#looking for attribution for the 2 photos took two hours & i’m not even sure i did it right

[maybuds]

Margaret Atwood, from “Sunset II” / René Magritte, The Banquet / Mary Oliver, from “The Sun” / Katherine Mansfield, from The Diaries of Katherine Mansfield / (Source) / (Source) / Sappho (trans. Anne Carson), from If Not Winter: Fragments of Sappho / Art by @mariamedem

#looking for attribution for the 2 photos took two hours & i’m not even sure i did it right #sun #red sun #margaret atwood #sunset ii #rene magritte #the banquet #mary oliver #the sun #katherine mansfield #sappho #if not winter #anne carson #maria medem #photography #art #poetry #parallels #♥️☀️

[teamddixon]

A New Normal - Part 2

Summary: Set in the future of the TWD timeline, this story follows Daryl, Y/N and her brother through their journey in the world of the undead. It wasn’t like Daryl to let people in to his heart easily, but it was Y/N’s smiles that had captured him completely, and before he knew it, there wasn’t a scenario Daryl could think of about his future that didn’t have Y/N in it.

A/N: Second part of A New Normal is here! Check out Part 1 here. Just a quick note, for readers who can’t relate to having an older brother, Andrew can be read as an older cousin, or a friend. He doesn’t have to be a biological brother. :) Comments and feedback are appreciated! As usual, photos/gifs are not mine, but any mistakes in this are certainly mine. Hope you enjoy this second part! It’s doesn’t have a lot of action going on but hope you like the fluff!

Daryl loaded his crossbow with the arrow he had just dug out from the walker’s head and slung it across his back. Y/N watched him from the sidelines and got increasingly intrigued by him. Daryl’s hardened and tough exterior was evidence of a man who looked like he had carried the weight of the whole world on his shoulders all his life, yet beneath that shell sat an inkling of a kindhearted and tender man. She didn’t know Daryl, but she felt safe with him, as with Andrew. Daryl had after all just saved her from a walker.

“Ya gon be okay alone out here?” Daryl’s stern expression was now softer, gentler. Despite having just met her, Daryl was worried about Y/N going on her quest alone. It was almost like an occupational disease after years of taking care of people around him. Daryl immediately felt a strong sense of responsibility for her, like he wanted to do anything in his might to keep her safe for as long as the world allowed. He was almost instantly attracted to her, like a moth to a flame – or a walker to brains. It wasn’t that he had no faith in her survival skills, but because the world – or whatever was left of it – needed her smiles. He needed her smiles and he needed to protect it at all cost.

“Yeah, I’m going to be. My brother shouldn’t be too far from here.” Y/N wanted to leave, but there was a disconnect between her brain and her legs. She continued to stand exactly where she was, across from Daryl. A part of her didn’t want to say goodbye. She felt a strong, undeniable pull towards him. And Daryl hadn’t moved from his spot either.

Daryl held on to Y/N’s gaze, his mind racing to think of the right words to say. He didn’t want to come off as a creep wanting to follow Y/N, but he didn’t want to see her leave either. Silence hung thick in the air between them. Y/N cleared her throat in an attempt to break the silence, although she had not exactly thought of what she was going to say.

At that very moment, Daryl’s ears picked up the sound of rustling leaves and breaking twigs not far from where they were and the sound was coming from all directions behind them. The low growls were getting increasingly noticeable, so was the smell of rotten flesh in the air. From the sound of it, Daryl estimated the herd to be at least 20 to 30 walkers. The earlier tussle between Y/N and the walker must have attracted the herd’s attention to their location. His instincts immediately kicked in and his very first thought was to get Y/N to safety. On his own, he would have easily taken all of the walkers down, but he wasn’t about to risk Y/N’s life.

“Let’s get outta here.” Daryl’s urgently called. Y/N turned and saw that walkers were fast approaching them, their jaws hanging like starved animals. They were both in plain sight of the walkers. Daryl pointed towards the direction in front and gestured for Y/N to run. Quickly and steadily, with the knife firmly in her hands, she followed behind Daryl without turning back. As Daryl ran, his mind was focused on one thing – Y/N. Ever so often he would turn back just to check if she was still there. Through the rush, Daryl saw that her smiles were gone now, replaced by a look of determination and fight.

Daryl moved quickly and silently with Y/N hot on his heels until he spotted a secluded area that would hide them away from the walkers. It was a tiny opening obscured by a thick foliage and just about enough space for two adults. Grabbing Y/N by the arm, Daryl shoved her inside the opening before joining her. Y/N watched in bated breath as the walkers staggered right past the spot they were hiding, completely unaware of their whereabouts. Soon, the sound of their growls became softer and softer, until she couldn’t hear them anymore.

Y/N finally let out the breath she was holding and looked up at Daryl just as he turned to face her. A soft laughter escaped Y/N’s lips, which made Daryl’s heart swell and his heart rate increase. He looked away quickly, afraid that his face would give him away if the sound of his heartbeat against his ribcage doesn’t. Standing face to face with each other, Y/N was suddenly extremely aware of the lack of space between her and Daryl. Her head was almost touching his chest, and she could feel it moving up and down with his panting breaths. There was a rhythmic sound of a constant thumping, almost as if someone was playing drums right inside of Y/N’s cochlear. She later realized that it was the sound of her own heartbeat that she was hearing, which she attributed not to the run she just had, but to the feeling of closeness between them. There was no way they could have caught the sound of each other’s heartbeats over their own. Although the walkers were now long gone, they continued to stay where they were, the absence of space looked as if they were both stuck together. Daryl closed his eyes for a second, mentally willing his pounding heart to slow down. When he opened them, he saw Y/N looking up at him, her expression unreadable.

“Ya okay?” He asked, as they finally stepped out of their hiding spot with Daryl fussing over the cuts on Y/N’s face and arms from the sharp branches. “Ye – Yes, I, uh, I am.” Y/N whispered. Seeing the way Daryl fussed over her, making sure she wasn’t scratched or bit anywhere made her cheeks burned. For some reason, she tried to hold her breath, as if afraid that even the slightest movement from her would break the moment. Without missing a beat, Daryl reached out to touch Y/N’s face to examine the cuts she must have gotten when she was squeezing through the foliage. That simple act, which would have been natural for most people, shocked even Daryl himself. His old friends wouldn’t have pegged him as someone who would easily show his affections for a girl he just met, and yet there he was. “How about you, are you okay?” Y/N finally breathed, to which Daryl simply nodded in response.

“I, uh, should go. I need to find my brother.” Quite a long time had passed since Y/N was separated from Andrew and as much as she enjoyed these moments with Daryl, she didn’t want Andrew to worry.

That was the moment Daryl knew he had to say something. It was now, or never. He needed to see Y/N again and to know she was safe, at least until she found her brother. In the current world they were in, tomorrow was not a given nor guaranteed. He may never see her again if he didn’t say what he wanted to say. “I’ll go with ya.” He half-grunted, half-whispered, evading Y/N’s eyes while pretending to be busy adjusting his crossbow.

Surprised, yet strangely elated with Daryl’s preposition, Y/N smiled. There were no words required. A bond had been forged between them and while they didn’t yet know, they were about to be bound together like each other’s new family.

Andrew soon came into view, not far from where Daryl and Y/N had started off from. He was visibly stained with blood all over his body. Seeing her brother again, Y/N dashed forward and threw him a hug. “Are you okay? Are these blood –“ Y/N gasped.

“The walker’s.” Andrew replied, relieved to see Y/N. When the herd came through moments ago, Andrew had been worried. The herd came from the direction where he last left Y/N more than an hour ago and he couldn’t help but worry if she had managed to evade, or at least fight them. He took down the walkers with ease, and quickly traced his trial back to look for her. From a distance, he saw her running towards him with a man next to her, his disheveled hair obscuring his face. He immediately reached for his gun, a weapon he only use during emergencies, ready to shoot, but the look on his sister’s face had been… happy, smiling. She hadn’t seemed afraid of the man at all, nor did she looked like she was under any kind of threat. Still, the sudden appearance of the man kicked in all of his protective instincts.

“Who are you?” Andrew asked as he stared directly into Daryl’s eyes, gun trained on Daryl’s forehead. Y/N was all he had, and if he had to kill someone who was a threat, he would have no qualms. Daryl on the other hand had made no moves to reach for his crossbow. 

“’M Daryl.” Daryl nodded at Andrew.

“He saved my life back there. Twice.” Y/N quickly interjected, tapping on Andrew’s arm to lower his gun. Andrew shot his sister a look, but his hand remain raised with the gun. “Are you hurt?”

“No I’m fine. Just some cuts from hiding from the dead but otherwise fine. Look at me, I still have all my limbs!” Y/N smiled and spun around with her hands in the air, her light chuckles filling the spaces between them. Andrew nodded and looked back at Daryl again, holding the gaze for a moment before lowering his gun and returning it to its holster. Daryl watched as Y/N twirled around, her loose pony tail flying behind her like a kite in the sky. His heart felt full again when he saw Y/N’s smile and hearing her laughter ringing in his ears. It was enough to light up even the darkest of times he’d experienced and he wondered where that smile had been in his life all along.

“I think we should move together.” Y/N steadied her footing and proposed the idea to Andrew and Daryl. Daryl had proven to be an experienced walker-killer and was quick witted, but most importantly, although Y/N didn’t want to admit it, she just can’t bear to say goodbye to Daryl. Where they are living in now, it wasn’t like she could just call him on the phone to meet up at the coffee shop down the street any time they wanted. Any day could be their last day on earth, and she wasn’t ready for that day to be last time she saw Daryl again. She was afraid of Daryl’s rejection, but she was even more afraid of her brother rejecting her preposition. Trust don’t come by easy, not when the alive were more dangerous than the flesh eating corpses.

It wasn’t like Daryl to allow people in to his heart so easily. He was happy and contented on his own and he’d rather be that way, so he could avoid the heartbreak when someone left or died. Just like so many others who were still surviving in this crazy world, Daryl had had his fair share of losses. People he loved, people he cared for, so cruelly taken down. But he was conflicted. On one hand he really didn’t want to part with Y/N, but on the other, he was so afraid of opening his heart to her, only to have his world torn apart someday. He weighed the cost in his head and finally decided to risk losing Y/N later than losing her now without even trying. Daryl held Y/N’s gaze and nodded in agreement before turning to look at Andrew.

Y/N’s heart and spirit immediately lifted upon seeing Daryl’s simple nod of his head. She got to see Daryl again, and even if it was only for another day, it would have made all the difference. She turned to look at Andrew, silently anticipating, praying. She understood the risk it involved, inviting a stranger into their midst. While Y/N had never been a hundred percent accurate with her character judgement in the past, she gravitated towards Daryl naturally and her instincts told her he was a trustworthy guy. Y/N nudged Andrew’s arm lightly to elicit a response and finally Andrew nodded too. “Thanks for saving my sister back there.” Andrew called out to Daryl, and Daryl nodded in response. “But if you tried to harm my sister in any way, I would not hesitate to kill you.” Andrew leaned in towards Daryl and whispered.

Even after years of being alone, it wasn’t hard to get used to Y/N’s presence in his life. She was like a rare flower in a land of the barren, her energy bringing hope to an otherwise hopeless future. Every day in this crazy world, new walkers were made when people died and there never seemed to be a way out of it. But having each other was all they needed to not just simply exist, but to live. Daryl, Y/N and Andrew travelled together for weeks, scavenging new camps left by now-walkers, hunting for animals, looking for shelters.

Just within the first week, it was already easy for Andrew to completely trust Daryl seeing the way he looked out for Y/N. He was quiet yet absolutely badass when dispatching the walkers and keeping them out of Y/N’s way. He was resourceful and almost anything he touched could be used creatively and effectively as a weapon. Andrew could see that Y/N was smitten, she once spent an entire afternoon naming random objects and betting with Daryl that he could turn them into a weapon. “I bet I can throw you a cotton ball right now and you would have made it into a deadly bullet or something.” She laughed, her admiration for Daryl exuding like the noonday sun.

Andrew felt assured with Daryl looking after Y/N. He could tell there was a spark between them and he could tell clearly that Y/N liked Daryl as much as he liked her, although the two of them had never openly admitted it. Andrew had never seen Y/N so happy like she was now since the day shit hit the fan. Daryl and Y/N grew closer and closer, and even though Daryl still wasn’t the type to show physical affections, Andrew swore he caught Daryl attempting to hold Y/N’s hands on multiple occasions.

Travelling wasn’t easy. A journey that would have taken them 3 hours took them 3 days on foot. It was a stroke of luck one day that they found a car that still had some kind of fuel in it, and it was even more of a miracle that when travelling down that winding road in the car, Daryl spotted a motorcycle abandoned along the side, almost hidden from sight. He quickly got out of the car and picked up the motorcycle to check its state. There was a hint of a grin on his face, which Y/N caught a sneak of, when he realized the motorcycle was working.

Y/N grinned, watching Daryl from the side as he admired the two-wheeled metal like a kid who had just been given an unlimited cartoon time. “Can I ride with you?” Y/N chirped excitedly, bringing Daryl’s attention to her. She turned to look at her brother, who rolled his eyes at her in response. Daryl looked at Andrew too, waiting for his approval. He would love to bring Y/N on a ride, but he was worried about overstepping Andrew. Daryl’s worries were unfounded though because there was no way Andrew could say no to Y/N. And he knew he could trust Daryl to keep her safe.

“Hop on then.” Daryl said as he threw his leg over the seat like second nature. Y/N laughed excitedly as she did the same. It had been years since she had last ride pillion on a motorbike. The pure excitement was like finally getting into the roller coaster she had been queuing hours for. She snuggled in onto the seat behind Daryl and waved to Andrew who was now in the driver’s seat of the car next to the bike.

Y/N wasn’t afraid to let herself laugh out loud. The sound of the engine was louder than her laughter anyway. She grabbed tightly onto Daryl’s waist with one hand, and raised her other hand in the air, enjoying the cool breeze kissing her cheeks as Daryl brought her down the road. It felt so freeing with Daryl there with her, the sound of the engine and winds in her ears drowning out the hungry calls of the walkers.

Unknown to Y/N, Daryl’s face was positively flushed. The gentle pressure and the warmth of Y/N’s arm around his waist gave him comfort, a comfort he didn’t know he was yearning for until he met her. A comfort that felt so much like home that it was unnatural for Daryl who had never felt the comfort of a home his whole life. He never knew he would find this simple comfort in the most unlikely of worlds. Bit by bit, Daryl was learning to receive intimacy from another person because of Y/N. Slowly but surely, the walls he had built were coming off brick by brick, mortar by mortar because of Y/N. He watched Y/N through the rearview mirrors and saw her beautiful face looking skyward, her eyes closed and a contented smile on her lips and his heart swelled. He wanted to freeze time at that exact moment where it was just him and Y/N, and none of that dead shit happening around them. The irony though, had the undead not happen, he probably would have never met Y/N.

#the walking dead #daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x reader imagine #daryl dixon fluff #twd #the walking dead fanfiction #twd fanfiction #twd fanfic #the walking dead fanfic #badass daryl dixon #norman reedus #norman reedus fanfic #badass norman reedus #a new normal

[airis-paris14]

Dress Up 5

Summary: She’s not his fiancee, but no one else needs to know.

Warnings: None

A/N: Hey guys, so... ummm. It’s about to get real ugly in these next few chapters. There’s some cuteness to break it up, but, yeah don’t say I didn’t warn you. Love you guys... don’t hate me.

1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 ||

“My lady,” Sirobie moans as Eshe shakes her awake. “Her Majesty Queen Mother requests your presence in the great hall urgently.” The student sighs and sits up noticing that Kasigo is emerging from her closet with an outfit. “Time is of the essence, your ladyship.” Sirobie hops out of bed, her mind replaying the last twenty-four hours. She grabs the hangers from Kasigo and rushes into the bathroom. What could she have done wrong? T’Challa hadn’t said anything, she’d assumed the day had gone well. He’d even joined in playing with the children. 

The children. 

 Kamyra abhorred children. She groaned and tied her coils into a puff. Five minutes later she emerged from the bathroom awake, frustrated, and nervous. Both of the maids curtsied and led her to the great hall. It’d been a little over a month, yet the palace layout still confused her at times. “Where are Lesedi and Leena?” Sirobie cracked the silence that had enveloped the trio.  “Lesedi had a passing in the family and Leena took the day off,” Kasigo answered. “Oh. Please send Lesedi my condolences and let her know that she is in my prayers.” 

The group stopped in front of the great hall doors. “As you wish, your ladyship,” Kasigo responded. The women pushed open the great doors, curtsied, and hurried out shutting the doors softly behind them. Sirobie glided, executing the now perfected walk, over to the couches where Shuri and the queen mother sat. “Good morning,” she greeted settling into the couch across from Ramonda. “I only wish it was, Shuri murmured. Sirobie frowned and Ramonda pinched her daughter. “Did I do something wrong?” Sirobie looked in between the women. She thought that at least they had truly enjoyed her company. “ You have done nothing wrong my dear, but I am afraid this problem is out of any of our controls.” 

“Yeah the media and people who make a living ruining other people’s lives are at fault for this one,” Shuri sighed. T’Challa hurriedly entered the room. “What has happened? They said you needed me urgently.” 

“Yet you still took your sweet time joining us brother,” Shuri sassed. T’Challa glared before settling next to Sirobie.Shuri raised an eyebrow at the two as her mother spoke. “This is the headline not only here, but across the world,” the queen slid a newspaper on the coffee table. “King T’Challa and his fiancée bond over children in hospital,” T’Challa read allowed. A large photo of him and Sirobie, who was holding the infant, while speaking to the three-year-old, was plastered under the headline. They were both gazing lovingly at the children and each other. They looked like a family, Sirobie shook the thought away as T’Challa’s voice yanked her back to reality. “I do not understand. Is this not what we want?” 

“Read under the headline genius.” Sirobie takes the paper from T’Challa as he fuses with his sister. “Just months ago Lady Kamyra, soon to be Queen of Wakanda, declined to hold any children and all but publicly declared her disdain for children. Could her change in heart be fueled by the expectancy of her own bundle of joy? Rumors of pregnancy started flying after her fall at a state ball, hosted in her honor, that was attributed to dizziness and fatigue. Coupled with multiple inside sources reporting her to have a more cheerful, honest, and open disposition around the palace and in person, many begin to wonder if we should be expecting a new royal family member,” Sirobie trailed off looking up at the bickering siblings who’d gone quiet.

 “It goes on from there to explain her background and your engagement. Their point is valid. If I did not know you were not Kamyra, I would suspect a pregnancy as well. We must do damage control. If a pregnancy is suspected the elders will begin to push for an immediate marriage, so that the child is born within the boundaries of wedlock,” The queen sighed, “we must buy ourselves time to locate the real Kamyra before our hand is forced.”

“What should we do?” T’Challa sighed and reached for Sirobie’s hand. She allowed him to take it, surprising herself and Shuri, who’s eyebrow lifted once more. Sirobie turned back to the queen, “do everything you can out in public. Drink wine, coffee, eat fish. Anything a pregnant woman shouldn’t do, you two should be seen doing. Within reason of course.” 

“So when we go out to dinner tonight, I will order fish and red wine,” Sirobie somewhat asked, partly telling T’Challa. He nodded in consent. “Sounds like a good idea for starters,” Ramonda co-signed. Shuri looked at all three of them in bewilderment, “You two are going out...tonight….together… uncoerced, and unforced….” she looked between Sirobie and her brother, “just for funsies?” 

“That is what people do when they enjoy each other’s company little sister,” T’Challa smirked. The king kissed his mother’s forehead before exiting the room. “Yesterday, you two weren’t even speaking for fun as far as I knew, now you’re going on a date with him?” 

“It’s not a date. We’re just getting to know each other as friends. He’s already engaged, remember,” Sirobie smiled. “ I’ll see you both at breakfast? I’m going to lay down until a more decent hour when breakfast is served.” The queen’s mother smiled and nodded giving Sirobie permission to leave. Shuri turned to her mother, “I am not losing my mind, am I? You see it as well?” 

“I’ve seen it since he met her. The boy was infatuated. Is infatuated. He is just too afraid to end his engagement with the eldest of the Habredies. For what reason? Only Bast knows.” The queen sighed and headed back to her own chambers. Leaving a bewildered princess in her wake. 

“Where are we going?”Sirobie asked as she walked down the hall with T’Challa. The sun beamed through the large glass windows lining the front of the palace. “I thought I could show you the city.” T’Challa pushed open the front doors of the palace and held it as Sirobire glided through.

“You do know I’ve been here for four months before we met right,” Sirobie smiled as they descended the palace front steps. “Oh,” T’Challa frowned. “You really were not listening when your mother introduced us were you?,” Sirobie teased. 

“What are you studying?” T’Challa finally looked up at her. “Film with a minor in Studio Art. Painting specifically. I’ve been to a couple of museums and worked with some local artists and craftsmen. Especially the weavers. I enjoy their work the most,” Sirobie explained, her grin splitting her face from ear to ear. 

“I am glad you have enjoyed what Wakanda has to offer,” the king nodded turning back to face the road as they continued their walk into town. Silence sank in as Sirboie took in the sights of the city center. She’d only been here a couple of times with the Zulas when they insisted on taking her out for dinner. T’Challa watched her smile grow silently admiring the way her eyes drank in the city like it was her first time visiting. “Sirobie,” T’Challa broke their silence, both of them hopping out of the way to avoid the monorail train as it let its passengers off. The king found an empty breezeway and pulled Sirobie up the stairway to an open terrace overlooking the square. “I owe you an apology.”

Sirobie froze as the king turned to her, reaching for her hands. “I was not the nicest person to you when we first met. I know I explained why but I never apologized for, or acknowledged, the hurt it caused you. You probably felt alone and anxious about everything. The exact moment when I should have reached out to support you I chose not to. I treated you like a nuisance instead. I sincerely apologize for that.”

“T’Challa you do not have to apologize. I am not your fiancée-”

“What if I want you to be...”

Sirobie felt her mouth fall open. Suddenly the market felt miles away and so did the terrace under her feet. The sun was too hot, too bright, and it was suffocating. She glanced up at the king to find that he looked equally as surprised and mortified by his own admission. Sirobie knew that he’d never intended to let that slip. “What I mean is,” he fumbled through the beginnings of an explanation. “I know that you are not my fiancée and I wish we had met under different circumstances. Regardless of that, you were here doing not only myself and my family a favor, but the country of Wakanda one as well. You uprooted your life for your last two months to dive into this situation you knew nothing about. The least I could have done was support you and try to get to know you as a person,” the king rambled. 

“I think that you attempting to get to know me now is a start, and I appreciate your apology. I really do. I would like to get to know you as well, but for the first month I was here we were not on the best of terms. That is not something that just goes away. I also apologize for being a little hot and cold with you as well, especially after the hospital. I think we should focus on just getting through today together, disproving the baby rumors, and enjoy each other’s company,” Sirobie offered a small smile and gently removed her hands from his hold. T’Challa face fell slightly and for a second Sirobie felt bad. Sure, she knew how he claimed to feel, but part of her just couldn’t trust him fully. This wasn’t middle school, grown men don’t pick on and ignore the girls they like for their attention. She hoped to see more of the T’Challa she saw yesterday in the future but only time will tell. She wasn’t going to rush into something only for him to close himself back off. 

She couldn’t say that she wasn't attracted to the king, especially after seeing him with the children yesterday, and in his admiration of her work. It helped that he was unbelievably handsome too. But he wasn’t hers to have. In a month’s time, she'll be back on campus for graduation and he’d be back with his fiancée planning a wedding. Unfortunately, they just weren’t meant to be in this lifetime, but maybe they could become friends at the end of it all. 

“Sirobie? Are you alright?” T’Challa’s frown pulled her out of her own musings. “Huh?” Sirobie took a step back, their closeness quickly becoming disorienting. “I asked if you were ready to eat lunch,” T’Challa frowned. “Um sure. I’m sorry for zoning out,” Sirobie allowed the king to guide her back down the stairs. “Do you do that often?” The couple emerged back into the street.

“Sometimes when I have a lot on my mind.  Luckily it’s not that big of a deal in my line of work,” the student jokes. The king cracked a smile. They walked up to a small glass front cafe and were escorted to a table in the center of the large window. “Are you sure this place is good? There is no one else here,” Sirobie commented and the king chuckled. “I called ahead so that we could have the privacy to speak freely and not worry about pretending to be engaged. So you could speak as yourself and not Kamyra.” 

A man emerged from the back and placed identical fish meals in front of the couple. “Thank you,” Sirobie and T’Challa smiled as he placed a bottle of wine on the table before exiting. “The owner is a friend from grade school. None of the staff will repeat anything they happen to hear,” T’Challa explained as they began to eat. Sirobie raised an eyebrow “And the window is for paparazzi?” 

“Yes, unfortunately. T’Challa sighed. “They are not like American paparazzi. They will not ambush us and will mostly take photos from a distance so as not to disturb us. It does help them if we don’t know they are there. You cannot act for a camera you that you do not  know exists.” 

Sirobie nodded enjoying her meal. “So tell me something about you. Anything. Where’d you go to college? Highschool? First love? Weird habits? Hobbies? Favorite joke?” Sirobie grinned and T’Challa laughed. “Come on. I’m an open book. You can ask me something first if you would like,” Sirobie goaded while taking another bite of her fish. 

“Well, you have met my family, what is your family like?” T’Challa questioned taking another bite of his fish.

Sirobie pauses and clears her throat, “Well. We aren’t very well to do. My parents do the best they can. They always took us to museums and spent time with us when they didn’t have to work. We’re all very close and I miss them terribly,” Sirobie admitted. “Have you not spoken to them since you’ve been here?”

“I write them letters weekly. I’ve had Kasigo take them to the post office on her way home once a week for me since I’ve been in the palace. We can’t afford international calling and I don’t understand the post system well enough here for them to be able to write me back. I’m sure there are dozens of letters waiting for me back at the campus post office when I get back.” Sirobie jokes half-heartedly. T’Challa frowned. “I am sorry. I did not know.”

“It is alright. You couldn’t have known. I can’t wait until I can see them again and tell them about Wakanda. My father would love the integration of nature and architecture. He wanted to be an architect before he had to drop out of college to support my mom when she became pregnant with me.”

“How many siblings do you have? Just two: a younger brother and little sister. Ahj and Soliel. Ahj is 17, he’s about to graduate high school in May. Soleil is just five. She’s my little mini-me,” Sirobie chuckled.

“What does your brother want to study? Film I believe. I missed decision day and since I haven’t talked to them, I’m not sure what school he’s gonna be attending,” Sirobie’s face fell, her heart aching at the milestones she’d missed. She’ll just barely make it home in time to call Soleil for her birthday. Her parents didn’t think they’d be able to swing plane tickets to graduation. T’Challa noticed her change in demeanor and made a mental note to arrange for her to be able to call her family. “Enough about me though. Tell me something.”

“What would you like to know?” The king placed his fork down and sat back from the table. “You have a choice. Either tell me about the first woman you loved or, how you ended up in this situation with Kamyra?”

T’Challa frowned and Sirobie broke into laughter. “Your question was easy. Why would you give me a hard one like this?”

“Hey! You let me choose. Bad decision on your part,” Sirobie shrugged and took another bite of her fish to finish it off. “Why do you want to know anyway?” 

“I mean, we are pretending to be engaged, I might as well learn who at least one of the other women is,” Sirobie took a sip of her wine. When T’challa didn’t respond she raised an eyebrow, “Unless they are one and the same?”

The king laughed placing his own wine glass back on the table, “No they are each their own equally sad story. I will tell you the condensed version of both,” The king sighed, “My first love was my best friend in grade school. Nakia. We dated for a while, then she decided to become a war dog. She loved the adventure and felt tied down at home. She took more and more missions until we barely saw each other any more. She knew the life that came with staying with me and she did not want to be tied down, and I would not ask her to stay here and be unhappy with me. Then my father passed and I had to ask for Kamyra’s hand in marriage. We met a few times as children and she was a sweet person. She was spoiled though. Kamyra is not a fan of this arrangement either, but I will not sacrifice Shuri like that, and she and her father know her marrying me is more favorable than our younger siblings marrying. So she seems to have decided that she will take out her disdain, for her predetermined fate, on me and Wakanda.”

“Hence the running away?” Sirobie hummed. T’Challa nodded and reached for his glass.

 “Thank you for sharing with me.”

“Thank you for listening,” T’Challa sipped his wine, “I feel it is only fair I ask the same question of you.” 

Sirobie sighed, “There is not much to say.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have never been in love. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a relationship long enough to be in love with anyone. My longest relationship was two months in high school long distance. I hadn’t even kiss a guy until college,” Sirobie admitted. 

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing. You waited until the time was right for you.” The king took a bite of his own meal. “That’s easy for you to say,” Sirobie snorted, “I’m sure you were Mr. Popular Ladies man in high school.”

T’Challa shrugged, “Sure, but it wasn’t because of who I was as a person. It was because of my position, which is why the only person I was ever involved with was Nakia.” 

Sirobie nodded, “That makes sense,” The two ate in silence for a few minutes, “Do you miss her?”

“Nakia?”

“Unless you miss Kamayra?”

The couple both started laughing. “I do miss Nakia from time to time, but she is much happier out there than she could have ever been with me. When you love something, you let it go.” Sirobie offered the king a small smile and nod as he explained. “That is really sweet,” She smiled, daring to reach over and squeeze his hand. The king squeezed her hand back and they both left them settled on the table. The worry that she was trusting T’Challa too easily nagged in the back of Sirobie’s mind, but there was nothing she could do at this point. Their time together was short and she wanted to leave without regrets.

“I like this side of you,” the college student sat back in her chair and looked over at the king. He looked up from where he had been signing the receipt. “I hope I can see it more often.”

“I would like that too Sirobie,” T’Challa placed the check back in its cover. He stood from his seat and extended a hand. “And, I think that can be arranged if you are up for another adventure with me right now?” 

“There’s no time like the present,” Sirobie grinned and they headed back into the streets. A few blocks later, she found herself in a market in the center of town. “Have you been here before?” The king called into her ear.

“No, I’ve been saving up to get some presents for my family before I leave.” She replied. “There is no time like the present,” He chuckled. They wove their way through stands Sirobie picking up a few trinkets along the way. Eventually they stop at a jewelry store and from across the store, the king notices Sirobie admiring an emerald cut diamond and vibranium ring. “You like that one?” The king pointed. Sirobie looks up startled. “Umm, yeah. It’s beautiful.” 

“You should get it then,” He gestured for the clerk to grab the ring from the case. The man looked up from his phone and his eyes widened once he realized who he was in the store with. He bowed and stumbled over himself to grab the ring and hand it to the monarch. “T’Challa I couldn’t aff-” Sirobie started. “May my fiancee and I have a moment in private,” T’Challa cut her off and the student widened her eyes. “Of course,” The man saluted his leader and went to the back of the store. “T’Challa I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking about being out in public.”

The king reached for her hand and chuckled, “It is alright, I should have thought about that earlier. I want to get to know the real you. That includes everything you have to say to me.” Sirobie nodded as he pulled their fake engagement ring from her finger. The filmmaker's breath hitched as his long fingers caressed her hand. “What are you doing?” She breathed. “You said you liked it, did you not?”

“I do like it.”

“Then you’re going to try it on-”

“But T’Challa what do I need an engagement ring for,” Sirobie interrupted. The king raised his eyes from her hands as a smirk blossomed on his lips, “We are engaged are we not?”

His brown eyes bore into hers as the cool metal slipped over her skin. Sirobie’s heart leapt into her throat and she felt as though she would faint. As much as she didn’t want it to, this felt right. She’d always imagined this moment, albeit a very different scenario. The man she loved would be down on one knee, grinning up at her, she’d be dying of anticipation. Her nerves would be fried, her mouth hanging open in surprise, but the one thing she was sure of was her answer. It was always yes in her dream. 

She didn’t love T’Challa, at least as far as she knew, and this could never be. He would never be down on one knee in front of her. He was to be married and she’d be halfway across the world when it happened. Though, perhaps inexplicably, this felt so right and she never wanted the moment to end. She was brought back to her senses by his warm voice and fingers. It’s a little big, but that is easily fixed,” the king grinned and pressed a kiss to the large diamond. Sirobie chuckled lightly, drawing back her hand to admire the ring, “You are an absolutely insatiable flirt.”

“Sometimes and only for pretty girls,” the king bantered back. Sirobie reached to take it off. “Allow me,” the king insisted, “I’ll have them resize it so that you can wear it.”

“You’re seriously going to buy it?”

“Yes,” T’Challa frowned.

 “I already have an engagement ring though.”

“That is one of my mother’s old rings. You deserve to have one that you actually like. Especially since you can’t have a man that deserves to place this ring on your finger,” The king trailed off. “I’ll go get this sized-”

“HELP! Please!” T'Challa and Sirobie turned towards the voice yelling from outside. “Stay here,” the king ordered running out of the door. Sirobie caught the ring box and followed him to the window. Seconds before she could make it to him the store window shattered and gunshots rang in her ears. 

“T’Challa!” She stumbled her way through the front door of the shop where she saw him face down on the ground. A scream clawed its way out of her throat. “Somebody do something please!” She turned the king up to face her and pulled him into her lap. She searched frantically for a bullet hole but couldn’t find one. There was a notable lack of blood as well, and the king had changed clothes. He was covered in a suit of some kind. “T’Challa? Are you there? Can you hear me?”

“Lady Kamyra! What happened?” Okoye asked as she ran up to the couple. “I don’t know,” Sirobie frowned at the un-responsive king, tears running off her face. “I don’t know. We were in the shop just looking around and someone started screaming for help. He ran outside and I heard a gun go off. And then the glass shattered and when I made it out here he was on the ground. But I can’t find a bullet hole and he’s not waking up.” Sirobie sniffled and panicked through the explanation. “Breathe,” Okoye pulled the student away from the king’s body. Ayo and other Doras surrounded him. “General,” it’s inside his suit,” Ayo called. “Demethi. Damn it,” Okoye groaned, “Call the princess. And get him back to the palace now. The herb can only do so much. Go!” Okoye ordered and helped Sirobie to her feet. 

“We will be back later to help with the damage,” she informed the shop owners who were looking on. The crowd nodded solemnly as she helped Sirobie walk back to a jet. Sirobie was silent as she stared out of the window. “I shouldn’t have agreed to go shopping with him.”

“This was not your fault,” Okoye rebutted, “there was no way you could have prevented this. I should have been there with you all but he insisted on going alone. We could easily blame ourselves, but that would do neither of us any good.” 

“He was right. Trying to get to know each other is just a bad idea. We went on one date and now he has been shot in the chest.”

“This was not your fault. We will get to the bottom of this. But you need to be strong for T’Challa and for this country. People just witnessed their king shot, for what we hope is not, dead. I know that you are not Kamyra. But T’Challa, and this country, need their Queen and she is you.”

@sarahboseman @waitingonafriend @thiccdaddy-mbaku @sarcastic-sunshines @ororowrites @derangedcupcake @mzbritt @leahnicole1219 @dramaqueeenamby @marvelheaux @skysynclair19 @halfrican-heat @kaciidubs @queertrex @kumkaniudaku @purple-apricots @autumn242 @thedelightfulone @90sinspiredgirl @royallyprincesslilly @wikiwakanda @chaneajoyyy @sisterwifeudaku @sarahboseman @tchoking @almostpurelysmut

#tchalla fanfiction #tchalla x reader #tchalla imagine #tchalla fanfic #t'challa x oc #tchalla x you #blackpantherimagines #tchalla x black!oc #tchalla x black! reader #t'challa x reader #t'challa imagine #T'Challa #t'challa x you #apbpfics #dressupfic

[onestowatch]

Your Grandparents Manifest a Cinematic, Soulful Debut Album With ‘Thru My Window’  [Q&A]

Photo: Jordan Perez

Inspired by everything from ‘90s boom bap artists like Digable Planets and the Pharcyde to modern funk legends like Outkast and D'Angelo, Your Grandparents have quickly proven themselves to be their generations' torchbearers for the psychedelic soul movement. 

Using a variety of recording techniques to get the desired effect for their genre-blending debut album Thru My Window, the group credits their uniquely cohesive sound to their years-long friendship, which began in their early teens. With their lush grooves, breezy, clear vocals, a sonic aesthetic built on unwavering authenticity, and of course, a deep love for their roots and deep musical traditions passed down from their grandparents, Your Grandparents embodies what it means to be an artist to watch.

Ones To Watch had a chance to talk with the trio, comprised of DaCosta (vocals), Jean Carter (vocals), and Cole, aka ghettoblasterman (producer), to discuss their inspirations and the long days and nights that went into creating their debut album.

When you last spoke to Ones To Watch, it was for the release of your single "So Damn Fly," and now, a year later, here we are talking about the release of your debut album, Thru My Window. How are you all feeling, and what have you learned about yourselves in this last year through the album-making process?

DaCosta: From a personal outlook, I've learned that making music is heavily dependent on my mood, or just how I'm feeling and what's going on in my personal life. When things are a little too stagnant, it's a little harder to write. On the other hand, when things are flowing, and life is being lived, it's easy fuel. It's good fuel. It doesn't burn too quickly.

GBM: I've learned that no idea is too wild. It's usually less wild than I think it is.

Jean: Yeah, it's better to start at the extreme and take away. I realized I feel like a lot of artists feel like they have to put themselves through turmoil or allow certain situations to write meaningful things. Like it's not necessarily good music, but it's something that means a lot to them. I think I realized that that's not the case and inspiration comes in many different forms. It could be a person or something completely random and inanimate that makes you feel something.

What were some of those inspirations?

Jean: Definitely films.

GBM: A lot of films!

Jean: Yeah, we're all pretty big film people. We do all our own videos pretty much, and it just comes from this love of film that we've had that got nurtured in high school. We were blessed enough to have a really dope film program that Sony funded and stuff, and so we got like an impromptu film education before we graduated. So by the time we graduated, we knew how to get our own projects done without reaching out to someone else and then taxing us because they want to hire their friends and all that stuff. So because of that, we had complete creative control. I've also been watching a lot of Korean movies lately. Not during the album—wait, actually, during the album, there were a lot of old kung fu movies and blaxploitation movies from, like, the ‘70s. Also, my friend got me this Curtis Mayfield record, and "So Damn Fly" is definitely heavily influenced by that whole record.

GBM: I feel like the ‘70s in general, the ‘60s and ‘70s, definitely had a big inspiration on the aesthetic and the kind of sound we were going after. Especially with "So Damn Fly" and "Tomorrow" and those kinds of songs.

Do you feel like this album has a linear story the same way a film does, or do you feel like it's more of an anthology of the band's personal experiences?

GBM: It's kind of a mix of both.

Jean: Yeah, it started off as an anthology, and then we pieced together the story, which was largely done by Cole by sitting there and being like, “Hmmm.”

DaCosta: Yeah, it was a lot of Cole dissecting the words and putting them on the tracks.

Jean: When we're writing the words and trying to be free-flowing and expressive and stuff, we're not fully conscious of a bigger picture situation. Instead, Cole is sitting there producing everything and putting in the music and being just more of a listener than anyone else could. So he has the context, and he could find a story that we didn't know we were doing together with our three minds and in our three different lives.

GBM: It's like a puzzle almost, because I'll be sitting there at like 2 a.m. in my bed, listening to the songs, and I'm like, "Ok, Kyle said, that in the hook, so this song has to go before that," and so on and so forth. It's like a storyboard kinda.

Right, to keep the record's "plot" cohesive and self-referential.

GBM: Another big consideration was playlists. I love making playlists, and I know Kyle loves making playlists, too, so it needed to flow. It just has to flow. We didn't want songs that juxtapose each other or have opposite vibes be back to back.

DaCosta: Yeah, I think we even switched around the playlist a couple of times before we had it set in stone.

GBM: There were like fourteen songs originally, and then we got talked down to ten.

Jean: Fourteen tracks woulda went crazy!

I'm sure fans would love a deluxe version of the album at some point! So what were some of the rough draft ideas before you set these ten tracks in stone?

Jean: There were more modern-sounding tracks. The more time we spent on a project, and this being our debut, we wanted to be true to the name. We wanted to be true to the artistry that had gotten us to this point.

DaCosta: There were a couple of heavier hip-hop tracks there too.

Jean: We had been doing that, and a lot of people haven't even heard those because they're like heavy hip-hop stuff from when we were in high school and like early college.

Were there any tracks on the record that challenged you?

Jean: "Intoxicated" challenged me. I had a whole different verse. The conception of that song—I was just venting about whatever I was going through at the time, and one of my homies was like, "It's not sexy enough!" So I was just like, "What? No! I've done sexy stuff on all the other songs. Just let me vent!" So I tried another verse, and we ended up going with that one instead.

DaCosta: I mean, it worked out great though...

Jean: I mean, yeah, it sits nicely on the song, and now I have a verse for something else one day when it's time for it.

GBM: Yeah, that song went from being all of ours and everyone on our team's favorite song to our least favorite song. I will say that recording the instruments for the album was fun, but there were definitely some long hours. We had a drummer and bassist come through, and they played for like twelve hours straight doing all the songs. So the songs that have live drums on them were all done in that one day, and they even did songs we recorded that didn't make it on the final record. I think we started at 1 p.m. and we ended at 1 a.m. It was crazy.

What song are you most excited for people to hear when the album drops?

Jean: I think people are gonna like "Comfortable" a lot. Honestly, I haven't listened to the record in a while because it's existed in our world for a minute. We had just posted the visuals for that song today, and I was feelin it.

DaCosta: I think people are gonna really like "Digest." For me, it gives me that "it" factor.

GBM: I think "Red Room." It's my personal favorite and one of the more fun ones to me. It's just a good time!

You mentioned earlier that you try to maintain creative control when making your music videos and coming up with concepts for visualizers. What is your creative process like?

DaCosta: We definitely sit down, and we go through everything from storyboard to shotlist and just take and grab inspiration from all over the place. For "So Damn Fly," there was that That 70's Show shot where they're all sitting around the table, and it's spinning. So there are all types of really cool influences, and we just try to use those and make everything unique to us.

GBM: I think we kind of go through a three-step verification. The idea has to go through all three of us before it becomes something else or moves on to actually being tested out or put into picture. So that kind of attributes to the very solid identity we aim for.

It sounds like that impromptu film education you mentioned earlier has really set you up for success in creating your videos.

Jean: Yeah. My high school film teacher, Miss Butler, I took that class for two years, and then when I couldn't take it anymore, I became a TA. So then I took the after-school class, and I just spent hella hours pretty much ruining the way I enjoyed cinema and teaching myself like—she would have us look and watch these classic movies and be like, this is what they did wrong.

Can you give me an example of a classic film you would watch and critique?

Jean: The first one that comes to mind is Rear Window. I watched it a few times, just because I had taken the class a couple of times. She talked about how the set that they made and the world that they created, they had full control over. Just seeing older films and how simple things were a lot more complicated then. Like you can't just delete a take and wipe your card. Everything had to be so planned out and so intentional. You gotta do shit on purpose. It's just a lot of thinking and planning, and sometimes, I feel like it's more challenging to have more people involved in a film production sometimes because of the growing degrees of communication. With the small groups that we usually keep, everyone's on the same page as us. All of us took this same class, so we all have a similar workflow.

DaCosta: Yeah, our organization when it comes to films, we're all pretty much on the same page. You know, with what was going to happen, who's doing what, who's in charge of what, etc.

Jean: And pre-production is the biggest thing and finding the right team because we can't shoot it and be in it. Although Cole can somehow!

GBM: I'm in one scene, and I'm like, "I'm just gonna kill this scene right now, and then I'm gonna jump back." That's why I'm only in the last scene.

Because he's doing everything else!

Jean: Yeah! Then as soon as the scene cuts, it's like, I go back to directing people, and Kyle goes back to making sure we got the next shot set up.

GBM: There were only seven people on set.

DaCosta: And four out of seven were crew members

GBM: Yeah, the DP was the only person that wasn't actually a casted character. Everybody else is like multitasking.

You'll be making your first-ever festival appearance at Day N Vegas in November. How are y'all feeling about it? 

GBM: It feels incredible!

DaCosta: I'm so so excited!

Jean: If I get excited, I get nervous. So I just aim to be focused, or I don't think about it at all.

After the release of Thru My Window, what are some long-term or short-term goals y'all are manifesting?

Jean: I think for the next album, I want it to get Best Rap Album. We went R&B on this one, but nobody knows the way that we—like yes, we rap on it, but nobody knows our actual rap potential. So I feel like that's something that needs to be lived out on the next project. It's been a minute since we were rapping, bro. There are cool people out here doing the rap thing right now, but not many people have impressed me.

GBM: I kind of want this album to open up the door to doing a lot of travel. When we got back from Paris in 2019, what we experienced during that summer gave us fuel to start this project. So I feel like if we just keep that kind of like tradition going, we just travel somewhere and just make stuff, I think it'll never get steered wrong.

DaCosta: I think I want the album to just open up doors in general. I know it's kind of a broad thing, but like, we're so diverse, and between the three of us, we can do literally anything I think in the world if we put our minds to it, and we kind of plan on doing everything that we want to do. So, I kind of want this album to open the door just so that we can you can start striding towards whatever, whether it's directing movies and videos and fucking scoring—

Jean: Or directing other people's videos!

DaCosta: Yeah, all types of shit.

Thru My Window is available everywhere you can stream it. 

#your grandparents #album review #interview #thru my window

[fanficnewbie]

Sienna Weighs In P6

OPEN HEART: SECOND YEAR - CHAPTER SIX

(ETHAN x FEMALE MC)

MC is Dr. Francesca Houseman *This entry takes place between the visit to Leland Bloom’s house and the tests on his yacht. (This is a chapter by chapter series…)

Sienna cheers on Francesca for standing up to Ethan.

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS Chapter 1:  MC tells Sienna about her Ethan convo at Donahue’s. Chapter 2:  MC and Sienna discuss Ethan’s gym routine. Chapter 3:  MC questions how well she really knows Ethan. Chapter 4:  MC takes Elijah and Sienna to see Evelyn’s exhibit. Chapter 5:  Sienna talks MC through a panic attack over Ethan. Word Count: 1889 Rated: Teen

***

“To standing up for yourself!” Francesca and Sienna clinked their beer bottles and each took a healthy gulp before setting them back on the bar. 

Francesca turned and surveyed the Sunday night crowd at Donahue’s, it was only slightly busy. Old school hip hop played while a few patrons danced. Most were at tables littered with various drinks and engrossed in animated conversations with their friends and/or colleagues. 

She swiveled back on her barstool to Sienna who gave her a knowing smile. “It felt good didn’t it?”

Francesca grinned widely, “It felt soooo good! Almost as good as Baz & June coming to my defense on the way over to the Bloom Estate. Ethan’s been treating me like crap for weeks and it was nice to know that others noticed it too.”

Sienna nodded, “I’m not gonna say I told you so but…”

Francesca playfully pushed her, “Shut up.” She took another sip, “What did Ethan even say to you when he showed up yesterday morning?”

Sienna shrugged, “Nothing really. He looked pissed and it was obvious he was there to see you so beyond ‘hello’, there wasn’t much to say.”

Francesca toyed with her beer bottle, “It probably kills him that you know about us.”

Sienna took a sip, “Well that’s his deal not mine. You guys are both adults, I’m just tired of waiting for the man to come to his senses. It’s like watching Elijah and Phoebe all over again.”

Francesca groaned and chewed on her bottom lip before looking back up, “Hey, speaking of Elijah…”

Sienna held up her hand, “Jackie already told me and you guys should just drop it. You gave him your advice and now it’s up to him. We’re all going to deal with our interns the way we see fit and that just is not going to look the same for everybody.”

Francesca scowled, “Sothy can’t even do a basic blood draw, that’s not acceptable.”

Sienna grew sullen, “We all have our individual challenges to overcome.”

Taken aback at the sudden shift, Francesca studied her friend closely. The week before she had commended Sienna when she triumphantly shimmied into a pair of jeans from college, but now she realized that she was starting to look too thin, almost gaunt with darkening bags around her eyes. She touched her arm, “Hey, so many of these conversations are about me and my dumbass issues. But are you okay? You’ve been so tired lately and you’re still losing weight…”

Almost on cue, Sienna turned to her, her face instantly brightening, “No silly, I’m fine, I’m great. You brought me out for a celebratory drink so let’s celebrate!”

Francesca sighed and gently squeezed Sienna’s arm, “Listen, you know you can talk to me about anything without judgment right? I’m your friend and I’m here to help you through whatever. This doesn’t always have to be about me and I’m so sorry if it has been totally one-sided as of late.”

Sienna smiled, “Francesca I love our convos, and I love helping you, and I know I can come to you, and I promise, I’m fine. A-okay.” She patted Francesca’s hand reassuringly.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Sienna reached for her phone. “Hey, I haven’t checked Pictogram in like forever. Did it work? Did Dr. Ramsey like that photo you posted a few days ago? Oh my God, I can’t believe I forgot all about it.”

Francesca smiled smugly as Sienna unlocked her phone. Yes, Ethan had liked her photo. It was a stunner, one she had taken the Summer before she started at Edenbrook. Surprisingly, the whole thing had actually been Jackie’s idea…

***

“So hell hath frozen over and Ethan Ramsey has a Pictogram account!”

Francesca was sitting on the floor in their living room, her back against the couch with her laptop in her lap. Sienna was above her, sitting horizontally across the couch in the same position. She peered over Francesca’s shoulder, “Oh my god, you got him to post a half-naked photo of himself?!”

Jackie walked into the living room with her tablet, “Who’s half-naked?”

Sienna and Francesca both froze for a second before Francesca answered. “Uh, Dr. Ramsey. I helped him create a Pictogram account so he could search Gwyneth’s product history. His profile photo is from when he ran a triathlon so he’s in swim shorts. He only allowed me to use it because he figured nobody would ever see it.” 

Jackie sat down and leaned over Francesca to view the image, she raised her eyebrows, “Wow! Who knew he was hiding that six pack under his lab coat? Damn Francesca, I’m finally starting to see why you’re so into the guy.”

Jackie’s eyes met Francesca’s astonished gaze, she chuckled, “You really don’t think I’m that stupid do you?”

Francesca’s face reddened, “Please don’t tell me it’s that obvious?”

Jackie thought for a second, “Nah, I honestly think I may be the only one who’s caught on, besides Sienna of course. I mean, we live with you. I’m sure you’re fine at Edenbrook, I’ve never heard any rumors.”

Sienna nodded, “Francesca, you know I’d tell you if I ever heard anything. I mean some people are still jealous of your rapport with Dr. Ramsey but they all attribute it to your top intern spot and Banjeri save.”

Jackie shrugged and she typed on her tablet, “Accurate.”

Francesca visibly relaxed, “Okay well, I can live with that. Anyway, I was just telling Sienna that he has an account now and I think it’s kind of hilarious. I mean, he kept it private and I’m his only friend.”

Francesca suddenly turned to her friends, her voice earnest,”You guys cannot tell anyone about this account or picture. He’ll know immediately that it came from me. Promise you won’t tell.”

Sienna put her hand on Francesca’s shoulder, “I promise. You already know we can keep secrets hon.”

Jackie gave Francesca a mischievous smile, “Same, but only on one condition.”

Francesca paled, “Oh god, what?”

Jackie turned her screen around where she had pulled up Francesca’s Pictogram account, “You set a thirst trap.”

Sienna frowned, “What’s that?”

“No, no, no, no.” Francesca vehemently shook her head.

Jackie turned to Sienna, still smiling broadly, “It’s a sexy photo that you post to make your followers thirsty. In this case, to make one specific follower thirsty.”

“No, it’s obvious and desperate and…” the panic in Francesca’s voice started to mount.

Sienna cut her off, “I like it. Where do we find a photo?”

“Wait Sienna, what? No!” Francesca looked at them both incredulously, “How pathetic does that make me look? Less than two weeks after Ethan becomes my PG friend, I post some random, sexy photo? Come on, even he could see through that one.”

Jackie shrugged, “I’d say you’ve waited too damn long as it is!”

Francesca was at a loss for words as she stared down her two friends. She slowly realized that she had no choice if she wanted to keep Ethan’s account under dibs and sagged against the couch in defeat, “Fine. But only because I know you won’t find a photo worth posting anyway.”

Undeterred, Jackie opened a new browser window, “What photo storage account do you use and what’s the password?”

Francesca gave her the details as she stood up, “I can’t believe this is happening, I need a drink. I’ll be right back.”

Her friends didn’t even acknowledge her exit as they started scrolling through the hundreds of photos on her Google account. 

Several minutes she returned to their flabbergasted faces. “What? What’s wrong?”

Jackie turned her tablet around and Francesca’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit! I forgot all about that photo.”

Jackie shook her head in awe, “I didn’t even think you had it in you.”

Sienna giggled, “That my dears, is a bona-fide thirst trap.”

Francesca sat down and marveled at the photo, “I took that in Cancun after graduating from med school. I went with a group of friends and it was the perfect day on the beach, so we decided to be silly and take photos in our favorite “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition” poses.”

Her mind started to change as she contemplated Ethan’s reaction to the photograph. “Hmmmm, I do look kinda hot huh?”

Jackie raised an eyebrow, “Kinda? No red-blooded, hetero man will be able to resist the allure, the pure sex of this picture. Dr. Ramsey among them.”

Francesca took a deep breath, “Post it.”

***

Sienna scrolled through the likes and comments, “Wow, is this the most popular post on your account?”

Francesca laughed, “I believe so. Even the friend who took it wanted me to tag her for credit.”

Sienna grinned as she came across Ethan’s red heart, “There it is.”

Francesca smirked, “Yup.” she leaned in, “And let me tell you the most infuriating part. I kept checking my phone to see if he had liked the photo. Nothing for two days. So, the next night I was up really late studying. I didn’t go to sleep until just after 1am, and I checked my phone before I dozed off, nothing. I woke up like three hours later to pee and guess who had liked my photo?”

Sienna’s eyes went wide, “Wait, in the middle of the night? He was on your account in the middle of the night!”

Francesca nodded, “And, and this was after the whole Gwyneth/Board thing. So at the same time he’s giving me the cold shoulder at work, he’s lurking on my account at home.”

Sienna shook her head in disbelief, “That man is so confused.”

Francesca rolled her eyes, “Whatever. That’s why I stripped down in front of him yesterday.”

“What?!” Sienna’s mouth hung open. 

Finishing the last of her beer, Francesca smiled, “I needed to kick him off his hypocritical high horse. So, after he barged into my room telling me I had three minutes to get ready on my day off, I called his bluff. I literally took off my underwear right in front of him. I mean, I turned my back to him but still, the look on his face was fucking priceless.”

Sienna turned to Francesca, put hands on her shoulders, and met her eyes, “You are officially my hero.”

Francesca smiled, “Well, that deserves another round.” She motioned to the bartender.

“Plus, I’m sure we’ll only be celebrating this victory tonight. Who knows how he’ll act towards me at work tomorrow, especially now that we’re in this absurd competition with Mass Kenmore.”

Sienna exhaled, “Yeah, you and Aurora going to be okay? I cannot take a repeat of the Landry experience.”

Francesca nodded, “I swear to you that we’ll be fine, We talked it out, made a pinky promise and everything. I’m more worried about Ethan and Tobias.”

Sienna frowned, “Aurora’s new boss?”

“Yeah, apparently he and Ethan have some bad blood,” Francesca shrugged, “I have no idea what it is about though.”

Sienna thanked the bartender as he placed fresh drinks in front of them and reached for hers, “Well that’s a good thing right? Now, he has somewhere else to direct his anger.”

Francesca thought for a moment, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Cheers to that!”

Sienna clinked her glass, “Hun, how many times do I have to tell you…I’m always right!”

Read the Ethan Pictogram Companion Piece here: Pictogram Pitfalls & Chapter 7:  Francesca confides in Sienna how she met Ethan’s mother. 

***

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. YOUR LIKES AND COMMENTS MEAN THE WORLD!

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#open heart #ethan ramsey #dr ramsey #open heart fanfic #open heart fanfiction #open heart fandom #ethan x mc #choices open heart

[cup-half-full-of-anxiety]

Taron Fic - Working Title (Chapter Three)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Authers Note: 

I promise a title will come soon, not sure why it has been so hard for me to come up with one for this. I’ll also be updating again in the next couple of days. I have chapter four done and since my family is going to be in town for the Thanksgiving holiday so I will be busy but I want to give you lovelies a little some some early. 

A little Taron in this. More in the next chapter. 

The next 4 days flew by with the wind. Eleanor had pouted when Adelaide first sat her down and told her she would be going away for work for a little while. It had been a year since she had had to travel for gigs. Most of the productions she had been lucky enough to be a part of were in California.

“I don’t want you to go” Eleanor’s lip quivered as she finally stood in front of her mom, saying goodbye at LAX. Adelaide knelt to her level.

“I know Little Bird but remember what I told you” She gave a squeeze to the teddy bear Eleanor was clutching, trying to get her to look at her. The toy she had made for her out of an old t-shirt before she was born held the little girl’s attention.

“You are going to stay with Gran for a few weeks and then you guys are going to come be with mommy” She reminded her.

“Why can’t I just come with you now?” Elea rubbed her eye sleepily; it was far too early for her liking.

“Because Darling, mommy has some adult things she needs to take care of before you come out” Adelaide kissed her forehead.

“I promise we will talk every day; we can facetime at night so I can read you a bedtime story. Then, before you know it you and Gran will be in London with me” She smiled reassuringly as she wiped the few tears from her daughter’s cheek.

Adelaide stood up to hug her mom.

“Thank you for everything”

“I’m always here for you my Little Bird” Margret gave her a tight squeeze.

She quickly checked her watch.

“I should get going” She said, giving one last hug to the two most important women in her life.

“You be good for your Gran” She kissed Eleanor one more time and headed to check-in.

 Adelaide has made the flight from both LAX and Detroit Metro Airport to London more times then she can count but no matter how many times she did, her stomach would always end up in knots over the whole thought of flying over the ocean so once she was old enough to she took on her mother’s pre-flight ritual. 2 bloody Mary’s at the airport bar. Lucky for her all those flights also awarded her the luxury of having access to the Virgin Air upper-class lounge, she had herself tucked into a comfy chair in the corner of the lounge, drink on the table next to her and her laptop out going over files Tilly had emailed her in regards to the make-up department.

Mockups and ideas for the outfits for the productions. Digital renderings of how they wanted Taron to appear to age. He would start playing Elton at the age of 17 and into his early 40s. She jotted down her ideas for some of the looks that came across, she couldn’t help but laugh as she imagined Taron in some of the costumes.

She kept Tilly updated during her hour-long wait to board her flight. Tilly let her know that Matthew had announced to the crew yesterday that she had joined on to the production. She had to wonder if her name had gotten back to Taron, how he felt about her joining on but then Tilly told her that Taron had been gone for the week working on some last-minute stuff for the Robin Hood film he had coming out soon. She was almost relieved he didn’t know yet.

“Now boarding flight VS5178 Los Angeles to London-Heathrow Departing on time at 8:34”

Downing the last of her bonus third bloody Mary and feeling good, Adelaide packed away her laptop and made her way for the gate.

Just a little over 10 more hours and she would be back in her second home.

 Tilly unsurprisingly showed up to Heathrow with a giant sign that read:

‘Welcome home from rehab

It works if you work it’

“I really should hate you” Adelaide laughed as she hugged her best friend a little tighter than necessary. She even received a few pats on the back and a thumbs up from a few random strangers that had read the sign.

“You should but you just can’t” Tilly smiled in return.

“Let’s get your shit and get out of this bloody zoo” She flung Adelaide’s carry on over her shoulder and began marching in the direction of the baggage claim.

After a game of real-life Tetris, all of Adelaide’s bags were packed into Tilly’s car. It was bad enough having to pack for a few months’ worth of life but also having to pack all her make-up and supplies she brought to every film she worked on made it even harder.

“I am so happy your Gran is bougie enough to have an elevator in her house. There was no way I was carrying any of this upstairs” Tilly joked as she slammed the trunk closed.

The 40-minute drive to her Gran’s home in Chelsea was filled with laughter and singing. No matter how long the two of them were apart, once they were back together it was like no time had passed.

The girls stopped off at Starbucks for some energy. They knew the adrenalin they were feeling from being reunited wouldn’t last long and neither of them was the perkiest of morning people. After 2 elevator trips, the bags were in and Adelaide and Tilly plopped down onto the plush couches.

“We have to go shopping” Tilly said as she adjusted herself on the couch, her legs dangling over the armrest, a throw pillow under her head.

“For what?” Adelaide asked as she laid in the same position on the oversized chair, sending a text to her mom.

Made it to Grans. Call me when you wake up <3 -A

It was only 1am in LA so she knew a reply wasn’t coming anytime soon.

“We need to get you an outfit for the cast and crew mixer this weekend”

“What are you talking about? We just brought up 6 suitcases, 4 of those are filled with clothes, shoes, bags and accessories and my personal make-up, thankfully I have extra work supplies here or I’d have another 2 bags. Why on earth would I need to go shopping?”

Tilly gave her a ‘duh’ look.

“Cause we need to go find the perfect outfit to show off those hot mom-curves you have now so we can get you and your man back together” She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Adelaide sat up in the chair and looked at Tilly.

“Tilly that’s not why I am here. Would I be happy if it did? Yes, but I am here for Eleanor. I am here to finally tell Taron the truth. Outside of making money to support my daughter and our life, this is not for me.”

“And I respect that, but please let me just have one night to have my ‘Parent Trap moment’ as you put it the other day. You’re doing this whole thing for them. Let me do this part for you”

Adelaide gave her best friend a very annoyed mother look, but she gave in.

She throws her hands up.

“Fine”

How could she say no to shopping with her fashion-forward friend?

Giving in is how she found herself, 2-days later standing next to the bar of The Sky Garden in a peony-print long-sleeved mini dress, a black clutch in hand and a pair of black Jimmy Choo’s that helped show off her legs and bum, Tilly’s favorite of her physical attributes as she always made sure to remind her.

She was waiting for Tilly to make her way back from the restroom while she waited on their drinks. She messed with her naturally wild curls that now hung tamed just below her ears, her brown roots fading to blonde ends. Her makeup was flawless as always, eyebrows arched for the Gods’, the smoky green eye shadow matching the green in the flowers on her dress also brought out the green in her eyes. Her lips painted in a matte taupe color, she was not a conceded person, but she knew she was beautiful, she had worked hard for it and she took pride in making herself look good.

Having been at the party for close to an hour now, Adelaide had met a few members of her make-up team; everyone was so welcoming. She had been introduced to Jamie Bell and Brice Dallas Howard. She hadn’t seen Richard yet but him she knew from meeting through mutual friends in LA when she was first getting back onto the scene. They had kept in mild contact.

The venue for the party was incredible, the 38-story building showed a breathtaking view of the city. The Sky Garden took up 3 of those story’s, overlooking the River Thames. It was magical but the anxious feeling clawing at the back of Adelaide’s mind kept her from fully enjoying everything. She knew Taron could show up at any minute and she was trying to prepare herself for that.

“Hey Ladie” She jumped slightly when Tilly tapped her shoulder. She turned around, taking in Tilly and the man standing next to her that she knew from photos to be Dexter Fletcher the director.

“I wanted to introduce you to Dex before everything gets too crazy tonight” She laughed.

“Dex this is Adelaide DeFay, one of my oldest mates and the best make-up designer I know. Ladie, this is Dexter Fletcher our fearless leader”

“It is an honor to get to work with you Mr. Fletcher. I am a fan of your work” Adelaide put her hand out to shake.

“What’s this mister bit?” Dax asked in his gravelly voice “Mister is my old man, I’m just Dex here. It is lovely to meet you darling” He took her hand, giving a firm shake before pulling her into a hug.

His ringing cellphone pulled him away.

“Oh, it’s our leading man” Adelaide froze when Dexter looked at his phone, he was none the wiser. “If you’ll excuse me ladies. Must see what has the boy held up.” He said before answering the phone.

“T!” he greeted as he walked away.

“I need to go outside” Adelaide said quickly, grabbing her clutch and leaving Tilly and their drinks behind.

 She stood looking over the side of the balcony, hands grasping the railing. She took in a deep breath in through her nose, holding for a 3 count and breathing out for a 5 count. She needed to get her thoughts under control. When it felt like her heart was beating at a normal rate she turned around, seeing Tilly had made her way out, sitting at one of the tables with their drinks.

“Figured you might need this” She said as she gestured to the forgotten Gin and Tonic.

“I think a joint might help more” she joked.

“Ohh a joint. It has been years since I smoked weed. I think it was back when you were working on Guardians, that lighting guy from California had it. Man, those were the good old days” Tilly reminisced.

“If we knew then what we know now”

They fell into a comfortable silence, but it only lasted a few moments. Sudden cheers from inside pulled their attention. Everyone began to gather, facing the elevators, blocking both Tilly and Adelaide’s view but neither of them needed to see to know what was going on.

Taron had arrived.

The panic rose again in Adelaide.

“I can’t do this” she said suddenly. She stood up, her eyes wildly looking around for a way to exit but unless she had a parachute stashed in her clutch the only exit was blocked by the exact reason she wanted to leave.

“I can’t do this” she repeated.

Tilly stood in front of her, one hand holding her shoulder, the other on her cheek making her look her in the eyes.

“Yes you can. Breathe with me”

Tilly had worked Adelaide through plenty of panic attacks over the course of their friendship, she was one of the only people that knew how to bring her back when everything else seemed too much. Her and one other person but for the past 5 years, that person has been the main cause of them.

“Breathe in 1-2-3, breathe out 1-2-3-4-5. Repeat. Breathe in 1-2-3, breathe out 1-2-3-4-5”

Tilly spoke softly

“Remember you are doing this for Eleanor”

“Breathe in 1-2-3, breathe out 1-2-3-4-5”

Her breathing finally leveled back out

“I don’t know what I would do without you” Adelaide finally felt like she could speak again.

She pecked Tilly’s lips

“Thank you”

“I am going to go in and get us both another drink” Tilly told her “Do you want to come in and get some food or are you fine out here?” She asked.

“I am going to wait out here” She answered but her attention had been pulled. Tilly watches as Adelaide’s eyes locked on Taron’s frame when he came into view. He was dressed so handsome in what looks like navy blue pants and blazer with a white button-up, the top few buttons were undone. He looked as amazing as ever.

Adelaide watched him as he weaved in and out of the crowd. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him smile, listening intently to each person that he talked to. It was one of the characteristics she had fallen in love with. Taron knew just how to make someone feel like the center of the universe.

She gasped when his eyes suddenly swept the balcony as he moved to another group, he looked right at her for a moment then moved away, she turned away quickly before she saw him doubletake, but he shook his head.

Just another moment of wishful thinking on his part. 5 Years and he stilled looked for her face in the women around.

When Adelaide turned back, he had already moved on. Lost in the sea of people.

She jumped for the second time tonight from Tilly tapping her shoulder.

“Hey Frogger, need another?” Tilly teased

She thankfully accepted the drink.

 Taron stood talking to Jamie and Richard for a moment. A drink hanging loosely in his hand. It had been a great night. He really was excited to get the ball rolling on filming. He had put so much work into this project already, he couldn’t wait to show the world, but he also wanted it to last forever.

“Croatia may be one of the most beautiful places I have gotten a chance to shoot” Richard added to their conversation.

“Ah I haven’t been there yet. Would love to vacation” Jamie said, “Didn’t you film some of Robin Hood there mate?” he asked Taron

“Yeah, it was bloody cold while we were there, but it was beautiful” he answered just before his attention was pulled away. He watched as a curly head of hair made its way through the crowd from the bar and out the revolving doors onto the balcony. It was the second time he had been drawn to her; he didn’t catch her face this time though.

“Oh no, blokes got eyes for the new head of make-up” Jamie joked as he nudged Richard and pointed out toward Adelaide.

Taron watched her walk up behind another woman, when the woman turned around to accept a drink from her, he saw that it was Tilly. He hadn’t bumped into her yet tonight. He was excited to be working with an old friend on a project that meant so much to him. It would make things more relaxing to have as many people he cared about around him.

“Oh yeah, that’s Adelaide. She just signed on a few days ago” Richard filled in the blank and Taron’s blood ran cold.

“Adelaide?” he asked, his voice sounding miles away.

“Yeah, Adelaide DeFay. She’s an amazing make-up artist. You should introduce your self at some point tonight” Richard said.

“Yeah. Introduce myself. Ha” Taron mumbled as he walked away from the guys, his body on autopilot as he made his way to the balcony.

Richard and Jamie were left puzzled.

 Tilly’s smile dropped as she looked over Adelaide’s shoulder, Taron stepped out of the revolving door onto the balcony, his face as if he just saw a ghost.

“Doll?”

Tilly moved like lightning, grabbing Adelaide’s glass as it slipped from her hand at the sound of his voice.

“Is...is that you?”

Chapter 4

@xceafh

#Taron Egerton #Taron x Reader #taron egerton fanfiction #fanfiction #rocketman

[mss4msu]

Call Me Doctor. (Chapter 15)

Summary: Fresh out of graduate school, you had somehow landed a spot in the faculty of a prestigious university. The small anthropology department has too many faculty and too few offices; sharing an office does not go as you expected.

Pairing: Professor!Steve x Professor!Reader

Words: 3166

Warnings: Feelings

A/N: I have a lot of feelings from seeing Endgame, so there’s a lot of goofiness in this chapter and some ties to the Avengers because I need that. The chapter is real long because I have a lot of feelings and it’s been awhile. This chapter was supposed to happen in October, but then life happened. I started drafting it at Christmas and then wrote more on Mardi Gras, and then planned to release it before Easter, but here we are. Happy almost Free Comic Book Day and May the Fourth. (Please just pretend it’s Halloween bbs)

Catch Up On the Story Here

You spent the rest of the afternoon in a daze. Every time you tried to concentrate on something work-related, your mind went to Steve; the sweetness of his smile, the warmth of his hands, the passion in his kisses. You shook your head, trying to get Steve out of it.

“Order and organization, that’s what I need,” You said to yourself, pulling out your planner and a pen.

You hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out what to put. You thought of writing “Brunch with Steve,” but that didn’t seem to capture the emotions you were sure both of you had felt.

First Date with Steve - you wrote. You wanted to dot the “i” with a heart, but talked yourself out of it in fear of anyone ever finding and reading your planner.

You looked back through the previous weeks. It had been almost 2 months since you had been at the university. Almost 2 months since you had met Steve. It felt like much longer, which you attributed to the academic bubble; regardless of how much time passed in the “real world” the stress of academia always made it feel 10x longer. Of course Steve’s mood changes had also made time drag on. You flipped to the week to come and your heart began to beat rapidly.

“Oh shit!” you yelled to yourself.

Saturday, October 31st - It was written in black and orange on the page and you had even doodled a witch’s hat and ghost next to it.

“How could I forget my favorite holiday???” you scolded yourself.

You frantically got up and rushed to the closet in your hallway. You found your tub of decorations and carried it into the living room. You pulled out cobwebs and witches’ hats and little skeletons. You unwrapped jack-o-lantern lights and laid them on the floor next to the tub. You went back to the closet and moved all the coats around until you found it; the piece de resistancé, a Mummy scarecrow. You frantically ran around your apartment hanging everything up, taking it down, and hanging it again in a different spot because it looked better. It took two hours for you to finally accept the placement of everything. You sat on the couch and admired your decorations. Although the apartment had already begun to feel like home, having all of your decorations up solidified the feeling.

You pulled your computer out of your bag and opened your email. You typed all of your colleagues names into the “To:” section and made the subject for the email “Sorry for the Late Notice: Halloween Party!”

Dear All,

Sorry for the late notice, I’ve been so focused on the museum project that it completely slipped my mind that Halloween is a week from today. You are all welcome to my humble abode on Saturday to celebrate all things spooky. Haunted happenings will begin at 7:00pm. Costumes are encouraged! Plus ones are of course welcome too!

See you Monday,

(Y/N)

Your finger was still pushed down from clicking send when your computer dinged with a new email notification. Your heart pounded as you looked at the sender and opened the response.

I look forward to attending.

--Steve

You reread his email a few times, your heart sinking slightly, as you figured Steve would show more emotion after your date, at least what you thought had been a date. But looking at the time stamp of his email bolstered you back up. Steve was notorious for never responding to emails, so to have a response immediately after sending you knew was special.  

You spent the rest of the weekend going through your cookbooks to find the perfect spooky snacks, perfecting your Halloween playlist, and going through your tub of costumes to find the perfect choice for the weekend. You put on a few scary movies as you worked to set the mood.

Monday morning, you were in a fantastic mood. You had in your candy corn earrings and were wearing your pumpkin socks under your dress pants. You got to your office to find it unlocked. You walked in to see Steve and James intently staring at Steve’s computer screen.

“What are you two up to?” you asked as you sat down at your desk and pulled your computer from your bag to review your powerpoint before class.

“Nothing,” Steve grunted, his cheeks turning red.

“Just prepping for this weekend,” James smiled slyly at you.

You grinned, “Doing some costume shopping?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” James winked at you, “Alright, place the order Stevie, I’ve got to go to class. I’ll leave you two to have some alone time.” He raised his eyebrows at you as he stood to leave the room. “Oh, and I almost forgot!” He put his hand in his bag and pulled out a picture frame, “I got you both a new office decoration!” He turned the frame around and you saw the zoomed in photo he had taken of you and Steve in the coffee shop.

“Buck,” Steve growled, getting up and going towards his friend.

“See you later!” James put the frame on the table and quickly ran out of the office.

Steve went to the table and picked up the picture frame, “It’s actually not a bad picture,” he said, his voice softening now that you two were alone.

“May I see it?” you asked, walking over to him.

He handed it to you, and you felt a shiver as your hands brushed each other. It actually was a cute picture, the two of you cuddled up on the couch together.

“Do you want it?” Steve asked you.

“Oh, um, I mean…” you were caught off guard, unsure of what the right answer was. “Yes?”

“Was that a question?”

“I mean, of course I want it! But I only want it if you don’t. James is your friend first, so if you want it you should have it, but of course I would love to take it if you don’t.”

“You should take it, (Y/N). I can just have him print me another.”

You smiled up at Steve, “Thanks.”

The rest of the week seemed to drag on, which you knew was because you were so looking forward to the weekend to celebrate the most glorious of all holidays. Friday night came and you began to prep food for the party. You peeled grapes and put them in the freezer to serve as eyeballs in the witches’ brew punch. You made little witch hats out of Oreos and Hershey’s Kisses that you then encircled with little bands of colorful frosting. Saturday morning you got up and began to bake. You dyed breadstick dough green and shaped it into fingers, placing an almond in as a fingernail. You then got out hot dogs and crescent roll dough and cut arms and legs into the hot dogs before wrapping them in strips of dough to make mummies. Once the baking was complete, you did all the dishes so the counters wouldn’t be cluttered.

You looked at the clock and realized you only had 3 hours before everyone was set to arrive and you were a mess of dough and dishwater. You hopped in the shower, got out, and dried your hair. You did your makeup and curled your hair into big waves. You decided you’d wait until right when people arrived to put your costume on, as you didn’t want to be sitting around in it for longer than you had to. It was a great looking costume, but it wasn’t the most comfortable.

You saw that there was just an hour left until everyone arrived, so you went back into the kitchen to begin setting everything out. You set the table with all of the food and were impressed with yourself with how it had all turned out. With just a half hour until people arrived, you decided to mix up the witches’ brew. You put lime sherbert, sprite, lime-flavored vodka, and some sparkling grape juice into a large plastic cauldron on your table. You then added in the frozen grapes and some gummy worms.

With just 10 minutes to go until 7pm, you decided it was time to get into costume. You made sure the corset was laced properly and used the side-zipper to get your top on. You were hesitant about the hot-pants of your costume, but figured you could just have a blanket around you if you felt embarrassed. You put on your bracelets and secured the crown onto your head. Just as you were putting on your boots, you heard the buzz of the intercom.

“Hello?”

“Hi, (Y/N). It’s getting very crowded down here!” you heard Natasha’s voice and the clamoring of other voices around her.

“Then you all better come in,” you laughed, buzzing them in.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door. You swung it open and saw a very full hallway filled with your costumed coworkers.

“Welcome!”

“Thanks, (Y/N)! Ooh, James is going to be pissed,” she laughed as she looked at your costume, but she quickly changed the subject before you could ask why, “I brought some wine that had a spooky looking label, where would you like it?” Natasha asked as she walked in. She was dressed as Indiana Jones and you saw Bruce behind her, dressed as Lara Croft.

“Hi, (Y/N),” Bruce said without making eye contact as he followed Natasha into the apartment. He looked slightly embarrassed of his costume, as he kept tugging the shorts down, so you knew Natasha had convinced him to wear it.

“Ahhh, (Y/N), you look hot af,” Wanda said hugging you, “I’m so happy to have another person with such an affinity for the supernatural.”

“Did you just finish The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina?” you asked her, seeing her platinum curled wig and the black dress with a white collar.

“Yes and it was amazing!”

“Yes, Sabrina was absolutely fantastic,” Vis said sarcastically, stepping forward from behind her. He was dressed as a black cat, complete with a little tail.

“Salem?” you asked with a laugh.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Vis replied.

“Oh, shut up!” Wanda pushed him into the apartment. “Also, I brought some ghost-shaped cookies!” she yelled as she walked away.

“I have come stag!” Thor proclaimed as he walked through the doorway.

“And dressed as the god of thunder!” you proclaimed right back. You were relieved he hadn’t brought Loki, as you hadn’t spoken to his brother since your date with Steve.

“I’ve had this costume for years. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Thor grinned as he went to the living room.

“Pepper! Long time no see!” you said as Tony and Pepper entered the apartment.

“Which one of us are you talking to?” Tony asked. He and Pepper were dressed in salt and pepper suits, and Tony was dressed as pepper.

“Tony thought it would be funny to be me for Halloween,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes.

“It’s amazing,” you laughed.

“Thank you,” Tony grinned.

“Please, don’t validate him,” Pepper sighed as she and Tony went to the living room.

“(Y/N), hi,” Clint said as he walked in, “This is my wife, Laura.”

“Hi, Laura, so nice to meet you! I hope everything is going well with the new baby.”

“It is a lot,” Laura smiled, “So thank you for this opportunity to get out of the house.”

“I see you’re both dressed in the appropriate costumes for it though!” you replied, seeing they were dressed as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl.

“We decided this year’s family costume would be Incredibles themed since there are five of us now,” Clint grinned.

“That is truly amazing. Please, come on in.”

You looked out into the hallway, but saw that it was empty. Your heart started to race in anticipation, but given that they were so late last time you hosted a party, you tried to calm yourself down. As you closed the door, the intercom buzzed.

“Hello?” you thought your heart was going to pound out of your chest.

“Hi, (Y/N),” Steve’s voice came through the intercom.

You buzzed them in before he could say anything else and what felt like an eternity later you heard a knock on your door.

You yanked the door open and saw Steve and James standing in the hallway. Steve was dressed as Superman, his blonde hair slicked back except for a small curl on his forehead. James stood next to him, dressed as Batman.

“What the hell (Y/N)!” James exclaimed, looking you up and down, “We were trying to do a couple’s costume and you made it weird by having us look like a throuple now!”

You smoothed the Wonder Woman corset over your stomach and anxiously adjusted your crown, “I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were planning to do a couple’s costume together.”

“It’s FINE,” James huffed as he stormed past you.

“We do a couple’s costume every year,” Steve shrugged his shoulders. He looked you up and down, “You look amazing, (Y/N).”

You blushed, “Thanks, Steve. So do you.”

Steve walked into your apartment and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek before going into the living room.

You waited a second for your heart rate to decrease before joining the group. You could hear James grumbling about his ruined costume plans.

“(Y/N), this food is fantastic!” Thor rumbled from the couch.

“And this punch is disgusting and I love it!” Wanda beamed.

“The decorations are amazing,” Natasha said, looking around. “This apartment isn’t that big, where did you store them?”

“I prioritize holiday decorations over all else. I think I own more costumes than I do regular clothes.”

“Then why don’t you go change,” you heard James grumble under his breath.

Steve came and sat next to you with a full plate of food, “Just ignore him,” he whispered to you.

You gave Steve a half smile in reply.

The night continued to be eventful. Wanda shared spooky stories she had encountered in her research. Steve educated everyone about the history of using superhero outfits as costumes for Halloween. Thor choked on a grape. And when “Thriller” came on the playlist, everyone tried their best to do the original dance. James eventually forgave you and decided documentation of you, Steve, and himself in your superhero costumes was necessary and subsequently forced everyone into a photoshoot. Bruce and Vis were not happy with him.

“Well, I think it’s time for us to relieve the sitter,” Clint said, taking a final drink of punch as Laura yawned and stood up.

“Mind if we hitch a ride back home with you?” Natasha asked, pulling Bruce up off the couch.

“We drove you here, it’s not like we would just leave you,” Clint replied, groaning as he stood.

“Didn’t stop you from leaving me that time in Budapest,” Natasha snarked back.

“You and I remember Budapest very differently,” Clint laughed.

“Pepper, are you ready to go home?” Pepper asked Tony.

“Yes, dear. And thank you for FINALLY accepting the costume,” Tony grinned.

“We should probably go as well,” Wanda said, “I have some...things...to attend to at home.”

“Wait, she isn’t actually a witch is she?” you couldn’t help but ask Vis.

“I don’t feel comfortable answering that question,” Vis sighed.

“Well, Steve, should we go too?” James asked.

“Um...yes...I guess we should? Unless (Y/N) needs help cleaning up?” Steve directed the questions at you.

“I think I can manage it,” you replied, your heart fluttering.

“Are you sure?” Steve asked, looking deep into your eyes.

James realized what was happening, “Steve, you know what, maybe you should stay behind and help (Y/N) clean up. I’ll see you tomorrow buddy.”

You said goodbye to everyone and shut the door with a sigh.

“What can I help you with?” Steve asked from behind you, startling you, as you had forgotten he was still there.

“Um, I really just have to put the leftover food in tupperwares and then clean out the punch cauldron. You really don’t have to stay if you have other things to do.”

“You want to break apart the two strongest members of the Justice League?” Steve asked, stepping closer to you.

“I mean, Wonder Woman is definitely the strongest, but I think Batman is actually….”

Steve stopped your words with a kiss, pushing you against the front door. You tried to put your arms around him, but your hands got tangled in his cape and you couldn’t help but start laughing.

“Let’s clean up first, Superman,” you walked into the kitchen, grabbed tupperware containers, and filled them before putting the leftovers in the fridge. Steve poured out the dregs of the cauldron and began to wash it. You filled the dishwasher with plates and cups and straightened up the pillows on the couch.

Steve dried his hands off on a towel and joined you in the living room, “You know, last time I was here you said I could take a look around. Is it possible to get a personal tour?”

“I’d be happy to,” you smiled, “Let’s start at the front door?” You took his hand and led him to the door. “So this is the hallway, it leads everywhere. To the right is the kitchen, straight ahead is the living room/dining room combo, and up there to the left are the bathroom and bedroom.”

“How practical.”

You pulled him to the right, “Here is the kitchen, I believe you’ve been in here before. And if we walk forward we have the dining room and the living room, which are actually just one big room.”

“What a lovely set-up you have here. Brilliantly decorated.”

You blushed, “Then if we go around this way,” you walked him to the hallway again, “We go down a smaller hallway and we have the bathroom on the left,” you opened the bathroom door and flicked on the light, “complete with a Halloween pumpkin soap and all your regular bathroom furnishings. And on the right,” your breath hitched, “Is the bedroom.”

You hesitated for a second before opening the door to the bedroom. You took a deep breath, opened the door, and turned on the light.

“Here in the bedroom, we have the closet, and a dresser, and the,” you gulped, “bed.”

You watched Steve’s eyes roam around the room, and you were thankful you had thought to clean it this morning while the mummies were baking. Steve cleared his throat and you saw he was staring at the picture frame on your nightstand.

“Oh, um, I can explain that,” your heart was racing and you had no idea how you were actually going to explain it.

Steve’s hand tightened around yours and he gently pulled you onto the bed with him, “You don’t have to,” he whispered in your ear before kissing you passionately.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Call Me Doctor. Tag List:

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#marvel #fanfic #au #professor au #steve rogers #professor steve #steve rogers x reader #captain america #series #call me doctor #anthropology #halloween #steve x reader

[jade4813]

Sparks Fly, Chapter 3

Title: Sparks Fly

Rating: NC-17

Synopsis: Everybody knows sparks fly whenever Barry Allen and Iris West are together. Their mutual animosity is legendary. But when Iris returns to Central City to investigate recent sightings of a mysterious red streak, she discovers a hero she just can’t resist…and Barry struggles to hide the unrequited feelings he can’t deny.

Chapters: 3/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Barry was so surprised by Iris’s words that he didn’t realize he’d stopped vibrating until her eyes widened and she took a step forward. Alarmed she might have discovered is secret, he sped a few feet away, moving deeper into the shadows. By the time she turned to face him, he had his vibration under control once more.

Though he still was nervous about what her words had meant. “W-what do you mean?” he asked. “It’s me?”

She smiled, and once again, he almost forgot to continue vibrating. “The Streak. You are the Streak, right? The one people have reported seeing around the city?”

Relieved, he laughed, his shoulders sagging. “Oh. Yeah. That’s me.” Realizing he probably sounded like a dork, he could only hope that his mask would cover his blush. Clearing his throat, he attempted superhero gravitas when he added more firmly, “I mean, I’m the Streak.”

Her grin grew wider. “Wow.” Then she shook her head. “So how do you know my name?”

Her question almost gave him a heart attack, and he cursed himself silently for the slip. He wracked his brain for an explanation and grasped the first one that came to mind. “There’s a billboard outside of CCPN advertising the star investigative reporter that just joined their team. I saw it earlier tonight when I was running around on patrol.”

Iris cocked her head to the side. “On patrol, huh? I guess I should be grateful you were running by when you were. Certainly could have ended a lot differently for me if you hadn’t been, but you’re definitely not what I expected.”

Barry frowned slightly, unsure how to take that remark. “Oh. Um, that’s…is that a good thing?”

He watched as she bit the corner of her lip and took a step towards him. “That depends,” she replied in a soft voice. “Will you give me an interview?”

Though he supposed he should have expected the request, her suggestion surprised a laugh out of him. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I do have a secret identity to protect…” he began, but she cut him off.

“I’m not trying to put your secret identity in jeopardy. I promise. But you’re the hero of Central City. Knowing that you’re out there…it’ll give people hope.”

She had moved closer, her eyes narrowed as she tried to get a better look at his face, and Barry’s nerve failed him. Speeding behind her, he stepped in close. Then he bowed his head so he could murmur in her ear. “I’m not trying to be a hero, Miss West.”

Iris turned her head to look at him. Their faces were inches apart; if he leaned forward slightly he could brush his lips against hers. He didn’t dare move, but he had to clench his hands into fists at his sides to resist the urge. “If not a hero, then what are you?” she asked in a voice barely above a whisper. “One wrong move, and you could have died tonight, saving my life. If you’re not trying to be a hero, then why do you do it?”

Knowing it was a risk, Barry stopped vibrating his face and for just a moment, let himself be Barry Allen and not the faceless Streak. Still, he spoke in a low voice to disguise his voice as he murmured, “Because I’m the only one who can.”

Iris made a soft sound in the back of her throat and half-turned, wrapping one hand around his wrist. In an insistent, almost desperate, tone, she asked, “How long have you had your powers? When did you get them?”

He frowned, momentarily confused by the intensity of her question. “Uh – about a year. A little over a year, I mean.”

“Since the night of the particle accelerator explosion?” she pressed.

When he nodded, she threw an arm around his neck. Barry wasn’t expecting the kiss, so he froze when their mouths met. He couldn’t entirely process what was happening. Iris West was kissing him. She had hated him since almost the day they met, and she was kissing him.

Iris West was kissing him!

He reached for her, intending to draw her in closer, but he was a second too late. Police sirens passed by a few blocks away, shattering the moment, and Iris released him with a soft moan. Dropping the arm around his neck, she stepped back. “Um…if you change your mind about that interview, come by my place.” She quickly blurted the address. Flushing, she added quickly, “And, um, about the kiss. That wasn’t…I didn’t…um…I just wanted to say thank you. For saving my life.”

Barry blinked a few times. He wanted to say something cool. Something smooth. Something that would sweep her off her feet and make her realize that maybe the guy she’d hated for years wasn’t so bad, after all. But the only words that came to mind before he sped away were, “Any time, Miss West.”

A half hour later, Iris let herself into her apartment and grimaced at the sight of boxes piled up against the wall – a testament to the fact she hadn’t yet finished getting settled in to her new place. She’d been lucky to find it, and although she wasn’t entirely settled in yet, she loved it already. Besides, situated on the top floor of the high-rise, her large balcony gave her a spectacular view of the city that simply couldn’t be beat.

Iris moved towards her large glass balcony doors and stared out at the city with unseeing eyes. Had she actually kissed the Streak? She had, hadn’t she? It wasn’t a dream or a hallucination brought on by an excess of “certainty of impending death” adrenaline. She’d actually kissed the Streak. At least a hundred times, she’d imagined what she might say or ask the Streak if she managed to track him down. She’d never imagined she would do that.

But, then, he wasn’t what she’d expected. At the thought, she turned and looked over at the stack of folders and loose papers scattered across her dining room table. He hadn’t been what she’d expected at all. He was a lot younger than she’d anticipated, for one thing. What did it mean?

Her steps quick and purposeful, Iris walked over to her table and began to sift through her research. When she’d first heard about sighting of a red streak zooming around Central City, she’d taken to the Internet in a request for people to submit any sightings of or interactions with the mysterious hero. She’d received hundreds of responses that had taken weeks to sift through.

Of course, as a reporter, she’d known that any story that came without proof had to be taken with a grain of salt. She knew people would sometimes lie for a chance at glory, at being a part of something that was bigger than themselves. To see their name in the news or their picture on television. For others, there was no malicious or self-serving intent – merely the desire to attribute greater meaning to random circumstance. Trip and fall seconds before a cement block falls where you would have been standing, you might attribute that to a simple twist of fate…or to the intervention of a mysterious, unseen hero.

Iris had gone through the numerous submissions she’d received over the past few months and pulled out any that seemed to be either improbable or clearly fictitious. Now she went through the stack again, pulling out only those submissions that dated since the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Stacking the rest atop a leather-bound book in the corner of the table, she re-sorted the stories of possible Streak sightings, putting them in date order. Then she laid them out on the table in front of her, creating a visual timeline of his activities.

Of course, even now, she knew she still couldn’t take every story at face value. The majority of these anecdotes came without any form of proof – not even an iPhone photo of a red blur racing by. And many could be attributing a simple coincidence to an outside force. For example, the earliest submission – dated only two days after the explosion – was from a woman who swore her unknown would-be assailant had been knocked down by an unseen force when giving chase her through the park. If the anecdote could be taken at face value, it certainly could be the first recorded act of the city’s self-appointed guardian. Or the details could be exaggerated and the victim’s narrow escape was the product of gravity and perhaps an errant tree branch. It was impossible to know for sure.

Iris paused and ran a fingertip along her lower lip as she pondered the timeline in front of her. Then she grabbed a notebook and started to jot down questions. If she was going to get an interview with the masked superhero one day, she needed to be prepared.

One thing was for sure. He was going to need a better name than the Streak.

“Iris? God, it’s so good to see you! When did you get back?” Dr. Caitlin Snow cried happily as she raced forward to give her a hug. They had been close friends in college, but they hadn’t kept in touch as much as they’d intended after graduation. They occasionally exchanged social media messages over the years, but it had been ages since they’d last seen each other.

“Oh, I haven’t been back for long. I’m still getting settled in,” she admitted as they grabbed their coffee and walked together to a nearby table. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good!” Caitlin replied. They chatted for a few minutes, and then she asked, “So, what's up? Not it’s not great to catch up, but I suspect you didn’t call me to hear my thoughts on the new sushirito place that opened down the block from my apartment.”

Iris laughed. “Not quite. And whoever came up with that idea needs to really re-evaluate their life choices. But I was actually hoping to get your professional opinion on something.” Clutching her cup of coffee between her palms, she leaned in. “The thing is, I’m investigating some of the strange events around the city lately. You know, with the metahumans? There have been a couple of strange deaths that I think could be meta activity. I have some coroner reports, but I wanted to get a second opinion. Since I can hardly get that from the coroner’s office, I’m looking for someone who can provide an independent review. I thought, with your background…any chance I could talk you into it?”

Caitlin grimaced. “Oh. I mean, I’d love to help, but my career has gone on a different path since college. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like that. I don’t know how much I’d be able to help you.” Before Iris could tell her not to worry about it, she perked up. “But you know who you should talk to? Barry Allen. I know he works with the CCPD, but he’s helped investigate every metahuman attack in Central City. Nobody knows more about the strange events in the city over the past year than he does.”

Iris choked on a sip of coffee. “Barry? Oh. No. No, no. No, no, no. That’s not necessary. I’m sure he’s very good at what he does. Not no. No. Absolutely not. No.”

Caitlin laughed. “So that’s a maybe?” she joked. “Seriously, though. What is your deal? The two of you have never been able to go for ten minutes without picking a fight.”

She shrugged. “It’s complicated. Or, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not. We just don’t get along. There doesn’t have to be some sort of deeper meaning to it.”

“Yeah, well. If you can believe it, there was a time Linda and I thought we might set the two of you up.”

Iris snorted. “Yeah. I know. You weren’t exactly subtle with those blind dates. Though why you’d think I would go on a date with Barry when I knew you had a huge crush on him, I have no idea. I mean, why would you even do that?”

“Well, he was my friend! I really wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn’t with me. And, anyway, it wasn’t that big of a crush!” Caitlin protested. When Iris just rolled her eyes in return, she added meekly, “Okay, so maybe it was. But since he clearly never saw me as anything other than a friend, I got over it.” After a second’s pause, she added suspiciously, “Wait…that’s not why you’ve never gotten along with him, is it? This wasn’t all some misguided attempt at friendship solidarity?”

Iris laughed. “No, of course not. I mean, maybe I initially teased him to get back at him a bit for being a blind idiot and breaking your heart all the time, even if he didn’t mean to do it. And the Houdini thing came after he flaked on you so often. But honestly, no. Come on. That was a long time ago.”

“Which brings us back to the original question. What’s the deal with you and Barry? If you weren’t trying to protect my feelings…I mean, you never even gave him a chance.”

Iris dropped her gaze to her coffee cup. “Oh, I gave him a chance,” she mumbled. She almost told Caitlin the whole story, everything that had happened in the past with Barry. But that was as long time ago. What did it matter now? So rather than go into the whole story, she made a joke to deflect the conversation, “Anyway, your lamentable taste in men in college really doesn’t have anything to do with my problems with Barry now. We’ve just never gotten along. That’s all.”

Caitlin still looked a little dubious. “If you say so. Still, I think the two of you could have been really cute together. Maybe you should give him a second chance.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Me and Barry Allen? That was never gonna happen in college, and it’s not going to happen now.”

“Hey, I wanted to talk to you about your blind date. I know it took forever to get you to agree to it, but –”

“Actually, that’s why I was calling,” Iris interrupted Caitlin before she could continue. “Um…I hate to do this, but can we cancel? The thing is, I met this guy a few nights ago, and I think…well…I can’t really explain it, but I think we could have something special. If I can find him again.”

That took her friend by surprise. “If you can find him again? Didn’t you get his number?”

Iris sighed. “I didn’t even get his name. Everything was going great, but then the cops showed up and…well, there was a lot of alcohol at that party and we weren’t exactly legal drinking age. Everyone scrambled to get away before we could get caught, and I kind of lost him in the crowd. But they’re throwing another party in a few days. I’m hoping he’ll be there. At any rate, that’s the night of the blind date, so…”

“I understand. And, anyway, Barry – my friend, the one I was going to set you up with – he asked if we could cancel, too. I guess he met someone too. He wouldn’t really tell me much about her. Just that he knew the minute he saw her that he was going to marry her someday.”

Caitlin sounded a little bit miserable as she said the words, and Iris replied softly, “Oh, Cait. I’m so sorry. You know, this is probably for the best. He probably wouldn’t even be turn out to be my type. He’s an idiot, and I don’t usually fall for idiots.”

With a laugh that was just a shade sad, Caitlin protested, “He’s really not. But I appreciate the support. Anyway, I still think the two of you should meet. I think the two of you would really hit it off. As friends, I mean.”

“Sure, that sounds great!” Iris agreed. “Why don’t we grab some coffee together? I’m free this afternoon…”

A few nights later, Iris had grabbed a large glass of wine and was headed for the couch when she heard a soft sound out on her balcony. Almost absently, she glanced out the open door only to find the familiar red-clad superhero, his hand lifted uncertainly as he prepared to knock on the glass to get her attention.

“I-I wasn’t sure if I should just drop by, but I didn’t have your number,” he admitted, his voice echoing strangely as it had before. She wondered if she’d ever get used to the way he used his speed to blur his features. “I’ve thought about it, and…I trust that you won’t print anything that would risk my secret identity. I’ll give you that interview, if you’re still interested.”

“What? I’m interested! I’m definitely interested! I’m…um, I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion,” she added, blushing when she realized she was dressed for bed, wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt that fell to her thighs. “Just…stay right there, okay? Don’t move. Give me…give me two minutes.” Racing to the dining room table, she swept the paperwork she’d been studying into a messy pile and carried it with her into her bedroom, where she scrambled to get ready in record time.

A few minutes later, Iris raced out of her room to find the Flash still standing on the balcony, staring out at the city. She’d exchanged her t-shirt for a simple summer dress and pulled her hair out of its messy pony tail. And although she’d been worried he would disappear on her, she’d ducked into the restroom to freshen up her makeup. It wasn’t every day that she got the chance at a one-on-one interview with a superhero, after all.

“Hey,” she said warmly, smoothing down the skirt of her dress as she stepped onto the balcony. “Sorry to keep you waiting. At least I’m a little more presentable now.”

He looked over at her. “Something tells me you always look incredible.”

She blushed and waved a finger at him. “Pretty smooth, Flash. But flattery won’t make me go easy on you.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” he replied, sounding amused. “And thanks for the new name, by the way.”

“So, speaking of the interview,” she said pointedly. “Let’s talk about your abilities. I know you run fast. You can even run up the side of buildings – thanks again for that, by the way. What else can you do?”

“I’m still figuring that out for myself,” he admitted.

She nodded. “All right. So how fast can you go?” As she talked, she walked over to her patio table and took a seat so she could jot down some notes in the small notebook she’d brought outside with her.

Flash followed. “I’m not sure I’ve found my top speed, to be honest.”

Iris threw him a disgruntled look. “You’re pretty light on the detail. You know that?”

Though his features were blurred, she could make out the traces of a smile. “I don’t mean to be. I promise.”

Sitting back in her seat, she tapped her pen against the table and regarded him thoughtfully. “All right. Let’s talk about something you can tell me. What’s it like to run that fast? I know you ran with me the other night but...I was a little preoccupied at the time.”

He held out a hand to her. “In that case, let me show you.” When she hesitated, he asked, “Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s not that,” she admitted. “It’s just…are you sure it’s safe? For me to move that fast, that is. I mean, I don’t have your abilities, and –”

“I would never let anything bad happen to you, Iris.”

His words were spoken with such quiet conviction, she couldn’t doubt his sincerity. Without a second thought, she placed her hand in his. “I trust you, Flash.”

Without another word, he swept her into his arms, carrying her down the side of the building and through the city streets. They were moving at such incredible speeds that Iris found herself holding her breath, at first. Taking it all in. Then she relaxed against him and allowed herself to enjoy the ride.

“It’s amazing,” she breathed – then wondered how she could even do so, with the air rushing by so fast. Or how she could hear his words when he replied.

“There’s nothing like it,” he admitted. “Running so fast the rest of the world stand still.” His smile was soft when he met her eyes. “That’s how I felt the first time I saw you.”

Iris felt her heart skip a beat. “Flatterer,” she breathed, resting her head on his shoulder.

Barry’s heart was still racing when he returned Iris to her balcony, putting her carefully back on her feet. “You okay?”

“That was…that was incredible,” she breathed. “I can see why there have been so many sighting of a red streak around the city since you got your powers. If I could run like that, I’m not sure I could convince myself to ever stop.”

“Sometimes it’s hard,” he admitted. “Sometimes I feel like there’s something greater than myself drawing me in. The source of my speed, maybe. I have to remind myself not to give in because I think sometimes that I might lose myself to it.” He grimaced and looked down. “That probably sounded ridiculous.”

Iris shook her head. “Not at all. I mean, I can’t pretend I entirely understand what you mean. But it doesn’t sound ridiculous.”

Her hands were still braced upon his chest, her mouth close enough to kiss if he just leaned forward slightly. She cleared her throat and asked softly, “But there’s something I need to ask you. And I…I really need you to be honest with me. Okay?”

“Of course, Iris,” he promised. He wanted to tell her everything, though of course he knew he couldn’t. She might like running with the Flash, but he had no illusions that she’d be so happy to be held by Barry Allen.

He watched her suck in a deep breath, and then she asked, “Are there others like you? Speedsters, I mean?”

He wasn’t so much surprised by the question – with the number of metahumans that had been seen around the city in the past year, it was only reasonable to ask – as he was thrown by the fervency in her tone. Barry frowned and shook his head. “No,” he admitted. “Not that I’ve ever found.”

Iris flicked her tongue across her lower lip, her gaze dropping to the lightening logo on his chest. “That’s what I thought you’d say,” she admitted. “So tell me. Who’s the man in the yellow suit? The one with the red lightning? He was first spotted in Central City years ago, long before the particle accelerator explosion.”

He frowned, confused by the question. “The who?”

#sparks fly #fanfiction #my fanfiction #barry allen #iris west #enemies to lovers au

[formeitsalways-haylor1989]

Crooked Love, In A Straight Line Down

Ok so I haven't written a Haylor fic in forever and I don't know why or where this came from but it's here. I did this to myself by listening to 1989 and Made in the AM all in one fricken day and the idea was created. Also came from me watching old 1989 interviews and Taylor saying it's about not being on the same page etc.

Anyway, also inspired by Happier by Ed Sheeran and Someday by Michael Buble and Meghan Trainor which was written by Harry.

Please be nice as I haven't written these 2 in a hot minute. Also tumblr is a little bitch and got rid of line breaks so, I’m real sorry.

Cheers.

A03 Link

They’re never on the same page. She said it herself, hell she even sang it. “We’re a crooked love, in a straight line down.”

It always felt like Taylor was a few chapters in front of him or onto the next book whilst he was stuck at the prologue.

Harry realizes it was one of the reasons they didn’t work out the first time. Yes, upon reflection his childlike behavior among other things attributed to their doomed relationship however that wasn’t entirely it. Taylor was a planner. She thought ahead about everything. Whether it be a music video, album, song or her life. She had thought of everything. Taylor’s constant planning for the future or wanting to know what was in store drove him crazy. “Where do you see this relationship going?” or “Do you see yourself with me when you’re old, sitting on a porch swing?” were questions that at the young age of 19 scared him. Harry wanted to live in the moment, not meticulously plan every moment of his life.

*Insert line break*

‘Cause baby you look happier, you do

My friends told me one day I’ll feel it too

And until then I’ll smile to hide the truth

But I know I was happier with you.

Harry sees photos of Taylor and Joe at the Bafta awards.

She’s glowing with happiness in powder blue. Unafraid to flaunt her love to the public. He sighs quietly, not wanting to disturb the body next to him.

She looks happy, happier then she was with the DJ. He still has a vivid memory of the night at the Billboard Music Awards. The sly looks from Calvin towards him, the flaunting and touching.

Harry looks over at the body next to him. He’s happy. So he tells himself.

*Insert line break*

Despite the break up so long ago, their friends. More like acquaintances. A “Happy Birthday” message here, a “How’s it going?” or “Was good to see you” after bumping into each other at an event or party.

Whenever Taylor’s relationships ended seemed to always be one of the first to know. She would text but usually call. Needing reassurance that nothing was wrong with her and asking him why she always drove the people she loved away. He’d comfort her no matter where he was. Whether it be London, New York or on tour in Australia. He would always answer her phone call.

*Insert line break*

Harry’s in a meaningful relationship for the first time since Taylor. They’re together for over a year, Harry thinks about buying a ring until she shatters his heart to pieces and leaves him for a model.

Taylor’s single for a while but finds herself a new man, however, she’s all ears when Harry calls in the middle of the night needing a friendly voice.

*Insert line break*

Someday maybe when we’re old and grey

We could be in love once more

Tell them I won’t give my love away

Darling, not forever only yours.

The pattern continues on for a few years.

Taylor’s single when Harry’s just found someone or he’s single when she’s just gone public with her new boyfriend.

Harry feels like it’s a cruel joke the universe likes to play. People stopped asking him about Taylor a long time ago. He was thankful for it. It took him years to shed the lingering shadow that he was Taylor Swift’s ex, but he knew that he bought it on himself. Years after the relationship writing and releasing songs about what they once were. Only a few people knew about his constant, lingering feelings for her. Ed once told him that he got a certain look in his eye whenever he saw Taylor. It was the same look Ed gave Cherry.

It takes a few years. Harry’s just turned 28 when they’re finally both single. Taylor’s at his birthday party talking to Ed and Niall when Harry finally gets away from others to join in their conversation.

It’s near the end of the evening when most people have gone home, the few who are either drunk or really close to Harry are still around. He finds himself sitting on a couch with Taylor by his side. Her feet are resting on top of his legs, the shoes she took off hours ago after dancing with Cherry sitting in a pile with her handbag and jacket on Harry’s countertop.

They’re joking around, talking about life, upcoming music, and Taylor’s cats when it dawns on both of them that they’re both single. Taylor’s the one that speaks it into existence. Harry smiles and shrugs. Not knowing how to respond. He wants to say “Let’s give it another shot” but he doesn’t want to lose the recently regained friendship between the two of them.

Taylor gives him a kiss on the cheek and a hug before she leaves. Harry thinks it’s his imagination, but he could’ve sworn he heard her humming the chorus to Someday on her way out.

*Insert line break*

They’re at Taylor’s New York apartment celebrating her 35thbirthday surrounded by family and friends when Harry’s found the nerve to ask her.

“You gonna do it now?” Ed asks him, slapping him on the shoulder.

Harry shakes his head, staring at the birthday girl, “Later. When there’s less people."

Taylor’s talking to Abigail, holding her 2-year-old goddaughter while the redhead gets a chance to eat something with her hands finally free.

Eventually, the cake is cut, and some people leave. The mass amount of people has died down but there’s still enough people in the apartment to classify it as a party.

The older kids are still up and playing while the little ones are asleep in their parent’s arms or on couches. Harry looks at a passed-out Cherry and an awake Ed with a sleeping 1-year-old in his arms.

He finds the birthday girl and leads her out onto the balcony. The lights of New York City are shining bright, thankful that it’s not too cold. He looks at his watch, 11:54 pm. There are 6 minutes of her birthday left.

Harry’s usually the calm and collective one. The last time he was this nervous, he asked her “Do you want to give it another shot?”

Taylor rests her head on his shoulder while admiring the view of the busy New York streets. She can tell something is on his mind. They may not always be on the same page, but Harry is an open book to her.

He sucks in a breath, he only has 4 minutes left.

“I can tell when something is on your mind Styles, so spill it.”

Harry chuckles, “It’s nothing.” He feels himself backing out like the chicken that he is. Maybe he misread the situation. Maybe they’re not ready for this.

He tries to change the subject. “Have I wished you a Happy Birthday yet?

Taylor looks up at him and wraps her arms around his neck, Harry’s arm tightening around her waist, “Many times Styles. I seem to recall you waking me up with 35 birthday kisses this morning.” She has a smile on her face and leans in to give him a chaste kiss.

“Oh, that’s right I did.” Harry grins cheekily and goes to deepen the kiss but she pulls back. “No changing the subject mister. What’s the matter? There’s been something on your mind all day. Talk to me.”

Harry sighs again and looks down at the ground. Taylor’s always patient with him, she knows he’ll talk when he’s ready.

His green eyes meet blue and smiles. “I originally had a big speech prepared,” he removes her hands from around her neck and holds them tightly in his.

“It went along the lines of how much I love and care for you and how you make me a better person but I now, here, in the moment I feel like it’s too forced and,” he drops the last word.

“Planned?” Taylor asks with a smile.

“Yes,” he chuckles, “Planned.”

Harry drops her hands and takes two steps back. Popping a hand into the inside pocket of his jacket to fish out the velvet box. He has 2 minutes left. It was now or never.

“Taylor,” he says, sucking in a breath while dropping down onto one knee.

She gasps at the movement, knowing what will come next. She had imagined this moment many times in her head. Sadly, with many different people. Never in her wildest dreams, she would’ve thought the person would be Harry Styles. Until about two years ago.

“I love you with all my heart. I was a 19 when you asked me if I saw myself with you sitting on a porch when I’m older. I never answered you back then because I wanted to live in the moment and not think about the future. But now, all I think about is the future. My future, with you.” Harry opens the box to reveal a cushion cut emerald ring surrounded by tiny diamonds.

"Taylor Alison Swift, would you do me the honor of growing old and grey with by becoming my wife?”

There are tears in her eyes, the noise of New York traffic becoming deafening in the silence between the two.

She nods before being able to extract herself from the spot she stood in. Throwing her arms around Harry before repeating the word “yes” in between kisses.

Harry laughs, a small tear running down his cheek out of happiness before placing the ring on her finger. Taylor kisses him whole-heartedly while Harry lifts her off the ground in celebration.

They celebrate with those left inside the apartment by cracking open a bottle of champagne.

*Insert line break*

It’s Christmas day when Taylor decides she wants to share her news with the world.

She asks Harry if he’s ok with it as it’s not only her decision to make but also his. They’ve managed to keep their whole relationship under wraps. No one except family and friends knowing they had gotten back together.

No fans, no media. Of course, there was always speculation. The only times they were seen in public were at events and friend’s birthday parties, but they never arrived or left together. They even made sure they were never alone but always with a mutual friend close by.

Taylor posts a picture of her hand grasping the handle of a coffee cup with the ring in full view. Captioning it “We never go out of style.”

Harry brakes his Instagram silence by posting a photo of their hands intertwined with the ring poking out with the words “I live for you, I long for you Olivia”

They both knew his caption would send the fandom into a frenzy, finally confirming the song was about her.

Harry laughed before shutting both their phones off so they could enjoy the rest of Christmas day together without any interruptions.

#harry styles #Taylor swift #Taylor swift fanfiction #Harry Styles fanfiction #OTP #Haylor #haylor fic #haylor fanfiction #my writing

[lokisgame]

Enchanted Forest [4]

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

Crowded flights were tiresome. Scully wanted to read the report again, but couldn't risk exposing the child sitting next to her to autopsy and crime scene photos. Instead she watched the boy play with his toys, racing them around the folding table and banging them together time and time again, not at all bothered by his mother's warnings and threats. She tuned them both out after a few cycles. She had the aisle seat, same as Mulder, and could see him sitting four rows up, legs stretched out, ankles crossed, one foot twitching, probably in time with music from his earbuds. She was right, to move past the awkwardness, they both got humiliated enough. If they were sitting together right now, relief would roll off him like warm sunshine, talking about Sasquatch sightings as if he was an autograph hunter trying to catch his favorite star. He was still Mulder, still her friend and even his questionable pass-times couldn't push her away. All she wanted to know, was why.   "Oh Mulder," she thought to herself, "you keep unfolding like a flower." She recalled the cautious tenderness, his hands framing her face, reaching for the most human parts of her. She pushed back when he did it the first time, when her father died, and when she wanted to work again after her abduction, but what if she didn't? She didn't have to prove anything to Mulder anymore. What would it be like, to have those hands for herself? She had dreams about him, always attributing it to the amount of time they spend together, but what if her body was trying to tell her something, what if she let herself walk down that path one more time. After all, Mulder was closer to her than Jack ever was. Mulder stirred as if hearing her thoughts, shifting in his narrow seat and taking a moment to look around the cabin. Their eyes met and he winked at her, smiling warmly. Two more hours till landing.

"Is that snow?" She said, stepping out of the car and reaching out one hand, tiny white star landing on black leather glove. "It's January in Wisconsin." Mulder shrugged and headed for the Sheriff's station.

The Sheriff strongly advised against heading into forest after dark. They expected the weather to change dramatically and with the attacks they couldn't guarantee anyone's safety. Mulder wanted to go, but she convinced him to stay and go through the documentation instead, while she headed to the coroners office to take a look at the body. "I'll pick you up on my way back," she said, taking the car keys he offered. "I'll see if they had similar cases before, the legends had to come from somewhere." "Okay, I should be done by 6 or 7 pm." "There's a diner on the way to the motel, we can eat there before we check in." "Sounds like a plan," she said, putting her coat on and taking the map, the Sheriff drew for her.

In the end, they reached the motel around 11. "Yes, I have your reservation," the kid said looking through his calendar, "we had two rooms booked for you, but some guests complained about the cold this morning. We checked all the rooms, and it turned out, that thermostats in half of them broke down and we can't get them fixed before Thursday." "Is there any other motel in town?" Mulder asked, trying to contain his frustration. Perfect, first the thing this weekend, now this. Has someone cursed them? He wasn't exactly superstitious, but if things came in threes, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what's coming. "Yes, but the people who left went there, and they have no room left there either." "Is it singles or double?" Scully asked suddenly, perfectly calm. "Two singles, ma'am," he said quickly, "I'm very sorry about this, this is my parents' place, but they are out of town and left me in charge for the first time and..." "We'll take it," she said in a tone that said she's too tired to listen to excuses. "Thank you," he sighed and turned the guest book so they could sign in.

Two inches of fresh snow crunched happily on their way to the door. The town felt as if someone came in and turned the volume down. What started as a few single stars now turned into heavy petals, falling slowly but steadily to the ground. "I don't like this snow," Scully said, looking around as Mulder struggled with the lock a few seconds too long. "It isn't that bad," he said, jiggling the key a little, trying to make it turn. "What's wrong with this thing?" "Let me." Pushing his hands aside and stepping in front of him, she did the same thing as he had, only for her, the lock gave on second try. "Ta-daa," she smiled over one shoulder, and realized, that her back was pressed against his front. "Let's get out of this cold," she said, pushing the doors open. "What cold?" Mulder muttered, but she was already gone.

The kid didn't lie, the room was toasty warm, two beds, a tv, typical setup, one they saw many times. She took the shower first, leaving enough hot water for him, if he didn't take long. The tv was turned on, low voices caught her attention and stoping for a moment, she recognized Doris Day and Thelma Ritter, arguing in the kitchen. It was Pillow Talk. "What am I missing?" Doris asked, playing a successful decorator with a boring taste in men. "When you have to ask, believe me, you're missin' it." Thelma replied, chuckling. Scully rolled her eyes then turned the tv off.  

They lay in silence, in the not-quite-darkness. Snow reflecting even the tiniest light blurred edges and lines, making words come easier, than they would in bright sunshine. Scully spoke softly, half hoping he would ignore her, pretending to be asleep. "Mulder?" Silence, the watch ticking on her night stand counted 6 seconds, 7, then a grunt came from her right. Biting the bullet, she asked. "Why do you do it?" "Do what?" "You know, the escort service." "Scully," he sighed, the sheets rustled, bed creaked.   "I'm trying to wrap my head around it." "And?" "Nothing," she said placatingly, sensing a wall just underneath his tone, "I'm just curious." He sighed once more, heavier, a decision being made. "This will sound crude, but I like it." "You like having casual sex with strangers and being paid for it? You're such a guy." "You're judging." "Explain it to me then." She couldn't stop her voice from rising, maybe it was the catholic upbringing. "It's my life and I don't need your approval." He barked defiantly, and she heard him turning his back on her, shutting her out. It stung, more than a little. Silence stretched, one could almost hear the snowflakes landing on the windowpane. "I'm sorry," she sighed, before he slipped away completely. "Mulder?" "It's okay," he said into the darkness, "let's forget about it." But there was no going back for her. She got up, crossed the four feet of carpet and sat on the edge of his bed. Mulder didn't flinch when the mattress dipped under her weight. "I can't," she said softly, resting one hand on his arm. "I'm your friend, we may not always agree, but we never kept secrets from each other, or so I thought, until..." "Scully, I'm a male escort, it's not something you bring up in casual conversation." He didn't look at her, but there was no sting in his tone this time. He held a black belt in self-deprecation. "How was your weekend? My cock is still sore." "Is it?" She smirked, jostling him slightly, teasing. "You're my doctor," he said, humor slowly returning. He looked at her over one shoulder, "you know I'm clean." "I know." She dared to ask again. "So, you like it." "You're looking at it in wrong terms," he sighed, finally rolling onto his back, but still avoiding her gaze, "from girls completely dependent on their pimp on one end, to exclusive call girls, on the other. You hear escort service and see hands up very short skirts." He spoke slowly, carefully choosing each word. "What I do, is quite different." "How?" "I offer comfort. Women who seek out such services are very much like you, really." She managed to reduce the skeptical remark to a tiny snort. "Strong, independent, busy women, often in position of power, who might see the dating game as too tiring, too unpredictable, too much effort for potentially poor results." "That's cold." "Maybe, a little, but this is where services like ours come in. These women know what they want, and aren't afraid to ask for it, and what they get in return is discretion without any strings attached. No nagging phone calls, no awkward encounters after, no lousy sex causing dangerous gossip." "Why not just buy a vibrator, or take a hot bath, use your hands." Her openness made him smile. "Sure, but for some, it's not enough. It's role-play, whether it's about escaping into a kinky fantasy or simply sharing some affection." "But it's a lie," she insisted, unconvinced. "Is it?" Scully could feel him shift, tugging at sheets as he sat up. A faint glow reflecting from the snow was the only light, but she could see his face, open and calm. "C'mere." He said, scooting closer, sheets bunching up between them. "What are you doing?" "Proving a point." He touched her arms lightly, drawing her in, "I won't try anything, I promise." Some reflex made her reach for him, and next thing she knew, Mulder's arms were around her. Solid but gentle, her cheek on his shoulder, warm skin just beneath cotton t-shirt, large palm slowly stroked her back as he held her in a simple hug. She could smell him, clean and masculine and familiar. "Don't think about it," he said, and she leaned on him, letting him take her weight. "Nothing can replace another human's touch," he whispered, setting a steady rhythm with his hand, "no sex toy, no bath salts. Even if I don't stay around to be there, when they wake up, I care, and they care back. That's what I like," he leaned into her a little, gathering her closer, acceptance and simple want. "This feels nice, doesn't it?" He said, holding on, his fears for their future melting with each second she didn’t pull away. Scully could feel her own tension ease with each stroke of his hand, contact pushing out nagging thoughts, and not just about this one thing, all her troubles fades into background. It really felt like a warm bath after a long day. "May I?" he whispered. Gentle swell and fall of his breath felt almost hypnotizing and she nodded without thinking. One arm vanished, but only for long enough to push away the covers before he leaned back, pulling her down with him. "Try to sleep," he said settling in, falling into pits and lands of the mattress, as if it was made for him, just as his side and shoulder were made for her. The hand around her picked up where it finished and a sense of calm washed slowly over her, a sweet drug making her limbs and eyelids heavy.

She woke up sometime in the night, orange glow outside seemed daytime bright, but it was 3 am and she could see Mulder’s hand, dangling limply over the edge of the bed from the arm that pillowed her head, the other one rested draped loosely around her. He was a warm, solid presence and he didn’t even need to hold her, for it to feel like she belonged there. Closing her eyes, she let sleep take her back, leaning against his chest and feeling him shift with her.

#enchanted forest #x files fanfic #MSR fanfic

[cowardcouch]

Chapter 2

The luminance in the room, filtering through the window made Seo Hyun stir in her sleep. She wanted to sleep more. Last night she had trouble sleeping, well why wouldn’t she? She was exhausted from chasing away all the bad memories. Whenever she closed her eyes, it was a trip down to the memory lane. She knows that she wasn’t wrong; she knows that she made the righteous decision. She couldn’t bear spending another second with that man. She hates him but she herself more than him because she just can’t stop overthinking and she was doing it again. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at the ceiling till reality hit her.

Slowly, Seo Hyun sat up and tied her hair in a ponytail. Folding the duvet, she went to the bathroom to splash water on her face. The cold water sent chills down her spine. She sighed when she watched her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red and swollen and eye bags were visible. Her rosy lips seemed to have lost their color. Her impassive face reminded her of the fact that she had forgotten herself in midst of forgetting him. The worst thing was that she was well aware of the fact that she had stopped caring for herself.

Seo Hyun finally decided to go out after dressing up properly. She wasn’t surprised to see that it was just thirty minutes past seven. She had actually slept better the night before and it was all thanks to her brother. She didn’t want to be lazy and take advantage of her brother’s request to stay with him. She didn’t want to trouble him and be a liability. She wanted to make a fresh start and she was an able, independent woman to do so. She made a mental note to talk about this with Chanyeol.

As she stepped in the living room, two pairs of eyes landed on her. The two males suddenly went silent on seeing the female in the room. Chanyeol smiled at her and kept the spoon he was holding aside and went to hug his sister, while the other male just smiled a little. “You should have slept more? Why did you wake up so early?” He frowned and folded his arms. “I got enough sleep, Chan. I actually feel better than yesterday.” She tried to smile at the tall male. “Before I forget, this is my roommate, Byun Baekhyun. I told you about him on the phone.” Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun who got up from his seat. “Hello. Nice to have you here.” The brown-haired man had eyes which had shone brighter than the sun and his smile felt….warm.

Seo Hyun had heard about Baekhyun a lot. Chanyeol always used to blabber about his new roommate every time he opened his mouth. She teased Chanyeol about Baekhyun being his new girlfriend. She had been eager to meet the guy who made her brother a fan after only a meeting. He looked friendly and sweet.  She just half-smiled at him and then looked at her brother. “Are you both leaving for university? “She inquired as she saw them clad in suits. “Yup.”Both of them answered at the same time and she understood why they were good friends.

 Before both of them left, Chanyeol had already made breakfast for her and told her to rest in the afternoon. After both of them took leave for their school she took a good look of the surroundings. Everything was out of place as it had been yesterday and the last time she visited her brother. There were times she questioned herself but the attribute she absolutely loved about herself was being meticulous, be it at work or at home. She didn’t like the mess in the apartment. She had nothing to do and this was the least she could do so she decided to clean the apartment. It would help her as a distraction and will help her brother too.

She started with Chanyeol’s room. All his shirts were piled up in the corner of the room. His study table was a mess. All the stationary was spilled on the table and all the answer sheets were stacked untidily. Seo Hyun decided to wash all his dirty laundry and kept all his stationary in place. She changed the bed sheet and wiped the dust from every nook and cranny of the room. She then headed to the living room. She had never liked how her brother had arranged the furniture in the living room. She always felt the couch was out of place and its direction should be changed.

Seo Hyun moved the couch towards the left and got rid of the contents on the table. She picked up the wrappers of ramen and threw them in the dustbin. She made the cushions on the couch and dusted the windows and the furniture. She stopped for a second to stare at the picture of her family which hung on the wall. She was so lucky to have her family by her side. Her soul was so close to them and the love that they gave her was just ineffable. They were, are and will always be by her side.

She opened all the cupboards of the kitchen, getting rid of all the expiry products and cleaning them. She discovered hundreds of packets of ramen and felt angry and sad at the same time. She made a mental note to herself to scold her little brother afterward. She then went to Baekhyun’s room to clean the floor with her vacuum cleaner. She didn’t want to invade his personal bubble so she decided to let the contents of his room be untouched. Her eyes fell on the photo frame on his table. It must be his family, she thought. She smiled looking at the picture and kept it on his study table.

Her gaze shifted towards the bookshelf on her left. Her eyes widened on seeing all her favorite novels on the shelf. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Maze Runner and what not was there. She could actually feel felicity overpowering her as she felt the books. Books had always been her best friend since she was nine. She remembered spending hours in libraries until she was forcefully sent home by the librarian. She felt like a teenage girl feeling a rush of excitement looking at her crush. She couldn’t remember the last time she read a book and decided to read one of these after going for grocery shopping. She just hoped Baekhyun won’t mind it.

 Seo Hyun wore a satisfied smile on her face as she looked at the clean apartment. The smile on her face was natural and not forced. She had actually forgotten about her situation. “It looks so much better this way.” She mumbled to herself and decided to rest since every part of her body ached. It has been a while since she worked so hard. She hasn’t been to work for two weeks and she wanted to go because she loved her job. But she doesn’t know how she’ll face her coworkers. It wasn’t like she was guilty of any crime; it was because she didn’t want pity. She checked her phone to see messages and missed calls from her best friend, Sehun.

He had been so concerned for her that even though Seo Hyun shut herself up from everyone, he still didn’t give up. She had always seen Sehun as her brother. Sehun had a solution to every problem in her life; he just knows how to make her feel better. They had been friends for as long back as she could remember. Although their personalities were poles apart, they gelled up so well. She missed him. She decided to call him. She was afraid that he won’t pick up his phone and be angry at her.

“Seo Hyun. Thank God you called. Where have you been? How are you? Do you know how worried I was for you? ”Seo Hyun was so relieved to listen to his voice after days. “I’m sorry I didn’t pick up your call. I just wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. I am at Chanyeol’s. I am okay.” She didn’t know if he bought her last sentence or not but hearing him sigh, she knew that he didn’t buy it. “Have you decided to come back to work?” He asked. She bit down her lip wondering if she was ready or not. As much she hated to admit it she had to return to work someday but she knew that it wasn’t today. Hearing no response from the other side, Sehun broke the silence. “It’s alright Seo Hyun. Take your time; I know it isn’t easy for you. I’ll talk to the boss.”She smiled realizing how lucky she was to have him.

“Call me whenever you need me, okay?”

“Hmm.”

After talking with Sehun, she decided to watch television for some time. Her favorite show was Cake Boss. She had no idea how they made such beautiful cakes. It also inspired her to work hard as a chef though their work was different than hers. Though her mind was somewhere else, she decided to still watch the show and not to think about anything else. She didn’t realize that it was already two in the afternoon. She decided to rest a bit.

If it wasn’t for Chanyeol’s call, she would have kept on sleeping. The said man had called to check on his sister once and he was glad that she actually listened to him and slept. It was four in the evening when she woke up. Seo Hyun felt so lonely and scared in the apartment so she decided to head out and do some grocery shopping. She had been in this neighborhood many times. She had always been good with directions and roads. Owing to her sense of direction she reached the grocery store.

A smile made an appearance on her face as she explored the mart. She stuffed the cart with all the healthy stuff she could find in the mart. She was ready to make sure that she’ll feed her brother with all the healthy food. The streak of cooking delicious food had always been there in their family. Chanyeol was a good cook but the idiot was too lazy to make some healthy for himself. Seo Hyun was busy picking up vegetables when someone called her name. She recognized that voice and hatred immediately was visible on her face. She clutched her fists and turned around to meet the man, who she hated the most in this world.

[camigani]

Update: My Trip to China

Hi, all, it’s been an insane couple of months! Where have I been and why haven’t I been updating? Well, I’ve finally moved in a completely new place all by myself with a new job and lots of pleasant isolation in a tiny town by the sea. Right before that, my family took me overseas to China for a final family trip. I only got food poisoning twice. Oh, and I caught a cold. -v-

LONG POST UNDER THE CUT!!

Things I noticed that generally happen in China:

1) There are a lot of couples! Compared to Japan and Taiwan, I noticed the people here are more open about traveling and showing affection (and discourse) publicly. Where are the lonesome ones? Well, my brother deduced that because Chinese has so many people, the single people stay at home. TvT

2) Women like to cling onto arms or hold hands with their friends or lovers. My Shanghainese housemate was like this, too. I guess it’s a cultural thing. 

3) Men tend to smoke, not women. You find women smoking sometimes, but it’s usually associated with being dirty and shameless. The men tend to cough and spit a lot. Everyone openly coughs and sneezes. There are no common words for “Excuse me” and “Bless you/Salud/Gesundheit/etc” in the Chinese language. It feels rude, but that’s how they are. 

4) The subways are hi-tech. The navigation is better than Japan and Taiwan. The maps are friendly and easy to read for Chinese and English-literate people. Similar to an airport, however, you have to pass your bags and luggages through a scanning system and have your liquid containers examined before security allows you to board trains. The rides are cleaner. 

5) In modern areas, everyone is very well-dressed. They have a fashion style evolved to incorporating modern and slightly retro looks. Unlike Taiwan and Japan, you don’t see people wearing traditional clothing unless it’s for shows or homely occasions. 

6) There are cameras everywhere. It’s like London crosses the Patriot Act. Cameras on the highways, cameras on the streets, cameras in the subways. They use facial recognition and license plate recognition. A price of freedom to pay, but because of this system, we were able to track down one of our luggages that we left in a taxi cab. (Haha.) Security checked where my parents got off onto the subway, found the license plate of the taxi cab, and phoned the taxi driver to tell him to meet my parents at XX station to drop off their luggage. 

7) They, uh, don’t like Japanese things in China. There are very few Japanese cars, buildings, and brands, going as far as vandalizing Japanese chain stores and boycotting products despite being safer and better. You can say it’s attributed to history and culture. Chinese people view self-humiliation in a different light. They can be quite envious.

8) Infrastructure is king. Not being political; from an objective outlook, the US spends a hefty amount of tax money on military. China invests in infrastructure. There are a lot of building projects going into apartments, museums, preserving historical sites, and parks and recreation. It’s at the point where national parks are completely paved and tiled. (Kinda defeats the purpose of national parks, but at least you don’t have to worry about muddy shoes.)

9) Local vendors that don’t belong to companies or corporations may sometimes be unsanitary, but the food quality is generally cheaper and tastier. Otherwise, if it wasn’t tasty, how would they sell?

10) Hype isn’t always a good thing. Just about every restaurant we’ve gone to where it was packed with people was just okay. Quiet hole-in-the-walls have a personable charm, quicker service, and equally if not better food. Real talk, the original ma po tofu shop serves tofu that is extremely spicy and bitter. Not worth it.

11) Public facilities like museums and libraries are taken quite seriously. The government believes when things are free, people are more civilized. Go figure, yet in my experiences, people were. Not sure about the museums since there’s a lot of Chinese history and culture to go through, anyway, but the public libraries are utilized to the fullest. You need identification to get inside, and every then, you’re only allowed to bring certain material into the library after going through a baggage and metal scan. There are lockers for your things. It was school time next to a university when I visited, so every seat was occupied with a busy Chinese scholar with a stack of books reviewing notes and practicing words or formulas. It was pretty surreal. I didn’t take pictures, but I’ll let you know there were very few fictional books where I visited.

12) Chinese people don’t listen to signs or tourist warning information. Seriously, as someone who’s part Chinese, myself, the tourists can be extremely disrespectful, and it’s super embarrassing. It’s usually the older generation because...well, if you know your history, you might know why they’re like this. But if it says no cellphones and pictures, you’ll find cellphones and pictures. Lower your sound? Someone’s yelling on their phone about the most trivial thing like what they ate for dinner. Stay on the path? Let me just hop this fence and proceed to head towards this dangerous slippery waterfall to take a mediocre selfie. Yeah, it wasn’t a great time. Someone like Germany would blow their brains out. 

13) BRING YOUR OWN TOILET PAPER

I cannot stress enough how precious soft butt paper is. The kind they sell in China are sandpaper scrolls on your tender cheeks. Bring your own tp from home if you are to survive the plight of the outdoor public restroom. And soap or sanitizer. There is normally running water in bathrooms, but no soap! What’s the point if the bacteria is going to spread through the water?! Be prepared for squatting, turds, smells, and wet rims. Unless you stake out in your western hotel all day, you WILL find a squat toilet, and there is a high chance it WILL smell or be mysteriously slippery.

Anyway, here are some pictures I lazily took. The descriptions are all on the top of the photos.

We went to Shanghai first. The people are meh at best. But the architecture is interesting because of the heavy western influences. (Missing obligatory picture of The Bund because I exported it somewhere else.)

Beef noodle soup! My favorite! I like it with a little spiciness. They made the noddles with a knee paddle. Only $2 USD!

I’m not sure how to explain it correctly, nor do I know what the exact name of the method used to make the noodles is. I tried to explain it in the crude drawing I made below. 

.

..

...

This is KFC.

The majority of the trip was spent in Chengdu in Sichuan Province. It’s hot and humid in the summer, but it was just right when we went. 

There are a lot of open markets. Look at all the meat and produce! They even had morel mushrooms. Too bad we didn’t have a stove or butter in our hotel. 

We visited Kuanzhai Street, a historical alley consisting of wide and narrow paths with historical buildings. Its initial intent is to let tourists experience some of the old culture of China, but nowadays, there are a bunch of vendors who try to capitalize on how many people go there. It gets very crowded.  

A most mysterious wall of memes.

Not bad.

Sugar-blown rooster! It tastes like those rainbow lollipops you sometimes see at fairs or candy shops. You get to blow up the sugar, yourself. An interactive show. :)

Burnt sugar rooster! It tastes like the top of a creme brûlée. 

Went on a tour to a panda rehabilitation center. Chengdu is a popular spot for earthquakes, and the one in 2017 left pandas injured and traumatized. This place helps them recuperate  until they’re well enough to go back to the public zoos. Outside to greet us was a 5-some of panda statues. The one that stood out was the one on the far right with one leg. I thought he was just leaning his leg behind him, but it turns out, his leg is missing! Affirmative action?

(Missing black and white panda because my good captures were all videos.) The red panda tails are so fluffy and gravity-defying. The tails are like a foot long and stay straight in the air.

A Tibetan-like feast! You eat with your hands, and they give you gloves. Everything was fresh and tasty. They served us yak milk. It tastes like if you mix 1 part milk, 2 parts water, so it’s not bad if you don’t mind the watery taste. Over here, your wealth is measured by the number of white yaks you own. 

I’m missing pictures, but there was a good number of performances with singing, dancing, and conga lines at our table. My dad got really into it. Because some Chinese cultures are normally reserved, they weren’t used to his disco dancing. Later, they called him Uncle Buddha. And they said he looked high. 

Jiuzhaigou. It was closed since the 2008 earthquake due to high levels of mountain and road collapses. It opened recently, so the locals were surprised to hear that it was open again. You can even take pictures wearing local minority Chinese garb. I think it was around $3 USD, but we needed to haul butt. 

WATCH THE PICKLE!! We stayed at a decent hotel, but a popular breakfast dish in China is porridge with various kinds of pickled vegetables. I figured I needed vegetables to help me “go” easier during our travels, so I ate a little of everything. So did my dad. My brother and surprisingly my mom, who eats more veggies than anyone in our family, skipped out. Two hours of a bus ride later, I threw up on the street. My dad threw up minutes after I did. We’re pretty sure the old used for the spicy pickle was stale.

Eh, what can you do?

A clear limestone lake. Surprisingly not many people here. It was also very quiet and clean.

We went to Leshan to see the giant Buddha. It’s not too bad of a walk, maybe because it’s at sea level. (Two days prior, Jiuzhaigou was at 7000ft/2100m, so it was really hard to hike without getting tired.) This thing is HUGE. You might be able to see tiny people in the upper right-hand corner for scale. Only take pictures on the Buddha’s right side!

By the way, there are a lot of little statues and tiny Buddha carvings littered on the hike up there. Per Chinese superstition, you are not supposed to take pictures of them. Some either house evil spirits that you can take home with you or you might trap good spirits from spreading fortune.

Very pretty architecture behind the statue. You can drink tea here for about $5, however, it’s a tourist trap! Don’t waste your money and time. See how these pictures don’t have tourists in them? It’s because they were all caught up drinking tea and sitting on their butts. 

Aw, the picture rotated. Anyway, here’s a fly modern monk with Nike’s and a smartphone.

Kinda mad I can’t remember this place, but there were many elephant themes in this tourist town we visited. My brother (listed in the picture below with the ONLY pair of long pants and jacket he stupidly packed for the 12-day trip) found a mantou shop that sells these long buns for only 1 YUAN. That’s like $0.17 USD. As a bun advocate, he said they were tasty. 

DPRAUNNDKA (Someone was drunk, alright.)

Hot pot! Taiwan was better, and the Guangdong guys were too afraid to try to spicy broth. (Like Hong Kong, haha. Because Cantonese people don’t like spicy food, according to Himaruya.) It was okay, but we only had 30 minutes to eat before catching a show. I don’t have pictures, but the sets and performances were really cool!

Gelatins! Sketchy at best but tasty-looking!

A pleasant view of the hike up Umeishan. Right past this chasm are monkeys! If I panned my phone down, you would’ve seen trash. This is from the monkeys eating tourists’ food. You have to watch your pockets and bags because they’ll go through them for kicks, usually not even for food. And don’t wear red because it intimidates them. 

You can hire rickshaw(?) carriers to take you up the mountain. Great for elderly or lazy people. I think it’s about $32 per way.

Famous Emeishan statue thing. You are supposed to take pictures relevant to your zodiac sign, so there are twelve positions like a clock. It’s COLD up there. But the hike makes you warm! And there’s a cable cart that takes you up most of the way.  

Zoomed-in luna month friend. It was behind a temple door. The wings looked so soft. 

I forgot what this trail was called. The whole hike was about 7 km. Supposed to be 10, but it started to rain, so we skipped the end. Lots of tourists in places, but very nice scenery. Walk fast to avoid smokers. Why do they smoke while walking? :/

Beer Garden in Chengdu City. It’s a strip of bars and clubs where foreigners can sing American pop songs and drink beer. Lots of “trashy” women with rich drunk men. It’s an insane atmosphere with rich-looking people and every bar being full. Seriously. I’d show more pictures, but you really need a video to get an idea of the vibe. Here’s one of Goose Island, whatever that means. Next to it were two hedge sheep. Look at this shit, there’s a picture of the White House on the poster! Ahhh! XD

Chengdu Global Center Mall

Cheese and rice, I thought Tokyo’s AEON Laketown mall was huge. This place has a hotel and a water theme park built into it with a grocery store and food court in the basement. At this point, my family’s feet hurt from all the walking. -.-’

Boo. We came too late. All the boba was sold out. Hey, cat poop coffee on the top.

Just why?

Last full day in Chengdu. Here’s the outside of the museum. You have to wait in line to get screened before going in, however, it’s free.

An underground strip mall. Okay here me out, we tried very hard to look for bootleg Chinglish shirts, but we could NOT find any. The Chinese locals seemed to either snatch them up or we weren’t looking in the right places. 

lol and that’s it. We went back to Shanghai for a full day after that, but I caught major food poisoning from something I ate. It was bad. My bowels felt all twisty and uncomfortable. So I spent the entire day in the hotel while my family had a blast eating food and looking at architecture. My brother found a slew of funny Chinglish menus. I wish I had the pictures. If I find them, I’ll pass them along. 

Thanks for reading and I’ll try to update stuff when I get settled down in my new place. :3

#china #not hetalia

[drunkonnjealousy]

My Reputation Secret Session Experience

(an abbreviated version to keep confidentiality)

I got a DM from Taylor Nation before the London SS had happened, so I honestly had no idea what the “secret event” was. They called me and said the event was in Rhode Island, and I mean the only thing there is her house but I didn’t know what the event entailed. Knowing Taylor, I was like she’s gonna make it so fun and so detailed and so personal whatever it is.

I was not able to focus on anything for two weeks because I was just thinking about taylor and rhode island. I took a train from NYC to Rhode Island the night before. Wednesday October 18, 2017 was such a GORGEOUS day. The water was SO BLUE. THE SUN WAS SHINING. and there was a helicopter hovering in front of taylor’s house which annoyed me but yeah I’ll try to get over that. Fast forward to being at her house. First of all, her security detail is hilarious. They are so nice and funny and were cracking jokes the whole time. The very first person I talked to was none other than Scott Swift, the man the legend, wearing a striped sweater only a dad would buy and his pockets overflowing with 1989 guitar picks. I spent a good chunk of time chatting with him on the deck he’s amazing—we stan forever. Also I legit hung out and excitedly mingled in Taylor’s kitchen so long that I forgot it wasn’t normal to be in her kitchen. There was a huge spread of Chick-fil-a nuggets, pizza, chips, custom Rep cookies and M&Ms, Smart Water and Diet Coke. *side note i’m a vegetarian but if taylor would have offered me a nugget i would have forgotten my vow against meat* I was so comfortable and having so much fun that it just felt like I was at my friend’s house party, which I was. But then like every 30 minutes it would hit me that to the outside world, she was THE Taylor Swift, and I was in her kitchen… Fast forward to Andrea coming down to also hang out and mingle with us. She smelled amazing (so did the entire house). She came up to me and Sol and said hello with a huge smile on her face and then pulled us both into a tight hug at the same time and said “YOU BEAUTIFUL SOULS.” and honestly I just wanted to hug her ten more times and be like THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE MADAM PRESIDENT. Side note, the kitchen has adorable childhood pictures of Taylor and Austin and pictures of the family on the beach and its all v cute. Also I saw the mermaid, I MEAN THE MERMAID that taylor and selena posed by and i was like wow this iconic. ALSO as many of you know i’m not only a taylor stan, but a huge todrick stan, and i have been for years. so i died a little when i realized that i was leaning against the same kitchen counter that they were sitting on during thanksgiving and i was like wow its cool i’m fine we’re fine EVERYTHING IS FINE. Fast forward to Austin also coming downstairs to mingle. He’s adorable and I love him. I didn’t get to chat with him bc it was kind of crowded but he was smiling and laughing and looked genuinely happy to be there. Tree was also floating around the kitchen here and there and let me just say she’s GORGEOUS. (also she was the MVP later when I needed to pee) Okay fast forward some more and it’s time to move into the living room. There are cushions on the floor and I’m sitting with all of my friends, including several of us who are from NYC. There are people setting the room and Andrea, Scott and Austin just look so excited that we’re there and that made me so happy. After what felt like centuries of people opening doors, stomping upstairs and shutting the curtains, it was time for the queen to make her entrance. The door to my right flew open and that tall drink of water in black thigh high boots and blonde curls and a huge smile entered the room and collectively we all made noises that probably sounded non-human. She said “Hi, I’m Taylor” as she sat down in this throne of a chair and crossed her legs that are collectively longer than the great wall of china. She said “you’ve done your detective work right (my detectivey heart fell out of my detectivey ass) and you are at the Reputation Secret Sessions”

**and that’s where the cone of silence comes on and what happened for the next several hours at the secret sessions STAYS at the secret sessions.**

So after I DIED because she obviously played us every track of the album. It was time for picturesssss. As I walked in to see Taylor, I didn’t even make it to her yet before she strutted toward me and scooped me into a hug so tight that I said “hey i’m kelsea” into her hair ;askdjflskfj She pulled away and was like “yeah I know, and you spell it S-E-A right?” AND LEMME TELL YOU i’ve gone my entire 24 years of life with my name spelled wrong, even people I’ve known for years will spell it Kelsey. and I replied to Taylor, “UM YEAH” and she got so excited she fist pumped and then put her hand up for a high five and we literally had the most epic high five of my entire life I’m pretty sure they heard it in Australia. ok. At this point Sol walked in and I introduced her to Taylor too. She loved Sol so much. so so much. Then I asked Taylor if she found me on Tumblr or Twitter, and she immediately replied “Tumblr” with a nod. and then she goes “I KNOW you love TODRICK, and I LOVE that.”  and I’m pretty sure that was the moment my brain short-circuited.

and i was like “OKAY well TN contacted me via Twitter and I was real confused because my handle is  @ toddyownsmyass” and her face lit up, her mouth dropped open, she grabbed my hand and laughed and said “OH MY GOD HAHAHHA”. 

Next I told her about our annual NYC July 9th party. I was like listen taylor, the entire reason i met sol is because we’re tumblr friends and we have this party every year at sofia’s apt in the upper west side where we stay up until 1:58 AM listening to Last Kiss and then she was like “AWWWW” and I remember her face just looking at the two of us in pure amazement. OKAY now it was time for pictures and Taylor was like “we’re gonna take a group shot first and then we’ll do individuals ok?” and during our group photo she hugged both me and Sol so tightly. 

She looks at me and I put my hands together and I’m like “Okay, I want to recreate a photo you and todrick did on the couch” and she got so excited she was like “GREAT but I’m not doing the splits again” as she walks over to this gorgeous white couch. and i was like “nah girl i CANT do the splits, i wanna do that back to back one” and she was so invested it was adorable. It took us a few minutes of sitting back to back and discussing our knee placement, our hand placement, and both of us kept turning and looking over our shoulders to make sure we were matching and coordinating our bodies right. and then right before the picture taylor goes “what should we do with this hand? oh i know lets hold hands” and she grabbed my hand and held it so tightly. i’m pretty sure you can see in my facial expression how much that meant to me—i’m BEAMING. out of all forms of social interaction, hand holding is one of the most intimate,it’s not something we do with very many people if you really think about it. after the picture is taken, we are still sitting back to back on the couch, holding hands, and she turns to look at me and goes “that’s the cutest pose i’ve ever done” and i’m all “Awwww thanks!” thinking she’s just being a sweetheart. and then her expression is happy but a little more serious, and she goes “No, I’m being serious, like I’ve never done anything cuter.” and ladies that’s probably the moment I was like “HI I’M KELSEA AND I WELCOME DEATH WITH OPEN ARMS”. It was going to be time to leave because we had already taken our pictures but Taylor grabbed me and Sol again and squeezed us and gushed “you little FLOWER buttons” and at the time my brain was like ???? I thought maybe she was going to say we were flowers, and then halfway through changed her mind to buttons…well ANYWAYS she reblogged that photo of us later and clarified that she believes sol and i embody the aesthetic of tiny adorable little flower-shaped buttons and now i will no longer look at flowers nor buttons the same way and Sol and I text each other randomly “FLOWER BUTTONS” just to make each other cry it’s great. okay moving on… It was time to leave and right before i walked away, I yelled to her “TAYLOR, YOU’RE INVITED TO OUR JULY 9TH PARTY ANYTIME, UPPER WEST SIDE, NYC, SEE YOU THERE!” and i did some mix between dabbing and pointing that can only be attributed to all of the time i spent in college with frat boys. and with this big grin on her face she yelled back “THANKS! LOVE YOU GUYS!” and i stumbled out of the room to pick up the Reputation merch bag Taylor gave all of us (GET YOU A WOMAN). As her security guard let us into a van to be taken back to our car, I asked what time it was and it was so late Sofia and I had missed our train back to Manhattan. We didn’t care. We were stranded in Rhode Island but WHO CARES BC TAYLOR SWIFT LOVES US. Ali from TN was like, “you guys have friends at your hotel right? like you have somewhere to go?” so sweet i love ali– we stan her forever. Sofia and I went back to our hotel, which we had already checked out of mind you, and sat in the hallway, dazed and happy, from 2-4am. Sofia posted a photo of us on tumblr and taylor liked it and i was like wow taylor knows we’re stranded that’s hilarious i bet she’s laughing. We ended up calling a car service to pick us up in rhode island AND DRIVE US BACK TO NEW YORK CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. I got back to my apt on the upper east side at 5am and took a nap and then got up for work and tried to be an adult but it was a very sad attempt. This is a very abbreviated account of what happened that fateful day Taylor welcomed me into her home for 8+ hours. A lot of it has to stay secret and confidential until the album comes out on Nov 10. Even more of it will likely never leave the walls of that gorgeous house by the sea. I will cherish these memories always and I know I am forever changed as a person from the Reputation Secret Sessions.

Thank you @taylorswift for EVERYTHING. I’m so proud to call you a friend.

#reputation secret sessions #secret sessions #rhode island secret sessions #rhode island #long ass post

[sussex-nature-lover]

Tuesday 29th December 2020

My Bird List Again. Parts 3 & 4

♦ outside links are indicated by bold type - none are affiliated to this blog

Guest Photograph - Two Jays out of the window in South London. I’m assured there were four but as is the way, two took off. Photo Credit: Ms NW tE

♦ Faces in Things. Now I’ve circled the Jays I can see a cartoon character with unruly hair. First thought was a cheeky Ostrich’s head, but Crow thinks he can see a cute Badger. Now I can see both.

Brought Forward 24 species

Yesterday I listed the every day birds in our garden and those we can guarantee to see most days, definitely every week, plus the new spots for this year. Next up is 

GARDEN REGULARS:

These are the birds we see frequently but not necessarily every day or this time of year

Song Thrush

If you followed my Blog earlier in the year you’ll recall the calamitous tale of ‘Tracey’ who tried to nest in our porch, firstly on the top of - and with some gentle encouragement, later inside - the open fronted nest box. We called her Tracey after the artist best known for her ‘messy bed’ Sadly the nest came to nothing except a very watchable experience, but we have seen youngsters who if not from Tracy, someone else got it right this year.

Song Thrush are seen here most weeks but we can’t depend on it being so. What I could depend on through early Spring was that one had taken over from the Blackbird and was giving me wakeup calls from the very early hours. It’s annoying to be disturbed so early, but also kind of comforting to have your regulars out there making their presence known.

Wren

Strangely for such a cute little bird I don’t have anything much to say, certainly no personal stories. They’re around, but very low key. I know them best for their upturned tail and unfeasibly loud voice. Sorry no photo, must rectify that, this one’s from the WildlifeTrusts.org site

Stock Dove

Of all the birds I’ve ever seen the Stock Dove is the biggest revelation to me. Until I had my eyes replaced I thought they were plain monotone grey birds. When I could see properly WOW WOW WOW. They have so many tones, they’re so beautiful and the pink, emerald-jade and purple hues are outstanding when they catch the sunshine. This realisation is one of the most incredible sights of my life and both that initial memory and every new viewing always will be.

Collared Dove

One of the above is not a Collared Dove - nope, not buying it even if you have got your best collar on mate

To be fair, I almost put the Stock and Collared Doves in the every day/reliable category, but on balance I don’t think they’re quite there at this time of year. We do see them most days and the charming Collared ones always come in pairs - just like me and Crow.

Green Woodpecker

My ant-eaters. Not seen on the same basis as the Great Spotteds but they live here and breed successfully. Quite stately birds with beautiful plumage I love to see the brief flash of yellow underwing as they whizz through the garden and to hear their laughing ‘yaffle’ 

Similar to GSWs you can tell the sex by the red or plain black colouring. In the Greens it’s on the ‘moustache’ area - see male above with red: females have black. On the GSs it’s plain black heads for females and a red patch at the nape of the neck for males.

Magpie

Comical birds. We seem to have less here than we did. The most I’ve ever seen was a huge flock on the Common in Tunbridge Wells. It’s called the Common but it has the main road going through it and where I saw them was no more than a large patch of grass and trees. The other side is more typical common land, steep and heath-like.

One year we were highly entertained by garden resident DJ (after DJ Spoony) so called as he created a cache of goodies gathered from around the garden much like a Bower Bird decorates its nest. DJ just kept his treasures amongst the leaves at the base of the palm and included a plastic spoon that we used to put out cat food for the hedgehogs...it took us a while to locate.

Common Buzzard

This photo is from the field now known as Babs’ Field directly across the lane from our house. It’s a big field so this is a very long zoom. We saw a huge Buzzard down the lane just yesterday actually. A lot of sightings recently.

Goldfinch

A standing joke in our house - so, so hard for me to capture a picture of them they tormented me and then all of a sudden this Summer they started coming into the garden more and I got photos on fences, verges and wires down the lane too.

Pied Wagtail

Has bred in the porch nest box years ago, had two successful broods. We watched them fledge down on to the log pile. Favourite nestling was The Bunter - guess why? Maybe that was the one who grew up to be The Inspector patrolling the seed and shooing everyone away just because he could.

Grey Wagtail

Usually flies in for a very quick drink and off again, or perches on the corner of the roof by our bedroom briefly.

Sparrowhawk

Nicknamed for both sexes is Sid (Vicious after the punk rock singer)

These two are males. We know their favourite places in the garden. On the fence between us and next door with an eye line to the feeders; on the posts around the decking, perched on a spade or on the bird bath.

Female below.

Total 11

INFREQUENT VISITORS:

Swallow 

All around the local area, once very welcome guests and residents in our front porch.

I also once found one in Ms NW tE’s bedroom and had absolutely no idea how it could’ve got there. This was long before the nesting. I assume it must’ve found a way under the eaves where there’s a fitted wardrobe built in. It wasn’t panicking at all.

Swift 

Sorry no picture, too high overhead. This one below courtesy of the Wildlife Trust site. Along with Swallows and Housemartins a lovely sign of Summer.

Greenfinch

 A very welcome returner this year and they bred, which is brilliant news

Juvenile

Bullfinch 

Sadly not seen any at all this year, which is unusual. Doesn’t mean they haven’t been and we’ve missed them though

Mistle Thrush

We have seen them, but no photos as yet. 

I can’t tell the difference between a Song and Mistle Thrush, I ask for an expert ID. The RSPB says Mistle Thrush are

Medium-sized birds, they’re our largest thrush Chunky and pot-bellied Tawny brown and grey backs with a creamy white speckled front Whiteish cheeks Bold and bullish

and their song is somewhere between Song Thrush and Blackbird. That said we seem to have some Song Thrush here whose songs have evolved (as they do) This might help, although I think in real life it’s less clear cut. I obviously need more practice. 

Jay

The Jay is so shy and has a fairly comical looking face. They live in the woods but we rarely see them in the garden and any photo is snatched very hurriedly, hence the quality of this one. They don’t need to come into the garden though as the woods are full of Oak trees and so their favourite food supply and places to cache it, is right there for them.

Kestrel

Usually seen up at the farm where we saw her a lot with her babies, this mother of two came into our garden in the Summer.

Common Gull

Rather unclear it was very low light inside the kitchen and this was grabbed with my phone. The last few days we have seen hundreds of Gulls: they’ve come inland to the fields due to the inclement weather I guess.

Nightingale 

Definitely heard and confirmed by our neighbour and the local farmer, however, I can’t hand on heart say I’ve spotted them by eye. I think they should be included here though as we more than likely have seen them as well as heard them. I know where they hang out for sure and it’s steps away (see below) The problem for me is that they’re quite insignificant looking if you’re not primed to spot one.

Photo credit Bird Guides on line

9

ONE OFFS IN THE GARDEN:

Mallard

 Two males and a female decided to reside in our garden one summer. We called them Max, Paddy and Holy Mary - a Phoenix Nights reference from the TV series.

Heron 

Occasionally seen overhead, has investigated our garden pond. Not that we’ve got any fish, which is why it probably hasn’t been back. We see them fly by sometimes and definitely up at the ponds. When the one was in our garden I was struck by its size and prehistoric look, of course they look much bigger in a domestic garden than when you see them in a wider setting.

Below is my own photo of a Heron, but at Richmond, not at our pond.

Turtle Dove

2006 was a good year. We had the Ducks and a few sightings of the Dove. I think it stopped by the following year too but can’t be absolutely sure.

Yellowhammer 2014

Just the once on the patio right in front of us, it was quite a surprise.

This is not actually my photo, which is mislaid for now. It’s generic so can’t attribute it.

Woodcock 2019

The Woodcock was a complete shock. I spotted something out of the side window and because of the colouring thought it was a strange female Pheasant, until I saw its bill. Wooaaah! 

5

ONE OFFS IN THE AREA:

Kingfisher down at the bridge

Mixed flock of Geese including White and Grey Lag - in Babs the Buzzard’s field

2

Sub Category just out of interest and not counted

REPORTED BY MY NEIGHBOUR:

Visual of a Cuckoo, which we’ve only heard and not seen for sure. We possibly saw one at the farm, but didn’t confirm for certain.

Goldcrest. I’m jealous

 + 2

REGULARS AT THE FARM:

Little Owl

White Dove

Coot

Moorhen

Canada Goose

Various Ducks such as Grebe, not including Mallard mentioned above

6+

TOTAL = 57+  species spotted at home and 2 others on the one off list seen adjacent to our garden.

Plus Tawny Owl, heard frequently but can’t promise to have a sighting as yet.

Decoration from the Christmas Trees in Standen Courtyard

a lovely hand stitched heart with wild flowers. Let’s hope the Roadside Verges campaign and sensible strimming season grows stronger next year.

Christmas Music of Choice is the Piano Guys

with a very clever Christmas medley and visuals

#bird list garden Christmas Decorations Carols

[warmbeebosoftbeebo]

bonobos and capuchins

bonobos are so friendly ahhhh

i’m currently reading about how they will invite 2 or more bonobos that they don’t know into their space to share food. chimps do not, and avoid being outnumbered by unfamiliars, and are wary of even 1 stranger. but bonobos are all “yay a potential friend or two. let’s share food. wanna play n maybe rub our bits together n stuff?” hahaha [they call it xenophilic.] they also open doors to let another get food when they [the door openers] don’t have access to it either way. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15320-w

another study found they were particularly interested in seeing photos of other bonobos yawning, grooming, and engaged in sex acts and didn’t want to look at bonobos who looked scared, distressed, or aggressive. https://www.pnas.org/content/113/14/3761.full

they are also a lot more anxious and more sensitive [both emotionally and physically] than chimps. they also share food. even if they do take more than their fair share, they don’t take more than around 2/3s [they don’t take more than twice what the other will be left with]. see also the last post i did on them. sound a lot like a certain someone we know? teeheehee

and back to reading about nonconceptive sexual behavior in white-faced capuchins and bonobos. most piv interactions were when the female was infertile [pregnant, still breastfeeding, etc]. it found most sex in both species was nonconceptive, and placed all adult male-adult female or adolescent female genital contact into conceptive. so it actually underestimates nonconceptive sex [eg genital massage, genitogenital contact without entry or ejaculation, piv while she’s pregnant]. most bonobo sex was female-female, but that’s largely because there was only one male, although females are more sexual generally in bonobos [eg male-male sex occurs the least often, but both sexes are behaviourally bisexual virtually universally]. bonobo sex occured SIXTYFIVE times as often as capuchin. 

female capuchins initiating courting and sexual behaviour with males wasn’t tied to whether they could become pregnant or not [varied for each one]. the description of the duck lips or wheezing-chase-dance thing capuchins do is quite funny too. made me laugh, as did this part ngl: “On one occasion, Nanny took alpha male Paul's tail in her teeth and dropped him out of a tree after he persistently failed to respond to her duck faces and dance initiations.” Leave the poor boy alone, Nanny, you pest. [It’s funny because he’s the alpha male. If he was picked on by others it’d be a different story.] Just leaving this here: “ Males were extremely interested in female urine and frequently stopped to sniff locations in which females had been sitting.” Which makes one think it was other scents [vulvovaginal fluids] not just those in pee. 

there was also a shift in alpha males from curmudgeon to paul, which made for anxious males who engaged in a lot of mounting each other, violence, etc. paul sounds like a fucking asshole. good on nanny for dropping him out of that tree, but a poor choice of desired sex partner there:

Six of the seven male-male mounts in socially tense situations were between two subordinate males—Curmudgeon and Guapo—and all six occurred during a 5-month period immediately after Curmudgeon was deposed as alpha male by Paul in November 1992 (Perry, 1995, 1997c). 

During the 6-month period between this rank reversal and the end of observations, we observed (a) a fourfold increase in rates of severe aggression among adult males, (b) virtually all wounds, and (c) the occurrence of 149 of 152 (98%) of all observed wheeze dances, compared to 3 (2%) in the preceding 18 months. 

Wheeze dances and mounts between Curmudgeon and Guapo, including several during ad libitum observation, were always disrupted by the new alpha male Paul when he witnessed them, and usually culminated in one of the two subordinates breaking off the interaction and joining Paul in threatening the other (Perry, 1995, 1997b). Only one of nine (11%) malemale mounts involved the alpha male; in that case, the alpha male mounted the subordinate. 

FUCK OFF PAUL.

this is also interesting, and speaks to most sex being non-piv especially in bonobos

Bonobos engage in sexual interaction at a considerably higher rate than that of white-faced capuchins. In our data sets, this is an approximately 65-fold difference. Caution is required in interpreting this result because our bonobo data are from captivity, whereas our white-faced capuchin data are from wild subjects. However, one form of sexual behavior, adult heterosexual copulation, occurred about three times more frequently in a wild bonobo community (Furuichi, 1992) than in our white-faced capuchin subjects. Furthermore, we have not observed in white-faced capuchins, the variety of sexual position and techniques reported for bonobos. There was no ventroventral mounting.

i’m reading another one and this is the cutest shit wtf. she touches or pushes his butt and runs away, then does it again. it is for sure arguably sexual harassment though, because the male at least seems disinterested and even annoyed at first. i think i find it cute because gals should play with boys’ butts more often XD [just give him a touch, swat, squeeze, drumroll, rub, hump...]:

“..she becomes very skittish...,’’ she directs proceptive grins and ‘‘exaggerated raising of the eyebrows ...’’ at the male, ‘‘[she] produces a distinctive vocalization’’ which may last ‘‘for over three hours without pause ..., she often harasses him [the alpha male] by approaching very closely and touching or pushing him on the rump ... then running away’’ (Janson, 1984, p. 185). This pattern of behavior increases in intensity and duration over the next few days until it becomes almost continuous at its peak. The initial response of the alpha male is lack of interest and, occasionally, intolerance, including threats and chases. In the following days, when female behavior reaches its peak, the male begins to respond and pursue her. At this point, both partners engage actively in courtship and mating

more cute shit:

...males are extremely tolerant of infants and sometimes carry them (Fragaszy et al., 2004) (Fig. 1). They promptly defend them (Izawa, 1980; Janson and Wright, 1980; Janson, 1984, 1986a) and may ‘‘baby‐sit’’ infants while their mothers leave them (Izawa, 1980).

this one goes into creepy, invasive, violent, etc territory with the level of experimenting and invasiveness on the poor monkeys in studies [insertion of a probe and electrocuting the prostate, insertion/surgery throughout the female reproductive tract to see how deep semen ends up], not to mention focuses on sexual=ejaculation. observation of sex acts is one thing, but literally invading their insides? even their wombs and rectums? what. the. fuck. amoral sadism is rife in animal testing [this divide between observation, interaction, care, things done to understand and help the subjects, wanting to learn but with a first do no harm ethic vs you can do whatever in the name of science and they are nothing like us so it can’t be torture or abuse is what i call animal research vs testing]. but it gets interesting again with

After ejaculation has occurred, the partners show strong interest towards one another in ways that strongly resemble the courtship behavior that precedes and accompanies mating (postcopulatory behavior, Janson, 1984; postejaculatory courtship, Carosi and Visalberghi, 2002; postcopulatory display, Lynch et al., 2002), the only difference being that after ejaculation the male more actively ‘‘courts’’ the female than vice versa (Dal Secco and Visalberghi, 2001; but see Janson, 1984, who attributes to the female the occurrence of postcopulatory behaviors). Both alpha and subordinate males perform postejaculatory ‘‘courtship,’’ and its duration is not affected by rank (Lynch, 2002). 

During postejaculatory ‘‘courtship,’’ the female attempts to extract the solidified sperm, reaching with her fingers deep into her vagina, sometimes also pressing her lower abdomen with her hand (Dal Secco and Visalberghi 2001; Visalberghi and Carosi, 1997). In cases where we observed the female extracting male sperm, the longer the postejaculatory behavior lasts (N ¼ 18, average duration 23 min; range 9–52 min) the later the female extracts the sperm.

#bonobos #bonobos are good #capuchins #fuck off paul #paul is an asshole #paul #curmudgeon #guapo #mounting #same sex mounting #homosexuality #bisexuality #mammalian sex #she touched the butt #male caretaking #animal testing #animal research #animal cruelty #speciesism

[shemakesmusic-uk]

INTERVIEW: Becca Stevens.

Singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Becca Stevens has released a new full-length album, titled WONDERBLOOM.

North Carolina-bred, Brooklyn-based Becca Stevens again defies all expectation, this time dreaming up a groove-heavy, dance-ready sound infused with elements of pop and funk and R&B. With its bright textures and uptempo rhythms, WONDERBLOOM also finds Becca achieving a profound complexity in her lyrics, ultimately redefining what’s possible in creating music that elevates and edifies.

WONDERBLOOM telegraphs an unabashed joy that Stevens partly attributes to the project’s production. In a first for her, WONDERBLOOM was co-produced and co-engineered alongside Nic Hard (Snarky Puppy, Ghost-Note, The Church), overseeing every aspect of the recording and claiming a sense of agency that had long eluded her in the studio.  

Recorded over the course of six months, WONDERBLOOM mostly came to life in Brooklyn, but Stevens also journeyed to Los Angeles, North Carolina, and France in order to capture certain performances.

We had a chat with Becca all about WONDERBLOOM, touring and much more. Read the interview below.

You've just released your new album WONDERBLOOM. What is the record about?

"I didn’t have an overall theme in mind when I set out to write the music for WONDERBLOOM, but not for lack of trying. Unlike my previous album Regina which was very much driven by a theme, the writing of WONDERBLOOM was much harder for me to distill into an elevator pitch. I found the more I tried to chase a “storyline”, the more my muse would rebel against it and lure me into the unknown. I did however have challenges set for myself that I was very committed to throughout the process of writing, like staying direct, enjoying the process, and serving the songs.

"Looking back, it’s clear to me that each song on WONDERBLOOM dances with struggle. The songs capture the fearlessness and wonder of holding difficulties up to the light to watch them flicker and bloom, like looking into the lens of a kaleidoscope.

"WONDERBLOOM taught me to surrender, to enjoy, to share, and inspired me to dig in my heals and work harder, longer hours in the studio than ever. Writing and recording this music also taught me the joys that could come from relinquishing control and finding a balance of trusting myself as well as my collaborators. I think I’ve tended to hold my writing process precious for fear of losing my voice in the final product, but this album has taught me that sharing the process actually stretches and challenges me, humbles me, makes the process more fun, while broadening my own voice."

What were your influences for the album and what does it mean to you?

"When I was writing the music for WONDERBLOOM, there were two pictures sitting on my Wurlitzer that I drew a lot of inspiration from. One is a piece of calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh that reads “No Mud No Lotus”. This reminded me daily that without going through the hard work and difficult emotions we will never have the beautiful bloom. Next to that was a photo of my grandfather, my dad’s dad, who passed away the year I was born. The photo had been taken just after his doctor told him he had terminal cancer. My grandfather wanted to leave a memory for his family of the way he looked before the cancer started to change his appearance so he had his portrait made. His smile beams with so much joy and warmth in the photo. While writing the music for WONDERBLOOM, if I was in a bad mood or taking myself too seriously, I’d often find myself gazing at the photo and thinking, “if he could smile like that knowing what he did, then I can definitely get over myself right now”.

"This commitment to finding joy amidst the difficulties is a huge reason that a lot of the songs on the record have dance grooves even though the subject may be brooding, or upset.

"This may sound cheesy, or cheap but the songs themselves were also huge influences on this album. My initial vision for this record was something way more stripped down, intimate, and simple. But from day one in the studio with Nic Hard, the songs pulled me in sonic directions that I didn’t intend. (And as I was going down those unplanned roads I of course found myself channeling elements of a multitude of artists that I’ve been influenced by since the moment I first started remembering music. Whoever you’re hearing I’m sure is accurate, whether it be directly or indirectly.)

"WONDERBLOOM’s title was inspired by the Titan Arum, a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The Titan Arum, also known as the “corpse flower”, spends 7-10 years growing before it finally bursts into a magnificent bloom that smells like rotting meat and lasts for 12-48 hours before wilting and beginning again. I’m inspired by the amount of time that this magnificent flower spends to bear fruit, beginning with dirt and ending with a massive, glorious bloom. “No Mud, No Lotus”. "

How is WONDERBLOOM different (or similar) to your previous releases?

"The collaborative element of WONDERBLOOM was not only a crucial influence in the making of this music, but a very different approach to record making for me. As I mentioned above, in the past I would have been reluctant to share the creative process too much for fear of losing my creative voice. If someone had told me on my first day of recording WONDERBLOOM that I’d end up having 40+ collaborators on it I think I would have ran the other direction. Sharing one’s process as a songwriter can be an uncomfortable situation, but I am a firm believer in investigating and pushing up against the vulnerable stuff during my creative process. What I found in the end was that the enjoyment and camaraderie that came from sharing this process far outweighed the creative vulnerabilities that I anticipated. Sharing the process helped me to get out of my own way, simplify, obsess less, and enjoy more.

"The way the collaborations unfolded was very natural, and somehow still very authentic to my process. A big part of that was due to the collaborators being thought of in the moment as a response to the needs of the songs as Nic Hard and I were building them in the studio. Another reason was more personal: that I’d set a goals for myself going into this record to challenge my tendency to turn inward and control the process, and instead share and collaborate as much as the songs asked for along the way. Nic Hard, my co-engineer/co-producer and I would be tracking and editing and a missing element would arise, at which point we’d think of someone who would be perfect to record on the song, and text them right away. Most of the people we thought of were miraculously able to either come by during the recording process, or send stems from their home studio. This fit the goal of being joyful too as the communal vibe was just more fun!

"Lastly, because I was way more hands on in the editing/producing process on this album, I was able to very much maintain the feeling and aesthetic that all this information was coming through my lens. As I was editing everything myself, and choosing all my favorite bits, it was sort of like making my own painting with a palette of brand new colors."

Were there any musical influences or sounds that you were able to incorporate on this record that you hadn’t previously?

"Synths, effects, and pedals galore. Being more direct and raw in my vocal delivery that ever, to the degree that it was like torture some days to find it."

You mentioned working with Nic Hard on the album. What was it like working with him? What sort of things did you learn from him and vice versa?

"Nic was an unbelievably generous/selfless collaborator, showing me exactly how to execute any task that held me back, so that by the end I had capability to run a session/track vocals/edit takes/manipulate sounds etc. from another room while he was mixing or working on something else. This was a very empowering for me, and also added to the personalized feeling of the end result of the album. For example, for every collaborator that did twenty takes of an improvised idea, I took the time to listen through and choose the moments and takes that best served the song or the feeling of the song, so even though the collaborative element was higher than usual, the final product still feels very “me” when I listen back.

"Nic started out as an acquaintance and over time became one of my most trusted collaborators. He pushed me in the studio in ways that I never had been before, especially during the vocal tracking process. There were songs where we even pushed the limits of traditional recording styles in order to get certain sounds that served the songs. I tracked laying on the floor on my stomach to replicate the sleepy/depressed sound from one of my early demos of a song. One song was tracked in a whisper room, screaming into a hand held mic to get a more edgy/dirty/loose/angry sound. One song I tracked completely alone in the control room (no headphones, playback at a low volume in the studio monitors) in a handheld mic to get a natural/uninhibited sort of on stage feeling to the vocals.

"The biggest things I took from the 9? months I spent working with Nic were:

1.) How to listen more “globally” as a producer rather than zeroing in on specific sounds… listening to the song as a whole and asking if the story and energy is being served rather than focusing on how my voice sounds 2.) How to know the feeling of when I’m serving the songs in a vocal take, vs. just “singing pretty” 3.) How to run a session on my own, tracking someone else or myself etc   4.) Leaving the whole experience feeling like I can confidently call myself a producer.

"I have so much to thank Nic for. He was so patient, and so calm yet competent, ego-less, and I always trusted his ears, and he mine. Even though at times it was really difficult and at times we drove each other crazy spending long days working in small spaces, I wouldn’t change a thing. He truly awakened a lot in me during the process of making this album."

What was your favorite part recording WONDERBLOOM?

"Hard to choose one, so I’ll list 3:

1.) Learning to run Protools from Nic Hard, and the satisfaction of engineering and producing my own sessions when special guests came in to collaborate. 2.)Tracking vocals, being pushed by Nic to reach deeper to emotional places I didn’t think were possible, 3.) Experimenting with sounds and textures, and the feeling of complete freedom in the studio — no stop time. no sonic limits. The “No time spent on the record is wasted time” mentality. It was such an inspiring time."

What do you hope fans will take away from the new LP?

"I hope they find solace, inspiration, originality, authenticity, humanness, fearlessness, grounded-ness, spirituality, and raw emotion."

You are planning to return to Europe on tour dates to support the new record. What do you love most about touring and being on stage?

"The connection with the audience. It’s such a small part of being on the road when you break it down. Most of the day is spent traveling, loading in and out and sound-checking, but the time spent with the audience makes it all worth it."

Will there be any changes to your live show? Which of the new songs are you excited to debut live and why?

Before quarantine I had been touring the new music with a second guitar player, which has given me a lot of freedom to focus more on singing and feeling grounded in my movements for sections or entire songs. I’ve always wanted to give myself the freedom to dance more on stage. Now’s my chance!"

If there was one thing you could change about the music world today, what would it be?  

"That art is valued to the same degree as something like medicine. It is a medicine for many people, so why shouldn’t it be valued in a way like that? I wish that when an artist put in the hours (years!) and creates something that is deeply connected and thoughtful and important and serves the people, like a a well studied doctor, that it was valued like that, monetarily and otherwise. It would be nice if we weren’t expected to give everything away for free. It would be nice if female musicians could be treated equally to male artists. And man oh man I wish we were all taken better care of on the road. Road life is absolutely brutal."

And finally, what's one non-musical goal of yours for 2020?

"To dance more. Well, I guess that’s musical too. To finish 'The Artist’s Way'...I guess that’s also kind of musical. To hug my friends again."

WONDERBLOOM is out now.

#interview #becca stevens #wonderbloom