’t align anymore and they just want different things in life. and i get it, it’s cute that the actors are dating in real life, but that shouldn’t be the only thing holding the ship together. i just think the duffers have made it clear throughout the season, then with that ending scene in vol 2 when jon and nancy are repairing hop’s cabin, that these two are going to inevitably part ways.

•jopper•

-one of the saving graces of these eps. they FINALLY kissed and it was sweet and cute and perfectly built up, in my opinion. joyce and hopper stay one of the best ships in the show.

•max•

-is she alive? is she dead? WHO KNOWS???!!? honestly the HORROR the duffers have put me through with her this season. it was fucking brutal having to watch her bones snap like that. i was honestly shaking, like holy shit. and then she died, and then she didn’t? hmm? what did el do that saved her? what consequences will that have??? so many unanswered questions. but, i will say this: sadie sink deserves a fucking emmy.

•ronance/vickie x robin•

-i am so beyond pissed at the duffers brothers for the shit they pulled with robin in these 2 eps. like, vickie’s not in the season except for one two minute scene in ep 1 and then they bring her back for the last ep? and yeah, her and robin could be cute i guess, but it felt so shoehorned in. like they clearly just shoved that scene in at the last minute to fill a diversity quota and makes me fucking ANGRY. the opportunity was there for robin to have a fully fleshed-out, meaningful, poignant romance with nancy. they’ve been together all season, they’ve grown closer, understood each other, looked out for each other. hell, i even thought the duffers might go there with that scene where robin grabs nancy’s hand outside the creel house. but no. because why give us an actually good wlw relationship when you can shove it to the side and give us absolutely crumbs of representation? bullshit.

•eddie’s death•

-tbh i was expecting him to die, and so i wasn’t shocked but. it felt very anticlimactic. like, the whole focus was on him dying a hero—but then he didn’t technically save anyone? he just…died? for seemingly no reason? and yeah, dustin’s reaction BROKE me, but like then nobody else ever mentions it? not even steve, robin or nancy, who have been with him the whole season. it just all felt so rushed. joe quinn, you did a great job man, and you deserved better writing.

•elmax•

-is it just me or did every one of max and el’s scenes together feel very…romantic? like, yeah they’re best friends who haven’t seen each other in a while, but all of their interactions were framed and built up to seem almost like lover’s reuniting? like they’re touching each other’s faces constantly when they first see each other again, max is looking at el’s lips, max’s ‘death’ involved el crying over her just as much as lucas. and when el visited her in the hospital everyone like made way for her as if she’s the most important person to max. am i going crazy here??? someone tell me they get what i’m trying to say. anyway, another saving grace of the season, elmax remains superior.

•the ending•

-i actually think the ending was pretty cool. like it sets up a vastly different, darker and more epic final season. we actually saw the battle with the upside down and vecna having disastrous effects on hawkins. and i thought the return of the mind flayer actually was kinda cool, and the way everything was explained was pretty good. but, after these 2 eps, i’m not sure i trust the duffer brothers with another season. well. we’ll see what happens i guess.

overall, volume 2 was a let-down. ooc characters, messily wrapped up plot lines, shoved in, shitty representation. it all felt rushed and like the duffers kinda gave up halfway through. highlights of the eps include: the jopper kiss, elmax, robin grabbing nancy’s hand when she was scared, hopper beheading a demogorgan, eddie playing guitar, erica kicking that one guy in the balls and natalia dyer, noah schnapp, caleb mclaughlin, millie bobby brown and sadie sink’s acting.

what did you guys think?

[i-am-just-a-kiddo]

As usual, thank you @vishcount for letting me do this as well!! ❤ I always love talking about my music. I tried to narrow it down to songs that I’ve added to my playlist(s) in the past 2-3 months. 

Rules: spell out your url with song titles, then tag as many people as there are letters in your url

Am breaking the rule and not tagging that many people, but only my usual suspects: @cortue, @the-cloud-whisperer, @intyalote, @isabellaofparma, @sassyassassy, @not-saying-revolution-but - no pressure to anyone, I just thought maybe someone wants to share their music as well (which I’d be happy about)!

I continue under the cut:

I mmortale by Måneskin

I’ve noticed that I prefer  Måneskin’s slower songs but they sure have a few bangers. This is one of them, I’ve only recently added it to my playlist and I’m lowkey obsessed? 

A dvice  by Taemin

am absolutely obsessed with this one? Taemin never disappoints but with this one I felt like it was sepcifically tailored for me for some reason. I love the manic dark energy of this, but at the same time it’s a chill enough song to just listen to on a daily basis? a masterpiece

M askhara  بشار مراد مسخرة  by Bashar Murad

This is the mood for summer tbh. Depressed but funky? Let’s make the best of it. I absolutely adore his voice and I sincerely hope he’ll release more songs because I need them to live. Am also very much into his political and queer themes, so I dearly recommend for everyone to check him out!

J 'ai demandé à la lune ft. Louis-Étienne Santais by Ghostly Kisses

I’ve always adored Ghostly Kisses and her voice is so stunning? French fits her quite well. I think I even added this to my wkx character playlist? we love a multifacetted man. 

U nderneath The Mask by Royal & The Serpent

Another one from my Wen Kexing character playlist - i think this is kind of self-explanatory? This song is amazing with headphones and high volume. I’m always very much into songs that capture wkx’s valley master energy. 

S un Goes Down by Lil Nas X

while Montero/CMBYN was absolutely iconic, this song just made me bawl my eyes out? it’s so lovely and I wish it was longer. somehow he managed to captured this queer coming of age feeling perfectly and i’m very much sensitive to that. bless his soul ❤

T orna a casa by Måneskin

along with Vent’anni, this is my favourite song of theirs. I could listen to this on loop (which I do) and I never grow tired of it? The way the song steadily builds up and reaches this peak near the end is absolutely amazing. This also sort of became an inspiration for my Wen Kexing and Gu Xiang fic? The lyrics somehow speak for them, it’s so sad and tender and wow, I want to bury myself in this song. 

A Different Kind of Love by Son Lux

Son Lux are artists I never grow tired of and their recent releases have been amazing as usual. This too, made it on my wkx character playlist - as you see I’m putting a lot of songs here that are on there. Son Lux does that haunting atmopshere so perfectly and I think wkx’s fragile view of love fits right into this.

K in by CLANN

Until recently, CLANN was an artist that I had exclusively listened to while writing a little mermaid AU two (?) years ago - especially their album Unseelie was perfect for the vibes I needed. Howevery recently I’ve listened to the album Kin Fables while writing and I’m very happy I rediscovered them. I dearly recommend to simply put on their albums and listen to them in one go, it’s a magical experience.

I ntrovert by Little Simz

I know a few songs by her and she is so damn cool, I really want to get into her music properly at some point. All I’ve heard so far is exactly my taste and I realised that I don’t listen to much rap by female artists which I want to change. Gosh this song is just so powerful. 

D eath No More / Смерти Больше Нет by IC3PEAK

I dig IC3PEAK so much, truly one of the best gems I’ve discovered in the past few times. Absolutely adore the combination of visual and musical medium, which makes a stunning art piece? Also their creepy vibes fit to my wkx playlist once again. I remember finding them on youtube and just going through all their videos, it’s just so good. 

D im by SYML

Am stilll so grateful that dear Vishie showed me SYML back then because they quickly turned out to be one of my fave artists? Every song is so wonderful sigh. And yes, this too, is on my wkx playlist and I’m incredibly happy about it. the lyrics just scream for it, tell me I’m wrong

O rgel오르골  by SHINee

recently I’ve been in my SHINee mood again and rediscovered this song for me. I think The Misconception of Us is one of my favourite albums of theirs and Orgel is just so groovy? Am obsessed with the instrumentals and their voices playing off them. Idk mate, am just SHINee trash

thank you again! gosh this was fun but I noticed that I barely had time to discover new music in the past months which is so sad. I’ve only been relistening to artists on loop like Brockhampton, Gazzelle, Tamino and Shinee, but I’ve barely added new? Am surprised however that Sevdaliza, The Dumplings and BEWHY are msising from this list because I’ve discovered those some time ago.

[donottouchredbutton]

aliit ori’shya tal’din

Part 2 - An Unlikely Alliance

Platonic pairing: Din Djarin x young OC 

Word count: 3k (whoops)

Summary: San helps Din find work so his lil trip isn’t a total bust, but Din is still confused as to why Cara would send him to a kid

A/N: Just as a side note, does anyone have any fancasts for Cara Dune? I still really like her character and she plays a pretty significant role in this, but I just don’t want to picture G*na every time I work on this story. If you do, please send them in!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading, and let me know what you think! x

San always imagined the day she walked with a bounty hunter would be her last one. Now here she was with one, and she wasn’t even the bounty. She never thought she’d see the day. With a Mandalorian, no less. She had millions of questions - How did he know Cara? Why did she send him? Why did he do it? - however, there was one question that weighed the heaviest on her mind.

What in the world was he doing with a baby?

Maybe she just didn’t have much experience with kids, but she would suspect a parent would never want to travel to dangerous locations with their child. Especially when that parent was a bounty hunter. Did bounty hunters usually have children?

Whatever backstory the Mandalorian had, San wasn’t concerned. He had done his job to check on her, and she was returning the favor by finding him another job. A real job. She led him to the cantina nearby because that felt like the right place to take a hardened warrior and bounty hunter for work. There weren’t many people out in the streets, but the ones that were took one glance at the Mandalorian behind her and cleared the way. Maybe traveling with him would have its advantages. 

The doors to the cantina were always open at this time of day, and thankfully there were never many people around either. San walked in coolly and assumed Mando was following. She leaned her rifle against the nearest booth, gesturing for the Mandalorian to sit with his kid. She then started walking toward the back room behind the counter. 

“Hi, Jely,” San greeted as she went.

Jely was the woman who owned and ran the cantina. She also operated the landing hangar nearby, the main source of San’s income. The woman wasn’t much bigger than San, but her eyes showed age and experience, and her hair was grayed. She looked warily between San and the bounty hunter as he sat himself and the green child in a booth. 

Din was aware of the look Jely was giving him, one he wasn’t unfamiliar with. Most people looked at him with something akin to fear, and this time was no different. He watched as she stopped San before she could go any further, speaking in hushed whispers. He turned away to instead focus on the child. His big eyes stared up at him as he settled the kid into his seat. 

“We’ll be gone soon,” Din said. “Don’t worry.” Grogu cooed at him in response and smiled, and that was enough for him. 

Jely left San’s side and approached Din, San disappearing behind the counter. The wary look was gone now, replaced with a mannerly smile instead.

“Is there anything I can get for you two while you’re here?” the woman asked kindly. 

“Just something for the little one, please,” Din answered. She smiled again, and before she could leave Din spoke again. “Do you know where I can find work?” 

The old woman briefly looked behind her. “Well, there’s not much around here. We don’t get many bounty hunters out here, but we might have some spare pucks? Other than that, repairs, but even then, Reda takes care of most of those.” 

Din turned his head. “Reda?” 

Jely pointed behind her. “She’s looking for those pucks right now. I’ll go get that food ready for you while you wait.” 

Din sat rigid as he watched the woman walk away. She wasn’t telling the truth. To what extent he didn’t know, but he was determined to find out just who he was dealing with. 

When San sat before him, Din’s question was immediate. “Which one of us are you lying to?” 

Her brow furrowed. “Huh?” 

“Your name,” he pressed. “Why aren’t you telling the truth?” 

“I didn’t lie,” San said with a rough voice. “To either of you.”

“Then why don’t they match?” 

San sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes. “Sometimes you just need a second name, okay? But my name is San.”

“You don’t trust her?” 

“Of course I trust her. She knows my real name. It’s her who doesn’t trust people on my account,” San explained, leaning back heavily. “It’s better to have a second name so nobody recognizes you. It’s easy to feel unsafe when-“ 

Her mouth clamped shut. “Never mind.” 

Instead, she pulled a bounty puck out and tossed it onto the table, simultaneously gripping the string necklace she was wearing - something Din hadn’t noticed before. The puck showed a hologram of a rhodian with a hefty bounty that would earn enough money to last them a while.

“A bounty hunter came here one day looking for this person and never came back. Do you want it?” she asked.

Din was silent for a moment, not bothering to question why they hadn’t come back. But what was she going to say before? What did she mean? Rather than ask about something that wasn’t his business, he took the puck quietly. He got up and moved toward the counter, taking the small bowl that Jely held out to him. He placed it in front of the child. “I’ll pay you to watch him while I’m gone.”

Din turned to leave, ready to find the bounty and finally get some more money, but a tinny clunk rang through his ears. Something hard had hit the back of his helmet, and it took all of his self-control not to whip around and shoot on reflex. He stopped in his tracks instead, turning to see a wrench on the ground and San standing there with an incredulous look on her face. He was acutely aware of how close Jely was watching them as he walked forward.

“I’m not going to sit here and be your babysitter,” San nearly growled. “You broke into my house. You owe me some answers.” 

“I didn’t break in,” he said. He sat down again as San did the same. “The door was open.” 

She rolled her eyes in response and pointed to Grogu, who had been obliviously eating the entire time. “What’s with the baby?” 

“None of your business.” 

“Seems dangerous for a bounty hunter to be traveling with a baby.” 

“He’s seen worse.” 

San didn’t know what he meant by that, and frankly, she didn’t want to know. It was none of her business, and she wasn’t going to pry if he really didn’t want to tell her. Instead of dwelling on the small green child, she asked, “Why did Cara send you?” 

Din sighed. “To check on you.” 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.” 

“Why wouldn’t she?” she asked quietly, but it sounded like she was talking to herself more than him. “It doesn’t make sense.” 

It didn’t, and Din wanted his own answers. “Where did you get that?” He pointed past her toward the long rifle.

San looked behind her before facing forward. “Stole it.”

“That’s an imperial rifle.”

“And?” she shrugged. “The Empire is finished. No one’s going to miss it.”

Din’s stomach turned, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to explain just how wrong she was. He sighed deeply. “Who are you? Really.” The words that tumbled out of his mouth made him feel heavy. He and the kid needed to take a day off soon. “How do you know Cara?”

She breathed out a chuckle, but Din thought she looked… sad. The corners of her lips were turned down, and a dejected look crossed over her features. It was gone before he could blink, though, and she straightened her back and looked at him. “I grew up on Alderaan, and after it was destroyed, I just… followed her around. She was kind of like my mentor.”

Din nodded slowly, starting to understand. “How did you end up here?”

“I left,” she shrugged. “I stay because I make money doing ship repairs.”

It was something about the way she said it, the way she looked. In that moment, she looked like the kid she was - doe eyes and slumped shoulders, she looked like she hadn’t known anything else. But Din knew the voice she was using, one he had used many times before. When he was young, training to walk the way of the Manda’lore, he was the same. By then he had been a foundling for years, and he had gotten used to it. And so did she, but the disappointment was clear, even if she didn’t mean it.

“I can pay you to repair my ship,” Din said after a short silence, causing San’s eyebrows to rise in interest. “It won’t be much, but you won’t have to watch the womp rat.”

“Um… thanks, uh…” San stuttered. She sounded like she wasn’t expecting it. She shook her head, though. “You don’t... have to pay me.” She got to her feet then and picked up the wrench from the ground. “I’ll get right to it.”

Before she could walk away, Din called out, “No droids.”

“No droids. Got it.” And then she was gone.

When she was gone, Din looked beside him to check on Grogu. The kid was still happily eating from his bowl, not a care in the world. He gave him a short pat on the head before standing up, approaching the counter. Jely, who he was sure had been listening, wiped her hands on a rag. He only had one question for the woman.

“What is she doing here?”

Jely sighed heavily, leaning against the counter. “Living. As best as she can out here.”

“Why doesn’t she leave?” he pressed.

“You think a kid can just up and leave whenever they want to here? Alone?”

“Why not?”

Jely rubbed her eyes in return. “Look mister,” she narrowed her eyes, and Din didn’t know why he suddenly felt uneasy, “things are... things are complicated. There are people here like me, most people, who have always been here, and then there is everyone else. San was the last person who ever decided to stay, and I’ve been working with her for three years. No one comes here, and no one leaves. I want her too, and she should want to, but it just won’t happen. This is a junk planet, a blip on a map. We can’t.”

The older woman finished with a stifled yawn, and Din could only imagine how much she worked. He was starting to understand a bit more, but things were still unclear to him. “How old is she? If she’s still a kid, why would she choose to come to a place like this?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Jely said immediately. “She’s still my responsibility, and while I’m sure your intentions are honest, it’s my responsibility to protect her. Can you understand that?”

“Yes.” And he could.

--

Din practically lugged the quarry back to the cantina, and the man hadn’t stopped struggling since he was first caught. The sight of Grogu sitting at the counter with Jely made some of the tension in his shoulders lift with the thought of almost being done. The kind woman had offered to look after him while Din was off finding the bounty, and he was utterly grateful for her. The rhodian had given him a good fight. There was a nasty bruise forming on his side that screamed whenever his beskar moved against it - meaning whenever he moved - and he had a cut on his elbow that had yet to stop bleeding. He could understand why the bounty had been forgotten. Now to get his kid, stick the crook in carbonite, and get the hell out of there.

The struggling of the bounty caught the attention of both the child and the older woman. A smile spread on Grogu’s face at the sight of his father. It always warmed Din despite his cold armor. He gave a nod of solidarity and gratitude to Jely as he shoved the bounty into one of the booths, one she returned with a warm smile.

“Thank you,” Din said earnestly, lifting his son who was awaiting him with open arms and that smile that made Din feel like his life was worth living. When he adjusted him in his arms, Din asked, “How can I repay you?”

Jely waved her hand dismissively. “No need. Truly.” She was quiet for a moment before speaking again, “Actually, if you wish to pay me in credits, you can just give those to San. She needs them more.”

The woman’s eyes stared into space almost longingly, Din thought. Her words carried more weight than he knew, and he did know that. He didn’t question her words, though, instead preparing to take the rhodian back to his ship.

“You’re always welcome here, Mandalorian,” Jely called after him. “We’re here to help, should you need it.”

Din nodded once again. “Thank you,” he repeated, but he back-tracked before he could leave. The rhodian groaned in annoyance, and Din simply tightened his already iron grip on the man’s shoulder to silence him. Din was hesitant to continue, but he pushed past it. “Keep her safe.”

Jely nodded firmly with a smile that spoke thousands, understanding what he was saying. “Always.”

When they reached the landing hangar, Din pushed the bounty enough to have him stumbling over his feet to the ground. The new noise must have caught San’s attention who sat on the ramp of the Razor Crest. Her head came up at the sound, goggles around her eyes and a mask over her mouth. Din could see her eyebrows raise as she pulled the goggles down around her neck, her mask going with it. She didn’t say anything until they approached.

“Be nicer to your ship!” Her voice was incredulous. She stared at him with wide eyes, but she didn’t seem at all concerned with the bound criminal that was with him. 

Like he did before, Din pushed the rhodian to sit on the ground before walking towards the young girl, adjusting the child in his arms. “What’s the damage?”

San huffed out a laugh as she stood from the ramp. She cast a softer smile at Grogu when she saw the baby in his arms. She then began what felt like a laundry list of repairs.

“For pre-empire, your ship is in good condition all things considered, but if you’re not more careful, it can’t take much more.”

“‘Careful’ isn’t really in my line of work,” Din said bluntly, but he nodded in understanding nonetheless. 

San gave him another wary look. “For my sake and your kid’s, I hope that changes.”

She was right, though. With the Razor Crest, repairs would only become more frequent and more expensive. He supposed it wouldn’t be so bad getting repairs from San. Which reminded him. “Where did you learn to do this?”

She shrugged. “I have a lot of spare time.”

“How old are you?”

“Stop asking me that.”

Din sighed. It was worth a shot.

Instead of dwelling on the question any longer than he already had, he pulled the pouch of credits from his belt and fished some out. Standing before the girl, he dropped them into her hand. He then set Grogu gently on the ground before walking back to the roughed up bounty and lifted him to his feet. He started dragging him to the carbonite freezer.

“Hey, Mando,” San called.

Din shoved the rhodian into the freezer, and once the shouting stopped he exited his ship again. San’s eyes were wide once again, and she held out the credits as if it was a thermal detonator. He didn’t say anything, though, waiting for her to continue.

“You don’t have to pay me.”

“Why not?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Because,” she started, “if you’re a friend of Cara’s it’s the least I can do.”

Din regarded her for a moment. He appreciated the intent, but he didn’t feel right about it. He couldn’t not pay, especially when she clearly needed it.

“Keep it,” he said simply.

“But it’s too much.”

“Keep it.”

Din’s tone didn’t leave any room for argument. She stared at him intently for a moment longer, similar to how she did inside her little house. Finally, she averted her eyes down and clutched the credits in her hand. She took a small step back and let out a quiet “thank you,” pocketing the money inside her jacket.

Perhaps for the first time since arriving on that planet, Din allowed himself to relax. He realized just how tired he was as he felt his muscles weigh him down. He was ready to leave.

He looked around for the child, and he found him reaching out to the young girl with them. The soft smile was back on her face as she watched him, but she shook her head at him. Grogu returned her smile and continued reaching for her, even taking small steps toward her. Din wasn’t used to this.

“No, kid. We have to go,” Din said. He picked Grogu up from the ground, who only stretched his small arms further as they got closer to the Crest. 

San chuckled quietly. “I guess he likes me.” She waved at the kid whose smile grew if that was even possible.

“He likes almost everyone,” Din responded, but he didn’t mean it with any ill intent.

Din halted in front of the girl once more, looking down at her. Her brown eyes almost black stared up at him in return. “Thank you for repairing my ship.”

“It’s no problem,” she replied. She hesitated a bit before shyly adding, “Sorry... for throwing a wrench at your head.”

Din had completely forgotten about it, actually. “It’s fine,” he nearly spluttered, but he cleared his throat.

“You can, uh, tell Cara that I’m doing fine, that I’m alive,” San said quietly. She turned to grab her tools before either of them could speak more, but Din understood. Her voice said it all.

Din walked up the ramp of the Razor Crest with the child, but he stopped again at the top. “Stay out of trouble, kid,” he called.

San nodded, the makings of a smile playing on her face. “If you’re ever in the sector and need help, I’m happy to help,” she said, followed by, “You take care of your dad, baby, and make sure he takes care of you.” Underneath his helmet, Din let himself smile.

Then, finally, he closed the doors of his ship, ready to leave, ready to report to Cara, and, despite what he was told, ready to not return.

~

Taglist: @emiliasaffron​

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Hi Ralph! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Harry, and the way he interacts with the world. There was the guardian interview and his weird statement about dilution (which I agree with your thoughts on so I won’t harp on about here). In the vein of weird interview comments Harry has made in interviews, one I also think about a lot came out in 2017-ish after Miley Cyrus came out. I can’t remember the exact quote, but I do remember the interviewer asked him, basically, what he thought of Miley’s coming out, and if he felt like he as a person in the public eye had any duty to publicly declare his sexuality too, knowing what it would mean to a lot of his fans who are struggling with their own sexualities, and Harry said “I think that’s a weird thing to expect of someone else, and everyone should just be who they want to be.” I don’t necessarily disagree with the content of his comment - you don’t owe anything to anybody when it comes to your sexuality - but I feel a little weird about the message behind the comment which I took to be “just let me sing and make music and stop asking me for anything else.” I think a large part of the reason I extrapolated that from his comment (and I do realize I was reading into it) has been his general reluctance over the years to get involved with any sort of political movement. The only two real exception I can think of are (1) LGBTQ rights kind of, although to be honest some of this seems performative to me, and (2) his weird and sort of short lived foray into BLM with the march he joined and his Instagram post. That, combined with his decision to move forward with his tour and the general outrage and feeling that Harry is “disconnected” from his fans, that he is “money hungry” that he is “using his fans” etc. has had me thinking. I disagree with the discourse vilifying Harry for his tour decision, and I think a lot of it is that people are angry and scared and frustrated (for valid reasons) but they are equating their rightful feelings of frustration with the situation to mean Harry failed them on a personal level, which I don’t think is true or fair. But I do think Harry is a celebrity who seems generally out of touch with what the rest of the world goes through, and worse he doesn’t actually seem to care. I feel like he withdrew so much after 1D days, and in general I do applaud that decision - I imagine he was dealing with a lot of trauma, and a retreat to as much of a private life as he could manage was probably well called for to protect his mental health. But his withdrawal has continued, and we only really see him when he has something to promote. We don’t get anything at all from him expect his music and now his movies. I don’t want this to come across as me yelling “Harry tell me about your personal life!!!” Because it’s not. I believe he should have complete privacy in that realm, if that’s what he wants. But to me, Harry cutting so much of himself off from the world has made him feel incredibly shallow and disconnected from his fan base, except when he has something to sell. And I do wholeheartedly think when you’re in the position of massive privilege that Harry is, you have a duty to be a well educated, well informed, active participant in your communities, and to throw your weight around for good. On the one hand, I do want to give him the benefit of the doubt. He came into this life he has now at 16, after leading a childhood that seemed to be fairly untouched by any real hardships. He has lived a life that is largely insulated from the way the rest of the world lives. On the other hand, he has the ability to educate himself, and not having those lived experiences personally doesn’t, I think, excuse him from learning about them and working to help who and where he can. I don’t think I really have a question here, I guess I’m just interested in your thoughts. I value your input, and your answers always push me to think about things in ways I hadn’t before. This has been taking up a lot of my mental space, and I’m curious if you’ve thought about it any.

Oh anon - there's a lot here and I'll try to untangle some of my reactions.

First of all - leaving outside the politics of all of this - I think there is part of Harry, both artistically and how he presents himself as a celebrity, which is very good at suggesting things, and leaving space for possibilities. And I think, at least at this stage, there isn't necessarily a solid core in there if you push. And that's OK, it has a lot of value artistically - blank space is pretty core to any design. But by the same token, it's OK if you want more. If you're dissatisfied with Harry you don't need to be fair for him - you can just think 'I want something you're not offering at the moment'.

But obviously I'm me so I can't leave the politics aside for long. I want to start with the interview - because context is important - that interview was Dan Wotton and the fucking Sun. Here is what was printed, which I think is a little different from what you remembered:

I ask Harry about sexuality in pop, a topic in the headlines after MILEY CYRUS spoke openly about her pansexuality. What’s his take?

He says: “Being in a creative field, it’s important to be ­progressive. People doing stuff like that is great.

“It’s weird for me — everyone should just be who they want to be. It’s tough to justify somebody having to answer to someone else about stuff like that.”

So has Harry personally labelled his sexuality?

He replies: “No, I’ve never felt the need to really. No.”

Would he like to elaborate? “I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.”

I want to be clear that everything Dan Wotton was doing here was wrong, from existing to obviously trying to push Harry out. And while Harry was also wrong to be doing an interview with the Sun, he did a really good job of not saying anything he didn't want to say in difficult circumstances.

I want to make it absolutely clear that I'm with Harry. It is tough to justify somebody having to answer to other people about their sexuality. I mean particularly when that person is Dan Wotton working for the fucking Sun.

But in general I don't think there's anything wrong with Harry saying implicitly and explicitly 'Just let me sing and don't ask me for anything else'. More than that I reject the whole premise. In the questions you imagined Dan Wotton asking, you set up the idea that the only way a queer artists could speak to queer fans is by coming out. And I think it's important to push back at that at every opportunity. I've said it before, but that I identify more with Louis reciting the women he's pretending to be attracted to by rote, much more than I ever have with anyone waving a rainbow flag. I reject every part of the premise of 'you coming out would mean a lot to people and somehow that is your problem'.

Throughout what you've written me, you emphasise a belief that celebrities should be active politically - and I really want to push back and ask why? What good does that expectation do you or the world? I think the last thing this world needs is more commentary from people with large microphones and without knowledge or a perspective. The world isn't made better if celebrities feel oblige to talk about politics. And your experience

You seem to think of politics like charity - as something you do for other people out of a sense of obligation. I would argue that very little useful politics has ever been done under that model. Instead I would argue a model of politics based on solidarity: 'If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.' (Aboriginal Activist, 1970s).

I think this is what makes the English football team so powerful. Marcus Rashford is fighting for school lunches, because he knows what it's like to be hungry. They're taking the knee, because they have experienced racism, or are expressing solidarity with teammates who have experienced racism. I think Jordan Henderson believes that his world and life would be better if queer fans could be themselves at a football match.

Harry has said in so many ways that he hasn't figured out to relate politically, and he doesn't have anything more to say. That might change, but in the meantime, believe him.

Last off I want to point that you seem to be drawing a parallel between him being disconnected with his fans and not interacting politically and I don't think there is any connection at all. You said:

But to me, Harry cutting so much of himself off from the world has made him feel incredibly shallow and disconnected from his fan base, except when he has something to sell. And I do wholeheartedly think when you’re in the position of massive privilege that Harry is, you have a duty to be a well educated, well informed, active participant in your communities, and to throw your weight around for good.

There is no connection between these two points - none. I also don't think there's anything wrong with being cut off from your fan base, or silent on politics. But they're also independent (I mean look at Shawn Mendes at the period of his career when he wouldn't turn anyone down a selfie. He wasn't at all active in politics then).

I don't think there's anything wrong with valuing an artist being out, politically active, or connected with their fan base. But there are plenty of artists who are out (Lil Nas X, Olly Alexander, and I'll give a shout out to Grace Petrie) and there are plenty of artists who are politically active (Jade Thirwell, Dua Lipa, Stormzy). I'm sure there are also lots of artists who connect with their fan base (although I don't track that personally). If that's what you want, find artists that meet those needs. Rather than choosing an artists who offers something else entirely and having expectations they will never meet.

[gerrymike]

OK. commentary on my satg playlist. For reasons

lol it wont let me hyperlink but. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0w9pMZtOvP0plqdxT665q7?si=wEFnvdh3Rjaa0p2UX251mQ&dl_branch=1 Plug

1. PIEDMONT (DESTROY BOYS)

Looks like I'm late for the party Everyone knows the attire but me Glass walls separate us Catch a glimpse into different books On different shelves

i.e. teen crisis where u want desperately to live the same life as ppl on the street but also can’t imagine anything worse

2. SWEET ADELINE (ELLIOTT SMITH)

It's a picture-perfect evening and I'm staring down the sun Fully loaded, deaf and dumb and done Waiting for sedation to disconnect my head Or any situation where I'm better off than dead

i.e. she’s alive! is that worse or better. also jfc, you fucking hate hospitals

3. ALAMEDA (ELLIOTT SMITH)

You walk down Alameda  Shuffling your deck of trick cards over everyone Like some precious only son Face down, bow to the champion

also

Walk down Alameda  Brushing off the nightmares you wish Could plague me when I'm awake And now you see your first mistake  Was thinking that you could relate For one or two minutes she liked you But the fix is in

i.e. oops it’s two elliotts in a row, sorry. just. about the connection you can form with someone given just a short period of time, and how sometimes it gets ruined by, like, a werewolf. pretty similar to sweet adeline. mx weisglass gets two songs. plus “precious only son” 😬 “shuffling your deck of trick cards” 😬

4. CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS (IRON MAIDEN)

Give me the sense to wonder To wonder if I'm free Give me a sense of wonder To know I can be me Give me the strength to hold my head up Spit back in their face

i.e. for Me mostly because i think the whiplash from elliott to maiden is kinda funny. also the gerry VS twisty animosity, in over-the-top wizardy terms. sometimes you are full of hate and that’s OK 😬 

5. ICU (PHOEBE BRIDGERS)

If you're a work of art I'm standing too close I can see the brush strokes I hate your mom I hate it when she opens her mouth It's amazing to me How much you can say When you don't know  What you're talking about

and

I'll climb through the window again But right now it feels good not to stand Then I'll leave it wide open Let the dystopian morning light pour in

i.e. we’re back in london…and, well, yeah. also, song title! we’re still in sacramento, actually, spiritually, at this point in the story

6. CRY FOR JUDAS (THE MOUNTAIN GOATS)

Feel the storm every night Hope it passes by Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth Draw a white chalk Baphomet Mistreat your altar boys long enough and this is what you get

i.e. crew. i think about him

7. IRIS (THE GOO GOO DOLLS)

And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life And sooner or later, it's over I just don't wanna miss you tonight

plus

And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am

i.e. OK. OK. OK. yeah, OK. damn right all you can taste is this moment…yeah OK. SONGS5

8. KILL ALL YOUR FRIENDS (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE)

It's been 8 bitter years since I've been seeing your face And you're walking away And I will die in this place

to

It's been 10 fucking years since I've been seeing your face round here And you're walking away And I will drown in the fear

i.e. ah…the lyrical differences in the chorus…yes…also i love how raucous this song is despite what it’s about. it’s got satg energy!!! “seeing your face”, of course, is not literal 😬

9. ENCHANTING GHOST (SUFJAN STEVENS)

Don't carry on carrying efforts, oh no, oh oh oh oh Somewhere there's a room for each of us to grow And if it pleases you to leave me, just go, oh oh oh oh Stopping you would stifle your enchanting ghost

and

Did you cut your hands on me? Are my edges sharp? Am I a pest to feed?

i.e. 😬😬😬

10. PAUL (BIG THIEF)

In the blossom of the months I was sure that I'd get driven off with thought So I swallowed all of it As I realized there was no one  Who could kiss away my shit

and PARTICULARLY

Well Paul, I know you said That you'd take me any way I came or went But I'll push you from my brain See, you're gentle baby I couldn't stay, I'd only bring you pain

i.e. HARROWING TERRITORY!!!

11. PITSELEH (ELLIOTT SMITH)

I'll tell you why I Don't wanna know where you are I gotta joke I've been dying to tell you

i.e. sorry. a lot of elliott smith on this playlist. thems the breaks

12. OPHELIA (THE LUMINEERS)

Oh, Ophelia You've been on my mind girl like a drug Oh, Ophelia Heaven help a fool who falls in love

i.e. callbacks to SONGS5…! and more pain

13. CLOUDS (BORNS)

I forget all my dreams I forget everyones name I meet I forget about time and space But I can't stop thinking 'bout your face

i.e. tfw your memory’s shit and also you just threw yourself into the sky and you’re still not over it. yowch!

14. ARCADE (DUNCAN LAWRENCE)

Oh, oh-oh-oh oh Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh All I know, all I know Loving you is a losing game

i.e. sorry i heard this song first in a c#tradora edit and i have never recovered.

15. WARS (OF MONSTERS AND MEN)

Yeah, I love you on the weekends But I'm careless and I'm wicked Yeah, I love you on the weekends It's a cruel war I still have pieces of you stuck on me Pieces of you stuck on me Yeah, I love you on the weekends It's a cruel war

i.e. PIECES OF YOU STUCK ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is the only song of the new omam i’ve heard. i never got around to listening to it. but this one slaps

16. MONTERO (LIL NAS X)

Lookin' at the table, all I see is weed and white Baby, you livin' the life, but baby, you ain't livin' right Cocaine and drinkin' with your friends You live in the dark, boy, I cannot pretend

AND

A sign of the times every time that I speak A dime and a nine, it was mine every week What a time, an incline, God was shinin' on me Now I can't leave And now I'm actin' hella elite

AND ESPECIALLY

I want that jet lag from fuckin' and flyin'

i.e. God i love this song. re: avatarhood. YOU CAN’T LEAVE!!! not saying it’s like being a celebrity, but it’s like being a celebrity. dual perspectives here with G + his morality regarding the person he loves being, uh, evil? (you live in the dark / i cannot pretend) and M + debt he owes to his god, erosion of his own morals. also, SHEER F*CKING VIBES

17. GEYSER (MITSKI)

You're my number one You're the one I want And you've turned down Every hand that has beckoned me to come

i.e. love songs that serve double as to your god and to your lover

18. THAT’S WHAT I LIKE (BRUNO MARS)

Jump in the Cadillac (Girl, let's put some miles on it) Anything you want (Just to put a smile on it) You deserve it baby, you deserve it all

i.e. this song is here because i say so. a real “sorry it’s been seven years let me make it up to you” vibe

19. RUN AWAY WITH ME (SUFJAN STEVENS)

And I say, love Come run away with me Sweet, falling remedy Come run away with me

i.e. more grand ridiculous propositions. more to come. but they’re born out of a real frustration with the situation at hand! it sucks! also, “falling remedy”,

20. LET’S GET MARRIED (BLEACHERS)

I'm gonna get right for you, honey I'll take all of my medicine, spend you all my money, yeah I know it's hard enough to love me But I woke up in a safe house singing, "Honey, let's get married"

i.e. bro.

21. I WILL (MITSKI)

And while you sleep I'll be scared So by the time you wake I'll be brave

i.e. a lot of these here are self explanatory..

22. ME & MY DOG (BOYGENIUS)

I had a fever Until I met you Now you make me cool

also

I never said I'd be all right Just thought I could hold myself together But I couldn't breathe, I went outside Don't know why I thought it'd be any better I'm fine now, it doesn't matter

i.e. title is significant. and yeah. just. recovery’s tricky

23. I FOUND (AMBER RUN)

And I've moved further than I thought I could But I missed you more than I thought I would

i.e. this is like a staple song for like. basically. any pairing. but i’m pathetic and it gets me every time. there’s something about it. not sure if i’m going to leave it on this playlist but. hm. yeah

OK that’s a wrap. highly likely i’ll put more songs on this as i go

[taste-in-music]

My Favorite Hit Songs of 2019

This year’s crop of popular music was... absolutely bonkers? I mean, this year we had Billie Eilish crash into the mainstream, Lizzo managed to get multiple hits out of songs she released nearly three years ago, the Jonas Brothers made a comeback, and the longest-running #1 hit in Billboard history became a rap/country crossover that got its start on Tik Tok made by a complete nobody and the dad from Hannah Montana. I’m going to admit, this list was pretty hard to put together, as I found it hard to find 10 songs that I genuinely loved that were hits this year. Despite that, the sheer absurdity of this year’s popular music gave me a spark of hope going into the new decade. For this list, I’ll be selecting my favorite songs off of Billboard’s year end Hot 100 songs list. I’m ready to recount this year in music, so...

10) Sucker by Jonas Brothers I never watched the Jonas Brothers show or listened to their music back when they were big on Disney, so I’ve got no nostalgic investment in them. However, this was a fun comeback to watch play out. This song was pretty dang good for a while, with the funky guitars and the instantly catchy lyrics. It reminded me of “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man. Then it got the point where three separate radio stations were playing it at the same time, and now I can barely stand it. I think that after the radio releases this song from its clutches it will warm up on me again though, because I do like it overall.

9) Better by Khalid The strongest attribute of this song is its ATMOSPHERE. The beat, melody, and vocal delivery all compliment one another perfectly, combining to create a smooth, almost sexy sound that washes over you with ever listen. I also like the Daft-Punk-y vocoded lines that pop in at the end, they’re so unexpected and yet they fit in perfectly. I've always loved Khalid’s vocal timbre, it’s so chill and yet warm at the same time. The only thing I can’t praise about this is the lyrics, because I have no clue what they are. Khalid, bless his sweet soul, cannot enunciate. It’s the same problem I have with Ariana Grande. I love your voice, I want to know what you’re saying! 

8) Trampoline by SHAED Give me the hipster points, because guess who knew about this song before it was cool! I’ve loved SHAED’s music for some time now, so it’s been thrilling to watch this song climb the charts and for them to get the recognition and success that they deserve. While this song isn’t my favorite by them, (that slot would probably be reserved for “Perfume” or “Melt,”) it does showcase the group’s strengths, which are emotive vocals and glossy electronic production. I love the effervescent backing vocals and bubbling keys that pepper this song, it gives the song a floaty feel while still keeping it tense. 

7) Old Town Road by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus I can’t think of a piece of music in recent memory that has captured the public’s attention so swiftly and so completely, and you know what? Sometimes something gets big because it’s good. This song, despite all the memes and jokes and radio play and oversaturation, never ever got old to me. Every time it comes on, it puts a giant, goofy smile on my face, and I sing along to the whole thing. I want Lil Nas X to stick around, but even if he doesn’t, I want what this song represents, genre blending, trend-bucking, and a sense of fuck-it fun, to stay.

6) bury a friend by Billie Eilish Out of all the strange hits we had this year, this was the weirdest one to hear on the radio. It doesn’t have a classic structure! It’s about the monster under your bed! It’s got nothing but a shuffle beat, bass, and the sound of dental drill! It just doesn’t belong on the airwaves next to songs like “ME!” or “I Don’t Care.” Despite that, I’m beyond happy that Billie Eilish is bringing a bit of emo weirdness to the mainstream, because if the success of her music, specifically this song, says anything, it’s that pop is heading in a far scarier and more experimental direction. And I’m on board with that. 

5) break up with your girfriend, i’m bored by Ariana Grande The groove on this song is fantastic. The combination of eerie synths, bass, reverbed backing vocals, and rolling snares makes it feel tight and controlled, but also loose and flowing at the same time. There was a lot of pushback against this song due the sentiment of the lyrics, but it’s not like Ariana is unaware that she’s the bad guy in this position. There’s enough indifference and sarcasm in her delivery to show that she’s self aware. This was probably my favorite out of the hit singles from the thank u, next era, (”thank u, next” is great but got a bit old to me, and I don’t care for “7 Rings.”) 

4) Circles by Post Malone  This is embarrassing to admit, because I rarely, if ever, enjoyed any music Post Malone has put out in the past. But this song just hits different. The instrumental feels more acoustic-driven and has a nice pulse to it, projecting a warmth and comfort that none of his other songs have. This was a perfect hit for Autumn, being chill and relaxing enough for Summer, but the underlying bass groove makes you want to move into the productive patterns of the school year. If Post Malone made more music like this I’d reckon I’d enjoy his music quite a bit. 

3) Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith ft. Normani Sometimes radio filler turns out to be spectacular. The ambiance this track builds is relaxing but in an otherworldly kind of way, forming a soundscape of echoing drums and whispering synths. I’ve always stood by the opinion that Sam Smith sounds really good with an electronic beat under them, it helps their great voice move in a more free-flowing way. Normani also sounds amazing on this song, her vocals dipping into smokier territory, and when the two sing together they play off one another’s performances with ease. 

2) Sweet But Psycho by Ava Max Who predicted this in their last year’s hit song’s list? This bitch! I was so happy to see this hit the U.S. charts, you have no idea. It was such a breath of fresh air in that it was so splashy, sugar-sweet, and unabashedly pop. The lyrics are some of the silliest of the whole year, (”she’s poison but tasty” makes me chuckle every time,) but it doesn’t matter. The addictive melodies and the earnestness in Ava Max’s performance make them sound like Shakespearean poetry, or at least like she believes that they’re Shakespearean poetry. 

Should Have Been Hits

Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift This should’ve been a single. I get why Taylor chose the singles she did, but this was primed to be a Summer smash, with the glossy synths and vocoded backing vocals and soaring chorus. We were robbed. Robbed, I tell you!

Graveyard by Halsey While “Without Me” got all the glory, this is my favorite of all the Halsey singles we’ve gotten so far by a wide margin. It’s the only one that I’ve made the conscious choice to listen to on my own time for one. I love the way the production rushes as the chorus hits, and the synths that sparkle throughout the verses, and Halsey’s reserved performance.

3 Nights by Dominic Fike This was a hit in the U.K., and I even heard it on a few alternative stations, so why no cross over? If there was any song that should have been the chill Summer hip hop hit, it should have been this. This song is weirdly addictive, the chorus is so inexplicably catchy that once you hear it one time through you will know all the words to it. 

Blame It On Your Love by Charli XCX ft. Lizzo When the mainstream decide that it didn’t need Charli XCX? Because it’s wrong, it needs her very, very badly. The success of “1999″ in the U.K., the name recognition, and the Lizzo feature should’ve been more than enough to boost this onto the charts, but I guess we didn’t want an instantly catchy and fun EDM pop song on the radio. Oh well. 

Motivation by Normani Normani and Lauren are my favorite Fifth Harmony members, so I’ve been rooting for their solo careers like nobody’s business. This single in particular had so much potential: a bouncy beat, a stamp of approval from Ariana Grande, and a kick-ass music video filled with impressive choreography. I hope this gets a bigger push into next year, because Normani is a wildly talented performer that deserves success outside of her collaborations. 

Guilty Pleasures

bad guy by Billie Eilish This was a good song, just not my favorite off the album, or of the hits, (I prefer ”bury a friend,” obviously, and “when the party’s over,” which made last year’s list.) Still, watching this idiosyncratic little tune become one of the biggest pop smashes of the year was enthralling. Like “bury a friend,” it was so strange to hear this on the radio. 

Close To Me by Ellie Goulding ft. Diplo & Swae Lee When a melody gets its claws in me, there’s nothing I can do about it. This is not Ellie Goulding at her best, (I’ll admit that I miss the days of “Lights,”) but the way she delivers the hook on this song is absolutely infectious. I’m not the biggest Swae Lee fan, but he’s fine here too. I never minded when this song came on the radio. 

This year was a bit of a roller coaster for me. Needless to say, there were several instances where I felt quite a bit of stress and insecurity, and oftentimes, I would turn to music to make myself feel better. There was one song in particular that a friend of mine, @hasanminajs​, introduced me to, that instantly became a beacon of self-appreciation and enjoyment to me throughout the year. And when I tell you that I have never been happier to hear a song on the radio than I have with this one, I'm telling the truth. 

1) Truth Hurts by Lizzo I have never rooted for a song’s success like I have for this one, and watching a hip hop track this bouncy, confident, and enigmatic climb the charts was an absolute joy. There are so many great punchlines in this song, from “why men great till they gotta be great?” to “I don’t play tag bitch, I’ve been it,” to the ever-iconic “I just took a DNA test, turns out, I’m 100% that bitch.” This song raised the standards for lyricism in the mainstream. I want Lizzo to be huge, I want her to be influential, I want her to be one of the biggest pop stars of the next decade if not longer. Everything about this song, from its production to its message to its performance makes me smile. And you know what? Sometimes that’s all that pop music needs to do. 

Do you agree with this list? What were your favorite hit songs of 2019? Leave a comment and let me know!

[ship-ambrosia]

For the gay ask game can you answear nr. 1, 2, 9 and 11 please?

Absolutely my dear!

1. Who/what made you begin questioning?

- I honestly don’t remember like something really triggering me where I’d think “am I bisexual?” But I was always sorta different from everyone else. I was pretty boy crazy in elementary school but then I also started wondering why I couldn’t kiss girls too really early on. I think what made me first start feeling around with the idea was my friend coming out as bisexual to me in middle school because that idea... felt very comfortable with me. I asked her a lot of questions.

2. What age did you begin questioning?

- I came out first to her, one of my best friends about two years later, when we were 15 in our second year of high school. It’s funny because after she came out to me we got into a huge fight over another friend of hers (who I would later find out was her closet childhood crush) and didn’t speak for two years and then second year of high school reconnected again and then that was when I told her I spent the last year deciding if I was bisexual or not. I then came out to my brother pretty soon afterwards he knew way before my parents and is way more comfortable with it than they are.

I came out to them first I think a year into college but they claim they don’t remember that (I absolutely do because I ended up crying with both of them. My dad took me to a restaurant because my mom accidentally told him before I got the chance) and i has to relive the very terrible experience of telling them again when they asked why I had a pride flag in my apartment

9. Who is your favorite queer celebrity?

- Hmmm... I’m still kinda sleepy so I can’t really think of any celebrities... I like that Channing Tatum is bisexual. I like Neil Patrick Harris a lot. Oh duh, Brendan Urie from Panic at the disco. Lil Nas X is hilarious and me and my friends kinda got hyped when he came out as gay. Sam Smith is a great musician uhhh... Halsey, Cara Delvinge (I don’t think I spelled her last name right). I support all the queer celebrities hell yeah

11. Did you have a childhood crush you didn’t realize until later?

- Absolutely. My best friend from when I was about 12 to senior year of high school about 17 was kind of... a very terrible and toxic friend and I didn’t recognize it. I worshipped her basically, did whatever she asked and put up excuses for so many things. Honestly she didn’t even react very well when I came out as bisexual to her and the rest of our friend group. It’s not until after I left that friendship and a few years into college did I realize I probably had a crush on her and that’s why I didn’t pick up on so many things.

[chenoehi]

My thoughts on Grammys, BTS, and the Academy's supposed 'diversity'.

Can't do 'Keep Reading' on mobile guys so if you don't care about it keep on scrolling.

.

The only BTS music I thought might have a slim chance for a nomination was "Boy With Luv (ft. Halsey)" as a pop duo collaboration. That was it. Anything more than that was just wishful thinking.

The Academy (both Grammy and Oscar's) talk about diversity when controversy comes up, they give some Black artists and actors awards, they look like try-hards, and then the next year they repeat history. Each year more men continue to be nominated than women, even in years that women dominated the industry. Each year artists who push boundaries continue to be overlooked or less favored than more traditional artists. Each year recognition continues to be bulk awarded to the most basic artists with the most basic styles with the most basic music, often times the same (mostly white) artists each year. No one get me started on always having to award artists like Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran or Adele each year they make music, despite whether or not what they put out is actually good, original, or better than what they did the year before. I'm not singling them out, but I think they illustrate my point. I will make one exception for Adele because she is a phenomenal singer, although I did not personally believe 25 deserved to sweep; I've been told by fans that Ed Sheeran is a good performer, so I'll give him that but I'll keep my thoughts of his music and the rest of my opinions to myself. But I get tired of artists like these getting nominated every time or almost every time they put music out and then getting awards every time they're nominated, hence sweeping. It gets tiring when the music that frequently-awarded artists put out sucks and they keep raking noms because of who they are.

There is absolutely nothing BTS or any other Asian et al. artists can do to beat that system. None of the criticism in the world has changed it thus far and I don't know that anything ever will. It's a hard institution to tear down. They will use "diverse" artists for ratings by inviting them and having them hand out awards and, in BTS's case, making such a big deal as to even display their Grammy outfits in the museum, and then they will refuse to nominate them.

It's a back handed compliment to non-Western artists. The Academy is saying they're good enough to help win over a predominantly younger and more diverse generation of viewers but they're not good enough to be awarded for their achievements.

What's worse is, the only expectation I had was for the Academy to invite them as performers despite whatever minuscule nomination they might have garnered, because it's been clearly hinted they would attend another Grammys and the Academy would frankly be fools to not have them perform after the shitstorm going on the pop industry rn. If you know anything about the Taylor Swift situation (you may not be able to tell which one because there are always so many) who knows if she will be performing this Grammys, and her medley of her songs was supposedly going to be a highlight; something's always stirring things up so who knows if certain artists don't end up going at all or bow out of performing. Ariana Grande bailed on the 2019 Grammys because the Grammy producer wouldn't let her perform songs she wanted to, and these kinds of disputes happen and artists who are nominated become no-shows. So, the opportunity to invite a group with a huge following, who have already proved to increase ratings, seems like a sure move right?

But BTS can't exactly perform at the Grammys if they're not nominated for a Grammy; I don't see them doing a tribute any time soon either. And if the Academy even dares to invite them at this point for a performance it will be an insult and a transparent ratings grab. BTS may still go to avoid appearing as if their pride has been wounded or just because they want to go regardless. They know better than their fans how it feels to lose, to be discarded, to be overlooked. This is happening to them first and foremost, not us. And if they decide that they will deal with this the same way they dealt with all their other struggles, to push on, perform for their fans, and use the opportunity of exposure for what it's worth, then support them and their decision. I, for one, won't be watching it live regardless of whether they are there. If all the Academy wants is ratings from BTS fans when they are fine with treating them like garbage, they won't get ratings from me.

I fully believe that the Academy is not only discriminatory to non-Western, non-white artists but that failing to nominate BTS for any award at all is out of fear. Fear that their traditional, safe artists will be offended and boycott the awards if they lose out on a nomination, fear that their fanbases will retaliate, but more importantly, fear that BTS or any other gigantic force of a non-Western artist may be a shoe-in for whatever award they are nominated for and potentially sweep if allowed to compete with all other artists. This comes after BTS won Best Group at the Billboard Music Awards this year. Their first time being nominated for a major U.S. award category. It wasn't even a Best New Artist schtick. It was a main category and they were up against established, popular, Western groups like Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5. It comes on the heels of Super M earning number 1 debut album and beginning a successful tour they are on right now. It comes after Blackpink performed at Coachella and toured the country. It comes after NCT 127 and ATEEZ toured the country. Even TXT, a months old group, had successful showcases in major U.S. cities.

The Academy is too racist and xenophobic to acknowledge Asian artists--they always have been and they always will be. The most diversity we'll see is the nomination of Black artists, but still only 2 were nominated for SotY whereas 4 were nominated for RotY. I don't know the exact numbers, but any time I've ever kept up with the awards I don't see very many other diversity groups being represented in nominations either, such as artists with disabilities or LGBT artists who have different gender expressions and identities or sexual orientations that impact their music, performance, and artistry. Halsey's intimate performance at the BBMAs with that female dancer was huge because that's just not something that's really done. Still. And any time it does happen it's a Britney and Madonna moment all over again, it's a fetish to everyone. Progress has been made but it's very minuscule in comparison to the 'diversity' touting approach they've taken.

I'll just leave the words of this morning's Rolling Stone article here:

So, the Academy selectively extends its diversity goodwill just as they always have. No shade to the artist, but just using this example of Lil Nas X versus BTS, you have a young Black, gay artist who started his career in late 2018. He's nominated for some of top Grammys with a minimal discography--an 18-minute EP. This is groundbreaking, it's great. BTS, a 6-year-old established group of young Korean artists who break nearly every record there is and dominated Western charts this spring, and they continue to chart Billboard and Western streaming platforms. They earn no nominations.

The two artists ironically happen to have a collaboration in the form of Old Seoul Road.

Congrats to Lizzo and Lil Nas X (that's not shade at Billie btw) but this tweet from the New York Times is so unbelievably misguided because the Academy's conception of diversity is like seasoning with mostly salt, a little pepper and no cayenne (hate to use that analogy but am I wrong?):

I do appreciate that some artists who don't get nominated a lot got nominations, but looking at the list of top awards I just can't imagine how some of those got through. And I listen to a lot of different music and some BTS stans may have know idea who the fuck Bon Iver is and I'm not saying they don't deserve nominations period, but when you look at the list it's just mind boggling how a song like BWL that was listened to and appreciated like a summer anthem would be could not be included in that mess. (Vampire Weekend for Album of the Year, what, who the fuck, is that, they've been around since 2006, that's when I listened to nothing but metal and rock and I don't, know who the fuck this obscure band is? I may have heard of them once eons ago but they apparently made no impression? I'm sorry). I won't go as far as to say BWL was a Western summer anthem because much of the gp still doesn't know them, this is true. But apparently that's never stopped the Academy before. Bonus, anyone remember Bon Iver winning Best New Artist over Katy Perry all those years ago? No, just me? Good times. (Respect to Bon Iver, I'm just making a point that a lesser known artist won that award over a popular artist and the public went "waH?" Bon Iver being nominated for Record and Album of the Year this time honestly has the same effect as before because what is Hey, Ma even. I listen to Indie music so. What it is.)

Anyway. That's my thoughts. Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed is a myth. You will always have room to be disappointed in humanity.

Edit: while I'm at it, a big, massive fuck you to the Academy for never nominating Halsey for Without You.

[spookyspemilyreid]

Happy Anniversary “What I've Done”!❤ (April 2, 2007)

"What I've Done" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single from their third studio album Minutes to Midnight (2007). The song is composed in the key of G minor. The song was released as a radio single on April 1, 2007, as a digital download on April 2, and as a CD single on April 30. The live version of "What I've Done" from Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards, but did not win. It also serves as the main theme of the 2007 science fiction film Transformers and also appears on Transformers: The Album (2007). Being certified five times platinum by the RIAA, it is the band's most commercially successful song, though not necessarily most well-known, due to the fact that singles in the US used to have higher sales in general during the second-half of the 2000s.

"What I've Done" was featured in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour. In January 2011, it was released in a Linkin Park DLC pack for Rock Band 3, along with a PRO mode update, which allows use of real instruments such as guitar, keyboards and electronic drumkits. The song is also a B-side to the UK single of "Iridescent". An instrumental version of the song is currently used by Sky UK as background music for their interactive services.

Chester Bennington described the track in a March 2007 interview with MTV:

Joe [Hahn] came up to Mike and me and asked us to take the whole idea of Minutes to Midnight and apply that to how the band has changed. So, in a way, it's us saying goodbye to how we used to be...The lyrics in the first verse are 'In this farewell, there's no blood, there's no alibi,' and right away, you'll notice that the band sounds different: The drums are much more raw, the guitars are more raw and the vocals aren't tripled. It's just us out there .... and that's how Rick Rubin wanted it.

The single and video appeared in the iTunes Store shortly after midnight EST on April 2, 2007. It became available the day after on iTunes in the UK and Australia. On April 2, the song was featured streaming on the front page of their official website, with the video being added to the site shortly thereafter.

The song starts out with a short 3-second guitar part and then a piano motif, before adding a hip hop-inspired drum line, and then introducing a raw-sounding guitar riff. When the song is played live at Linkin Park's concerts, Mike Shinoda plays the piano intro and the guitar after that. This song differs from most of Linkin Park's songs from previous albums in that it features almost no lead vocals from vocalist Mike Shinoda, with the exception of a brief "na na na" refrain at the end. "What I've Done" was the last song written for Minutes to Midnight. The song also has a downbeat exactly once every second, consistent throughout its entirety.

Mike Shinoda created a remix of the song, which is called "What I've Done (Distorted Remix)", which is included as a b-side to "Bleed It Out". The remix was then included in the international tour edition of Minutes to Midnight, as well as a track in the Linkin Park Underground-exclusive CD Underground X: Demos.

The music video for "What I've Done" was filmed in the California desert and was directed by Linkin Park turntablist Joe Hahn. It features footage of the band performing in the desert, interspersed with stock footage reflecting on a variety of social and environmental issues including pollution, global warming, racism, Nazism, the Ku Klux Klan, abortion, starvation, terrorism, Holocaust, warfare and nuclear warfare, deforestation, poverty, drug addiction, obesity, destruction, rising gasolineprices and crimes committed by humanity. The video also features brief depictions of important historical figures, such as (in order of appearance) Leonardo da Vinci, Mother Teresa, Robert F. Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, Gautama Buddha, Mao Zedong, Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Husseinand Benito Mussolini. Some cutscenes, such as the traffic scene and the napalm exploding. The video premiered on April 2, 2007 on MTV and Fuse. It premiered on MTV Asia, MTV Germany, TMF Netherlands and Canada's MuchMusic on April 3, 2007.

The video starts off with some grass sinking down into the dirt, causing it to turn wet. It then cuts to a scorpion walking to where Linkin Park are performing. It explores the many ironies of humanity and its ill-effects on the earth and the environment (see above). It juxtaposes various pieces of footage: a large, well-fed man eating fast food, a woman measuring her waist and a man who is so malnourished that his ribcage is visible through his skin; African Americans being hosed down by the Ku Klux Klan; nuclear explosions, the World Trade Center collapsing as a result of the September 11 attacks, children waving American flags (one of the children being Brad Delson), a Middle Eastern child holding an AK-47, clips of oil tankers torn in half and birds covered in an oil slick. The video ends with the same grass at the beginning growing out of the dirt, causing it to dry up.

The video clip was featured and won on MTV's Battle of the Videos against videos by Evanescence ("Sweet Sacrifice") and Lil' Mama ("Lip Gloss"). The video also marks the first appearance of a Linkin Park video in the #1 spot on MTV's TRL, hitting #1 six times so far. The video has over 350 million views on YouTube as of July 2018. AOL currently has a live performance of "What I've Done" on their website. MTV's James Montgomery called "What I've Done" the "biggest, baddest and best Linkin Park video of all time," praising the visuals as well as the numerous political figures and events occurring within the video. He summarized the video's message: "Hahn was smart — or brave — enough to inject a message here: the destructive power of man versus the unyielding beauty of nature, and where it all will undoubtedly end (hint: we lose)."

A second video, made exclusively for Australia, features a considerably different scenario from the first; instead of clips of human sin and the grass sinking clip, the video tells the story of a woman (played by Emma Mullings) working at a government-run pharmaceutical company learning of a plan to develop a deadly new virus for "social control", and – with the help of several people dressed in black hooded sweatshirts with Linkin Park's logo on them – smuggles out several blood samples of a human test subject of the virus to expose the conspiracy. The video can be seen on YouTube and Linkin Park's Australian website.

The song made big debuts on the US charts during the chart week of April 21, 2007. The song debuted in the top 10 of the US Hot 100 on April 10, 2007, at #7. It is the band's second highest debut to date on the chart (this title was previously held by "Somewhere I Belong" which opened at #47), earning "Hot Shot" debut of the week, and subsequently becoming the third highest position for a Linkin Park single to date on the Hot 100. The song was their highest debut until they released "New Divide" in May 2009. At the time of its debut it was only the eleventh song since 2000 to debut at #7 or higher on the Hot 100, and only the third song to do so by an artist not from American Idol. The song was partly fueled by digital sales, debuting at #4 on the digital chart. The song was certified 2×Platinum by the RIAA on November 13, 2008. It reached 3 million downloads by early 2011, making it their most successful digital song in the US. As of January 2015, the song has sold 3,700,000 copies in the US.

In addition the song became only the third song ever to open at #1 on the Modern Rock chart, also becoming the band's seventh number one on the chart. It held the #1 spot on Alternative Songs for 15 consecutive weeks, at the time tying it with Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy" The song also reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, where it stayed for 8 consecutive weeks. In the iTunes music store, the song had reached number two. It was kept out of the top spot by "Give It to Me" by Timbaland. The music video is the first to reach the number 1 spot on TRL for Linkin Park video history. It has also become a moderate hit on the Adult Top 40, and Pop 100 Airplay charts, peaking at number 21 and 17 respectively on those charts. The song hit #6 in the UK once the physical format was released, making it Linkin Park's highest-charting UK single.

[borderlandscast]

music meme: turpster

i tried to make his playlist a mix of country and rock but it turned out completely different because i don’t listen to enough of both genres.

1) fiendish fifth by shawn lee’s ping pong orchestra

a rare, instrumental song for a buffonish sheriff posturing in a bar for ravs.

2) broken bones by kaleo

turpster’s backstory isn’t delved into aside from what he tells in teep’s ‘btb’ fic, but he’s had a rough life trying to introduce justice to pandora via hyperion’s losing fight with bandits and lawlessness. it’s strongly implied by martyn that before turpster, there was nisha, but people would rather remember her than him.

3) spite by vandaveer

living on pandora instills a sense of spite in anybody. it goes doubly so for people actively trying to do good.

4) human by rag’n’bone man

turpster and martyn’s biggest conflict is over how the law and how it should be carried out. turpster blamed martyn (and to some extent, bandits) for a long time after he refused to shoot martyn in the duel for the lynchwood badge. he did realise martyn saved him from the lynching but never realised teep carried out that particular sidequest to get his ass out of town.

5) old town road by lil nas x

:)

[daphnisetcommie]

OK . . . so yesterday, I took 1 2/3 tabs of acid, and the first couple hours of the trip felt euphoric. I had a couple tense moments where there was family drama and I didn’t know how to react to the situation except to laugh. I delivered some philosophical speech to my brother when he said he hit a pothole while biking with no handlebars, telling him to use it as a learning experience to avoid the more fatal falls later on in life. Then I started listening to music and vibing out in my room. I didn’t see any tracers per se but I started to see the ghost of where my hands had been in freeze frames. A few pictures started to drift, and I started to freak out at a few of the targeted ads in my news feed that were designed in such a way that the drifting worked perfectly (if that makes sense). I listened to Pink Floyd and Berio, and then I decided to listen to “Old Town Road” to see what the hype was. This is where the trip took a turn. My brother came into my room and told me he didn’t know how the song became a meme, and I didn’t know either, so I started to read into it and got really paranoid and riled up about viral marketing in the music industry. One article put Lil Nas X’s social media history on blast which made me especially paranoid, especially as I continued to  see targeted ads in my news feed. My brother also kept coming into my room inexplicably which continued to make me paranoid. At one point, the skin, bones, and veins of my hand started to look as if they were breathing. I did a couple dishes and then decided I could no longer be in the house. I went outside into the back yard, and climbed on a log to get across the stream. I heard laughter in the background and started to become paranoid again, but I continued to move. I found an area with a clump of trees that I tend to gravitate toward, but it was inhabited by a large amount of flies so I moved away so as to let them have the space. I then found an area where the air was a bit cooler and stayed there for a while, until I noticed the flies seemed to be emerging from an area directly under the roots of a tree just above the stream. I shifted my position slightly until I was still in the cool air but out of the way of the flies. Eventually, I took out my iPod Classic and listened to “The Singer Addresses His Audience” by the Decemberists. I had been bombarded by product placement when I listened to Lil Nas X’s pro-capitalist anthem so I was relieved to find solace in the soothing harmonies of the Decemberists until they mentioned Axe shampoo, at which point I started to panic again but then decided to let myself live in the moment. I continued to listen to the Who, Benjamin Britten, Warren Zevon, and Leonard Bernstein, checking occasionally to see if my family was looking for me. I finally saw my dad out on the deck and I returned to the house, at which point I told him (truthfully) that I had gotten out of the house because I needed the air and that I had been listening to the birds. Once back in the house, my brother asked if I had been smoking, and I told him truthfully that I hadn’t been. My brother made dinner and we all ate together in relative silence. I finished my dinner quickly and then dried some dishes and went back to my room. Eventually, my family decided to watch the Arrow, but they did not want to turn off the light, and I decided I would be unable to pay attention. At some point my dad started playing a protest song he had written, and, frustrated at how the music industry had managed to search out the perfect pro-capitalist anthem to become a #1 hit, I sat in the chair across from where he was playing, mesmerized, and even gave him some coaching on how to sing it better. My brother started complaining about the song so I told him I liked it. I started ranting about “Old Town Road,” but it was the time of day when sober people wind down, so I went for a walk, during which time I saw the most visuals. The outlines of leaves appeared in three different colors in three different places, as did the porch lights of all the houses I passed. At one point, I saw the reflection of something against the speed limit sign and stepped back to study it but then gave up and continued walking. I still continued to see the visuals but the trip was winding down as I started to feel a headache set in. I decided on a corn muffin to eat, reasoning that I had devoted hours to something as useless as “Old Town Road” and that it only made sense that I top it off with something as useless as corn. As I continued to scroll through my news feed, I saw a targeted ad with a cute-looking woman doing the OK symbol with her hand as if she knew she had my attention and started to freak out again, but upon reading up on headaches during the comedown and deciding there was no synergy with ibuprofen, I took an Advil and went to bed. At this point it was two in the morning. I continued to hear electronic dubstep-type sounds as I drifted off into sleep. I do not remember dreaming but when I closed my eyes I noticed some swirling images.

[chimswae]

Chapter 15

Foreword:

Some stories are better left unsaid.I couldn’t change anything for the world, although the fame part of this industry is tough to handle.Do i have a life? Yes I have my fans.Do i have friends? Yes the members that I cherish. Do i have love? No I have to let go.Life always offers you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow. But do i have any tomorrow?

Pairing: Jimin x OC (Other characters: BTS, OCs, Lee Taehwan)

Genre: Idolau, Fluff, Romance

Word Count: 3,098

Author Note: I crosspost this story from my Asianfanfic account. Mind you, clicheness OVERLOADS

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Chapter 15: Some people can be oh-so human after all

“Is that blood?”

 “Shit what the hell happen to both of you?”

”WHO DID THIS?”

 “IS NUNA OKAY?”

 Yeoul heard indistinct mumbled from outside, as she got changed into clean cloth. The boys were already circling Jimin like a wolf pact. Questions after questions fired from every corners which annoyed Jimin but they toned down as soon as their eyes lied on Yeoul.

Frozen in her spot, she felt all eyes were on her and it mortified her “Sister-in-law!! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” someone crashed against her body, squishing Yeoul into a tight hug. Baffled, she could tell from the sweet voice; it was sunshine Jhope. He was the only one who was ignorant enough to initiate an over the top skinship with her.

 “Whoa chill.. Hoseok oppa I’m alright” Yeoul stifled her giggles. Jimin was unhappy of course,his stare was throwing daggers at the older boy.

 He pulled away and squished her cheeks together “You alright? You okay? Did you get hurt?Oh my I didn’t know they dare to do that! That is inhuman of them!” no one could stop Hobi from overreacting, not even Min Suga.

Wait a minute, why would we bring Min Suga in this matter?  

 Nodding with a smile, Yeoul patted his head “It is alright. I have to get used to it don’t I? Since I am associated with a big name like Bangtan Sonyeodan” she joked.

 “Lil sis, we will protect you from the world since we are family now. So if anyone dare to hurt you in any way, they have to answer us” acting like an older oppa he was, Jin squished her hand as an assurance. Yeoul smiled genuinely feeling blessed with all the supports that she obtained from people surround her, oh well that exclude Bang PD.

 She had no idea what was in that old man mind, cross fingers.

 Manager hyung called out everyone to the conference room, and it was the moment of truth. Jimin and Yeoul relationship depended on Bang PD final decision, if he said no then they must find way to fix the mess.

 “Nuna…Good luck” Jungkook shyly gave a light pat on Yeoul’s head. His nose scrunched up cutely as he put on his infamous innocent like deer eyes smile.

 “Thank you Jeon..” she slid her hands in Jimin’s warm one as they made their ways side to side to the conference room. Her fears doubled upon seeing Bang PD sat at the end of the table with a tense expression.

 His head snapped meeting Yeoul’s orbs, but she was quick to hide her face in Jimin’s arm. The older man seemed friendly on screen, however to face him off screen was slightly different. Bang PD’s leadership and charisma were too much for normal people like her to comprehend.

 Jimin’s belly churned in fear as he could sense Yeoul body tense up. He didn’t want to transfer a negative vibe to everyone in the room especially not to Yeoul when he’s supposed to lead her in this.

 After everyone settled down in their seat, Bang PD broke the silence, “Nice to meet you in person Na Yeoul-ssi” it startled her since she didn’t expect the older guy to sound a little too friendly.

 Would it be normal for him to be furious?

 “I am sorry for the ruckus..I..should have been more careful” Yeoul looked down not dare to meet his gaze who penetrated the deepest core in her heart. Jimin heaved out a soft sigh, interlacing their hand tighter hoping the energy flows was enough to kick away the fear in her.

 Biting her lower lips, she rubbed his palm in circle with her thumb. Only god knows how petrified she was and at the same time Jimin’s gregarious presence beside her helped to stabilize her messy emotion. Others were anxiously tapping their foot on floor waiting for another words coming out from Bang PD mouth.

 “Yeoul-ssi, I think you have nothing to be sorry about. I am upset because Jimin keeps this away from me when he is supposed to tell me so that I can protect both of you if something like this happen” he rubbed the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh.

 “Bang PD….” Jimin tilted his head with an apologetic look. He realized it was his mistake from start, now it was too late to cry over spilled milk.

 He continued “Are you alright? I heard chaos in front of your home. How’s your son?” everyone in the room finally could normalize their breathing knowing Bang PD was not as angry as before. In fact, the older man looked concern rather than piss off.

 “We are alright, don’t worry. Minyeol was a little shook but he’s doing fine. So, I left him with my mother back home. Don’t want to scare that poor kid anymore. Thank you for asking..” the corner of her lips were tugged into a grateful smile.

 Bang PD smiled weakly “ Good to hear that. Press can be troublesome, I heard about you from Jimin. I have question so I hope it doesn’t offend you, may I?” she nodded with a smile nevertheless how nervous she was.

 “Why are you searching for Jimin after years keeping the truth buried with you? Do you have other ulterior motives?”

 Jimin eyebrows arched in confusion not knowing how to react to Bang PD’s questions, should he be offended over it but Yeoul was calm as hell. It was no time to be calm when people were questioning her so called ulterior motives just to degrade her. Even so he was positive Bang PD’s question meant no harm but still it was pointing out that way.

 “I do not want Minyeol to be fatherless. I know how it feels to grow up without a fatherly love and attention, and I craved for it every moment. I was selfish to keep this away from Jimin and Minyeol. If and only I tell Jimin earlier things would be different by now. Neither do I wish to ruin Jimin’s career nor I want to see Minyeol living his life longing for Jimin every single day. I do not have any ulterior motive, I am not here for money. I truly care for Jimin, always” she calmly answered his question without feeling offended or upset.

 Oddly, this felt like a daughter-in-law kind of situation whom seek blessing from the groom’s father before they got married. After all Bang PD is like the boys’ father here so she understood why he acted this way, prying answers and explanation. He was being protective.

 “Yeoul…I am sorry that you have to raise this child alone all those years. You are a strong girl indeed. I am happy that Jimin stood up for you and your son. And, I am not here to punish you or Jimin. We’re here for the damage control” he smiled softly. Finally took him long enough to loosen up a bit.

 Wrapping his arms around Yeoul shoulder, Jimin cracked a wide smile “Thank you Bang PD. I don’t plan on leaving her” their eyes met, as they exchanged a meaningful smile.

 “I have never seen you this happy Jimin” Namjoon whistled supported by others.

 “Love is in the air” said Taehyung with a teasing smile.

 Yeoul blushed in her seat, turning her face to Jimin with her infamous puppy eyes wishing that he could hinder them from teasing them further. Other snickered awfully low upon witnessing their little scene though it was not a big deal but who could stop sonyeodan? If they could not find any way to tease their fellow bandmates, they would still find a way somehow.

 The older man shook his head, probably getting used to see how these boys acted “The damage control. We will be releasing the official statement, and Jimin you need to come out with a written statement” he exclaimed.

 She gasped “Oh my god, you will admit to everything?”

 “Why not?” Jimin shrugged.

 “THAT IS NOT HEALTHY FOR YOUR CAREER! What if they trash you? Like…what they said on the internet” she bit her lower lips,toning down her voice.

 “Baby, seriously those comments are bunch of bullshits. I told you to not go near to the internet, what are you doing lurking around there?” he stroked her bangs away and gazing into her eyes softly.

 “Jim… but…” she held his wrist with a concern look. Tarnishing his image was the last thing in her life dictionary.

 Jimin took her hand, planting a soft kiss on it “Trust me. Give me chance to prove to you that I am worthy. I will not let go this hand again never” he whispered. Yeoul did not like this idea after all but considering there were many eyes on her at the moment, she gave him a meek smile and nodded in agreement.

 She feared things turned ugly after his confession to the public. On top of that, Yeoul never thought of admitting this to everyone when she assumed Bang Pd would make her leave Jimin instead. Guess, not all agencies were inhuman after all. Some might be the villains but Bangtan was lucky to have Bang PD as their employer.

 “So.. I think we settle one matter for now. We will be announcing the official statement in few days since the press are on fire. They have been bombarding us with questions. Just to remind you, official press conference to be announced once we sort this out” Bang PD reasoned.

 “Since it is unwise to let Yeoul staying outside judging from the uproar outside, I suggest Yeoul to stay in your dorms from the time being. Will it be okay for you?” he continued and eyes flustered Yeoul.

 Yeoul mustered her courage to reply him without sounding like a damn dolphin “Hmm.. I am okay with that.. T-hank.. you” she bowed politely.

 Did she hear it wrongly? She had to stay in Bangtan’s dorm, how embarrassing.

 Shoot, it was not embarrassing but they were talking about staying in a dorm with bunch of guys.

 Not literally ‘bunch’ since it was confirmed there would be 98% of male populations in the house and 2% female which was her.

 Chill Na Yeoul, it is not like you will see them running around the house naked. She mentally cursed.

----------------------

 Speaking of staying with a 98% of male population in the house, guess she was wrong about that point of not seeing them running around naked. That morning she woke up as early as she could since Yeoul intended to prepare breakfast for the boys, and most importantly to avoid any unforeseen incident happen like bumping into shirtless male after shower and so forth.

 Frankly speaking, it surprised her to see Jungkook, Namjoon and Hoseok were already lined up in front of the bathroom this early. These guys were about to knock each other off if they kept on standing there doing nothing.

 Jungkook stifled his yawn only to be greeted by Yeoul’s curious eyes “Oh morning..You are up early?” he smiled in the midst of his drowsiness.

 “Morning Jungkook. Mmm.. I thought no one would be awake this early since you guys got back quite late yesterday. What are you doing queuing here?” she glanced at sleepy Hoseok and Namjoon whom seem not bothered by her existence there.

 “Jin hyung is in the bathroom. It has been like one hour and I’m dying to pee” he mumbled cutely.

 Yeoul only nodded, puffing her cheeks “He must be scrubbing his dead skin” she stood beside Jungkook waiting for her turn. To their surprise, Taehyung came out from the bathroom followed by half naked Jin who only had towel hang around his torso.

 “Shit…. what are you two up to?” Namjoon’s eyes shot open as soon as he saw those two odd couples coming out from bathroom together.

 Flabbergasted Yeoul stared at Jin blankly as her body stiffened in her spot.

 “JIN HYUNG WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING TOGETHER IN ONE SMALL BATHROOM?” Hoseok shrieked dramatically.

 Unlike Jin, Taehyung was fully dress and looked ready to hit the sack again. He yawned loudly and walked passed them with a small nod, he didn’t even answer questions from the floor leaving them dumbfounded.

 “Kim Taehyung decided to barge in because he wanted to take a dump” Jin mumbled under his breath with annoyed face. Little did he knew, there was a 2% female population just right in front of him,staring at his exposed body. Oh, maybe he had something to flaunt like his wide shoulders, something to be proud off at least.

 Namjoon poked his side causing the older guy to squirm feeling a little ticklish “Oh.. that is scandalous. I think we might need another written statement in few days to declare your relationship with Tae” he joked. Jin wanted to get away from Namjoon childish tease.

 The maknae turned to face blank Yeoul “Nuna.. are you alright? Yeoul nuna?” he poked her cheeks trying to bring back her attention back to him. Just before she could tore her eyes from the sore sight before her, she witnessed an oh-not-so-cool scene. Namjoon and Jin teasing had moved to another level that caused Jin’s towel to slip down from his waist.

 Yeoul loud squealed caused everyone to stop from whatever they were doing, especially Jin who just happened to realize Yeoul was there with them this all time. Jin eyes widened as he quickly squish his legs together and covered his private part with his hands.

 ‘Okay what did I just see. I did not just witness that’ she mentally slapped herself. A pair of hand covered her eyes from back as the owner hissed under his breath “What in the world, do I have to remind you we have female guest here? Do not wander around with your towel hyung!” Jimin frowned.

 Thoughtful Namjoon picked up the towel, wrapping it around Jin’s waist “Shit this is all your fault” Jin shot the leader a dangerous glare.

 Flustered Jungkook was embarrassed of his hyungs childish fight, so he decided to break the awkwardness to give Yeoul time to regain her soul back to her body. The maknae then pushed the two older boys inside their room before things got worsened.

 Jimin shook his head, looking unhappy “How childish” being the only reasonable man in the area, Hoseok entered the bathroom not intending to join the fight.

 “Okay you need to get Jin hyung naked body out from your mind” he turned Yeoul to face him and as expected the girl was already crimson red.

 “Jimin that is dizzying” she pursed lips into a slight pout.

 He rolled his eyes in annoyance “This wont do, i wont let Jin hyung’s little minion dirtying your mind” with that he pulled Yeoul entering the room he shared with Hoseok and locked the door behind him.

 “Yah you don’t need to lock the doors, I need to prepare breakfast for everyone!” she flailed her arm like kids throwing their tantrum. She marched down to open the door but only to be blocked by Jimin body, he continued to step forward which flustered Yeoul.

 “Park Jimin… you are scaring me.. get away” her voice crack as she nervously averted her gaze from meeting Jimin’s intense one. Yeoul’s back was pressed against the cold wall behind her, Jimin lips were tugged into a playful smirk.

 “We still have to cleanse your corrupted mind though.. We have to replace it with something else” he palmed the wall beside her trapping Yeoul in between. Jimin stole few kisses right on her lips causing the shy girl turned into fifty shades of red.

 One of his free hands pulling her torso close to his body, as he leaned in for a soft but passionate kiss. She could feel his body heat against her, Yeoul’s mind tried to resist his kiss. To her dismay, it didn’t work that way, she ended up kissing him back as passionate as he was.

 Twirling her fingers in his hair, she nibbled his lower lips playfully earning a low groan from him. Now how on earth he sounded so sexy, at this early. She should refrain herself from having dirty thoughts but Park friggin Jimin was excreting an unnecessary sound. Not to mention his hands were all over body, it just felt so right.

 Within a second, they were already on his bed with Yeoul under him. He licked her lower lips before moving further to her neck. A simple kiss turned out to be an unexpected make out session, and who knew where else this could lead to?

 Not be able to surpass her voice any longer, she let out a low moan when he reached the most sensitive part of the body. Teasing, nipping, sucking and pampering it with so much love, she bit her lower lips holding back herself from screaming it aloud. The pleasure was too real to be truth. It had been so long since they got this close, it amused her how he still remember every sensitive areas on her bodies which drove her crazy.

 Clothes scattered on floor and the only thing left was her thin fabric covering her most fragile area and so did Jimin. He finally freed her and continued to shower kisses there, earning a deep grunt from Yeoul. One of her hands was locking his hair, as her legs gave away to the pleasure down there.

 “Jims…Please…” her breath hitched. Yeoul was reaching her peak and he knew it, just how he intended it to be.

 Winking at her way, Jimin continued to love her with his skillful tongue. Her body tense as she exhaled a deep breath feeling the ecstasy from his sinful tongue love making. After spending few more minutes there, Jimin slid up kissing her with so much passion.

 “I love you Yeoul.. so much” he whispered between kisses.

 Smiling like an angel, she stroked his bare back and murmured “I love you too” her voice was driving her insane waking up the beast in him. Oh well, should we blame anyone here?

 “So do you want it bare or covered” Jimin whispered teasingly.

 “PARK JIMIN!” she slapped his arm slightly embarrassed upon hearing the request.

 He bit her nose softly with a chuckle “Well it is upon request, I’m giving you choice”  

 “Mmm.. whichever that you want, I am giving you permission” she hummed.

 “Then bare is the answer” he laughed before leaning in for another breathtaking kiss.

 They were being human. Human with needs.

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This work belongs to  Chimswae © 2019. All Rights Reserved

[weasleyimaginewheezes]

Fred x Slytherin!reader / Expect the unexpected (1/2)

A/n This is a request from a while back and I finally fulfilled it. I’ve been working on it for a while now so I’m so happy I finished it! I just finished my essay and I’m in a writing mood so I’m trying to finish my requests off as best as I can today and tomorrow 😊 So since the request was quite long, it’s a long story and I’ve left it open at the end for a part 2 if anyone wants or which I’ll probably do because I needed a cut off point for the fic before I got too carried away, lol. I hope this is what you wanted and that I did the fic justice, I also hope I got all the facts about the Brazilian wizarding school correct and everything else. I didn't proofread because I really wanted to publish so there might be a few mistakes but hopefully not. Bit of an implied lil crush on Cedric but don’t worry we still love Fred! Title sucks as usual. Long a/n over! A/n

Summary: Set in GoF. Reader is a 5th year transfer student from Castelobruxo. She finds that life at Hogwarts is harder than just fitting in when you’re new. After years of travelling around and moving from place to place, she feels she’s not expecting anything new at Hogwarts that is until a certain redhead troublemaker intrigues her in a way she’s never experienced before.

Requested by @i-want-my-na-me-back (Hope this is alright and what you wanted lovely!)

Word count: 4.7k+ (Like I said its long)

Warnings: Swearing, light physical violence

Moving from one place to another as much as you had was tough. When you were small, your parents often relocated at least once every 4 months so you’d never been around anywhere longer enough to call it home. When you’d finally settled in Brazil after 9 years of moving back and forth, you were happy. Castelobruxo was a good wizarding school, the culture and scenery was amazing and you’d actually made a group of friends.

But you knew that nothing could last forever so when your Mum announced to you and your brother that you were moving back to England you weren’t surprised. Disappointed sure, but not surprised. You’d made a life here and now you were moving again, you had every right to be angry. Although part of you was excited to experience Hogwarts, the other half dreaded the thought of being a transfer student. At least you’d been able to stay in one wizarding school up until now without having to be the ‘new kid’.

Your brother, however, was ecstatic at the move. He constantly discussed the prospect of being sorted, the esteemed professors that taught there and all the different kinds of magic you could learn. Oh and you couldn’t forget that Harry Potter himself attended the school, mainly because your brother had read up all about him and was now star struck at the thought of meeting the famous boy who lived.

When you got back to England after a long flight of 11 hours, you couldn’t wait to sleep unlike your brother who still seemed to be bursting with excitement at the new school day tomorrow. Quite frankly, you heard enough about how he was sure he’d end up in Hufflepuff and presumed you were more Slytherin, he’d meant it as an insult you were sure but you couldn’t have cared less. Slytherin was for the ambitious and the cunning and to you that sounded like exactly the kind of place you wanted to be. You didn’t care about its reputation, quite honestly you just wanted to somewhere to belong, where you could get on with school and meet like-minded people. Hogwarts seemed a pretty good, if not your only, place to start.

Luckily you were able to start the year the same way as everyone else by boarding the Hogwarts express on platform 9 3/4. It was still strange you were a fifth year and didn’t know anybody whereas everyone else had their friendship groups. You felt like a fish out of water. Your brother had less to be worried about, he was only a first year so he already fit in with his age group. It wasn’t expected of him to know anyone.

“Right. Now I know this isn’t ideal for you (y/n) but just try your best okay?” Your mother kissed you on the cheek which you quickly pulled away from. Great start, you thought, I already have my mum embarrassing me. As your mother made sure your brother was all set, your eye was caught by another family not far from you on the platform. A short plump woman leaned in to kiss each of her redheaded children, similar to how your Mum had done. They all grimaced at her and hurriedly made their way onto the train, you relaxed in the thought that you weren’t the only one with embarrassing parents.

At least the compartments were cosy as you settled in by the window, your brother sat adjacent practically bouncing in his seat out of excitement. You watched the scenery of the countryside pass for a little while before your compartment door was opened. “hello!” Your brother cheerily greeted the new guest with a wave. You looked to see a tall boy around your age wave back. He had dark hair and was rather attractive in your opinion. You blushed at the thought as the boy asked a question, you watched his lips move but didn’t hear a word.

“I’m sorry what?” You inquired embarrassed at your lack of attention.

“You’re (y/n) right? (y/n) (l/n)?”

“yes, that’s me.” Your voice was unsure, how did he know your name?

“I’m Cedric Diggory.” He extended his hand towards you and you shook it politely. “I’m supposed to be your ‘guide’ so to speak. Help you settle in since you’re new.” He smiled kindly towards you.

“Great.” You let go of his hand and he asked if he could sit with you. You agreed with a smile before he sat on the space next to you. Your brother gave a small smirk towards you and you kicked him.

“OW!”

“Sorry, foot slipped.” You apologised, your brother glaring as Cedric laughed, and began to discuss Hogwarts with you and your brother.

“So, you’re in Hufflepuff?!” Your brother asked excitedly. Cedric nodded with a smile. “Cool! I want to be in Hufflepuff! Do you know Harry Potter?!” You gave a look to your younger sibling as to tell him to ‘cool it’ to which he just defiantly screwed up his face and continued looking hopefully at Cedric who nodded.

“Actually, yeah I met him over the summer.” Your brother’s eyes widened and he smiled, eager to ask more questions.

The rest of the conversation between the three of you was about what to expect at Hogwarts and different interests such as quidditch. Soon Cedric left after one of his friends came by the compartment and they walked off.

Shortly after, in the last hour of your train ride, you saw three boys running out in the corridor of the train. You recognised them as 3 of the redheaded children from the platform. 2 older boys were running quite fast down the train as a younger boy chased them angrily. The whole commotion made your brother laugh but you just sighed and wondered what the hell you were letting yourself in for this year.  

“And this here is the great hall, you’ll eat here, study here and do whatever you want within reason of course.” Cedric laughed to you and you gave an unsure one back. The Great Hall was already littered with students all sporting black robes with different coloured linings and embellishments. You gulped, you weren’t even sure where to sit. You assumed you might as well sit with Cedric but before you could follow him to the Hufflepuff table, you were ushered by a stern looking professor who was currently leading the first years down to the front. She nodded her head for you to follow her and not wanting to mess up on your first day you obliged.

You were confused as you stood with the first years, towering over them and feeling immensely out of place. The professor gave a speech before an old looking hat on a perched stool began to randomly sing aloud. It made several of the students at the front including yourself jump.

After the hat had finished its song, the professor began to read names from a rather long piece of parchment. You felt a tug on your robes and looked down to see your brother smiling up at you. “Hey (y/n)! I guess you’re being sorted too. I’m quite scared actually.” You smiled kindly and reassuringly down at him, rubbing his arm for comfort.

“You’ll be fine, at least you’re not the tallest one here.” You were happy to hear him laugh as you rolled your eyes. The hat screamed “GRYFINDOR” to the first occupant on the stool and the young girl walked over to the table filled with red lined robes with cheers all around.

Eventually it was your turn to step up. Everyone began to whisper as you sat down, a couple of sniggers sounded from somewhere within the hall. The old hat seemed to read into your thoughts and talked to you, only you. There was a short moment of deliberation from the hat before it screamed “SLYTHERIN!” to the rest of the hall. Your heart sped up as the table furthest to the right erupted into cheers. You walked down and was met with handshakes from the prefects of your new house.

A small boy, looking no younger than 14 with pale skin and sleek blonde hair threw you a daggering look. You smiled sarcastically back and it made him turn away. You watched your brother get sorted into Hufflepuff, he almost ran to the table in pure excitement and you knew he was restraining himself from hugging everyone he met at the table. He smiled over to you and you smiled back but it was partially forced because as much as he annoyed you, you had wanted him to be with you.

After dinner, your new fellow Slytherin’s led the way down to the common room. It was located next to the dungeons making you instantly more nervous. However, the common room itself was far from a dungeon. Everything was covered in an emerald green and silver from the walls to the sofa cushions. A warm fire roared sufficing for the darkness of the room. Many students retired to their dorm rooms, a kind Slytherin girl you had been introduced to at dinner led you to your shared room. Your trunk had been placed at the bottom of the bed with your new uniform and an owl that wasn’t yours. You gave a heavy sigh as the tag on the cage read only your last name and not the first.

“Where do you think you’re going?” You turned back, stopping in the doorway to look at your roommate in surprise.

“To return this stupid owl to my brother.” You indicated towards the hooting owl, sitting perched in its cage.

“No-one’s aloud out after curfew.” The tall girl huffed as though this was obvious information. Your eyes roamed to the other girls who all nodded.

“Well, it isn’t staying here with me so I’m returning it otherwise it will just hoot all night. I’ll be quick.” There was clear irritation in your voice not only for the owl but for the girls in the room. They all looked at you as if you were crazy, the tall girl came up and took the cage from your hand only for owl to increase its sounds. “Well, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.” She placed the cage down by your bed as you laid down. The girl poked a finger through the bars to pet the tawny owl before it nipped her and she yelped in exaggerated pain. You fought to stifle a laugh as you rolled on to your side and smiled widely.

The other girls fell asleep rather quickly but you stayed awake. A hoot sounded for the hundredth time and you had to bit your tongue to stop screaming at the owl. You didn’t know what it wanted and didn’t know how to cater for it. Screw curfew, I want sleep, you thought. You picked up the cage and walked as quietly as you could out of the dorm and into the corridors. You thought about the brief things Cedric had said as you had walked in to the castle. Two common rooms were in towers, one was near the kitchens and Slytherin was of course near the dungeons. You really didn’t have much to go on so you just walked in one direction and hoped for the best.

In about 10 seconds you had become lost. Very lost. It didn’t help matters that all was dark. You muttered ‘Lumos’ into the air with your wand held in front of you and light suddenly illuminated the corridor in which you stood. You sighed a breath of relief but it left your lungs too soon as you heard heavy footsteps running from somewhere nearby. You shone your wand up and down the corridor until it illuminated two figures closely followed by a third and a smaller 4th, all running towards you. Your heart stopped, body frozen as the two tall figures screamed at you to run. You didn’t think twice about who they were or why you were running as your fight-flight response set in, your legs running faster than your mind could keep up with. The owl cage rattled in your hands, the owl itself had woken up from its eventual sleep and was now hooting along with a meowing from a cat.

You followed the two running, redheaded figures in front of you, running and running until the chasing figure seemed to have fallen behind. One of the boys ran through one door as his brother ran through another, your mind made a snap decision and followed the latter into a small empty classroom. You closed the door and rested against it, heaving for breath. You placed the calming owl’s cage onto the floor by your feet and let your body relax. Your closed eyes opened at the sound of laughter. The redhead you had followed was chuckling breathlessly as he sat on a table in the middle of the room. He regained his posture as he spotted you leaning against the door and suddenly his gleeful smile had turned into a smirk. He jumped down from the table and made his way over to you.

“Fred Weasley.” He extended his hand and after a moment’s hesitation you took it.

“(y/n) (l/n).” You nodded at him as you broke the contact and instead met his eyes. You couldn’t see them perfectly in the light but you could just catch their rich brown colour and the way they lifted with his smirk in the brief ray of moonlight that entered through the window. You were suddenly conscious of your face as he roamed his eyes over every feature with a smirking expression.

“So, what’s a gorgeous girl like you doing out here in the middle of the night?” Fred slid back up onto one of the tables. You were grateful for the dark nature of the room as you blushed at the compliment.

“Could ask you the same.” You replied wittily and Fred’s smirk grew.

“Well I wouldn’t say I’m gorgeous,” You rolled your eyes as he held a hand over his heart before continuing. “But if you must know me and Georgie were playing a joke on Filch. The joke being getting out of bed and making him chase us.” He laughed at his own joke. You assumed George was his identical brother that had made a different turning. “How come I’ve never seen you before?” He tilted his head towards you.

“I’m new.” You shrugged and sat down on the floor next to the now asleep owl. Fred didn’t seem happy enough with your answer.

“Hmm, you don’t look like a first year.” His eyes narrowed and you rolled your own.

“I transferred from- you know what? Its none of your business anyway.” You held up a hand towards him and he mocked outrage.

“Well you know what…?” He trailed off, obviously forgetting your name.

“(y/n).” You supplied, merlin knows why you were helping him.

“Well you what (y/n)?” Fred waited until you nodded along and then gave a dramatic sigh. “Maybe it’s none of your business to be hiding in here with me. Maybe I should just send you and your little friend,” He gestured towards the owl. “to Filch for detention. Of course, that would look pretty bad on your first day, wouldn’t it?”

You angrily narrowed your face towards him as he laughed at his own mockery of you. You turned away from him before tensing at the sound of footsteps outside the door.

“Open up! I know you’re in there! I got your brother Weasley!” A croaky voice, you assumed was Filch’s sounded on the other side of the door. You moved away not knowing how Filch typically dealt with students who broke curfew.

“Shit!” Fred whispered into the air as he pulled you up and tugged you to a small adjoining door. You looked at him, asking him silently if he was serious as he pulled open the door to reveal the tiniest cupboard you had ever seen. Filch pushed the door but it didn’t budge. You gritted your teeth before entering the cupboard with Fred following behind you. You just managed to both fit and close the door as the other door opened. A small slit in the door panelling allowed you to see into the classroom. You hit Fred away so you could peer out of it.

Filch had entered holding George, who was yelping in pain, by the ear. He let George go as he surveyed the room. He was obivious to the cupboard in which you stood as he checked under every table. He was so exhausted by the end of his search that he gave up, yelled in defeat and then repicked George, who had just lessened the reddening of his ear, up again.

“This is brutality this is!” George spoke in outrage as he was dragged out of the classroom by Filch. To your surprise just as they left, George threw a knowing wink over his shoulder towards the cupboard door.

“Well, it’s quite cosy in here isn’t it?” You turned back to look at Fred who was roaming his eyes around the small space. His eyes landed on you and he smirked. You scoffed as you opened the door which Fred had just decided to lean against. He caught himself before he face planted the floor and you had to bite back a laugh. Fred glared at you as he picked himself back up.

You walked straight past him to the exiting door with a sarcastic smirk to rival his mischievous one. “See you around (l/n)!” Fred yelled as you walked out without another word.

The next day there seemed to be a lot of hype surrounding the events happening at the school. You’d heard of the Triwizard tournament, it was legend after all, but you’d never taken much fascination to competitions or sports. They just weren’t your thing. However, they seemed to be Cedric’s thing as you found out on his ‘guided tour of Hogwarts’.

“So, you’re going to enter then?” Your brother had asked Cedric as you reached the castle grounds.

“Yeah I mean you’d be mental not to. It’s a once in lifetime thing.” Cedric talked about it as though it was his dream, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

“More like you’d be mental to enter.” You quipped and Cedric gave you an unsure look. He was just about to counter your argument when his attention was caught by a small group nearing Hagrid’s hut.

“Hey guys.” Cedric greeted a group of fourth years who turned out to be_

“That’s him! Harry Potter!” Your brother nudged you quite painfully in the side just as you noticed the scar on the teen’s forehead. One of his friend’s, a girl with large busy brown hair, heard him and raised her eyebrows.

“Hey.” Harry gave a small wave to the older boy and then introduced himself to you and your brother, who had trouble keeping the smile off his face at the meeting. Harry noticed and was clearly used to it because he just smiled it off and resumed a conversation with Cedric about the quidditch world cup they had seen over the summer. You’d read about it in the papers, how death eaters had invaded the scene and a dark mark had been cast.

It was just as Cedric was about to leave and walk towards the quidditch pitch that something flew into one of Harry’s friend’s eyes. You recognised him as the redheaded boy on the train who had chased the twins, whom you had met last night. He yelped in pain as laughter sounded from nearby.

“Got to work on the aim, I think Freddie. It was slightly off since I was aiming for his ear.” One of the twins came closer and looked at Ron in disappointment. The other twin, who must have been Fred, bent down to pick up the enchanted paper aeroplane which was shaking in his grip. George swished his wand and it stopped. The younger boy gave them a glare as he held his hand over his eye.

“You bastards!”

“Now Ronnie, that isn’t a nice word.” Fred grabbed a hold of ‘Ronnie’s’ shoulders and gave a mock look of concern. You noticed as he spoke that he had a slightly higher and softer voice than his twin. Ron pushed Fred off and stormed away, Harry and the bushy haired girl followed. The twins just kept laughing. Cedric raised his eyebrows at them before he began to walk away that was until Fred noticed you. His eyes darted to the green crest on your robe.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were a Slytherin.” He smirked as you crossed your arms defiantly.

“Yeah well, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Your eyes met Fred’s and for a brief second, they locked onto each other, everything else became a blur. A weird sensation felt in your stomach and your brows furrowed, breaking the contact between you and Fred just as Cedric politely said goodbye and moved onto the Quidditch pitch which entranced your brother.

After you had seen the marvels of Hogwarts castle and were just walking back to your respective dormitories, you pulled Cedric back a little from where your brother was leading the way.

“Hey Cedric?” As you carried on walking he raised an eyebrow towards you in response and you whispered quietly to him, “Would you look after him for me? I mean he’s tough most of the time but he can be a bit,” You desperately searched for the words in your mind. “led on by others.” Cedric nodded, understanding what you meant.

“Of course I will.”

“Thank you.”

You said goodbye to the both of them as you walked further down to the dungeons. It seemed more than just your brother, who had teased you for the majority of the day about your ‘moment’ with Fred, had saw you with the redheaded twin.

Just as you sat down with a few girls you had become friends with, a drawling voice sounded near you. “Is it true then?” Draco Malfoy, whose name you had learnt yesterday from a fellow Slytherin as well as the importance of his father at the ministry, leant on your chair.

“You’re really friends with a Weasley?” You saw his smug smirking face that almost looked disgusted at the same time. News of you being the new girl had caught on fast as well as some rumours of your past that were definitely not true so you weren’t surprised that news of you talking to Fred had even though it was only a conversation.

You nodded confidently but your mind questioned it all, why was it so bad if you were? Draco laughed maliciously and then snarled at you. You asked him what the hell did it matter to which he replied, “Because they’re blood traitors.” He said it with casual matter-of-factness that it made you blink a couple of times. “Father says they disgrace the name of wizard entirely and those twins think they’re so funny.” His voice was cruel and mean, it angered you and you weren’t entirely sure why his words were affecting you so. Sure, Fred and George were a bit smug but they could be quite funny.

“She can be friends with who she likes Draco, now buzz off. We have actual work to do.” You were surprised as one of the girls from across you voiced her opinion prompting Draco to narrow his eyes nastily towards her and then walk off followed by his goon pair of friends. The 2 other girls you were sat with gave you a smile and started to help you with your potions notes for tomorrow’s class. The stereotypes you had heard about Slytherin's were terrible judgements, you thought as you wrote down the ingredients for a particular potion.

A couple of weeks later and you had settled rather nicely into Hogwarts and your new house. The 3 Slytherin girls had quickly become your friends as well as Cedric who was always there to offer advice about the castle or it’s events. The Triwizard tournament had become a hot topic of conversation around the castle more and more so as the term went on.

You had tried to talk to Fred and George as much as you can, wanting to be friends with them but also feeling intrigued by them. If you told most Gryffindor’s you were a Slytherin they would dismiss you at the bat (one even booed you once) but the twins were different especially Fred. They didn’t care about the colour of your robe and had even jumped into defend you once or twice before realising you were quite capable of standing up for yourself. A fact which impressed Fred so much so that he started to seek you out and made more of an effort to talk to you.

Draco of course kept going with his snarl little comments until one day when you had simply had enough. And when he had crossed the line big time.

You were sat scribbling on an old piece of parchment when Draco decided to occupy the seat across from you. He stared at you for a small while before he began his usual dribble about being friends with Gryffindor’s and how it looked bad for Slytherin house. You rolled your eyes as usual and ignored him. “You know rumour has it that one of those Weasley brothers has a crush on you.” At that you looked up and Draco looked gleeful that he had got your attention. “Oh that got your attention and,” He leaned in closer to look at your face and you scowled at him, pushing him away. “Merlin you’re blushing! Which means you like the filthy little bloodtraitor back!” He laughed horribly, biting into an apple he pulled from his pocket. Your fists clenched the quill you were writing with. If it was true that one of them, presumably Fred or at least you hoped, then that meant that your quickly developed crush could be something more. Your thoughts made you miss Draco’s sentence as your heart beat quicker at the idea of a relationship with Fred. He snapped his fingers annoyingly in your face prompting you to bite your tongue and settle for a roll of your eyes once more.

He settled back more comfortably into the armchair where he sat, eating his apple and oh how you wanted to slap it right out of his hand. “So is it true that your brother was adopted and he’s really a mudblood? And that’s why he was put in Hufflepuff because that makes so much sense-“

That was it. That was the line and he had crossed it. You stormed round to where he was sitting and didn’t even try to fight your anger before you slapped his confused yet still smug little face. The apple flew out of his hand, which instinctively reached up to hold his now bright red cheek. The fruit sailed through the air like a small quaffle and hit one of Draco’s friends square in the face.

“You little-! My father will hear about this!” Draco stuttered over his words as he glared evilly at you before stomping away up to his dormitory, his confused friend followed, still rubbing the spot on his nose where the apple had hit him. You had to fight back a laugh at it all, your friends began giggling in the corner but every other Slytherin looked appalled. Draco had already built you up to be an outcast and now you felt you had pushed yourself into full exile.

The next day, it wasn’t surprising that Snape sought you out with a smiling Draco by his side and gave you detention for the next 2 weeks along with a deduction of 20 house points for hitting another student ‘unprovoked’. You had scoffed at his last words because you knew that you were entirely provoked but it was your word against his and you didn’t see your friend’s words counting for much or the rest of your house backing you up so the argument was futile.

There was one bright side however to your detention. And his name was Fred Weasley.

Part 2

[junker-town]

Super Bowl commercials, ranked

Screenshot: Cheetos

You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll yawn.

The Super Bowl is here, which means we have the most-watched TV program of the year. With all those viewers comes an exorbitant advertising cost, up to a record $5.6 million for a 30-second ad.

Spending all that money brings with it a ton of eyeballs, and brands try to make it worth it with their most ambitious spots. This year’s Super Bowl commercials run the gamut, from tear-jerkingly sweet to face-punchingly infuriating. Here’s a look at the most memorable — good, bad, and in between.

The home runs, best of the best

Loretta (Google)

Several of the commercials on Super Bowl Sunday have an A-list cast, with our most recognized stars trying to get us to buy something. But sometimes, the most simple approach can be beautiful.

I first saw this commercial as a pre-roll ad before a different YouTube video. It was so beautifully haunting that I couldn’t bring myself to click “skip ad” once the obligatory five seconds lapsed. Each piano key strike was foreboding, but I couldn’t click away from this poor old man, simultaneously attempting to fend off memory loss and trying to remember his dead wife. A valiant fight against the ravages of time but one we are all destined to lose.

Because I use humor — or “humor” if you prefer — to cope while processing actual human emotion, the main thing going through my mind as tears streamed down my face was that Google should have titled this commercial “Get Back Loretta,” but probably didn’t want to pay exorbitant license fees for Beatles music.

The very Good Dog (WeatherTech)

This ad is tearjerking in a different, more uplifting way. This is a commercial for WeatherTech, but not really about their company at all. WeatherTech CEO David MacNeil used his 30-second spot to thank the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine for saving his dog Scout, who suffered from cancer of the blood cell walls. The commercial promotes a WeatherTech website for donations to help the school, and if that isn’t uplifting enough just look at this sweet, beautiful dog:

Photo: WeatherTech on YouTube

Groundhog Day (Jeep)

It just feels good to see Phil Connors and Ned Ryerson again, and both look 27 years older. There was no The Irishman-style CGI de-aging here. The added weight of all those years make the dread on Connors’ (Bill Murray’s) face that much more real, when he wakes up at the beginning of the commercial. But his day becomes less hellish once he spots a new Jeep, then proceeds to steal along with Punxsutawney Phil for a joy ride.

This is only the second Super Bowl to fall on February 2, so perfect timing to resurrect the classic film. The other Groundhog Day Super Bowl was in 2014, when a defense with Richard Sherman obliterated one of the most dynamic offenses the NFL has ever seen. Hmmm.

Getting the message across

Katie Sowers (Microsoft)

This is a longer version of an ad that has been running throughout the NFL playoffs, expanded for the Super Bowl — a national introduction to Katie Sowers, the offensive assistant coach for the 49ers, and her road to coaching. Sowers is the first female coach and the first openly gay coach in Super Bowl history.

“People tell me that people aren’t ready to have a woman lead, but these guys have been learning from women their whole lives. Moms, grandmas, teachers. We have all these assumptions about what women do, and what men do,” Sowers says. “I’m not trying to be the best female coach. I’m trying to be the best coach.”

The message is as clear as it is inspirational. Solid work all around.

The Secret Kicker

This features an anonymous placekicker nailing a field goal, but once the helmet comes off to reveal it was Carli Lloyd (joined in the commercial by her USWNT teammate Crystal Dunn), the crowd is at first shocked, then applauds her successful kick. The slogan “Let’s kick inequality” is strong, and it dawned on me — of all the commercials, this has maybe the best chance of coming true. Lloyd clearly has the leg, nailing a 55-yarder during an Eagles' practice in the 2019 preseason. It’s not that farfetched that a soccer star could eventually make it in the NFL. Or maybe once Lloyd is done with soccer she can shift to basketball instead.

Make Space for Women (Olay)

This has the best tagline from any of these commercials — “When we make space for women, we make space for everyone” — and the ad features a real astronaut (Nicole Stott) among the all-female cast. The empowering commercial also touts a #MakeSpaceForWomen hashtag, with Olay donating up to $500,000 to Girls Who Code.

Bizarre, but good

Rick & Morty (Pringles)

I love the manic energy here. Though this is an ad for Pringles, it might as well be a commercial for "Rick & Morty." If the show is anything close to this chaotic, I’m in.

An SNL skit, but funnier

Sam Elliott reciting "Old Town Road" (Doritos)

The regular commercial was fine, featuring a dance-off between Lil Nas X and Sam Elliott, plus haunting mustache CGI work. But for me, the better ad is the one above.

Hearing Sam Elliott read the phone book would be a treat, but hearing him act out lyrics to Old Town Road by Lil Nas X is a delight. The way the others in the bar react to Elliott’s character makes it clear he’s a man to be respected. I can’t help but wonder if this is simply world building, creating a backstory to the character of Wade Garrett so we can finally get that Road House prequel we’ve been clamoring for for decades.

Smaht Pahk (Hyundai)

In theory, this ad should not work as well as it does. The three lead actors — Chris Evans, Rachel Dratch, and John Krasinski — are all from the area, so it adds some authenticity to their exaggerated Boston accents. The commitment to the bit is very strong (I counted 15 times the word park — or rather “pahk” — was used), and that’s what sells it for me. The only better use for a Boston accent in a commercial would have been if Chipotle bought time to apologize for child labah violations.

Plus, this kind of car commercial is a welcome reprieve from the usual type we get during football season, with folks buying giant-bow-adorned cars for their spouse.

Can’t Touch This (Cheetos popcorn)

You had me at M.C. Hammer. That could have been the entire commercial — it basically was, with the main character getting out of various tasks because of the orange Cheetos dust on his fingers — and I would have been fine. But what sold it for me was after the trust fall, the poor guy who fell to the ground, not caught by the orange-fingered culprit, expertly delivers, “Why?” I don’t know why it made me laugh, but it did.

I can’t unsee this

The Shining remake (Mountain Dew Zero Sugar)

Had Bryan Cranston retired after Malcom in the Middle he still would have been revered for playing one of the most memorable and hilarious television dads in history. But Breaking Bad will lead his obituary, and for good reason. Cranston is a wonderfully gifted actor, and his channeling Jack Nicholson in a remake of The Shining for this commercial — the slogan is “as good as the original, maybe better?” — is quite good. But I will not be able to shake this image out of my head for some time:

Screenshot: Mountain Dew on YouTube

The Doppelgänger

This isn’t a commercial at all, but rather a tweeted tease from Honda before the game. I couldn’t help but notice the Helpful Honda guy looks a hell of a lot like Brutus.

Photo: Honda on Twitter

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Snoozefest

Typical Americans (Budweiser)

I appreciate the sarcastic irony of the ad, using footage of good deeds and various accomplishments, with bonus points for using USWNT Instagram stories from the post-World Cup celebration (but they should have found a way to work in “You’re welcome for this content, bitch!”). But still, this commercial falls flat. It’s probably the best of the boring subgroup here for at least having the decency to avoid jamming some shitty Lee Greenwood song into our ears.

Sonic the Hedgehog

This is a combination commercial and trailer for the upcoming "Sonic" movie, but is probably the most sports-relevant of the ads so far. Michael Thomas of the Saints, Christian McCaffrey of the Panthers, Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix, and NASCAR driver Kyle Busch are known for speed in their respective sports, but all sing the praises of the movie's main character, Sonic the Hedgehog. The inclusion of said athletes does nothing to save this commercial from being boring, however.

By the way, I hope there eventually is a sequel to this "Sonic" movie, just so it can have the tagline “The Sega Continues.”

Jimmy Works It Out (Michelob Ultra)

There are a ton of people who find Jimmy Fallon funny, so this is probably fine for them. This has everything a Super Bowl commercial is supposed to have: elaborate production, cameos from athletes and stars. But I can’t shake the fact that Jimmy Fallon tries too hard; the payoff just isn’t there for me. Maybe I still see him as the guy who laughed through every "SNL" sketch he was ever in.

Ostensibly this is an ad for Michelob Ultra, but it might as well be vanilla beer to match the bland Fallon.

Please, God, go away

Gabe Gabriel is my mortal enemy. He is unavoidable on Super Bowl Sunday, so stay safe out there everybody.