#a girl i met actually liked me and my voice after i sung taylor swift songs while i was getting ready | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

iwanthermidnightz · 4 years

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“Not a shot. Not a single chance. Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”

Taylor Swift — who, at 30, has reached a Zen state of cheerful realism — laughs as she leans into a pillow she’s placed over her crossed legs inside her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, leaning further still into her infinitesimal odds of winning a Golden Globe, which will zero out when she heads down to the televised ball in a few hours.

Never mind whether or not the tune she co-wrote, “Beautiful Ghosts,” might actually have been worthy of a trophy for best original song (or shortlisted for an Oscar, which it was not). Since the Globe nominations were revealed, voters could hardly have been immune to how quickly the film it’s a part of, “Cats,” in which she also co-stars, became a whipping boy for jokes about costly Hollywood miscalculations and creative disasters. Not that you’ll hear Swift utter a discouraging word about it all. “I’m happy to be here, happy to be nominated, and I had a really great time working on that weird-ass movie,” she declares. “I’m not gonna retroactively decide that it wasn’t the best experience. I never would have met Andrew Lloyd Webber or gotten to see how he works, and now he’s my buddy. I got to work with the sickest dancers and performers. No complaints.”

If this leads you to believe that the pop superstar is in the business of sugarcoating things, consider her other new movie — a vastly more significant documentary that presents Swift not just sans digital fur but without a whole lot of the varnish of the celebrity-industrial complex. The Netflix-produced “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana” has a prestige slot as the Jan. 23 opening night gala premiere of the Sundance Film Festival before it reaches the world as a day-and-date theatrical release and potential streaming monster on Jan. 31.

The doc spends much of its opening act juxtaposing the joys of creation with the aggravations of global stardom — the grist of many a pop doc, if rendered in especially intimate detail — before taking a more provocative turn in its last reel to focus more tightly on how and why Swift became a political animal. It’s the story of an earnest young woman with a self-described “good girl” fixation working through her last remaining fears of being shamed as she comes to embrace her claws, and her causes.

Given that the film portrays how gradually, and sometimes reluctantly, Swift came to place herself into service as a social commentator, “Miss Americana” is a portrait of the birth of an activist. Director Lana Wilson sets the movie up so that it pivots on a couple of big letdowns for its subject. The first comes early in the film, and early in the morning, when Swift’s publicist calls to update her on how many of the top three Grammy categories her 2017 album “Reputation” is nominated for: zilch. She’s clearly bummed about the record’s brushoff by the awards’ nominating committee, as just about anyone who’d previously won album of the year twice would be, and determinedly tells her rep that she’s just going to make a better record.

But she suffers what feels like a more meaningful blow toward the end of the film. In the fall of 2018, Swift finally comes out of the closet politically to intervene on behalf of Democrats in a midterm election in her home state of Tennessee. As the Washington Post put it, this announcement “fell like a hammer across the Trump-worshipping subforums of the far-right Internet, where people had convinced themselves… that the world-famous pop star was a secret MAGA fan.” Donald Trump goes on camera to smirk that he now likes Swift’s music a little less. The singer is successful in enlisting tens of thousands of young people to register to vote, but her senatorial candidate of choice, Democrat Phil Bredesen, loses to Republican Marsha Blackburn, whom she’d called out as a flagrant enemy of feminism and gay rights.

“Definitely, that was a bigger disappointment for me,” Swift says, pitting the midterm snub against the Grammy snub. “I think what’s going on out in the world is bigger than who gets a prize at the party.”

It was not always thus for Swift — as the detractors who dragged her for staying quiet during the last presidential election eagerly pointed out. If you had to pick the most embarrassing or regrettable moment in “Miss Americana,” it might be the TV clip from “The Late Show With David Letterman” in which the host brings up politics and gets Swift to essentially advocate the “Shut up and sing” mantra. As the studio audience roars approval of her vow to stay apolitical, Letterman gives her what now looks like history’s most dated fist bump.

Thinking back on it, Swift is incredulous. “Every time I didn’t speak up about politics as a young person, I was applauded for it,” she says. “It was wild. I said, ‘I’m a 22-year-old girl — people don’t want to hear what I have to say about politics.’ And people would just be like, ‘Yeahhhhh!’”

At that point, Swift was already starting to record isolated pop tracks, taking baby steps that would soon turn into full strides away from her initial genre. But whether she had designs on switching lanes or not, the lesson of the Dixie Chicks’ forced exile after Natalie Maines’ comment against then-President George W. Bush had branded itself onto her brain at an earlier age, when she’d just planted her young-teen flag in Nashville and overheard a lot of the lamentations of older Music Row songwriters about how the Chicks had thrown it all away.

“I saw how one comment ended such a powerful reign, and it terrified me,” says Swift. “These days, with social media, people can be so mad about something one day and then forget what they were mad about a couple weeks later. That’s fake outrage. But what happened to the Dixie Chicks was real outrage. I registered it — that you’re always one comment away from being done being able to make music.”

Maybe the most transfixing scene in “Miss Americana” is one where Swift argues with her father and other members of her team about the statement she’s about to release coming out against Blackburn and — it’s clear from her references to White House opposition to the Equality Act — Donald Trump too. The comments were so spontaneous that Wilson wasn’t there to film the moment, but the director had asked people to turn on the camera if anything interesting transpired, and here it most certainly did.

“For 12 years, we’ve not got involved in politics or religion,” an unnamed associate says to Swift, suggesting that going down the road of standing against a president as well as Republican gubernatorial and Senate candidates could have the effect of halving her audience on tour. Her father chimes in: “I’ve read the entire [statement] and … right now, I’m terrified. I’m the guy that went out and bought armored cars.”

“I needed to get to a point where I was ready, able and willing to call out bullshit rather than just smiling my way through it.” TAYLOR SWIFT

But Swift is adamant about pressing the button to send a nearly internet-breaking Instagram post, saying that Blackburn has voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act as well as LGBTQ-friendly bills: “I can’t see another commercial [with] her disguising these policies behind the words ‘Tennessee Christian values.’ I live in Tennessee. I am Christian. That’s not what we stand for.” Pushing back tears, she laments not having come out against Trump two years earlier, “but I can’t change that. … I need to be on the right side of history. … Dad, I need you to forgive me for doing it, because I’m doing it.”

Says Swift now, “This was a situation where, from a humanity perspective, and from what my moral compass was telling me I needed to do, I knew I was right, and I really didn’t care about repercussions.” She understands why she faced such heated opposition in the room: “My dad is terrified of threats against my safety and my life, and he has to see how many stalkers we deal with on a daily basis, and know that this is his kid. It’s where he comes from.”

Swift was recently announced as the recipient of a Vanguard Award from GLAAD, and she name-checked the org in her basher-bashing single “You Need to Calm Down,” which was released as one of the teaser tracks for last fall’s more outwardly directed and socially conscious “Lover” album. Part of her politicization, she says, is feeling it would be hypocritical to hang out with her gay friends while leaving them to their own devices politically. In the film, she says, “I think it is so frilly and spineless of me to stand onstage and go ‘Happy Pride Month, you guys,’ and then not say this, when someone’s literally coming for their neck.”

A year and a half later, she elaborates: “To celebrate but not advocate felt wrong for me. Using my voice to try to advocate was the only choice to make. Because I’ve talked about equality and sung about it in songs like ‘Welcome to New York,’ but we are at a point where human rights are being violated. When you’re saying that certain people can be kicked out of a restaurant because of who they love or how they identify, and these are actual policies that certain politicians vocally stand behind, and they disguise them as family values, that is sinister. So, so dark.”

Her increasing alignment with the LGBTQ community wasn’t the only thing raising her consciousness to a breaking — i.e., speaking — point. So did the sexual assault trial in which judgment was rendered that she had been groped by a DJ in a backstage photo op (for financial restitution, Swift had asked for $1).

Her experience with the trial was crucial, she says, in finding herself “needing to speak up about beliefs I’d always had, because it felt like an opportunity to shed light on what those trials are like. I experienced it as a person with extreme privilege, so I can only imagine what it’s like when you don’t have that. And I think one theme that ended up emerging in the film is what happens when you are not just a people pleaser but someone who’s always been respectful of authority figures, doing what you were supposed to do, being polite at all costs. I still think it’s important to be polite, but not at all costs,” she says. “Not when you’re being pushed beyond your limits, and not when people are walking all over you. I needed to get to a point where I was ready, able and willing to call out bulls— rather than just smiling my way through it.”

That came into play when Kanye West stepped into her life and publicly shamed her a second time. In the video Kim Kardashian released in 2016, you can hear the people-pleasing Swift on the other end of the line sheepishly thanking him for letting her know about the “Me and Taylor might still have sex” line he plans to include about her in a song — only to regret it later when the eventual track also includes the claim “Why? I made that bitch famous.” The boast, of course, referred back to the moment when he interrupted her and stole her spotlight at the MTV VMAs six years earlier as she was in the middle of an acceptance speech. West’s is not a name that ever publicly escapes Swift’s lips, so it might be surprising to fans that these events are recapped in “Miss Americana,” although Swift says the filmic decisions were all up to the director, who explains that Swift’s reaction to the episode was important to include.

“With the 2009 VMAs, it surprised me that when she talked about how the whole crowd was booing, she thought that they were booing her, and how devastating that was,” says Wilson. “That was something I hadn’t thought about or heard before, and made it much more relatable and understandable to anyone.”

“I see the movie as looking at the flip side of being America’s sweetheart.” LANA WILSON, DIRECTOR OF “TAYLOR SWIFT: MISS AMERICANA”

Swift acknowledges how formative both incidents have been in her life, for ill and good. “As a teenager who had only been in country music, attending my very first pop awards show,” she says now, “somebody stood up and sent me the message: ‘You are not respected here. You shouldn’t be here on this stage.’ That message was received, and it burrowed into my psyche more than anyone knew. … That can push you one of two ways: I could have just curled up and decided I’m never going to one of those events ever again, or it could make me work harder than anyone expects me to, and try things no one expected, and crave that respect — and hopefully one day get it.

“But then when that person who sparked all of those feelings comes back into your life, as he did in 2015, and I felt like I finally got that respect (from West), but then soon realized that for him it was about him creating some revisionist history where he was right all along, and it was correct, right and decent for him to get up and do that to a teenage girl…” She sighs. “I understand why Lana put it in.”

Adds the woman who started her recent “Lover” album with a West-allusive romp that’s pointedly called “I Forgot That You Existed”: “I don’t think too hard about this stuff now.”

What’s not in the film is any mention of her other most famous nemeses — Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta of Big Machine Records, with whom she’s scrapped publicly for several months. “The Big Machine stuff happened pretty late in our process,” says Wilson. “We weren’t that far from picture lock. But there’s also not much to say that isn’t publicly known. I feel like Taylor’s put the story out there in her own words already, and it’s been widely covered. I was interested in telling the story that hadn’t been told before, that would be surprising and emotionally powerful to audiences whether they were music industry people or not.”

Still, the way Swift has been willing to stand up politically for others parallels the manner in which she stood up for herself in regard to Braun, et al., at the recent Billboard Women in Music Awards, where she gave an altogether blistering speech, naming names and taking no prisoners, going after the men who now control her six-album Big Machine back catalog. Certainly Swift was aware that, along with supporters, there were many friends and business associates of Braun among the VIPs in the Hollywood Palladium who would not be pleased with what this very reformed people-pleaser had to say.

One thing everyone who was in the room agrees on is that you could hear a pin drop as Swift used the speech to get even bolder about the meat of these disputes. Some would say it’s because they were riveted by her boldness in speaking truth to power, others because they just felt uncomfortable. Says one fellow honoree who works in a high position in the industry (and who’s worked with some high-profile Braun clients): “People were excited for her at the beginning of the speech. But once she started going in a negative direction at an event that is supposed to be celebrating accomplishments and rah-rah for women, I felt it fell flat with a good portion of the room, because it wasn’t the appropriate place to be saying it.”

Wasn’t it intimidating for Swift, knowing she might be polarizing an auditorium full of the most powerful people in the business? “Well, I do sleep well at night knowing that I’m right,” she responds, “and knowing that in 10 years it will have been a good thing that I spoke about artists’ rights to their art, and that we bring up conversations like: Should record deals maybe be for a shorter term, or how are we really helping artists if we’re not giving them the first right of refusal to purchase their work if they want to?”

“Obviously, anytime you’re standing up against or for anything, you’re never going to receive unanimous praise. But that’s what forces you to be brave. And that’s what’s different about the way I live my life now.” (Braun’s camp did not respond to a request for comment.)

One thing Taylor Swift can’t bend to her determined will is her family’s health. She revealed a few years ago that her mother, Andrea, a beloved figure among the thousands of fans who’ve met her at road shows, is battling breast cancer. Swift addressed the uncertainty of that struggle in an anguished song on her latest album, “Soon You’ll Get Better.” Many who view “Miss Americana” will look for signs of how her mom is doing. The subject comes up in a section of the film that includes a relatively light-hearted scene in in which it’s shown that one of Andrea Swift’s ways of saying “eff you” to cancer recently was to break the mold and bring a canine — her “cancer dog” — into a famously feline-friendly family.

The real answer may come in Swift’s touring activity for “Lover.” Whereas typically she’d spend nine months in the year after an album release on the road, she plans to limit herself to four stadium dates in America this summer and a trip around the festival circuit in Europe. This may not be 100% for personal reasons: “I wanted to be able to perform in places that I hadn’t performed in as much, and to do things I hadn’t done before, like Glastonbury,” she says. “I feel like I haven’t done festivals, really, since early in my career — they’re fun and bring people together in a really cool way. But I also wanted to be able to work as much as I can handle right now, with everything that’s going on at home. And I wanted to figure out a way that I could do both those things.”

Is being able to be there for her mother the main concern? “Yeah, that’s it. That’s the reason,” she says. “I mean, we don��t know what is going to happen. We don’t know what treatment we’re going to choose. It just was the decision to make at the time, for right now, for what’s going on.”

In her case, it’s as if her manager had taken seriously ill as well as the person she’s always been closest to, all at once. “Everyone loves their mom; everyone’s got an important mom,” she allows. “But for me, she’s really the guiding force. Almost every decision I make, I talk to her about it first. So obviously it was a really big deal to ever speak about her illness.” During filming, when Andrea’s breast cancer had returned for a second time, “she was going through chemo, and that’s a hard enough thing for a person to go through.” Then it got harder. Speaking about this latest development publicly for the first time, Swift quietly reveals: “While she was going through treatment, they found a brain tumor. And the symptoms of what a person goes through when they have a brain tumor is nothing like what we’ve ever been through with her cancer before. So it’s just been a really hard time for us as a family.”

Compared with that, nearly any other topic the movie might address would pale. But it finds weightiness in addressing other kinds of unhealthiness, like the physical expectations that are placed on women in general and celebrity women specifically, Swift being no exception. In this department, she has her own heroines. “I love people like Jameela Jamil, because he way she speaks about body image, it’s almost like she speaks in a hook. Women are held to such a ridiculous standard of beauty, and we’re seeing so much on social media that makes us feel like we are less than, or we’re not what we should be, that you kind of need a mantra to repeat in your head when you start to have unhealthy thoughts. I swear the way Jameela speaks is like lyrics — it gets stuck in my head and it calms me down.”

Swift’s collaborator in this messaging, Wilson, was on a list of potential directors Netflix gave her when she expressed interest in possibly doing a documentary to follow the concert special that premiered on the service just over a year ago. You could discern a feminist message, if you chose to, in the fact that Swift chose a director most well known for a documentary about abortion providers, “After Tiller.” Swift says she was most impressed, though, that Wilson’s docs look for nuance and subtlety in addressing subjects that do lend themselves to soapboxes, and their first conversation was about their mutual desire to avoid “propaganda” in any form.

If there’s a feminist agenda in “Miss Americana,” Wilson and Swift wanted it to emerge naturally, although the director admits it was pretty blatant from the outset, given that she set up the film (which is co-produced by Morgan Neville, the director’s “sounding board”) with an all-female crew. Or nearly all-female, says Wilson, laughing, “I will say that we did always have male production assistants, because I like trying to show people that men can fetch coffee for women.”

Adds Wilson, “When I started filming, it was before she’d come out politically. She knew that she was coming out of a very dark period, and wanted collaborate on something that captured what she was going through and that was really raw and honest and emotionally intimate.” The political awakening, the director says, “was a profound decision for her to make. In that, I saw this feminist coming of age story that I personally connected with, and that I really think women and girls around the world will see themselves in.”

“The bigger your career gets, the more you struggle with the idea that a lot of people see you the same way they see an iPhone or a Starbucks.” TAYLOR SWIFT

The film borrows its title from a song on the “Lover” album, “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” that’s maybe the one fully allegorical song Swift has ever released — and, in its fashion, is a great protest song. The entire lyric is a metaphor for how Swift grew up as an unblinking patriot and has had to reluctantly leave behind her naiveté in the age of Trump. Her partner on that track, as well as other message songs like “You Need to Calm Down” and “The Man,” was a co-writer and co-producer new to her stable of collaborators this time around, Joel Little.

With the song “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” although the lyrics are cloaked in metaphor, “We like to think it was a very clear statement,” Little says. “There are lots of little hidden messages within that song that are all pointing toward the way that she thinks and feels about politics and the United States. I love that it uses a lot of classic Taylor Swift imagery, in terms of the songwriting topics of high school and cheerleaders, as a clever nod to what she’s done in the past, but tied in with a heavy political message.”

“Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” doesn’t actually appear in the documentary, but the director says the film’s title is understood by fans as an obvious reference to political themes in the number. “Even if you don’t know the song,” Wilson says, “I see the movie as looking at the flip side of being America’s sweetheart, so I like how the title evokes that too.”

The doc doesn’t lack for its own protest songs though. In the wake of her midterm disappointment, Swift is seen writing an anthem for millennials who might have come away disillusioned with the political process. That previously unheard song, “Only the Young,” is seen being demo-ed before it plays in full over the end credits; it’ll be released as a digital single in conjunction with the doc. Key lyric: ““You did all that you could do / The game was rigged, the ref got tricked/ The wrong ones think they’re right / We were outnumbered — this time.”

“One thing I think is amazing about her,” says Wilson, “is that she goes to the studio and to songwriting as a place to process what she’s going through. I loved how, when she got the Grammy news (about “Reputation”), this isn’t someone who’s going to feel sorry for herself or say ‘That wasn’t right.’ She’s like, ‘Okay, I’m going to work even harder.’ You see her strength of character in that moment when she gets that news. And then with the election results, I loved how she channeled so many of her thoughts and feelings into ‘Only the Young.’ It was a great way to kind of show how stuff that happens in her life goes directly into the songs; you get to witness that in both cases.

So is the film aimed at satisfying the fan base or teasing the unconvinced hordes who might dial it up as a free stream? “I think it’s a little bit of both,” Swift says. “I chose Netflix because it’s a very vast, accessible medium to people who are just like, ‘Hey, what’s this? I’m bored.’ I love that, because I do so many things that cater specifically to fans that like my music, I think it’s important to put yourself out there to people who don’t care at all about you.”

In the wake of the last round of Kanye-gate, stung by the backlash of those who took his side, Swift took a three-year break from interviews. The mantra of her 2017 album “Reputation” and subsequent tour was “No explanations.” But her Beyoncé-style press blackout was a passing phase. With “Lover” and now, especially, the documentary, she could hardly be more about the explanations. Although this interview is the only one she currently plans to do about the documentary, it’s clear that she’s come back into a season of openness, and that she considers it her natural habitat.

“I really like the whole discussion around music. And during ‘Reputation,’ it never felt like it was ever going to be about music, no matter what I said or did,” she says. “I approach albums differently, in how I want to show them to the world or what I feel comfortable with at that time in my life.” Being more transparent “feels great with this album. I really feel like I could just keep making stuff — it’s that vibe right now. I don’t think I’ve ever written this much. That’s exhibited in ‘Lover’ having the most songs that I’ve ever had on an album” (18, to be exact). “But even after I made the album, I kept writing and going in the studio. That’s a new thing I’ve experienced this time around. That openness kind of feels like you finally got the lid off a jar you’ve been working at for years.”

Cipher-dom never could have stood for long for someone who’s established herself as one of the most accomplished confessional singer-songwriters in pop history. “I don’t really operate very well as an enigma,” she says. “It’s not fulfilling to me. It works really well in a lot of pop careers, but I think that it makes me feel completely unable to do what I had gotten in this to do, which is to communicate to people. I live for the feeling of standing on a stage and saying, ‘I feel this way,’ and the crowd responding with ‘We do too!’ And me being like, ‘Really?’ And they’re like, ‘Yes!’”

Swift believes talking things up again isn’t a form of giving in to narcissism — it’s a way of warding off commodification.

“The bigger your career gets, the more you struggle with the idea that a lot of people see you the same way they see an iPhone or a Starbucks,” she muses. “They’ve been inundated with your name in the media, and you become a brand. That’s inevitable for me, but I do think that it’s really necessary to feel like I can still communicate with people. And as a songwriter, it’s really important to still feel human and process things in a human way. The through line of all that is humanity, and reaching out and talking to people and having them see things that aren’t cute.

#swift finally comes out of the closet politically.... yes they REALLY wrote that

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paintingwithdarkness · 5 years

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#9 bluepulse please

“Where do you think you’re going?”

It was rare that Jaime got drunk. It was even rarer that he made enough of a fool of himself while he was drunk that Bart literally had to drag him home by the back of the collar. But after ten tequila shots, a Mojito, a bad karaoke rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” (half of which Jaime’d sung in Spanish) and a conversation that had almost exposed some secrets which really needed to remain secrets, Bart knew it was time to drag his boyfriend back home to their apartment while the majority of Jaime’s dignity was still in tact.

It had started out as an innocent enough idea. A few of Jaime’s buddies from medical school had suggested going out for drinks now that finals were over for the semester. It had been a hard past few weeks of studying (Bart had seen just how stressed his boyfriend had been) and now that all of the sweat, blood, and tears had been spilled, everyone wanted to go out and celebrate.

Bart had been invited along because Jaime said all of his friends would be bringing their significant others as well. Of course Bart been eager to attend, wanting to meet all of Jaime’s friends and see the type of crowd his boyfriend was a part of. He’d been told plenty of stories, but Bart had never met any of Jaime’s med school buddies in person.

When they’d first arrived at the bar, a small group sitting at a table in the corner waved them over. Bart watched Jaime’s face immediately light up in recognition, and then he was being dragged over by the hand to meet everyone. He took a seat next to Jaime, who took a seat next to a tall, black-haired man with a beer in hand.

“You must be Bart.” The black-haired man set down his mug and thrust out his hand for Bart to shake. “I’m Josh.”

When Bart clasped onto his hand, he had to try not to cringe. Josh hadn’t bothered to wipe off the condensation that had accumulated on his palm from holding the beer mug. The handshake was cold and wet. As he retracted his hand, Bart tried to be subtle about wiping the clamminess off onto a napkin before placing it in his lap.

“This is my girlfriend, Sarah.” Josh slung an arm around a red headed woman sitting to his other side. She gave a dainty little wave. Bart idly noted that her long fingernails were painted a maroon red. The color reminded him of blood.

“It’s nice to meet you both.” Bart put on a winning smile, showing all of his teeth, then turned to receive introductions from the rest of the group.

The next man’s name was George. He had a brunet comb-over, steely blue eyes and a handshake that could crack bones. He was all hard edges and sharp lines, and Bart would bet money the dude probably read all of his medical texts while working out, because his biceps were bulging out of the rolled up sleeves of his button down.

In contrast, George’s girlfriend Grace was curvy and soft, golden hair curled into perfect ringlets and face gently powdered with a fine layer of makeup. She had some of the prettiest blue eyes Bart had ever seen, and yes, despite being gay and in a committed relationship, he could openly admit it. Bart could appreciate beauty where he saw it, and he knew Grace was definitely a catch. George was a lucky man.

“Jaime’s told us a lot of stories.” The last woman sitting at the table introduced herself as Terresa. Her black glasses glinted in the light overhead as she turned and gestured to the man sitting next to her. “This is my fiancé, Brady.” Both of them held their hands out to Bart.

Terresa’s black bob weaved gently from side to side as she gave Bart’s hand a firm shake. Her amethyst eyes caught his, and Bart could immediately tell that she was the voice of reason in the group. There was intelligence shining in her irises. Of course, Bart knew Jaime was smart too, but he tended to overthink things. When Bart wasn’t around to give Jaime the gentle knock on the head to snap him out of his never-ending circles of thought, someone had to be there to do it. Terresa was the most likely candidate.

Brady looked like the Boy Next Door. Bart was actually surprised there wasn’t an Eagle Scout badge pinned to his collar. The dude had perfect hair, perfect teeth and a perfect personality. It was probably a good thing it was his fiancé that was the doctor and not him. From what Jaime had told him, Bart understood that it took a certain amount of cynicism to want to go into the medical field. A certain amount that this guy just didn’t have.

“Cool.” Josh leaned his elbows on the table, pushing his empty mug to the center with his crossed forearms. “Introductions done. First round’s on me.” He raised a hand to flag down a waitress and ordered tequila shots for the table. When she came back with the tray, Josh began to distribute the glasses.

His girlfriend raised a manicured hand. “Can I actually have a martini? I’m not a huge tequila drinker.”

“Same here. Make that two martinis, please.” Grace chimed in.

The waitress wrote it down and walked away. Josh shrugged. “More for us then.” His sienna eyes swept around the table until they landed on Bart and Jaime. He shoved the two extra shots in their direction.

“You’re always so put together, man. I want to see you cut loose.” He gave Jaime a slap on the shoulder, to which the Latino winced slightly. Bart narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t really fond of this Josh fellow.

“To the end of working our asses off, and finally being done with those hellish finals!” Josh lifted up his shot glass.

“And to those of you who supported us throughout it all,” Jaime added, turning to peck Bart on the cheek. Cheers went up from Sarah, Grace and Brady. Everyone raised their glasses.

“To the new doctors!”

Bart wrinkled his nose at the taste of the tequila as he kicked back his shot. He’d never really drunk any type of hard alcohol before, and it wasn’t like he could get intoxicated anyway. His speedster metabolism would take care of it before Bart could drink enough to even feel buzzed. The most he’d ever really had was a couple of beers with Jaime over dinner on weekends. And even then it wasn’t any sort of contest. The beer helped Jaime to relax a little, and Bart was just happy to spend time with his boyfriend.

One by one the little glasses clinked back down onto the tray. “Who’s up for another?” Josh encouraged.

There was a general positive consensus around the table. As the waitress came back with Grace and Sarah’s martinis, Josh ordered another round of shots.

While they were all waiting, Bart and Jaime were gently bullied into downing the extra shots Josh had shoved at them. Again, Bart screwed up his face at the sting of the alcohol as he swallowed.

“Not too fond of the taste, eh?” George spoke up for the first time since he’d introduced himself.

Bart shook his head, slapping the shot glass back down. He wiped his mouth with a napkin to get the bitter remnants of the tequila off his lips. “I’m not much of a drinker.”

Josh gasped dramatically. “Jaime! What’s wrong with you, man? You gotta take your boy out for drinks more often! Then he’ll learn to appreciate it.”

Bart felt the scowl returning. He definitely was not a fan of this guy.

Jaime laced their fingers together, which helped allivaiate some of Bart’s tension. “It’s not really our thing.”

The black-haired man laughed. “Well it should be! Here.” He grabbed the tray from the returning waitress before she even had a chance to set it down. He distributed the drinks.

Jaime squeezed Bart’s hand under the table before kicking back his shot. Rolling his green eyes, Bart slammed his too. He set the glass down with a groan.

“I’m done,” Bart declared. If he wasn’t going to get drunk, there was no point in continuing to torture himself. “I’ll just order a beer or something.”

Jaime smiled at him. “If that’s what you want, Cariño.” Bart felt Jaime’s hand unlace from his own and settle on his knee. He returned the smile and gently rested his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder as his eyes scanned the drinks menu.

“Done already?” Josh tried to goad him. “We’re getting another round.”

Bart just shrugged. He was not going to be peer pressured by this douche. And he really hoped his boyfriend wasn’t going to be either.

When the waitress came back, Josh ordered himself, Jaime, George and Terresa more shots. Sarah and Grace got refills on their martinis and Bart ordered a strawberry daiquiri.

Josh laughed. “Y’know, I never really took Jaime for the gay type until he told me he had a boyfriend. But I suppose it makes sense now, after meeting you, Bart.”

He bristled. Bart didn’t like the way Josh’s comment sounded.

“I mean, you did say you were bi, right Jaime?” He clapped Bart’s boyfriend on the back again.

“And what does that have to do with it?” Bart was getting sick of this guy. He wanted to put him in his place. It was a shame that Jaime was actually friends with this asshole.

Josh raised his hands in defense. “I didn’t mean any harm by it. I just meant that you’re one of those more effeminate gays is all. It’s not such a stretch for Jaime to like a guy like you.”

Bart wanted to leap up from his seat and punch Josh. He’d barely just met the guy and already he’d gotten under Bart’s skin. Usually, Bart was a pretty friendly person, but he’d been insulted and he wasn’t going to just sit and take it.

Luckily he didn’t have to. “I happen to like Bart the way he is. He’s just as much a man as you are. And he’s funny, smart and pretty hot.” Jaime blushed as he looked down at the table.

Bart felt a small rush of pride that his boyfriend had defended him.

Josh just shrugged, brushing the whole thing off. “Whatever man. I don’t have anything against you guys being gay or whatever. Just trying to understand.” He cast his eyes back into the room beyond their little table, seeking out the waitress.

“Hey, drinks are here!” Josh effectively changed the topic and snatched the tequila shots, much to the waitress’ annoyance.

He, Jaime and their two friends downed their fifth round as Bart’s daiquiri and the girls’ martinis arrived.

Eventually, the group ended up splitting up throughout the bar. Terresa, Brady and George made their way to the darts board while Grace and Sarah moved to another table to carry on a conversation about shoes. Josh continued to order himself and Jaime shots, and tried to pry secrets out of Bart’s steadily getting-more-drunk-by-the-minute boyfriend. More than once Bart had to interject his way into the conversation to prevent Jaime from revealing anything about their non-civilian lives.

By the time the ninth shot rolled around, that asshole had convinced Jaime to get up onto the karaoke stage. Thus was the terrible “Love Story” rendition. What made it even worse was that Jaime felt the need to stare at Bart throughout the whole ordeal. It was sweet yes, but by the time Jaime was done bumbling his way through the song (half of the lyrics he’d sung in Spanish, the other half incomprehensible), Bart was red in the face, embarrassed for him. When he stumbled his way back to the table with a grin on his lips, Bart only sent an extra dirty look in Josh’s direction.

By then, it was getting pretty late and Bart felt like it would be appropriate to finally get tipsy Jaime home. Luckily, Josh agreed and asked Bart to help him round up the rest of their little group to make sure everyone had safe plans for getting home. Begrudgingly, Bart agreed.

It took some time, but eventually the two of them managed to get everyone in their little party back to the table. To Bart’s dismay, he realized that Jaime had ordered himself another drink while he was running around the bar. Bart knew Jaime had already drunk enough to give himself a hangover the next morning, and he was tempted to take the Mojito away, but his boyfriend looked so relaxed and happy and stress-free that Bart couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was rare that he ever saw Jaime not stressed out of his mind, especially since starting medical school. Bart supposed he could have one night.

“Alright!” Josh called out as soon as everyone was gathered around. “One last drink to finish the night, then we should all be heading home!”

Bart scoffed. It already sounded like Josh had had one too many drinks if the way his words were slurring was any indication.

“You all know what a body shot is, right?” Josh’s smirk made him look like evil incarnate. “Everyone’s gotta do one before we leave!”

Bart groaned. Of course it couldn’t have been easy. He was definitely going to have to talk to his boyfriend about hanging around Josh. The guy was the biggest jerk Bart had ever met.

Because of the large number of drinks that had been ordered, there were enough lime slices for everyone. Josh ordered the last round of shots, this time, enough for everyone, and grabbed the salt-shaker that was sitting in the middle of the table.

“Who’s first?”

Reluctantly, Terresa and her fiancé volunteered to go first. Brady held still while the black-haired woman prepared a spot on the back of his wrist with the salt and then took the lime slice between his teeth. Terresa made quick work of the mess, the shot and the lime, and then held still as Brady returned the favor.

George and his girlfriend went next, and then Josh felt the need to one-up both couples, making a big show of licking the salt from his girlfriend’s cleavage before passing the shaker to Jaime with a grin.

Bart honestly just wanted to get these last two shots over with. Doing body shots in a public bar like this wasn’t exactly appropriate and Jaime seriously looked like he was close to passing out. He just needed to get his boyfriend home.

With a sigh, Bart picked up a lime wedge and was about to place it between his teeth when Jaime swooped in with a surprise kiss. Despite it being unexpected, Bart couldn’t help melting into it. He could taste all of the alcohol Jaime had drunk, and despite not liking the tequila by itself, Bart had to admit that it tasted rather good when mixed with Jaime’s natural flavor.

He was ashamed to admit that it took him a few moments to snap out of it. Kissing Jaime was intoxicating, even without the alcohol. But Jaime was actually drunk. Bart was the sober one, which meant he had to be the responsible one. Reluctantly, he pulled away and placed the lime in his mouth.

Jaime looked slightly upset, but prepped Bart’s skin with the salt anyway. It was hot enough in the bar that everyone had worked up a thin sheen of sweat, and the salt crystals clung perfectly to his skin.

As Jaime leaned in, Bart swallowed slightly. His boyfriend had (knowingly) chosen a sensitive spot on his neck to place the salt. When his lips made contact with Bart’s delicate flesh, Bart sucked in a breath through his nose.

Jaime gently licked the salt from his neck, scraping his teeth against the skin slightly and moving his lips sensually. Bart had to bite harder into the lime to stifle his groan. Even in this drunken stupor that Jaime was in, he knew what he was doing. Bart had speed healing yes, but if Jaime decided to leave a mark, it would be visible for a few minutes before fading. Receiving a hickey in the middle of a public bar wouldn’t exactly look great on either of their parts.

Gently, Bart pushed Jaime away from him and grabbed the shot, bringing the glass to his boyfriend’s lips. Jaime drank it quickly, and then leaned back in to bite into the flesh of the lime, causing juice to spill down Bart’s chin. Bart spit out the peel and then raised a hand to wipe the tangy mess from his mouth with the back of his hand. He went to grab the other shot and salt from the table where they’d ended up after Jaime’s prep, but his boyfriend hooked his fingers into Bart’s belt loops, preventing him from going anywhere.

“Mmm,” Jaime hummed, voice husky, “Where do you think you’re going?” He leaned in to kiss Bart again, but this time Bart had enough self-restraint to hold him back.

“You’re drunk, Babe. We need to get home. It’s late.”

Jaime sagged against him. “Don’ wanna go home,” he slurred. “Te vas tan lindo ahora, Cariño. Quiero besarte toda la noche.” His voice was heavily accented and Bart almost swooned hearing it. Jaime knew all the right ways to turn him on and it was beginning to work. Bart needed to get them home before Jaime managed to tempt him.

“We’re in the middle of the bar, Babe. Not really the best place. Let me take you home.” Bart at least knew enough Spanish to get the gist of what Jaime had been saying before.

“Fiiiiiinnnne.” Jaime dropped against him tiredly, and Bart struggled to hold him upright. He was supporting about eighty percent of Jaime’s weight.

“Thanks for the drinks and fun time guys!” Bart called back over his shoulder as he walked Jaime to the exit of the bar.

“Hey! You can’t leave yet! There’s still a shot left!” Josh yelled.

Bart rolled his eyes as he shoved open the door. “You can have it, Josh! You’re a selfish jackass, and I don’t want you talking to my boyfriend anymore. Take the drink and shove it up your-!”

The door closed behind Bart and Jaime with a slam.

Alright Anon! That was it! Hope you enjoy it. This one was one of the longer drabbles I’ve written for this challenge. I really liked the idea of flirty, drunk Jaime. This prompt was perfect for it. Thanks for the request!

#bart allen #jaime reyes #bluepulse #yj #young justice #offensive language #drinking #some ocs #prompts list #drunk jaime #flirting

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livingasaghost · 6 years

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alright folks. settle in. this is the story of how i met taylor swift after waiting 10 years. whew.

i don’t honestly know how to start this bc i never thought i’d make this text post.

so it all started on tuesday night. i was reading and scrolling my phone as one does, and then i get a text from hailee aka @ootwoodsyet aka my twin.

taylornation sent her a dm and both of us FREAKED OUT. we were cautiously optimistic but i think both of us were like OKAY THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHAT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! EVERYONE STAY CALM IT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING! so anyway, obviously hailee is the best person in the universe and replied putting my name in as her plus one and then we just texted each other non-stop for like two hours straight. tn replied to her email and asked for our social media handles, my full name, and our birthdays. we could hardly sleep that night, so when we woke up early the next morning we texted each other still freaking out. finally TN emailed back and was like OKAY YOU TWO ARE ON THE GUEST LIST! HAILEE LITERALLY FACETIMED ME FROM HER CAR AND WE BOTH LOST IT. at that point we immediately started making plans bc the next day thursday was the event in chicago. we had no idea when or where it was happening, but we knew we were going to be there. so we started prepping. i had to cancel on a client photoshoot (oops...but i’m not sorry) and uh hailee may or may not have had food poisoning that morning......so i went to platos closet and bought a new dress (velvet, blue, and PERFECT) and then i packed up a bag bc i was gonna go straight from my parents’ house to louisville on saturday for the rep show (wtf). neither of us slept very well wednesday night, and then AND THEN IT WAS TIME FOR THE WEIRDEST BEST DAY OF LIVES.

thursday june 28, 2018 --

i woke up at 7:15 and drove like 8 hours north from nashville to chicago. there was actually a decent amount of traffic that day but at one point i had to take a detour because there was a crash on i65. so on this random detour in southern indiana, a little ways outside of louisville, i was blasting better than revenge and i look to my left and I SAW TAYLORS FACE ON A TRUCK AND I SCREAMED BECAUSE THE REP TOUR BUSES WERE JUST SITTING IN THIS RANDOM LOT

I THOUGHT IT HAD TO BE A SIGN AND UH I GUESS I WAS RIGHT???? i also passed a place called “swifty farms” (what) and of course i drove through taylorsville so um needless to say....it was all meant to be

i eventually made it to chicago at 5:30pm and i picked up hailee from the train station. we flipped bc we literally did this exact same thing less than a month about for the 2nd chicago show and HERE WE WERE AGAIN FOR THE SAME WOMAN soooo we made our way to the first location that TN said to meet at by 7pm. we pulled up at like 6:15 and the parking lot was full but they already had a line of people. after finding a nearby garage to park in, we literally RAN across the way to get in line (it was like 10 minutes and we were so sweaty wow) and then we were in line and we had to go through two different security sections - each one asked for our names and ids. then at the second checkpoint they gave us wristbands based on our ages (i’m over 21) and eventually we went off to give them our phones and bags and stuff. then we were directed onto a greyhound bus and when we got on we legitimately became the most obnoxious people i’ve ever known in my entire life.

when we got on they were playing reputation (duh) and RFI was on so we literally listened through the album one whole time and it was WILD. we didn’t have our phones so we were just freaking out about twitter. we spent the whole time singing along and being totally in awe. the whole bus did 123 LETS GO BITCH during delicate, and thennn during getaway car when she goes SAID GOODBYE IN A GETAWAY CAR the bus MOVED AND WE LEFT TO GO TO THE SECONDARY LOCATION (john mulaney???)

so we drove until new years day came on and then we pulled into this random alley. before we could get up, this CAMERA crew showed up and went to the back of the bus to film us. they told us to be excited so we WERE?? and then we got off and went inside this random venue. hailee and i gripped each other’s hands so hard and then we went down this tunnel with mirrors & screens & then i almost broke down into tears bc it was all so overwhelming. they had so many professional photographers asking to take our photos and then the taylor people were handing out raffle tickets telling us to do stuff. it was like this weird underground area that had these gorgeous industrial bathrooms (with so many toiletries like oil sheets & dry shampoo & tampons & gum & hair ties) and there were arcade games and an led dance floor that lit up with hearts where you stood and there was a skee ball thing where we STOOD ON IT AND GOT OUR PHOTO TAKEN and they had claw machines with merch inside and these HUGE photobooth backdrops (BIG REPUTATION + taylors face + a huge snake) and basically you had to do stuff to get tickets and then you could use the tickets to get free merch! we didnt catch on quick enough though so we didn’t get anything more exciting than a water bottle & a tote (which were still so cool)

so anyway, we did some stuff, got a BIG REPUTATION non-alcoholic drink that was like soda water + blackberry syrup + a lime and it was just okay haha and as we went over to try and get our free merch we heard a THATS TAYLOR SWIFT scream from across the room and basically RAN to see what was happening. and that’s when this wall opened up and uh WE WALKED INTO A CONCERT VENUE AND LOST ALL CHILL

IT WAS SUCH A SMALL VENUE HAILEE AND I WERE IN THE BACK ROW BUT LITERALLY WE SPENT 10 MINUTES HYPERVENTILATING AND SCREAMING AT EACH OTHER!!! there were cameras everywhere, and it was so industrial but there was PIANO + THE SPARKLY GUITAR + THE KOI GUITAR?????? AND HER BLACK GUITAR WITH THE STARS ON THE FRETS!! so we hung out for a while in taylor limbo and felt like we were gonna combust and then AND THEN THE NIGHT KICKED INTO HIGH GEAR AND I SWEAR HAILEE AND I BOTH JUST BLACKED OUT

THE LIGHTS WENT OUT AND TAYLOR JUST FREAKING WALKED OUT ON STAGE AND I ALMOST BURST INTO TEARS SHE WASN’T REAL BUT SHE WAS RIGHT THERE AND I WANTED TO EXPLODE anyway she wore a green jumpsuit with a huge belt and some cute high heeled booties and uh she was her usual cute self being like HI GUYS WHATS UP there were like 200 people there and i couldn’t get over that!!! this was her smallest show in like 10 years???? AND I WAS THERE??? uh but yeah so she did 6 songs - gorgeous + delicate on guitar, all too well + new years day on piano, and shake it off on guitar. here are some highlights from that set...

the whole crowd did *DING* during gorgeous and 123 LET’S GO BITCH during delicate

taylor said that they were trying to decide if they needed backing vocalists and she decided not to and it turned out they didnt need them because we sung literally ALL the backing parts - like the high pitched “delicate” - we did that

she didnt even finish the last delicate bc we sang it so loud and she just laughed

she was so so SOOOOO comfortable with us like i have never seen her so candid and chill and relaxed?? like she was smiling and giggling and she made mistakes and didn’t even care and it was so CUTE I CANT STAND IT

at the piano she was like “oooh sorry i didnt get to sound check hang on lemme figure this out”

when she sat at the piano she was like “wow my hair’s so long” and how she thought about cutting it for these upcoming florida shows since it’s so hot and then the crowd was like OMG CUT IT or OMG DONT CUT IT and our section was like CUT ITTTT and she looked directly at us and was like mmmmm “you guys dont want it....” and wow i think she looked at me then wowowow

she explained that for all too well it was such an emotional song and she used to hate playing it bc it made her so sad but bc we love it so much now she loves playing it bc it makes her think of us and she was freaking SMILING DURING THIS WHOLE PERFORMANCE!! like the last time i saw her perform it live in my presence was 5 years ago at the red tour in chicago and she was crying but during this time she was LAUGHING AND SMILING

someone sang all to welllllll really terribly and off key and the whole audience fell silent and taylor just looked at that person and laughed and we all lost it

then she talked about writing reputation and how it was so cathartic for her and like she came up with the “there will be no explanation there will just be reputation” rhyme and it was so cool that now she has to stick to it and not give interviews so she was excited to explain to us more about the album

AND THEN she told this story about how 2 new years ago she was celebrating and just like realizing that everyone just wants to kiss someone at midnight but you really need someone to look after you while you’re popping advils the next day

she played new years day and we were all so emo wow

so then she gets up to get her guitar and we’re all like PLAY THE SPARKLY GUITAR!!!! and she looked so dismayed she was like “guys it’s just a prop it isn’t tuned” and we were so sad we were like TUNE IT!!! and she’s like NO I CANT

so thennnn she’s like “okay so i have one more song” and we were all like “PLAY MORE PLAY MORE” and she said “well, i could play you three more songs ORRRR we could take pictures...” and wow everyone died it was wild

she played shake it off acoustic and im not okay

then she explained what was gonna happen next and she was like FIRST OF ALL i cant really talk to you since i’m touring i need to save my voice and i’m not supposed to talk and second, we’re doing it in groups of four so make friends bc you’ll get photos in groups of four!

then as she finished she was like “uh i guess i’ll just go back here? no one really told me what was happening or what to do so...ILL SEE YOU SOON!!!”

as we walked out i saw a girl hugging her friend and crying. relatable. so hailee and i waited for our blue color to be called and went to claim our free merch. after we freshened up, we were waiting and this girl offered us poptarts and we both looked at each other and were like “omg poptarts” soooo then we got at the end of the line for the M&G. we were freaking out and we didn’t know what we’re gonna say and it was so surreal. like, we were gonna meet taylor swift. TAYLOR SWIFT! FUCK

so we’re waiting. and then these staff people come over and ask how many we have in our party (we say 2) and immediately they’re like...i think we have 2 openings over here hang on. so they deliberate, and then we’re being motioned to the FRONT OF THE LINE and we skip like 50 people and OUR HEARTBEATS TOOK OFF! WE WERE NOT ALL THERE! WE EXPLODED! WE WERE SO UNPREPARED TO JUMP THAT LINE BUT WOW WE WERE REALLY OUT THERE GETTING READY TO MEET TAYLOR.

we then were ushered upstairs and they lead us over a little bridge that was above the concert venue. eventually we made it past another security checkpoint and got to this fabric walled hallway where we glimpsed MAMA SWIFT and we almost lost it.

as we approached the very front of the line, TREE PAINE SHOWED UP and was just so sweet and nice and bubbly and we immediately decided to stan her. she was like “wow this is such a beautiful group of people you all look fantastic!” and we were like WOW ITS TREE PAINE and so then THEN ANDREA CAME BACK OUT AND WAS LIKE HELLO WOW YOU ALL LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL!!! and i shook her hand and told her it was honor to meet her and she was so so happy

(this whole time dont blame me and delicate was playing in the background)

((at one point tree was trying to figure out what was playing and i was like ITS DELICATE and she was like OH YEAH YOU’RE RIGHT))

sooooooo ummmmmm then security was ushering us around the corner and into this back area and TAYLOR SWIFT WAS RIGHT THERE??????? hailee and i were GRIPPING each others hands and i almost broke down into tears but hailee was like NO YOUR MAKE UP DONT DO IT YET NOT YET HOLD IT TOGETHER

and taylor (that sneaky bitch i love her) saw us together and basically took a photo with the other 2 people in our group and THEN came over to us to do us separately (!!!) ((apparently according to hailee the at&t lady running the thing was like “what is happening” but it’s taylor swift so she can do anything) so she walked over to us and we kept our cool somehow and i was like “WE WAITED 10 YEARS FOR THIS” and she high fived me and was like “WE DID IT!!” and i told her i drove 8 hours from nashville and she was baffled about how far that was. hailee thanked her for making her more courageous and resilient and we thanked her for the pride speech in chicago and she was so excited we went to the rain show. then i thanked her for writing “invisible” and she looked at me like OH WOW IM SHOCKED she was like “wow no one ever talks about that song thank you!” and i told her it made me feel seen and she was just so so kind and warm and did i mention she hugged us? and she’s kinda tall but she felt like our height and she felt like our best friend? ummm yeah so then the at&t people were like PICTURE and we went over and hailee and i both blacked out like we don’t remember what the background looked like??? i assume it’s the same as it always is but we didn’t notice lol um yeah so i remember smiling for the photo and i LEANED MY HEAD AGAINST TAYLORS???!?!? and then as we were finishing i was like IM GOING TO LOUISVILLE ON SATURDAY!!! and she was like “wow im so excited! i cant wait to be back on tour! i always hate the breaks in between!” and then i was like “CAN YOU PLAY SOMETHING FROM SPEAK NOW” and she was like “oh maybe” but she looked so disinterested i was thinking TAYLOR COME ON ITS SPEAK NOW and then i said i love you and she said i love you i think and then we got out and wowowowowowow

tree paine was there again and we were like OMG THAKN YOU CAN WE HUG YOU and she was so sweet like YES OF COURSE!!!! (um @tree-paine you are literally the kindest i would die for you) anyway hailee had a letter for taylor and she asked tree if someone could give it to her and tree was like i’ll put it in my back pocket!! and then we left and we kept thanking people as we walked out and that is the story of the greatest night of my life.

thank you to at&t and to hailee and to @taylornation and of course to @taylorswift wowowow i never thought this would happen to me and it did IT REALLY DID WOW

#personal #taylor swift #at&t #taylor swift now #i met taylor swift #6/28/18 #reputation

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banditthewriter · 6 years

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Look After You [Billy Russo]

Prompt: Have you heard Ben Barnes sing? Ugh. His voice melts my heart! So if you could do something of the sort where Billy is not a villain, he and reader are childhood friends. And he finally confesses his feelings through a song. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking "Look After You" by The Fray. But you can use another song you like. Thanks very much!! Prompter: @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme Thank you for the prompt darling. I went with a different song for the actual confession but Look After You is such a good song that I included it as well!

*****

The bar had a stage in the corner and you eyed it carefully as you set your purse down. Karen was already there, her hair pulled back in a pony tail, and you smiled as you slid into the booth with her. "Fifty bucks says they bail," you said as you gave her a smile. She rolled her eyes but before you could say anything, a friendly voice came from behind you. "You have fifty bucks to spare? Drinks are on Y/N tonight." You looked back and grinned at Foggy as he led Matt to the table. Foggy slid in first with Matt on the outside. That left two. You looked at the door but didn't spot either of their familiar faces. "Whose idea was it to come to a karaoke bar?" asked Matt as he felt around for one of the drinks Karen had ordered for all of you. You leaned over to push it closer to his hand and winked at Foggy as you sat back down. "I would like to blame Foggy but I think it was technically my idea. They were fun when I was in college," you added to their snickers. "And now we're all adults with more debt than we can see and end to and what's the best way to cope? Embarrassing ourselves in front of strangers and friends." "Which one am I?" asked a familiar voice and you turned around to smile up at Frank and Billy. You got out of the booth to let Frank slide in close to Karen and then sat back down with Billy on the outside. Foggy raised his beer to Frank in response to his question but before anyone could comment, someone went to the microphone and tapped on it. "Okay so let's kick this night off. First on the list we have Mariah singing... Crazy In Love by Beyonce." "Bold choice to start with," quipped Foggy. The rest of you chuckled and then fell quiet as the girl started to sing. Her voice was good, worked well with the song. Even Frank was nodding along with the words at one point. "I can't believe you got us to come to karaoke," whispered Billy into your ear. You gave him a wide grin and bumped into his arm. "You should sing for us," you borderline pleaded. "I've only heard you sing once and you hadn't realized I was in the apartment." You had stopped by and used his spare key to ask him something, but he had been in the shower. That was the day you learned two really interesting facts about Billy Russo. The first fact was that he had an amazing voice. You couldn't even remember what he had been singing, just that it had been so soft and wonderful. The second fact was that he showered with the door open. (There was a third fact that was related to his amazing ass but you had pretended you hadn't seen anything and therefore refused to acknowledge it even to yourself.) "Oh sure, I'll go up there and sing right after you do." You pouted and turned back to the stage as the MC walked up to announce the next one on the list. "Alright Mariah, good job. Next we have, singing Perfect by Ed Sheeran, we have... Foggy? Is that a real name?" Your group burst into giggles as Foggy glared, trying to figure out who had written him down. Karen raised her hand guiltily. Foggy stood up and dusted off his suit before he turned to the stage. "That's me!" he called loudly. You hadn't expected him to go along with it, thought he might just wait until the MC moved on, but this was better. "He actually has an okay voice," offered Matt to the table as Foggy took the stage. "He used to sing around the dorm room a lot." "Oh yeah, well he sings in the office sometimes too and that is why all the dogs in the neighborhood avoid us now." There was more laughter at your table that died down as the music started. Foggy glared at the group of you and then focused his attention on the screen. This was going to be good. While he sang, Billy leaned down to your ear and softly sang along with the lyrics. You felt your cheeks warm and you smiled but didn't pull away. In one ear you had Foggy singing very off key, in the other you had Billy unintentionally serenading you. What better way to spend a night? ------ 'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love Not knowing what it was I will not give you up this time But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own And in your eyes you're holding mine ------ The next time your group was getting together at the karaoke bar, you had gotten there first to meet your date. His name was John and pulled your chair out. All of the booths were taken so you had to grab a table big enough for everyone. John sat close to you, murmuring in your ear softly as Matt, Foggy, and Karen walked in. "Oh," Karen said in surprise as she slid into a chair and realized that the dark haired guy next to you wasn't Billy. "Uh, hello?" Matt and Foggy sat down next and Foggy explained to Matt that there was a stranger next to you. "He isn't a stranger, we work together. Guys, this is John. John, this is Karen, Matt, and Foggy." They all shook hands. Frank and Billy showed up late again, with Frank taking the seat next to Karen with barely a glance at John. Billy sat down slowly next to you, eyeing John carefully. "John, this is Karen's boyfriend Frank, and this is Billy." Frank shook John's hand and shot a look at Karen as John then offered his hand for Billy. Billy eyed the hand but you stomped on his foot so he extended his own hand. "I didn't realize this outing was open to anyone," mumbled Frank just loud enough for the table to hear. John tensed next to you and you glared at Frank. "Well he's my date and if that's a problem, we can go sit at the bar." Frank held his hands out and Karen shot you an apologetic look as you turned to John. He smiled tightly to you and shifted in the chair, obviously uncomfortable. You looked around the table but everyone was avoiding your gaze, even Billy. The MC came out to introduce the first singer, the Mariah girl from your first visit there, who would be singing something from Taylor Swift. At some point John stood up and leaned down into your ear. "I'm going to run to the bathroom. I'll be right back." He carefully placed a kiss on your cheek and then walked away. Once he was out of earshot, you glared at your friends. "Why are you guys acting like assholes? You're making John uncomfortable." You didn't miss the way all eyes seemed to dart to Billy so you turned to him. Under your gaze, he shrugged and lifted his beer. You sighed and looked down at your own drink. John returned to the table and took his seat next to you once more. The MC came out to introduce a guy who was going to sing Too Much To Ask by Niall Horan. While the guy sang, you looked over to say something to John but he was looking off to the side where a girl in a low cut shirt was watching him. You shook your head and looked at the group. They were all watching the singer except Billy who was watching you intently. You couldn't help but hear the lyrics run through your head as his eyes roamed over your face. ------ And oh, love, watch the sun coming up Don't it feel fucked up we're not in love ------ The bar wasn't as crowded as before so you grabbed a booth. Frank and Karen sat down across from you. Matt and Foggy had to stay at the office so it would just be you, Frank, Karen, and Billy if he ever got there. You plucked at the wrapper on the straw and looked up at Frank and Karen who gave you soft smiles. No one had seemed upset when you had told them John definitely wouldn't be attending anymore nights out. Billy came in and had already settled into the booth beside you when he realized that you were missing two people. "Matt and Foggy coming late?" "They had to stay at the office," Karen said as she reached across Frank to grab the list of songs. You had already poured over it, wondering if you should get up there. Billy looked between Karen and Frank and then slowly over to you. He pulled his jacket and looked you over so you turned to look back down at the straw wrapper in your hands. Things had been weird between the two of you since the last karaoke night, your eyes meeting as the soft words were sung. Your feelings for Billy had been pretty under control but something about his constant looks lately were getting under your skin. You wanted more and were pretty sure he would be okay with that, but you didn't know how to go about it. An idea struck you and you grabbed the song list. You skimmed for one that would fit and waved down the MC as he walked around. You wrote it down with your name, the second person to sing, and then looked at the group. Billy looked curious while Karen looked impressed. "You're going to sing?" she asked excitedly. You nodded, chest tight as you shot a quick look at Billy. When your name was called, Billy got out of the booth to let you out. As you stood next to him, you squeezed his wrist until his eyes met yours. "Listen," you said softly as you released his wrist and moved to the stage. As the beginning of the song played, you grabbed the mic and let your eyes flit between the screen and Billy. "If I don't say this now, I will surely break," you sang softly, straight at Billy. ------ There now, steady love, so few come and don't go Will you won't you, be the one I always know? When I'm losing my control, the city spins around You're the only one who knows, you slow it down

------ By the end of the song, Billy had stood up and stepped out of view. The lights on the stage were bright so you couldn't see where he had gone. Dimmed in rejection, you moved back to the booth slowly as people applauded your show. Karen had her phone out so you knew it had been recorded but you didn't want to see it. Frank leaned over her to clap you on your shoulder as you paused next to their side of the booth. "Did Billy leave?" you asked quietly. Karen shook her head, her hand over her mouth to cover a smile. You saw his jacket was still there, but he was gone. Maybe he had gotten a call? Except you were clearly trying to sing to him. Why would he not stay? "Y/N, we have a response to your song." You spun around as the MC called your name. He smiled and nodded his head to the edge of the stage where Billy was getting ready to step on. "Here we have Billy with a response to Y/N's rendition of Look After You by The Fray." He stepped away from the mic and Billy stepped up. He fixed the microphone to his height and looked down to you as the music started to play. "You're so right for what's wrong in my life. You're as right as rain; how can I explain? You just fill every void in my life. Oh, so right for what's wrong." As the lyrics of You're So Right by Frank Sinatra came over you, you could feel tears gathering in your eyes. His voice pulled you towards the stage and you knew without a doubt Karen was filming this as well but you didn't care. As the song ended, you climbed onto the stage and stood in front of him. Both of you looked at each other, a small hopeful smile on your face. He reached out and touched your cheek and you jolted at the touch, taking a step closer to him. "Just kiss her," called someone who sounded suspiciously like Frank from the crowd. Billy laughed and fucked his head for a moment before he nodded. He grabbed your waist and pulled you close, one hand going up to support your head as he pressed his mouth to yours gently. Soft, sweet, and then something more. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and held him close as the crowd applauded and cheered. When you pulled back, Billy looked down at you and smiled. You reached up and ran your fingers through his hair and you let out a small laugh. "Still not interested in karaoke?" you asked with a grin. He smiled back and leaned down to press his lips against yours. "It's growing on me."

@yessy2012 @1550kilogramsofsilver @hermioneshandbag @rileyblues @releasethekracko @youveseen--thebutcher @missphanosaur18 @smiley-celine @itsjustmylifeconfessions @hoodedhavok @anamarierosee @sarasnow22 @sinceimetyou @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @nostalgic-uncertainty @gingerstarlight @musingsofbanana @ironstank @aveatquevale- @giggleberts @ravismorgue @flightoftheflightrisk @thehanneloner @mightymelly @queenisabella789 @clarasworldofwonders @hxbbit @colddecember-night @rockintensse

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic #my writing #requests

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obviouslyelementary · 7 years

Text

Music challenge

@dan-yuna started with this and I loved the idea so here they are! My 10 little fics!

Have fun!

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1. Who am I living for? – Katy Perry (Lamp – War AU)

Patton swallowed thickly as he grabbed his riffle, staring at the picture of his family on the wall.

“Pat? Ready?”

He sighed and nodded, turning to Roman and holding his riffle tighter.

“As ready as I can be”

------

“Prepare yourselves!” General Logan’s voice arrived to Patton’s ears and he sighed, laying on the dirt, riffle between two piles of rock hard dirty. He could feel Roman’s foot pushing against his in a sign of comfort.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Attack!” Subordinate Ann’s voice sung in the air, and Patton got himself ready as the enemies approached. He watched those men coming, several of their own already shooting them down.

They were people.

He felt the tears blurring his vision and rubbed them away, before lining up again and biting his lip, his finger on the trigger.

He was going to kill another person.

They were coming closer.

Just a move of a finger.

“Withdraw! Withdraw!”

Just a single movement. He could do it. He had been training for it.

“Soldier!”

Just one…

“Sanders!”

Movement…

“PATTON!”

He gasped as he was grabbed by his coat and pulled back from his place, pushed into a trench and covered by someone he couldn’t see. He tried to scream, but they covered his mouth.

Suddenly, there were several soldiers from the other army jumping over them, and Patton’s eyes widened, his body freezing, eyes tearing up.

After a lifetime, they stopped moving over them. That was when Patton was able to see subordinate Ann’s face over him, sighing and moving up to check their surroundings.

“We are safe to go” he says, pulling Patton up and letting out a shaky sigh. “What did you think you were doing, soldier?! The general said withdraw!”

“I… Didn’t listen… I am sorry sir” he mumbles, looking down in submission, and Ann sighs deeply.

“If any of our commanders learn about this…” he mumbles, and Patton looks up, surprised. “Come on. We have to go back to the camp. Hurry”

Patton nodded and followed Ann through the field.

He was lucky. So, so lucky.

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

2. Summer Nights – Grease (Royality – human AU)

Roman was just walking on the beach when he saw him in the distance.

Patton was sitting on a rock, watching the waves, smiling at them as he waved side to side, singing a stupid song he had learned.

He jumped up when someone touched his shoulder, blushing at the beautiful, shirtless man behind him.

“Hello” the man said, sitting next to him. “What such a beautiful creature is doing here, alone, so late?”

“Oh… I’m watching the waves” Patton shrugged, smiling to himself. “They are beautiful at the moon light, don’t you think?”

Roman looked over at the sea and watched as the bright pale light of the moon transformed the dark waters in a beautiful painting.

“Yes indeed… But not as beautiful as you” he said, smiling, and Patton giggled, fixing his glasses and blushing darker.

“Are you always this flirtatious with people you meet at night on the beach?” he asked, lightly, and Roman shrugged.

“Only the ones that seem worth a shot” he explained, and Patton looked at him.

“Am I worth a shot?”

“I believe so. Am I?”

“Um… for a summer night…” Patton shrugged, smiling, and Roman chuckled, placing his hand on Patton’s cheek.

“That’s all I need”

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

3. Topsy Turvy – The Hunchback of Notre-dame (Lamp – high school AU)

Patton wasn’t a shy kid. Not at all.

He loved to jump around and talk to people, fixing his glasses every moment because of his jumps, running around and saying hello to everyone, holding his books to his chest as he made his way through the hallways.

And usually, that was fine. No one messed with the funny, clown kid. He was stupid by himself. They were all fine with making jokes about him on his back.

But there was one day every month where the big guys of school decided that it would be the day when they would tease the little boy.

They grabbed his glasses and threw them down the stairs, took his papers and tossed them in the toilet, ripped his books and gave him a crown.

The crown of fools.

Together with a paper on his back saying ‘kick me’.

And normally Patton took it as a joke, laughing with them and holding back his tears as he was hurt, not even knowing that was mean as how innocent he was.

They said they did it with each other all the time.

They were his friends.

But of course that Patton’s real friends didn’t enjoy their actions, not even a bit.

“You have to stop doing this to yourself” Ann said as he cleaned the bruises Patton had on his back and arm.

“You need to stop letting them do this to you” Logan said as he picked up the ripped parts of his books with him.

“I will hurt them next time they do this to you” Roman said as he tried to fix Patton’s glasses as he could.

“Guys. It’s okay! They are my friends!” Patton said, smiling at the other three. “They even gave me a plastic crown this month!”

The other three looked at each other before sighing and returning to their jobs.

Patton smiled and watched them happily.

He didn’t care about those guys.

He had the best friends in the world.

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

4. I Kissed a Girl – Katy Perry (Logince)

When they discovered they could change forms, Roman did not hesitate in trying it out.

And honestly? He loved transforming into a girl version of himself.

He loved his long hair, his waist, his boobs. It just felt… really nice. Not for a constant form but sometimes it just felt great and he liked to walk around like that.

But after a while of trying new clothes and doing different things, he started to wonder if kissing someone as a girl would be… Any different than kissing someone as a guy.

So, he went for, obviously, the only option available: His boyfriend.

“Logan?” he asked, walking inside the teacher’s room and smiling when he saw him on his desk, correcting tests.

“Yes Roman?” he asked back, looking up at him and raising his eyebrow. “Anything you need from me?”

“Actually…” he started, walking closer to his boyfriend and shamelessly sitting on his lap, making him wrap his arms around Roman’s waist. “I was wondering… Would you mind kissing me as a girl?”

“Of course not. We are all bi, remember?” Logan answered, rubbing circles on Roman’s waist. “Why? What sparked the curiosity?”

“I can transform into a girl, so I was thinking about kissing you like that” he said, smiling, and Logan hummed, nodding slowly.

“Well… While I do prefer you in your common form, I can see the appeal of kissing a girl version of you” he reasoned, nodding slowly to Roman. “You are allowed to kiss me as a girl”

“Oh thank god” he said, breathless, and clicked his fingers, transforming into a girl right on Logan’s lap. The teacher was taken aback because of it but quickly nodded.

“I was not expecting it to be… so sudden. Is this a new kink of yours? Because I am pretty sure the internet does not ap-uff” he groaned as Roman moved down and kissed him, wrapping his arms around his neck as he straddled Logan’s legs. Quickly enough, the teacher’s hands moved to the royal’s waist, pulling him closer a bit awkwardly, used to the larger hips. He squeezed the curved waist just the same, kissing Roman as they usually kissed, slow and sensual, while Roman’s hands went to Logan’s hair, tangling on the strands and pulling his head closer.

After a few moments of kissing, Roman pulled back, biting his bottom lip, groaning quietly as how close they were, his boobs pressing against Logan’s chest. He was blushing deeply, but the teacher just licked his lips and hummed.

“Softer than usual, but not unpleasant” he said, fixing his glasses and looking at Roman. “What did you think?”

“Not as odd as I firstly predicted…” he said, slowly, and then scratched the back of Logan’s head, making him close his eyes. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Sure…”

“Good”

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5. We Are Never Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift (Logicality)

“No Logan. It’s over! God damn it” Patton said, sighing deeply and rubbing his temple. Then, he whined and looked at Roman, pouting. “What did you think?”

“Are you going to break with him? Because you sound like you want to fuck him” he said, looking down at his phone, and Patton groaned, grabbing the closest pillow and throwing on Roman’s face, making him gasp. “Hey!”

“You’re not helping! I wanted to be through with him now!” he said, loudly, sitting on the bed next to the royal, rubbing his eyes. “Why is this so hard?!”

“Because you like him. Even though he’s a jerk” he said, simply, and Patton growled, throwing another pillow on his face.

“Shut up!”

“Stop it!” Ann groaned, grabbing the pillow and throwing it back to Logan. “It’s not my fault you’re a dick to him! Obviously that he will break up with you!”

“I don’t want him to! What do I do?” Logan groaned, sitting next to Ann and rubbing his eyes. “There must be a way!”

“Well, how many times have you guys broken up and made up before? Five?” Ann asked, and Logan sighed.

“This time is for real Ann!”

“It always is. And he always comes back. And so do you. Just try to do what he likes more often! You’re too much of a dick” he said, petting Logan’s shoulder. “Tell him you love him. Take flowers. Chocolates. Whatever Patton likes. Just… be nice”

“Fine…”

------

“Logan”

“Patton”

“We need to…”

“I love you…”

Patton’s eyes widened as he was presented with flowers and chocolates. Logan then started a speech about how much of an asshole he had been.

“So… They are getting back again?” Roman asked, and Ann shrugged.

“Guess so”

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

6. Uptown Girl – Billy Joel (Prinxiety – human AU)

Ann had always lived in the suburbs. He studied in small schools and never really walked out of his little suburban world.

But he studied, and he studied hard. And when he was in the correct age, he got into one of the best colleges of the country.

And there, he met Roman.

Roman, the son of one of the richest men in all USA, called Prince by all his friends and followers, the most handsome boy Ann had ever seen, and so, so out of his league.

Or at least, so Ann thought, until one day when he was approached by said guy, who happened to be in the same café he ate every morning, with a ‘late friend’ and two mugs of coffee on his hands.

“Hello. I’m Roman. May I sit?”

“S-sure… I’m Ann…”

“I know who you are” he winked. “Mocha with cinnamon and marshmallows right?”

Maybe Roman was a bit creepy, but Anxiety wasn’t complaining.

He was an uptown boy after all.

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

7. Fat Bottomed Girls – Queen (Lamp)

When Patton had first mentioned it, they hadn’t really believed him.

And yet, now, a week later, the four of them were staring at four motorcycles in front of their house, all pretty and big and decorated with things they liked.

“So? Are you boys ready for a cy-tastic trip?” Patton asked, grin wide on his face, and Logan frowned at him.

“That doesn’t make sense” he said, but the three were already rushing to their own vehicles.

“Logan! We are missing you!” Patton called from his own motorbike, turning it on. “Come on!”

Logan rolled his eyes before walking to the dark blue motorbike.

That wouldn’t be so bad.

Not at all.

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

8. Last Kiss – Taylor Swift (Prinxiety)

The blood dripped from his hands to the ground and he couldn’t stop it, there was no one around, and no matter how loud he screamed, he would never be able to call anyone’s attention.

The tears that fell from his eyes weren’t magic ones. He had no power. He had no way to help.

“N-no pl-please…” Anxiety whimpered, putting all his weight on Prince’s stomach, none of it being enough to hold the red liquid inside. “St-stay with m-me!”

“Anx…” he whispered, reaching up and coughing weakly, slowly moving his hand through Anxiety’s hair, and down his cheek. “I love you…”

“I-I love yo-you too! P-ple-please don’t l-leave” he whimpered, and Prince pulled him closer, gently, pressing their lips together for a brief moment, before his hand fell down on the ground and he coughed weakly. “N-no…”

“I will… always… be… here…” he whispered, placing his hand over Anxiety’s chest for a second or two, before his hand fell again and the light in his eyes disappeared.

“No… no. No! NO!” Anxiety screamed, letting go of the wound and pulling Prince close, hugging his head, sobbing. “NO!”

Not like this.

Not like this…

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9. Beauty and the Beast – Beauty and the Beast (Prinxiety)

“I love you”

Anxiety looked up, cheeks burning up as he stared at Roman’s face.

They were slow dancing on the living room, to the sound of Beauty and the Beast.

“Why are you saying that?” Anxiety asked, softly, his arms tightening around the royal’s shoulders without realizing.

“I was hoping you would say the same, so you could break my curse” he explained, smiling, squeezing Anx’s waist and twirling them around slowly.

“What curse?”

“The one of being without you for longer than I already have…”

Anxiety took a shaky breath and his eyes moved down to Roman’s lips, his eyeslids fluttering.

“I was thinking you would never say it…”

They moved together, bodies pressing close as they kissed, arms tightening around the other.

The room glowed in the dark and the music continued playing as they pulled back, their foreheads pressed together.

“I love you too.”

“I thought I would never hear it…”

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

10. Loser Like Me – Glee (Lamp)

“This is it!”

“I can’t believe it!”

“This is incredibly pleasing”

“They… wow…”

The four stared at the crowd in front of them.

“THOMAS! THOMAS! THOMAS!”

The four smiled and laughed, just as Thomas walked between them, bowing to the crowd in front of him.

“Hello everybody!”

They moved closer together as the crowd cheered.

Thomas turned around for a second, winking at them before grabbing one of the items he would use to begin the show, and turned back around, beginning the Ultimate Story Time.

“Take it on Princy” Anxiety said, smirking, and both Logic and Morality nodded, smiling to Prince, who smirked back and stepped forward.

“Here we go!”

He became a ball of light and moved inside Thomas, and he grabbed the microphone, starting the show.

“Oh I don’t want to miss this!” Morality said happily, becoming a ball of light and following Prince inside Thomas. Logic and Anxiety looked at each other before shrugging.

“Yeah why not” Anxiety chuckled, and Logic smirked, both becoming balls of light and entering Thomas as well.

It was their show.

It was their time to shine.

And they would do it together.

As they had always done.

#my fanfic #music challenge #dan-yuna #prinxiety #logince #logicality #lamp #polysanders

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