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cherry-velvet-skies · 1 year

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It is time for the finale of the Beatles Era Ratings series ❤ This series was so fun I don't want it to end lol

Episode 4: Paul McCharmly 😁 And as of now all four parts are available in my Masterlist if you haven't seen the others 🥰

Archie Comics Character (Pre-Beatles Era)

Tell me he doesn't look like a 50s/60s cartoon character

Simultaneously looks 18 years old and 8 years old this kid's a fucking wizard

He has the vibe of those people who seem super cool but talk to them for too long and they get real annoying real fast

4/10 his only skill is his seemingly endless inventory of cheesy pickup lines

Petulant Schoolboy (1962)

Resting Pout Face ™️

There is a certain level of entitlement radiating from this image but we don't have time to unpack all of that

Looks the same as practically every other kid his age but still thinks he's the best looking one

5/10 is cute until he opens his mouth

Undercover Ken Doll (1963-66)

His appearance has not changed since the beginning of the Beatles

Looks identical to his Beatles cartoon counterpart and no I'm not wrong

This man is one minor inconvenience away from throwing a full-blown tantrum

6/10 though I'd be lying if I said I didn't find him the least bit adorable

Teen Caught With Fake ID (1967)

Never have I seen a real mustache look so fake in my entire life

When people who work at convenience stores tell stories of underage people who come in trying to buy alcohol, this is the people that come in

He's 25 and he looks 15 I hate it here

3/10 maybe next time don't let your LSD trip determine your facial hair pattern

Understandably Conceited (1968)

Very similar to Undercover Ken Doll but there is something different here. Something...better

Beautiful and he knows it

His eyelashes are longer than mine what the hell am I doing wrong

9/10 he's a 9 but he gatekeeps his skincare routine

McBeardy (1969-70)

Jesus Christ do I even need to say anything

The only other exception to my "I hate beards" rule

The mustache cannot stand on its own it must be accompanied by the beard

1000/10 I want him to fuck me just so I could forget about my problems for a while

No (1971)

How did we go from McBeardy to t h i s

You really thought that having beard hair longer than the hair on your head was a good idea? I think the fuck not, James.

Every time I think about Paul's style evolution I desperately try to delete this one from my memory

0/10 I actively despise this

Hot Dad at a Pool Party (1972)

Well at least the beard is gone

The title is exactly what I mean. I have no other way of describing this look

His hair is a little shorter than I feel is the ideal length for him but it's not bad

7.5/10 it's enough to make me have a crush on him, but it would be nothing more than that

Baby's First Mullet (1973)

Looks cute but also concerningly sexy

I hate that I like this but then again rockstar mullets are different than regular mullets so I have nothing to be embarrassed about

His eyes are so big how does he do that

9.5/10 if I saw him at a club I would definitely wanna sleep with him

The Eighth Circle of Hell (1974)

And we're back here again I am in AGONY

The trainwreck of a mustache ON TOP OF THE MULLET? I am at my fucking limit.

This is the face of a man who has done his fair share of cocaine

12598347/10 I had it at a 2.5/10 at first and the only reason I changed it is because there is some sick twisted part of me that's attracted to this and maybe that's why I'm so angry about it. I thought about my rating overnight and ended up having a dream that we fucked and he looked like this and it was so hot. My affinity for skrunkly men is one that both comforts and deeply disturbs me.

Mullet Yoyo (1975-78)

No matter how long or short the mullet got it never left

At least the mustache is gone I can't take having to face my most embarrassing turn-ons anymore

To be honest he somehow looks more unhinged with just the mullet

7.5/10 my brain doesn't like it as much without the facial hair oh my god Cherry what the FUCK is wrong with you

Intermission (1979-80)

It's not that I don't like this. I just really have nothing much to say about it

Sort of a middle ground in between the chaotic energy from the 70s and the dilf energy of the 80s

He looks handsome I'll give him that

7/10 I certainly have nothing to complain about

Give My Regards to Dilf Street (1981-85)

Oh shit here we go

His hair got longer and none of us knew how to act

When I say I watch the Broad Street movie for the plot, this is the plot

3000/10 this man is a frequent visitor of my sexual fantasies

Warden at Horny Jail (1986)

I'm- 🥴

Nobody talk to me

This is the epitome of dilf energy it's not even a competition

36459871/10 please just fuck me already

Questionable Choices (1987-88)

He cut his hair I am in shambles

Paul why

He doesn't look bad but obviously the long hair is way better

5/10 I don't hate it but my heart belongs to another

The Swan is Gliding (1989-97)

The dilf haircut is back thank god

Paul you have redeemed yourself

He looks unbelievably sexy but for some reason it's missing something that he had in '86 and I don't know what it is- oH MY GOD HE DYED HIS HAIR THAT'S WHAT IT IS

1000000/10 it's still one of my faves but COME ON PAUL YOU'RE A DILF FOR GOD'S SAKE YOU NEED TO EMBRACE YOUR GRAY HAIR YOU'RE A SILVER FOX BABE PLEASE

Time Traveler (1998-2003)

He started looking real old real quick

But of course I will not be harsh with this era because I know it was a super tough one for him

I know all too well that when you're super stressed out, your appearance is the furthest thing from your mind

5/10 honestly he just looks like a typical guy in his sixties so there's nothing to bash anyway 😊❤

Lead Role in a CBS Crime Drama (2004-10)

This pic just gives me NCIS/Criminal Minds cast photo vibes idk

Again I mean this in the best way possible but he looks like just some guy and there's nothing wrong with that

A suit will always be sexy to me though

8/10 I have a certain appreciation for this one

Main Character Energy (2011-16)

This era of Paul was the moment

His hair is longer again and yes I do think he looks very sexy

A majority of the music he released in this era is just *chef's kiss*

10/10 this photo is from the promo for the NEW album which fucking slaps btw it's honestly one of my favorite albums from his solo career

Hey Grandude (2017-19)

I'm sorry I just had to name it that I think him using it for a children's book title is too cute

The gray hair is coming back and I very much do think it suits him

This is not so much "just some guy" but more like "a guy who aged beautifully"

9/10 if you told me he was approaching 80 years old I would not believe you

Eternal Rockstar (2020-Present Day)

Oh my god shUT UP

I have to say dilf. Do I have to say dilf? I feel like I have to say dilf

Don't dye your hair anymore babe you don't need it

10000/10 I had to choose this photo it taunts me too much 🥵

#1974 gave me an existential crisis that i would like to never experience again dear lord #I saved Paul's for last because I knew it was going to cause me the most emotional damage #Out of all things I had to prepare myself for...having to accept the fact that I'm down bad for an 80 year old man was not one of them #paul mccartney #james paul mccartney #the beatles #beatles #george harrison #ringo starr #john lennon

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mclennonlgbt · 2 years

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I am not sure where I am going with this but I really wanted to share my thoughts. I have been down a Mclennon rabbit hole recently.

I have run a Larry blog (Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson) for nearly 10 years. I have been aware of the John and Paul thing for a while but it was watching Get Back for the second time I was like blimey this is really dark. Larry have spoken separately about watching it!

There has been a lot of controversy around Larry for as long as it has been a thing. I’m not here to convince you of that but my thoughts assume that Larry are indeed together.

Larry have shared their admiration of the Beatles since the beginning I have several posts about this on my blog. I always linked Larry’s interest to the Beatles because they are one the greatest bands ever! But now knowing they have watch Get Back too it feels different.

John and Paul’s relationship never found the right time, there is so much regret and nostalgia for Paul and John and it’s like they never got their chance. I wonder if there is an empathetic feeling for Larry that they have about Mclennon. That sadness Mclennon have about missing the boat. India? It seems that Paul cemented with Linda and Paul with Yoko after as a nail in the coffin to any potential romantic future which is really sad! I wonder if this is something that Larry talk about and relate to.

There have been so many romantic relationships born out bands, most recently Paramore and historically fleetwood mac, abba and sonic youth! It’s a thing. It seems likely one can fall for someone you’re in a band with. Mutual respect, admiration, close proximity and heaps of time together. It’s pretty intense!

Anyway I think Larry are still together. I think Mclennon were together in the way they could at the time. I think Mclennon appears to have ended when the Beatles ended with Paul loving John and John loving Paul until the end! I think Larry get this and that’s pretty cool to me.

Thanks for reading my off load. I just wanted to say this and wasn’t sure who to say it too.

Thanks 😊

Hi!

I don't listen to 1D so I'm not settled in Larry but I have a friend who is a fan of both band and the couple. She sees plenty of similarities in Harry/Louis and John/Paul relationship, for example: "A lot of fans have noticed that there is something between Louis and Harry, and I really think you can see it. There is a theory that their manager wouldn't let them have this relationship because what people will think so he found girlfriends to both of them (honestly Louis was closer to Harry than he is now to his girlfriend and his girlfriend is closer to Lou's dog). Well, 1D broke up so in public people didn't see them together, but their songs very much indicate that they are written for each other". Sounds similar lol. I'm excited that Harry and Louis watched Get back! IMO it's very likely for them to identify with McLennon.

I really like your reflection on people who fell in love while being in the same band. IMO there are many reasons: being together almost all the time (recording, concerts), watching the other person in both comfortable and difficult situations, and creating together that really connects people.

Apart from the examples you mentioned, there were other relationships / infatuations in music bands. IIrc, @mostarkey writes about The Rolling Stones and Keith having crush on Charlie. Also, at least a few people on Tumblr believe there was a gay relationship in The Monkees, but I don't remember between which members.

And I think this is the best summary:

#mclennon #larry #ask

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bookwermthings · 2 years

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My Jack Harkness Playlist

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the post where I explain my Jack Harkness playlist and how my (currently) 73 songs relate to him and his life!

This will be a long post. Spoilers for Torchwood, and for the audio Mighty and Despair. You have been warned.

Also the songs are mostly in chronological order of his life events.

Also sorry for the inconsistency between lengths of descriptions for each song. I was determined to finish it all in one night, but I got tired and started using less effort to explain. Took me over two hours to make in the end. If you have any questions, I’d love to elaborate on my feelings for any of the songs!!

So, here we go!

1. Jack’s Love Theme

(this is such a beautiful theme) Ever since a young age, Jack has expressed love deeply, loved everyone with his whole heart. Until his heart gets broken by his guilt at the loss of Gray and he keeps everyone at a little more of a distance, and further down the road after that, keeps everyone at a distance because he is immortal. For Jack, love and life are the two constants

2. No Roses by The Builders and The Butchers

For this, I have @ultraviolet-eucatastrophe to thank! This is an amazing song for Jack’s childhood, losing Gray, and in general his relationship with Gray and I love it a lot.

3. American Healthcare (Glitzy) by Penelope Scott

The lyrics to this give me the feeling of being stressed and traumatized but joking about it because it’s the only thing you can do. Wanting to help people and keep people alive but realizing that everything is corrupted. This brings to mind Jack in the Time Agency years to me.

4. You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate

This is a very simple song that I believe showcases Jack’s tendency and ability to charm anyone he meets.

5. YES MOM by Tessa Violet

This is a song that encapsulates Jack’s vibe in the Time Agency. He loves himself (or at least pretends he does). He can be his own hype man. If not doing terrible, he’s at least doing well compared to later.

6. Weak by AJR

Jack being a lot like John in these days, drinking, partying, drugs, the whole lot. Sure, it’s bad for him, but he doesn’t care. Not enough to do anything about it.

7. I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper by Sarah Brightman, Hot Gossip

I included this one because John Hart had to claim it was their song, and I fell in love with it. It’s a good song to reference John and Jack’s relationship, along with this next one.

8. Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer

The John vibes! The Jack and John vibes! Their relationship can be encapsulated in these lyrics, really, the whole song would have to be quoted if I started quoting it. I love it!!!

9. The Funeral by YUNGBLUD

Jack is not taking care of himself, not at all, as shown by the beginning of the song. He’s not eating right, not sleeping right, has no clean clothes. He hates himself, he loves himself, he tells himself it’s alright that he dreams about the day he dies. This is Jack after the Time Agency. He believes that if he dies, no one would come to his funeral, so he is doing everything he can to distract him from that fact, doing con after con. Until Rose and the Doctor show up.

10. Build a Bitch by Bella Poarch

Kind of out of order but a good song. I love the message, and Jack would definitely have this kind of attitude if someone criticized him.

11. Michelle by the Beatles

A soft, old fashioned love song. Jack in a heartbeat.

12. Die For A Night by YUNGBLUD

Thoughts Jack had before he met Rose and the Doctor, that would become very ironic as he later came to see.

13. Victorious by Panic! At The Disco

A happy day. The day that everybody lived. Encapsulating a feeling of unhealthy happiness that would eventually become something new with his newfound Friends.

14. I Think I’m In Love by Kat Dahlia

The moment he falls in love with the Doctor and with Rose are both so early on, and they hit him so hard, he doesn’t want to admit. But he does. He’s happy.

15. CASTLE OF GLASS by Linkin Park

Feeling insignificant next to how amazing his partners are sometimes, but realizing how much better they all make each other. Realizing who he is is alright. A song about holding each other up, showing each other how to be whole again.

16. Talk To Me by Cavetown

Feeling like he can be himself, Rose and the Doctor reassuring him about all his faults, being there for him. Being able to talk to each other. Nothing is easy, it will never be, that’s alright, let it out, talk to me.

17. Two Birds by Regina Spektor

Jack and The Doctor. Two birds on a wire. The Doctor says there is nothing he won’t understand, says he won’t let go of Jack and then he FUCKING LIES. He leaves him, and doesn’t come back. This song is feels. This event is feels. Uergh.

18. Why Am I Like This? by Orla Gartland

Jack, left on the Game Station, and down on the planet below after the first few deaths, wondering what he did to deserve this, and wondering why he is like this. Thinking through every word he ever said, everything he ever did. Why did the Doctor leave? Mistakes on loop inside his head.

19. Alien Boy by Oliver Tree

He feels like an alien among the human beings in the 1800s.Sure he was a time agent, but he’d never had to be among a different time period for this *long*.

20. Wishful Drinking by Tessa Violet

Wishful thinking while he’s drinking. Dying repeatedly, drinking himself to death, thinking about how he could drown? None of it’s a problem if he doesn’t get caught. He’s sprialing.

21. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

A slideshow of death. He gets knocked down, and he gets back up again.

22. Captain Jack - Short Mix by Captain Jack

He gets “conscripted” by Torchwood. This song is happy and sad. At least he’s found a way to get to the Doctor again - wait. It’s also just a really catchy song. I found it when watching video edits.

23. WWIII by grandson

Being in World War I and World War II he just feels so, so tired of death.

24. Which Side Are You On? by Pete Seeger

It’s an old song. It feels like a Jack song. Idk why, though, sorry. And I felt like he could really use a union with how he was treated.

25. Being Alive (from “Company”) by John Barrowman

A soft, slow song about being alive, about being hurt, about living. Celebrating being alive, because he’s starting to live again.

26. Cat’s In The Cradle by Harry Chapin

Having Melissa/Alice. Fearing she would grow up just like him, but loving her all the same. The pain as she grew older and he couldn’t see her anymore. Hoping she was better off without him.

27. Ur Gonna Wish U Believed Me by Cavetown

Jack after Alex kills the whole team on New Year’s. The 21st Century is when everything changes. You’re going to wish you believed me.

28. The Trick by AJR

He lies. He omits truths. To everyone. His trick is he can be anything he pretends to be. But one day he’ll run out of lies, one day he’ll run out of things he’s proud of. One day he’ll have to face the truth, that he’s screwed.

29. We’ve Got A Score To Settle by The Dear Hunter

A Torchwood badass song, once Jack is the leader of Torchwood, he’s hurting but he’s getting better. They’re doing something together, and he’s going to make a change. Torchwood has had so much blood on their hands, and so has he, and he’s going to do everything he can to fix it.

30. Girls/ Girls/ Boys by Panic! At The Disco

Something to spice things up. To me, in this playlist, this is about pride, and its origins and how Jack celebrates it after living through so much of the time where you could be hurt, killed, arrested for being gay. I should write a fic about that, really.

31. Riptide by grandson

He’s done bad things to good people, been caught up in it and these feelings for too long. He’s had to make so many hard decisions that no one else has had to make and sometimes they come back to bite him in the ass.

32. Torchwood Theme

This is where the show starts in the timeline of this playlist. So I put this theme here.

33. Tissues by YUNGBLUD

He knows he’s falling in love with Ianto. He knows this will end in tragedy no matter what happens but he also knows they both want, Need, to be loved. He can’t keep holding his breath on this forever.

34. Carried Away by Passion Pit

Just being so happy, being with his family slowly growing closer together. Getting lost in the feeling.

35. Bike Dream by Rostam

Another Ianto love song. There is a Jack he does see and a Jack he doesn’t see, but Jack loves him so, so much. There is a side of Jack he might never get to meet. Not Yet. Not until after he comes back from the Year That Never Was.

36. Who We Are by Imagine Dragons

Another badass Torchwood team song. This is who they are.

37. Voodoo Child by Rogue Traders

This is the Master’s song that he plays, it haunts me, and it might haunt Jack, as everything about that year does.

38. Gagging Order by Radiohead

A feeble protest against what the Master has been drilling into him form the very beginning - “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not your property, no matter what you say”. He feels like he’s just a body after so long of hopelessness, of death.

39. All Time Low by Sam Tsui

Thinking of Ianto, during his year away. Maybe Ianto dies in front of him. He’s at an all time low. He can’t fix his pride, he can’t fix anything.

40. Amsterdam by Coldplay

Everything is terrible, everything is painful, but you know what? Time is on his side.

41. 50 Ways To Say Goodbye by Train

A good fun, upbeat song, about all the different ways one can die. Possibly also how Ianto feels about Jack leaving for months right after coming back to life and kissing him.

42. Twenty Twelve by Matt Maeson

Wanting to stay with Ianto forever, adjust to adjusting forever. Wanting to open his heart to him, but knowing how hurt Ianto feels. Knowing he can’t leave anymore, now that he realizes what is here for him. He can act like his act is together, but in the end, Ianto sees through it, and will patch him together.

43. Tightrope by Michelle Williams

A Jack/Ianto love song about wanting to follow Ianto anywhere, knowing he can’t. Knowing it’s dangerous, never knowing when it will end, but it comes with a breathtaking view.

44. Yesterday Was Hard On All of Us by Fink

About the episode Meat. That day was hard on all of them, so stressful, and bringing back traumatic memories for Jack. Probably bringing back cannibal memories for the rest of them, too.

45. Walking The Wire by Imagine Dragons

Honestly, pretty similar to Tightrope, but I like it. More emphasis on the danger, and dealing with everything as they get to it.

46. Wanted by Hunter Hayes

He wants to make them feel wanted. <3

47. Two by Sleeping At Last

Giving up everything, not taking care of himself, to protect everyone else around him. Everyone he loves. Two.

48. Undisclosed Desires by Muse

A careful, loving, sexy song for Ianto Jones and Jack.

49. The Ballad of Ianto Jones

I love this one so much, and it breaks my heart.

50. This Is Gonna Hurt by Sixx:A.M.

He always knew it was going to end but as the 456 say those dreadful words he realizes how short it really was. This is way too soon, and ironically, there is nothing he can do. This is gonna hurt.

51. All The Angels by My Chemical Romance

Blaming himself song.

52. Take It All Back by Judah & The Lion

“I’d take it all back, take it all back, take it all back, just to have you” I laugh sob every time this song comes on…

53. What I’ve Done by Linkin Park

54. The Unforgiven by Metallica

55. Wrong side of Heaven

All three of these (53,54,55) are about Jack blaming himself for everyone’s deaths. Tosh, Owen, Ianto, Steven. I couldn’t just pick one song, sorry. He spends a long time feeling guilty.

56. You Or Your Memory by The Mountain Goats

Starting to grieve in a more healthy way.

57. Used To Haunt by The Mountain Goats

All his old friends are always welcome in the hallways they used to haunt now, whether the memories or painful or not, he’s just glad to remember them.

58. Jack, You’re Dead! by Joe Jackson

When he doesn’t respond, when he doesn’t even initiate flirting anymore, he feels more dead than if he was, and he doesn’t care. But also this is a really fun song!!

59. Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today by YUNGBLUD

Deciding that today, even if he is sad today, he is not going to sit in it. He is going to start living.

60. Breaking The Habit by Linkin Park

Breaking the bad habits he has built up in all the years since Ianto’s death. It’s hard, it is oh so hard, but he needs to. No more drinking just for the sake of it, no more dying just for the sake of it. He is breaking the habit tonight.

61. A Thousand Years by John Barrowman

Loving people and remembering them for a thousand years or more. It’s hard, but he wouldn’t want to forget.

62. What’s My Age Again? by blink-182

Honestly it’s about the mood of the song, and the name. He forgets his age, really does it matter? He should act his age, but really does it matter? He should live, and love, and do what makes him happy.

63. 42 by Coldplay

This was originally the 42nd song… anyway, this for me references him living on the planet he lives on in Mighty and Despair, trying to find a way through the veil. Those who are dead are not dead, they’re just living in his head. There must be something more.

64. Wild Sage by The Mountain Goats

A soft nice song about the first while when Carla and Persis are there.

65. Good King Wenceslas by The Oxford Trinity Choir

Christmases with Carla and Persis. A good reminder that life can be good.(for those not in the know, Carla and Persis are from Mighty and Despair, a Lives of Captain Jack audio)

66. You Are Enough by Sleeping At Last

Feeling like he is enough, those simple words can do so much. Helping Carla and Persis to see that they are enough, too.

67. Don’t Go by YUNGBLUD

Realizing that Persis is going to grow old, is growing old, not wanting her to go, not wanting her to leave him, almost not being able to handle how close they’re all getting.

68. Woke Up New by The Mountain Goats

The first time in decades, in thousands and thousands of years in a way, that he had woken up alone. It hurt, it fucking hurt, and he didn’t know what to do. Just… read all the lyrics to this. Please. IT FITS THIS SO WELL I’M GOING TO CRY. “What do I do without you”

69. You Are A Memory by Message To Bears

A slow, soft song about the fact that everyone he has ever lost is eventually nothing but a memory, and even that might fade.

70. MEMORIES by YUNGBLUD

Wanting to let go of the painful memories. Knowing every time he falls asleep he will wake up alone. “Cause when I said forever, I meant forever.”

71. Yellow by Jodie Whittaker

Appreciation for mortal beings. Made of skin and bone, but they are so beautiful.

72. Welcome To The Masquerade by Thousand Foot Krutch

Jack Harkness is not happy yet, but he is way less sad.HIs life is a constant cycle of loving, losing, and learning to love again.

Being loud and proud about not being ashamed, not being afraid, not being ok. About everything that he is and is going to be.

73. Way Less Sad by AJR

#long post #jack harkness #spotify #playlist #spotify playlist #torchwood #too many songs to tag #yungblud #cavetown #the mountain goats #ajr #lots of others #it's 3 am i should be sleeping #Spotify

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modernmanblues · 1 year

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I finally got through Liam Newton’s outstanding biography 10cc: The Worst Band In The World and I came to an epiphany last night. The book only validates the degree in which I admire this band. So, I wanted to tell a little story of how I got into this godforsaken band and why I’m so attached to them:

The beginning of July 2022 marked the beginning of what I like to call “the 10cc curse.” This curse would perpetuate for an entire month and it involved repeated plays of 10cc’s I’m Not In Love music video. Eric caught my eye from the very beginning but I didn’t think anything of it. The video would continue to play randomly everytime I picked a random 70s playlist on youtube and each time I tried to skip it, the video would find a way to play itself again. Insufferable. This strange event would continue until the end of July (and what I have officially deemed the week I fell for 10cc). So I went “alright that’s it. i wanna know more about this 10cc and you pretty fella with the silky smooth vocals.”

I read little by little about them each day and slowly but surely, I began to develop strong emotions for them, especially for Eric. It took me back to the day I fell in love with The Beatles just 10 or so years prior. I still admire The Beatles of course, but I’m glad I discovered 10cc. The feelings I have for 10cc are eerily parallel to how I’ve felt about The Beatles. It’s refreshing to say the least. After The Beatles, I never thought I’d fall for a another band in this degree and for a while, my world only revolved around The Beatles so it was difficult for me to fall for any other band. No distractions, you see.

I know I’ve only know about them for a short time, but it feels like I’ve known and loved them for an eternity. I think there was a reason why it took this long for me to discover them—this reason remains a mystery to me but I’m still grateful to have taken the leap of faith and becoming a highly devoted fan.

Liam Newton’s book tells a story of four wonderful and highly talented men. It not only tells a story of a band, but it also tells a story of a family and last night I came to an epiphany that that’s what 10cc is to me, a family. I feel at home everytime I listen them. A warm feeling that’s so intense I can hardly describe it.

But I have said this before and I will say it again, they were far from perfect. Yes they were immensely talented and self-sufficient as a group—this is what led to their success but also, and unfortunately, their demise. Liam rightfully quotes Jonathan King and Harvey Lisberg—10cc’s record producer and manager, two key players in the group’s success. The two express how the boys could’ve been a lot bigger, and even be put in the same ranks as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, however, they were dignified “snobs” and had this black and white mentally where if they did anything wrong, then they immediately thought of themselves as failures and were not receptive to any constructive criticism. Huge mistake on their end.

Despite all of this, I love them. Deeply, immensely, unconditionally. In my eyes, they are THE greatest in band in the entire world. Yes I’m throwing The Beatles under the bus with this one, but this is the current state of affairs. Their imperfections, their arrogance, their stubbornness, the way that they were dignified Mancunian snobs—I love that about them just as I love all the good that I see in them. And what I see in them, i see four men with good hearts and bright minds. They were four simple men with a simple vision in life: have the best fucking time in the world making the wackiest sounds.

Three Yids and a Yok. Hotlegs. 10cc. I OCC. Those silly Jewish Mancunians. Oh how I love them dearly.

#this post is dedicated to my beloved 10cc boys #i love the fact that they are 3/4 Jewish. this is what makes me love them even more #the boys always make fun of Eric for being a non-Jew but that doesn’t bother me one bit. he’s my favourite little gentile.#eric stewart #lol creme #graham gouldman #kevin godley #liam newton #10cc

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stayathomesurveys · 2 years

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026.

Before you take a survey, do you read down through to make sure there aren't any questions you don't wanna answer?: Sometimes. I usually go by the first few questions to see if it’s a boring survey or not. If there’s ever any questions that I don’t want to/feel like answering, I just delete them, lol.

Rate your confidence level on a scale of 1 to 10: -10.

Do you know anyone who does not like The Beatles?: Probably.

For every sibling you have, name one food they don't like. If you're an only child, do you ever wish you had siblings?: Rebecca - I’m not sure, I didn’t grow up with her. Samantha - meat on the bone. Sonic cheeseburgers. Jacob - onions, tomatoes, most any vegetable.

Did you have a friend in middle school that you're now enemies with in high school?: I am not in high school. I never had “enemies.” But yeah, I had friends in middle school that were no longer my friends in high school.

What grade are you in anyway?: I am not in school but will hopefully be going back to college in the fall if I can manage to afford it.

Do people have any reason to believe you're an alcoholic?: Nope.

What is one thing you hope your children don't inherit from you?: My mental health issues.

Why don't you want that passed on?: Because, who would want their kids to have mental health problems? They are mentally and physically exhausting and cause so much damage and hurt your quality of life. Who wants to have to worry about if their kid is eating too little or eating too much or making themself vomit or misusing laxatives or exercising until they pass out or thinking about killing themselves or hurting themselves? Who wants to see their kids lose friends and have no social life/social skills due to depression or an eating disorder or crippling anxiety? Why would anyone want that?

Hey! Enough with that bad self-talk! Tell me something you like about your body: I don’t like anything about my body but I guess I can easily get a dumpy... the only good genes I have :p

Rap music: Yay or Nay?: Yay, depending on the artist/song/etc.

Whoever invented post-it notes was a genius, right?: Sure...

Does the price of gas outrage you?: YES. It is just about $5 a gallon here.

Please tell me you know the difference between there, they're, and their!: Duh.

Are you obsessed with cleaning?: Yeah.

Where do you keep your shoes?: I keep them in my closet, on a shoe rack in the hallway, and in a shoe thing from Ikea in my living room.

What do you think of dating websites?: I don’t have an opinion on them.

Are YOU smarter than a 5th grader?: I guess.

Don't you think its funny how people will wear those AC / DC shirts but when you mention one of their songs, they go, "What?": Who cares? Also, you don’t know if they got that shirt as a hand-me down, from a thrift shop, etc due to financial reasons.

What's the strangest thing a complete random stranger has ever done to you?: I don’t know.

When you said something naughty when you were little, did your parents wash out your tongue with soap?: Maybe once or twice.

What do you think of spanking little children when they do something wrong? Okay or not?: I don’t know.

Y'all got a southern accent?: I do.

Is it true that British accents are overrated?: Uhhh it’s just an accent. People’s weird obsession with them is overrated.

How does it make you feel that most American families are failing?: Sad.

When you get married, are you gonna stick out with your husband or get a divorce on the first argument that comes your way?: I don’t think anyone gets a divorce on the “first argument” but ok.

Did you know that in Japan they have sushi flavored ice cream!?: Yeah.

What are your thoughts on the popular movie Napoleon Dynamite?: I’ve seen it once and it was okay.

What's your least favorite month?: Who cares.

Do you ever just break down and cry for no reason? And doesn't it suck when people come over when you're crying, wanting to know what's wrong, and you really have no clue..?: Yeah and yeah.

Wouldn't it be EXTREMELY weird if someone fell in love with you after reading your answers to this survey?: Yes...?

What color is your hair, naturally? Assuming you dyed it, why did you do that?: Blonde. Because I like change.

Have you ever tried that vitamin water stuff? Is it any good?: I think I’ve had a couple flavors. The first time that I had it, it was gross to me. I think I liked it the second time around.

Do you love anyone?: Yeah.

What do you do when you're bored in class and not paying attention to the teacher?: Daydream.

#survey

0 notes

fific7 · 3 years

Text

Ticket to Ride - Part 5

Billy Russo x Reader

A/N: Inspired by The Beatles song of the same name. This takes place in my S1 Punisher AU with Arrogant!Billy in attendance, in which he gets a taste of his own medicine.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content, including oral and unprotected, between consenting adults* in some chapters. Drinking and swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My photo edit)

𝕄𝕪 𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕪 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy had begun to doze off in the warmth of the gathering dusk, so when he heard her voice saying his name, he was startled. He swung round to where she was standing behind him then leapt up and went to her, folding her into his arms and just hugging her, saying nothing.

After a few short moments, she pushed back from him and stepped away, began walking towards the hotel. “I’m going to take a shower, Billy. Then I think we should go somewhere and eat. And talk,” she said over her shoulder.

“Okay, sweetheart, I’ll be here waitin’ on you.”

At least she let me hug her, he thought.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Walking out of the hotel and across the courtyard after your shower, you saw Billy lying flat out across the park bench, boots on the ground and long legs bent at the knees where the seat ended. His eyes were closed and you realised he’d dozed off.

“Billy.” No response. “Billy!” slightly louder. Still no movement. You reached out a hand, shook his shoulder and jumped slightly when his hand shot out and grabbed your wrist. His dark brown eyes were wide open now and staring up at you, and he immediately let go of you. “Ahhh… sorry sweetheart, didn’t realise it was you.” “Spidey senses not working any longer, Marine?” He grinned up at you, before moving and standing up next to you. “You’re to blame, kitten. I’m losing sleep over you.”

You scoffed, “Uhuh. Sure you are. Well, let’s get this show on the road. I’ve got a rec from the reception guy for dinner.” You turned and started walking quickly towards the alleyway, Billy taking only two long strides to catch up with you. “Where we headed?” “Just a little way along the waterfront, past that big church - Il Redentore. There’s a restaurant with tables right next to the water, called ‘I Figli delle Stelle’. Means ‘Children of the Stars’.” You’d turned your head towards him as you spoke and he smirked at you, “Sounds romantic, angel.” Eye roll from you, “That wasn’t my intention, believe me. The reception guy said it would still be pretty quiet at this time of the evening, later on it’ll get busy as the locals eat dinner around 9.30 or 10 pm.”

“Oh, okay,” he said, sounding a little despondent, “I hear ya.” The two of you walked in single file as you made your way through the alleyway, and Billy hurried to get back next to you as you turned right at the waterfront. There was a tense silence as you walked, and you surely weren’t going to be the one to break it. You could tell that Billy was antsy as hell and you were glad… he should be, the big douchebag. After a few moments, he asked, “How much further is this place?” like a kid on a day trip. “I think it’s that group of tables along there,” you answered, “so only a couple of minutes.” Billy wasn’t the most patient of men. “Okay,” he mumbled.

Lordy, he was getting more tense by the minute, you could feel negative energy coming off him in waves. You knew Billy, knew he’d be dreading talking about what he’d done, his feelings, having to (no doubt) apologise over and over. Serves you right, you big bastard, you thought.

Arriving beside the restaurant tables, you noted that only two tables were occupied so you should be able to have a certain amount of privacy in which to hear Billy’s confession. Checking for ‘reserved’ signs, you chose a table in the row right next to the water, well away from the other patrons. The maitre d’ appeared next to you holding two menus, and you asked in Italian if it was okay to sit at the table you’d chosen. Assured that it was fine, he asked if you wanted to order drinks and you asked for a large glass of rosé Prosecco and a Peroni for Billy. As he nodded and walked away, Billy asked, “Whaddya order for me?” You started laughing and he stared at you, puzzled. “Billy… with a last name like Russo I cannot believe you don’t know that Peroni is an Italian beer!”

He looked shamefaced, “Yeah, yeah, okay! So I’m a terrible Italian-American. Thanks for orderin’ a beer for me, not in the mood for wine.” You and Billy began reading through the menu, suitably impressed by the delicious-sounding dishes on offer. The drinks appeared shortly afterwards, and you made your choices - Billy had decided on a steak, and you’d chosen seafood linguine. You clinked your glass to Billy’s beer bottle, “Salut.” Billy grinned, “Yeah, so here’s me - the Italian-American - and there’s you, the all-American girl, Italian rollin’ off your tongue. I didn’t know you spoke it, sweetheart.” You smirked at him as you sipped your chilled Prosecco, “Seems like there’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Billy. Like… how I will not tolerate cheating in any way, shape or form.”

A pained look crossed his face. Yeah, Billy… time to spill.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy took a long swig of his beer and cleared his throat. Here goes nothing, he thought. She was studying his face like it was a painting hanging in a gallery.

“I’ve been an asshole.”

She nodded, “I know you have, Billy. Cheating 1.01 - don’t lie about working late and then come home smelling of booze and another woman’s perfume. Oh… and a big smear of her lipstick on the inside collar of one of your shirts.” He winced, looking away, not able to meet her eyes. He twirled the beer bottle round a few times on the table top and finally met her gaze again. “Yeah, not smart, I agree. But… angel, I didn’t actually cheat on you. Not as such.”

She laughed, but it was not a happy sound. “Not as such?! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He reached across and put his hand over hers, but she pulled hers away. “Frankie and I got into some shit with Homeland - to do with Afghanistan back when we were servin’.” He saw her eyebrows rise, and hurried on, “We sorted alla-that out with them, but had to agree to carry out a joint operation with them on somethin’ related to it. We found out that our liaison agent - Dinah Madani - was holdin’ back some critical information from us and we needed to know what and why, and make sure she didn’t do it in future.”

Taking a sip of her Prosecco she laughed, again without humour. “Don’t tell me, she wears Eternity.” He looked at her, confused, “What?” “Her perfume, Billy, her perfume.” He shrugged, “I really dunno.” “That’s not good, Billy. She’ll be expecting you to buy her some for her birthday.” He’d been drinking his beer and he brought the bottle back down with a bang. “No! I won’t be buyin’ anything for her anytime, okay?” he hissed at her, aware that the other diners’ heads had turned towards them at the loud noise his beer bottle had made on the table top. He leant in further towards her but then spotted the waiter heading their way with their plates, and moved back in his seat.

Silence fell again, even after the waiter had gone. Napkins unfolded and placed on laps, cutlery picked up, sips of drinks taken, first forkfuls of food eaten, gazing at Venice across the canal.

Billy cut another piece of his fillet steak, looking down at his plate while saying in a low voice, “I knew Madani had the hots for me. An’ I… I used that to my advantage.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You were thoughtfully chewing your mouthful of linguine, swallowing it before picking up your flute of Prosecco and sipping from it. He was silent, also chewing, still not meeting your eye. Let him pick this back up, you thought and sat back slightly, silent.

His eyes slowly raised to yours, apprehension apparent in them. Another throat clearing, another swig of beer…. a big one. Oh ho, you thought, whatever was about to come out must be really bad. You were mad at him but at the same time couldn’t deny you were dreading what you were about to hear.

“I… uh.. took her out a few times for drinks after work. Made out with her a couple times after we left the bar…” he gulped visibly, “Uh… felt her up, let her feel me up.” He broke eye contact, grabbed the beer bottle again and took a huge drink, muttering “Sorry, I’m really sorry,” before looking fearfully at you once more. You stared back at him and hoped your face was expressionless. You actually wanted to smack him in the face and stalk off back to your hotel, but that masochistic streak goaded you to say, “Oh yeah? ….And?” He narrowed his eyes, “And what?” “Exactly, Billy - and what? You’re seriously telling me that was it? It stopped right there?” He nodded vigorously, “Yeah! Yes, sweetheart - it did, I swear!”

Picking up your glass once more, you said in a low voice, “Sorry, Billy, I don’t believe you. I think you took her to some shitty motel and the two of you fucked. Maybe more than once.” His face flushed but then you realised he was angry, not caught out in a lie.

“No,” he said between gritted teeth, “I. Did. Not!” emphasising each word with a thump of his hand on the table. He leant across the table until his face was very close to yours, “It was my stupid fucked-up version of a honey trap, okay! I hated lyin’ to you, angel, and I’m so, so sorry I did that, but I was between a rock and a hard place. I had to find out what her game was. I don’t trust her an inch and I think she’s still after me an’ Frankie for somethin’ else that went down in Kandahar.”

You watched his eyes become distant, and you knew in his head he was back in that hellhole. “Seems like a helluva lot went down in Kandahar,” you said quietly, and his eyes refocused on yours. “Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea,’ he said softly, and chanced placing his hand on yours again. This time you didn’t draw away. “I don’t want you to have to hear all about that shitshow, but I’ll tell you another time… if you want me to.” He laced his fingers through yours, and squeezed your hand, “I promise you, on my life, that I’ll never lie to you again. Total honesty, I swear.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You sighed, “Billy… I appreciate the sentiment, I do… but it doesn’t matter because we’re not together any more.” Billy rocked backwards as if you’d slapped him, and he stuttered, “But.. but we.. I… no! We are! We are still together!” You shook your head, “Maybe you don’t think that what you did with - what was her name again, Madani?” (you absolutely knew what her name was) “yeah, Madani - was cheating but Billy, you kissed her, you got up close and personal with her. You let her think you were interested in her, that she had a shot of getting with you. Okay you say you didn’t sleep with her, maybe you didn’t - but you still went behind my back and acted like you wanted to be with her. How can you expect me to be with you after you betrayed me like that? I don’t share, Billy - even if it’s fake.”

His eyes were wide, filling with tears. “No…please. Don’t say that, please. I… I can’t be without you, you’re the only one who makes me feel safe and… loved.” He placed his other hand on top of your joined hands, and his voice was so low you almost couldn’t hear it, “I love you, angel. So much.”

Now it was your turn to sit back abruptly in your seat. You and Billy had never had that conversation. You loved him but you’d made sure never to tell him that, as you didn’t believe he’d ever reciprocate the feeling. And now he’d said it. First. Before you had.

But did he mean it? Or just saying it to try and stop you breaking up with him?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

He saw her taking in what he’d just said. He’d known that he loved her for some time but couldn’t get the words past his lips, he’d been shit-scared to say it out loud. Just let the status quo prevail, until she’d left him.

He was not going to let her break up with him. He just wouldn’t allow it, he needed her. She still had not said anything so he laid a finger on her bottom lip and gently ran it back and forward. He sensed he needed to say something more.

“I’m not just sayin’ it for effect, angel. I’ve been in love with you for a while but I’ve been too scared to say anything, I… I wasn’t sure you felt the same way.” She was still gazing at him, her eyes wide and looking a little teary. He felt a tear running down his own cheek and wiped it away abruptly. “Please don’t break up with me, just…. don’t, please. Give me another chance, I promise I won’t screw up this time.”

He heard her draw in a big breath and his stomach knotted. What was she going to say?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

“Oh Billy….” you raised a hand and wiped away another tear from his cheek, “I… need a little time to take all this in, okay? I thought it was quite straightforward - you’d cheated on me, end of story. And don’t think that because you tell me you love me I’m gonna forget about what you did, because I can’t. Not just like that.” You snapped your fingers in the air. “But you’ve really muddied the waters for me now.”

Billy grinned tearfully at you, “Well, I’m glad I’ve managed to do that at the very least. Means I might still have a chance.” You must’ve looked sceptical or something because he rushed to say, “A very slim chance, I know.”

Sighing, you extricated your hands from his and picked up your fork. “Let’s finish our dinner before it gets totally cold and inedible and we can talk more later.”

He nodded, “Okay, sweetheart. Must admit, I’m starvin’.” You couldn’t stop yourself smiling at him, “When they say that an army marches on its stomach, they weren’t kidding, were they?” “Hell no they weren’t,” he grinned back at you.

You moved on to small talk and once dinner was finished and paid for a short while later, the two of you strolled back to the hotel. Billy had tucked your hand into the crook of his elbow, and you’d let him. Your brain wasn’t really functioning at normal speed at that point and you were looking forward to getting back to your room; you wanted to think very carefully about what you were going to do about Billy.

Back at the hotel, you made your way past Reception and headed for the stairs, Billy following close behind you. Reaching your door, you didn’t unlock it but turned to face him. You could see the hopeful look on his face but he was going to be disappointed. You weren’t going to take that step tonight, no matter how much you missed Billy, his arms around you, his body next to yours, legs tangled together. You gave him a small smile, and you saw the hope fading out of his eyes.

You put a hand on his arm, “Let’s spend some time together tomorrow. I want to visit the Lagoon islands.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The Lagoon islands? He had no idea what or where those were, but he’d go to the moon if she wanted to because she’d said they could spend some time together. “So, no more running out on me, angel?” She smiled more widely at him, “No, not for now, Billy.”

He took a chance and pulled her into his arms, his mouth finding hers in a heated kiss. She didn’t stop him, so one hand made its way to the back of her neck and the other down onto her waist. He pushed his hips into hers - he knew she felt his arousal - and he was still holding out a tiny bit of hope that she’d invite him into her bed.

But now she did pull away, laughing up at him and giving him a quick soft kiss on the cheek, “G’night, Billy, sleep well.” He shook his head, smiling back at her, “You know I won’t… not in this state,” gesturing at his zip area and the tightened fabric of his jeans. She waggled her right hand at him, “Isn’t that what this is for?” He grabbed it, guiding it immediately to his zip, “If you’re offerin’, sweetheart, I’d be more than happy to take you up on that.” “Your hand! Not mine, you cheeky devil!” she laughed, pulling her hand away from him, “Now, goodnight! I’ll see you in the morning, downstairs for breakfast at about 8 or half past, okay?” He nodded, pushing his luck again and stroking her cheek, kissing her once more but more reserved this time, “G’night, angel, have sweet dreams…of me.” Rolling her eyes, she unlocked her door and disappeared into her room.

Billy walked jauntily along the corridor, throwing in a couple of dance moves as he went, feeling elated. He was feeling really optimistic for the first time since the day he’d seen her ‘Goodbye’ note and the torn photo.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

(My photos - June 2012)

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@blackbirddaredevil23 @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry @odetostep @supernaturalcat7 @obscurilicious @strawb3rrydr3ss @bruxa0007 @aleksanderwh0r3 @theshadowkingsqueen @bat-luna-cat @carlywhomever

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

#billy russo #ben barnes #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfiction #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic

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phoneybeatlemania-bit-the-dust · 3 years

Note

i think this is one of the quotes anon was talking about: https://thegilly.tumblr.com/post/29568742275/the-beatles-and-me-by-neil-aspinall-scanned

(Link) (CW eating disorders)

That magazine article actually breaks my heart - the way that he’s legitimately torturing himself is just so upsetting. And in reading about John dieting the way he did, I can especially empathise with him because ive had a lot of the same experiences.

Some points I took note of from the article are:

1. John ate one meal a day, which was steak with a large salad - that means he was probably eating less then a 1000 calories a day, and id guess he was maybe only getting about 800 (?) calories a day at most with that diet. 800 calories or less is literally starvation.

2. “John wont even look at bread” - this is the definition of an ‘unsafe food’. People with restrictive ED’s do eat, but they tend to have “safe” and “unsafe” foods. I suspect John considers bread unsafe because he knows its a binge food, and a food that he thinks will cause him weight gain - again, its just so sad that he would put himself through this misery. I also think that he probably felt meats were probably relatively safe for him to eat.

3. He had two different suits - one for when he was at his normal, healthy weight and another for when he had lost weight. He would bring them both on tour with him because his weight would fluctuate so much.

4. His regular weight was about 159lbs; apparently he was around 139lbs when he died (at least, thats what a quick google search tells me, so I don’t know how true that is. But certainly he was far thinner by the time he died).

5. “Right before a tour, he’ll do everything he can to lose weight” - this appears to speak especially to the theory that Johns ED might have been sparked largely by the pressures of fame and publicity.

6. “John hardly touches his salad, and he wont even look at the other boys eat.” - He’s eating the most miserable meal on the planet guys :’(

7. “John begins to look at me apprehensively. He has hunger pains in his eyes! Finally, when he is about to “break down” I…pull out the meat sandwiches.” - He was in actual, physical pain because he was so hungry.

8. “John takes the meat out of the sandwiches and eats every tiny sliver he can find. Then he stuffs the leftover slices of bread into a bag, which I take from him (so that he wont break down again and eat those).” - I would constitute this behaviour as a “binge”, because to me a binge is not based necessarily on the quantity of food you eat, or the amount of calories you take in, but more so about how in control and contented you are during and after eating. John wasn’t in control here, and its because its his bodies natural reaction when its in starvation mode.

9. “[Johns] main complaint is ‘How come Paul never gains an ounce — and he eats twice as much as I do?’”

10. “John is sure some kind of curse is set on his head — or is stomach as it were!”

Im not going to judge everyone for seemingly not making any real efforts to help John recover from his ED, because I don’t think ED’s became something that the general public were aware of until about the early 80s with Karen Carpenters death - and its taken years for people to even really begin recognising that a lot of men also suffer from ED’s! And so im not going to criticise them for not recognising that John legitimately was displaying symptoms of an ED, but I do think its just really sad that they were all watching John starve and torture himself, and couldn’t really do anything about it. And because they weren’t recognising him as mentally ill here, they probably all just accepted his diet as a bit of a laugh, whilst still knowing there was something more sinister underpinning it.*

(*I wonder however what Paul might have thought about all this, because we know that Paul was prone to being a sort of caretaker for John, and in a lot of ways “mothered” him. I feel like Paul would’ve recognised that only eating one meal a day was a problem, and maybe sort of laughed it off a bit because he couldn’t have known it was a legitimate mental illness - but also, I hope he would try to encourage John to eat. Id like to hear him talk about this in an interview someday, though I doubt anyone would ask him about this stuff)

This is just genuinely one of the most depressing things ive ever read about John, and if its a topic you feel comfortable reading id encourage anyone to give it a read (although if you think it could be damaging for your mental health, id say avoid it!).

And overall, im just really surprised that no biographer appears to have ever really spoken about this topic in a nuanced manner.

#cw ed #cw anorexia #cw eating disorder #john lennon ed #john lennon #johns psyche #this just makes me so so sad #he reminds me so much of ME #and thats just sad #like reading about seeing hunger in his eyes #<<< i know that pain!! i know that hunger!#@sergeantpeppa

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ofbooksandaesthetics · 3 years

Text

Battle of the Bands

Attack on Titan/ Shingeki no Kyojin

Levi/Reader

Modern Band AU

Summary: As the guitarist of The 104th, you are invited to play with your favourite band The Scouts.

Warnings: slight profanity but not much

Author’s note: I listened to Queen of White Lies by Orion Experience 10 times in one bus journey and couldn’t help but imagine Jean singing it about Mikasa. And voila! This imagine was born :)

From a young age, you’d always been obsessed with music. From your dad playing jazz on a lazy Sunday afternoon to your mum playing R&B as she cleaned, you had always been surrounded by it. It followed you everywhere so it was no surprise when you were gifted a guitar for your 9th birthday.

You spent hours each day practising fingerpicking, then moving onto chords and then fully-fledged songs. As you grew so did tastes - and your guitar collection.

Before moving into the 6th grade, your family moved for a new job, leaving you without friends and having to start a new life in the city of Trost. The one thing that was ever consistent was the strings of your guitar and the beats from the speakers, which became your solace in the coming weeks. And said beats caught the attention of your new next-door neighbour.

Jean Kirstein was also massively into music, and when he walked past your house he could hear the amp blaring from your open window. He became enthralled and would often leave his window open to catch even just a few notes.

The Saturday before school started, Jean was forced by his mother to introduce himself to you (she said you had to have at least one friend before starting school) and by doing so Mrs Kirstein caused a life long friendship to bloom. He was forced into your house by your mother and lead upstairs to your room. He was greeted by band posters, from MCR to The Beatles, and an acoustic and electric guitar hanging on the wall side by side. But what caught his gaze was the massive “SCOUTS” poster above your bed.

“WOW! That’s so cool, you like The Scouts!” He exclaimed as he entered your room, causing you to jump from your magazine and stare at the brown-haired boy invading your space.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” You shouted, giving your mum a quizzical glare as she smiled at the boy's excitement. Your voice seemed to pull the boy out of his oasis and he met your eyes with a blush and a shrug.

“I’m Jean. My mum sent me, we live next door.” Before you could introduce yourself, he had already started to speak again “I’ve heard you playing your guitar. You’re really good!”

At this your mum left the two of you two it, only returning 3 hours later to find you both on the floor, with you playing whilst Jean sang along. Noticing the time, Jean jumped up remembering his mum warning to be back by dinnertime.

“It’s been great meeting you! If you want I can meet you outside on Monday and I’ll introduce you to my friends. They’d love to hear you play too! Connie’s really into the drums and Marco has been learning bass.”

Hearing this your eyes lit up and your mum’s heart warmed at the idea of you finally enjoying your new life.

“That sounds great, I’ll see you then!” You called as your mum lead him out.

4 YEARS LATER

The years passed quickly and it didn’t take you long to forget the pain of your old life and become enamoured with your new friends. Jean did indeed introduce to his friends Connie, Sasha and Marco, and it didn’t take long for you to become the best of friends. The five of you would all meet Connie’s garage, sometimes just chatting but more often than not bringing along your instruments for a jam session. Four years went by of you playing lead guitar, Marco jamming on bass, Connie smashing on percussion and Jean accompanying with his gruff drawl, whilst Sasha sat atop of the counter, sadly not having any musical talents other than occasional tamborining. And the four years went by easily until Sasha let out a suggestion.

“You guys should start a band. Like a proper one, with gigs and shit” She declared, soon after stuffing her mouth with a cake Mrs Springer had brought in.

“See at least someone appreciates my musical talents” quipped Jean with a quirk of his eyebrows, causing you all to laugh.

“I’ve got to admit, I’m down! We’ve been playing for years, we even played at last years prom.” Seeing no reason against the idea, you voiced your opinion.

“Yeah but that was prom. We know all of them anyway, if we did gigs it would be to strangers and critics and stuff” Huffed Connie.

“Yeah, and potential talent scouts! Imagine if we got signed! What do you think Marco?” Jean turned to face he freckled boy awaiting his response.

“I guess it could be fun.” He said, tilting his head to the side and turning to Connie. “I think we should”

With a consensus of four out of five, all eyes were set on Connie, pleading him to agree. He spluttered, not expecting you all to be serious. After a moment of staring at you all incredulously, he finally gave in.

“Fine! But if we got told we’re shit it’s on you guys” He sighed, but was drowned out by all your cheers.

2 YEARS LATER

After that day, you had all put in the effort to perfecting your craft and coming up with your own songs. You and Jean would have weekly sleepovers, pulling all-nighters to get the perfect verses. And it wasn’t long until you booked your first gig, which was a success. Nearly the whole grade had turned up to support you, and you soon became a local legend. And in honour of them, you had named your band The 104th, due to being the 104th grade since your school was founded.

Your increased fame, got you gigs outside of Trost, on larger stages than the small bars you were used to. You had released your first album and we’re having a small jam session, when Sasha’s, who had taken up the role as manager, phone rang. You all carried on with your conversation until Sasha quickly stood up and ran across the room, her voice getting slightly louder, causing you all to stare at her.

“OMG! That sounds great, we can be there for the soundcheck in less than an hour. Thank you so much, for this opportunity. We appreciate it! Thank you, bye!” She exclaimed with wide eyes as her smile grew and grew. After ending the call she whipped around, before letting out a screech

“OI, OI! What’s going on?” Asked Connie, as he walked up to Sasha flicking her forehead as she squealed again.

“GUESS WHO’S OPENING FOR THE SCOUTS?!” She all but screamed whilst running to the front of the garage and throwing your jackets at you all. Realising what she meant you stood in a state of shock before opening your mouth.

“What do you mean? Opening for The Scouts. As in THE SCOUTS? They’re playing tonight, we can’t open for them.” You justified, meeting Jean’s stunned gaze.

You two had always imagined what it would be like to meet your legends, let alone open for them. After your initial meeting, the two of you had gone on for hours about your favourite songs by the band and sang along to them. You had even let him in on your crush on the lead guitarist, Levi Ackerman, for heaven’s sake. As good as an opportunity this was, you were a nervous wreck. It was one thing to play on the same stage that your favourite band had stepped on, but to play with them and meet them. That was a thing of its own.

You were knocked from your thoughts by a shoe to your head, and as you focused back in you watched Connie running around like a headless chicken. Attempting to back up his drum kit, he panicked until Sasha assured him there’d be one there for him. The rest of you seemed to kick into action and you ran about gathering your equipment before rushing home to grab gig-worthy clothes. You all met up back at Connie’s house before all piling into Jean’s minivan. Connie and Sasha were as loud as always but you, Jean and Marco seemed to still be too shocked to talk.

As you rolled up to the venue, you saw a queue of about 20 Scout super fans lined up three hours before the gig even started. You wondered how many were your fans, as Sasha had sent out announcements on every social media site possible after you guys left. You hauled your guitar case out of the van before following behind Sasha into the main doors of the venue. The crew were rushing about everywhere, and if you weren’t already used to the atmosphere you were sure you’d pass out. As you walked into the main hall, your eyes fell to the band on top of the stage. All five of you froze, in the realisation that you were in the same room as your childhood heroes. Putting your kit down, you watched as Hange Zoe lazily sat on her drum set, tapping out a quiet beat, as the lead singer Erwin, counted in the beat. Miche Zacharias swayed his hips as he set out the bassline, and Levi almost languidly strummed his electric guitar.

The five of you were pulled behind the stage before you could watch their practice start but you could still hear it as they performed their soundcheck. Experienced in the world of gigs, the four of you prepped your instruments, tuning them in case they had been messed up in the hurry of your departure. And by the time you’d finished the Scouts were walking towards you. Hange greeted you first.

“HI! OMG, we’ve heard so much about you guys. You guys are practically famous around here!” She blurted out, her excitement surprising you all. Connie seemed to be frozen as his inspiration complimented you guys. Miche let out a greeting and moved on to sit down. Leaving Erwin and Levi in front of you. Erwin stepped forward and placed out his hand, shaking and greeting you all individually. Now there was just Levi left.

Your eyes met his and you couldn’t help but blush, as he gave a small nod. Appreciative of the small gesture, you calmed slightly until Jean ruined it

“HI! We love you guys so much. Y/N even has a crush on Levi!” He blurted, his face turning bright red after realising what he had said. You gasped and without thinking smacked him across the head.

“WHAT THE HELL’S WRONG WITH YOU? WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?” But before you could apologise and defend yourself to Levi and Erwin, you were escorted to the stage for your own soundcheck. Glaring at Jean, you got in position, and were done in half an hour.

After the soundcheck, you were given time to rest, giving you all time to calm down, after the more than lively introduction. You eventually forgave Jean for his outburst but not without consequences. He would be carrying your gear for the next year’s worth of gigs.

You hadn't yet gained back the confidence to talk Levi but had spoken to the other members of The Scouts. Miche and Erwin told you about how their touring band had ditched them last minute and how they needed another opening band pronto. You were astonished to find out that Hange herself had requested you guys, but it filled your heart with warmth knowing someone as famous as her held your small-town band in high regards.

Everyone could sense your apprehension to talking to Levi but we’re all shocked when the quiet man joined you whilst getting a drink. You almost blushed when you noticed him next to you but pushed the feeling down and smiled at him. Although Jean had embarrassed you beyond belief, there was no reason to push away your childhood dream and miss the opportunity to talk to him.

“You know you we’re what inspired me to start learning the guitar?” You said. Levi didn’t reply but you decided his silence wasn’t in annoyance. “My parents were always super into music anyway but when I heard your guys' debut album it pushed me towards the guitar.” You watched him finish making his tea and leave but before he sat down, he turned his head over his shoulder.

“I’m glad to hear it” He replied, turning again and leaving. You smiled, happy that he didn’t think you were a complete freak.

2 HOURS LATER

The time had finally arrived. From the side of the stage, you could see a sea of people filling the venue and could hear the symphony of chatter. The boys were stood next to you, panting with nerves. You had never performed to such a large crowd before. You took a sharp breath before turning to them.

“Come on boys! We’ve done this before and we’ll do it again. This is just another small step before we get our own main stage like this!” Your small pep talk seemed to calm the boys and caught the attention of Erwin and Levi who were waiting to watch your performance from the side-lines. You smiled at the two but we’re now filled with dread as you realised they would be watching. You threw that fear away and gave Marco a side hug as you fixed your strap, and then followed Jean to the stage.

The lights blinded you but once your vision cleared you all but gasped at the sheer amount of sweaty bodies in front of you. You beamed brightly and gave a wink to a figure in the balcony. At least you could seem confident even if you were dying inside.

The beat of the drum surrounded you and Marco’s strumming blared out from the amps. You started plucking at your guitar and forgot about the crowd. Jean’s gravely word floated out into the dark room, and it was easy to forget you were on a stage and instead it felt like you were back in Connie’s house. As the song reached the chorus, you and Marco joined in, accompanying Jean. Eventually, you loosened up to a point where all three of you were able to dance slightly to the beat during the bridge. This seemed to get the crowd going even more and you let out a laugh, completely forgetting your inhibitions. [I imagined them performing Queen of White Lies]

Once the song finished, Jean introduced himself, and you prepared yourself for another half an hour of playing and dancing. But it passed quickly and before you knew it you we’re all sat on the sofa. Connie was still flushed chugging on his 3rd bottle of water whilst the rest of you leant back with smiles upon your faces. Your attention was piqued as The Scouts took the stage and you all shouted words of encouragement to them. This brought a smile to their faces, including a small smirk on Levi’s. You all rushed to the sidelines to watch and we’re in awe as you saw the four of them play as if they were reading each other's minds. It was as if they were symbiotic, each knowing what to do without even the slightest hesitation.

Even though you tried to focus on all of them, your focus always came back to Levi. You watched how his brow rested into a scowl as he neared a faster part of the song and how he threw his head back when lost in the moment. Your eyes widened when he took his shirt off after four songs, which Jean noticed, and started to nudge you for. Time seemed to go by so quickly that you barely noticed them finish their final song. They waved to the crowd as they left but stayed in the wings as the crowd screamed for an encore. Erwin still seemed to smile and nudged Levi towards the five of you.

“Do you guys want to join us for the encore?” He asked gruffly, his eyes set on you. You looked at the rest of the band and you all nodded before you verbally replied.

“Of course! What song are you thinking?”

“Nirvana - Love Buzz? You guys know it?” Miche asked, wiping some water from his chin. You all nodded in unison and before you know it you were all kitted up and back on stage.

The crowd went wild seeing both The Scouts and The 104th back on stage and you couldn’t help but smile as you found Levi stood next to you. You guys let loose on the song and you even attempted to have a little contest with Levi during the guitar solo for dominance. This gained a smile for the man, and you guys finished the song in no time.

Leaving the stage for the last time, you gave out a clumsy bow before running off stage. You guys went to get changed and pack up your gear but before you could get in the van the Scouts we’re back in front of you. Erwin took the lead yet again.

“We loved having you guys on stage with us! And after some thinking, we’d love it if you replaced our old band with us on the rest of the tour.”

At this Jean slammed the van door and stared at Erwin in shock. The five of you looked at each other in shock. The silence was eventually broken by Connie, who let out a scream as he ran around the van, followed by Sasha letting out profanities. The rest of you gushed and thanked the other band profusely not knowing how to appropriately respond. After formally Sasha accepted the other, Hange launched into giving out hugs, whilst Miche and Erwin gave out handshakes. Levi ignored the rest of your bandmates and made his way to you.

“I look forward to more guitar battles.” Levi remarked as dryly as ever but with a small smirk playing on his lips. Luckily this time, the others were too distracted and you were able to reply with some confidence.

“You mean to look forward to losing right?” you quipped, knowing this would be the start of something great.

#aot au #snk imagines #aot imagines #attack on titan imagine #shinegki no kyojin imagine #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #levi imagine #levi ackerman imagine #aot au imagine #aot x reader #snk x reader #snk #aot

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freelancerwaddledee · 2 years

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An online friend gave me a bootleg of Howl’s Moving Castle and I just finished the movie: thoughts

im gonna be putting my thoughts under the cut since it will be diving into spoilers so tl;dr it’s a good movie. 10/10. watch it.

HOLY FUCK

THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT MOVIE

the visuals????? hating the beatles has to be worth it if it was as stunning as it was visually

AND THE SOUNDTRACK. IT’S NO WONDER MERRY GO ROUND OF LIFE’S SO POPULAR BUT G O D ALL THE OTHER SONGS IN IT WERE AMAZING

DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE VOICE ACTING. (for reference i watched the eng dub) at the beginning i was neutral on sophie’s voice but it grew on me. and her voice while she’s an old woman???? perfection. another top favorite is definitely calcifer. his voice actor did an amazing job with that motherfucker and of course howl’s [voice] v pretty

turniphead doesnt have any lines until the very end of the movie but he’s the best character

i think my least favorite character (and part of the movie as a whole) would be the witch of the waste ngl. she’s still a nice character, yeah, but i was kinda eh about her after her magic got microwaved out of her

what i do like, however, is how that was done to shift the villain role from her to the head sorceress of the palace. that was really nice and a fantastic way to tie in it’s anti-war message

SPEAKING OF THE MESSAGES, I FUCKING LOVE HOW THEY PULLED THAT OFF. throughout the movie there’s scene cuts where it shows the devastating affects of war (all started over a missing prince who was just turniphead, btw) and you hear about it through the dialogue of both background characters and the main cast as well. there’s also the self-love and inner beauty themes with sophie. i saw a tumblr post long ago that would put it better than i could having just finished the movie but GOD. the way she visibly deages when she’s feeling more confident in herself? brain’s failing to come up with ways to say that it’s to die for

i find the ending to be pretty sweet actually. it was a nice way to wrap up a beautiful movie that pierced my cold, movie-hating heart

overall? 10000000000000000000000000000/10. GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW

now i wanna see if the book can get me enthusiastic about reading novels

#luigi's blatherin again #howl's moving castle #studio ghibili #movie review #i guess #it's less of a review and more of a gush fest lol

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johns-prince · 3 years

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John also had a lovely mix of masculine and feminine physical traits, though this wouldn't become obvious until 1968. When he was on the skinny side (which I loved, sue me) you could tell how beautifully delicate and dainty his bone structure was, way more than Paul's imo. He had those gorgeous long legs and graceful narrow hips that you most commonly find in fashion models. And I love that until at least 1975, he showcased his body beautifully, especially those legs.

Ironically I feel as if people didn't embrace John's femme beauty as well as they did with Paul. I don't know why. Most people seem to prefer him with the more masculine look of 1966. Which was great as well, he was gorgeous but I am a big fan of the 1968 to 1974 run. Btw, note to fanfic writers: please, show John's body some love, I know Paul is stunning but it's kind of exhausting reading 10 pages about how pretty he is and when it comes to my boy John he barely gets a paragraph 😂

Alright, I feel like I’m probably gonna rub a lot of people in this fandom the wrong way with what I’m going to say but this is my blog and you did send this to my inbox so here we go; At the end of the days these are my thoughts and feelings and I might not articulate them very well or I often ramble till I do!

I have my issues, and a complicated relationship with 1968-70s John Lennon. I love John, and thought him healthy and just right in his body type, basically up until 1968, and it’s spotty onward throughout the 70s. To me, John was naturally masculine looking, there’s not exactly an era or year that I could give you like you gave me [Specifically 1966? What about his teddy boy days? All of the early 60s? Hell even throughout the 70s, to me John still was masculine looking to me] He was a bit awkward in his teenhood, but all the boys were, and gradually grew into his adult body. Boy was built and sturdy, naturally thick and strong.

So we’re probably split on this, because while you see the positives in 1968-1974/70s John, I only really see the negatives. You say skinny, I say malnourished and/or sickly. Depressed druggie who was pushing everyone and everything he loved away, and becoming pathetically dependent on an individual like Yoko [and the other vultures during that time who were terrible influences]

George was skinny, John was not well and either starving himself or simply using drugs and alcohol as the basis for his diet. And diets.. don’t even get me started on that, the diets he was on, the unhealthy lifestyle that his wife only seemed to enable and help him get on.

When I look at George, sometimes I get the need to feed him, like an old Mexican mother. When I look at John, who’d lost an unhealthy amount of weight for what it looked like for his body type, I don’t see delicate and dainty bone structure. I see a man who just, he’s not well, something’s wrong.

I’ll give it to you that 1974 New York photoshoot looked very nice, he had muscle again in his arms, though he was still relatively skinny, he didn’t look sickly, or depressed. So I can give you that period during the 70s, I will give you that [hey he was away from Yoko during this no fucking wonder he looked pretty good here] and that shoot was definitely a model moment, wasn’t it? [Not like he didn’t have many of those moments throughout his life]

So there moments in the seventies where I think John doesn’t look half bad? Even relatively fine? Certainly, I’m devastatingly attracted to this man, dear God almighty have mercy on my soul yes I am. So I’ll agree that yeah, there were periods during the 70s in which John seemed to hold himself fairly well, I’d still climb it.

But I’m at least willing to admit that when John started his spiraling, in 1968, that he was Not Okay. And I personally believe he wasn’t all that okay throughout most of the 70s too... Maybe my issue isn’t with him being ‘skinny’ as it is I don’t like the underweight/severely underweight look on John, I just don’t. The incredibly unhealthy way he went about losing weight... Physically frail doesn’t fit him, and it only upsets me whenever I see photos of him that show how thin his legs became or how you can see his ribs, just how wasted away he’d look at times throughout the 70s, up until the last days of his life.

You want a “skinny” or ''skinnier'' John Lennon? A healthy, ‘’skinny/skinnier’’ John Lennon for his body type, is ‘66 and ‘67 in my eyes, and even then it wasn’t a radical change in weight loss; John still looked like John.

And speaking of 1968-1969, or the White Album era; don’t think it isn’t lost on me when I see people making light of John’s unhygienic appearance during the making of the White Album. Boy was depressed and hurting for whatever reason, again, spiraling, and getting lost in Yoko and heroin as a means of escapism and someone to tell him ‘it’s alright it isn’t your fault it’s everyone else’s fault’. Of course he didn’t care much for his personal appearance or hygiene... I will say I appreciate your appreciation for him during that period, instead of getting the whole ‘stinky/smelly rat man.’ Maybe I’m too much of a ‘’stan’’ but I don’t find it very amusing or endearing.

Don’t find me mocking or ‘’teasing’’ Paul’s depressed ass and his appearance during the breakup period/white album era-- but I suppose it’s because Paul actually tried and wasn’t on hard drugs, and had a good wife, so he was able to wear his depression and struggle with alcoholism a bit better, hmm? I don’t like Paul’s beard simply because I know it was the result of his lack of energy, depression, and falling into the drink-- he simply didn’t feel the need nor had the energy to care for himself, so that’s why he let it grow out. I don’t like it because of that, but that’s as much as you’ll get from me.

Anyway... Maybe I just don’t see John as characteristically feminine/effeminate as Paul, although he has his moments of acting and wearing clothes that are campy and elegant or give off a softer appearance, specifically around 1968 and throughout the 70s. But otherwise, I can’t agree, John didn’t have the same mixture, or balance of masculine and feminine traits as Paul-- and if it’s only made obvious during the downfall turning point of The Beatles and John (1968), then I don’t think that really counts as a ‘’lovely’’ mix of masculine and feminine traits for the reasons I mentioned. So I’ve got to disagree. John's always come off as much more masculine, or naturally masculine, both physically and characteristically, to me.

You know maybe it’s just the blogs I interact with, but I feel like it’s the other way around. I know I can sometimes come off as aggressive but at the end of the day I don’t necessarily care what one person thinks or believes, since it’s all relatively subjective to our own ideas of things and biases, etc... I have my thoughts and beliefs and theories and whether people agree or disagree with them on tumblr dot com... Well, what’re you gonna do? Nothing, it’s not my problem.

What I 100% agree on you with is about showing Johnny’s body a bit more love and attention to detail when it comes to writing about him in fanfiction!

There’s his auburn red hair, a darker ginger, which was thick and fun to watch as it lit up like fire when sunlight hit him, and could easily go wavy and curl when left unkempt and natural. The splattered and scattered galaxies of light freckles up and down his arms, his shoulders, his back, even a couple on his face. His aquiline nose, a relatively square jawline and facial structure, thick, heavy eyebrows which really intensify expressions of rage and hurt, almond shaped eyes which are the color of honey-amber when the light hits them just right and outlined with thick, long lashes, blind as a bat without his glasses but can give a mean squint which either helps scare off trouble, or brings it right to him, especially when he’s got thin bitten lips that could pull off a devilishly cheeky smirk or a no-good, charming grin to showcase teeth with the upper front turned slightly in towards each other, gives that imperfection which truly just perfects it-- a face like that of a tragic hero in a Greek Romance, distinctive and handsome. How he just oozed filthy sex and genuine trouble, sweaty leather and smoky dancehalls and rock & roll that crawls up your spine like an orgasm. Hips that could roll like Elvis and strong legs, thick thighs which would make a lovely place to sit. Broad shoulders, strong arms that could easily manage to lift you up and manhandle you in any way he’d like. Big hands, almost like shovels-- beautiful hands, with fingernails usually bitten short and occasionally had black ink or charcoal under them from when he’d be working on art, and rough, callused fingertips from playing guitar till they split and bleed, add a lovely roughness to any gentle touching he might do. A naturally thick midsection, a normal, healthy layer of fat which covers the sinewy just beneath. Any hair is light, light and lightly colored, on his arms and legs and chest. Cute tush, nice butt, a nice boy butt, slightly muscular bubble butt.

Fun facts; he had the largest feet out of all four Beatles. John isn’t circumcised. John and George share the same height. John has a surprisingly long tongue. John’s skin tone may be light, but for comparison, he’s much tanner compared to Paul-- he’s a bit more olive or wheat to his skin tone, and tanned very, very well. John’s cheeks could become easily red though. John liked the scent of citrus to wear-- he was also self conscious about the fact he could easily sweat and so usually wore such colognes or scents, didn’t want to smell bad. He started smelling of witch hazel when with Yoko. Despite his issue with sweating, he didn’t smell bad naturally. John was a true romantic, being an artist outside of being a musician/rock and roller-- he just didn’t like to show it, and growing up in his time, you couldn’t. John’s a swimmer, he loved to swim and loved the ocean.

#questionsquestionsquestions #beatles discussion/discourse #these are my feelings and thoughts and i can't feel bad for them

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doitjake · 3 years

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The music in us - P1

Jake kiszka x reader

warnings: none.

Requests: “two rockstars meeting in a festival, and both bands hanging out cause they are both friends with the struts, then jake starts falling in love w this person because of their personality, talent and charisma, they start to match in the second day of camping at the festival and then the bands have to play in the same day, jake tells his feeling and the reader doesn’t know how to react.”

A/N: this was an incredible request and I took a while to post it because I wanted it to be at least reasonable haha. this is the first part, i will probably post the second part on saturday or sunday. I hope you like it and if you want to see a specific scene in the second part comment here or you can send me a message / question!!

Requests here: https://forms.gle/6uMRSCzFvyR2FgZPA

Being in a band with your 2 best friends and your cousin is definitely awesome, until the first week.

"POPPY WHERE'S MY FUCKING HAIRBRUSH?" A super angry drummer was seen getting on the bus.

"Ana, can't you speak a sentence at a normal voice volume?" That was Lexa, our guitarist or our mother, whichever you prefer. She performs both functions very well.

"No, I can't." She walks over to Poppy and snatches her hairbrush out of her hand. "At least not when vocalists with superiority complexes steal my stuff." She walks to the small bathroom on the bus as Poppy showed her the middle finger.

Even inside the bus you could hear several bands doing sound checks and stages being finalized outside. We had arrived at the Summer Rock Festival a few hours ago, it would be three days of festival, we would perform on the second day, after our friends from The Struts and before the boys from Greta Van Fleet.

"Luke texted me, he and the boys are already heading to the bar." Lexa stands up fixing the bottom of her beautiful dress that looked like it was straight out of the 70's, "So if we don't want to be late our dear drummer had better get out of this fucking bathroom soon."

"Hey, no swearing, Mom." I walk past her grabbing my leather jacket from the seat. "Ana! Let's go!"

By the time Lexa and Poppy are outside I am trying to find my cell phone amidst a pile of clothes, Ana finally comes out of the bathroom.

"Cousins by chance, twins by choice." She pulls up the sleeves of her jacket, just like mine, smiling at me.

I find my cell phone and slip my arm over Ana's shoulders, leading us to the bus door.

"Did I mention I hate you?" I ask coming down the small staircase and find Poppy and Lexa waiting for us to go.

"Hm, I guess not today yet." She goes to Poppy's side and pats her chin. "Stop drooling, Poppy."

Lexa and I turn to where Poppy was looking and find the 4 boys from Greta taking their instruments off the bus, about 50 feet away from us.

"Fuck you, Ana," Poppy starts walking towards the exit of the festival, where there is an avenue full of bars, nightclubs, strip clubs and karaoke places.

In less than 10 minutes we had already arrived at the bar and before we even entered Jed already called us shouting. "Hey, girls! Over here!"

It was always really cool to hang out with the boys, we knew each other because of Jed and Adam being friends with Poppy's older brother. We joined them and other people from the crew and some other artists at the festival and less than 2 minutes later several bottles of beer were already on the tables.

I looked at my band mates, we spend so much time together that it is fun to analyze them socializing with other people besides ourselves.

Poppy was probably the most outgoing of us, everyone liked her, she was always nice and polite to everyone and it was amazing to see men with long beards and leather vests making fun of a girl singing rock and then Poppy shutting them up, either with her talent or her knowledge.

Lexa was so calm that it is still shocking to me to see her play and totally transform on stage. She had a 70's hippie style that matched perfectly with her long blond hair and delicate features.

And Ana, my band mate that I have known all my life, my younger cousin. Certainly the strongest personality among the four of us, her life revolved around music, and I loved that about her.

Oh, of course. There's me too, but I don't think it's worth describing myself too much. I'm probably too dull around them. I wasn't outgoing like Poppy, I wasn't charming like Lexa, and I definitely didn't have as much personality as Ana.

My God, what a depression. I need another drink, one stronger than beer.

"Hey, I'm going to go to the bar. I'll be right back." I speak to Lexa receiving a nod in response.

Reaching over I choose the only drink capable of cheering me up.

"A shot of Jack Daniels. No ice please" I speak loudly so the bartender can hear through the music of The Who playing at the bar.

"I always thought it was the guitar players who were more into whiskey" A husky voice came over the music right in my right ear. "I thought bass players were more into vodka"

And then the seat next to me was taken by Jake Kiszka, guitarist for Greta Van Fleet, well I definitely can't compare to Poppy on the subject of "GVF FANGIRL", but wow.

"What about the vocalists and drummers?" I asked as the bartender left the shot of Jack Daniels in front of me.

"Vocalists? Probably some weird drink and drummers for sure are the beer guys." He smiles and turns the stool around facing me "I'm Jake" He holds out his hand to you.

"Y/N" I hold his hand.

"The bass player who made my theory go down the drain." He laughs arching an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe I'm an exception.

"Yeah, maybe there was a glitch in the matrix." He turns to call the bartender. "May I imitate you?" He indicates my glass with his head.

"You're the guitar player here, I think I'm the one copying you." I smile at him and he reciprocates, and shit, why do I think I could stare at him smile forever? And then I feel an arm on my shoulders.

"So you mean my friends are friends, and I didn't know?" Luke leaned one arm on me and the other on Jake, clearly not sober anymore. "Come on over to the table, antisocial people, your bands are waiting."

Luke releases our shoulders and looks at us. "Or are you guys busy planning to pick each other up?"

I could feel all my blood rising to my cheeks in a second, and thank God I had already swallowed the whiskey, otherwise I probably would have spit it all out.

"Of course not Luke." I gave a nervous laugh praying that I could disguise my embarrassment. Which only increased when Jake tilted his head to the side looking at me and gave a weak laugh and then getting up to walk over to the table.

Now there were more people at the table, including the other three members of Greta, and I sat down between Adam and Ana. "Please dig a hole and stick me in" I whispered to my cousin.

"With pleasure." She winked and smiled at me, "But may I know why?"

With the music loud and our friends talking around us I had to lean 'round to whisper right into her ear. "I was talking to Jake Kiszka and then Luke came over and thought we were going to kiss and I looked like an idiot."

"You always look like an idiot, cousin." He whispered in response. "But you want to kiss him?" Ana smiled mischievously.

"Oh my god, I was just talking to him."

"Well, you should kiss him, he's handsome." She picks up her beer and offers me a bottle.

"You say that because you have a crush on his twin." I open my bottle as I watch Ana choke on her own beer and cast a quick glance at Josh. "Oh come on, you can't disguise yourself." I laugh slapping our bottles together before taking a long sip.

"I don't have a crush on him." Ana squirms in her chair uncomfortably. "He's the lead singer, he has several women after him, and he must have a superiority complex just like Poppy."

"He seems pretty cool!"

"Y/N! ANA!" Poppy's voice managed without louder than the music in the bar, causing us to turn around and find 10 pairs of eyes staring at us. "Are you guys deaf?"

As I run my gaze around the table I realize that all the boys' crew have left, now it's just us, the boys from The Struts and Greta Van Fleet.

"Hm, hey!" I reply before Ana has a chance to cuss Poppy out.

"We're going to karaoke, the bar closes early today." Gethin gets up from the table, being followed by his bandmates, Josh, Sam, Danny, Poppy and Lexa.

"I'm in!" Ana stands up.

"I'm going back to the bus, I don't have as much energy as you guys." I stand up grabbing my cell phone and wallet.

"Let's go together." Jake speaks and I realize that he was the only one who hadn't gotten up until now.

"Ok" I say trying to look calm and not knowing why I am nervous, like a teenage girl who likes the popular boy.

I say goodbye to everyone and when I pass by Ana she winks at me, in a not discreet way.

After we pay for our drinks, Jake and I head out onto the streets of Chicago to return to the festival.

"Excited for tomorrow?" Jake asks as we cross one of the avenue streets.

"For sure, tomorrow and our days will have the best shows!" I look at him. "I feel like I might faint just remembering that I'm going to see Steven Tyler live tomorrow." He throws his head back and laughs. "Now you think I'm some kind of crazy fangirl." I smile.

"Oh, of course not." Jake returns the smile by looking at me. "The chances of me passing out at the Stones concert are not small either."

"So, you're a 'fangirl' for Keith Richards?"

"Definitely." He laughs again shaking his head.

"Does that mean that for you 'team stones' is right?

"Well, it's certainly a tough contest, but yes 'team stones'." He turns to me with the corners of his lips raised. "Team Beatles?"

"And a George stan with pride." I smile and wink at him amused. "Okay, important question."

"Okay, speak." Jake runs his fingers through the strands of hair that fall down the side of his face.

"Pearl Jam or Nirvana?"

"Is there a right answer?" He asks and I arch an eyebrow at him. "Okay, hm, Nirvana."

"You had a right answer! And you got it wrong." I smile. "Come on, Eddie Veder is almost a God."

Jake laughs and brings his hands in front of his body in a sign of redemption. "I don't disagree!"

And then I realize that we arrived at the festival some time ago and are now facing my bus.

"Thank you so much, for walking me here." I say to him, climbing up the first step of the entrance stairs, almost standing the same height as Jake.

"You're welcome!" He gives me a smile and puts his hands in the pockets of his black skinny pants. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure."

You smile at him and Jake moves closer and deposits a kiss on your cheek.

"Bye!"

“Bye, Jake!”

#greta van fleet #greta van fleet fic #greta van fic #greta van fleet imagine #gvf #gvf imagine #jake kiszka gvf #jake gvf #jake kiszka #jake kiszka imagine #jake kiszka fic #jake kiszka x reader #fanfic #imagine #jake imagines #jake x reader #jacob kiszka

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staylavendertea · 3 years

Text

young avengers characters and relationships as songs

billy kaplan : season of the witch by donovan and mr. sandman cover by joe p, it’s fun, there’s that groove, it’s witches and it’s dreams; a total billy kaplan jamming out in his room in his boyfriends too big shirt 10 at night moment with that magical and just like ,, witchy billy vibe i can’t explain through words that i love dearly, it also just gives me a connection between him and wanda i really love, the family witches between soul mother and soul son and that bass in mr sandman for some reason screams billy

teddy altman : space girl by frances forever need i say more, that song screams smiling golden tall boy theodore in overalls and sweaters, prince charming of space deserves the song space girl, the song is soft like teddy is, all hugs and kisses, that is until “stupid boyfriend putting himself into stupid danger all the stupid time” and “why do i try he never listens” “i heard that” “sure now he listens” then it becomes all hugs, kisses, bickering with the boyfriend, and threats of mauling people, but that’s for childrens crusade and family matters arc to tell

tommy shepherd : rebels by call me karizma but also steady, as she goes by the raconteurs mostly just for that guitar and music, i heavily head canon billy as the pianist and tommy as the guitar and bass player all the way and steady, as she goes screams tommy’s kind of music, the song rebels because that boy is the biggest rebel around and i wouldn’t be surprised if he was an arsonist

eli bradley : i just wanna shine by fitz and the tantrums i honestly had a bit of a hard time finding a song that really perfectly fit eli, but i think this one really hits the spot - eli is totally the boy that’s just trying his best and live up to his and everyone else’s expectations, i think he’s actually a softie and repressed nerd that believes heavily in doing what is right and i think that this song encompasses that, i really miss eli bradley thank you for coming to my tedtalk

cassie lang : blackbird by the beatles (cover by dodie) cassie gives me total adorable and soft but such a cool person dodie vibes, but i think the song blackbird fits cassie on so many levels, especially the lyrics as growing up after losing her dad, getting and learning to control her powers, and growing as a super hero she knows her dad would be so proud of, i love every single one of the young avengers but mygod cassie

nate richards : run boy run by woodkid and something better by hidinin i feel for nate, that poor kid literally is running away and trying to kill his future because he knows it’s a bad road and honestly he’s so brave for that and it’s all thanks to nate that we got all the young avengers in the first place so credit will be payed where credit is due, nate is really just a clumsy teenager thats a total nutcase and a bit clueless without that common sense sometimes that will think a pack sour troll gummies and a bottle of gateorade is a well rounded training diet but he’s also a descendent of sue and reed richards and what’s there to expect from child geniuses

kate bishop : love club by lorde and ribs by lorde i kinda just stumbled upon these honestly forgotten songs in my playlist and was pleasantly surprised how perfectly kate bishop these songs are, the lyrics most likely mean something else but i see the love club as the young avengers and “go get punched for the love club” just sounds like a kate bishop thing to say, these songs give me vibes of kate bishop in a rolled sleeves black and purple flannel and black jean shorts with scuffs and bandaids on her elbows and knees, probably also a developing black eye and bloody nose but lookin badass per usual

david alleyne : karma by ajr i picked this one for david because the second i heard it david was immediately the person i thought of when listening to it, i haven’t read many comics with david in them, i’m searching tho, but i am reading the current x factor and david just goes through a lot poor dude just wants to learn and help with what he can and i love him every moment for it

america chavez : a good song never dies by saint motel and dead girl in the pool by girl in red i honestly don’t know much about america besides some basic background stuff and some her character and personality since i haven’t been able to get my hands on some ya v2 issues besides what i’ve seen online but what i have seen of her i already love her and know she is so badass and a bit chaotic but in the best way possible from the little i do know about america’s character i think these songs just fits both the vibes of how she presents and holds herself but also her personality, america is a good song that just never dies are vibes i will happily live with

loki : run the world!!! by dayglow i haven’t really read much of loki in the comics, the versions of them i know the best being the actual norse myth god and movie loki and i know how the movies can be with their comic book characters, but from what ive heard about kid and teenager loki is that they’re a little punk and this song seems to just fit that perfectly

jonas : growing pains by coin i honestly didn’t know that there was more to jonas besides ya v1 and childrens crusade but now i’m intrigued, but this song just speaks jonas to me who i was also calling judas for like ten minutes without realizing i had a totally wrong name, but from what i read and his whole thing with cass, i think growing pains very much fits a mr. jonas

now for the relationships/ships - this post is so long i am so sorry for all the reading but i’m having fun -

david and tommy : affection by between friends im not even sure completely why but the music just screams david and tommy’s vibes, especially how tommy is usually head canonized in relationships, *chiefs kiss* of a song

nate and cassie and jonas : in the middle by dodie this song is literally the three of them, like perfectly, the lyrics fit to a t and it’s literal perfection for them

billy and teddy : pleaser by wallows for how much i love them i surprisingly had a hard time finding a song for them, i know at one time i heard and had a song that was perfect but i can’t remember it all, but i think pleaser fits just as nice, it fits their personalities and the music itself is the vibe they give off to me : imma make an edit from this post previously cause i’ve been thinking about and i would like to add the song leaves by joe p cause it just fits too well, especially when looking at billyteddy fan art whilst listening to it, it’s too good : HI THIS ANOTHER EDIT IMSORRY but it literally took weeks to remember but now i remember what the original song for them i had picked - electric love by borns - it also gives me billy lightning powers vibes and i do adore some billy lightning powers, i think it would be so cool to see them mixed in with his reality warping ones

eli and nate : talk too much by coin honestly it’s them, it’s a vibe they both argue and to each other, talk way too much, i’m calling it they kissed like at least once just to see how that would go - probably arguing who was the better boyfriend when they were both single

eli and kate : falling for u by peachy! and mxmtoon this song is very eli and kate for me, especially the beginning of their relationship not relationship, was that ever really established what was happening there ?? but this song fits perfectly amongst the bickering and racking numbers of how many times they’ve saved each other’s asses

kate and america : given it all by hayley kiyoko and midnight love by girl in red i love this ship and i have no idea if there was ever a thing happening between them or if it was pure fandom but it’s amazing and i love it, hayley kiyoko and girl in red is an of course and i think these songs speak them

- now just the young avengers as a group -

leaves by joe p a song that is totally just a hang out and drive all around all night as teenagers without a care in the world song and can totally see the gang jamming out to it

hey barbara by IV of spades this song literally speaks “hey did you watch that one beach episode” sunny and everyone vibing and hanging out, i can totally imagine tommy trying to get david to dance this and the attempts made is hilarious

teenagers and na na na by my chemical romance now last but certainly not least mcr because of course mcr, these kids can definitely be punks when they wanna be, especially when they’re mutant/alien/super hero teenagers that will literally do what they see fit, all in good manners of course

whhoooopp this was a lot longer than what i was initially expecting to make but after a few hours of song surfing and trying to make tumblr typing fonts work with me we’re finally here, this was just something fun for me since i associate music with everyone, but if you’ve read this far and wanna mention a song you think fits, totally put it out there, share the music !!

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thnxforknowingme · 3 years

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Jenna my beloved <3

how are you? how's everything going?

I need to know your rating of all the klaine duets (and/or sperately a ranking of Kurt's and Blaine's solos)

hope everything is going well 🧡

Hello Myle!

I've been putting off this answer until I finished my rewatch so I could see Daydream Believer in context before passing judgement. But now I have finished, and I have agonized over this ranking (I can't even imagine ranking each of their solos, that's a whole other undertaking) and here are my resulting thoughts:

16. Perfect - it's fine. I mean none of their duets are bad but this is the least compelling.

15. Story of My Life - it's also...fine. I don't understand in context why this was the song that was chosen for this scene, like even among 1D songs it's not that interesting (no shade to 1D, I enjoy many of their songs), if they wanted to impress a potential industry connection why not choose something more challenging or dynamic?

14. Love Is a Battlefield - the song itself is very fun, but nothing exceptionally impressive about the performance.

13. Daydream Believer - a good performance, nothing particularly special, but it does have some excellent Kurt-low-voice moments which I'm such a slut for

12. Somebody Loves You - really cute song, not particularly excellent but a lot of fun

11. You Make Me Feel So Young - maybe it's just the overwhelming amount of pop songs versus more classic, musical songs like this, but it makes this song stick out because it showcases their voices - individually and together - so well!

10. White Christmas - My least fave of the Christmas duets, but still has a fun vintage feel

9. American Boy - I don't know why I love this song so much but I do. Is it weird to hear Blaine try to use the same slang derived from Jamaican influence on a multicultural London sociolect as Estelle does? Yes. But it's still a fucking bop.

8. Animal - I love this song in general and also it holds a very special place in my heart as a pre-Klaine duet that made the fandom lose their minds before we discovered the context. Also just sounds good.

7. Candles - objectively a good song, a nice ballad for the boys, even if the context was a little antithetical to the lyrics

6. Let It Snow - a top-tier Christmas song. Like if I were ranking Glee Christmas songs this would probably be #2. It's jazzy, it's fun, they perform it in formalwear in their imaginary """bachelor""" chalet in the Swiss Alps. Top-notch, but it's still a Christmas song so the playability is pretty limited.

5. Just Can't Get Enough - oh my GOD this song is so catchy and adorable and I just love it

4. Got To Get You Into My Life - I'm a little biased because I have been a Beatles fan from birth, and I also feel like this was one of the few Beatles songs in the two tribute episodes that Glee actually did a really good job of covering...and also just such a fun performance

3. Baby It's Cold Outside - the OG. Words cannot describe the joy that this duet brought when I was but a 15-year-old child watching these two dumb boys make heart-eyes at each other on my television (back when we actually had cable TV, in the Olden Days). Still sounds so good, a god-tier Christmas song that you KNOW is on the playlist I break out every year in December. God your lips look delicious indeed

2. It's Too Late - I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS GEM until my recent rewatch of season 6. Oh my GOD it's so good. I mean, the original song is already incredible. And then KLAINE takes a crack at it?! The way they perform it as a duet, the way that their particular lines are split up to show their relative perspectives? The MATURITY of this duet, and the ANGST, and the LONGING. I've listened to it on repeat before and I will again. This song burrows into my SOUL it's INCREDIBLE

1. Come What May- I mean. I mean. It's the ultimate fucking love song. It's yearning and devotion incarnate. It's from a fucking dream sequence. The vocals - out of this world. The emotion - unparalleled. The fandom reaction to seeing this in a time period when Klaine was broken up, but this song proved that they were soulmates/endgame/would love each other until their dying day???? - incomparable. A masterpiece of a song. Inject this shit directly into my veins.

#have i mentioned that i'm mildly intoxicated as i write this answer??#klaine #klaine duets #ranking #my opinions #awkwardcaterpillar

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tocrackerboxpalace · 3 years

Text

January, 1972

Summary: In Paul's first interview since the breakup of the Beatles, things go slightly awry when a nosy reporter gets more out of him than she bargained for.

Part 3/3 (1, 2)

The doorbell rang.

Paul jolted awake. He was still on the couch, unsure of how long he’d been sitting there, but pale morning light seeped in through the cracks of the curtains.

In a half-daze, he struggled to his feet, trying to ascertain his surroundings. Why had he been on the couch? Who was at the door? Why were they bothering him at—he peered at the clock on the wall, startled to find that it was already 10:00 a.m.

He fumbled with the locks until the door finally creaked open, flooding the living room with bright daylight and making him wince.

“What the fuck did you do?”

Paul’s body froze at the figure in the doorway, clear as day despite a sloppy hat-and-sunglasses disguise.

“I—”

“I don’t want some bullshit excuse, Paul, because I woke up to reporters halfway up my arse and Rings on the line talking about some fucking interview you did last night. What did you do?”

“I-I’m sorry,” Paul stammered helplessly.

John pushed his way past Paul into the house, tossing his cover to the side with vitriol. He collapsed on the couch where Paul had been asleep only moments before and threw his head in his hands.

Paul sensed that it was his turn to explain himself, though nothing on earth quite sounded less appealing. “I might have… sort’ve… confessed.”

John raised his head, glaring at him wearily. Go on.

“I didn’t mean to. They cornered me. Wouldn’t stop asking about me new song, and it is about you, of course it’s about you, but I—I thought I was vague enough to—”

John laughed sharply, interrupting Paul’s train of thought. “Doesn’t matter anymore. I called you out on it, and now everyone’s lookin’ for cryptic bullshit in your songs.”

Paul pretended not to feel annoyed at the assertion. Suddenly, another memory came full force back to him, and his voice got quiet, eyes flicking away from John’s penetrative gaze. “They asked me about India.”

“They what? Paul, how the fuck could they know about India?”

Anger rose in his throat as he fought to defend himself in what seemed like an unwinnable case. “I don’t fucking know. No one actually knows but us.” There was an accusatory edge to his voice.

John was incredulous. “You think I had something to do with that?”

Paul crossed his arms, though he still wouldn’t meet his gaze. “It certainly wasn’t me.”

John was on his feet again in a flash of fury. His voice was saturated with sarcasm, but Paul didn’t miss the lingering of hurt in there as well. “Sure. You got me pinned, Macca. I’m such a little media whore that I went and spilled every little detail of the worst moment of my life to the press. And because I’m a selfish goddamn prick I encouraged them to ask you about it in an interview, so that I could laugh at your pain in my great new fuckin’ life without you. Because why? Because I like seeing you suffer?” In his effort to avoid John’s eyes, Paul noticed that the man’s hands were shaking. “I thought you knew me better than to believe in the goddamn press portrait of me.”

There was a lot more that seemed to be said in John’s words than the words themselves.

“You’re still bitter,” Paul whispered. The wrong thing to say.

John’s eyes flashed dangerously. He was shouting now. “Of course I’m fuckin’ bitter, Paul! You turned me down. You said no to me. I loved you more than—”

“Don’t,” Paul pleaded hoarsely, tears suddenly buzzing at the brim of his eyelids.

“You don’t get to do this, Paul,” he continued without missing a beat. “I loved you more than I’d ever loved anyone in my life. A-and I couldn’t explain it, because it was a different love altogether, and I’m not sure if that made it true with you, or just better, but-but it was real. It was the most real thing that ever happened to me, and I was so certain that you understood that too.”

“John,” Paul begged.

“But you didn’t. At least, not on the same level, because if you had then we wouldn’t be here right now.” John waved a vague hand in the air, his cheeks bright with fury. Paul couldn’t bear to see it reflected in his eyes. “So you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to write songs and go on television talking about how much I hurt you.”

Paul only swallowed.

“Did you know how fuckin’ hard it was to listen to that song, Paul?” John said abruptly, his gaze straight out the window and his hands balled into fists. His lip was trembling in its place under his teeth. “To hear you say that you were in love with me?”

“I am–“

“Bullshit!” John yelled, and for a brief moment, Paul’s eyes were drawn up and he thought that John might actually hit him. When John slumped back in surprise at his own outburst, Paul felt a flood of rage overtake him, energy transferred from one to the other.

“You don’t fucking understand, John! You’re not like me! You’ve never given two shits about what the world thinks of you. You act like you do, with us, like you’re some poor misunderstood soul, but you don’t.” Paul began listing on his fingers, ignoring John’s protesting gape. “The Jesus comment, Yoko, Two Virgins, writing song after song knowing they’re going to be banned. You spew your bullshit and do whatever you please and sometimes it feels like you’re trying to give the world the finger and that’s fine, con-fuckin-gratulations for you, but I’m not like that.”

He suddenly felt very tired as John closed his mouth into a firm line. Paul recognized the expression. Understanding. “I’m not like that. It matters to me. And I don’t know what that says about me, or how to fix it. So simply the sudden legality of it all couldn’t magically change my mind. And now that’s something I have to live with, for the rest of my days, because I know now that it would have been worth it. And we could’ve handled it together. I didn’t understand then, but I do now. And I do love you.”

John rolled his eyes in helpless exasperation. “So what do you want to do, eh? Say fuck-all to our wives, our families? Our new lives? Just because you were too chicken-shit to say something four years ago?” He shook his head. “It’s too late for us, Paul. What’s that they say? Right person, wrong time?”

The polite smile John gave in closing made Paul feel sick to his stomach.

“Why did you come here, John?”

The defendant shrugged. He took a few steps backwards and sunk back onto the couch. “Honest?”

Paul hesitated. He might have had enough honesty for the day.

John sighed. “Wanted to see you.” He gave a sudden glare, shooting down Paul’s curious eyebrows. “Not because I missed you. I wanted to see you try and explain yourself. I hadn’t known what happened in the interview, but I’m not bloody stupid. I could tell it was something of this… scale. And I was so fuckin’ tired of trying to read you over the phone.”

Paul felt the strange urge to smile. And suddenly, he was laughing, undeterred even by the expression of utter bewilderment on John’s face.

“Christ, all that? Isn’t it, like, five in the morning there?”

“Well, yeah, I told you—Rings called, and you Englishmen have no bloody consideration for time zones.”

Paul let out a chuckle that felt far too relieving. His smile quieted as reality began to sink in. “I’m sorry.”

John met his eyes for only a moment. “S’not your fault. They do it to me, too.”

“What are you going to do?”

He shrugged. “Deny. Deny, deny, deny. Don’t know what he’s talking about, must’ve gone mad, trying to frame me as a queer. Wanted to stir up a fight. I’ll think of something.”

Paul swallowed. He wasn’t sure what he expected.

John peered over his glasses, his mouth pressed into a firm line. He removed them slowly, folding them in his lap. When he looked up again, Paul felt a shiver travel down his spine at the familiarity of the amber eyes on his, unprotected, unveiled. They hadn’t looked that way to him in so long.

“It’s only me,” John said quietly. Paul could hear in the tone that it was meant to be soothing, but the words made his heart twitch violently. “You know…not to take everything I say about you to heart, yeah?”

Paul nodded, gaze cast downwards for fear of brimming tears.

“Sometimes I mean it. I’m allowed to mean it. But this?” He sighed. “Whatever happens, you have to know that we have to. They’ll believe us so long as we present it as another one of our publicized scraps.”

“I’ve got to be the bad guy,” Paul conceded.

John nodded a confirmation. “I’ll, erm… I’ll say that it’s an attack. That you’re trying to frame me as something that I’m not, because you’re still hung up on the breakup. And it’s my reputation you’re worried about. I’ll say you’ve been on a bender, and lucid-dreamed-up an idealized version of our partnership. I’ll make another offhand comment about how we hardly wrote together much less knew one another, and you… You won’t say anything. You’ll stay here with—” he suddenly seemed to choke on the words. “Linda. The kids. And you can talk to her about it, I don’t care. But that’s what I’m going to say, and you have to be okay with that.”

Paul only stared. He knew in the back of his mind that John was right, but that didn’t help the nausea coursing through his veins.

“You have to be okay with that,” John repeated, his voice trembling slightly. “For both of us.”

The words were so far from the truth in some ways and yet too close to the truth in others. John offered a hand to shake, but appeared to think better of it, withdrawing the deal almost immediately. He knew Paul would agree, anyway, of course he would. And neither of them knew if they could handle the contact, no matter how brief.

“I should be going,” John said after a moment.

“You could stay,” Paul offered, his mind frantically arranging a comfortable setup for John to spend a few days.

John pushed himself up off of the couch and gazed around the room briefly, looking for something he hadn’t left. “Why?”

The image of the pull out couch in the den crumbled to death in his imagination. “Yeah. Okay.”

John gave one last, awkward nod, both men standing helplessly in the middle of the room. He hesitated for another moment before shuffling over to the front door, grabbing up his hat and glasses beside it, and pulling it open.

Paul wasn’t sure what made him say it, but he couldn’t stop the words from flowing out. “I love you.”

John scratched the back of his neck before turning to go. “I–yeah. See you around, Paul.”

He shut the door behind him.

#the beatles #beatles fanfiction #paul mccartney #john lennon #linda mccartney (mentioned)#ringo starr (briefly mentioned)#interviews #confessions #songwriting feud of the seventies #beatles breakup #part 3 #part 3 of 3

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ohblackdiamond · 3 years

Text

life and life only (paul/victoria) (pg) (part 6 of ?)

Mermaid AU. Paul lives in isolation in a sunken ship with his sister, until a new mer comes by to see his ship, and he starts to reassess the human world. In this chapter: Paul attempts to make things right with his sister, and Victoria asks him to move in with her.

He spent the rest of the week with her. He saw the play again, too, buying the ticket himself, courtesy an unfortunate tourist’s wallet. He even took her out to dinner with the remaining money, at an Italian place with dishes he couldn’t pronounce. A movie, too, the first one he ever saw in his life. Patton. He didn’t understand it much more than he understood Hair, though he got excited at the parts he half-recognized.

“I know about World War II,” he said in the theater, quite pleased with himself. “The Germans had U-boats. My mom saw them pass by when she was a teenager.”

One of the other theatergoers shushed him. But Victoria answered back in a whisper.

“I didn’t think they made it that far.”

“Oh, yes. I swear they did. She saw them.”

Afterwards, they went back to her apartment. He was starting to get a little used to having a pair of legs for longer than an afternoon. He still walked stiffly, and he still would spend an hour at least crammed in the tub on the days she had the play, but he was more comfortable being ashore now than he’d ever expected to be.

He was definitely more than comfortable with her. Their bodies seemed to fit together every time they mated. In the afterglow, they’d lay together, blissed-out, the only other sounds the heater or, sometimes, the record player.

“Hey, Victoria.”

Mating made them both indolent. She was draped on the bed beside him, her head on his chest.

“Yeah?”

“How’d you get into this? The play and T.V. and all of that. Did… do they go to school for that here?”

“They can, but I didn’t.” Her face lost its usual smile. “My parents are in show business. They started me out when I was pretty young.”

Paul pursed his lips.

“Does everyone start out early like that?”

“Not everyone. It can make it hard. I think it’s better if you start as an adult, that way you’re deciding for yourself.”

“Isn’t this what you want to do?”

“It’s close. Not quite.” Victoria traced one finger through his chest hair, as if she were trying to make a pattern there. “What I’d like to do is be a singer.”

“But you are. You’re in that musical.”

“I want to make records.” Victoria shook her head. “Broadway isn’t something that would last. It depends on too many people. Putting out an album…” and she waved her hand towards her record collection. “People are going to listen to the Beatles twenty, thirty years from now. I’m sure of it. But those same people wouldn’t want to watch me play Sheila in Hair in thirty years. You dig?”

He thought he understood a little.

“Would you do a rock album?”

“Rhythm and blues. Soul music.”

He was disappointed. He’d assumed they shared a favorite.

“I think I’d…” he started, quietly, then cleared his throat. Apt to stop himself before he even started. “Is it hard? Do you think it’d be real hard, for just anyone to… to…”

“To make an album? It’s pretty expensive. And then there’s distribution--”

“No. To get started. To be a star like you.”

“I’m not a star, Paulie.”

“You are. They’re clapping for you every night.”

“It’s an ensemble cast,” she protested, but her mouth was tilting up just a little. “They’re clapping for everyone.”

“I’m clapping for you.”

Victoria burrowed her face against his chest, pressing a kiss to his sternum. His fingers found her hair, tracing through the straight blonde strands. He’d become so familiar with every part of her she was willing to share. The scent of her perfume and her shampoo and her sweat. The little twitch of one leg when she was just about to come. The way her expression could darken, almost imperceptibly, seemingly at nothing at all, and then return to that easygoing, warm look again.

“Sometimes, I think that’s enough for me. Just that. Just you.”

Julia was already home when he finally came back. There were the usual residual signs of her in the kitchen. The set-out porcelain plates and flatware on the table. The traded meat in its jars. Paul wasn’t sure if he wanted to look for her inside the ship, but he didn’t have to. Julia swam up only moments after he entered the kitchen.

She didn’t look hateful. She looked like she didn’t feel well, honestly, her face wan, but Paul stiffened up on reflex anyway, prepared for another set of barbs. They didn’t come.

“I thought you’d run off with her.”

“No. Not to stay.”

“Do you want to?”

He didn’t answer.

“I-I got you something,” he said finally, handing her a plastic bag. He noticed she wasn’t wearing that gold bangle she’d first put on several months back. His eyes sloped down to her twitching tailfin. The cut from the night on the dock had scabbed over. “Here.”

Julia opened it, taking out the styrofoam containers and setting them on the table. Three boxes full of sushi rolls.

“What is this? God, that’s a strong smell.”

Paul didn’t think it smelled particularly strong, but he shrugged.

“It’s sushi. There’s fish inside. It’s really good.”

“I’ve never seen it ashore.” She picked a piece up curiously, barely putting more than half a bite to her lips. She looked surprised by the taste, taking a second bite and then slowly finishing off the piece. “It’s not bad.”

Paul hoped he’d see a smile cross her face. It didn’t, but at least she ate the sushi. He tried to ignore his disappointment. Food couldn’t make up for what he’d done. Getting her hurt because he’d been stupid. It couldn’t make up for having to take care of him, either.

“Julia, I want things to be better with us. I wanna help you out. I can go to the market more. Take care of the ship more. Whatever you need. There’s still a lot I can do.”

“You can’t help me out, Stan.”

“I can, though. Maybe… maybe I…” he trailed hopelessly. “Maybe I let you take care of too much. I know I could go to the market--”

“I can get better trades than you.”

“Then I can make dinner more. What do you say?”

She just shrugged.

It was a long time before Paul started to understand. Victoria had gotten too busy again to meet him more than every couple of weeks by that point, and he felt guilty knowing that every place they went, every outing, was money coming out of her paycheck, though she kept insisting that it didn’t matter. Julia, meanwhile, had all but stopped leaving the ship, so he was seeing more of her now than he had in ages.

Julia had always had a stronger constitution than him. Even when they were kids, she’d rarely been ill. It had always been Paul who would end up with fevers and colds. But she was looking bad, face ashy. Appetite mostly gone. Not too long after he came back, she started to have him go to the market in her place.

He thought for awhile she might have a bad case of ich. He tried to talk her into seeing a healer, but only got eyerolls in response. It wasn’t until a month or two after her appetite came back that Paul figured it out. Her abdomen, usually taut, was starting to swell. She was pregnant.

Paul wasn’t sure how to feel about it. He didn’t know exactly when it’d happened, or how far along she was, but he figured it must have been before the night at the dock. Mer tended to have trouble reproducing, so every pregnancy was celebrated. Julia hiding away would’ve been unusual with any other mer-- but then, she was so acrid that she likely didn’t want to deal with anyone else’s congratulations or offers of help. And maybe-- probably-- her and the father were finished, too.

It was probably the widower. Paul wondered if he needed to go over there and demand he take responsibility. But he didn’t really like the idea of Alan and his parents and brood moving to their vessel. The thought of those kids trampling around in his garden was almost unbearable.

He wondered if he ought to tell Victoria about it. That didn’t seem right, to tell a girl you were courting about your family problems, but he didn’t have anyone else to discuss it with. Victoria was having her own troubles, no less immediately pressing.

“I got a part in a movie,” she said out of nowhere one evening in her apartment. “I’m leaving Hair for it.”

“That’s great,” he said, and meant it. Acting wasn’t her passion like singing, he knew, but it got her name out there. She had told him about stars that did both. People like Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. “When’s it start?”

“Next week.”

He nodded.

“It’s on-location, Paulie.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I’m going to have to move.” She hesitated. “They’re filming it out West. I’m getting an apartment in California.”

“But… but that’s on the other side of the country, right? It’s not even the same ocean.” He knew that much. Thousands and thousands of miles. Something in his throat twitched.

“I hate California. I used to live there when I was a kid, my mom…” she shook her head. It seemed like it was a great effort for her just to look him in the face. She’d never been this way before. “I never wanted to go. I wanted to stay in New York. I hated it there. I hate the water there, I hate--” and she cut herself off abruptly, eyes closing for a moment. “I don’t know if I can stand it.”

“Have you already quit Hair? Maybe you could--”

“It’s done. I took the offer already. I’m leaving the day after tomorrow, Paul.”

“Even though you hate it?”

“I had to. The play won’t stay open more than another season or two anyway. It’s not enough to bank on. I’m not Yul Brynner here.”

He didn’t get it, but he nodded.

“When will you be back?”

“I may not come back, Paul.”

Oh. His throat ached suddenly, in a way he’d never felt before, a way he’d never been capable of in the sea, and he swallowed hard, shaking his head. She was breaking off their courtship.

“Okay.”

It made sense. It made too much sense. She had a real future. People interested in her, people that wanted her. It would be stupid to waste her time in the play when she could be doing so much more. The accolades and warmth of the crowd, all that he’d found so enticing, must have been unbearable to her from sheer routine. It couldn’t have been enough when she was on the precipice of starring in a movie.

“No, it’s not okay.” She took his hand, squeezing his palm. She looked strained. “I want you to come with me.”

“To California?”

“Yes.” Her blue eyes were shining, slightly wet. “Listen, Paulie, we… we could make it work. There’d be enough room for both of us. I’d make enough. I’d support you.”

“I can’t.”

“You can. You’re amazing.” Her mouth quivered its way into a smile. “You catch on so quick, you know?”

“I can’t go.” His throat felt like something was lodged inside of it, heavy and painful. “Julia’s going to be needing me soon, and--”

“What about what you need, Paul?”

“I owe her. She’s my sister.”

“Then what about what you want?”

Living with Victoria all the time as a human being. Experiencing that beautiful world on legs that still felt borrowed. Only able to be himself in the tub or in the ocean, an ocean he’d never swam in before. Ten years and he’d never be able to be himself again. Like all his other relatives. The whole swath of dark-haired, dark-eyed mer he barely even remembered, landlocked somewhere in Queens. They had given up on everything they were. Everything they knew. He shivered.

“I don’t want to landlock.”

“I know. I’m not asking you to landlock. I’m just asking you to come with me.”

“What could I do over there?”

“Anything you wanted.” Her mouth wobbled hard. “Y-you’d be free. My uncle Omar’s a lawyer. He does all the paperwork for mer that come to New York. I know he’d get everything taken care of for you. And… and I’d--”

“I’d be depending on you.” He swallowed. “It’d be just like me and Julia. You’d start hating me the same way she does.”

“Paul, no.”

“You would.” He shook his head. “There’s too much I don’t understand about human life. I’d embarrass you. I-I’d bring you down.”

“You’ve never embarrassed me. You’ve learned so much, I think that--”

“I’d be your burden. I couldn’t stand that.”

“Listen--”

“No, you listen. I-it’s fine to have me over for a couple days. But… but living with me all the time, I-I’d disappoint you.”

“How? Because you didn’t grow up ashore? Paul, most mer don’t. They come up here to stay when they’re your age. They learn. You-- you’ve learned just fine, It wouldn’t take you long at all to do things on your own--”

“I can’t hear well, Victoria.”

“That doesn’t matter over here. Nobody’ll ever know. Nobody’ll even see your ear.”

“What if you wanted to go somewhere with your friends? What if you tried to bring me? I can’t understand people when they talk in crowds at all. Everything, everything blurs together and I can’t-- I don’t wanna be around--”

(i don’t want to be found out)

(i don’t want to be pitied)

(i don’t--)

“I know you’re shy. That’s okay--”

“It’s not just being shy! You’re not listening! You don’t know what it’s like! You-- h-how could you, when you’re so beautiful? Nothing’s wrong with you! Nobody’s ever looked at you the way they’ve always looked at me! Nobody’s ever looked at you l-like Julia looks at me! Like all the mer and the humans! Like they all know something’s the matter with me! And t-they’d think something’s wrong with you, too, for being with me! That’s what would happen! I’d stop you just like I stopped her! I won’t do that to you, Victoria. I swear, I’d rather die than ever do that to you!”

Victoria was blinking hard, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She was looking at him as though he’d just slapped her. Those blue eyes were rimmed with tears.

“You don’t understand at all.”

“Victoria, please--”

“You think you’re the only outsider in the whole world. Y-you’d rather stay that way than take a chance on somebody that loves you.”

“No! No, I--”

Somebody that loves you. She had never said that before. His lips quivered. Thinking of all the times they’d touched and mated. How he’d held her. How he’d always thought of her as his, though he had no right to her at all. She had never, could never, be merely the girl he was courting. She was--

“You’d better go, Paul.”

#kiss the band #kiss fanfiction #paul stanley #mermaid au

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