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youkissedareaderinthedark · 10 months ago

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Synopsis: The 3 times everyone else knew you and Lando were in love with each other, and the 1 time you two actually admitted it

female driver reader x lando norris

A/N: for this one, reader is 22 and drives for mercedes with george. also, most of the story is told from lando’s pov because this originally started off as an entirely different 3+1 fic, and I don’t have the energy to fix it. and obviously, things like race results, driver lineups, ect will be changed to better fit the story

Lando Norris knows Formula 1 is unpredictable. He knows you can’t tell what will happen during a race, nonetheless a season. But no matter how unpredictable the sport is, this was the most surprising part by far.

It’s barely been 10 years, but Lando feels like he’s known you forever. You two first met at the Karting World Championship in 2014, a race you were teammates with both him and Zhou Guanyu in. Even though he beat you to first place, your 14-year-old-self didn’t let that stop you from becoming best friends with him.

It was hard to keep track of each other when the two of you were traveling all over Europe to compete in different series, so Lando almost thought he’d never get to see you again. Until in 2020, when he heard talks of the most successful female driver yet making her way through the ranks.

Since you were announced as apart of the Mercedes driver line up in the beginning of 2022, you two have been attached at the hip. You both lived in Monaco and whenever you weren’t busy with media or team duties, you were together. Traveling, in the paddock, celebrating races; if you were there, so was Lando.

Fans were used to that fact and they usually expected it off the track, but not for races and track battles, so everyone was a bit surprised when you two placed P3 and P4 in Bahrain.

It was Round 1 of the 2023 season and even though everyone knows your results at Bahrain don’t dictate your entire season, Lando was still excited you were on the podium. He had qualified P6 behind George and yourself in P5 and P4, and with both Fernando’s Aston Martin and both Red Bulls in front of you, you weren’t expected to make it on the top steps.

Though after a few badly timed pit stops, Lando ended the race in P4, 5 seconds behind you in P3. Cheers rung out from around the grandstands as both the Mercedes and McLaren cars crossed the finish line. Your team garages were ecstatic, climbing the fence to meet you at the checkered flag and shouting congratulations through the radio.

Lando watched from behind as you steered your car into perc ferme alongside Max and Sergio and climbed out to celebrate with your team. It wasn’t P1, but it was a huge achievement to place so high so early in the season and it was obvious how proud everyone was of you.

He couldn’t help himself from leaving his car and engulfing you in a hug. You were both laughing and the Brit could practically hear your grin through it.

“You did amazing! I’m so proud of you” He says, the words muffled through your helmets.

“Thanks, I wish you were gonna be up there with me, you deserve it” you say, looking up to the podium.

Lando smiles and he’s suddenly grateful his helmet is there to hide his blush. “Thanks. Don’t worry though, soon enough we’ll be up there with a 1-2”

“With me P1, I assume?”

Your eyes are playful underneath your helmet, and he laughs. “Yeah, we’ll see. Go celebrate with your team, Y/n. Don’t ditch me for the after party though!” He shouts as you walk over to your post-race interview, starting to laugh.

“I’d never ditch you!” You shout back over your shoulder, your helmet and balaclava coming off to reveal your grin.

Lando leaves to get weighed and meet his team back in the McLaren garage, keeping his head gear on because of the stupid smile he’s all too aware is still on his face. He was supposed to go to the media pen to finish up some race interviews before sitting down for the debrief with McLaren, but you were his best friend; he couldn’t miss your first podium of the season.

Lando, still clad in his orange race suit, arrives just as Max’s national anthem is playing. He probably should be paying at least a bit of attention to the winner, he’s one of Lando’s best mates after all, but then he saw you, grinning on the third step under the many bright lights of the street circuit, and he couldn’t look away.

He watched with his own smile as you opened your bottle of champagne and poured the majority of it on the Red Bull drivers, before downing the rest of it yourself. He’d wait until you came back to street level, where he’d be waiting for another hug and feeling the sticky champagne and bright grin against his neck.

You’d start talking about the race, the moments where you didn’t think you’d make it to the podium and how happy you’d be if you could get another one. You’ll ask about his race and tell him that next weekend, he’d better be up there beside you, no matter what.

And Lando will be next to you, like he always is, smiling and hanging on to every word you say because you’re happy, so he’s happy too.

What Lando would not realize is that each moment, from when he hugged you after you got out of your car to just then when you were walking through the paddock together, had been caught by multiple people, each one thinking the one thing you two had not yet realized.

“They’re so in love with each other”

Lando Norris did not hate the Miami Grand Prix, at least not usually. But this time around, F1’s 2023 stop in Florida is one he could’ve gladly missed.

It was a double header weekend, and after coming off an extremely mediocre P9 finish in Azerbaijan, Lando was less than excited to spend 4 days in the hot sun in an even more mediocre car. There were so many unnecessary media obligations to go with the flashiness of Miami, and by Friday evening he was already looking forward to the flight back home.

The one thing that did brighten his day was you, who he also had dinner plans with after FP2. He let you distract him with whichever details about your life you had neglected to tell him before, let you get him excited for Sunday’s race again, and let you put him in a better mood.

You two were walking from the restaurant to Lando’s car, still talking and laughing as usual, when Lando asked to you come by his hotel after qualifying the next day.

“If both our qualifying are shit, we can get ice cream and mope together,” he posed jokingly, “and if it goes great, we can celebrate together as well”

But then you stop laughing and your tone changes. “Oh, sorry Lando, but I’m going out with Logan after qualifying; he’s gonna show me around Miami a bit. I’m sure he won’t mind if you come though? Do you want to?”

He pauses; Logan? “No it’s fine. I should probably be relaxing after tomorrow anyways, I think the heat’s getting to me a bit. You two have fun, though” He assures you, keeping a light-hearted tone to mask his distaste.

Logan?

Lando didn’t have anything against Logan, he thought he was a nice guy with a lot of potential. But now he’s taking his best friend away from him and for what reason? You can see Miami any day, any time you want, and if you wanted to, you certainly didn’t need him as your guide.

But fine. Lando does not own you, you’re perfectly allowed to have your own friends, and if you wanted to have an evening out with Logan Sargeant, it was perfectly okay with Lando.

The Brit drove you back to your hotel before setting off to his own, and while you were his best friend and of course, delightful company, he couldn’t help but dwell on the sour taste left in his mouth. He didn’t know why this bothered him so much.

By the time Lando was back in his room, he was too tired to figure it why and decided it was a problem for Future Lando.

He woke up Saturday morning completely forgetting about the events of last night and instead focused on getting the best results possible today. He met up with his trainer for breakfast, left for the track, and joined his PR officer in the McLaren garage. She was escorting Lando to the media pen when he suddenly slowed.

“Lando? What’s wrong?” The woman took note of his tense figure, his hard-set eyes.

All because you were walking away from the media pen with Logan at your side, laughing and looking way too happy for his liking.

He felt the sourness this time. He felt it rise throughout his body and spread like wild fire. His only question was why.

Why were you laughing so much? Why did he feel this way? Why couldn’t he let any of this go? Why were you with Logan and not with him?

“Nothing,” the McLaren drives says. “let’s go” Lando never usually hurries to the media pen, but he didn’t want to look at you and Mr. American boy-next-door any longer.

He was asked questions and he gave answers, Lando just couldn’t tell you what any of them were. This was the problem Past Lando had left for him, and he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

He ruled out anger; he didn’t feel mad, per se, more frustrated than angry. He wasn’t upset; he certainly didn’t feel sad. Possessiveness? He wasn’t usually possessive over his friends though, and you two weren’t dating or anything like that, so there was no real reason to feel protective. Still, Lando couldn’t shake the sourness, and was once again left without answers about you and his feelings.

It wasn’t hard to miss the Brit’s change in attitude, and it wasn’t something his friends were going to ignore.

“Are you okay, mate?” Carlos says, walking alongside him through the paddock after FP3. “You’ve been quiet all day”

“Yeah, ‘m fine. Just tired, I guess” Lando shrugs, not sure if he should tell the Ferrari driver.

“C’mon, you’re seriously not gonna tell me? It’ll make you feel better, trust me” Carlos pushed, and he hesitated before answering.

“I don’t know. I barely know what’s wrong myself” Carlos gives him a look, and he sighs before continuing.

“It’s just weird with Y/n lately. I don’t know but the entire weekend’s just been weird”

“Why? Because she’s hanging out with Logan?”

“How did you-”

“Lando, it’s not that hard to notice, and it’s not that hard to notice why you don’t like it” The Spaniard nudges him, looking at him with a mischievious glint in his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“You like Y/n, so you don’t like her hanging around with Logan” He says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“What’re you talking about? I don’t like Y/n, she’s my best friend, that’s ridiculous” Lando makes a face. That makes no sense, of course I don’t have feelings for Y/n.

“Yeah, and the Haas is going to win tomorrow. Lando, I told you, you can trust me. Just admit it, cabrón”

“Admit what? I don’t like her, I told you that” Lando insists, because he doesn’t. There’s no way.

“Okay mate, whatever you say” Carlos says, putting his hands up in surrender and moving towards the Ferrari garage. “Let me know how that ‘not liking my best friend thing goes’”

Lando just shakes his head and sighs. Carlos has no idea what he’s talking about.

Qualifying turns out to be the thing Lando needs to get his mind off everything; he qualifies P6 with Oscar right behind him and confidence in his car for tomorrow. The man spends some extra time going over the data from today with the strategists and leaves the track just after sunset to head back to his hotel.

He wasn’t completely lying to you yesterday night; the heat was having a bit of an effect on him, and it was probably a good idea to relax and stay in for the night. He ordered something from room service that his trainer would approve of and took a shower before climbing into bed.

A knock on his door is the thing that stops Lando from falling asleep.

It’s past 10, no one should be knocking at his door, but that’s not good enough of a reason to ignore the person, so he gets up to answer it and should probably be more surprised that’s it you.

“Not here to collect team secrets for tomorrow, are you?” Lando questions, jokingly.

“I don’t think we need anymore help beating you McLarens, thank you” You play along with a laugh.

“I’m offended. I hope you have an apology along to go with whatever that it” He gestures to the bag in your hands, and you nod.

“I do, but you’ll have to let me in first to get either” Your best friend moves aside to let you into his room and onto his couch.

“Seriously though, what’s up? Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, nothing’s wrong. I just felt bad for ditching you today and figured I could make up for it with ice cream” You shrugged, opening up the bag and holding a container covered in frost.

“I appreciate the gesture Y/n, but we both know our trainers-” You cut him off. “Would kill us if we eat this, I know. That’s why I only bought one, so we could just share and have half. That way it’s not really eating an ice cream sundae, it’s just eating a scoop and a half”

“I like your thinking”

“That’s why you keep me around” You both smile, and Lando gets up to get two spoons.

“You don’t have to be sorry, by the way. It doesn’t bother me that you went out with Logan” He knows you must’ve felt really guilty, because you’re still wearing the clothes you wore in the paddock, meaning you went immediately from wherever Logan took you to straight to get the ice cream and come here, despite the fact you should be in bed and it would be chaos if someone found out you were here this late Saturday night.

He also knows you wouldn’t do this for just anyone.

“I know. I still felt bad though” You shrug, thanking him before taking a spoonful of ice cream.

“Don’t be. Where’d he take you, anyway?” Lando questions. He knows that if he was talking about this any time else, he feel that sourness all over again. But there was no reason to if you were right here beside him.

“Nowhere special; we just walked around, shopped a bit, and stopped to get some food before we realized we should probably head back to our hotels”

“And aren’t you having the same realization now?” He asks, taking another spoon of ice cream.

“Yeah, but I’m not worried enough to the point where I’m actually gonna do it” You explain, and Lando laughs.

“So what? I’m stuck with you for the rest of the night then?”

“You say it like you don’t totally love the idea” You smile playfully.

“You’re right, I’d rather you here with me than anywhere else”

“Me too” The man misses your soft gaze and love-sick smile.

Truthfully, Lando just likes when you’re with him in general.

It was the Austria GP and for the first time in a while, Lando Norris felt a little carefree. He had over two weeks to recover from Canada, the next round was his home race, and things were looking positive for Sunday. He was happy with racing, and he was happy with you too.

Ever since Miami, you two have been closer than usual; fans were used to seeing you guys always together, but this time, they really never saw you without seeing Lando, and Lando without seeing you. Both of you seemed oddly smiley recently and it didn’t go without notice. Even more than usual, it was like you and Lando were in your own weird little obliviously-in-love bubble that nothing could break through.

Maybe that was why you and Lando finished P4 and P5, each of you one place away from a repeat of Bahrain. It obviously wasn’t your best finishes you two have ever had, but it was good enough for there to be a celebration afterwards. The drivers you and Lando were closest to also finished high in the points, and before you knew it, you had agreed to attending the after-party happening in a few hours at the nearest club.

You put on some makeup, fixed your hair, changed into a beautiful outfit, and stuffed your purse with your essentials before you got a text from Lando telling you that he was outside. You insisted that you could drive yourself and he didn’t need to pick you up, but Lando persisted, saying that it was stupid to bring two cars incase you weren’t fit to drive at the end of the night, and had to leave your very expensive car on the street all night.

“You look gorgeous, it almost makes up for the ridiculous amount of time I’ve spent waiting here for you” Lando says with a smirk as you open the door to his car.

You roll your eyes through your blush. “It wasn’t that long. Besides, my room’s on a high floor, it was the elevator’s fault.” You reason, clicking your seatbelt into place before Lando pulls out of the hotel parking lot and onto the streets.

“Yeah sure, blame the machinery because it’s never your fault you’re late”

“It’s not!” You insist with a laugh. He hums sarcastically in response, turning on the radio and letting it fill the comfortable silence

The streets in front of the club are lined with dozens of high-end cars, so you and Lando are forced to park nearly a block away from the entrance. The bouncer lets the two of you in without hesitation, and even from outside, you can hear the bass from the speakers inside.

The interior is exactly how you expected it to be, colorful strobe lights from overhead, music that you have to shout to hear someone over, and a dance floor that’s packed to the brim with celebrities, drivers, and everyone in between.

You and Lando claim the nearest booth to the exit, and he leans in close enough to be audible. “I’m going to get us a few drinks, try and see if you can find a few people” You nod, and the two of you go off in different directions.

You manage to locate Alex, Lily, George, and Carmen in a booth together and after a few very loud greetings, manage your way through the mob again to find Lando and lead him back to your friends. You all start talking and laughing, placing bets on which drivers are going home with a mystery girl, which ones are going to get black-out drunk, and which ones are going to show off their embarrassingly bad drunk dance moves in front of everyone.

Drinks and shots get handed out, a few more drivers join your table, and soon enough, you and your group are somewhere between tipsy and drunk and are moving onto the already-packed dance floor. Lando moved up to the DJ, telling you he’d be back to dance soon, and left you with your fellow drivers and their girlfriends.

You spend a few hours dancing with the girls, giggling through your drinks, and wandering around the club in search for more friends. At the point where your vision starts to got a bit blurry and the music is making your head hurt, you feel a hand on your shoulder and a familiar voice in your ear.

“Hey stranger!” Lando shouts, turning you around to face him.

“Lando!” You call out loudly, wrapping your arms around him in a hug. “Missed you” Alcohol made you a bit affectionate.

“Only been gone an hour and a half, love” Even though you can’t see his face and you’re not at your sharpest, you know he’s got a dumb smirk on his face.

“Missed you too, though” He says, taking the drink out of your hand and taking a sip before wrapping his hands around your waist.

“Are you here to dance with me?” You pull back, looking into his eyes. His pupils aren’t dilated, so you know he’s sober and the designated driver for the night.

“Wouldn’t want to do anything else” Even though everyone else around you is dancing at a fast, eager pace, you and Lando keep your arms wrapped around each other, bodies swaying softly, heads laying on each other’s shoulders.

Even with the flashing lights and booming music, you probably could’ve drowsed off on your best friends shoulder. You don’t realize how much time has passed but at some point, Lando taps your arm and pulls away from you.

“Time to go home, I think” He says, placing his hands on your shoulders to get you to focus on him.

“You think?” You reply, both drowsy and a little drunk.

“I think so. I’m gonna see if anyone else needs a ride and say goodbye, then we’ll leave, okay?” Lando tells you, intertwining your hands together before leading you further onto the dancefloor.

The Brit finds the other drivers and does what he said before handing you your purse and guiding you out of the club, hands still held together. Your best friend hands you his jacket to wear and places his arm around your waist as the two of you walk back to the car.

You know that Lando will get you back to your hotel and to your room where he’ll take your heels off for you. You know he’ll place a glass of water and a few Aspirins’ on a nightstand for you and lay down underneath the duvet with you because he’s too tired to drive back to his own hotel.

You’ll know you two will fall asleep almost immediately, and wake up closer than you were laying last night. You know Lando will not mind doing any of this, will actually like it, because you don’t let him take care of you as much as he’d like.

You know all of these things and a lot of other stuff too, you just don’t know that the person you did it all with is the person you’re in love with, or that he’s in love with you too.

+ 1

Lando always appreciated the summer break after half a season of racing, but there was something special about this one that made him wish it would never end.

You, Lando, and a group of your mutual friends planned a week-long trip to an island in the Caribbean as ‘one last hurrah’ before you two had to fly to Zandervort for the second half of the season. It was your fourth day on the island, and even though every moment since you arrived has been filled with some sort of fun and exciting adventure, this was already your favorite day of the trip.

You and Lando had connecting rooms, ‘a complete coincidence’ as your friends had put it, and this morning, you two decided to take advantage of it and make breakfast together. You weren’t supposed to meet with the others until a few more hours, and you loved cooking with Lando, so shortly after you woke up you made the short journey into his room.

“Morning,” your best friend greeted you, clad in black sweats and an old T-shirt you’ve seen millions of times. “I bought pancake mix from the store in the lobby, but we can run out and get something else if you like?”

“No, it’s okay,” you insist, “pancakes are fine. Besides, I know you make the best ones.”

“I know, you must be so jealous” Lando smirks, grabbing a mixing bowl and pan from the hotel’s kitchenette cabinet.

“Totally. So what’s on our agenda today?” You say, moving around him to take ingredients from the fridge.

“Not much, actually. I think we’re just going to the beach and walk around the town a bit” You nod as you grab your phone and click on the shared playlist between yourself and Lando.

You let the music fill the comfortable silence as the two of you move around the small kitchen. It’s a beautiful and all-too domestic scene; the morning sun streaming through the windows, the soft music in the background, the way you both seamlessly know your way around the kitchen, how easy it was to work around each other. They’re the facts your mind notices too quickly, and it’s hard to stop your brain from thinking about a future where things could be like this everyday.

Within a few minutes, you each had a reasonably-sized stack of pancakes that you brought outside onto the balcony with you. You settle into the adjacent chairs that look out to the waves crashing onto the beach and deep blue ocean. It’s still early; this part of the island isn’t awake yet, and it’s easy to relax in the still quiet.

While you shooed away the image of the future like this, Lando welcomed it with open arms. He thought how effortless it would be to make a scene like this; a hotel room, an apartment in Monaco, a house in the UK, Lando would take either and all of them. As long as you came with it.

His mouth speaking before his brain can control it. “I wish it was like this forever” He blurts out.

“You don’t want to go back to racing?” You look over at him, eyebrows furrowed. He doesn’t look back at you, keeps his eyes on the view in front of him instead.

“No, I do. I mean-” Lando pauses, thinks it over. He gets up from his chair to lean on the railing, his back facing you. This could ruin everything, he thinks. If he says it, he can’t go back, and nothing will be the same again.

He stops thinking.

“I mean with you. I honestly don’t care where we are; racing, on an island, whatever. We could be on another planet for all I care. As long as it’s just you and me, I think I could handle it” He finishes, feeling your presence next to him a few moments later, your shoulders brushing.

“Really?” You ask, eyes widened. You would’ve never thought he felt the same.

“Really. I’ve always felt that way” Then he’s looking you in that way, the way everyone’s been trying to explain to you for a while.

You don’t second-guess yourself when you put your hands around his face and press your lips onto his, and especially not when he starts moving his lips against yours. He wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you closer to him, and you don’t think you’d be mad if this was your forever.

You two finally pull away from each other, and even though the waves on the beach are still the same waves and the ocean is still the same deep blue, you think that everything changed just a little bit.

You’re still so close you could probably count his eyelashes if you wanted to, and you smile.

“I love you”

His smile mirrors yours the second after he hears it. “I love you too”

You two don’t really have to tell people; everyone figures it out within the first five minutes of being around both of you. Everyone teases you relentlessly, but internally, they’re just glad the two of you finally saw what’s been there all along.

i never really know how to end these. anyways, a lando fic to make up for the time i’ve been gone. sorry about that btw, i got major imposter syndrome and the lack of f1 content makes for a lack of motivation. this is also my first ln4 fic, and i have no idea what to expect from it. hope u enjoyed tho 🫶

#reader insert #formula 1 #driver reader #f1 imagine #f1 grid x reader #formula 1 driver imagines #female driver reader #lando norris #lando norris imagine #lando norris x reader #lando norris x you #lando norris x female reader #lando norris x female driver reader #3+1 #slow burn #oblivious characters

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art · 10 months ago

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Creator Spotlight: @jijidraws

Jiji Knight is a latina pinup illustrator. Her work is overall geared toward thick ladies and dedicated to fat positivity out of a purely selfish need to create art she wished she had seen growing up. She often features sexy and soft macabre themes on vibrant or sweet colours and takes great joy in making folx feel good about themselves with her work. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and operates out of her very sunny hometown of Las Vegas.

Check out our interview with Jiji below!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

Oh my gosh… I have art blocks all the time. My favorite way of overcoming it is by making fanart. Funnily enough, that’s something I don’t do in my own work anymore. But there are still IPs I return to that still bring joy to my heart. I love returning to drawing Sailor Moon like when I was in first grade. Or I’ll even look up the last fashion week and start drawing the fashion week outfits from the Paris or New York show. Stuff like that is what gets my creative juices flowing.

What medium have you always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

Resin. Resin art is so stunning. People make the most amazing and beautiful sculptures using resin, and I don’t think I could ever bring myself to play with something so complicated. There are a lot of ways to cure it, and sometimes, it doesn’t cure properly…I already work with enough chaos as it is! I respect resin artists, but I don’t think I would ever touch it. I’ve admired it from a distance. There is an artist I follow who does these resin layer paintings. So they’ll paint a layer of resin, then cure it, and paint on top of the cured layer. They build up these amazing paintings using resin…I could never. Maybe one day!

What is one interaction you had with a fan of yours that has stuck with you over the years?

I still remember…It was my first and only Flame Con in New York. I had a fan come up to my booth. They didn’t say hello or that it was nice to meet me. They started to cry! They cried, and the first words out of their mouth were, “I’ve never seen myself in artwork before.” So, of course, I started to cry! So we were just crying across the table at each other. It was just one of the sweetest interactions, and it really sticks with me still to this day.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

My latest collaboration with the artist Missupacey. We’ve been collaborating for two years now, and our last collaboration was for Midsummer Scream. It was two very cute clown girls, and I designed our T-shirt. It was one of the most fun projects we’ve done in a long time. We love doing collaborative work because it keeps working in the art industry fresh—being able to bounce ideas back and forth. So we do it where someone picks the color palette, and someone picks a theme. We’ll get references together, put them on a big board, and send each other sketches. It’s really nice to work with somebody else.

How has technology changed the way you approach your work?

Honestly, it changed everything. I mean, I used to draw for myself a lot. And while I still do that, I now predominantly draw for my Patrons. For a while, I was drawing for the internet. So I was drawing stuff people wanted to see in terms of plus-sized versions of characters—a plus-sized Poison Ivy or a plus-sized Sailor Moon. My Patrons have allowed me to start drawing for myself again. But technology, for a while, essentially dominated what direction I was taking with my art, so I’m grateful to take some of that power back.

If there is one thing that you want art enthusiasts to remember you by, what would it be?

Body positivity. I would love for them to remember that there is an artist making work that is making people feel good about themselves and about the way they look at themselves.

Top tips on setting up an Artist Alley booth?

Have a method of taking money, have a method of displaying your work, and have a way to take a break. I have a plastic picnic cover that costs like a dollar at any store. All I have to do is clip it to my display grates, and it covers up my entire display. I feel secure enough to take time for myself in a 10-hour workday to eat something, go to the restroom, or even take a moment to breathe and reorganize my inventory. So it’s so funny that this one-dollar piece of plastic is like the most life-saving item in my display of items.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

@mayakern comes to mind. She is another body-positive artist who expanded into making body-positive clothing. She’s amazing, and just to see someone else out there promoting body positivity. Maya’s been doing it longer than I have, I believe. It feels good to know that I’m not alone. Her work is always stunning, and I love her body-positive DnD characters and the fact that she’s still plowing through the clothing industry. For example, she’s expanded from skirts to button-downs and even custom-wrap shirts. I love to see what she’s doing, and it inspires me to pursue different avenues with my own work.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, Jiji! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @jijidraws.

#creator spotlight #artists on tumblr #jijidraws

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leveloneandup · 2 months ago

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U.S. Soccer World Champion Tobin Heath on Her Love of Cycling

What happens when a two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time FIFA World Cup Champion, and U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team member decides to take up cycling? For one thing, the spandex really throw her off at first.

But that didn’t stop Tobin Heath from falling in love with life on two wheels, first at the spin studio rehabbing an injury, then on the roads around Los Angeles, and finally, riding around with the Canyon//SRAM team as they did a reconnaissance ride of stage two of the Tour de France Femmes. She even hosted interviews with pros like Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma with Strava during the Tour.

We wanted to hear how Heath found herself fully committed to the bike life, what she learned from the pros, and how she believes that the more we watch women's bike racing, the better on the bike we can become. Here are her top tips when it comes to getting started with cycling.

Ride With Others

“Until I did the ride with Canyon//SRAM, I had done most of my riding alone,” Heath says. “I realized on that ride that it’s amazing to just feel like part of a team. I play a team sport, obviously, so I’m used to putting on the uniform and getting into that team setting, so even putting on the team kit felt really natural for me. I do think it helps you become a better rider when you can ride with other people—and they don’t have to be pros.”

Try Before You Buy

Buying your first bike can be incredibly intimidating, especially if you’re not sure what kind of riding you really want to do. Road? Gravel? Mountain bike? Basic commuting around town? It may be helpful to borrow a bike from a similar-sized friend, hit up demo days at local bike shops, or even spend the money to rent a couple of different bikes to test out what type of biking feels fun to you.

That’s what Heath did: When she decided to try riding outside, she asked a friend if she could borrow her gravel bike to test out in the mountains around Santa Monica, California.

A few rides later, and she was hooked—but she was happy she tested the bike before committing. “It’s an expensive sport and the gear is really intense when you first get started!” she says. “I was thankful that I was able to test it out before I fully bought in.”

Find Your Local Community

“That’s one of the most special parts about cycling: the community,” Heath says. “It’s such a community-focused sport. In Los Angeles, there are so many clubs and groups and rides that you can jump into and meet new people if you don’t already know other cyclists, and even if you don’t always want to ride with a group, it’s a great way to get started since you can find out about the best spots to ride and ask tons of questions.”

While she’s not sticking to any specific training plan or considering turning pro on the bike anytime soon, Heath now rides a few times a week, mixing indoor and outdoor rides, as well as solo and group rides depending on her hectic travel schedule.

Ride Outside

While Heath started riding indoors as a way to rehab a soccer injury, she fell in love with cycling when she got outside. “Getting outdoors that just was the game changer,” she says. “I remember the first time I came home from a three-hour ride in the mountains, and my partner was just like, ‘I haven’t seen you look that happy in a long time.’ That feeling of freedom was just something that I couldn’t get from riding inside.”

Buy a Chamois

New cyclists may feel a little sheepish donning a full spandex kit, but Heath is here to tell you that it is a game-changer. “It’s so funny, I remember looking at other people wearing cycling kits and thinking it was really silly to wear that if you’re not a pro. I just assumed it wasn’t necessary. And then I got a cycling kit and I understood,” Heath laughs. “Wearing the kit obviously is super functional when you’re riding, so you can put stuff in your jersey pockets and the saddle is much more comfortable with the padded shorts—you wouldn’t survive a long ride without it—but it also changed the way I saw myself as a cyclist. It makes you feel fast.”

Share Your Progress

Your journey matters more than you think. Heath has become a big fan of Strava in recent months—it serves as an online version of a community, allows you to track your own progress on the bike, and lets you see how people similar to you (or the top pros) are training.

“When I started riding, I was so inspired by seeing what other riders were doing,” she says. “I find that if you see it, you want to do it. And I love seeing all different levels of riders sharing what they’re doing, because I think that helps motivate even more people. A lot of people, especially women, will see what the pros are doing and feel like it’s not achievable, because they can’t visualize themselves training like that. But if they can see someone who looks like them posting rides, they see that it’s possible.”

Watch Women’s Cycling to Get Better

While watching a race like the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is simply fun and entertaining, you can also watch it for some valuable tips, says Heath. Look closely at how the riders set themselves up to take a corner smoothly, or how close they’re drafting each other. Check out how they’re positioning their bodies to maximize power output on the climbs.

While you may not be as vast as Vollering or Niewiadoma, you can still learn a lot from them. “Not only is it going to inspire you to go out and ride, you’re going to learn a lot about cycling just by being a fan of the sport,” Heath says.

Seriously, Ride With Friends

“When I first started, the women I knew who rode were serious riders,” says Heath. “They kept inviting me out to ride, and I would say, ‘No, I’m not ready yet.’ But I was ready and they absolutely would have made space for me even if I wasn’t as fast. Cycling is super inclusive if you want to be part of a community. And if the worst case is that you’re left behind on a hill, who cares? Even if you start a ride with friends and split up part way through, it’s much more fun and you really do get better when you have those other women around you.”

#tobin heath #tour de france femmes #article #interview

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pascallatte · 2 years ago

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Angel?

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Actress!reader

Summary: GQ Germany with PEDRO PASCAL aka him fawning over Y/n over a single this or that.

Date: September 2020

Warnings: none

A/N: I love love love this interview, his voice, his hair, the vibes, HIS SMILE!!! Everything, alsoooooooo probably the last one for 2020 for now next one may be a throwback or we’ll move on to ’21 (most probably). SO everyone, happy reading and tell me what you think!! Love lots x

“Hi, I’m Pedro Pascal I’m here at GQ Germany Cover shoot.” Pedro’s seen sitting in a chair in the set of GQ Germany for this month’s issue. The team decided to get him in to join a quick get-to-know-him-better game, an upgraded version of This or That.

Swimming trunks vs beach shorts

Sucking in a breath when the staff shows him two pictures, ”I would have to go with shorts, because of what I could pull off at my age. Despite the continuous disagreement from someone.” He smiles.

Sweater vs hoodie

“Hmm I love a sweater though but I really love a hoodie.” Biting his lip, Pedro asks.

“Can any of these be ties?… Really?!”

“Oh, it has to be absolute. Hmm, this is something me and my girlfriend often debate on, ‘cause she steals most of my tops which makes me buy more but then when I do buy hoodies she tells me to buy sweaters. But since this is my interview hmm…Well alright, hoodie it is. Either way, we take turns using it.” With a very satisfied tone, he explains his side looking at a camera with a small fond smile.

Oberyn Martell vs Din Djarin

Shocked by what he’s been shown, Pedro can only laugh as he responds, “Wow, that is a really hard decision to make.”

“Umm, the armour didn’t work so well for me at the end of Game of Thrones, but it looked amazing,” taking in a breath as the gears in his head takes in the pros and cons of each suit and character.

“That being said the armour in The Mandalorian looks very very good and I'm still alive. So I guess I would have to- you know I can’t I just can’t I cannot betray Oberyn and choose The Mandalorian. But umm let’s just leave it at that being an impossible decision.”

Smart vs traditional watch

“Traditional watch, people who use smart watches are people who can’t tell or read the time. And by people I mean…” Pedro turns to look at the camera and gives it or soon the viewers a knowing look, in hopes that they know what he meant by that.

Fedora vs baseball cap

“Those are my hats!…Oh wow”

“Well clearly since you have a picture of a fedora that belongs to me and a baseball hat that belongs to me… I favour both” he elaborates while raising his hands in a somewhat joking accusatory way to the staff who has asked him to pick one between his favourites. To him, it’s like asking him to pick between things or people he adores.

“I cannot and you cannot make me decide between a fedora and a baseball cap. I love them both equally”

Facial hair or clean shaven

“What? Are you making me choose between clean-shaven or facial hair?”

“They’re currently showing me two pictures of myself.” He stops for a moment, making his sort of thinking face as he thinks back to 10 or so years ago.

“One that is maybe… 10 years ago, where clean-shaven may have worked.

"Umm, I'm gonna have to go with the very strange patchy facial hair that I am capable of growing on my face.”

Contacts vs glasses

Answering immediately, “Glasses.. what a ridiculous question.” He shakes his head as if telling them the obvious as well as the light tone of his voice.

“Glasses, sticking my own fingers into my eyes? I have yet to cross that threshold.”He continues to shake his head as he explains why he’d chosen it.

Y/n’s sheer 2018 met gala dress or her 2019 white oscars dress

Pedro’s entire face lit up as soon as the staff showed him the choices. “Ohh bot- this is a hard one…I love both of them, and it looks incredible on her,” he emphasizes, adorably staring at the pictures.

Sitting still while continuing to admire his love, “Ahhh would you look at that..."

"She’s beautiful don’t you agree?” Pedro straight away smiles as soon as the staff behind the camera agrees with him.

“The first one makes her look like this mermaid or angel- you know like a fallen angel, just for me, and the other is very- something she would dress herself in with how simple yet elegant it looks. So I would have to go with her Oscars look.”

A voice off cam tells him something that had caught his attention, making his expression turn into shock and amusement, “It’s a wedding dress?! Really?! She wore a wedding dress to the Oscars… hmm” slowly ruffling his hair he sits back after getting a closer look at the picture.

Leather or bomber jacket

“Wow, leather jacket. I have and I think I always will love a leather jacket.” Explaining this with a small smirk that had him explaining his thoughts right after.

“Y/n has bought us a matching pair of these incredible vintage leather jackets and-so basically it’s something that I will never ever lose my interest in.”

Coffee or tea

Nodding his head, he looks straight to the camera, “Coffee. Coffee all the way.”

Raising his hands up similar to a surrendering position to defend himself, he chuckles before continuing, “It’s not that I don’t like tea but then again coffee is what keeps me up and going other than y/n… who is by the way is also a coffee addict.”

Clasping his hands together, he finalizes, “Coffee, 100%”

"Thank you for watching and click here to subscribe to GQ Germany!"

the dress for reference:

A/n: so I wrongly timed the post of this one, instead of it being posted yesterday at noon it was set to 12 am today haha, never gonna do that again. Anyways if you're reading this thank you and have a nice day ahead of you!!!

Taglist: @benonlinear @t-stark35 @heyitsme-2 @elleeeee21 @holmesstrange @tagakalat @flyestvenustrap @oldermenaremyreligion @cherryred444 @hobiismyhopeu @ilovehotdadsandshit @djarinsstuff @guacala @avengersheart @pukka-latte @lilvampirina @mmkkzz

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal fluff #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x actress!reader #pedro pascal x female reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal fanfic #pedro pascal fic

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uswnt5 · 2 months ago

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https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a62265997/tobin-heath-soccer-to-cycling/?taid=66fc394ac67ef00001b3ed67&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

U.S. Soccer World Champion Tobin Heath on Her Love of Cycling

Molly Hurford

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What Is VO2 Max and Why Is It Important? | Preview

Ride With Others

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Try Before You Buy

That’s what Heath did: When she decided to try riding outside, she asked a friend if she could borrow her gravel bike to test out in the mountains around Santa Monica, California.

Find Your Local Community

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Ride Outside

Buy a Chamois

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Share Your Progress

Watch Women’s Cycling to Get Better

Seriously, Ride With Friends

this is a hilarious copy and paste!

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dontyouworrydaddy · 1 year ago

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hellooo ^_^ can i get a request for a gn or fem (dosent matter to me) non-military!rock climber reader & platonic!141?? like theyre friends with each other, but arent in the same work. the reader is some super talented and well known climber (i was thinking bouldering? top, rope, lead and auto belay are kinda… meh to me), but the members of the 141 never knew until they saw some viral video about the reader. if u want any info on climbing if you dont know much u can make a post or smth replying to this and i’ll send in another message with whatever u need to know!!!! thank you!!!!!

ᙅᥲ�� ყoᥙ ⳽ᥱᥱ ຕᥱ ᥙρ ᖾᥱɾᥱ?

Task Force 141 x gn! Reader

Hey! I hope you like this! I didn’t really know how to make it as interesting as possible so I hope you still enjoy this. Tried my best out here💘💘😆

\(◡̈ )/♥︎

You had always been among your friends. The Task Force 141 met you in a bar and from that point on they basically adopted you. An unexpected friend group.

While you weren't officially a part of their team, you had forged a close friendship with many of the members. Your skills on the rock wall were legendary, but the nature of your work and the surrounding it had always kept you humble and quiet about your achievements.

It all began on a typical day at the task force's secure facility. Captain John Price had called in everyone for an important briefing. You sat with Captain Price, Ghost, Gaz, Soap. your eyes focused on the mission details. Your presence, however, had become so routine that no one really questioned it.

The briefing ended, and you exchanged nods and pleasantries with your friends as they geared up for their mission. This was your usual role - offering support, sharing stories, and providing a brief reprieve from the harsh realities of their dangerous work.

But little did you know, the tables were about to turn.

As the team settled into the dimly lit briefing room, Soap, always the one glued to his phone, showed a viral video to the others. "You guys have to check this out," he said, his eyes glued to the screen.

The video started, and it showed you, the mystery climber who had become a sensation in the climbing community. Your impressive bouldering skills were on full display, as you effortlessly conquered one challenging route after another. Your movements were a mesmerizing dance of strength, technique, and agility.

You could feel the tension thickening in the room.

Ghost's eyes widened as he watched, then looked over at you. "Hey, isn't that…?"

Before he could finish, Gaz chimed in, "It is! That's our friend, you y/n. That’s you!"

Everyone in the room was captivated by the video. You were like a.. Ghost , moving gracefully on the rock wall. You for sure made Ghost question himself and over his name. No one had suspected that you were a climbing prodigy. The atmosphere in the room shifted from shock to awe as your skills left the boys speechless.

Price couldn't help but smile. "You never fail to amaze us, do you, y/!n?" he said with a chuckle.

The video continued, showing you giving an interview. The interviewer asked about your inspiration, and you shared your story of growing up in a small town, scaling cliffs and mountains as a child. Your eyes lit up as you spoke about the thrill of facing challenges head-on, your voice filled with a passion that resonated deeply with everyone in the room.

As the video came to an end, Ghost spoke up. "You've been hiding this from us, mate! You're a rock star and never told us?!"

Gaz agreed, grinning. "You need to show us some of those moves sometime."

You blushed, a rare sight for your friends who had never seen you flustered. "I didn't think it was a big deal."

Soap shook his head. "It's a huge deal! You're incredible!"

In the days that followed, your friends couldn't stop talking about your incredible climbing skills. They shared stories of their own adventures with you, and it was as if a new layer had been peeled back to reveal a different side of your life.

One evening, after a mission, you took Gaz and Soap to your favorite local climbing spot. With the cool breeze in your hair, you demonstrated some basic techniques and shared your passion for climbing. As the sun dipped below the horizon, you could see their enthusiasm growing.

Gaz, now harnessed to the rock, looked down at you. "You know, this is the best thing that's ever happened to me after joining the task force."

Soap chimed in, hanging from a challenging route. "Yeah, mate, this is our kind of thrill!"

Over time, the climbing outings became a regular part of your lives outside of the high-stakes missions. Your soldier friends now knew a different side of you – the thrill-seeker who found solace in the heights of the natural world.

Gaz and Soap, improved their climbing skills under your expert guidance. They marveled at the rock face, the trust in the ropes, since they’re still not good enough to do it without ropes like you, and the rush of adrenaline when they reached a challenging summit. It was a stark contrast to the intensity of their day jobs.

One afternoon, as you were all scaling a rugged cliffside, Soap looked down at you and grinned. "You know, you've given us a new way to unwind, something we never knew we needed."

Gaz nodded in agreement. "This is like therapy, but with a better view."

The bond between all of you grew stronger with every climb. Each expedition became a break from the darkness and danger of your profession, a reminder that there was more to life than the battlefield.

But as much as you cherished the moments spent with your friends, you were well aware of the realities you all faced. In your world, danger was never far away, and the missions could turn deadly in an instant.

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tnbscans · 1 year ago

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Hiroaki Hirata, Masakazu Morita, Masayuki Ozaki UStream Special Digest Interview Part 1 (Tiger & Bunny TV)

Part 2 can be found here

The below is transcribed from the DVD release.

Ozaki: This is the first time we've had a discussion with the three of us, isn't it?

Morita: Yes.

Hirata: Yeah, it is.

Ozaki: What is your first encounter, or rather, impression of Tiger & Bunny?

Hirata: The screen showed more screens within, and then a lot of captions flashed by, and scenes changed… It was very busy. Ohta-san was reading his lines, and I couldn't follow it. I thought that I wouldn't be able to keep up. It moves very fast. I was very overwhelmed, but when Wild Tiger came out, I felt I could do it. I was a bit relieved.

Morita: You usually get reference material sent to your office for an audition, right? When I got it, I was told that it was for a foreign film.

Hirata: That's the kind of impression you get from it.

Ozaki: It must have been difficult for you to capture Barnaby's personality.

Morita: Yeah. Even after the rehearsal for the first episode, the director kept telling me "act colder, act colder." I wasn't quite sure how cold I should make him.

Ozaki: Hirata-san, did you struggle gauging your distance to Morita-san?

Hirata: Very much so. But compared to how much Bunnykazu-kun was struggling, mine wasn't as bad.

Ozaki: How was Kotetsu or Wild Tiger described to you?

Hirata: He seems irresponsible, but he still needs to show the difference, as an adult. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to differentiate him as the mature one, because he does stuf like take a silly photo of himself on Bunny's cellphone, and it's not something an adult would do at all. Right?

Ozaki: Yeah.

Hirata: He's thinking, "What? Who is this guy?" "What a weirdo. I have to team up with him?" But he doesn't totally shun him. He doesn't want to do it, but he does it anyway. It's the things he doesn't say… The fact that he can mentally switch gear, to do things that he doesn't want to… This must be what it means to be mature. That's how I felt way later.

Ozaki: I see.

Hirata: It's difficult.

Ozaki: There's a wide range of emotional spectrum within the 25 episodes.

Morita: It's like a roller coaster.

Hirata: Yeah, it is.

Morita: It's crazy.

Ozaki: It must be uneasy when that happens.

Morita: The way he acts in front of Kotetsu…The way he acts towards other Heroes and people…The way he acts towards his audience…And the way he acts when he's alone… There are four different Barnabys.

Ozaki: I see…

Hirata: Four different ones?

Morita: Yeah.

Hirata: That's amazing. I can't do that. I have a Kotetsu involving Kaede and a Kotetsu not involving Kaede. Just those two.

Ozaki: The way he acts with his family and the way he acts when he's not.

Hirata: He's either a doting father or he isn't.

Morita: There were some terrible gossips.

Ozaki: Yeah, at the beginning.

Morita: Before we started… More than I thought, people's focus was on the series being influenced by American comics. There was a rather negative impression in people…

Ozaki: It's not based on anything famous, either.

Morita: Yeah.

Hirata: It was a pretty bad start, wasn't it?

Morita: It was a terrible start. And then, its popularity skyrocketed. I was like, "See? It's great, right?"

Hirata: But you anticipated all of that, didn't you?

Ozaki: -Uhh…

Morita: -Aha!

Hirata: Like Bunnykazu-kun mentioned earlier, I knew it was great. But when it actually became crazy popular, none of us saw it coming. And we were all excited and grateful. None of us, except you. You said, "This was expected."

Ozaki: Yeah. I was certain that Tiger & Bunny would be a hit. I really believed it.

Morita: This series is aimed at middle-aged men who are fighting at the top right now. But when you look deeper, there are a lot of female fans. Naturally, there are a lot of male fans, but also female fans. Those young female fans are attracted to the Old Man. Just like this. Did you expect this?

Ozaki: Well, not really.

Morita: Did you expect it to be this popular with female fans?

Ozaki: That was unexpected.

Morita: Right?

Hirata: It took many years for me to get the title of Pirate Voice Actor.

Morita: Because you've done it for so long.

Hirata: Yeah. It took over ten years for me to be called that. And in three months, I became the Old Man Voice Actor. Three months! They kept calling me Old Man.

Morita: But when they call you that, it's meant as a term of endearment, with a little heart at the end.

Hirata: I would like that to be so.

Morita: This is new. Old men are back in fashion.

Ozaki: Yeah.

Hirata: That's part of Kotetsu's character. He's kind to women. For example, he doesn't understand Blue Rose's feelings. He's rather dense, but humble. And with his daughter, he's a doting parent. I think women find this endearing.

Ozaki: Were there any memorable events or happenings in the past year?

Morita: For me, that would be the Tiger & Bunny Hero Awards 2011 after the series ended.

Ozaki: We did that in November, right?

Morita: That was shocking, wasn't it? At the end, everyone in the audience got together and sang…

Ozaki: Yeah, when we did "Orion wo Nazoru."

Morita: And that happened at theaters across the country. I heard everyone cried. Some people tweeted that it was their first time crying at an event. To be honest, when it was over, I teared up as well.

Hirata: A live event was a first for me. But prior to that, we had another event to watch the final episode together.

Ozaki: Oh yeah, on the 17th of September.

Hirata: I thought that was nice, to be able to watch all the action on the big screen. Naturally, everyone in our theater was excited, but the fact that people were laughing and cheering in other places too made me feel like we were connected.

Ozaki: Connected and together with everyone. I think that's something symbolic of Tiger & Bunny.

#tiger & bunny #2012 #masayuki ozaki #hiroaki hirata #masakazu morita #interview #translated #dvd

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alarrytale · 3 months ago

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I’ve realized I’m holding onto the love I had for Harry from years ago at this point. When he was doing all the skits and interviews on Saturday Night Live, Ellen, James Corden….he was so damn charming, charismatic, hilarious and real. Evert bit of him sparkled and he was truly an entertainer and something to see. He had so much more talent than just being a singer - that was the cherry on top. He had everything and I couldn’t wait to see what he’d do next. The sparkle in his eyes, his unbridled enthusiasm and love for entertaining had no boundaries - he was a natural. There was no one like him, and you could see his beauty both physically and in his soul.

It’s all so different now. He’s hardly recognizable. I know the industry, his management and being closeted has completely broken him. All these pictures we see of him now wandering around cities alone or with his team. It’s so sad. Everyone keeps talking that something big is brewing, and they dissect clothes and dates and codes they feel he’s communicating. I almost feel like he’s so broken at this point, he really is just wandering around. He’s lost all his joy- you can argue that we don’t see him in private, but I think this is him across the board. He doesn’t do anything fun anymore, even all his recent music videos are dark, while trying to look like he’s having a great time. I hope he’s ok. I hope we see the old Harry again. I hope someday things will change and he can be the amazing person he was and who he was supposed to keep being before all this shit happened to him. I don’t know how much longer he can go through the same routine - album release, stunt, endless pap photos, grueling world tour.

It’s really sad.

Hi, anon!

I'm sorry you feel this way 🧡. All i can do is tell you that he's on a break between albums and tours, and that's usually the most difficult time in fandom. I do agree that H is jaded and struggling with the closet, but he's not lost his spark, personality or charm. We just don't get to see it now that he's not promoting an album or on tour. I don't think H is aimlessly wandering around being sad. I think is making himself more visible to gear up for album promo that's coming in Q4.

It's no use projecting your own feelings onto him. "Old Harry" was just as tired, sad and done with stunting as current Harry. Harry loves to be an artist and an entertainer, and he radiates joy and love when he gets to do those things. It's just been awhile since he has. He's looking healthy, he's not working at a gruelling pace, he's smiling and he even went publicly to an event with Louis. It's the best things have been for him for some years.

I think you need to be prepared for more of the same this go around though, so you can expect stunt songs, sad and depressive songs masked as happy songs, stunting with women or him be linked to women in the tabloids. But you can also expect a fun, charming and happy man, loving on and entertaining his audience, helping people to come out and wearing nail varnish. He's not lost his joy.

You need to figure out if the good still outweigh the bad for you. But i don't think you should make that decision while fandom is in the biggest Harry drought we've had for years. Take a break if you need to, but things really aren’t as bleak as you make it seem.

#harry image #solo harry #fandom #stunting #hs4

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iwanthermidnightz · 1 year ago

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As Taylor Swift rolled into Los Angeles this week, the frenzy surrounding her record-breaking Eras Tour was already in high gear.

Headlines gushed that she had given $100,000 bonuses to her crew. Politicians asked her to postpone her concerts in solidarity with striking hotel workers. Scalped tickets were going for $3,000 and up. And there were way, way too many friendship bracelets to count.

These days, the center of an otherwise splintered music world can only be Taylor Swift.

The pop superstar’s tour, which is now finishing its initial North American leg with six nights at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles, has been a both a business and a cultural juggernaut. Swift’s catalog of generation-defining hits and canny marketing sense have helped her achieve a level of white-hot demand and media saturation not seen since the 1980s heyday of Michael Jackson and Madonna — a dominance that the entertainment business had largely accepted as impossible to replicate in the fragmented 21st century.

“The only thing I can compare it to is the phenomenon of Beatlemania,” said Billy Joel, who attended Swift’s show in Tampa, Fla., with his wife and young daughters.

In a summer of tours by stars like Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Morgan Wallen and Drake, Swift’s stands apart, in numbers and in media noise. Although Swift, 33, and her promoters do not publicly report box-office figures, the trade publication Pollstar estimated that she has been selling about $14 million in tickets each night. By the end of the full world tour, which is booked with 146 stadium dates well into 2024, Swift’s sales could reach $1.4 billion or more — exceeding Elton John’s $939 million for his multiyear farewell tour, the current record-holder.

Swift has now had more No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 over the course of her career than any other woman, surpassing Barbra Streisand. With the tour lifting Swift’s entire body of work, she has placed 10 albums on that chart this year and is the first living artist since the trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert in 1966 to have four titles in the Top 10 at the same time.

“It’s a pretty amazing feat,” Alpert, 88, said in a phone interview. “With the way radio is these days, and the way music is distributed, with streaming, I didn’t think anyone in this era could do it.”

But how did a concert tour become so much more: fodder for gossip columns, the subject of weather reports, a boon for friendship-bracelet beads — the unofficial currency of Swiftie fandom — and the reason nobody could get a hotel room in Cincinnati at the end of June?

“She is the best C.E.O., and best chief marketing officer, in the history of music,” said Nathan Hubbard, a longtime music and ticketing executive who co-hosts a Swift podcast. “She is following people like Bono, Jay-Z and Madonna, who were acutely aware of their brands. But of all of them, Taylor is the first one to be natively online.”

Before Eras, Swift hadn’t been on tour since 2018. And her catalog has grown by seven No. 1 albums since then, fueled in part by three rerecorded “Taylor’s Versions” of her first LPs — a project hailed by Swift’s fans as a crusade to regain control of her music, though it is also an act of revenge after the sale of Swift’s former record label, a move that, she said, “stripped me of my life’s work.”

“Folklore” and “Evermore” expanded her palate into fantastical indie-folk and brought new collaborators into the fold: Aaron Dessner from the band the National and Justin Vernon, a.k.a. Bon Iver, rock-world figures who helped attract new listeners.

The other major tour this year that is enticing fans to book transcontinental flights, and to show up costumed and in rapture, is also by a woman: Beyoncé, 41, whose Renaissance tour is a fantasia of disco and retrofuturism. Like Swift, she is also a trailblazing artist-entrepreneur, maintaining tight control over her career and fostering a rich connection with fans online. Together with Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a critique of the patriarchy told in hot pink, they are signs of powerful women ruling the discourse of pop culture.

But in music, at least, the scale and success of Swift’s tour is without equal. Later this month, after completing 53 shows in the United States, she will kick off an international itinerary of at least 78 more before returning to North America next fall. Beyoncé’s full tour has 56 dates; Springsteen’s, 90. (Recently, Harry Styles wrapped a 173-date tour in arenas and stadiums, grossing about $590 million.)

Outside Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, fans posed for selfies and shared their ticketing ordeals. Esmeralda Tinoco and Sami Cytron, 24-year-old former sorority sisters, said they had paid $645 for two seats. A stone’s throw away, Karlee Patrick and Emily DeGruson, both 18 and dressed as a pair in angel/devil costumes after a line in Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” sat “Taylorgating” at the edge of the parking lot; they said they had paid $100 for parking but couldn’t afford tickets.

As Swift’s opening acts finished, the crowd rushed in. Glaser, the comedian, later said that of the eight shows she had been to, her favorites were the ones where she had brought her mother — and converted her to Swiftie fandom.

“Everyone is in love with her,” Glaser said her mom told her after one show in Texas. “Now I get it.”

#simply amazing #she deserves the world #taylor swift #the eras tour

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