#I spent 30 minutes on this piece of shit so now yall have to see it lmao

[nad-zeta]

Arthur Doyle: Battle of the Flirts

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Pairings: Arthur Doyle x reader (Fem Bi reader)

Genre: Slice o life 

Warnings: Alcohol 

Words: 1650 

Comments: So this is my first ikevamp fic lol its probs ganna be shit cause you best know i didn't proof read before posting lol(˶◕‿◕˶✿) Thanx so much @zazax42​ for giving me the suggestion/idea! Hope yall enjoy it! 

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The week seemed to drag on and on, and you were overloaded with chores. You had finally finished doing all the housework for the day, and to be honest you were absolutely exhausted.

It was a miracle that you still had enough energy left to drag yourself up the stairs. Once you made it to your room, you threw yourself onto your bed. Vic hopped up onto the bed and looked at you with his big brown eyes. 

“You know you have caused me a the biggest headache today.” He gave a small whine as if to apologise for the trouble he had cause you, and you couldn't help but give the poor doggo a tired smile, there was no way you could stay mad at him, especially when he gave you such cute puppy dog eyes. 

“It’s alright Vic you are forgiven, just don’t do it again.” He wagged his tail and licked your face and proceeded to dash out of the room, probably to cause some more mischief, no doubt. 

You turned your head to look at you cupboard hanging open, you spotted the little black dress you had bought yourself a few weeks ago. Geez, how long has it been since you’ve been out with friends? Since arriving at the mansion it has been all work, thanks to a certain slave driving butler.

Your thoughts were interrupted, when the British writer entered your room. “You look positively exhausted love,” he looked down at you, with eyes filled to the brim with love and affection. 

You were dramatically sprawled out across your bed. “And whose fault would that be, my dearest Arthur.” 

Arthur gave you an apologetic smile as he flopped down on the bed beside you, “yes, well, I suppose I should apologise for Vic’s behaviour”. 

You propped yourself up on your elbows and narrowed your eyes at your lover. “You do realise I spent the whole afternoon picking up shredded pieces of Mozart’s sheet music off the lawn, not even to mention the fact that someone had to talk some sense into the grumpy musician, as he was insisting on giving your precious dog away in your absence. Plus Sabastian had a field day with taking all his frustrations out on me, for what Vic had done.”

Arthur then sat up and kissed you on your temple, “thank you love, for defending Vic’s honour, and I am terribly sorry I wasn’t here to help clean up and listen to Mozart’s and Sabastion’s whining. Although you must admit, angry Sabs is quite the amusing sight,” Arthur said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

You cracked a little smile, “well, I suppose I got to see that big vein pop out of his forehead, hehe and also it was pretty funny to see how red Mozart got in his anger. I wish you could have seen it! I didn't think anyone could go redder than poor old Isaac, but after seeing Mozart so angry, I think he could give apple boy a run for his money.” Arthur chuckled at the thought of the angry butler and pianist, “It sounds like both you and I deserve a stiff drink for, the troublesome day we both had.” 

“More like two stiff drinks, for all the complaining I had to endure today,” you said with a bright smile as you gave Arthur a quick peck on the lips.

“Well, then hun, hows about we go to the bar for a drink or two, I’ll meet you at the main door in 30 minutes.” You smiled and quickly got dressed, you decided to wear that pretty black dress that has been hanging in your cupboard for weeks now.

After 30 minutes of changing and getting ready, you met Arthur by the front door. “Why, don’t you just look positively fetching, in that pretty black little number,” Arthur said while gently taking your hand in his and leading you out the entrance to the waiting carriage. 

“Right back at ya,” you chuckled while doing your awkward finger guns. 

The place was super lit, and it was amazing that you and Arthur managed to find two open seats at the bar. “Two whiskeys on the rock please.” 

You and Arthur sipped on your drinks and enjoyed the light banter that flowed between the two of you. Just as you were making a witty comeback to one of Arthur’s flirty comment, the bartender placed a drink down in front of you, “From the woman in the pink dress,” he said with a wink and a smile. 

“Ah I’m sorry about that Luv, it seems the women in his bar hasn’t received the news yet, that I am a taken man,” before Arthur could finish his comment the bartender corrected him, “Excuse me, sir, I think there has been a misunderstanding, this drink isn’t for you, it is actually meant for her,” he nodding in your direction with a smile.

You gave Arthur a bright smile, “ohoho, it’s for me, is it.” 

You burst out in laughter and said in a mocking voice, “it seems the women in this bar hasn’t received the news yet, that I am a taken woman.”

Arthur took a big sip of his drink, trying to mask his embarrassment. You eyed him curiously and gave him the biggest brightest smile. For a big old flirt, he certainly was cute, especially the way his ears would go all red as he blushed. 

He playfully put his hand over your mouth to muffle your laughing, “Okay okay, I get it, you’ve had your fun,” he gave you his signature smirk while still carrying remnants of the blush and embarrassment on his cheeks. You cradled Arthur’s cheeks in your hands, still wearing a big grin, “don’t be cross dear, you know I used to be quiet the flirt back in the day.” 

Arthur’s eyes lit up in curiosity, “is that so.” You kissed the tip of his nose and let go of his face, “jip, no man or woman could resist my charm,” you said as you gave him a flirty wink.

“Well my luv, I can most definitely see that, because you certainly are, a-dor-a-ble,” he said while giving you a little boop on the nose. “I’m not cute, I’m sexy,” you huffed out with a slight pout. 

“Of course you are sweetheart, you are most definitely the cutest fluffies woman in the whole world,” he said while patting your head and ruffling your hair. 

“Oooh I’ll show you cute Arthur Doyle!” You then pulled your lover into a headlock, ruffling his hair the same way he had ruffled yours moments ago. 

“Well then love, how’s about a friendly little wager”, you let go of him and narrowed your eyes, “I’m listening..”

“The one who can get the most women’s telephone numbers in the next hour wins,” Arthur said with the most playful glint in his eyes. 

“What’s the catch?” you asked eyeing him suspiciously

Arthur smirked at you and continued to explain the rules. “Loser has to pick up after Vic for 2 whole weeks and has to be the winner’s personal slave for the day,” 

You gave Arthur a challenging gaze and decided to raise the stakes slightly “Alright but, the loser also has to do the laundry for the next two weeks and has to change their name to Deez Nutz for the duration of the time.” 

Arthur thought for a second and then nodded “Alright, time starts NOW”

The two of you scattered into your own directions and started working your magic on every woman in the bar, no woman was safe.  It felt like mere seconds had passed, before the hour was up. You and Arthur regrouped at the bar and presented each other with the phone numbers that you managed to get. 

“I’ll go first luv,” the two of you counted all the scrap pieces of papers and napkins together, “let’s see if you can beat 5, luv, you know there is no shame in backing out of the bet now, although I will take great pleasure in calling you Deez Nutz for the next two weeks,” Arthur said with a triumphant smile. 

“No, no don’t worry about me old boy, I am quite confident I have this in the bag, I hope you like doing laundry.” You emptied out your purse and pockets of all the pieces of paper, you also showed Arthur’s your arms and hands as three women had written their phone numbers on them. 

“I… I can’t believe this,” Arthur looked at the stack of phone numbers in disbelief. “I believe that is 15, I win”, you playfully patted and ruffled Arthur’s hair. “Looks like we know who the cute one is and who the true sexy one is after all. I do believe, I warned you that I was quite the ladies lady back in the day,” you said while bursting into laughter. “Plus nothing screams sexy like this sexy black dress”, you said while tracing your hand over the curves of your body. Your black dress was perfect, conservative enough not to show too much, yet body-hugging enough to show off your every curve.  

Arthur simply hung his head in defeat. You couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him “Aww don’t be cross with me, love”, you gave him a little kiss on the cheek and gently took hold of one of his hands lacing your fingers with his “You know, even though I am a babe magnet, my heart will always belong to you, Deez Nutz,” you said while pushing your lips together trying to stifle a laugh. 

Arthur simply groaned and buried his face in is hands. This was most definitely going to be the longest 2 weeks of his life 

Turns out your horrible day want so horrible after all

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Lol hope yall enjoyed ✿◕ ‿ ◕✿

#ikemen vampire arthur #ikevamp arthur #ikemen arthur #ikemen arthur conan doyle #ikevam arthur #arthur x reader #ikevamp arthur fanfic

[1985music]

Assembly of the Gods

Twon, If you're reading this it's too late my G. 

I'm never sure where to begin with these stories. Y'all remember when Nas spit a whole story backwards? Nevermind forget it. 

The year is 2013, I believe, and it's a rainy night in the fall. My boy Robbie Maxx drags my wife and I to a Meek Mill show in Teaneck NJ, just to peep the scene. The parking lot is a mad house of course. We had to wait in line and shit, which wasn't the vibe. We finally get in the spot, it's already packed and the opening acts are doing their thing. This one performer caught my attention. This short, energetic kid with his squad on stage with him screaming, "UPPERCLASS!". The young boy with the name "TWON" gleaming off his hat was spitting some fire with no fear or nervousness to a sold-out crowd in his hometown. Pretty dope performance overall. Soon after his exit from the stage Meek would come out and make is presence known. I knew that wasn't the last time I'd see or hear from that Twon guy. 

Some months later Maxx would headline a show at this spot called Mexicali Live (Debonair Lounge) and guess who he throws on the bill? You guessed it, TWONDON. It had been a while since I last saw the kid and this go-around the music was a bit different. He performed and did his thing much like the first time I saw him. He was chopping it up with his fans/supporters after his performance, so I had to wait to talk to him. I hate that sh*t. I was able to properly introduce myself and extend the invitation to collab. I'll admit our first encounter wasn't the greatest. It's always weird when a ni**a that doesn't know you tries to strike a conversation. He'll tell you. Although he knew of me as being Maxx's producer/engineer up until this point we hadn't had any extensive interaction. We exchanged info and that was that. He wasn't trying to hear anything I had to say that night though.

 Now it's 2014, I was floating around to different events in NYC. One in particular was a private album release party for Mobb Deep (RIP Prodigy). I want to say it was their last album, "The Infamous Mobb Deep." I'm coolin' in the spot for a little bit and guess who I bump in to? Of course, Twondon. The first thing he says to me is, "Damn B, you get around". At this point this ni**a finally realizes he can't escape the God. This time we got a chance to really chop it up. He mentioned to me he was looking for a new spot to record and a good engineer. I had to get my boy right. The first track we recorded together was, "Life's a Bitch" featuring AZ. I remember Twon asking me, "Yo B, can you somehow scratch in the Acapella of AZ from Nas' "Life's a Bitch"?” and explained how he wanted it to cut in and out of the hook. I remember thinking to myself, "This ni**a has no clue this my f**king BAG." To make a long story short my execution of what he requested was flawless. In past interviews Twon has mentioned that "Life's a Bitch" was when he found "His sound."

 Soon after Twon would make 1985 Sound Studio in Belleville, NJ his new home for recording. By this time I had already mixed a few singles for him including "4th and Inches" and "Run It" featuring Bizzy Crook and slew of others. There's this on-going thing where he'll say some sh*t like "Yo B, make me sound icy" and somehow I know what he means everytime. He also connected me with a few artists he knew including a young lyricist by the name of Dolla $ign Dunn who I continue to help with developing his sound as well. In the early stages of creating with Twon he had already had a lot of his beats picked out so he didn't really need me for production. I was just helping to cultivate that Upperclass sound through my mixing and mastering techniques. It wasn't until mid 2015 that discussions of his debut EP "Stay Golden" began to take shape. 

After a session one day Twon asked me about a beat I was creating on my ipad that I previewed on Instagram I think. No stories back then this was all timeline action. He said "That beat sound like me." 

I didn't think anything of it, I looped up the beat, added a few more elements to it and gave it up. No charge. That was the birth of the first single "Too Committed". He sat on the beat for a short time and came back to the studio and laid the 1st verse and the hook. Later on he told me that Smoke DZA would be blessing the record and executive producing the album "Stay Golden." 

"TWON!!? Antwon!! Wake your black ass up it's 1 in the afternoon..."   -Gloria's Intro (Mama Twondon) 

Twondon's “Stay Golden” album was released December 8, 2015, a day after my 30th Birthday. I was in Vegas my ni**a. The project was well received. The song "Million Dollar Babies" off that project racked up 600,000+ streams on Spotify alone. The whole roll-out for that project was dope. I go back and listen to that project sometimes and I love the way it sounds. It sounds just like the title, "Golden." So much work went into it and I enjoyed every minute of it. There are 10 mixes on "Too Committed" alone. Occasionally I will hear my wife bumping "All the Above." She's also partially responsible for placing "Too Committed" in the Indie film "King of Newark" (2016) 

After the success of that project we continued to create and build. The last few years I've watched Twondon evolve from rapper/lyricist to clothing designer to all-around entrepreneur. Yeah man, my boy was making clothes. I had to support him because the Upperclass Intl. collections were dope, simple as that. Every collection is limited pieces, so if you miss it for the week it's available it's over. His system is untouchable to say the least. He'll give you some dope music and then turn around and give you some fresh clothes. Young Nipsey traits for sure. The one piece I missed out on was this navy blue Upperclass hoodie he dropped. Still salty about that. He know. 

The inception of "God Complex" 

Summer of 2016 I locked in with my brother Josh. He would come to the crib on random days and cook up. Lay hooks, make beats etc. One of the hooks he laid was on "F**k What They Tryna Say," we both knew it was special. He laid it down and we never revisted it. Typical Josh sh*t. He's just a legendary soul. He's different. 

2017 I relocated to Atlanta. Twondon and I would maintain our working relationship and brother-hood from a far. We would send sessions back and forth, long ass facetime calls and sh*t. I would send beats sometimes and I stumbled across that joint "F**k What They Tryna Say" again, so I sent it to him. He didn't have anything in his catalog like it at the time. He wrote to it in about 45 minutes maybe less and sent me voice notes of the verses he had. Just undeniable flame. Since he didn't have a studio to record in at the time, I arranged to shoot back to Jersey to handle some business and record his verses. We linked up at a Sheraton I was staying at in Weehawken NJ overlooking New York City. I set up my laptop and microphone, we had some "God-Talk" and we got to work. Needless to say this record "Fuck What They Tryna Say" is about to be 4 years old by the time you guys hear it. Timeless vibes. Around the time we recorded that song I was still dealing with the indelible aftermath of my own personal police misconduct situation. It's documented that US Police had already shot and killed 72+ unarmed black males from 2015-2017. The numbers continue to rise. The message in that song is powerful, heavy and very clear, Fuck what they tryna say. We're not naive to what's happening in our communities, but as you can see we still thrive anyway. So we dont give a f**k what yall talking about. Plain and simple. 

"The skeletons in the closet is rising, the truth is louder than ever they kill us and televise it..." "FWTTS" - Twondon (feat Josh.GLPA) 

These last few years have made me realize how important the artist-engineer and artist-producer relationship really is. We've gotten so good at separating our business and personal lives that when this guy hits my line and simply says, "Mr. Ross," my response is normaly "Mr. Gibbs?”, I know something is coming. Would you believe we've spent the last 7 years developing his sound to what you hear today? I've mixed and mastered over 30 songs, 3 albums and 3 EPs for Twondon thus far. So many email threads, text messages, phone calls and overtime to bring to life that Upperclass sound you know him for. “God Complex” is just a cornerstone of what we've been able to build together on this journey of ours. Songs like “199$” and “Trips Up North,” are the creative by-product of our extensive conversations about life, man-hood, spirituality and how we are limitless in our thinking and resilient in what we pursue. We are Gods in our own right. Like Ye said, "I just told you who I thought I was, a God". Just respect it. Hope you enjoy this masterpiece. More music on the way. It's Upperclass ̡ 

Written by Brandon "Plan B '85" Ross 1985 Music 

Stream/Buy God Complex NOW

http://smarturl.it/GODCOMPLEXPACK

#twondon #spotify #tidal #applemusic #plan b '85 #god complex #new music #youtube #1985music

[e-namor-a]

Masked Pt. IX

WHOOO I’M BACK MOTHERFUCKERS

It took forever, I know and I’m so so sorry, depression and ADHD are a goddamn bitch. 

Also shoutout to @friendly-neighborhood-lich-queen for reading and helping me figure out my messy af story. thank you elle <3

Come scream at me later, I have some more tidbits that didn’t make it to the story! and some backstory on Mariah I can post if yall want me to! 

So without further ado, here we go!

You were walking towards your favorite hunting ground, having stopped at all your other regular haunts for drinks. It was a club currently called Exposure, though it had changed names several times in the time since you had found. To you and the people who frequented it though, it would always be called the Church. The original owner had spent a small fortune renovating the buildings interior into something hauntingly beautiful, with al grand descending staircase, pillars, and high domed ceiling. You adored it. It’s the only place you worshipped. 

It usually had no cover charge for women, so men lined up hoping to get in and get lucky. Just thinking about it made your toes curl in anticipation. You relished the opportunity to drink and dance until you were slick with sweat and then end the night lost in some strangers bed. You had made your way to the front of the line, pushing through the line and smiling at the bouncer. He winked and mouthed a hello while opening the big carved wooden for you and ushering you inside like a VIP. You stood on the balcony of the grand staircase staring down at the crowds below you, grinning and letting the lights flash on your skin, feeling the bass reverberate in your bones, and breathing in the sent of sweat, booze and sex. 

You fully relaxed for the first time since your session with Daniel. You were ready to shine. You stood tall, with your shoulders back, chin held high and descended the staircase with a regality that caught several people’s eyes. You got to the bottom and looked around fully in your element. You strutted to the bar, swinging your hips, enjoying the eyes you felt on you. You grinned at Lucy, your favorite bartender, and held up Tony’s card between your index and middle fingers. She waved back in reply and got your usual drink. You grabbed your mojito, and sipped while leaning against the bar, looking at the crowd trying to find your prey for the night. When you didn’t find someone suitable, you turned again holding up a hand at Lucy and downed the four shots she brought you in quick succession, before grabbing your last drink and heading off immediately to the dance floor.  You wiggled your way to the center and grinned at the security guards guarding the entrance to your favorite part of the dance floor. They smirked at you while they moved to the side to let you pass.  You blew them a kiss as quickly climbed the stairs until you got the elevated part of the dance floor directly under the high domed glass ceiling. The full moon glinting brightly and it shed light on the dancers. The people around you were cast an ethereal glow that seemed all the more magical with the pulsing club lights. You gulped your drink down, the heavy alcohol leaving a warm sensation in your stomach and threw yourself into a frenzy on the dance floor. You forgot all about everything and just let the music envelop you, dancing without a care in the world.

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

“Sabrina! Hurry. The Fuck. UP! We’re already late!”, Iris yelled while rummaging through the fridge and triumphantly pulling out a half filled bottle of tequila.

“I’m going! I’m going!”, Sabrina stuck her head out the bathroom head and flashed a grin at Bucky who amusedly watched Iris sitting next to him on the couch, take deep swigs out of the tequila bottle. She pointed a ringed finger at Bucky and told her girlfriend, “You gotta make sure that  Barnes’ drinks too.” Bucky snorted, “You know I can’t get drunk, Rina. ‘Sides tequila is disgusting. Gimme a good strong whiskey.”

“Christ, you’re so fucking predictable. Babe, grab that flask in my purse and hand it to him. Bottoms up, my man. I had Nat ask around for some super-soldier worthy booze and she delivered. That should be enough to fuck you up, so I recommend diluting it with some of that ‘disgusting’ tequila.”

Bucky watched suspicious, as Iris mixed his drink with a heavy hand and held it out to him. “Bucky, take the fucking drink, like Iris said we’re already late”, Sabrina snapped, “Besides, my neck is starting to hurt from standing like this.” Bucky just looked pointedly at Sabrina, until she rolled her eyes and marched over snatching the drink from her girlfriend and shoving it into Bucky’s hand. She waited, arms crossed while Bucky just glared at her.  She raised a brow and cocked her head, waiting. Finally Bucky cracked and muttering a quiet curse, gulped the drink down. “Fuck, that was gross guys.” Bucky gagged, “So what does the drink that Natalia gave you do?” “Basically it inhibits your cells from processing the alcohol as quickly as they normally would due to the serum.  For something like, 30 hours? Though it’ll still take a shit ton more alcohol than the average person. It basically breaks down your cells and turns them normal-ish. Something like that. I got a bit lost during the explanation, I just remembered the important parts.” She grinned excitedly at him, to which Bucky grinned and tilted his head back on the cushion. She had been so very determined to have him enjoy himself and relax after the day he had had. “Oh!” She snapped her fingers, “Nat also mentioned that it’ll take like 40 minutes to begin affecting you, so you got some time to kill…” Bucky glanced up as she trailed off, watching her smile turn wolfish as she watched her girlfriend bent over trying to fish out a half empty bottle of vodka from a cabinet. He saw Iris smile seductively back at Sabrina over he shoulder and knew what was gonna happen. 

“Go. Get out. Go have fun somewhere else”, Sabrina mumbled distractedly, waving him off with her hand. 

He stood up hastily, grabbing his jacket and somewhat awkwardly made his way out of the room to the front door, glancing quickly back as he heard someone hit the coffee table All he saw, were the women kissing passionately, making their way into the bathroom. He flushed, and hustled out the door, huffing heavily in the hallway. 

They were not getting out of here anytime soon.

Letting out another slightly louder sigh he put on his leather jacket and walked out into the cool New York night heading towards a liquor store in search of some decent whiskey. If he only had a night to enjoy alcohol and its effects then he was going to drink some good shit. 

While he walked he started thinking back to earlier. About Y/N. His Y/N. God, seeing you again was a kick to the gut. He had missed you so much that there were times, usually when the sky had barely started lightening after another sleepless night, when he felt there was an actual part of him missing. He thought that you were a mirage when you had appeared in the park, that he had wished to see you again so badly that his mind had finally snapped. He had felt his heart start beating faster as he laid eyes on you. You were breathtakingly beautiful, you always had been, and all he wanted was to hold you tight. To murmur your name like a prayer. To press gentle kisses on your skin and just hold you forever. But then he got a good look at you. And his blood ran cold. 

You were still so beautiful but there was a weariness in you he had never seen before. Hard lines of rage on the planes of your face, a sort of coldness in how you held yourself, a sorrow in your eyes. The woman in front of him, she was someone he knew yet didn’t. And so he had reacted on instinct when he had grabbed you. He had wanted to make everything ok. To carry your burdens and help. To explain what had happened with Mariah and go to your old apartment. He just wanted to go home with you. Because home was with you, wherever you were. But he had ruined it; it was over so quickly. And now, all these hours later, pieces of the encounter kept replaying in his mind. How skin soft as silk under his fingers, the icy cold fury on your face, the small tightening of your lips when he called you beloved, the unending turmoil in your eyes, how you felt on top of him… All Bucky wanted was to to fix your problems and be there for you. But, Sabrina was right, he had no right to do that. He had lost that right years ago. From the moment that he started to pull away from you. From the moment that he hadn’t noticed that you were drowning, he had lost that right. 

He heard your giggle grow louder as you walked down the hallway. He put down the magazine he had absently been turning, grabbed your coat and turned to meet you, looking curiously at the very good looking woman towering over you that you were laughing with. He cocked his head, smiling softly as he noticed that you looked a lot more at ease, more at peace. “Hi honey, this is Mariah, the therapist I was telling you about,” you said, mirth coating your voice, “I’ll let you two get acquainted while I go over there to make another appointment and sort out some insurance stuff.”   You walked away as Mariah got closer to him, her predatorily bright amber eyes scanning him up and down. He shifted on his feet nervously, glancing over at Y/N in hopes that she would come over and save him from this uncomfortable situation. He was looking down at his shoes when he sensed the woman, Mariah, about to move, looking up quickly, startling her with her hand outstretched as if to touch him. He angled himself away from her, and looked at her, confused and a little peeved. 

No one was allowed to just casually touch him, just Y/N. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was trying to get your attention but you seemed lost in your own head”, she let out a shy smile and tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear, “I asked how you are doing? I know Y/N was gone for a while and I know from experience with other couples, that that reintegration back into civilian life isn’t always smooth for either person.” She cocked her head to the side, looking warmly and deeply into his eyes and Bucky felt himself start to relax. He had been having a hard time since Y/N had come back. It felt like she was there but distant and despite how warm and affectionate he was, he felt incredibly alone. He opened his mouth to respond when he saw that Y/N was on her way back so instead he just smiled and held out his hand to Y/N. “Ok, done. Let’s go honey. We can get something to eat and then go back home. Bye Mariah, I’ll see you next week!”, Y/N tugged on Bucky’s hand as she waved over her shoulder at her therapist. “Bucky, wait.” He turned to face the blonde woman who was holding out a thin card, “Here’s my number. If you ever need to talk, at any time of day, just call.” Bucky reached out and grabbed it, letting out a brief smile and following his girl out into the street. 

                                                      *********

Bucky had fiddled a lot with that card in the weeks since Mariah had handed it to him. By now, it was dog eared and worn, and though he had dialed the number but always hung up before it had rung. 

But he had finally hit his breaking point. He was fighting with Y/N again, for the third time in the past 7 days and he couldn’t take it any longer. He  didn’t want to stay out on the cold roof another night, alone. He had to talk to someone.

Anyone. He dialed the number and held his breath as it rung. “Hello?”, a sleepy voice murmured. “Uhm, hi. Is this Mariah?”, he heard a slight shuffling on the other end and only then realized that it was 2:41 a.m. and most people were asleep at that time, “I’m so sorry. I just realized that it’s really late. I’ll call at another time. Sorry.” “No, nononono, it’s ok.” Her voice got more alert as she fully woke up, “Truly. I’m used to receiving calls at odd hours of the day. How can I help you? Would you like to come in for a session?” Bucky paused, unsure, before breathing out, “Yes. Please.” “Ok,” Mariah said gently, “the door will be open, let yourself in. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Bucky made it to her office in record time, feeling desperate to not feel lonely if only for a little while. He silently opened the door, peering around it and making eye contact with the blonde who was looking at him curiously. 

“Uhm, hello, you gave me your card a couple weeks ago and I just… I just finally needed to talk,” Bucky quietly trailed off as he stood in the doorway, fiddling with the card still in his pocket, “I just didn’t know who else to turn to. Or who else to try.”

There was a pause, as Bucky wondered if he should bolt when Mariah stood up and walked toward him, hand extended.

“I thought I would never hear from you,” she smiled as he tentatively shook her hand, “come in, sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

                                            ***************

They had talked for hours that initial session. All the feelings and doubts he had just bubbled out of him and for the first time in months, he felt like he was being seen. 

Like he mattered. 

Like he existed. 

They didn’t start sleeping together till later, after another particularly nasty fight with Y/N. She had been cruel and he had just snapped. He loved her with everything in him but he was so tired of being shut out. He loved her but he wanted someone who was willing to let him in. 

To open her heart fully to him and let him love every part of them. He had ended up at Mariah’s office that night, after hours of wandering around the city and without any prompting he had kissed her. Instantly, he felt guilt surge through him, he thought he would vomit at her feet, stain her ridiculously expensive red bottomed shoes, but instead he pushed it aside and kissed her deeper, closing his eyes tighter. He had imagined that he was kissing Y/N, even though Mariah’s lips felt different, he imagined that he was holding Y/N’s soft waist, even though Mariah’s was ensconced inside a tight binder, he imagined that it was Y/N letting out the soft moans underneath him, even though Mariah’s were louder and less breathy.

At the end of it right before he opened his eyes, he begged whatever Gods were out there, that Y/N would be under him gazing at him with a loving intensity in her eyes, but instead he opened his eyes and there lay Mariah, her blonde hair fanned out, amber eyes shining in an unknown emotion. She had reached up and kissed him, pulling him to her and rolling him onto his side, twining her legs between his. She had laid her head in the crook of his arm and kissed his chest softly, giving him the affection and attention he had craved for months. In that moment, his guilt subsided and he let himself enjoy the moment. He closed his eyes again, and let her soft kisses and gentle fingers lull him into a soft sleep. 

Bucky was so lost in memories that it took him a moment to recognize where he was. He checked his watch and realized he had been walking around for like 40 minutes. He checked his phone and saw a  missed call from Iris. He clicked on the notification while walking to a store, and grabbing two bottles of whiskey. He paid and made his way outside while he heard Sabrina tell him to hurry his ass up, they were getting pretty tipsy and wanted to dance. The voicemail had just ended when Sabrina’s special ringtone had started sounding. Mildly annoyed, he had glared at her contact picture for a moment before answering. “What the fuck? I had just gotten rid of your last annoying ringtone, Sabrina.” Buck grumbled while trying to unscrew the whiskey cap. “Oh shut up Barnes, BTS is a goddamn gift.” Rina scoffed in his ear, “Besides, I know your password, it’s Y/N’S birthday, so nothing can keep me out. Anyway, where are you? We want to dance!”

Bucky gave her the address, as he took a couple of swigs out of the bottle and recapping it. “Ok, wait for us on the corner we aren’t that far away. Thankfully you aren’t that far from the club we wanted to go to. See you in a bit.” He had just hummed in agreement before ending the call and going to sit on the stoop of building. He drank a little more, letting more memories run through his mind as he waited. He remembered the time there was a spider in the bathtub and he had let out a small scream. You had burst in with his knife, on high alert. He smiled as he remembered how you had collapsed on the floor laughing so hard you were crying, while he grinned sheepishly in a towel.  

He took another swig, feeling the alcohol in the edges of his mind. He remembered the first time you had cooked Sunday dinner for your little family. You hadn’t cooked a day in your life before then, both of you living off of what Buck could cook and take out. You had been researching for days and had started cooking at 6 in the morning. The kitchen a complete mess and you were covered in ingredients with a smear of tomato sauce on cheek. You had been so proud, even though the food a little dry and a little burnt, but Bucky felt his heart swell as he remembered the smile that had stayed on your face the entire night. He remembered how it felt to feel you straddle him at night, your lips pressing open mouthed wet kisses on his neck. How it felt to nip your throat and feel you shudder as your skin became sensitive. How it felt to hold you tight as you moaned his name and cried out in pleasure, clawing his back. He remembered everything and Bucky wished, not for the first time, that he could turn back time. Instead he shook his head to clear it, and looked up to see Iris leaning out of a cab waving at him. He stood and dusted his pants, getting into the cab and finishing his first bottle of whiskey. “I never figured you for a maudlin drunk, Buck,” Iris’s small feminine voice stated. “Chin up Barnes. No sad drunks here. We haven’t let loose in ages and it’s the first time you can do it properly. Besides, the goal is to find someone for you to take home. No one wants to sleep with a sad drunk,” Sabrina said loudly leaning in closer and putting her hand on Bucky’s knee, “In all seriousness dude, Im not letting you drink anymore if I see you start to going your head. As much as I’d love to see you let loose, we both know drinking in that state of mind is dangerous. So I need you to be honest with me, tell me where your mind is at.” “I’m ok. Thank you,” Bucky let out a small smile, “I’m just thinking about Y/N and everything that’s happened. I’m not gonna disappear into my head. I’m sick of being in it. I’m gonna let loose, and I give you my permission to call Steve or Nat if I’m not.” Sabrina smiles back and grabbed her clutch, “That’s my boy. Now drink up, we’re almost at the bar and that entire bottle isn’t gonna fit in the flask I brought you. ” She grinned and watched as Bucky started chugging half the bottle before stopping and letting out a small burp. She handed him the flask and laughed as he tipsily poured it in sloshing it on his dark jeans. “We’re here! Ready to go to Church guys?,” Iris clapped her hands excitedly. Sabrina gave the cabbie some money, grabbed her girlfriends hand and pulled her out of the cab, motioning excitedly at Bucky. “Church?”, Bucky asked curiously. “Yeah. Church,” Iris pointed at the throng of people outside club at the end of the street as they started walking towards it, “It’s an old unfinished church that was abandoned in the late 80’s. It has the original pillars, domed ceiling and stained glass windows. Some trendy hipster gutted the inside and made it into a club. A close friend of ours is the bouncer and told us about it. It’s been our favorite ever since.”

“Hey Tommy!” Sabrina called out to the man in black in front of the doors, embracing him, “Long time no see! How you been man?” “Hey Rina, Iris. I’ve been good thanks. Me and the Mrs. went to the Bahamas for vow renewal ceremony a couple weeks ago. “Oh my God! Congratulations! Give Wren our love, we need to do dinner soon. I’ll call you to set something up tomorrow. Sounds good?”, she moved back as Iris hugged Tommy. Tommy smiled and nodded moving to the side and opening the doors to the little group. The girls grabbed Bucky’s hands and pulled him with them, turning and waving at Tommy as they entered the darkened club. Once inside, they all paused at the top of the staircase, Bucky’s mouth opening in awe as descended the stairs he took in the room. The room was regal and haunting. He trailed, lightly dazed, behind the couple as they made their way to the bar, chattering between themselves. They squealed as they saw a ginger woman waving at them from behind the bar. They had a round a shots on the bar top by the time Bucky got there. He got handed two and downed them without thinking, gagging as he realized it was tequila. He frowned lightly realizing that he was definitely starting to feel the alcohol. His mind was getting a little fuzzy and he was feeling free. Sabrina and Iris were right. 

He really was enjoying himself. Bucky leaned against the bar, and wait and see who approached him. It didn’t take long for a blonde bombshell walk up to him and wink coyly, motioning him to dance. He shook his head softly, all the while letting his eyes roam over her, checking her out. She smiled over her shoulder, and walked onto the dance floor, her hips swung invitingly. Bucky just smiled wolfishly, and went over the bar and signaled the bartender, downing the drink she handed him as he walked over to a giant stone pillar by the edge of the room. 

Another woman came up to him, a complete vision in a vibrant yellow dress with her skin glinting in the lights, and he let himself be led onto the dance floor. She twined her fingers in the hair covering his name and pressing herself against him as she started to dance. Bucky brought her closer, putting his hands right above her full ass as the music swelled around them. The woman pressed her full lips to his neck and he groaned, breathlessly. She nipped and licked his exposed skin as let his hands roam her body. She moaned and smirked, as she grabbed Bucky’s hand, turning and leading him quickly across the dance floor to bathrooms. They were nearly there when Bucky abruptly stopped. His muscles locked down and the woman in the yellow dress was pulled backwards onto the floor. She looked up at him, her confusion morphing to fury as she realized he wasn’t going to help, and stalked off. Bucky didn’t even notice. 

He didn’t even notice because there in the middle of the room, dancing under the full moon without a care in the world, was Y/N.

And without realizing it, he started moving towards you. He was going to… he wasn’t sure what he going to do when he reached you. He just knew that that’s what he wanted. He was almost to the edge of the stairs that led to the elevated dance floor when he veered to the side suddenly keenly aware that he needed a little liquid courage. He pulled out the little flask Sabrina had given him earlier, and took a couple of heavy swigs. 

Feeling fortified, he took a step towards the stairs and felt the room spin in a way he hadn’t since he was teenager, drunk at the small bar near the docks he worked. He steadied himself on a nearby pillar and closed his eyes for a moment.

Bucky realized he was extremely drunk, and he knew that he should go home. He knew that he shouldn’t go to you. That he should absolutely not get any closer to you than he already had. He knew the rational thing to do was to go find Sabrina and Iris and tell them he wanted, no, that he needed to leave. He knew that nothing good could come from this drunken encounter. But still, he found himself climbing those stairs, his blood pounding and his body hot. 

It was instinctual at this point, his need to get to you, like a moth to flame. It didn’t make sense, none whatsoever but that’s what he was going to do. And fuck, he was tired of thinking, he was tired of hiding, he wanted you so bad and he should’ve been better, he should’ve been there for you. He should’ve done more. He shouldn’t have been such a goddamn selfish coward. And suddenly you were right there. 

And you took his breath away.

He stared, dazed, starting forward abruptly when he realized that you were dancing in someones arms. The man was leering at you while you danced on him and the entire sight made Bucky’s stomach ache. 

He had to stop it.

 Bucky knew he had to but had no right but he just couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t handle the sight of the man touching you, his intent so very clear on his leering face. He grabbed the other mans arms and lifted him up and away from you, effectively placing himself between the two of you. The brunette man, that Bucky thought looked vaguely familiar, glared back at him, yelling something at him that he couldn’t quite make out.  Bucky just gave him the best Winter Soldier glare he could, which much to his surprise worked, despite the fact he was sure he was getting more drunk by the second. Bucky turned, clumsily, to face you only to find you looking curiously at him.  He took a small step forward, standing just a few inches away and raised his hand, wordlessly asking for permission. You stared at him for a moment longer before stepping forward ending up pressed against him, and tenderly placing his hand on your cheek and covering it with one of yours and reaching up with the other to stroke his cheek. Bucky stilled, everyone around them vanishing as he looked at you with an intensity that would’ve set the world aflame. He watched as you stretched upwards toward him, entwining your arms around his neck, gently closing your eyes and pressing your lips to his parted ones. 

Tag List:

@photography-to-all @susmita121 @the-alpha-queen @awinterloveuniverse @im-a-motherfuckin-mermaid @risinghero @caaaaaaarrrrrlll @glittercoveredsouls @buckybabybaby @justreadingfics @flowerchildqueenlovely @westfields-maple @ly--canthrope @learisa @unevenpages @yo-yo-bro-bro @ufffg @geeksareunique @westfields-maple @chrys-1029 @38leticia @sicparvismagnaxi @coal000 @itsagentromanoff @violentlybarnes @fay-fighter @wanderlustqueen19 @bbadbitchh@goldenstateof @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @marvelssecretmistress @lovemesomepietro @mia-at-work @diinofayce @alitav99 @violence-and-velvet @void-imaginations @xx-raven  @aeteriadoelaveneder @sergeipoluninfans @marvel-lously @honey-bee-holly @valkyeries @lovemesomepietro @kindasortagood @bexboo616 @aurorcarter @sonarsyndor @csigeoblue @through-the-crevices @cosette-winchester @friendly-neighborhood-lich-queen @sonarsnydor @reallydontknowwhattosay @kawaiispacepriincess @unknownqueen01

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes x reader #bucky barnes angst #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fic #james buchanan barnes #masked #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you

[ktarima]

New Life: Prologue

Hey yall! I recently got the inspiration to write my first fanfic ever since I started to play the VN mobile game, Choices! Lets just say … I got addicted real quick lol. This fanfic series will be Julian x M!OC (HSS) This is my first time writing..so any feedbacks is appreciated ^.^ Enjoy!

Word count : 1780

Rating: T ( for mention of profanity)

Pairing: Julian x M!OC

All characters and mentions are property of Pixelberry studios 

tag list: @choiceslife @griffinsbigdickenergy

On Highway 12,  Tuesday, 10:00 PM

~~

I stare lazily outside into the night sky; the view of trees turning into a sea of green as we drive down the highway to our new home in Cedar Cove.

“Are we there yet?” I ask the driver. My dad briefly looks at his phone.

“No. Don’t worry , we’re almost there”

“That’s what you said two hours ago” I groan. He chuckles slightly. My mom chimes in.

“We’ll be there before you know it. Take a nap sweetie.”

“Fineee” I grab my ear buds before leaning back in my seat and rest my head on the window. I shuffle my playlist before falling fast asleep.

“ All of this could have ended differently. I screwed everything up back at Bowie. I lost all connections I built with my IB friends… and most importantly, Devin; my crush”  I sniff softly “Maybe moving away… was the best choice” I thought before falling into a deeper sleep.

A brief memory of Richard comes across my mind in my sleep; a memory that I wanted to delete from my memory. He marches towards me, furious.

“You!” He seethed , jabbing a finger in my face “You caused this disaster!” This really wasn’t the time for confronting me.

I scowled. “Excuse me?! You know I was just following your orders!”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” We were now face to face “Now because of you, we lost the competition and the funds to support the IB program!”

I was one second away from punching his face. “If you give me a momen--” Before I could finish, he turned away.

“Fuck you, you piece of shit” he growled “Lets go “ He ordered everyone else. After that, rumors started to spread around the school; that I was the worst person in the entire school. Cold glares and isolation was only the tip of the iceberg. I came across Devin one day from the opposite direction. At Least I have one person that could brighten my day, or so I had thought.

“Oh. Hey Devin!” I greeted.... A moment of silence, not a single glance in my direction” Devin?”

He grunted. “ Get away from me.” This wasn’t his normal behavior and I made the mistake of confronting him.

“Wh-- Please don’t tell me you believe the rumors that's been going around these past few weeks.” Devin gritted his teeth and pushed me towards the lockers. “Ow- What the hell was that for?!”

“I’m not gonna say it again. GET.AWAY.FROM.ME. I don’t want to see your face anymore” He threatened.

That was when my world started to break into a million of pieces. Richard’s words echoing through my mind. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”

Gritting my teeth,“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”  I scream back, waking up. A moment of silence pass as I try to  regain my composure. “Oh”. I look up to my parents staring back at me from the front mirror.

Turning back,“Oh honey, another nightmare?” My mother asked, face slightly frowning in concern. “You were thrashing back and forth again.”

“I-... no...maybe” I sigh “It’s nothing really”.

“Are you sure Ben? You’ve been having a lot of these night scares recently ever since we moved.” My father asked,throwing a concerning look in the front mirror.

I shrug. “Just a bit stressed from the past few weeks. Don’t worry.” Life was hectic for all of us due to sudden changes at my parents’ jobs and it showed. “Once we get to our new home, I’ll be all better.” I cleared my throat. “How far are we away from Cedar Cove now?”

“Well..” My dad looks at his phone again “We’re not too far away now. About ten minutes. We’ll probably see the sign for the city along the way.” No sooner than he said, we pass a sign with Cedar Cove in big letters. The sea of green gradually shifted to buildings and highway lightings.

“Ugh ten more minutes until I can sleep in a real bed--”

Suddenly,the car came to a jolting stop to a stop light.

“Woah!” I gasp, thrown out of my seat. “What was that for dad?” pouting as I got back up.

He chuckles. “Haha, sorry about that. Just tired from all the traveling, didn’t see that stop light”. My mom elbows him from across. “Ow! Sorry Sorry” he laughs. “We’ll be in Cedar Cove and to our new home soon..”

I roll my eyes “ ugh just save me from this nightmare already.” I grumble as I look out into the night sky.

We drive down the streets of Cedar Cove, taking in the view of the town. The town looked pleasant enough.

“ Turn left and your destination will be on the right.” The GPS stated.

The car came to a stop as we arrived to our new driveway. “FINALLY! WE’RE FREE!” I shout as we get out of the car. “Hey mẹ* . Can I borrow your arms?” I hold onto her hands and lean back to stretch my spine. Crack, Crack. “Wow … that must have been one long ride” I thought. We stretch for a bit longer before dad came over to hand me the keys to the house.

“Don’t go losing the keys now.”

Rolling my eyes“When have I ever lose the house keys?” I joke. He chuckles.

“Anyways, the moving truck should be here tomorrow . Go help mom bring in the beds and call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be one busy day.”

I nod. “The sooner the better” I laugh as I help my mom bring in the beds into our new house. The house didn’t look half too bad, in my opinion. It was smaller than our old home, but it had that familiar quaint feeling. At last, I chose my room and dropped my bed in a corner. I took out my phone and checked the time. Yikes, 11 P.M. I flop onto my bed.

I flop onto my bed.“Good night mẹ”

“Good night darling, rest up. We have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow” I groan a reply before falling asleep.

Beep. Beep.Beep. I half open one of my eyes to look at my phone.8:45 AM. “Ughhh, too early for this” I roll across my bed. “5 more min--” I mumble before the door to my room suddenly opens.

“GOOD MORNING SQUIRT!” My dad beams. I really wasn’t in the mood for this. I squinted.

“Good.. morning to you to dad” I mumble as I lazily wrap myself in my blanket.

“Time to rise and shine! We have a lot of stuff to do.”

I don’t know how he’s so active in the morning. “Yeah.. i’ll,rise and shine in like 5 min--” I start before he yanks the blanket away from me.

“AHH! Fine i’m up.” I complain.

He laughs “Go get some breakfast and i’ll see you in a bit”. I yawn before getting out of bed to do the usual morning routine. Afterwards, I plop down on one of the makeshift chairs in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal.

“So what’s the plan for today?” I ask before eating a spoonful of cereal.

“Well” My mom takes a sip of her coffee”The moving company is arriving this afternoon. Then we have to head to the local dealership to get you a car and  we’re going to shop around for furniture.” She hands dad a cup of coffee.

Finishing the last bite of my cereal and gulping the milk down. “I see and by we, you mean you and dad?” She playfully slaps my shoulder.

“ Yes dear” rolling her eyes

”We’ll handle the moving stuff, in the meantime you’ll drive around town and visit your new high school” My dad states.

I felt a knot form in my stomach. “Fantastic. What’s the address to the school?” I lend my phone to my dad as he types the address in. “Oliver M. Berry High. Not too far away from here.”

My mom chimes in “ We contacted the principal before hand, and she’ll get you settled.” Both of them finishing their cup of coffee. “Ready to go?”

“Yep. Give me a min to change into some clothes and i’ll see y’all at the car.” I got up and walked back to my room.

Berry High, eh? Let’s hope it’s better than my previous school I thought before changing out of my house clothes. We drove to the local dealership to rent a car for me. I’m not entirely picky when it comes to cars, as long as it gets me from point A to B. We drive up to the entrance and a employee comes to greet us.

“Good morning there! Welcome to the Cedar Used Car shop. How may I help you today?”

“We’re here to buy a car for my son. We just moved into town today.” My dad says.

“Oh! Welcome to Cedar Cove. Please come this way to view our selection”

We spent two hours or so testing out the multitude of cars available. We decided on a 2005 Honda Accord. My parents signed the papers and soon I find myself inside my car.

“Drive safe son” He hands me the keys to the car. “We’ll take care of the rest”

“I will.” I look at the time on my phone, 11:30 AM. “ Oh it’s almost time for me to go. I’ll be back later tonight.” My parents nod. “Have fun shopping” I joke before driving away.

“ Your destination is on the right” my GPS stated.

I glance over to my right and came across my first sight of Oliver M.Berry High school. I furrow one of my eyebrows in surprise.

“Huh… this school looks a bit smaller than Bowie” I thought in disappointment. I searched around for a guest parking spot to park my car. “Well, this is my new car now. Better than nothing I guess”. I parked my car and got out “ Well here goes nothing. “ I took my first steps on Berry High’s ground. A small grin comes across my face.

“Wow this place looks a bit better than I thought it was” I thought as I observe the environment. I opened the front doors of Berry High and a woman in a yellow blouse came to me.

“Good afternoon , young man! You must be Ben Burton, our new student.” She offers a handshake, smiling.

“Uh… Yes I am.” I shook her hand “and you must be?”

“ I am Principal Hughs and I welcome you to your new home.” 

TBC

*mẹ= mom in Vietnamese

#Choices HighSchoolStory Julian x M!OC #my first fanfic

[soda-kpop]

Trumpet Player!Mark - NCT Dream Band AU

NCT Dream Band AU: ML - HRJ - LJN - LDH - NJM - ZCL - PJS

Word Count: 5763

Warning: I’m a hopeless romantic at heart so forgive the cliches

Rest of Dreamies + Coordinating Sports AU Coming Soon!

Trumpet boy for life

Like he can even imitate it with his mouth it was meant to be

Would not stop playing the john cena theme when that meme was a thing

Like seriously mark

We are trying to play the fight song right now

It’s not time for john cena

It’s either that or justin bieber love yourself

Anyways

He’d be the first chair trumpet despite not looking like he gives a shit at all???

Like to be honest a lot of people think he’s just in band to goof off with his friends

But he actually is very talented and loves playing his trumpet

The duality of it all shocks everyone

When he’s not playing, he looks chill and just there to have a good time

When he brings that instrument to his mouth though

Wow

It’s like a whole different person

His posture straightens

His focus is only on the music and the ensemble

Nothing can disrupt him

Perfect tone like 100% of the time

He is so talented with music he can hear the pitches and if they are out of tune or not easier than the others

Everyone usually tunes to him tbh

Has a crazy ass range compared to the others

Model trumpet tbh

Except when he never sees the cut off

When he is playing his trumpet, he gets into his own little world away from everyone else and like the band is simultaneously annoyed and amazed like mark come on but also mark keep going lol

He may seem very intimidating to other trumpets

But as the section leader

He is very nonjudgmental

If they are having troubles he will ask “did you practice at home” but whether the answer is yes or no he will help

“Alright let me help you.” wow fuck me up fam

He’ll even try to learn the second and third trumpet parts to help them out

Be also tries to balance sports and band

He is on the basketball team!

As much as he loves playing the pep tunes

He loves playing basketball as well

So when basketball season comes around the band has to say goodbye to their first trumpet

But the band still supports him anyway

When he gets called for the starting lineup

The band just goes nuts

“I KNOW HIM!!!!” - jeno

Cue blushing mark cause wow cause you guys are embarrassing

Donghyuck laughing and calling him a loser when he misses a shot during warm ups

(during the game though he is as loving as every)

His teammates call him trumpet boy

They tease him but love him

That could basically describe Mark’s relationship with anyone tbh

He is always that one in class where it’s the day of the concert and he goes

“Wait there’s a concert today????????”

But no one blames him cause he busy af

Even the director (since the end of his freshman year) is like

“The concert is on March 23rd” *glares at mark*

“The concert’s in a week” *glares at mark*

“Mark when’s the concert?”

“Uhhhhhhh I don’t know, Tuesday?”

Cue haechan face palming

“God mark he literally said it’s in a week two seconds ago”

But poor mark was too busy trying to study for his calculus test that he didn’t hear him

He gets especially busy during pep/marching season cause he’s first chair trumpet and gets all the belty parts for the pep tunes

So football season can be a handful

But absolutely nothing compared to basketball season

His schedule multiples with gym practices for basketball, extra weight sessions, hours practicing his trumpet, and trying to keep up with his school work

If he can get to sleep before midnight any day of the week, he is so thankful as most days he needs to get up early for his 6 o’clock weights sessions

God bless his soul but he somehow gets by and survives each day

To add to his plate even more

Mark decides to do solo and ensemble!!!

After weeks of trying to find the perfect song, all that he could find was a duet

It was called “The Prayer” and Mark thought it was absolutely beautiful

So when it was sectionals time in class

He gathered all of the trumpets into the office and searched for the audio file to show everyone and see if anyone would want to maybe play it with him

Everyone was kind of bored with it tbh

The rest of the section enjoyed “fun” pieces full of energy

(Mark swears if they suggest they play Mouthpiece Mania one more time he is going to shoot himself.)

That and no one really wanted to play during solo & ensemble

They all had their own things they needed to tend to

So when everyone is walking out, Mark starts to feel a little discouraged

That is until he realizes that someone stayed back

You!

You actually thought the song was quite beautiful and would love to play it

Although you are nervous about having to play this yourself

You see Mark’s excitement and can’t help but feel that excitement to

“So you’ll do the duet with me?!?!?!”

And his eyes are so big and his smile is so wide that you cannot say no to this boy

And when you say yes, he begins jumping up and down and immediately asks for your snap so you guys can schedule practices.

“I’m a little busy with basketball coming up, so I can mostly practice on home game days and weekends! I have a week until that starts, so we can practice for a week until then if that’s okay.”

You just smile and say that those days work for you

Not only do you get to sharpen your trumpet skills and play a beautiful piece

You also get to become closer to Mark!

He has always caught your eye with how calm and sweet he was when working with your section even if you or other members hadn’t practice any of the tunes yet

You two just haven’t had much time to talk other than that

Any other classes you may have shared, you were both in different period/hours. 

It was a shame but now you didn’t have to worry about that

After you guys exchange your snapcodes, he quickly runs out of the office in a mad search for your director to sign you guys up as a duet

Donghyuck just looks at him like he’s insane

You just laugh and mutter to yourself

“What did I just sign myself up for?”

So after school both you and Mark come to the practice rooms in order to start your first rehearsal

You go through some scales in order to warm your instruments up

And Mark stops you and “show me your embouchure”

You slowly pull your horn away from your mouth and show him

He giggles looking at your face because it actually looks ridiculous without a mouthpiece attached

You begin to return to normal as he continues to giggle

He quickly stiffens back up and protests “no I’m serious let me see it”

So you do and

“See, your embouchure is all wrong. Your lips are turned upward not down like it’s supposed to be” and he pokes the edges of your lips

“Having this smile still allows you to play, but it weakens your tone. You want to have them down kind of like a frown!”

He pulls the edge of your lips down and giggles

“Try that now”

And your tone steadies and your eyes widen

“Haha see! Let’s go again!”

After you finish Mark’s like

“You are gonna take over my section leader spot!”

And you are just kind of like

“Yeah right 1. The director loves you and 2. I’m gonna fuck it up”

He just signs and says “well they’re gonna need some more first trumpets for pep season… you better volunteer ;)”

“Sure.. let’s keep working”

And y’all mostly just sight read the piece for the rest of the practice time

And the rest of the practices before basketball starts are spent in a similar fashion

If Mark hears something wrong, he’ll point it out (whether it was him or you)

If it is him, he’ll apologize to no end

But if it’s you and you try to do the same, he will continually reassure you that it’s fine

As basketball starts, you don’t get to practice

Mark is just swarmed with practices before the first home game

You didn’t want to let him down with not practicing so you spent everyday practicing along to the recordings in the hope of impressing him when the next practice arrives

So it’s the day of the first home game and all of the basketball team is wearing their matching sweatpants and warm up jerseys

And you cannot lie that Mark looks really nice

You can’t ignore the tiny little crush that you may have developed working with Mark

He was just so responsible and hard working and talented

So it was hard not to start falling a little bit

When you saw him in band

He came up to you with a big smile on his face

“Are we still up for today after school?”

You nod your head and confirm “Yes, 3:30!”

And yall sit in your sections and wait for class to start

After school, you have to meet with a teacher to review a concept before meeting with Mark

By the time you got out, it was only 3:15

You decided that waiting the other 15 minutes in the practice room wouldn’t hurt maybe you’d even be able to practice some before you have to show Mark

When you got there however

There was someone asleep in the practice room

It was Mark

You opened the door softly just to confirm and the tuffs of brown hair paired with his white sweatpants were all you needed

He looked too calm and peaceful to disturb

But you were also concerned

Clearly Mark hadn’t been getting enough sleep

And as a starter

This boy is going to need his energy for the game tonight

You pull out your wallet and see some cash

You make a quick run to the store and pick up a few drinks

An energy drink, a sports drink, and a large water

Everything that he could need at the game

Plus a juice for yourself

You make it back with three minutes to spare

Holding the plastic bag, you knock firmly on the door before opening it

Mark begins to stir and once he realized that he fell asleep, he quickly jolted up

“Oh my god what time is it?!”

You laugh at his shocked face and muster out a “3:27”

“Oh thank god…” he falls back into his char and notices the bag, “What’s that?”

You sit on the floor and take each drink out of the back

“I thought I’d treat you for your first home game!”

And his cheeks began to heat up

No one had ever tried to gift him anything besides Donghyuck

And even then

All he gave him was complete junk food like a bag of Skittles or a soda

He was touched to say the least

But he didn’t really express it well

All he did was look at you and the drinks with such shock on his face for about a minute

To avoid any other awkward tension, you quickly suggest to start

He snaps out of it “Oh! Yes, let’s do it!” and you sit down in the chair next to him

After your warm ups, you begin to run through the piece

And something seems off?

And Mark can sense it too

You stop playing and Mark follows

“Mark, can you play again for me? I want to hear something”

And he hesitates cause he knows it is him

Him playing confirmed him

“Your notes…”

“They are football shaped, I know.” He hangs his head embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I’ll work on it.”

“Hey, it’s okay! You usually don’t sound like this; is everything okay?”

And he takes a deep breath before completely spilling out

“I’m just about to collapse. I used to be able to balance everything so well, but this final year is just so much worse. I feel like I don’t have any energy left.”

You drop your trumpet and close the distance between the two of you, putting a hand on his back for comfort

He didn’t say anything too specific but you are still able to offer support “I feel like you may be too hard on yourself. You have so much on your plate, you shouldn’t expect to do everything perfectly. It’s okay to have bad days sometimes - it helps you grow and learn.”

“But everyone expects so much from me. Living up to that pressure is hard, and I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

His breathing quickens and it sounds as if he is about to cry

“The only person you need to impress is yourself. As long as you are happy with what you’re doing and where you are at, everything is going to be okay. I know you can do it!”

And his shoulders relax and his breath steadies and looks down shyly

You can’t help but swing your other hand around him and give him a hug

“Give yourself a break sometimes, it’ll be worth it.”

He puts his hand over yours and squeezes it

“Thank you.”

After you let go, he starts to try and play again but your hand pulls his bell down

“We don’t have to continue, Mark. It’s okay. You have a big game tonight.”

And he looks at you with concern

“I don’t have to be there until 5:30, it’s only 4… and we haven’t practiced in almost two weeks! I’m obviously behind…”

You laugh to the side and propose a deal “How about we go for another 20 minutes, then you can get a nap in here before call time? Does that sound good?”

And you best believe this boy looks at you like you are an angel sent from heaven.

“Deal.”

When those 20 minutes are up, you just sit inside the band office with your director while Mark is taking his nap

When people start filing in early, you situate yourself close to the practice room Mark is in so you can make sure his slumber is not disturbed

When 5:15 comes around and almost all of the band members are destroying the room, you decide to finally wake him up

When you walk in, you almost decide to not wake him up

He looked so peaceful and content

But he was either gonna be woken up by you or by the percussion section running through their cadences

So you figured this would probably hurt less

You hunch over his body and slightly shake his shoulders

“Mark… it’s time to wake up…”

He flips over and before you could try again, he attempts to rub the sleep out of his eyes

“It’s call time!”

You say trying to get him up

But he just smiles and quietly goes “I’m up, I’m up.”

So you stand up and offer him a hand that he quickly takes but before you can get away, Mark pulls you into a hug.

“Thank you, honestly. For the drinks and everything.”

And you are stressing out, wondering if Mark can feel either your heartbeat increase or your face redden

“N-n-not a problem!” You stutter quickly releasing yourself from his grasp.

He quickly grabs the bag full of his drinks and runs out to store his bag in the locker room

But not without screaming “THANK YOU!!”

And you just come out of the practice room with a blush on yourself and mutter “you’re welcome”

ANd Donghyuck comes up next to you and just nudges ya

“So… Mark huh?”

“Shut up Donghyuck”

When you guys set up, you spot Mark hanging out with his teammates

Y’all make eye contact and just give him a big thumbs up

He instantly smiles

When you are playing during the girl’s varsity game

You guys constantly make eye contact and he makes faces at you

(MOstly it’s just him saying a smile is bad and you need to frown which is counterproductive because all it does is make you laugh)

It’s when warm ups start that you guys really start interacting

It becomes his turn to shoot at the 3 point line

And he misses the first one

“Nice shot!”

You immediately elbow Donghyuck

“OW! What the hell was that for?”

You look at him and with a serious tone just “Just lighten up, okay?”

And he just rolls his eyes and walks away… “Lovebirds…”

You turn your attention back towards the court and make eye contact with him

He had seen the whole interaction and was shocked

You just mouth to him good luck

And he smiles and guess what?

Makes his next shot

Nothing but net :)

And he sees you smiling out of the corner of his eye and you bet your butt that he’s replaying that image in his head throughout the night

When the game starts, Mark seems to be real nervous. Starts the game shooting 1 of 4 and you can tell he is frustrated

His team doesn’t pass as much to him and he gets taken out of the game before the first half is finished

When the half finished, your school is losing by 10 points

When he gets pulled out, he runs his hand through his hand in frustration and looks up towards the band section

Right now he’d rather be up there with everyone than on the court right now

He sees you in the corner with a look of concern on your face and once again you make eye contact except this time, you notion to your head and mouth “Believe in yourself. I believe in you.”

And maybe just maybe

You see his frown turn upside down

When they come out from halftime and start their warm ups again

You see Mark make almost every single shot

You know this is a different person out there

When you see him in the starting lineup again, you get on the edge of your seat

Soon he is almost unstoppable making the next 7 of 9

And you swear but you cannot confirm

That everytime he makes a shot, he looks in your direction to see your reaction

Which is nothing short of a smile and a fist pump

There’s 10 seconds left in the game and the other team has possession

The score is 73-75, your school down by 2

The person who Mark is blocking has the ball, but he kept the ball far from his body

Mark saw an opening and stole the ball with two seconds left

And before he could get in a proper position

He just chucks the ball just before the buzzer sounds

And in goes the ball

3 points for Mark

A winning game for your school

You instantly start screaming for as long as you can

But you have to start playing the Fight Song

It wasn’t the cleanest as the hype flowed through the brass section creating a blatty and harsh sound

But no one cared because Mark just shot a buzzer beater and won the entire game for you guys

You wanted to go up to him after the game, but you had to put all your equipment away and when you looked at him, he had so many people surrounding him

After helping the percussion with their equipment, you finally have time to pack up your trumpet

When you place your mouthpiece in it’s hole, you get tapped on your shoulder

You turn around and see Mark, all hot and sweaty

“You got a lotta attention out there, huh?” You laugh

“I think you should be the one getting the attention; I don’t think I would have been able to do that without you.” Your face reddens “So same time next home game?”

“Of course” you laugh

And he walks off to go find his parents and go home

And you shut your case with a smile and with some pep in your step

And for the next month and a half before every home game

You bring Mark those three drinks during every practice

And he becomes more and more supportive of your playing

Anytime you may doubt yourself, he quickly reminds you to believe in yourself

And you do the same

He starts becoming more confident not only in class and on the trumpet, but also on the court. He doesn’t need to look at you in the stands as often when he plays, but you can still tell he takes some glances

And Donghyuck notices it all and develops a plan

The day before the final home game, Donghyuck approaches Mark in the locker room before practice

“Mark you gotta do something,” he whines

The look of confusion takes over Mark

“What are you talking about? Do something about what?”

“Don’t act dumb, your special trumpet friend!” the blush on Mark’s face just confirming his best friend’s suspicions

“I can’t! Especially before the biggest game of the year so far! What if they reject me and I lose my spark?” He says tying up his shoes

“Wow you might actually be dumb. Have you seen the way they look at you? You have absolutely nothing to worry about. You are Mark Lee. Everyone wants to be with you, whether romantically or mutually, and I can bet your ass that they feel the same way… romantically of course.”

And Mark melts at the thought of you being an item.

“Well what can I do?”

“It’s Senior Night. This could be the last time you could ever wear this uniform again, wouldn’t you want someone special to wear it with you?” Donghyuck smirks, winks, and walks off leaving Mark to stare inside his bag to see his jersey for away games

Boy is he going to have to wash that a lot tonight

For the final home game, you decided to get him a bag full of extra gifts

He had done so much for you in these last two months that you needed to celebrate it somehow

You had gone to the store and picked up the usual drinks along with multiple cups of watermelon, a gift card to his favorite pizza location, and for an extra special gift, you had ordered him a custom mouthpiece with the word “Believe” engraved on it

You really hoped that he would like it and not be put off by it

When you walk into the band room, you can hear him practicing through the walls

Your performance would be in two weeks and you guys knew the piece by heart

And despite hearing him play the same song over and over again

You were always mesmerized every time he played

You wait for him to finish before barging in

“Oh hey! I was just working on secti… oh that’s bigger than usual” he says pointing out the large bag

“Well it’s a special day, and I wanted to celebrate that. If we practice till call time, you may be able to get everything before your game.”

And you swore you had never seen Mark so eager in his life

So you play and play (but not without water breaks and running it by your director for final feedback)

And finally it’s 5 o’clock and the rest of the band is supposed to be there in 15 minutes

“Good rehearsal!” Mark says placing his horn in his case

“You too, I’m excited for Solo & Ensemble!” You start getting giddy just thinking about it

“Me too, it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m really happy with how it’s sounding.”

“You’ve helped me so much with playing so in order to say thank you…” you slam the bag into Mark’s lap, “Thank you!”

If you thought that you have seen his biggest smile, that’s a giant lie

He has never smiled that big in his life

He takes out the water, energy drink, and sports drink with care

When he sees what else is in there, he absolutely flips

“I love watermelon!!” He immediately opens the cup and pops a cube into his mouth, melting into the sweet and soft fruit “And I’m totally going to use the gift card this weekend.”

The mouthpiece, however, was in your pocket

“Mark, I have one final gift…” His head turns in confusion, “Here, just close your eyes.”

He is hesitant but ultimately shuts his eyes

You reach into his case and pull the body of his trumpet out and place the mouthpiece on it

You hold it out to him “okay open!”

“My trumpet?”

You couldn’t help but laugh

“Just inspect it okay!”

He takes the brass away from you and starts examining the bells and the valves. It wasn’t until he finally checked the mouthpiece that his confusion left

“‘Believe?’ Why?”

“Because, you can do anything if you just believe in yourself. You taught me that, and now if you need any reassurance, it’ll be right there for you!” When you are explaining, his head drops down as he smiles at the ground

You couldn’t help but become shy after giving it to him, still not sure how he felt about you

“I have a gift for you, too…” He trails off before reaching into his bag behind him. Your head picks up at the mention of a gift.

Before you realize it, Mark is handing you a piece of black cloth

“It’s my away jersey, and I’d love it if you wore it tonight.”

Your cheeks begin to burn as you take the jersey in your hands

“I would love to”

And mark just whispers a gentle “great” before staring at you

Once he notices Donghyuck in the window, however, he quickly starts packing up his things

Seeing him so frantic makes you do the same

You were about to leave when Mark calls your name

“Wha…”

As you turn around, Mark’s lips touch your cheeks before he mutters out a quick thank you and he runs out of the room

You stay in the practice room for another minute or so in order to compose yourself and to change into the jersey

The second that you walk out, Donghyuck starts a melody of harassing whistles causing you to walk out of the band room, but not before screaming “I swear to god, Donghyuck!”

Walking into the gym, heads turn everywhere seeing Mark’s jersey rest upon your shoulders

He couldn’t stop smiling to himself seeing you play the first trumpet parts he loves so much with his name on your back

And just like the first game, he wishes he could be up in the stands

Not because he is struggling

But because you looked like you were having so much fun and he’d love to be up there to experience it with you

Also to get Donghyuck off your ass

And after the buzzer sounds, your school won by a landslide and as you play the fight song, Mark looks and points up at you with the biggest smile on his face

It almost causes you to stop playing, but you had to

People swarm him like always but his attention is somewhere else

You let people get their share of Mark while you put all of your supplies away and change back into your old shirt

You hurry as fast as you can and run back into the gym to see all of players with their families, including Mark saying goodbye to his

When he turns back to pick up his bag, he sees you in the corner of his eye

“Good job out there, Mark.” You walk toward him handing him his jersey

“Thank you! It’s all because of you.” He smiles “Also keep it, you look nice in it.”

You immediately started laughing

Mark’s eyes grew, “What?”

“Mark, you do know you have an away game next week right?”

His eyes widen even more and he slowly grabs the jersey from your hand

“Oh… right.”

And he stashes the jersey in his athletic bag

And your laughs just continue

“Anyways, you did really well out there, Mark.” and this time you find the courage in yourself to do what he did to you earlier and place your lips on his cheek, “Goodnight”

And you walk out with a fire on your cheeks and a pulsing in your heart

Mark was no different

From then on, band with Mark had been….different

He can barely look you in the face, he can’t focus, and his tone starts to suffer

He hasn’t even played your duet since that home game and you still had until their final game to start practicing again

After that game, you only had seven days to rehearse and finalize any changes you needed to make in order to get that superior rating

While in the zone, it was as if nothing had happened between you guys

When you guys are playing, there is absolutely no tension between you. The only way you guys connect is through the music

But again

Something is missing

You ask your director to listen in and really analyze the song - not just say if it sounds good or not

And he says

“The notes are all there, you have all the dynamics and rhythm set, but there is not emotion. You feel like you are just two people playing together, not two people playing as one. It may look the same, but the sound is so different.”

You both just look at each other and frown

“Playing the same music is not enough to connect each other, our emotions are just as valuable. Maybe try hanging out together, let loose, something like that.”

And he leaves you and Mark in the practice room

“So….” Mark starts

“So….”

“What are we?” he quickly asks

Almost to the point you couldn’t hear him, but you most definitely did

“I hope at least friends…” you say with some hesitation, “but I would love to be something more”

“I-I…”

“I understand if you don’t think of me in that light. I can come together to play this song with you, but I don’t know how much more I could stay around you.”

You held your head low unable to look him in the eyes, softly playing with your hands in your lap

Suddenly, your hand is being warmed in the presence of Mark’s

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’d love to be with you.” And when you look up, you can see Mark’s calm, sweet eyes meet yours. He wraps his arms around you, trying his best not to be too awkward in this chair hug (which is absolutely awkward you cannot escape it)

“So….” Mark starts, “Should we start playing again?”

And you just nod

You don’t make it three measures in until Mark stops you

“Hey, what did I tell you about smiling?” He teases.

“Sorry,” you laugh, “I’m just really happy right now.”

And you just smile at each other

Solo & Ensemble couldn’t come faster

You had one practice with Accompanist!Johnny then all of a sudden, you and Mark were on a bus with other contestants from your school headed to the performance venue

You were one of the first groups to perform that day and to say you were nervous was an understatement

And as if Mark could sense it, he takes your hand in his and starts rubbing it

“You are going to do great today, just believe.”

And you can’t help but smile to yourself

You walk into the performance room and hand your score to the clinician

While Johnny gets his sheet music in order, you and Mark set your stands facing each other so not only will Mark be able to comfort you if your nerves get the best of you, but you will also be able to create an intimate atmosphere 

As soon as you get the go ahead, you introduce yourselves and begin playing

[LINK TO DUET]

Afterwards, you feel absolutely breathless

Between playing the songs and watching Mark play full of passion, your heart was beating at a mile a minute

Your clinician has a lot to say, but most of it is good things!

His main critique was for stylistic reasons - he’d prefer more accents in some places and a ritardando in others

But his main compliment was

“You guys feel connected. You respond to each other almost perfectly. If he does one thing, you are right there with him as support. For some people, it’s about being the best, but you only try to compliment each other. They try to feed on these emotions while you guys try to feel them. Outstanding job.”

And both of you immediately blush while your director is almost crying because he was so proud of how you took his advice and it was actually paying off

When you walk out of the room, your smiles never stop.

Not even when the scores are posted

You promised each other that no matter how you placed, you would be happy with your performance

There was no need to be worried

Not only did you receive a superior rating, but you were the first place Trumpet Ensemble

When you read it, you wanted to cry

And Mark’s eyes just grow really wide and he looks at you with all the shock in the world present on his face

All he can do is hug you

And it lasts for a solid two to three minutes

Celebratory pictures are taken of course, but you guys are quick to watch your friends’ performances

During which, Mark holds your hand

Earlier it was calming, but now it was doing everything but

While the clinicians went on their breaks, Mark pulls out his wallet

“Celebratory dinner’s on me”

You turn your head and see the gift card you got him that final basketball game

“I thought you were spending it that weekend!”

“Well, I felt pretty confident about this performance. I was going to ask you no matter what happened between us, so pizzas on me!”

And before you can respond, the only thing you hear is

“GUYS, MARK’S BUYING DINNER”

“Shut up, Donghyuck”

I haven’t written an AU in a long time! I missed this so much. I will be doing a Band AU for the rest of the Dream Team along with a corresponding Sports AU! That means that there will be a full Basketball AU for Mark. This took almost all day to write, so I can’t guarantee when they will be out!

I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you guys <3

#nct #nct u #nct dream #nct 127 #nct 2018 #mark lee #lee minhyung #nct reactions #nct au #nct dream au #nct dream reactions #nct dream scenarios #nct scenarios #nct fluff #nct imagines #mark lee imagines #mark lee fluff #mark lee scenarios #nct mark lee #hwang renjun #lee jeno #lee donghyuck #haechan #na jaemin #zhong chenle #park jisung #renjun #jeno #donghyuck #jaemin

[racingtoaredlight]

Random Thoughts on Bass

I’ve gone wayyy down a bass wormhole, so you’ll all have to deal.

Technically, bass came extremely easy considering all the years I played guitar and had already known how to build intermediately complex basslines.  However, I don’t know if it’s DNA or memory residue, but I’ve found myself still drilling down technique quite a bit in practice.

There is a law of diminishing returns for a reason, though.

***

If you watched the above video (and trust me, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t), you’d see what seemed to be a pretty solid case and demonstration of a technique that could be incredibly beneficial to a bassist playing more complex music.

Years ago, I wrote about the idea of musical geometry and how some of the more authoritarian composers like Bach, Beethoven and Wagner would build these musical architectures out of harmonies and the piece’s form.  All the different elements come together in synchronized harmony to create a piece of music.  Here’s a simplified visualization.

Theoretically, this idea is evident in how ideas are formed, established, reinforced and how they exist in harmony when performed.  Thinking of Bach’s music in terms of fractals is especially correlated as it’s perfectly constructed with very little ornamentation or “unimportant” notes.

And when I’ve talked about acoustics, I’ve talked about how lower pitched notes have “bigger” sound waves.  Music is a physical being...it is physical sound waves moving through the air.  When you look at sound waves, volume is determined by amplitued (how high the sound waves crest) while pitch is determined by wavelength (distance between high points).  It’s why orchestras can have two sections of 18 violins, and be totally cool with 8 bassists.

What I’m getting at with this is this...

Playing bass like in the video at the top is such a distorted, disfigured, tortured fashion of what a bass player should be, I feel bad for the guy.  The amount of time and energy and intellect and practice and frustration it took to learn how to play like that is hard to sum up.  Even for a prodigy like Matthew Garrison.

Which leads to the most important question I believe he answered incorrectly...WHY?

***

He believes, and I don’t think he’s being falsely modest, that he wasn’t born with good enough physical ability to play bass at the speed the other musicians in Joe Zawinul’s band (keys, sax and other horns, drums) could play with.  By adopting this 4-fingered right hand technique, and playing a bass on a stand we’ll talk about in a second, he could play these blazingly fast sax and keyboard lines.

...if they were looking for someone to play those blazingly fast sax and keyboard lines, they wouldn’t have hired a bassist.

Matthew Garrison kept his job because, like I said, he’s a prodigy bassist.  Intellectually, he’s on a level that is really, really hard to explain.  Like, remember how I explained theoretical fractals?  He takes complexity and makes fractals with more complexity.

Here he is playing Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”...one of the most difficult set of harmonic changes that exist in Western music, while still being musical...in 7/8 time, and accompanying himself soling with these crazy chords.

***

Yall in the comments have criticized me for being overly technical or not embracing the beauty of simplicity, and trust me...I totally get it.  I watch a video like this and totally understand where you’re coming from.

I’m completely unmoved by this.  I can appreciate the technique and mastery of theory in real time, but I never want to listen to this again.

It’s hard to criticize Garrison because he’s so advanced.  He mentioned Jaco though...Jaco played in Zawinul’s band (that’s putting it generously...the truth is closer to Jaco is the guy Zawinul hired Garrison to replicate), and he didn’t need this contorted 4-finger technique, nor did he need some douchey guitar stand instead of a strap.

He might have been playing alien jazz shit, but Jaco was down-deep, a redneck from Florida playing Chitlins Circuit funk.  He always had soul and he always had a groove.  Jaco took bass to new places, but he was always a bassist and filled that role first and foremost.

This music has no groove.  Garrison rarely has any groove.  He has these flashy solos, these advanced concepts, these intricately arranged parts...but not a single bit of it is memorable.  And all I can help but think is if he wanted to solo this bad, and spent this much time on it...why is he playing bass to begin with?

***

Take a look at his bass.  It’s a no-doubt work of art in terms of craftsmanship, and I personally love Fodera basses, so I’m not going to call them garbage but...

Remember how I talked about the beauty of simplicity when talking about the Fender Precision Bass?  One pickup, one volume and one tone control...and that’s it.  And while I love Fodera’s and they’re played by the best bassists on earth, something seems contradictory about them...

They’re made of these insanely beautiful tone woods, which they painstakingly go through the work of explaining the sonic differences of...but then they slap active pickups, a pre-amp, and so many electronics that it needs TWO 9v batteries to power.

Why use incredible tone woods if you’re going to cover it all up with solid-state electric stuff?

That big block in the middle of his two pickups?  It’s called a “ramp.”  What it allows a bassist to do is to minimize the amount of effort expended to pluck the string...thereby reducing the time your finger is on the string and allowing you to play faster.

Again, you have these incredible tone woods already covered up by electronics, and now you install something that reduces the vibrations of the strings even more?  Like, the farther a signal has to travel, the more filters and preamps it goes through, the more its original signal gets degraded...look at the comparisons of a P-Bass’ electronics to the ones you’ll see in a Fodera.

Here’s the Fodera.

Here’s the P-Bass...

I’m not saying Fodera’s are garbage (farrrrr from that)...just that there’s contradictory things going on with their design, things that are meant to improve aspects of a bass’ performance that aren’t an important role that the instrument should serve.  A good defensive first baseman is a nice luxury, but if you hired that player to hit 40 HR’s and smack the ball all over the field but they’re Doug Minkevitch slapping singles .250 the time instead, is that really a good thing?

In a vacuum having extremely developed niche skills are fantastic.  But in a team setting, if there’s not that balance between all the different sets of skills, it’s going to be hard to be successful.  Same with a musical team where the fulcrum of your lineup (the bass) is busy trying to show off defensive skills like a shortstop who was built to do such things.

***

Which leads me to my deep dive into bass culture.

It’s just a whole damn lot of missing the fucking point.  Bass is the ultimate BIG PICTURE instrument...even when you look at the bass notes’ sound waves, you see that it’s about the BIG PICTURE.  What Garrison and a lot of bass culture do is focus on the tiny, minute details in the fractals underneath a microscope on this atomic, granular level...and in the process...completely miss the fucking point of PLAYING BASS.

Who the fuck gives a shit about a bassist tapping?  Even slap...the ultimate parlor trick...is nothing more than “look at me!” wankery.  Is that bad?  I don’t know if it is or not, but the point is that every time a bassist does this flashy nonsense or steps into the spotlight to do some slappy wappy bullshit, the music loses a fundamental element.

The bass is a foundational instrument, theoretically speaking.  It defines the key, it sets the groove or rhythm, and it serves as the musical liason between the composition, the beat and the melody.  Jaco served this role in a visible fashion, but he did not abandon the crucial responsibility a bassist serves in a band.

***

Listen to the first 30 seconds of the Wayne Shorter piece and then listen to as much as you can stomach of the bass duet version.

The whole purpose of this post was to get old man lawn angry at the idea of missing the fucking point.  You have these two bassists with more ability than ever is necessary jamming out to one of the absolutely iconic bass riffs in jazz and you never would have known it.

They’re even playing the same notes as the groove.  But there isn’t any.  There’s nothing there.  This music is soulless and vapid.  You have this faux artistic black and white camera nonsense that’s just as unnecessary as these two bassists creating a musical mudpit because fast soloing simply doesn’t work as well in lower registers.

Think about it...would you try to beat a Ferrari off the line at a red light in a Jeep Wrangler?  Then why waste time souping your Wrangler up so that it will?

Meanwhile bassists Paul McCartney is a millionaire while Sting and Gene Simmons are both worth over $300 million.  There are a bunch of bands who could use bassists as talented as these two guys to make music, and yet they’d rather try to teach a dolphin how to walk on a leash.

#bass #music

[sweet-xoxo-thatcares]

I don't know what to do to make me feel full and satisfied rn.

What do I need to do.

I'll watch videos of cats doing stupid shit, watching floribama with my sisters cause they go through similar issues I have or had already and we were all raised in the south, or just being around family that come into town. But I'm tired and terrified to say.

I just wanna be alone and I'm so damn tired of mental shit that I can't really control, memories keep popping back up, good and bad. Grandma. Jay. Shitty Jay. Ratchet shit.

And this job interview is tomorrow and tbh I don't wanna move to pontiac and remember my other, abandoning, emotionally neglectful, uncaring, selfish ass, crazy ex and all our times from spots we went to. Terrell aka Teddy.

He cheated me. Tried to hide that he was sleeping with this trans woman, who looked exactly like a biological male in a skirt, he had the audacity to show me the girl's nudes, and told me after blowing our one day a week meetup off to every two weeks then just once a month...the day I see him he tells me the girl in his phone is actually moving in with him 2 days from today and his dumbass thought I would actually be okay with that shit and he never said the girl was trans or even told me. I found out by watching his story 2wks after I broke up with him. He's a sick, nasty, twisted mf. He saved all the girls he ever fucked in his phone gallery, like he was collecting more of his magic cards that he made more time for each Monday to play games with his friends.. which now that I think about it. He would have rather spent time sleeping around on me with people that looked more like guys, because deep down He's more gay than pan...

That and magic card duels, and work. He only took me out once after he asked me out. And I always took the 1hr regional bus from Flint to go see him because he was always so lazy, making excuses like he's too tired, too sleepy, just didn't even care about how much I was doing just to make quality time together with him happen. I remember even giving up shifts or moving my schedule around just because he never gave up his Monday magic duels and his sleep was more important. He should have just said he was too broke, too overworked for even a serious commitment with me. Instead of pushing me away until he felt he was good and ready. He started pushing time back because he had a hard time getting it in. He gave up on me, because sex was most important to him than our relationship.

And I never wanna see him again either cause he's a fuckboi too. This Job is good money for entry level, but I would hate to move there, get the apartment set up, and hate the job because you gotta meet loan goals and service call requirements each day and I hate being micromanaged....reminds me of Michael's who's petty management kept tagging me for not having enough rewards signed up, when bitches are already signed up, they don't care to sign up even after you tell them the silly Rewards speech and then I'm being micromanaged for going to slow cause we got long lines. Like nahhhhh, I hate sales and retail shit like that for that reason.

That's exactly why I started doing unreal email addresses and shit because manager was playing with my money, cutting back my hours because I wasn't meeting marks. Like bitch if you got me on floor all week, how the fuck do you expect me to catch up on signup goals in one day? Yall stupid af, don't even matter if I'm actually doing my best, pushing myself to not be a bitch at work just because mfs don't appreciate how much effort you put in.

I'd rather work easy, project based jobs where I can complete it today or the next day. Not oh if you don't hit 20 or 12 people sales, you're done. You're fucked. You're fired, and now you got rent due within the next week and a half and you're depressed because that one time you thought you could get out your parents house, the scales of the system at your new, good paying job, busted your city view and the next time you think about running away from it all, you can't because you can't trust people the same way your heart used to care. And you ain't made new, safe friends yet who ain't out to steal from you, trying to get you to have sex with them, or take advantage of you in some way like you been hurt and let go of, let down because you opened yourself up to the wrong people who didn't even care to appreciate you for who you are and trick you into doing things for them that you didn't want to do or didn't know they were doing behind your back or in front of your face to get a reaction.

I hate manipulators. And I know how to do it back to them. I just hate that everything had to change for me to see that these people I used to like and were involved with sexually and romantically.....

Repulsed me and pushed me away, like I was the scum barnacle stuck to them, or the bubble gum stuck at the bottom of Jay's shoe...cause that's what they referred to me as once, bubble gum.

These people were the absolute worst pieces of shit, and treated me bad like I deserved it, as if I needing love, attention, and quality time, and not just sex was a deal breaker....they used me, played me, and led me on some more so they could use my body like a toy again. Terrell even asked me out again and didn't even know why I broke up with him, when I explicitly sent multiple texts explaining why and how pissed off I was about how hurt I was by his actions. He still pretended like nothing was wrong with him and that I would just take him back. When he acted like only seeing me once a month was fucking normal and we live 30 minutes away from each other and he only wanted me to text him on Snapchat....when Babygirl, the trans woman, was calling and texting him.

I'm glad she dumped him for her ex, cause now he knows how it feels. He was having her as his sub, in a ddlg. He said he liked her more because she was mean to him and I wasn't.

Wtf is wrong with these idiots 😤