#me listening to a Certified Jam: i get it now! i get why you guys care so much i understand the Feelings

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

as someone who rarely listens to music, i am unceasingly in wonderment at the emotional connection many humans have to music as a medium. genres & styles & artists and all that jazz --you guys care a lot about this stuff. i sit marveling at the sheer commonplaceness of people feeling an intimate connection to individual songs & albums & musicians. to the point musical preferences are often considered a meaningful part of one's identity as an individual....thats crazy. so much passion...so much fierceness of feeling ...people say "you have to listen to this song" and i listen for 30 seconds and say "neat!" bc it is, it's neat! the chorus is catchy! i might tuck it away to hum to myself later. but for now im putting my earplugs back in returning to the glorious silence that my essence depends on the same way my lungs depend on an oxygen-rich atmosphere. u beset me with fascination

#me listening to a Certified Jam: i get it now! i get why you guys care so much i understand the Feelings #me 60 seconds later when the chorus is over: ok that's plenty let's calm down with a nice quiet breather #yall are out there just constantly Absorbing Sounds huh #just letting your ears rawdog it when you're not surrounding them with Specific Rhythms And Tunes #u have such rich lives. sounds exhausting but im happy for u

[tatertotthethot]

The Doms Next Door 2.0

THIS IS A TEMPORARY REUPLOAD FOR THIS CHAPTER CUZ TUMBLR IS RAN BY A BUNCH OF BOTS. 2.1 HERE

Warnings/AN: frequent, casually cursing; comical, gay Jimin; insecure reader; steamy flirting; tattoo/sexualized Tae 🙃. Enjoy~ (TAEKOOK EDIT ABOVE IS ARTKOOK DONE BY NONCONMAN ON INSTAGRAM)

copyright © 2018 all rights reserved

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Your tires came to a stop outside of the tattoo shop you've seen online— a brick building, covered in spray paint and street-style art. A sign buzzed over the awning of the entrance doors, with the built-in UV lights and graffiti-styled font displaying the name of the place in neon-red letters. Kink For Ink! The name alone was what first caught your attention last week, when you Googled "Tattoo shops near me" and it pulled up a list, with "Kink For Ink" being the first option. It just seemed so uncanny and fitting at the time, considering the previous run-in you just had with the sex-crazed neighbors a couple nights before. You couldn't help but to click the link to their Instagram.

A profile came up with 53.4k followers, which immediately blew your mind... but you quickly saw why. Every tattoo and piercing, no matter the body-placement, skin-type, or quirky design, was vividly appealing— certainly done by the articulate hands of certified experts. Even in the comments of the piercings that were posted, people were praising them for the "minimal" amount of pain they experienced, despite the fact that some of piercings were done in places you couldn't even fathom the thought of having a needle jammed through.

It said in the bio that the shop is owned by the two artists that work there— Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook. You couldn't find out much about them, all their pictures showed was their work. You even went back to search for a personal account of their own, but nothing came up. You then went back to the bio and clicked a link to the official website, hoping to find out something, but you were met with a disclaimer rule at the top that automatically deemed your chances of even getting your piece done by them, slim-to-none.

• No walk-ins allowed.

• Every request/idea must be sent in through the DMs of our Instagram page. You will only be accepted only if it spikes our personal interests.

Yikes; You were instantly discouraged by this. The piece you wanted was something so common and cliché, that you actually got the image out of a child's coloring book.... It was the cartoon layout of the glass vase and enchanted rose, from the Beauty and the Beast movie. Cheesy, yes. But it was something of personal, nostalgic value. You remember when you were little— roughly around 3 or 4 years of age— when your parents started fighting and would spend all day screaming and throwing things at each other, putting you in a constant state of anxiety. But then you'd go to bed at night and pop the VHS tape, and the movie never failed to put you in a peaceful state of mind— a hopeful one. It's remained as your all-time favorite love story throughout the years. Which, is ironic, considering that the relationship itself was different, but almost as dysfunctional as your parent's. However, the fact that even the Beast was capable of change, and everything wound up so perfect and happy in the end, makes your heart happy. And even now, at age 19, it still puts you in your feelings. The previous remake of a movie is what actually inspired you to get the enchanted rose as a tattoo, after seeing it in 3D not too long ago. But you're only willing to shell out up to $200 for it, at most. You've just started college, and even though Jimin's parents own the house and let the two of you live there, rent free, you're still responsible for half the utility bills from month to month. Blowing every bit of money you have saved up, right at the start of the semester, would just be irresponsible. But $200 was manageable, and you're looking for anything that'll give you a little extra "oomph" to break you out of this introverted shell you've always known. Pushing it off would just delay it, and you were ready for change. The nose piercing you want is just a small little thing that'll hopefully add a bit of flare to the features of your face. These two guys could probably do the piercing/tattoo with a blindfold on and a hand tied behind their back. So, if it meant that you'd be able to get these things done in confidence, without having to worry about the outcome, you figured it wouldn't hurt for you to at least ask, even if they straight-up ignore you. So, after spending an unnecessary amount of time overthinking the wording of your text, you finally constructed a message in your notes and DM'd it to business page, after sending them a small, simple outline of the cartoony rose, and pressed send.

• You: Hello! I've been wanting to get this tattoo done for a very while now, and was hoping one of you will be willing to do it for me... along with piercing my nose? I know it's a very mediocre and cliché piece, and a nose piercing can be done anywhere. But I'm new to the area and I've never gotten a tattoo/piercing done before and I haven't really checked out any other places either because I found this page first. And from what I can see, you guys are pretty efficient and CRAZY talented. So, I trust it'll get done right.... only if you want to! I'm willing to pay $200 for this, but if it costs that much for just the outline I've sent then that's fine as well. But I understand if neither of you want to do it cuz that is really cheap compared to the ones I've seen lol. But either way, thx for ur time 😁

A few minutes went by and you had just unlocked your phone to check the message again, when the word "seen" popped below the message. You held your breath for a second— but seconds turned to minutes, and time went by with no reply, what-so-ever. You figured maybe you sounded a little too immature to take seriously; kind of like a prepubescent 12-year-old asking someone out for a dance... and you blew it. Which was disappointing, but predictable. So fuck it. Maybe it's a sign; you shouldn't get it after all.

11pm rolled around, many hours later. You were now hiding beneath your covers, beginning your "amateur threesome" exploration on PornHub. You were ready to see what this whole "2 guys, 1 girl" thing was all about. But just when you were about to type it into the search bar, you were interrupted by an Instagram notification dropping down from the top of your screen.

"KinkForInk sent you a message."

You audibly gasped, eyes turning to saucers as you clicked on the notif and switched over to the Instagram app.

• KinkForInk: Hi (Y/N). This is Tae, one of the artists of the shop. The tattoo you sent in is worth roughly $100... but I want to run an offer by you in hopes that you'll be interested.

— Your brows scrunched in oddity, stomach fluttering. An offer? For you?

• You: Okay, sure. What's that?

• KinkForInk: I've been looking for someone willing to showcase the custom design I've come up with, specifically for a much more... exclusive version of the Beauty and the Beast tattoo you sent. And if you'd be down for letting me and my partner put it on you, it'll be free. No charge. BUT you'll also have to sign a contract saying that you'll do a little bit of modeling for us once it's done. You think you'd be in to doing something like that, even if you get it?

— Your head spun for a second, reading the message over and over again until you could fully wrap your mind around what he was saying.

• You: Hold on... YOU wanna put a tattoo on ME so that I model for you? And it's FREE? Are you sure about this? I'm not even model material lol.

• KinkForInk: Yes, yes, and yes, you are. You'd be perfect for this.

• You: How do know that? Is it a face tattoo? Cuz I only have 6 selfies on here and you can't see anything past my shoulders.

—"Seen" came up as soon as you hit send, but a couple of minutes rolled by with no reply to the message, nor was he even typing. Maybe you came off a little rude. But it was already sketchy and it was a logical question.

— An image suddenly popped up: a screenshot of your Facebook profile. Then another— and much to your horror, it was the photo Jimin tagged you in last week, when the two of you were swimming at a local community pool. You were wearing a simple two piece, sitting at the foot of the lawn chair Jimin was also sitting in, as his legs were visible on either side of you and his lap was practically framing your ass. The photo was at an upward angle and looked so scandalous— but really, you had just asked Jimin to put sun screen on your back and he didn't want to stand up because the pavement was too hot against his bare feet. But you actually liked the picture at the time; it was just a silly joke and your ass actually looked quite nice from that angle. Plus, everyone knows nothing sexual actually goes on between the two of you, for obvious reasons. But Taehyung doesn't, so you couldn't help but dreadfully cringe when you saw the caption of the screen shot.

"Babymama 💦🍆"

• KinkForInk: Is this you??

• You: Yes, that's me. The caption is a joke tho... pay no mind to that. But this is like, really happening? You really think it'd look good on me?

— Why that picture though? You couldn't help but wonder.

• KinkForInk: Yes. Like I said, you're perfect for this piece. Are you down to at least see what the tattoo will look like? We don't expect you to be experienced with modeling or anything, but if you listen to us and cooperate, you'll do just fine.

• You: Yes I wanna see, and I'll do the best I can if I decide to get it... I'm just a bit shy, is all.

• KinkForInk: You'll be in good hands. I promise.

• You: Okay... are you going to show me??

• KinkForInk: Can't send it over a message, I don't want it plagiarized or the concept stolen. But the piece itself isn't necessarily crazy or anything, just more creative. I'd be more than happy to show you at my shop some day this week, if you'd be willing to swing by.

• You: Yeah, I can do that. When should I come?

• KinkForInk: Are you available after 5 tomorrow?

• You: I am, I get off at 4:30.

• KinkForInk: Great. Be here by 5:30, and make sure you've eaten in case you like the piece and wanna get started. It's pretty big for a first timer and gonna take a lot of time and patience. It'll have to be done in sessions but I hope you have a fair enough pain tolerance to at least get the outline of it done first.

— It can't be any worse than a bikini wax, you thought, shivering at the memory. That a story for another time. You decided on an alternative scenario.

• You: I give blood from time to time... but that's easy and doesn't really hurt that much. I think I can handle it though... maybe. I honestly don't know lol, I'm sorry 😣. But I can try my best. Can I ask where it's supposed to go?

• KinkForInk: That's okay, I'll work with you. It's supposed to go down the middle of your back. Starts between the center of your shoulder blades, and trails down the length of your spine to your lower lumbar. You'll see how it looks once we transfer a template on your back. But if you don't like it, there will be no hard feelings from my end. I can still do the tattoo you want if that's the case, free of charge just for your time.

• You: Oh no, you don't have to do that! I'd still pay!

• KinkForInk: Not if I don't accept your money. Trust me, I'm not worried about it. The nose piercing is gonna be $30 regardless, though. JK isn't so lenient.

• You: Of course. Will I have to take my shirt and bra off for the tattoo?

• KinkForInk: Yes, and for the pictures once it's done.

— Your mind blanked at that; thumbs froze over the keypad. He was typing again.

• KinkForInk: Don't let that discourage you. Again, you're in good hands. You can bring something to cover your chest. And the pics will be if your back as well.

• You: Okay, I can handle that. So 5:30 tomorrow?

• KinkForInk: Yes, please don't flake on us!

• You: Lol, I won't. I'll be there.

"They're gonna knock us the fuck out and sell our organs to the black market," Jimin declared. He had parked next to you outside of the shop, and was now sitting in the driver seat of his car with his door locked and windows all the way up, refusing to get out. You were standing right outside his door, still having to talk on the phone. "And is this Tae-guy an AllState representative or something?"

Jimin is petty. You wanted him here for moral support— which he's usually reliable for— but this time, he's just plain salty right and doing everything he can to remind you of that. Reason is, he's been begging you to get a matching tattoo with him ever since your 18th birthday, and you've always refused because of what he wanted to get.

Cupcakes. Jimin wanted to get matching cupcake tattoos... in honor of Cupcakke the legend. Sorry, but H E L L no.

You rolled your eyes, growing frustrated. He only has enough time to pop in and confirm that these two aren't gonna kill you, and then he's gotta head home to get ready for work. You were already supposed to be in there. It was 5:33pm, 3 minutes past the time.

"Jimin, you're the one that insisted on coming along! And now you're making me late!" you ranted. "I'm going in without you."

"Hold your horses, hoe! I'm finishing my blueberry slushie," He retorted, sassily bringing the straw to his mouth and loudly slurping it into the phone. He then abruptly flinched away from the straw with a disgusted expression, nostrils flared, body locking up; lips drawing into an air-tight knot that was so extreme and unnatural, it caused an ugly snort to break out of your nose.

He smacked his lips in exaggeration to the taste, face falling back into stone as an eyebrow arched over the top of his aviators; unamused and saltier than before... Like you were at fault for that, too.

"Or... Blueberry-ass, I should say."

That forced another giggle out of you as Jimin stiffly rolled his window down, phone still pressed to his ear and eyes still scowling at you behind the inspector shades. He bit down on the straw and withdrew it with his teeth before dumping the dark-blue contents of the drink out of the window, making it a point to shake the styrofoam cup empty of every drop before tossing it over his shoulder and into back seat. He then spat the straw out of his mouth with an audible "PLUUUUH!" of a French accent, and waited until the window rolled all the way up again, just so he could hang up the phone. You scoffed at this as you shoved your phone back into your pocket, scornfully watching Jimin exit the car and slam the door behind him. He snatched his glasses off his face as his cotton-candy hair swayed in the breeze, revealing his scornful eyes right back at you as he gestured for you to lead the way in exasperated manner— as if you were the one wasting his time now.

"Go on, lead us to the grave," He shooed, a snippy little shit. You sauntered away, walking up the side of the shop, then paused just before reaching the glass entrance door, when you remembered how much of a coward you are. You've never even stepped into a parlor before, and supposedly, this was a famous one. Which makes it more and more surreal when you think about it.

"Are we doing the mannequin challenge now? Is that what we're doing?" Jimin sardonically inquired.

"You go first, I'm nervous!" You whisper-hissed.

"You don't want me to go in there first— I'll show out," he reasoned, simply stating a fact.

"Please don't," you whined.

"Then, again, I'll show out?" He reiterated, as if to say duh. "How else am I supposed to break the ice? I look like Timmy Turner's Fairy-Gay- Parent."

You gave him a wary look... he's right. You sighed, slightly kicking your foot in distracted defeat. Fuck, you hated making an entrance to new places—

"Hold up— is that Drake?" Jimin suddenly blurted, holding his hand up to silence you. You honed in on the muffled track playing from behind the glass door, and Jimin's face soon light up like a Christmas tree before he spun around you, unstoppable.

"Jimin, NO—!"

"KIKI, DO YOU LOVE ME—?!"

It was already too late. The door was flying back behind him as he Milly-Rocked his way into the shop, leaving you no choice but the chase in behind him.

"—ARE YOU RIDING? SAY YOU'LL NEVA-EVA LEAVE FROM BESIDE ME— hello there."

You were panting, coming to a stop right behind Jimin, where you instantly latched on to the back of his shirt as you met the face of the man behind the studio counter. And, as corny as this is gonna sound: the world actually stilled for a solid beat... or maybe you were in the verge of cardiac arrest.

A pair of glossy-Black eyes looked up at the two of you; A series of silver-studded earrings trailed along the outer cartilages, peaking out beneath a head of soft, layer-swept hair. It was a Carmel-tinted blonde in color— thick and shaggy, and neatly spilling in waves around a headband that proudly sported a high-dollar brand-name you've never seen anyone wear in person before. G U C C I, it read— Meaning that the headband alone was probably worth more than some of your college text books, put together. It sat just a few inches above a pair of dark brows, that oddly brought out the shape of his cat-like eyes— irises like polished marbles. His ample lips had a sharp, well-defined Cupid's-bow, and a natural shade of pink that fit the porcelain appearance of his melanin-kissed complexion, to the finest degree.

And here you are, looking like an actual bum. You had just enough time to clock out of work and head straight over here to make it in time. You didn't even have any makeup on, and the only thing hiding your raggedy hair from those captivating eyes is your old baseball cap from high school. It took a second for him to take the bold presence that was Park Jimin— who was also frozen to the spot as he openly checked the guy out. He was hunched over the counter, a v-neck hoodie covering the rest of him with a thin, loose-fitting material. It was Black and allowed a full visual of his tan neck, and prominent collar bones. And it certainly didn't hide the fact that he had a pair of wide-set shoulders, either. A pencil sat in his hand— one that was laced with masculine veins, and lot of decorative ink. There was a silver ring on his thumb.. and a very heavy-looking Rolex watch.

The man cracked a grin at Jimin— a boxy one that dimpled in at the corners.

"Love the hair," he humorously began, twisting a quirky eyebrow at Jimin. You subconsciously snagged the bill of your hat as your eyes went a little wide at how mature the man's voice was.

"Love the watch," Jimin retorted, then reached around and gripped you by the wrist before pulling you into full view beside him. "You wouldn't happen to be Taehyung...?"

"Mhm," the man hummed, absentmindedly moving his wrist at the mention of his watch. His eyes cut over to you, and you swore you could see a minuscule reflection of yourself in his eyes, before they flashed back at Jimin and blinked. "You must be the babydaddy?"

Blood rushes to your ears. It's really him... a guy who looks like a high-dollar model himself, asking you to be his canvas model. Your own conscious didn't even know what to say right now. So you stayed quiet and still as Jimin took charge... which was a mistake.

"She wishes, but no. I'm the best-friend— and a gay one, at that," Jimin replied, and you knew he did that for his benefit. Thot. "I'm just here to make sure you're not gonna sacrifice her to Satan, or anything of that nature. I need her around in case I ever forget the Netflix password."

Taehyung chuckled at that, mouth opening to reveal a row of teeth shinier than Chip Skylark's. But then, you caught something behind his teeth that caused your gut to leap. A silver ball... a tongue ring. Your thoughts clouded over for a second.

"Well, I can assure you, she's safe with me," he said, looking over at you again. You blinked, nothing more. His brow arched at your lack of response, but this time, it was done more handsomely as he was still smirking at you. "Still, you don't look too thrilled to be here... You sure you wanna do this?"

"She's just nervous because you're really fucking hot," Jimin announced, unyielding. "You should feel how sweaty her hand is."

"Don't listen to him— I'm gay too," You lied in panic, trying to defend yourself from the absolute truth Jimin spoke just then. You snatched your hand away from him and jutted a finger at the door, eyes beading and lid twitching as your nerves ran amuck. "Goodbye, Jimin."

"She's a lonesome hetero," Jimin told Taehyung, assuring him with a face that showed no bluff. "One look at her camera roll, and you'd see for yourself—" You were yanking him away by the arm now, in a tug-of-war game that Jimin obviously could've won if he really wanted to. But he figured you suffered enough and eventually let you drag him out of the shop, waving bye to Taehyung before turning to look at you with beading eyes.

"I think he wants to fuck you— text me as soon as you can," Jimin uttered with unmoving lips as before he walked to his car. You stopped for a second, noticing he was actually being serious. How could he possibly think that he wants to fuck you, just from that small encounter? And what is the odd sensation currently coiling in your stomach? Things grew awkward again when you re-entered the shop, coming to a stand at the same spot... only alone now. He was still amused, it seemed. And so calm and cool despite this odd, intense look in his eyes. It gave him a Casanova effect, where all he had to do was give you that look and it'd instantly make you blush.

"He seems like a fun person to be around," he noted, somewhat honestly, but more so making fun of the red-hot appearance of your face.

"He's a pain in the ass," you muttered, trying to conjure up a smirk but hardly even able to speak properly from how dry your mouth was. It felt like there was a white-hot iron expanding in your throat. "I'm really sorry about him."

"Don't be. I'm just glad you're here— thought you'd chicken out." You nervously wiped your clammy palms over the back pockets of your jeans as Taehyung got up from the barstool behind the counter and approached you on the other side of it, a whole head-and-a-half taller than you. He was wearing black cardigan jeans and matching combat boots.. his headband and jewelry the only thing not black on him. And oddly enough, he made it look fucking fantastic.

"Mh-mm," You hummed, not trusting your voice. You've never needed a sip of water so bad in your life— he even smelled expensive.

"Well, It's very nice to meet you," he formerly began, and you mustered up the normality of placing your (dried) hand into his much larger one, as he held his out to you in greeting. And boy, was he close. So close that the heels of your spine itches to lean back from the proximity.

"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm really sorry if I'm acting weird. I'm just nervous." — Your mind struggled to stay focused on your words, arm tensing at the skin-to-skin contact. You were extra-effected by the firmness in his grip. You really wanted to look down at all the bold ink you saw dashing across the veiny surface of his tanned hand, or see if those were images or scripted letters on the knuckles of lengthy fingers... But you were held captive by those God-blessed eyes... And that fucking tongue ring. It was infecting your head in ways that weren't necessarily healthy for your current state of mind, as you saw it peering in and out at certain words.

"And physically shaking," Taehyung pointed out, brows twitching down at your trembling hand in his as if he was concerned for it. But his smirk gave off an odd sense of fascination to the involuntary symptom, like it was cute or something? Hm. He glanced back up at you, causing your dehydrated throat to bob as his other hand came to clasp over the rest of yours, swallowing it completely from the wrist down. "Intimidated?"

"V-Very," you spluttered, a small slither of saliva copulating down your throat as you looked back up at him. He absentmindedly rolled his tongue ring over the button row of his teeth as he watched you with tainted eyes— undoubtably getting cocky with that damn grin of his and proudly teasing you about your reaction to him. It gratified the effortless sex-appeal he had. You were even beginning to imagine that tongue ring elsewhere, and you literally just met him. Then, as you felt the band of a ring move along with the pad of his thumb as gently ran it across your trembly knuckles, chills shot up all the way to your shoulder. Oh... oh wow. You glanced down at his knuckles on reflex this time, and saw a four-letter word scripted in black ink across the bottom row of his knuckles, and another word scripted on the middle section of his fingers. A silver band on his naked thumb. STAY TRUE, it said.

"And why's that?"

"I.. feel like you're a celebrity," you sheepishly admitted, your other hand wedging into your back pocket as you had to stop yourself from reaching for the bill of your hat again. Is he flirting? The words seem too innocent for the way he was making you feel. It was getting so hot in the oven of his massive palms, and he wasn't even squeezing you hard enough to cut off any circulation, but yet your fingers were beginning to tingle.

"Mm, no. Just a little popular, really," he granted, teetering his head a little as he pondered the thought. You could see his vocal chords contract in his sleek neck as they project his smooth, pungent voice. "You still trust me?"

"Mhm," was all you could muster. He'd gotten even closer, to where his hand had gone into a prayer stance around yours. You were aware of how wide your eyes had gone from the awe you... you knew this was just the beginning. He was going to be very handsy throughout this whole process. But in a very twisted way, you were more than okay with that. Even if it meant you were at risk of fainting from actual dehydration. Maybe you were in over your head. But you couldn't will yourself away from this now. And then, just as a wide, heart-stopping smile edged out on that mind-numbingly handsome face, the door at that back of the room swung open, and heavy-metal rock blasted through the quiet vibe of the scenery and caused you to jump a little at the disturbance. Taehyung shot a wicked smile over his shoulder, and his next words nearly knocked you out right then and there as you beheld yet another, breathtaking sight.

"Oh, there you are," Tae eagerly acknowledged, one hand still holding yours as he walked around to grab your with the other, presenting you to the.. hulking presence in the room. "This is (Y/N), our next little experiment."

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Super 8 Recap: Part 2 The Final Guesses (+ Clues)

Hello fellow Masked Singer lovers! Welcome or welcome back to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I, Ana, recap every episode of the Masked Singer. This is part 2 to my Super 8 recap... where I am gonna give you the final guesses of the remaining six contestants with the clues as a little bit of an explanation why I think the way I do but feel free to tell me what you guys think in the comments :).... Alright, so let’s get into this:

So how I am gonna do this is put the name of the mask/character/contestant and then = my guess for them... also I am gonna list all of the clues until this moment so I can have a stronger leg to stand on... So you might have seen these clues repeated if you saw any of my previous blog posts since my guesses haven’t changed, I am also going to add in a voice match video (which means a video of them singing so you can match it to the contestant’s performance) first, since my guesses mostly come from their voices and then the clues are like an add-on.

1. Robopine= Tyrese Gibson

Voice Match Video: (if you are not convinced after listening to this, I don’t know what to tell you man)

Clues:

6= he was in 6 Fast and Furious movies and has 6 Grammy noms

Action and superhero clues= he was in a lot of action movies like Fast & Furious and Transformers, but also he is going to be in a movie with Jonah Hill centered around the Spider-Man villain where he plays a superhero

The lie about being 60= he did a GQ cover called 60 is the new 30

Also he was spotted on his Instagram story wearing the Don’t Talk to Me hoodie... so yeah it’s him lol

2. Black Swan = Jojo

Voice Match Video (also a really entertaining video in general with her in it, she was so fun in this video, but she can SANG baby boos):

Clues:

Grew up with a single mom in a one bedroom apartment= actually, yeah her parents were divorced and she was raised by her mom in a low income household

Talent made her someone else’s prey/Hollywood deal she couldn’t resist= she talks about how her record label kind of used her and there was this whole legal battle with them (you can Google that whole thing, I don’t wanna go to deep into it but yes it happened)

Faithful flock set her free= her fans started a campaign called #freejojo on Twitter in 2013 to help her out, and it got a lot of traction (like she was the OG before the whole Taylor Swift thing)

X marks the spot= she was a guest judge on celebrity X Factor

Montana= she was considered for Hannah Montana but she turned it down to focus on her music

3. Yeti = Omarion

Voice Match Video: (I mean bro this is super similar... judge for yourself, I tried to find a video of him singing live so sorry if the quality is not the best compared to the other 2 videos... like the camera is super shaky but this is the best I found)

Clues:

Berry and Jam= his real last name is Grandberry

Icy core, he came out in a ice cage = one of his most popular hits is called Ice Box

Dog= he collared many times with Bow Wow

ABCD changed to ABDC= America’s Best Dance Crew, he was a judge on season 5 ironically of that show

4. Chameleon= Wiz Khalifa

Voice Match Video:

Clues:

Legend he idolized, aka GOAT = he meant Snoop Dogg, who he used to idolize and now he is friends with and has collaborated with a lot

Little one = he has a son

Martial Arts clues= he does love martial arts and has been seen going into dojos and training

Taxi Cab= his hit song Black and Yellow

2 & 3 in the dice = he has a song with Miley Cyrus called 23

History with precious gemstones= he was married to Amber Rose and See You Again was certified diamond

5. Russian Dolls = Hanson

Voice Match Video: (I thought this one was fitting because they are singing their most popular song)

Clues:

Around the corner of the Russian tea room, Carnegie Hall = they have played Carnegie Hall

Health issues that almost tore them apart= Issac had a pulmonary embolism

Snow Owls in front of a city = they have a song called Unbelievable with Owl City

Fire truck= Zac also had a motorcycle accident where firefighters had to rescue him

6. Piglet= Nick Lachey

Voice Match Video: (Come on, this one is too obvious hehe)

Clues:

Bachelor-esque romance clues= he and his wife Vanessa host a Netflix dating show called Love is Blind

Public breakup/relationship= reference to his ex wife Jessica Simpson and they had a super public breakup and relationship, even having their own reality tv show

Genie Lamp= He did a cover of Aladdin’s A Whole New World with his ex Jessica Simpson on Disney Mania 3

The “spider” who made him a family man= referring to Vanessa Lachey, it was supposed to be this whole Charlotte’s Web thing

Dog Tags= he has been seen wearing 3 dog tags (you can Google those pics) and they represent his 3 kids which his wife gave him before they had their third kid, Phoenix (btw there’s a P on the bottom dog tag shown)

So that’s it y’all! I will see you guys later in the week for our “spicy” or “special” or whatever other s adjective six to perform for us yay! 🤗🤩 Bye everyone!

#themaskedsinger #music #the masked singer #the masked singer season 5 #celebrities #hollywood #tv shows

[wellhellotragic]

CSJJ Day 23: A Rather Common Name (1/2)

Whoaaaaa. What’s that? I made words? Trust me, I know, and I’m just as shocked as you all are. It’s been months since I’ve written anything (my poor little book included) but I’m back and hopefully words will continue to come.

I have to send out a huge shout out to everyone at @csjanuaryjoy. Thanks to the mods for hosting this year and bringing everyone together. It’s been so much fun hearing about all of the fics that everyone’s been working on. Now that this is done I’m about to dive into all of them with my greedy little reader eyes. Also a huge shout out to all of the fam in the discord channel. It’s been such a privilege and so much fun to get to know you guys. You all make me laugh daily with the complete randomness. And thank you all for letting me bounce ideas off of you! Also, much love to the wonderful @profdanglaisstuff for chopping this up with her red marker of death (and surprisingly there’s no sarcasm there at all). You’re fantastic for helping me out! <-- See that? No past perfect! 😂

With that super long thank you out of the way, this is a two parter. The back half is coming in a few days on the 28th.

In case AO3 is more your jam

Summary:

She hated him. Okay, maybe hate was a strong word, but he was a dick when they met. So why did she tell him about the apartment for rent in her building? And why did she let him in? Let him climb her walls? Why did she let herself trust him when every man she'd ever been with had betrayed her? Why did she think he'd be different?

And why, despite it all, did she still love him?

The hustle and bustle of Christmas had come and gone in the Nolans’ Boston apartment. The tree had been taken down the day after Santa had delivered his presents, yet the lights remained, strewn up in the living room to keep the festive spirit alive. Mary Margaret was insistent that the lights could be recycled into New Year’s Eve decorations. The only concession given to David’s objections was the removal of the brightly colored bulbs wrapped around the railing of their balcony. Apparently red and green didn’t exactly scream New Year’s.

Instead, they were swapped out for some of the trendier hanging lights that she’d seen in all of the design magazines. The same magazines that usually covered Mary Margaret’s coffee table, something to be left up year round. But on that night, they’d only be admired from the living room. When the invitations went out, Mary Margaret had clearly not expected the massive nor'easter coming through. The news said that five inches had already been dumped on the city with no end in sight.

Mary Margaret had always been the perennial mother hen of the group, throwing all of the holiday parties. Christmas and Thanksgiving had come later, after they’d graduated and decided to become adults, but the New Year’s eve tradition had started back in college, right around the same time that David had appeared. Emma hadn’t missed the connection between her best friend throwing her first ever party, and the fact that said party was for a holiday that traditionally included kissing at midnight.

Not coincidental at all.

At the time, Emma had rolled her eyes, never understanding the build up. Always wondering why everyone bought into the idea that starting the year kissing a drunk loser was supposed to set some amazing standard for the next 365 days. Of course, that had been before Killian. He’d blown into her life like a torrential whirlwind, systematically setting her world on fire even as she felt like she was drowning in the sea.

Emma didn’t date. It was a promise she’d made to herself after Walsh. Twice burned, but never again.

Never let people in and you won’t get hurt.

But Killian, he’d snuck his way in while she wasn’t looking, and for the first time in years, she was ready to take a risk. Ready to open the door to her heart. But that’s the problem with opening doors in the storm. Sometimes the wind is so strong that you get blown away in the process.

There’s been an accident.

With one phone call, her entire world was rocked. The storm around her raged as she stood there at the door, rooted to her spot in sheer agonizing fear. Crippling paralyzing fear. The open shutters an invitation for her desolation. The ground shook, knocking her from where she stood. Windows shattered, shards of glass strewn on the floor around her. One piece aside, her heart stabbed clean through.

New Year’s Eve: 2 Years Earlier

“Emma, it’s only twenty minutes to midnight. Surely you’ve picked out someone by now?”

There was a sickeningly sweet tone to Mary Margaret’s voice as she said it. Some odd notion that happily ever after was achievable to anyone if you only had hope. Normally Emma would let it roll off her shoulders like water off a duck’s back, but having just collected her pay for bringing in another cheating runaway embezzler, Emma’s faith in love and hope was at an all time low. There was absolutely nothing appealing about kissing a stranger, not that she was necessarily opposed to doing other things with strangers on any other night. Something about New Year’s Eve was clichéd though, raising expectations.

Emma scanned the room. Most of the guests included the usual suspects. Graham, David’s partner at the precinct, who by all accounts was actually a stand up guy, but he was already off limits. He’d been in love with Ruby for years, pining away for her in secret. A secret kept from Ruby alone. He wasn’t Ruby’s type though, and she’d never once considered him in that way, never noticed the way his eyes stayed glued to her from across the room. Never noticed the way he always made sure to have a full glass in front of her before she could finish her beverage. How he was always bringing extra tapenade hummus to their get togethers knowing that it was her favorite. Instead she’d always picked party boys. The love ‘em and leave ‘em type.

Talking animatedly next to Graham was David, who was ‘out’ for obvious reasons. Beside them though was a man Emma had never seen before. Brooding heavily. His Adam’s apple bobbing as he chugged back the rest of the drink in his cup. But before she could get a better look at him, her attention was dragged back to Mary Margaret.

“If you haven't picked anyone out yet, then I have this guy in mind for you. He teaches with me at the school and he’s so sweet. His name is Jefferson and-”

“Whoa, are you talking about that guy that always wears those crazy different hats around town?”

Emma hadn’t even noticed Ruby approaching.

“Yes, and I think he’d be wonderful for Emma.”

“Uh, Mags. That guy is certifiably crazy. You know that right?”

“Ruby, he’s not crazy, and that’s not even a politically correct word to use anymore. Yes, he may be a bit eccentric, but all of the kids love him.”

“Listen to me. Thank you for worrying about me, but I’m not kissing anyone tonight.” Emma watched as Mary Margaret tried to interrupt, but stopped her before she could argue. “The only man that’s going to be touching my lips tonight is Mr. Jose Cuervo.”

With that, Emma grabbed the half empty bottle off the kitchen counter and made her way through the crowd, sneaking out onto the empty balcony. The streets below them were nearly empty. A rare sight on a Saturday night in Boston. She stood there, watching the lights change from emerald to amber, then scarlet. Over and over, no cars ever crossing the intersection. The calm should have relaxed her, but instead it did the opposite. Only further reminding her of how alone she was. Of how everyone else in the city had somewhere to be. Someone to be with. Of how Neal was out in the world somewhere probably conning some other stupid naive girl. Of how Walsh was probably in bed with the redhead he’d been screwing for the last three months of their relationship.

She’d never have that, and while it had been her choice to swear off men for anything more than a one night stand, on nights like that, she couldn’t help but long for the comfort of a man’s embrace. For something more that just ships passing in the night.

“Not that your delectable arse doesn’t make a stunning sight, love, but it’s hardly the view I’d come out here for.”

Emma jumped, nearly throwing the bottle of tequila over the rails as she attempted to clutch her chest.

“Jesus Christ! Lurk much?”

He let out a throaty laugh, lifting his head just enough to catch the glint from Mary Margaret’s bulb decorations. Even in the dim lighting, she could see the blueness of his eyes.

“It’s hardly lurking when I was here first.”

“Excuse me?”

“I was here, minding my own business, taking in the scenery. Then you appeared. Not lurking. Just easily overlooked apparently.”

“And you waited to announce yourself, because?”

“Well if the lady Nolan is anything like her excitable husband I assumed you needed a few minutes of respite to collect yourself.”

She nodded, unable to argue his point. Both of her friends were well meaning but overeager and overbearing when they thought they were right.

“Fair point.”

He laughed again, a little less humor tinting it that time as his hand gestured to the empty space next to him on the bench. Neither spoke for a few minutes, instead basking in the last remaining moments of silence before the midnight countdown began. Eventually her curiosity broke through though.

“Okay. I have to ask. How do you know David?”

Their friendship group had always been a fairly small tight knit crew, and she was certain that she’d have remembered the man next to her. Even in her foul mood she’d be an idiot not to acknowledge how handsome he was with that light smattering of scruff covering the lower half of his face. The perfect mixture of rugged and kempt. The way his bicep felt quite firm as he shifted and brushed his arm against hers.

“Ah. The inquisition portion of the evening.” He took a long tug from a flask he’d hidden on the ground next to his right foot.

He had walls. Something Emma understood intimately. The immediate need to deflect or defend with sarcastic remarks and witty banter. Anything to distract from people from getting too close.

“Not an inquisition. Just call it curiosity. And by the way,” she started as she took another swipe from her own bottle. “Who talks like that?”

Perhaps she’d had enough of the tequila.

“Like what exactly?”

She leveled him with her best glare.

“Fair point,” he mimicked her words from earlier. “The name is Killian, and to say that I know Nolan would be a bit of an overstatement. I just transferred over to his precinct earlier this week from across town and when he discovered that my plans for New Year’s involved take out and pay per view he insisted I come here. Apparently rubbing elbows with complete strangers with hardly any personality is a more appropriate use of my time. And as far as the ‘talking’ goes, you can blame that on the British educational system. For some reason they really tend to stress the whole education bit unlike the schools here in America.”

He stood as the party blowers began to scream, hardly bothering to excuse himself as he left Emma sitting alone, jaw hanging open at the verbal onslaught he’d just bestowed upon her.

She could hear the cheers inside signaling that another year had passed in glorious fashion.

Disaster.

Not that she should have expected anything less. The year before last she’d lost her mind and kissed Walsh. Another one of Mary Margaret’s infamous set up attempts. A year later she’d kissed him again, on another midnight . Unfortunately she’d found him kissing another woman just two days later and that was that, having set an impossibly high standard for that year to live up to.

Seven weeks into that new year Emma had come back from a night of friendly neighborhood research (stalking) to find that her beloved bug had been stolen. Only further emphasising her back luck, David had pointed out to her that she couldn’t file a report on it without implicating herself in a crime. Apparently cops tended to judge a person when they reported the car they stole as stolen, even if that person had gotten her shit together in the intervening years.

And then there had been the bank incident. Her beloved coffee shop had been closed for remodeling and she’d been forced to grab something at one of those trendy chain shops that charged a month’s rent for a single cup of cocoa. Usually that would have been hyperbole, except that particular cup had cost her everything in her checking account. The shop adamantly denied it, but one of the employees had clearly skimmed her card and gone on quite the shopping spree, draining away the money she’d been saving since college.

And if life hadn’t yet kicked her hard enough, she’d been evicted from her apartment, although evicted hadn’t been exactly the wording used on the letter explaining that her building was going co-op. But with her account fraud still under investigation and her money not yet returned, she couldn’t afford the down payment. The bank had all but laughed outright at her when she’d asked them for a loan.

The year hadn’t all been bad though. It had led to her living only one floor up from Mary Margaret and David. It was nice coming home from a midnight booking to find her fridge full of homemade meals in perfectly sized tupperware. Her newer car was a slightly less conspicuous than the bright yellow bug and she’d increased the number of skips she’d tracked down because of it. And ya, the new apartment was a little more expensive in rent that her old one had been, but it was a fresh start. Something she desperately needed. The rest of the year had actually gone pretty smoothly too, until she met Killian Jones.

He’d gotten under her skin somehow, something she thought about him considerably over the next few days. It wasn’t so much what he’d said, as much as the tone in which he’d sneered it out. She’d been called prickly in the past, but she’d never had someone act so callously towards her before, even in her foster care days. She thought about it as she went to bed in a foul mood. She thought about it as Mary Margaret tried pushing Jefferson on her again at lunch the next weekend. She even thought about it a dinner a few nights later, which is probably why she didn’t see the bread plate hurtling at her face.

She’d thought she had him, some lowlife who had hit his girlfriend one too many times. She should have expected it, been prepared for it. She had been, but then the dark haired guy at the bar beside her had said something in an accent and she let her mind wander for the briefest of seconds, just long enough for the scumball to toss a plate right in her face before trying to run out of the restaurant. He’d tripped on the stairs by the entrance though, smashing his face and breaking his nose. If Emma Swan had ever believed in karma, it was in that moment.

Luckily for both of their sakes, they’d only been a few blocks over from David’s station house. If she’d had to spend any more time with the man, his nose likely wouldn’t have been the only thing broken that night.

Granted, it was after nine on a Tuesday night, meaning David was long gone, but Emma was friendly enough with the night guys that none of them would have given her a second glance if she had roughed him up just a bit more than usual.

With the ring of a door bell, Emma found herself shoving the guy through a side door where Mullins was waiting for her just inside the bullpen after buzzing her in. He’d been the cop that had trained David during his rookie days. Mullins had taken a bullet during a robbery during David’s third year with the force, and even though he’d fully recovered physically he’d never returned to the field, too worried about leaving his wife and kids alone.

“Well, well, what do we have -” The concern was evident in his eyes as he took her in. “Jesus Christ, Emma.”

She felt herself holding back a snicker as Mullins pulled a little more forcefully than usual on the guy’s shoulder. After gruffly ordering her skip to sit down and changing out her cuffs for official department ones, Mullins returned his attention to Emma.

“You’re gonna have a pretty good shiner there, ya know that kid?”

“I’ve had worse.”

“I’m sure you have, but if Nolan finds out I let you leave here without checking you over he’ll have my hide.”

She chuckled to herself. David’s protective streak was his defining character trait.

“You know you outrank him, right?”

“Doesn’t matter. Jones!” His bellow took Emma off guard, startling her slightly. “Grab a first aid kit and get Emma here cleaned up a bit.”

Mullins pointed at a desk near the back of the bullpen and told her to go wait. Most of the desks had a few pictures littering the area. They were a mashup of people as the day officers and night officers shared spaces, but the one in the back had only one photo on it. Belle looked stunning in her white dress holding onto Lance’s arm in what was possibly the tightest tux she’d ever seen on a man. They were so happy together. But there was nothing else. Nothing in the way of personal effects from anyone else.

“Alright, love, I’ve got-” His words seemed to fall away when she turned around. The last person she’d expected or wanted to see was standing before her in a dark navy blue police uniform. In the artificial lighting she could see that there was a smattering of ginger in his beard. His inky black hair stuck up in places. But it was his eyes that she lingered on. They were possibly the bluest she’d ever seen.

“You.” Not her most eloquent of greetings, but she was still fuming over what he’d said to her on New Year’s.

“Aye, me.” His fingers fiddled with the latch on the first aid kit, but he made no move to open it.

“This day just keeps getting better and better,” she mumbled to herself

He at least had the presence of mind to look chagrined.

“Please, love. Take a seat and I’ll get you cleaned up and on your way.”

“Emma.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s Emma. Emma Swan. I’m not your love.”

He nodded and looked at the ground as he came to lean against the desk. His desk.

“My apologies. For calling you love, but mostly for the other night. You have every right to be cross with me. I’d had far more libations than food and I treated you poorly. I’d like to think I’m usually more of a gentleman than that.”

She studied him for a while, watching to see if his eyes shifted or if he fidgeted. Tells that she’d learned over the years to see if someone was lying. Little pieces of body language that could give away everything. He didn’t do anything to convince her that he was anything but sorry.

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t but she felt the call of Ben and Jerry’s and a Netflix marathon pulling at her. As well as a much needed icepack. “I probably wasn’t in the most festive mood either so we’ll call it even.”

He had her sit on his desktop so she’d be at eye level with him. Killian - Killian Jones apparently - grabbed her chin and tilted her face to get a better look. Frowning, he lightly brushed her forehead with his fingers causing her to hiss in pain. She knew the plate had caught her pretty squarely in the face, but it hadn’t hurt until just then.

He apologized for causing her pain and set to work on cleaning her up, informing her that on top of the beginnings of a black eye there was a pretty large gash as well. She winced as he dabbed the wound with an alcohol swab. She also protested when he suggested she go to the emergency room for stitches. She’d had worse and just wanted to go home and forget the entire night.

Well, most of the night. As he set about to applying butterfly strips, she couldn’t help but let her eyes wander over his face, over the pale pink scar on his right cheek. The slight point of his ears. But mostly over how well his form filled out his uniform. Boston’s finest indeed . Shaking away the thought, she heard him apologize once more,thinking he’d hurt her again.

“Uh, no. I’m just tired.” Not a complete lie at least.

Her exit from the precinct was awkward at best. After Mullins returned with her paperwork so she could collect her money, she hadn’t been sure what to say. Or if she even needed to say anything. They’d only met at a party once for three minutes after all. After mentally debating it, she’d given him a very simple thank you, then humiliated herself by almost poking herself in the eye as she pointed to her face. Not the most graceful exit, but she’d at least managed to make it out of the building without falling over in her heels so she called it a win.

She’d barely made it through the front door of her building before Mary Margaret and David had come barreling out down the stairwell, coddling her like parents, insisting that she come back up to their apartment to eat something. Clearly Mullins had called them to check on her. By the time she made it back to her own apartment she was far too tired to do anything other than crawl into bed and pass out.

The rest of the week, however, was practically a staycation as she hibernated in her apartment, not wanting to see people’s pitying looks on the sidewalk as they misjudged the situation. The first day her head throbbed and her eye was nearly swollen shut. She slept that day away, not even wanting to get up to search for painkillers or to make an ice pack. The second day was slightly better. The swelling had gone down on her eye, replaced by a deep purple bruising. It was still too sore to cover with concealer so she stayed shut up in her apartment scarfing down the ice cream she’d been craving before.

Before she realized it, she’d watched an entire season of The Great British Bake Off, and completely lost track of the time. The sun had long since fallen below the skyline and her stomach was beginning to turn on her for having forgotten to feed it something more substantial than frozen milk all day. Just as she was getting up to check her fridge, she heard a knock at her door.

Curious, she checked the peephole, not expecting anyone. Her downstairs neighbors had a key, and while it was supposed to be for emergencies that had never stopped them from using it for everyday use too.

It was hard to tell through the dirty glass of the peephole, but it appeared to be a man carrying a large bag of food from what looked like the Chinese place around the corner. It was probably a mix-up with the delivery guy. August down the hall had an even more irregular sleep schedule than her and ordered food at all hours of the night.

There was another knock, reminding Emma that the man on the other side of the door was in fact an actual human being and that she should probably open the door and redirect him to August.

“Hey, I think you have the wrong apartment. Booth is three doors down on the right.”

She was already closing the door when she heard him.

“Emma Swan?”

“Ya.”

“Well, then this is for you.”

She tried to explain that she hadn’t ordered anything. That he either had the wrong apartment or that it was a prank. The food had already been paid for though and the tip taken care of. Cautiously she had accepted the bag, setting it on her coffee table as she eyed it, as if it were somehow booby trapped, like a peanut can that once opened launched snakes at its poor unsuspecting victim.

Once she’d felt thoroughly convinced that the bag was safe, she began pulling out enough containers of food to feed a small army. She wondered once more if it had been a mistake, if some poor family of four was starving somewhere in the building, but as she pulled out the last carton of spring rolls, she found a note. His handwriting was a bit more flowery than she’d expected, not that she’d actually thought on it until just then.

Swan,

Now we’re even.

-KJ

Simple and to the point, making Emma smile in spite of herself and her lingering hostility towards him. She had to give him credit. He’d nailed all of her favorites, making her wonder if he’d just guessed well or if he’d had a little insight into her food preferences. Although, she doubted that he’d bother asking David and they didn’t share any other acquaintances.

That night she ate to her heart’s content, almost too much. Putting away the remaining food, she returned to her bed and quickly fell asleep thanks to her overstuffed stomach. The next morning brought a bit of relief with it. Her black eye was finally in the icky green healing stage and the gash on her forehead looked much better than the first night.

Feeling as if she’d rested enough, she called her employer to claim her next case. It was a small time drug dealer. By all accounts, he seemed to be privileged kid rebelling against his parents. He’d dropped out of school his junior year of college and started selling weed out of his car. His latest arrest had been for trying to deal to a cop. His parents had foolishly bailed him out, yet again, and he’d missed his court date, yet again .

The only foreseeable issue was that the kid had nearly unlimited funds to hide with, though he hadn’t exactly been good at evading the law before. As Emma searched through his social media accounts, it quickly became apparent that what he had in money, he more than made up for in lack of brains. It only took her an hour of research to learn that he’d been staying with an old friend from prep school in the center of the city.

Not bothering to go through the effort of a honey trap, Emma dressed in comfortable leggings, a long sleeved sweater and red leather jacket. She did her best to conceal the remaining wounds on her face and set out, grabbing a few snacks for what she hoped would be a very short stakeout.

It hadn’t been. In fact it had taken fourteen hours of sitting in her four year old Mini Cooper.. She’d been ready to call it a night when he finally emerged from the brownstone wearing a black hoodie and jeans. He’d clearly watched one too many movies on standard criminal dress codes.

As usual, he hadn’t seen her coming. She got the jump on him just as she’d done countless times before, and in near record time she had him back down at David’s station ready for booking. She wasn’t really sure why she’d gone there, passing another police station along the way. One that she’d used plenty of times before.

Yet for some reason, she’d felt compelled, trying to reason that it was just because David’s station was closer to her own apartment. That it would be a shorter ride home after. It had absolutely nothing to do with the attractive man that had invaded her dreams the night before.

Of course, when he saw her bringing in her barely legal skip and had come over to say hello, she was as annoyed as she might have expected. In fact, he was in a much more jovial mood that night, and when one of the other cops made a comment about how they preferred her other ‘work’ outfits, he just smiled and mumbled something about how they weren’t wrong under his breath. Then she watched as his cheeks pinkened and his finger began to scratch at a spot just behind his ear.

She hadn’t known how to take it. She hadn’t known how to take him. Not after New Year’s and the Chinese food. He was like Jekyll and Hyde, moody and brooding one moment, blissfully charming the next. He perplexed her. Or at least that what she told herself as thoughts of him continued to invade her mind over the next three weeks. Unable to get a read on him.

The harshness of January gave way to February. Snow still lingered on the sidewalks, but no more had fallen. She’d delivered two more skips to the same department over that time, even though one of them she’d picked up clear on the other side of town. Killian’s mood had soured dramatically by the second drop off. So much so that he’d barely even spoken more than a disgruntled hello that final time. Barely acknowledged that she was there.

It shouldn’t have hurt her. It wasn’t like she really needed him to leer at her chest in her skintight minidress like the other cops usually did. Especially the married ones. She’d always felt a little cheap when it happened, but something about his dismissal of her felt worse. Like she was no one. A sensation she hadn’t experienced since she was eighteen, just after Neal. That’s when she’d found out that she’d been accepted to Boston University with a substantial financial aid package. Gone were the days of not being seen by her foster parents or social workers. She’d become someone, and yet at twenty seven, she may as well have been that young girl all over again as he groused about paperwork, waving her off in the process.

A few nights later Emma wore that same red dress to pick up her latest skip, promising herself a well deserved break after his delivery. Catching him was easy. A little batting of the eyes, a throaty laugh as she pressed her hand into his chest. He melted into the her, dropping his guard long enough for her to cuff him to the barstool. She didn’t bother taking him to David’s station that time, choosing to instead call someone out from the precinct around the corner. The skip really should have been smarter than to agree to meet her at a notorious cop bar.

Once again the dress had done its job, and though she felt a slight bit of gratification knowing that at least one guy in Boston still found her attractive, the garment was shed the moment she walked into her apartment. Unlike the skin tight material, the day lingered on, tight in her muscles, and she hoped that a hot shower would ease her body.

It wasn’t meant to be though, as a sharp set of knocks sounded out on her door. Knocks that she recognized. Calling out to wait a minute, Emma scrambled to get dressed, tugging on some leggings and a sweatshirt. She didn’t even bother to check herself over in the mirror before opening the door.

She’d met him about two months in from moving into her new apartment. There had been noises, loud ones. Breaking glass, thumping on the walls. It was enough that she could hear it from her closed apartment three doors down. She’d been worried that someone was in trouble. With her gun in tow, she’d crept down the hall, stopping to listen at the door. There had been muffled yells, a man’s voice cursing. The door had been unlocked, and while she’d known it to be a bad idea at the time, walking into a stranger’s apartment uninvented and armed, her concern outweighed her need for self preservation.

He was a writer. A self indulgent prick with a complex. A man trying to write the next great novel and failing at it. The yells had been him screaming at his computer, at his words for being unremarkable. Oddly enough, Emma hadn’t been as put off by him as she should have been, and somehow they became friends of sorts.

“Thought you might be up for a goodbye party.”

He didn’t wait for an invitation, pushing past her to unpack the food he’d brought with him.

“Goodbye? I didn’t know I was going anywhere.”

August laughed, standing only long enough to grab some beers from her fridge.

He was leaving. To some place in Thailand, or near Thailand. Something about needing to disconnect from technology and distractions. About needing to live a story worth telling. She gave him three months before he partied himself into a ditch, or whatever type of landforms they had in Phuket. They ate and drank and promised to stay in touch, both knowing it was a lie. He left that night for the last time and Emma felt just the slightest bit empty.

She’d lost her confidant. The one person she could tell things to that wouldn’t judge her thanks to his own litany of crap. The ‘break’ she’d promised herself was short lived. The hollow feeling eating away at her. She needed something to distract herself. It wasn’t hard to track her down. A fake account on Grindr, a quick meet up for a drink first.

The only problem had been that the restaurant was only a few blocks away from her apartment, meaning only a few blocks down from the last precinct she wanted to visit again. She thought about driving to another one, but the girl had been mouthy after Emma had cuffed her and she just wanted her gone. She could only pray that he was out patrolling for once.

She had never been particularly lucky. Mullins was out sick and the only free officer to take her skip was him . He looked like shit, a small satisfaction in her book. Dark circles under his eyes, mused hair, wrinkled uniform.

He was moody. Not exactly harsh with the skip, but not showing any real kindness either. Not that she’d expected him to. She’d only seen him a handful of times and he’d been cranky more often than cheerful. If she hadn’t needed him to sign off on the paperwork, she wouldn’t have even bothered to stay. But when he mumbled something about being too busy and her bringing in a skip being an inconvenience she’d had enough.

She tossed the paperwork at him, telling him to just sign the damn papers so she could be on her way. Telling him that she hadn’t exactly been expecting to spend her entire night at the station. That he was the inconvenience. She barely let him finish scrawling out his name on the last piece of paper before she ripped it out from under his pen, storming off towards the side door.

“Shit. Swan, wait.”

She turned around just long enough to give him her fiercest glare before turning and heading for the door again. His hand loosely grabbed her wrist as he chased after her.

“Please.”

She stopped, not quite facing him, but not shutting him out completely.

“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, not again, but I shouldn’t have taken my piss poor mood out of you. I’m sorry.”

There was a pleading in his tired eyes that she didn’t understand. Yet she felt helpless to hear him out anyway.

“No you don’t, and no, you shouldn’t have.”

His head dropped in resignation.

“Why have you been in such a horrible mood anyway?”

He told her the story. It wasn’t the whole story. She knew he was leaving something out, but it wasn’t her place to ask. It wasn’t her place to want to know. But he gave her enough. He’d been staying in a hotel since he changed precincts nearly two months ago, stuck on the night shift. Apartment hunting had been a nightmare. His schedule only left him a small window of opportunity to see listings in person, and the places were either death traps or rented out before he’d got a chance to even view them. Then some ‘lot of bloody children’ had moved into the the room next to him. They spent most mornings running around making noise and he’d been unable to get a decent night’s sleep.

She felt for him, something deep within her seeing something in him. A lost boy. He was all alone just trying to survive. He’d been thrown overboard and was too proud to ask for help or to let anyone know he was drowning. She hated herself for what she was about to do.

“I have a friend.”

“Okay?”

“I mean, I have a friend who’s moving out of his apartment. He’s subleasing it himself until his lease is up in a few months and then you could transfer over the lease to your name after, if you wanted to stay there that is.”

His eyes shifted, more alert but still guarded. But something lighter filtered through as he watched her. Hope.

“You’d do that for me?”

“I think we’ve established that I’m not the dick here.” She flourished her hand between the two of them. “The only catch is that it’s in David’s building. I’m not sure if you’d want to see him at both work and your off time.”

His head tilted. “Thank you, but perhaps I shouldn’t then. If Dave chose not to tell me about the apartment, it probably means he doesn’t want me there.”

“He doesn’t know about it. The guy that lives there now is on a different floor and keeps odd hours. I’m not sure if he and David have actually ever even spoken to each other.”

She gave him August’s contact info, telling him that he was likely awake if he wanted to call about it on his break, leaving him with a warning.

“Don’t make me regret this, Jones.”

He moved in the next week, bringing only a few boxes. August had decided to leave most of his furniture, choosing instead to relinquish the creature comforts he’d become accustomed to. Believing that an artist was more creative when struggling. The furniture didn’t seem to match Killian’s personality, but he said it was fine.

He was still unpacking when two large pizzas arrived at her door. Already paid for just like the Chinese food. A thank you gift for getting him out of his hell hotel. He’d waved to her from his doorway, box in hand as she’d accepted the pizza, before ducking back inside. She’d thanked the delivery guy, adding on an extra tip. It was a lot of pizza. Too much really.

At least, that’s what she told herself as she grabbed a six pack of beer from her fridge door along with the pizza boxes before heading over to his place. The door had been left open from his constant trips back and forth between his car and the trash chute.

“Knock, knock. Welcoming party.”

He called back out, telling her to come in, laughing when she told him that someone had sent her an obscene amount of food. They talked a little that night. Superficial things. He was originally from London but had moved to the States for college. He had a brother, still serving in the Royal Navy. They usually only saw each other once a year around Christmas time. Emma was only doing bail bonds long enough to save up enough money for law school. It was strangely nice, despite her missing August.

It wasn’t the man that she missed as much as the bond she’d formed. She’d told him everything. Or at least almost everything. Now a near stranger sat in his place, and she felt alone all over again.

The strange thing though, was that he wasn’t a stranger. Not a complete one anyway. She knew him in a way. Knew that he’d been hurt. That he was just as alone as she was. Just as defensive. As broken as her. He was a kindred spirit.

They parted that night on better terms than ever before, leaving Emma to wonder just who Killian Jones was. What the missing part of his story was. She considered asking Mary Margaret the next day at lunch, but she wasn’t able to think of a natural segueway. One that wouldn’t make her look like a young schoolgirl with a crush.

The checks were on the table when she was finally and inadvertently given her chance. Ruby was the one to ask. She’d delivered some coffee and donuts to Graham and David who’d both been up early that morning working on a case. Killian had still been there, causing Emma to wonder why he’d been working so late. She’d even worried a little, but then Ruby asked about him, and all of Emma’s focus went to that.

To why Ruby was asking about him. To the way she toyed with the locket around her neck. The wolfish grin as she mentioned how good his ass looked in those pants. To the way Ruby asked if he was single.

Emma had to hold back a growl as her friend basically spoke of how she’d love to devour the man, and it frightened her. Frightened her that she was jealous over a man she barely knew, that she refused to let herself think of in that way. Jealous that Ruby could be so casual with men she saw on a daily basis. That she was so open with her sexuality. But mostly it frightened her that Ruby Lucas had never had a man turn her down.

The thought of Ruby writhing on the same sheets Emma had helped him tug over his mattress the night before made her sick for some reason. One she absolutely refused to think about . Instead she pushed it down, listening to Mary Margaret explain that she didn’t really know all that much about him. Just that he seemed nice enough the few times she’d met him. She didn’t even seem to realize that he’d moved into the building.

“Hey Mags, I have a great idea. Why don’t you invite him over to dinner Friday to properly introduce us. You know how you love setting people up.”

“He’s working.”

Two pairs of eyes snapped towards her. The words were out of her mouth before she’d even realized it. She wasn’t sure of he was really working or not, but it seemed likely enough. She’d seen him there on a Friday night before.

“I mean, I think he is. The last time I brought in a weekend skip he was there.”

“Well that’s a shame,” Ruby pouted. “Shit, is that the time? Crap, I have to run, but Mags, next time you see him, do you think you could talk me up?”

“Sure, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks. You’re the best!”

Mary Margaret barely spared Ruby a second glance as she ran out of the cafe, instead focusing her eyes on Emma. Speculation written all over her face.

“What was that all about?”

“Oh you know Ruby,” Emma tried for nonchalance. “She’s always been man hungry.”

“That’s not what I was talking about and you know it.” Her friend had clearly picked up some lie detecting tricks from David. “You were upset.”

“No I wasn’t. I was just trying to be helpful.” “If that’s true, then please explain to me why the heels of your palms have fingernail imprints in them?” Emma squirmed under her gaze, trying not to give an inch lest her friend take a mile.

“I just feel bad for Graham, you know.” Not a total lie. She was getting good at that. “He’s been in love with her for so long and I just thought it might be really awkward for him having to work with a guy that Ruby’s been with.”

“Good try. And yes, it would be if I thought Killian had any interest in her at all.”

“And what does that mean?”

Emma felt her heart surge with the tiniest bit of hope as Mary Margaret went on to explain that she’d already tried to introduce the two of them on New Year’s but Killian hadn’t been as amiable. So maybe amiable wasn’t the word Mary Margaret used, but it sounded like something Killian would say and for some reason that’s how Emma heard it. Her friend further explained that Killian had actually seemed really put out by the notion of a set up even after he’d seen Ruby’s chest nearly falling out of her dress as she danced around the apartment.

It wasn’t until later that day that Emma took offense. Her friend had tried to set Ruby up with Killian, while she’d tried setting up Emma with the mad hatter. She didn’t want Killian, really, she didn’t.

Yes, keep lying to yourself. That’s healthy.

But she’d still been offended that Mary Margaret had thought she’d be more compatible with a guy that talked in riddles and dressed up to go to the Boston tea house. It was a place only small children went to feel fancy in their dress up princess clothes. Not a place for a grown ass man to live out some weird fantasy. A part of her wondered if there wasn’t something slightly more sinister going on there.

She begged off from their planned dinner the next night. Something she did with them every Friday night, work permitting, but her ire with Mary Margaret had only grown and she didn’t want to see the woman, afraid she may say something regrettable. Unfortunately, it meant that her friend left nothing in her fridge to eat. She contemplated getting something delivered, but she didn’t want to be home if the Charmings from downstairs came up to check on her or to call her bluff about being busy.

The little pub around the corner was busier than she’d expected. Nearly every table was full and the bar had a crowd two deep. Emma turned around, set to leave when she saw him, sitting at a table in the corner all by himself.

“Is this seat taken?”

It was a cheesy line, and she hadn’t meant to sound so throaty as she said it, but she hoped that she come off more as joking than flirty. It didn’t matter though. He was too gone to really even notice her. She could have been wearing a shark onesie and he likely wouldn’t have been fazed. He shouldn’t even be served any more, yet when the waitress walked over with her tray, she had another glass of amber liquid ready for him.

“I’ll take that. Can he get some water?”

The waitress looked disappointed, but smiled and nodded, returning soon after with a large glass. Emma took a moment longer to order some food, asking for it in a to-go bag. As she waited on it to be ready, she tried to force Killian to drink as much of the water as possible.

The walk back to the apartment was a bit of a struggle. Killian was wobbly on his feet and she nearly dropped him trying to open the door to their building, but somehow she made it to the elevator without hurting him. It took a minute of digging around in his jacket pocket to find his own apartment keys.

The place was surprisingly immaculate. She’d never seen it in such a condition before. August had always been a bit sloppy. Emma set Killian down on the couch and pulled the food out of the to-go bag she’d been given, insisting that he eat it all to soak up the booze in his stomach. By the end of the meal, he was looking far more sober than when she’d found him at the pub.

His eyes still had a glaze over them though, a haunted look, and although she tried not to worry, she couldn’t help asking him what had caused him to get shit-faced. He was evasive, or tried to be, but Emma refused to let him bottle it up. She shouldn’t pry. Not when his inhibitions were so low. She knew that. She would be furious if the tables were turned, but when he said something about a ‘her’ Emma’s concern morphed into something else. A new feeling that left her stomach in angry knots.

It was the the same old story of heartbreak. Her name was Milah. They’d dated for two years and suddenly she’d just decided to end things. To walk away from everything they’d built, including the townhouse they’d purchased. Or almost purchased. Something about it being in escrow.

But that’s when the tale turned. Her husband had caught wind of her plans to purchase a new home with her lover and told her she needed to choose between his money or her man candy. Ya, the husband had been news to him too. A blatant reminder that no matter how long you’ve been with someone, you never really know them.

The money had won out.

So he’d packed up. Boxed up the few items that didn’t remind him of her, and asked for a transfer. She felt sick. It was such a vivid reminder of Neal and Walsh. Of how they’d both fooled her into thinking that they loved her, but when it came down to it, neither had. Both had chosen something else over her. Her heart stung for him.

She’d been in the society section of the newspaper that morning, promoting a new little boutique uptown. She’d looked happy, really happy, and it had sent Kilian over the edge of misery knowing that she didn’t even miss him. That their breakup was nothing to her.

“So, Emma Swan,” he slurred slightly. “You now know my deepest darkest secret. What’s yours?”

She didn’t tell him. A mixture between wouldn't and couldn’t. That secret was locked far too deep inside. She’d never told anyone. Not Mary Margaret or David. Not Ruby. Not even August who’d known more about her than anyone.

Instead, she lied, telling him about Neal. About how she’d given her virginity to a man a decade older than her. A man that had immersed her in a life of petty theft and crime. How he’d tried to pin something on her, but she’d found out before he could do anything and turned him over to the police. He’d fled before they could arrest him, and she’d been let off with a strong warning. It was the only time being a foster kid had worked in her favor. The judge had taken pity and given her community service in exchange for a dismissal of the charges the DA had tried to hit her with.

It wasn’t her deepest secret, but it was still a dark one that she didn’t enjoy discussing. Mary Margaret had just looked at her with pity when she’d told her. That had been the start of her obsession when fixing Emma up with the perfect guy. Ruby’s first question had been to ask if Neal was good in bed. Unfortunately, his age and experience had done little for him. Something Emma didn’t realize until later after she’d had a few more partners.

But Killian, he just thanked her, his head still lolling back resting against the edge of the couch.

Something shifted between them that night. It started slowly, but they didn’t just talk when they ran into each other for work anymore. They both went out of their way to hang out, binging shows on their days off. Getting meals together. Walking together to Mary Margaret’s Friends’ Friday dinners. And if Emma had made an extra effort to ensure that he sat next to her instead of Ruby, well that was nobody’s business.

When Emma sprained her ankle chasing a skip in the rain, it was Killian who wrapped and iced her ankle. His fingers that brushed against her skin creating sparks along the way. It was Killian who told her she didn’t have to go to the emergency room if she didn’t want to, even though all of her other friends were insisting she get it x-rayed. He somehow just knew that what she needed most was to stay in bed. He was also the one that brought her bear claws from Granny’s on his way home from work in the mornings. He stayed up long enough to make her coffee just the way she liked it and brought it to her before going to his own apartment to crash.

He had become her everything in that year since their meeting. Somehow a mashup of the relationships she shared with August and Mary Margaret. He was her doting friend that had also become her closest confidant. He was the one she went to when she saw Walsh in the jewelry store buying a ring. The one that told her she wasn’t as stupid as she felt. That the mistake of opening up her heart to someone wasn’t hers, but his for betraying her trust the way he had.

He went to her when he was struggling with work. With his new captain who was just a huge dick and how he was always getting crumbs in his stupid black beard. With a case where the evidence just didn’t add up. Even when he was pissed at Dave for interfering in his personal life. She was the first person to hear about is promotion to detective, and his subsequent change to the day shift.

They were everything to each other.

And that was the problem. She hadn’t realized it. Not at first. But over that year she’d come to rely on him like a crutch in a way. She craved his approval. Wanted to see him smile. To be the one that made him smile. She loved the way that his arm lingered on her shoulders protectively when they went out to the pub for Ruby’s birthday. The way his hand stroked up and down her arm, his thumb drawing circles across her clavicle. The way his fingers always tangled in the ends of her hair.

She wanted him. She wanted him in the way that love stories were written about. She wanted him to hold her as they fell asleep at night after a passionate night of lovemaking. She wanted him to wipe away her tears and then kiss her senseless until all of the bad thoughts were banished. She wanted him to tell her that he loved her. Emma wanted him to be her last New Year’s Kiss. She wanted everything with him.

She just didn’t know it.

Not until Mary Margaret pointed it out while they were taking down the old Christmas decorations. The holiday had passed by in steller fashion. Killian hadn’t been there, instead meeting his brother in New York. The Boston airport had been all but shut down and many of the flights had been rerouted due to weather. Killian had told her that he couldn’t stand the thought of Liam spending the holiday alone in a strange city, so he left early, trying to beat the storm as it raged across the north east coastline.

She’d been worried about him driving in such horrible weather, even offering to go with him. But he’d insisted that she stay, not wanting to ruin her holiday as well. She felt empty and alone, despite being surrounded with people. He’d called her when he’d gotten there the night before, as promised to let her know he was ok. Liam was already passed out in the bed next to him so he couldn’t talk for long, but he’d wished her a Merry Christmas Eve before he hung up.

The storm had only worsened overnight and the Jones brothers were trapped in the city, unable to get home until the snow had stopped falling and the streets had been cleared. So they spent the morning on Facetime celebrating the holiday the best way possible. Mary Margaret opened the presents he’d left for them and laughed at the NYPD Rookie newborn onesie he’d bought them. Mary Margaret still had a few months to go, but David had already decided that his son was going to wear it one his ride home from the hospital. He tried to get Emma to open the present he’d left for her as well, but she refused, telling him that she’d wait until he was back so they could exchange gifts together.

It took four days before Killian finally made it back to Boston. At one point she’d been certain that he was going to miss Mary Margaret’s now infamous New Year’s Eve party, and while it would have sucked for him to miss it, a part of her was secretly glad. Ruby was still insistent that Mary Margaret set the two of them up. That they should forget to take down some of the mistletoe. There was an exaggerated wink that followed and the idea of it had just left a heavy weight on her shoulders, a gnawing in her stomach that she couldn’t quite explain.

She pushed that thought out of her brain when he returned though. The feeling of his chest pressed against hers as they hugged in greeting was a balm to her soul. One she didn’t know that she needed, and that was enough for her to forget the dread she’d felt.

She couldn’t believe that he’d remembered based on a random story she’d told him months before. He’d given her a magic eight-ball. As a kid she’d been naive and fallen for the story her mother had told her when she’d handed her the box on her 6th birthday. That she’d thought it was an actual lie detector test and she’d carried it everywhere with her, thinking it gave her a superpower, until a bully in one of her group homes had grabbed it from her, tossing it onto the sidewalk from a second story window. Shattering the ball and the last bit of hope she’d had in the world. And while none of her friends had understood the significance of the gift Killian had bestowed upon her, she cherished it.

She’d bought him a captain’s hat, telling him that if a man as idiotic as Edward Teach could make captain, than so could he. He’d smiled and kissed her cheek telling her “Thank you for the gift, love.”

She wasn’t really sure when he’d started calling her love again, just that it didn’t bother her anymore. In fact, it usually left her with a flutter. Not that she ever dwelled on that.

But then Mary Margaret had pointed it out. The way she lit up when Killian was around. That he did the same. The casual affectionate touches that they shared. The fact that they had more inside jokes together than she had with the rest of the group combined. The way they spent all of their free time together.

They were dating and neither of them knew it. Or at least Emma hadn’t known it. She couldn’t say for sure. She’d even gone so far as to deny it, but then she’d been reminded of the elevator incident.

They had come back from watching a Boston Celtics game. A skip had offered her his family tickets for her to let him go. She’d taken the tickets and cuffed him anyway. Perhaps it wasn’t the most upstanding thing to do, but they’d go to waste otherwise. So they’d gone, had beer and popcorn. It had been fun. It had been long. The metro line had been jam packed and they all regretted not driving to the stadium. The arm she would have paid for parking almost would have been worth it.

By the time they made it back to their building, they’d all been exhausted, and the elevator ride seemed slower than usual. David and Mary Margaret had both been leaning against the opposite wall of the elevator, but Emma had leaned back into Killian, allowing him to hold her up. Maybe she’d been too tired to notice the way his hand had settled on her hips, his thumb brushing dangerously low under the waistline of her jeans. Then again, maybe she just hadn’t cared.

It had seemed so natural for him to touch her so intimately. Anyone else would have received an elbow to the ribs or a kick in the groin, but with Killian, it was just normal. Mary Margaret had disembarked on her floor, giving Emma an odd look on the way out as David told them good night. Emma had been too tired to care what the look had meant though. When the elevator had opened on their floor, they hadn't discussed it. They’d just instinctively gone to Emma’s apartment and plopped down on her couch to watch Netflix. They’d woken the next morning spooning each other and neither of them had thought it unusual.

So ya, they were dating, and honestly, Emma wasn’t sure what to make of it. Especially when she didn’t know if Killian felt the same way. If he had butterflies when she rubbed his shoulders after a long day. If he felt a rush of heat when he saw her in her in one of her honeytrap dresses.

She spent all of New Year’s Eve thinking about it. Debating if she should say anything or not, but he’d winked at her in the hallway as he was getting in from work, and that moment, had solidified her resolve. She was going to find him at midnight and kiss the ever-loving hell out of him. To start the year off right. Maybe she’d even take him back to her apartment after for something more than movie watching.

There was a new dress. One she’d been saving for a special occasion. Something more meaningful than a skip. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, her makeup removed and reapplied twice. She even managed to find matching heels. The weather had cleared up enough that they’d even be able to go out on the balcony again, where it had all begun. Everything was perfect. She’d also severely underestimated how long it would take her to get ready though, and by the time she got down to her friends’ apartment, there were less than fifteen minutes until midnight. With the apartment full of people it was hard to move around, and even harder to find the man she was looking for. With five minutes left, she finally spotted Graham, slipping out of the restroom. She stopped him, grabbing his wrist to ask him if he’d seen Killian.

There were tears forming in his eyes though. Something had happened. Something with Ruby, and as much as she wanted her grand dramatic gesture, she needed to comfort her friend more. She had no idea that soon she was the one that would need comforting.

He’d been looking for Ruby, thought he’d seen her head into the bathroom. She’d been in there a while so he knocked, trying to make sure she was alright. No one had answered, but he’d heard moaning noises. Thinking that she was in trouble, he’d slipped into the bathroom and caught an eyeful of dark hair fucking Ruby with his mouth. Emma had had enough. She loved Ruby dearly, and would never judge her for her choices, but Graham was hurting and it was time that Ruby took responsibility for her actions. She stood to make her way to the bathroom but he stopped her.

“Emma, you don’t want to do that.”

Like hell she didn’t.

“I mean it. You really don’t want to go in there.”

He was pleading, a fresh wave of tears staining his cheeks and Emma felt every muscle in her body seize up.

“And why don’t I want to go in there?” There was a quiver to her voice. She felt so small and weak and hated herself.

“Please.”

She knew. Before she knew, she knew . As she stepped to the door, hand in the air ready to knock, she heard a scream. One final yell of ecstasy fell from Ruby’s lips, and she knew.

“Jones! ”

#csjj #captain swan january joy #cs fic #a rather common name

[kimarchive]

When Saweetie landed a viral hit with her boss-up anthem “ICY GRL,” it was the product of unchecked confidence and limitless ambition. As a student at the University of Southern California, the Bay Area native already knew she could rap and used her Instagram account to prove it. Videos of Saweetie freestyling in the front seat of her car, along with a hyperactive SoundCloud page, eventually led to a record deal and her debut EP, High Maintenance. She flaunted her ability to weaponize words and spray them unsparingly at her exes and cynics on songs such as “B.A.N.” and “Good Good.” And even though her career is a product of the internet, the 26-year-old rapper, born Diamonté Harper, remains a student of hip hop’s pre-digital heyday. Her biggest hit, “My Type,” samples Petey Pablo’s “Freek-a-Leek,” and her most recent EP, this year’s ICY, is an old-school ode to getting the bag. Her respect for the history of the genre is why, when she spoke to her idol Lil’ Kim for the first time, she could barely contain herself.

LIL’ KIM: Hey, sexy girl! Where you at? SAWEETIE: I just flew from L.A. to San Diego. I have a show here tonight. Where you at? KIM: I’m in Jersey. So, first of all, how did you get so freaking dope? SAWEETIE: Oh my gosh. I’m sorry. I’m having a moment. I can’t believe it’s you. You sound just like your songs! KIM: I don’t think they saw you fucking coming. And I still don’t think they see you coming. You feel me? SAWEETIE: Yeah, I feel you. How did I get so dope? Writing has always been my thing, and a lot of people don’t know that entertaining is a whole other thing. That was never my strong suit. So I was looking at a bunch of performers, wondering what I could take from them and make my own. One thing I really love about you is that when you walk onstage, you might not be rapping and you might not be dancing, but just your presence—I’m like, “Damn.” That’s what I want to have onstage. KIM: If you take anything from me, you’re going to take this and you’re going to hold it in your hand and put it in your heart and lock it, because I don’t say shit I don’t mean. When I watched you perform at Summer Jam, you were my highlight. Even though you were out there for a short period of time, guess what? It was short and Saweetie. You captivated me. SAWEETIE: You’re giving me butterflies. My heart is beating so fast! My choreographer told me a story about you. I forget which award show it was, but Puff was talking to an artist, and the artist didn’t want to do something, and then you came in and you were like, “Oh, you don’t want to do it? I’ll do it, because our job as performers is to entertain.” I’d never thought about it that way. It’s not just about reciting the lyrics and doing the one-two step. The goal is to entertain. KIM: Girls go out there and they perform, but they may not captivate people. But when I watch you onstage, and look at your Instagram, I noticed that mama is a fashionista! Bitch, you be givin’ lewks. SAWEETIE: Every year I write down goals for myself, and I was like, “I really hope I find my Misa Hylton [Lil’ Kim’s stylist] this year, because I would love to have looks like Kim had.” You guys were a lethal combination, and, girl, maybe three months after that, I found my stylist. No matter where I go, I’m trying to put on a look like Kim. KIM: You remind me of me. One of the things that I love that you adopted into your routine is the whole girly cheerleader thing. It’s so sexy. And then you were doing this dance at one show, you were doing this little butt move, and it was the perfect butt move because it was something I would do. When you recorded “My Type,” did you like the beat right away? When Puffy brought me “No Time,” I hated that freakin’ record. SAWEETIE: Really? KIM: I hated it, girl. But he’s my big brother and I looked up to him so much that anything he told me to do, I did. And he was very protective of me. He always said, “Kim, you do better when I give you a record that you don’t like.” I guess I was trying to prove something to him. Were you super excited when you first heard the “My Type” beat? SAWEETIE: I was actually in the studio when they made it, because I was missing one more song off of my EP—I was missing a slap. We were about to sample something else, but I was like, “What is something from my childhood that I couldn’t get enough of?” And I remembered being 10 or 11 dancing to that Petey Pablo song. The sample gets me every time. KIM: You give the song a whole new life, the way you attacked it. You just went in on it because you loved it. Is it certified gold or platinum now? SAWEETIE: My first song, “ICY GRL,” is platinum and “My Type” is gold. KIM: How does that feel? SAWEETIE: It feels amazing. I feel like everything is just coming together, and the fact that I’m getting to interview with you, it just makes everything so surreal and dope. KIM: Interview published one of the biggest magazine photos for me, so they became like my extended family. We have this history. The girls you dance with onstage, are those your friends? SAWEETIE: One of them is my best friend, and the rest are her friends. It’s all homegirl vibes. KIM: That’s so dope. You can tell there’s a friendship there. Sometimes girls go onstage with dancers and you can tell they don’t know them. SAWEETIE: When you work on my team, I want everybody to feel at home. Music is my career, but dancing is their career, and I want their career to be as fun as mine. KIM: My best friend danced for me for years. I have a television show on VH1 called Girls Cruise, and she’s on it with me. Now she has her own clothing line at Neiman Marcus. She’s a boss bitch. What’s your sign, Saweetie? SAWEETIE: I’m a Cancer. Just like you. KIM: Oh my god, I can’t take it! SAWEETIE: Girl, let me tell you something. Every sign got hella celebrities aligned with them. So I was like, “Who’s a dope Cancer out there?” Girl, when I saw your name on the list, I was like, “Kim’s a Cancer and she’s a rapper, so I know I can be a rapper, too.” KIM: Who are your top-three dream collaborators? SAWEETIE: I’m a huge J. Cole fan. When I was trying to come up, I had no way of getting my music out there, so after one of his concerts, I waited by his tour bus and rapped for him. The second one would be Rihanna, because I grew up on her. For my third, well, this is what happened. When I was coming up, I noticed a lot of female rappers had lighter voices than mine. I have a deep voice when I rap. So I was listening to my music catalog, and I noticed that you also have a deep voice when you rap. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to collaborate with you, but I always wanted to sit in a studio with you just to see how you record. KIM: We could do something so dope, and it would be unexpected. So that’s done. I think you and Rihanna would be the sexiest combination. I just love that. But, girl, you already got me. You and I are gonna be hanging out. I can see it. I know these things. What’s your favorite makeup? SAWEETIE: Lip gloss. I’m actually coming out with my own lip gloss line, and I’m gonna send you all the colors. I basically took all of my favorite characteristics of lip glosses that I love, and combined them into one. KIM: You gotta give me one. No, wait, I’m going to buy one. If I had to pick two, it would be my lipstick and my eyebrows. My lashes would be my third thing. SAWEETIE: I’d be out here looking like a bald eagle without my lashes. I have two questions for you: What’s your favorite Lil’ Kim song, and what’s the best bar you’ve ever rapped? KIM: My favorite Lil’ Kim song by myself is “Qu— SAWEETIE: Wait! Wait! Wait! Are you about to say “Queen Bitch”? KIM: Yes! That’s my song! “Kill a nigga for my nigga by any means bitch! Murder scene bitch!” SAWEETIE: My favorite bar by any female ever is yours: “Tryin’ to impress me with your five G stones, I give you ten Gs, nigga, if ya leave me alone.” LIL KIM: I’m not gonna lie, Saweetie, I be forgetting shit. I have so many songs that I can’t even think of my favorite bars on the spot, but I love that one. SAWEETIE: How did “Queen Bitch” come about? LIL KIM: I have to give props to the King himself: Biggie was there with me every step of the way in the studio. He always loved Wu-Tang, and there was this beat that they had. I was his honey, so he was like, “My honey got to have a beat like this.” That was one of my favorite moments. SAWEETIE: Girl, you got too many, for real. I hope I have that one day. LIL KIM: My Saweetie, this was amazing for me. SAWEETIE: I’m sorry if I got a little too hype. LIL KIM: I’m gonna send you my info and you could send me yours and we’ll keep in touch. Enjoy your show tonight. Have fun and kill ’em, because I know you’re gonna kill ’em. I don’t know you, but I love you. SAWEETIE: I’ve loved you since I was 13.

#saweetie #lil' kiim #Lil Kim #interview #2019 #interview 2019 #lil kim 9 #interview magazine #blog

[ventivante]

I was tagged by the lovely @kihyunsbabe to share the top ten songs i am obsessed with at the moment! i will also explain why i’m obsessed with them because i can and i chose five KPOP songs as well as five non-KPOP songs. the explanations aren’t gonna be Deep™️ or anything because i just like music i can shake my ass to most of the time but ANYWAYS

starting with KPOP (since this is a kpop blog after all)

1. “What U do?” - EXO

This song never fails to put me in a good mood and makes me wanna dance and sing along at the top of my lungs! it’s a certifiable bop and definitely my style, as i tend to like more poppy/upbeat songs

2. “All Night” - ASTRO

I just discovered ASTRO within the past couple of months and i have fallen in love. this was the first song/MV of theirs i watched and it quickly became my favorite. the music, the concept, the aesthetic, ITS ALL SO BEAUTIFUL! i constantly put it on repeat and will listen to it over and over again

3. “HALA HALA (Hearts Awakened, Live Alive)” - ATEEZ

LISTEN YALL THIS SONG GETS ME SO HYPE, it honestly makes me wanna kick in doors and fight people in warehouses, it’s just amazing. then paired with the softer and tender opening verses, it’s a great build up for the beat drop of the chorus NOT GONNA MENTION THE DEMON THAT IS CHOI SAN’S INTENSE CHOREO NOPE

4. “Bon Bon Chocolat” - EVERGLOW

i get this song stuck in my head so often, the beat is sooooo catchy! i was happy watching the video as well, because these girls have a thing going on similar to Dreamcatcher, who i also love for their edgier style and music! cute and edgy is a perfect combination in my book, we stan

5. “HOME” - BTS

i’m definitely more than happy with PERSONA but THIS IS MY FAVE TRACK ON IT. i love the chill vibe and beat, not to mention Namjoon’s “i just wanna go home” at the beginning is a complete and utter MOOD 24/7 for me, i play it driving home from work a lot 😅

alright, now for the non-KPOP songs!

6. “Nights Like This” - Kehlani feat. Ty Dolla $ign

this songs gets me in my feels every time. i’ve been a huge fan of Kehlani for a while now and her latest album is a pure work of art. this song specifically reminds me of a relationship i had in the past that utterly broke my heart (thank you Kehlani for writing a heartbreak song for wlw, QUEEN)

7. “bad guy” - Billie Eilish

not gonna lie, most of the reason i like Billie so much is because she’s a goofy kid and relatable, but her music is still really good in my opinion. this song is a little bit lighter than most of her music so it doesn’t leave me feeling low but is still playfully dark, which i appreciate

8. “Juicy” - Doja Cat

this song is my JAM I LOVE DOJA, remember how i said i like music i can shake my ass too? this definitely falls under that category, it’s upbeat and fun and also positive, definitely one i listen to when i’m feeling a little insecure about my body

9. “Hot Girl” - Yung Baby Tate feat. Kari Faux

i discovered Baby Tate through twitter and she deserves so much love and support, the entire album of GIRLS is wonderful and it was hard to pick just one song from it i like most, but this is one that i will put on repeat and jam to, another song i use to remind me that i’m a bad bitch 😉

10. “Bad Blood” - Nao

i was lucky enough to see Nao live earlier this year with my best friend and she is AMAAAAAAZING, she has such a unique voice and one of my favorite things about this song is that she sings both high notes and SUPER LOW as well, RESPECT (also, for all you other Monbebes out there, Minhyuk is also a fan of Nao, check her out if you like!)

thanks for tagging me Lyssa, this was really fun to do! i will only be tagging a few people to do this, but if you see this and want to participate, feel free! you can also send me some music recommendations or ask for some as well!

tagging @omayasehun @kiyomi-kihyunie @at99z @lovwonho @joohoneybunch and @poplovintrash

you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to!

#ray rambles #tag meme #tag game #about me #music #audio #omayasehun #kiyomi-kihyunie #at99z #lovwonho #joohoneybunch #poplovintrash #ask meme

[i-am-grell]

Here’s My Top 100 For 2018 From Spotify

And me trying to justify them! (Look, some are WIP-related, others are jams, some I really can’t explain I just got back into Glee for like a month at one point this year...) Here’s the playlist

1. From a Mountain In The Middle Of The Cabins - Panic! At The Disco

Look, I just love the bouncy piano and the tuba. You can never have a bad tuba.

2. The End. - My Chemical Romance

Goes along with Chapter 8 of my WIP, Interlude, because I’m mean

3. Blank Space - I Prevail

This also goes along with Interlude from Chapter 1 - 5

4. If It Means A Lot To You - A Day To Remember

This one goes with my WIP Blood Bound (This one isn’t posted anywhere) (specifically, book 5)

5. Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes - Fall Out Boy

Another Blood Bound one (Book 7)

6. This Could Be Anywhere In The World - Alexisonfire

Interlude

7. The Curse of Curves - Cute is What We Aim For

This was going to be Interlude-related but got replaced. Still a banger

8. Disturbia - The Cab

The theme song of Dreavyn from my WIP Aaron Being Normal and if anyone has any tips on how to control a chaotic bisexual OC please let me know

9. Jumpsuit - Twenty One Pilots

Funky bass

10. MakeDamnSure - Taking Back Sunday

A theme for Trace from Aaron Being Normal (Won’t be extremely relevant until book 3 (also this was supposed to be a standalone...))

11. Miss Murder - AFI

Funky bass part 2

12. Fences - Paramore

Interlude again - A Selena Walton Theme Song.

13. The Sharpest Lives - My Chemical Romance

Interlude - A Morgan/Selena/Mostly Selena Theme. (Also, a banger)

14. Camisado - Panic! At The Disco

Interlude - How many hospital scenes can I fit into 1 WIP about depressed teens? (Turns out three; maybe four, technically)

15. My Heart I Surrender - I Prevail

Cole’s character song (Interlude) (Also romantic AF)

16. I Don’t Care - Fall Out Boy

Interlude. Also a Mood

17. Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

Partially Interlude, partially because Holiday fucking slaps and BoBD is a classic

18. Ocean Avenue - Yellowcard

1/2 Interlude, 1/2 a Mood

19. I Don’t Wanna Be In Love (Dance Floor Anthem) - Good Charlotte

Dare I say, an aro-ace mood?

20. Check Yes, Juliet - We The Kings

I feel like half this playlist is just gonna be songs from the Interlude playlist...

21. Problematique - Hot Chelle Rae

Some funky bass, call and response, and fast rhyming - an ultimate jam

22. Postcards - Amber Pacific

Interlude playlist

23. Nico and The Niners - Twenty One Pilots

Look, I just really like Trench; it’s a good album

24. Demolition Lovers - My Chemical Romance

This is on the Interlude playlist but there’s such a Bonnie and Clyde feel to it, man...

25. Do You Know What I’m Seeing? - Panic! At The Disco

No. I don’t. Good song to dissociate to, though. I’m not good at instruments but good guitar/ukulele/whatever it is. Pleasant mood.

26. Rough Hands - Alexisonfire

Look, I’m trying to learn how to properly sing unclean parts (screamo parts) which will be absolutely shocking coming from a 5′2″ blonde girl; I need songs to practice to...

27. The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver - All Time Low

Theme song to the Netflix adaptation of Interlude that plays in my head on repeat. Now if only I could actually finish writing the goddamn book...

28. Fat Lip - Sum 41

Interlude playlist, also listen to it and tell me you don’t hate everybody and this town

29. Say Anything (Else) - Cartel

I like singing the intro/chorus as sort of a vocal warm up...

30. Oh Well, Oh Well - Mayday Parade

Just a fucking MOOD my dudes

31. Whatever Happened To Saturday Night? - Glee Cast Version

No offense to Meat Loaf....but John Stamos... (Also Interlude (Travis) inspo) (Also I was really into Glee again earlier this year... Still haven’t actually watched past season 3...)

32. The Anthem - Good Charlotte

What I listen to when I consider dropping out and becoming a bog witch, but, like, a punk bog witch

33. Thunder - Boys Like Girls

Aaron Being Normal Inspo. The band’s name is ironic considering how Gay I make it...

34. Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am? - Fall Out Boy

I like singing this one when I’m drunk

35. I Don’t Love You - My Chemical Romance

Blood Bound (Book 2)

36. This Is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco

Blood Bound (Book 3)

37. Silver Bullet - Hawthorne Heights

Interlude Playlist

38. Weightless - All Time Low

MAYBE IT’S NOT MY WEEKEND BUT IT’S GONNA BE MY YEAR I scream to myself on a Tuesday

39. Who Do You Love - Marianas Trench

Have you ever looked up an a capella version of this one? Cuz yeah

40. Let The Flames Begin - Paramore

Anti-Depression, yet still Depressed Mood

41. Red Sam - Flyleaf

Depression Mood - also Interlude playlist

42. Jamie All Over - Mayday Parade

Interlude Playlist, and I think the Dreavyn playlist too... Look, it’s just a jam

43. Savior - Rise Against

Interlude Theme

44. Kiss Me, Kill Me - Mest

Another Interlude thing also a really good Selena x Morgan song

45. Hot To The Touch, Cold On The Inside - Fall Out Boy

Aaron Being Normal song also it’s about a hot pocket

46. Newport Living - Cute is What We Aim For

Interlude song that causes drama

47. Meant To Live - Switchfoot

Selena song - Interlude

48. Kill All Your Friends - My Chemical Romance

This is on the Interlude playlist purely because I’m Evil

49. You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring

On the Interlude playlist, also highly recommend blaring this through the hallways of your Catholic High School during lunch

50. Lights And Sounds - Yellowcard

Interlude Playlist also a banger

51. Angel With A Shotgun - The Cab

If this ain’t romantic as shit... Also it will make you wanna declare war on God Himself what a Mood

52. Somebody Told Me - The Killers

I’m not justifying why The Killer’s is on here I’m just shocked and appalled that Mr. Brightside has yet to make an appearance Spotify

53. Alright - Hot Chelle Rae

The English major inside of me wants to correct it to “all right” also Interlude epilogue Mood.

54. Changing - Saosin

Interlude Playlist

55. Bring Me To Life (Synthesis) - Evanescence

The Synthesis version is far superior and allows me to Properly showcase my Amy Lee impression

56. Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bed - Fall Out Boy

Along with J. Michael Tatum, Patrick Stump’s voice is My Religion - the first 23 seconds > The Beatles

57. Pas De Cheval - Panic! At The Disco

Sounds gallop-y

58. Be My Escape - Relient K

Interlude Mood/Theme

59. Science Fiction Double Feature - Glee Cast

Look, all Rocky Horror versions are great, even the Glee one...

60. Dear Maria, Count Me In - All Time Low

I like to sing this one when drunk

61. Stand - Flyleaf

Blood Bound (Final Book. End. Roll credits.)

62. I’d Do Anything - Simple Plan

A jam

63. Sweetness - Jimmy Eat World

The call-response, the spastic drums, damn boi, they’ve got it all

64. Say You Like Me - We The Kings

Catchy song, little fuckboi-ish if you really listen to the lyrics, but it’s not Baby It’s Cold Outside-bad???

65. AMBULANCE - My Chemical Romance

*Choir Ah-ing*, also an Interlude mood considering there are like 2 separate confirmed ambulance parts anyway...

66. crushcrushcrush - Paramore

Look me dead in the eye and tell me Hayley Williams didn’t put everything into her lyrics/singing here

67. Stay - Mayday Parade

Songs for when you’re heartbroken but to the point of dissociating while it rains outside, starting to storm, it starts out with just the grey pattering of a sheet of raindrops and soon the thunder starts to rumble with growing intensity and lightning splits the sky

68. There’s A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought Of It Yet - Panic! At The Disco

I am the victim of Dreavyn Hawthorne from my WIP Aaron Being Normal seriously if anyone can help me control a chaotic theatre bisexual...

69. Lyrical Lies - Cute is What We Aim For

This band’s lyrics are so fucking poetic it is Shakespeare to a guitar, y’all

70. Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) - Fall Out Boy

I always get like a falling slowly down one of those psychedelic tubes greenscreened into the background feeling at the intro but just like totally at peace falling, like kinda like listening to Ride by 21P type mood but then the chorus comes and it’s a jam

71. Backseat Serenade - All Time Low

Just a banger

72. My Own Worst Enemy - Lit

Look I don’t party too hard but when I do we go hard I was at a party on a Thursday night that didn’t end until the next morning no shit one guy I know did a kegstand before going to his English class

73. Come As You Are - Nirvana

Damn Kurt we miss you but you turned out some jams that no one can match

74. Traitor - Flyleaf

Blood Bound (Book 3)

75. Sadie Hawkins Dance - Relient K

The lyrics are so stupid but damn I love it

76. Poetically Pathetic - Amber Pacific

Did you mean literally 90% of my male OCs?

77. Saviour - LIGHTS

The first LIGHTS song I ever heard and I will defend my favourite singer until the day I die she’s Canadian like me, her family is ADORABLE, SHE is ADORABLE and I love her the end

78. Jersey - Mayday Parade

This goes with every WIP I’ve ever conceived and literally none of them are set in Jersey

79. The Middle - Jimmy Eat World

I feel like this song is just a universal mood but no one can explain exactly why

80. C’mon - Panic! At The Disco

Wholesome(TM)

81. Sunshine Riptide - Fall Out Boy

Interlude Playlist - I imagine Morgan singing it and that might end up happening in canon but idk yet...

82. Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

Easily in the top 3 Neil Diamond songs if not the top, fight me.

83. First Date - blink-182

Literally just such an adorable song, blink-182 is the best

84. Last Hope - Paramore

Mostly a Selena song (Interlude) but idk I’ve destroyed many OCs wills to live so

85. Black Sheep - Metric

@spotify please put the Brie Larson version from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World on your streaming service I’m begging you - a very gay

86. When You Were Young - The Killers

Good song, real jam, where’s Mr. Brightside, spotify, where is it????

87. Broken Hearts Parade - Good Charlotte

A certified bop

88. All I Want - A Day To Remember

A song for my greedier OCs who just want to stop being tortured but yknow what children life aint fair

89. The Kids From Yesterday - My Chemical Romance

Put this in any of my WIPs really...

90. Threshold - Sex Bob-Omb

Try to tell me the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World soundtrack isn’t lit

91. Sorrow - Flyleaf

Blood Bound (Book 3)

92. Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea - Fall Out Boy

You know when you’re writing intense battles or going to get a tattoo and need a playlist of War Songs? This is like the first one on my War Songs playlist

93. Jesus Of Suburbia - Green Day

A staple in the punk rock genre

94. Neon Gravestones - Twenty One Pilots

Ngl I sobbed when I first heard this one so

95. Pressure - Paramore

Very vocal on the Interlude playlist

96. Starlight - Muse

I first got into Muse because it fueled Twilight but yknow what they’re still a damn good group and Supermassive Black Hole carried the baseball scene which was an astounding piece of cinema so

97. Sleepless in Phoenix - blessthefall

It’s literally just my favourite blessthefall song, fight me

98. Kids In The Dark - All Time Low

My mood for when my dad tells me “you’re 20 you should be able to figure it out” like excuse me for not learning how the entire world works the second I turned 18...

99. Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time - Panic! At The Disco

Refer to My Own Worst Enemy. Add drugs. I’ve never done drugs but..

100. Feeling This - blink-182

*screams I’m Feeling This at regular intervals* (I have no explanation it’s just a BOP)

#music #spotify #spotify 2018 #top songs 2018 #playlist #spotify playlist

[sam-i-am-27]

When Dreamscapes Cross Pt. 3

Summary: Thomas returns home and seeks help from Joan and Talyn. Logan decides to chime in as they realize that this might be too big of a mystery to solve.

Word Count: 2222 (ITS A MIRACLE!)

Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 4  Pt. 5 Pt. 6

“Please fasten your seatbelts as we begin our descent,” the pilot said, the plane tilting slightly. Thomas had already buckled nearly ten minutes ago, on agreed suggestions from Logan and Virgil. His only regret from listening to them was that the seat belt had been cutting into his waist for the entire time and all he wanted to do was unbuckle and stretch. He checked his phone to check the progress of the art that was currently being shipped to the house and was happy to see that it was currently in flight and would arrive in about two days. Thomas gave a small smile but it faded quickly as the ding announced that the seatbelts were now mandatory.

As the runway came into view, his grip involuntarily tightened on the seat rests and he shut his eyes shut. He tried to take deep steadying breaths and it seemed to help. He knew that it would be alright, the person flying this plane was certified for a reason. He tried to keep his mind on the more pressing issue: the recent visitors in the Dreamscape. He had decided that it would be best to tell Joan and Talyn about it since they were always helping him with the Sanders SIdes videos, so maybe they’d have an idea of what was going on. It wasn’t likely that they did, but maybe they could help sort everything out.

A small jolt in the plane brought him back to reality, his heart pounding and hands tight on the seat rests. He leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the painful pounding in his chest.

“Calm down, calm down,” he whispered, keeping his breathing as even as possible. The plane wheels squealed as they touched down. He let out a breath that had been caught in his chest as the plane began to slow. If he could comfort Virgil right now without people seeing something strange about two near-identical men talking to each other, one of whom appeared out of nowhere. He relaxed in sync with the plane slowing down and when it had finally stopped, he rubbed his hands against his legs, glad the worst of it was over.

When the seat-belt light finally turned off, Thomas could barely leave the seat fast enough. He grabbed his carry-on and tried his best not to shove his way out of the plane. His legs were wobbly as he walked through the tunnel and when he finally exited, he saw Joan’s famous beanie and Talyn jumping up and down to find him. Thomas waved his arm, catching both of their attentions.

“Hey, Thomas!” Joan said, giving him a hug. “How was the flight?”

“Uneventful,” Thomas replied, hugging Talyn. “You’re still so short!”

“It’s been a week, Thomas!” they complained. “How was PAX?”

“Great! Uh… we have something to talk about, but not here. It includes the Sides.”

Both their faces darkened but they tried to stay happy.

“Alright,” Joan said. “We’re parked over this way, so we can talk in the car. In the meantime, tell us about the panel!”

“Oh, it was great!” Thomas said as they made their way to the parking garage. “Someone made you something for both of you. I saw one for you, Joan, that will make you very happy.”

“Oh, pray tell what is it?” Joan asked.

“I’m keeping a secret. Besides, I sent you a picture, didn’t I?”

“Maybe. We definitely didn’t get anything,” Talyn said.

“Well then I’m definitely keeping it a secret until it arrives,” Thomas said.

“Show us, show us,” Joan started chanting, their eyes bright with excitement.

“No! It’s a secret!” Thomas replied, hauling his bag onto the escalator. “I’m not telling! It’s more fun to keep it a secret!” “Aww,” Talyn said. “Uh… see anyone interesting?”

“Yeah, uh… that has to do with the Sides thing so that’s also going to wait a bit.”

“Got it,” they both replied. Unfortunately they had run out of topics to talk about so the rest of the walk to the car was in awkward silence. Once Thomas was settled into the back seat, Talyn asked, “So… should we get one of them in here?”

“Uh… yeah, hang on.” Thomas reached inside himself and concentrated on any knowledge he had learned. In a heartbeat, Logan responded to these thoughts and appeared directly next to Thomas.

“Hello, Joan. Talyn,” Logan said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“Hey, Logan. How’re you doing?”

“As of now? I am doing perfectly fine but as we all know, there are more important matters than knowing about our current state of mind,” Logan said.

“That’s not necessarily true, Logan,” Thomas said, “but we’re not getting into that sort of stuff right now because you’re right: there are more important matters right now.”

“Then spill like we’ve been asking you to!” Joan said as they pulled out of the parking spot.

“Thomas, you go ahead,” Logan said. “I will simply be here for clarification and any answers that I have.”

Thomas gave a thanks and told his friends about what had happened in the Dreamscape. He told them about how it had seemed a little stranger then normal for a few seconds before going down the rabbit hole when Jack and his egos arrived. Joan tried to keep his concentration on the road and on the story but eventually they had to pull over into another parking garage in order to keep attention on one thing. Thomas finished the story with his waking up and waited for their responses.

“Uh, you guys alright?” he asked cautiously. Talyn’s face was unreadable but Joan looked like they were about to scream in delight.

“Why’re you so excited, Joan?”

“Well, this means something doesn’t it?” Joan commented. “Nothing like this has ever happened before - obviously - but something is happening! It’s kinda exciting!”

“Talyn? You alright?”

“Uh, yeah,” Talyn replied. “Just… wow. Logan you have no clue or theory as to what happened?”

“We’ve been talking about it,” Logan said, “and the top theory so far is that one of us or Jack’s ‘Egos’ did something to connect our Dreamscapes.”

“You keep saying ‘Dreamscape’. Isn’t that the same as the Mindscape?” Joan asked. “Just for clarification.”

“This is exposition though,” Logan said. “I thought you-”

“Humor us, Logan,” Talyn asked.

“But I do not know humor. That-”

“Just go ahead, Logan. Tell us the difference please,” Thomas said calmly.

Logan sighed and started. “The Dreamscape is where the dreams are created and Thomas’ mind goes through the normal stages of sleep so that we, the Sides, can organize everything from that day. The Mindscape is essentially the same but more complex; it is where the memories and thoughts are stored, essentially the Mind Palace. But it is your own mind and the only way in or out is mere fantasy.”

“Well you are literally a part of Thomas’ mind and yet here you are in the Physical Plane, Logan,” Joan said. “Nothing is fantasy in this situation.”

“Well in this case it is. The only way to do that is to switch minds, which ends up with the Sides taking the form of the Switched but opens a doorway between the two minds that cannot be closed,” Logan said. “Like I said, fantasy.”

“You’re right, so for now we’re answerless,” Joan admitted, rubbing a hand under their beanie. “So did Jack give any clues to what may have happened?”

“Uh… not that I remember,” Thomas said. “I mean, we didn’t really talk about it cause we figured that we’d need to work together on figuring this out so we’d have to get to know each other. We spent a majority of the time getting to know each other while the Sides and the Egos did the same. Logan, did you learn anything from Schneep or Jameson?”

“Not particularly. I spent a lot of time teaching Schneep simple sign language to help translate for Jameson. Interesting fellows,” he commented.

“So in short, not much learned?” Talyn asked.

“No. When I return to the Mindscape, I can ask the others what they learned and let you know if any of them have any useful information.” Logan sighed quietly. “I doubt Virgil will have any; he spent a majority of the time alone, although I believe he tried to strike up a conversation with Anti.”

Joan choked and looked at him. “Anti was there?!”

“Yes, I believe we told you that.”

“You told me Jack’s Egos were there, not which!” Joan said, their face pale.

“Why are you… reacting like this?” Thomas asked.

“He’s not known to be, well… safe,” Joan explained.

“He’s not but he just wants attention,” Thomas said. “He did what he did so he could be seen at last, that’s it. He’s not going to hurt us and if he does, he’ll regret it.”

“That he will. Well, I better get going. Farewell,” Logan said and disappeared.

“Well that was… something,” Talyn said.

“No kidding,” Joan said. “Well, Thomas… we’re going to help you as much we can.”

“Thanks guys,” he said. “So… how was your weekend? Anything exciting happen?”

“Nothing that exciting but we beat your highscore in GTA,” Talyn said with a smirk.

“What?! No fair!” They all laughed and chatted happily as they drove back home, trying to ignore the nagging thought at the back of their minds, each one telling them that what had happened with Thomas wasn’t over.

“Ordering some pizza!” Talyn yelled up the stairs. “What do you guys want?”

“Breadsticks!” Patton yelled from the corner.  

“Don’t forget the cinnamon sticks!” Roman added.

“Soda,” Virgil said.

“I’m fine without food,” Logan commented, sorting through the many papers on the table. Each one represented a different theory or idea as to what was going on. He seemed to be the only one truly interested in it at the moment as Roman and Patton sewed up multiple holes in Patton’s cat-onsie, Virgil helped Thomas write a message to Jack and Joan scrolled through Tumblr. They heard Logan’s comment and looked up for the first time in nearly twenty minutes.

“Logan, just cause you’re a physical figment of Thomas’ imagination, that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to get something to eat,” they commented. “Besides, you’re more than willing to eat Crofters Jam directly out of the jar.”

Logan shrugged. “I like Crofters, not pizza.”

“Okay, so I think I’ve got it,” Thomas said.

“Why’re you working so hard on a simple message?” Roman asked. “It’s just asking ‘Hey, did this actually happen?’”

“That’s exactly why,” Virgil said. “He’s bigger than us in terms of popularity and of course that’s intimidating. We have to word it in a way that isn’t too stalkerish and at the same time serious enough to grab his attention if it didn’t happen.”

“Well you can stop stressing about it,” Thomas said. “He messaged me.”

“What?” There were a two groans as both Roman and Patton tried to approach Thomas but hit the invisible wall that kept them separate.

“You guys should know better than to that,” Virgil said, smirking ever-so-slightly.

“Oh, hush, Emo-Zoid,” Roman said, fixing his hair as quickly possible. “What’s it say, Thomas?”

He cleared his throat dramatically and began to read. “‘Hey, sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. For some reason after you left, my Egos and I were stuck in the house but it transformed into my place, so that’s something. Anyways, if you wanna talk out loud rather than just over texts, go ahead and Skype me. Be warned though, my Egos liked the idea of being out for extended periods of time so they’re out right now; somehow they’re separate maybe cause of what happened? See you later.’”

“One question after another,” Logan said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Way too much to figure out… how this is happening, why it’s happening, the repercussions of this on both of your bodies and minds…”

“Deep breaths bud,” Virgil said without looking away from the screen. “We probably should call him, get this all sorted out, shouldn’t we?”

“Yup,” they all said at the same time and Thomas responded with a simple, ‘Calling now’.

As he loaded up Skype, Roman kept trying to convince Thomas to brush his hair.

“You need to make good first impressions!” he insisted as the call loaded.

“Roman, we’ve met before, I don’t see why I really need to,” Thomas said.

“Besides, Jack is a nice man, he wouldn’t judge Thomas on his looks,” Paton said. “I for one think he is a very nice looking man.”

“Thank you, Patton,” both Thomas and Roman said at the same time. The two glanced at each other and started siggering which eventually led to everyone laughing. They were so busy laughing at what had just happened that they didn’t even notice when Jack picked up until one of the Egos yelled, “Hey!”

They looked at the screen and saw Jack surrounded by a multitude of identical faces, each one grinning broadly.

“Hi!” Thomas replied, ignoring his Sides as they tried to fit into frame with the invisible walls keeping them apart. “So… it happened, didn’t it?”

“Yup…” Jack said, pushing the other Egos out of frame so he could breathe. “We got some stuff to talk about.”

@marriedwithjosh @hissesssss @friendlyphantom @pixelenchanter@sanspie122 @pleaseletthisjimbetaken @nightmarejasmine @readeatfightlove13 @immortalpoptart @kayychula

Once again, thank you to everyone who liked, reblogged, commented and just... so much support! I don’t know how to process so much love! Thank you so much!

Thanks to @ironwoman359 for the original idea of these three two and their Sides/Egos meeting!

Have a good day!

PS: If someone could tell me how to get back to my posts without going through my entire blog that’d be great. Thanks!

#Thomas Sanders #jacksepticeye #markiplier #Sanders Sides #markiplier egos #jacksepticeye egos #fan fiction

[todaysbiggesthits]

Odds, Ends

The Leftovers

TBH Era:

Nasty’s 16-20

16. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories 17. Chromatics - Kill for Love 18. A$AP Rocky - Live. Love. ASAP 19. Yeasayer - Odd Blood 20. Action Bronson - Blue Chips 1 & 2

Larson’s 16-20

16. Lizzo - Cuz I Love You 17. Taylor Swift - Lover 18. Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm 19. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L 20. The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness

BC’s 16-20

16. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation 17. Disclosure - Settle 18. Kurt Vile - b’lieve i’m goin down 19. Lotus Plaza - Spooky Action at a Distance 20. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

Bronco’s 16-28

16. High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis 17. Violent Soho - Violent Soho 18. Moontooth - Chromaparagon 19. Thou - Rhea Sylvia 20. Alien Weaponry - Tu 21. Elder - Reflections of a Floating World 22. Inter Arma - The Cavern 23. Windhand - Eternal Return 24. MAKE - The Golden Veil 25. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity 26. Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology 27. Monoliths - Monoliths 28. Violent Soho - Hungry Ghosts

Code’s 16-26

16. Robyn – Body Talk 17. Colleen Green – Sock it to Me 18. Colleen Green – I Want to Grow Up 19. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 20. Washer – All Aboard 21. Spook Houses – Trying 22. Alien Boy – Sleeping Lessons 23. EMA – Exile in the Outer Ring 24. PAWS – Cokefloat! 25. Snooty Garbagemen – Snooty Garbagemen 26. All Dogs - All Dogs

Chap’s 16-33

16. Tomberlin - At Weddings 17. Dan Deacon - America 18. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory 19. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! 20. M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming 21. Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs 22. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear 23. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree 24. Lost Under Heaven - Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing 25. Titus Andronicus - The Most Lamentable Tragedy 26. Kanye West - Yeezus 27. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake 28. Girls - Broken Dreams Club 29. Robyn - Body Talk 30. No Age - Everything In Between 31. The National - Trouble Will Find Me 32. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost 33. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

JD’s 16-57

16. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour 17. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz 18. DIIV - Oshin 19. Ariel Pink - Pom Pom 20. Beach House - Depression Cherry 21. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains 22. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo 23. Panda Bear - Tomboy 24. Death Grips - The Money Store 25. Parquet Courts - Wide Awake! 26. Slowdive - Slowdive 27. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! 28. Radiohead - The King of Limbs 29. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening 30. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest 31. Destroyer - Kaputt 32. Grouper - Ruins 33. Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal 34. Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs 35. Joanna Newsom - Divers 36. Nine Inch Nails - 3 EPs 37. Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs 38. The Strokes - Angles 39. William Basinski - A Shadow in Time 40. Todd Terje - It’s Album Time! 41. The Knife - Tomorrow, In a Year 42. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica 43. Julianna Barwick - Will 44. Eleanor Friedberger - Rebound 45. LCD Soundsystem - American Dream 46. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City 47. Panda Bear - Buoys 48. No Age - Snares Like a Haircut 49. Dirty Beaches - Badlands 50. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today 51. Underworld - Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future 52. Frankie Cosmos - Zentropy 53. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree 54. The Voidz - Virtue 55. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Social Network Soundtrack 56. Pantha du Prince - Black Noise 57. Colleen Green - Sock it to Me

‘19:

Laser’s 16-20

16. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats’ Nest 17. The Black Keys - “Let’s Rock” 18. Electric Guest - KIN 19. Stella Donnelly - Beware of the Dogs 20. Tegan and Sara - Hey, I’m Just Like You

Bronco’s 16-20

16. Blackwater Holylight - Veils of Winter 17. Year of the Cobra - Ash and Dust 18. Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race 19. sunn O))) - Pyroclasts 20. Baroness - Gold & Grey

Chap’s 16-20

16. Field Medic - fade into the dawn 17. Brittany Howard - Jaime 18. Mannequin Pussy - Patience 19. The National - I Am Easy to Find 20. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride

JD’s 16-24

16. Sui Zhen - Losing, Linda 17. Empath - Active Listening: Night on Earth 18. Gesaffelstein - Novo Sonic System 19. Earl Sweatshirt - Feet of Clay 20. No Age - A Cassette of a Live Ambient Performance 21. Paul Maroon - A Two Song 45 I Bought On Etsy 22. Denzel Curry - ZUU 23. Avey Tare - Cows on Hourglass Pond 24. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride

From the Desk of

Bronco’s Brettnacher-Certified Attendance Report

2019: A Broncospective

This was a year of waiting. Waiting for Tool. And I feel like I treated the rest of the year's music up until that point as thumb-twiddling whilst waiting for the big payoff. This year seemed to be filled with passable hold-over music. And a sense of dread as the months ticked by, that dread that comes with the unattainable expectations I've come to experience as I've grown older. Waiting for something awesome to happen, and then it happens, and it's not nearly as awesome as you hoped it to be. I've come to equate anticipation with dread now...to the point that I do my damnedest to avoid anticipation by pushing everything future out of my mind. So I live in the present now, and I feel totally unprepared every single day. Weekends come and I have no idea what's happening. I really should rethink this strategy and maybe just try not to build up my expectations. Fuck it. Either way, I was dreading the new Tool album. There's no way it could live up to a 13 year wait. Then it came. And it was good. Not redefine my life and realign my soul good, just perfect. It was what we all needed, those of us who have been waiting. One album that definitely wasn't a time-killer during the great Tool wait of nine deen was King Gizzard's 'Infest the Rats Nest.' That easily would have been my number one album this year had it not landed in the same year as Fear Innoculum. I actually had a hard time deciding which one was my number one, but in the end had to place Rat's Nest second. I know these guys have pumped out so many records in the past few years, but I was pleasantly surprised at their ability to sound like themselves while at the same time ripping out a proper metal album.  The subject matter, the riffs, all of it is great. And it's accessible to non-metal folks who want to hear some tasty licks. Lastly, I listened to a lot of hardcore this year too. Unlike any other year, something about it spoke to me. I don't know if it's our current political climate or what, but the indecipherable doomy sludgly stonery spacey lyrics of the stuff I'm usually in to felt like a nondescript blob of meaninglessness (not that I care what their meaning is at any other time). But the hardcore scene felt important. Like something topical was being said (or screamed), and said hard. The sheer anger in the music, I think, reflects the way I feel on a daily basis as I'm inundated with political shit from NYT, WashPo, CNN, etc. etc. etc. News about no news, filler designed to get me pissed off about shit that's out of my control, and designed to push me over the edge when the eventual outcome of all of this outrage is just more outrage that none of the original outrage mattered at all. That feeling of not being heard, the voice of reason being smothered by a sweat stained pillow owned by some bible thumping hypocrite child fucker, is maddening. To the point that all you want to do is scream until you're heard...like Sara Connor at the chainlink fence before Judgement Day destroys the playground and melts her skin off her body. That's what some of these acts have sounded like. And it's scratching an itch. Probably not going to be my jam for an extended period of time, I don't see myself pivoting to this corner of the genre, but like a good enima, this stuff has cleared my brain's bowels for the better this year. Here's to the next chapter, the next decade, and the next Tool album in 2035. Hail Satan, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New (Wave of British Heavy Metal) Year to you all.

From the Bin Bin

Nasty’s Best Rap of the Decade

Nasty’s Video of the Year

Da Baby - “BOP on Broadway”

JD's Silver Screen Video Staff Recommendations: Long Form Shelf

Solange - When I Get Home

Earl Sweatshirt - Nowhere, Nobody

Thom Yorke - Anima

New to Code in 2019

Colleen Green - Dude Ranch (cover of full album) Ganser - Odd Talk Felt - Forever Breathes the Lonely Word Duster - Capsule Losing Contact Dungen - 4 Alien Boy - Sleeping Lessons Charmer - Charmer Michael Cera Palin - I Don't Konw How to Explain It

Interloper’s Corner

Fergwad’s 1-10 of the Decade

1. Tame Impala - Lonerism 2. Tame Impala - Currents 3. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City 4. Beach House - Bloom 5. Kanye West - Yeezus 6. Real Estate - Days 7. Beach House - Teen Dream 8. No Age - Everything in Between 9. Deerhunter - Hacyon Digest 10. Vampire Weekend - Contra

Ferg’s 10 “Call the Fire Department” Songs of the Decade

Tammy Rooney’s 1-10 of ‘19

1. Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride 2. Cass McCombs - Tip of the Sphere 3. William Tyler - Goes West 4. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains 5. Bon Iver - i, i 6. Strand of Oaks - Eraserland 7. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow 8. Thom Yorke - Anima 9. Deerhunter - Why Hasn't Everything Disappeared Already 10. Hiss Golden Messenger - Terms of Surrender

From the Desk of Code’s Pal Jon Wotman

Artists spend an entire career and oceans of money in an effort to *shimmer.* I Wonder: shrug, yeah I shimmer so what. It’s not hard. -This, and the lines below, taken from an imagined documentary called “'I Wonder' Speaks” Somehow, despite the fact that in its initial release the recording sounds like a construction project nailed hastily in a tin lean-to (and the hammering was also included in the mix)... I Wonder: you take ecstasy and it’s not like everything drops away clean. There’s blood in there, there’s all the memory and old feelings and shit in your brain that that drugs have to sweep out and they don’t want to leave. It’s messy and I made it messy on purpose. You wanna make something really good, it’s got to feel messy even if it’s got the 90 degree bones of a skyscraper underneath. [Handclap.] It’s not hard. “When I look over my shoulder, I know who’ll be on the other side” effortlessly combines gesture, solidity, and faith in what must be the most romantic line of the decade. I Wonder: Everyone thinks writing about this stuff is hard. It’s not. “… and things’ll get trashy when we get to my place… “ presents sex as both without forethought and deeply premeditated, but, in both cases, without judgement… it’s the most erotic line of the decade. I Wonder: I’m not punning. No fucking way. And shame on your for putting me in this position. There’s some judgment for you. Any closing thoughts? I Wonder: Y’know. 

[themclisseconnection]

Happy Album Launch!

Press PLAY. 

TRACK #1: Opposites Attract

“You take me just as I am. No more, no less, just as I am, oh yeah..”

She's Elisse. He's McCoy. There's Mc and there's Lisse. The grand album launch gave Mc & Lisse the opportunity to perform as indivuals. 

Elisse became Selena Gomez for a few minutes and wowed the crowd with her cover of “Wolves” WHOA. Elisse surely conquered all the wolves, the Elisse we know leveled up and truly got to us through that surprising song and dance number.

McCoy had his time to shine as well. The Heartthrob dancer didn't disappoint us with his own surprise number. My Gaaaahd, McCoy. How can we even listen to Bruno Mars's Versace on the Floor properly now? Hehe. It was a special performance, not because he took off his jacket (Kayo ahhhh) It was extra special because McCoy danced with his equally talented brother on stage once again. What a bonus!

McCoy and Elisse may be similar in some ways, but everyone in this fanmily is also a fan of their differences-- the ones that make them stand out, as two separate individuals and as a pair. Didn't McLisse say before that they're always helping each other out? Their interests may sometimes clash, their forte may not be exactly the same but these differences have propelled us to go farther than what we initially planned. Sometimes, we just really have to let their values and beliefs do their part. Look at where we are now. The opposite sides continue to attract each other and produce wonderful things together. We love them for who they are, for every similarities and differences. No more, no less.

Squeeeeee! Tom & Jerry are so different from each other, they fight a lot but at the end of the day, we all know they still can't live without each other.

TRACK #2: Chinito

“Dahil nabihag mo ang aking pagtingin at damdamin, oh chinito!”

Wow. Chinito was just a song they used for their SwerTeen Ball performance last year but now the song has been included in their album tracklist. It even got a fresh spin and yessss, it sounds really nice!!

We know McCoy is full of surprises. Surprises that don't just come from nowhere. Well, to be fair we were already expecting a surprise but we still didn't know how to react when he pulled the necklace out. It is a piece of jewelry, an accessory, a gift that a boy usually gives to a girl but the necklace he gave her holds more meaning that any other fancy-pa-cute-lang-necklace out there. It's really touching that they allow God to guide them in their relationship. Prayers can really move mountains! There goes McLisse climbing and moving mountains together with God by their side.

“Hanggang ngayon nasa akin ka pa din.” Killer line of the night, bes. 150 pogi points for this Chinito! We've heard of how special they are to each other. We couldn't explain it, but when it comes to McLisse, sincerity just overflows. They are not that kind of pair who does things because they are forced to. Alam niyo na. Just because you could, doesn't mean you should. One word, respect. Everything goes well with a perfect timing. We must be mindful that certain situations also call for appropriate actions and reactions. No one wants things to look so pilit or pang-promo lang, right? We all can be a little lowkey here for the sake of protecting the highkey side of their relationship. As one of their celebrity guests, Kristel said, FIGHTING!!

TRACK #3: Para Lang Sayo

“Ako'y iibig pang muli.. para lang sa'yo.”

Another achievement was unlocked. McCoy and Elisse were just joking on the possibility of having an album before but now we're already holding their ALBUM in our hands. We didn't give up because they didn't. They grew stronger that's why we're now stronger more than ever.

People will have different opinions on this project but do they really have to matter now? No, right? If we'll translate “Para Lang Sayo” to English, it'll be “Just for you” or “Only for you.” Who are we all cheering for? Who do we have to put our focus on? Who are we supporting anyway? It's McLisse.  Just McLisse. Only McLisse. BOTH of them. So, there's no need to divert our attention to nega people who don't appreciate music the way we do. Just continue to appreciate the music that jives with respect and positivity. Plug your earphones and ignore the noise.

Para sa McLisse, we can do anything. Nothing's impossible if we will all help one another. Speaking of which, everyone in this fanmily is so grateful beyond words for all the support coming from the Globies/Team Abroad, Team Bahay, Team Online and even the silent fans. 

It was so heartwarming to hear stories of old and new fans on how they came to like McLisse. People who were on the line happily talked about them, mentioning their PBB stint up to their latest teleserye, The Good Son. (Yasss. I’ve heard them. Hihihi) It was nakakakilig to see people of all ages smiling because of McLisse. The people who lined up also came from different demographics. Girl, boy, lgbt, kids, teens, young adults, parents and grandparents. Imagine, sitting in a venue where there's a grandmother in front of your seat, a two-year old baby at your back, a teenage boy on your right and a father on your left. McCoy said it was just a “Get together” or a gathering of all the fans. He got it right for the album launch also became a family gathering and a barkada bonding of some sort.

TRACK #4: Yakap

“Dahil kung ikaw ang yakap ko, parang yakap ko ang langit. At yakap pati ang 'yong ngiti...”

Yakap. A word that is very significant to McLisse fanmily. Would you believe us when we say McLisse gives the best-est hugs ever? You may ask us, “But were they able to hug you one by one?” Well, some of us had already got the chance to hug them in rare occasions but McLisse gives that one-of-the-kind hug in a place where we're not physically present. McCoy and Elisse give the best virtual hugs that a loveteam could ever give. They comfort us. They're always warm toward us. They accept us with arms wide open.

McCoy may sing “Yakap” and you know we'll just have one person in mind (ehem, Elisse... ehem!) but everytime we hear the word “Yakap” we just automatically smile because of one thing. McLisse fanmily is wrapped up together in a very tight embrace. Some have left the circle, some just came in and joined without thinking twice, some have loosen their grip but some have doubled the effort to make the grip of everyone else tighter than before and they are the ones who don't easily give up and step away from the circle-- the hardworking admins of different McLisse fanclubs, you guys deserve tight hugs!!!

Their families were also there to support them. They have truly made their parents proud. Our parents are our very first cheerleaders, our source of strength and our greatest love. We, as son and daughters should work harder and let them sit in the front row as we show them how amazing we've become. They are the ones who deserve a standing ovation for all the love they've showered us before we even held our own microphones and opened our mouths to speak or to sing. McCoy & Elisse made them the proudest of all the people present in SM Skydome. They love their parents so much and it inspires us, their fans to be more loving to our family and to value the time we spend with them. Role models, indeed.

Awww. McCoy and Elisse have found new friends inside Kuya's house. These unbelievably supportive friends deserve a hug too! MayMay, Edward and Jinri (and of course, all their other celebrity friends who aren't in this photo) McLisse fanmily are so grateful to you for making yourself available to show your support to McCoy and Elisse. We, as fans love seeing them surrounded by genuine people who truly know them well since the beginning of their journey as partners.

TRACK #5: If We Fall In Love

“If we fall in love, we will have this melody in our heads...”

It's official. We're in love with the McLisse album!

The album is “very McLisse.” It has feel good tracks that can make you smile. The new arrangements sound lighter than the original but you can definitely tell they were arranged that way to give off that easy-listening vibe. The album is a perfect jam and cure for troubled hearts or anyone who just wants to take a break from a very tiring day. It's the kind of album that you can give to your friend (who's also a yengster or for someone who has a soft spot for sessionistas and their hits!) you can also give it to your significant other (yihee!! exchange gift na with crushie or honey!) and even to your parents (let them reminisce their younger and carefree days, ligawan stage and other kilig days of the past!)

Thank you Star Music. This album is really one of the best gifts McCoy & Elisse have ever received. It is also one of the most memorable gifts we got. Something unexpected, something heartfelt, something that is nicely wrapped, looks soft on the outside but proves to be softer and... sweeter on the inside! We feel really blessed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Here's to creating more wonderful hits in the future! More power to our OTP, McCoy & Elisse, who are now certified recording artists!! Congrats loves!

(PICS NOT MINE. ctto:)

#McLisse #McCoy De Leon #Elisse Joson #MCLISSE ALBUM #Star Music

[thegreenrides]

Looking for the Fastest Hoverboard? 4 of the Best Hoverboards Reviewed

Needless to say, if you want to enjoy nature while roaming around, there's no better way to do so while riding a hoverboard.

Hoverboards are more than just a toy; they can be used as a transportation means.

Are you running late from the office? Do you think the roads are jam-packed in the morning? Wondering how to get through the rush hours? Don't fret. A hoverboard is a solution to all your worries.

These self-balancing scooters come with excellent top speed and battery life. They can be your best friend in those busy streets that you mostly avoid in the morning.

A number of fast hoverboards are available in the markets these days. What makes buying the perfect one challenging is that every brand claims that they have the fastest hoverboard. Although the reality can sometimes be the opposite of what they tell you.

It is primarily why I think visiting markets can be overwhelming at times. It's very easy to purchase the wrong product and waste that hard-earned money.

Furthermore, several hoverboards that you see around are not certified by UL ratings. Thereby, they're not safe due to safety reasons. So what can you do about it? Are you looking for the fastest hoverboard out there?

Well, I've picked four of the best hoverboards from the litter. They're all personally tried and tested, so I can promise you that they're worth every cent.

Fastest Hoverboards in 2020 (Reviews)

EPIKGO Self-Balancing Scooter

For anyone concerned about quality and aesthetics at the same time, this hoverboard by EPIKGO is the best fit. It's one of the most good looking products currently available in the market, and oh, did I tell you it's Amazon's choice as well?

That's right, guys. It's the best selling hoverboard in the electric board sphere, and obviously, for the right reasons. With its cutting-edge technology and 400V dual motors, this hoverboard can blast out at the speed of 10-12MPH.

It has a sturdy design with a high-quality frame, and it can easily accommodate a person for up to 240 pounds. Not too bad, eh? It brings along solid rubber tires that make it a suitable option for all kinds of rough terrains.

From the pavement outside your home to the grass and hills as steep as 18 degrees, this hoverboard is built to go the extra mile. It supports fast charging and won't take more than two hours to get fully charged.

On top of that, this particular hoverboard is significantly bigger and 30% wider than any other traditional hoverboard you may find. Forget about your weight and body type, get this hoverboard now, and hit the streets.

Pros of the product:

Suitable for rough terrains

400V dual motors and fast charging

Solid tired and study design

UL certified safe battery

Cons of the product:

Not suitable for children below 13 years of age

A little expensive for people on a budget

Available in only space grey color

Check Price

TOMOLOO Bluetooth Hoverboard

Ranking second, it's a technologically advanced yet very reasonably priced hoverboard. It's again a fast hoverboard that can provide you with a top speed of 10-12mph and a running distance of 10km per hour.

It's a lightweight hoverboard that has a weight-bearing capacity of up to 220lbs. This hoverboard is water-resistant and brings along super fun features like Bluetooth speakers, speed alarms, and LED lights.

This TOMOLOO hoverboard is designed for both kids and adults. It has a climbing angle of 15 degrees, along with a turning radius of 10 degrees. It smoothly moves and functions well.

A hoverboard bag is included in the package, so carrying it along won't be a problem in case of vacationing around. What else would you expect from a hoverboard anyway?

The LED lights included in this hoverboard are in multi shades, around five colors. The colors keep on switching as the hoverboard moves, making it a perfect option for riding in the dark.

The same goes for the Bluetooth speakers, they're excellent and come with a range of up to 33ft. The sound quality is medium, but it's a lot better than listening to the music with your headphones on while riding.

Pros of the product:

Bluetooth speakers and LED lighting system

Great top speed and fast charging

Speed control system

Affordable price tag

Cons of the product:

Not too suitable for rough terrains

Bluetooth speakers and LED lights may drain the battery

Not the best option for professional riders

Check Price

Qin Self Balance Hoverboard

Here comes my favorite hoverboard of all-time, the Qin self-balancing scooter by Yigeren. It's definitely a beast in the world of hoverboards with its remarkable speed and running style.

It comes with a high-quality lithium-ion battery that doesn't require a lot of charging time. It can conveniently cover up to 15 miles on a single charge with a top speed of 12-14mph.

It has 350V dual motors that give it a powerful push on all those rough terrains. This hoverboard has a weight-bearing capacity of 220lbs, which isn't much, but it's still enough for taller individuals for up to 6'3.

I've tried a lot of hoverboards lately, but to tell you the truth, this one remains my favorite. It brings along beginner's riding mode, and it's a fabulous choice for riders of every caliber.

Whether you're a beginner or a pro, I'm sure you're going to love this model. It will provide you with three different modes of riding, so please know that you'll be safe even if it's your first time riding.

Over and above that, it is equipped with an LED lighting system, so you can safely ride it around even if it's dark outside. Your board would guide you the way. Twist it around, jump, and ride it as fast as you can, I'm confident this hoverboard won't disappoint you.

Pros of the product:

Excellent top speed and mile coverage

LED lighting system

A perfect option for professional riders

UL certified safe battery

Cons of the product:

A hefty price tag

Not suitable for kids

Cannot bear weight more than 220lbs

Check Price

CCHM Self-Balancing Electric Scooter

If you need a hoverboard that's relatively smaller than the ones I've mentioned above, this one right here is what you've been looking for. It's a great hoverboard for everyday usage, and it can be used by both children and adults.

It brings along a top speed of 10-12mph, and it has the ability to cover 15km per hour. If you wish to ride yourself to the office every day, I'd say this hoverboard is the perfect fit for you.

With an 8.5 wheelbase, it's not too broad but not too slim either. It can stand weight up to 240 lbs, which is the standard for any decent self-balancing scooter.

Coming with a UL certified lithium-ion battery, it's safe to ride and has a fantastic charging time. You can fully charge it in less than two hours, and it can cover 15-20km in a single charge, which is impressive. It's precisely the reason why this hoverboard is preferred by many expert riders.

As an added bonus, it is equipped with weight and gravity sensors, as well as an LED lighting system and Bluetooth speakers. Wait... there's more to it, the brand provides free technical support for a lifetime to all its customers. It's wonderful how they care about you more than anything else. Tell me if I'm wrong?

Pros of the product:

Gravity and weight sensors

LED lighting system and Bluetooth speakers

Impressive speed and mile coverage

UL certified safe battery

Cons of the product:

Doesn't work well for beginners

Not too pocket-friendly

No color options available

Check Price

How to Make Your Hoverboard Faster?

Credit: Freepik

As a matter of fact, all these speed limits given by various hoverboards are mostly artificial. A lot of people I know are looking for ways to reprogram their hoverboards so they can move faster.

First of all, there's no way to make your hoverboard faster than their given speed limits. Speaking about the speed hacks, people often recommend leaning more into a forward direction to make the hoverboard go faster, but let me tell you it's not safe.

It can diminish the braking power of your hoverboard, so you may not be able to step off it after that. It's something that can significantly increase the risk of accidents. You wouldn't want that, or would you?

Therefore, I'd recommend riding safely within the given speed criteria. While enhancing the speed of the hoverboard, there will be a point where you'll get to hear a beep. It would be your hoverboard telling you that you're about to reach the maximum speed limit.

Pulling such stunts can be harmful, especially if you're not a pro at riding; thus, it must be avoided. Over speeding can also disturb your balance, and that's the last thing a rider would want.

Still, if you're too desperate to make your hoverboard move faster, I'd say you must take care of two things, the surface you're riding on and your body weight.

Go for a hoverboard that offers higher weight-bearing capacity and try riding on flatter, even surfaces so that it can move faster without any obstacles in the way.

How Fast Can a Hoverboard Go?

Credit: Freepik

Another common question that most riders have is how fast can a hoverboard move? Well, there are a number of factors that can affect the speed of your hoverboard, including your body weight, the terrain you choose for riding, motor power, and wheel size of the board.

Alright. Let me put it this way; an average self-balancing board can provide you with a top speed of 6-8 miles per hour. However, hoverboards that are designed to go off-road and come with wider frames and bigger tires may move faster than a traditional hoverboard.

For example, I recently tried the HOT DESIRE Bluetooth Hoverboard. It gives you a top speed of 12 miles per hour with a 15km mileage, making it the fastest road hoverboard.

Winding it up, I'd say hoverboards come in different speeds and qualities. It may be a little difficult for you to spot the right one as there's a massive variety of hoverboards available in the markets these days.

The ones I've mentioned above are not just the fastest, but they're also incredible in quality, speed, and power. Oh, and they offer terrific off-road capability too. Let's just say that they offer everything you'll need and more. Try them out, and I'm certain you'll agree with me! Stay safe, pals.

The post Looking for the Fastest Hoverboard? 4 of the Best Hoverboards Reviewed appeared first on The Green Rides.

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[apsbicepstraining]

5 Low-Key Exercises You Can Do On The Subway Without Searching Like A Weirdo

The subway system in New York seems like it’s about to breakdown under its own weight. Every week, there’s at the least one major adjournment that has an impact on thousands of passengers, fumbling up the working day and preventing them from getting to where they need to be on time. But there’s a bright side. Did you know: If you breathe deeply and evenly, brace your abs tight, and keep your hands to yourself, get really pissed off about the state of the MTA can be nearly as effective as a Bar Method exercising? Everyone complains that they don’t have enough time to work out, but it doesn’t have to be that difficult. There are exercises you can do on the subway and not look like a terminated lunatic!

Forget the machines at the gym, taking the stairs instead of the escalator, or sauntering that extra stop is enormou for your torso- and can also prevent you from going trapped in a fetid subterranean commuter Hell of DeBlasio and/ or Cuomo’s making. Going to and from work is a perfect opportunity to get fit and strong … and eschew a cluster of beings or having a mental breakdown.

And although your travel( either way) doesn’t looks a lot like a whole lot of is high time to expend working out, little forms of exert throughout the day certainly start lending up. As Doctor of Physical Therapy Laura Mannering( who likewise happens to be a board-certified clinical professional in orthopedic physical care on top of being licensed in MDT) points out, “It’s clear that short quantities of progress- type of change- dispersed throughout the day are advantageous. This move can even be functional so it’s readily incorporated into your era -think stepping instead of using transportation, clambering stairs in lieu of elevators, employing a treadmill table, or showering dishes versus putting them in the dishwasher. This benefits many if not all of the systems in our body.”

So why not alter your morning commute into a workout? Here are five employs you can do on the metro TAGEND

1. Stand

Listen, I get it. We’re all spent and I know we all want to sit down on the develop, but countenancing can be a great method to mounted the foundation for a health body. You’re on a jam-packed civilize, someone’s knapsack, which they have been specifically told to remove by the metro robot spokesperson, is excavating into your shoulder blade, and it truly sucks. But, instead of slouching against a spar in win, you can use this time to work on your posture and focus on your alignment.

First, flora your feet hips width interval apart. Now move your shoulder blades onto your back and greenback the help feeling that you’re poising your skull on top of your backbone. Support your abs close-fisted. Now bare your teeth. Yeah, you read that right,.

In a normal place you are able smile, or not, but this is the, so your goal should be to look as terrifying as possible. If you were a blowfish, I would tell you to inflate, but you’re not, so best available you can do is demonstrate your fangs like the wolf that maybe you, and stare down every person who gets on that improve until you have a 3-foot cavity around your perfectly aligned accepting way. That’s how you razz the dang metro and make it out alive.

2. Climb

I live near a subway station that has two flights of escalators. It takes almost two full hours to get to the top of them, and then there is another set of stairs before you get to the actual pulpit. That’s a sh* tload of stairs! I make it a purpose to saunter up all of those stairs every morning when I’m on my course to work for several grounds TAGEND

A. It’s SO fun to gaze smugly over at the person or persons on the escalator as you transfer them by, making good time on the stairs. Gaze at those sheeple, simply blithely waiting for the robot stairs to lodge them onto the next stage. Not me, I control my own destiny and the amount of sweat on my back, so I take the real stairs instead of going those slow-ass metal ones.

B. The stairs, as much as we all detest them, are a great practice to get your blood pumping and kick your metabolism into high gear for the rest of the day. Representing the permutation from the escalator is a significant way to feeling strong and smug all day, and isn’t that what life’s all about? As Cedric Bryant, the director science man for the American Council on Exercise strengthens, “Stair clambering will give you a bit more slam for your horse because of the vertical component.” The incline is what really gets the blood pumping and forms it guys more efficient than flat-surface fitness, like running.

3. Fume

Yes, I said it. Fume! Fume about the facts of the case that your train is being held in the depot because of instruct congestion ahead, even though you had to wait 20 hours for this instruct, representing there couldn’t perhaps be qualifies ahead of it. Fume about the facts of the case that an empty express study just moved by you, and the neighbourhood that actually stopped is parcelled to the gills with suitcases and strollers. Fume away! Get all hot and bothered, it’s good for your metabolism and it’s OK to be pissed and irritated and foiled for a minute, but simply for a minute, and then it’s is high time to take control by using your breather to allay yourself down.

When you’re accentuated your cortisol heights raise, according to dietician and health coach-and-four Jill Corleone. That compound ups your metabolism, but exclusively at first. Continued stress views cortisol eating away at your muscles, and you don’t wanted to go. So, after you’ve had a good vapour, try this technique.

Breathe in for four sighs, hold for four sighs, exhale for four breathers, hold for four breathers. This is the tactic Navy Seals use to stay calm under pressure. It should at least assistance a little bit when an elementary school group and a guy with a cluster of catering nutrient get on your already-full subway car.

4. Run

Dude, you literally never know when the moving train is going to come. The transportation system is deteriorating before our very eyes. Today, this very moment, could be it’s last-place. Five years ago, you could afford to wait for the next one, but now? Today? Too risky.

If you’re close to building the set you are able to acquire every effort to become the improve because it are likely to be the last. Ever. SO F #%* ING RUN!

5. Flex

OK, this is a spooky one, but the first rule of the NYC transit system is that you cannot maybe be the weirdest person or happening on the set. It’s impossible. I formerly wore a unicorn dres on the F train into Manhattan on a Wednesday night and I was probably the 12 th weirdest being in my car alone. So don’t appear bizarre about flexing all of your penalty, strong muscles as you sit or countenance caught underground because there is a signal glitch at the Hell Mouth known as West 4th Street.

First, become strong eye linked with whomever is sitting across from you to establish your reign. Then, starting with your hoofs, try to concentrate on flexing every individual muscle in your organization. It’s a enjoyable usage to note where they all are, and flexing them stimulates them, so it’s kind of like promoting weights.

Eye contact with the person across from you should remain unbroken at all hours, and ideally you should look your eyes every time you flex a brand-new muscle. Congratulations. You are now the weirdest being on the train.

Now, plainly these tips-off are very New York-centric, but they can be applied to anyone in any city or municipality because nobody’s public transportation is particularly great. Boston? It’s a mess. DC? Why are those terminals so deep in the field. San Diego? Do they even have public transportation?

Anywhere you live you can find time to focus on your adjustment, get in a few flights of stairs a day, and focus on your breathing. Just these small steps, recited every day, can go really far toward contributing to a healthy life-style. And stirring you the weirdest party around. Weird is magnificent!

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