#never thought i'd see them performing this song again

[minhosimthings]

Brooklyn Baby

Symphony smut series Day 2: Lana del Rey's Brooklyn Baby

Lyric: My boyfriends' in a band, he plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed

Pairings: dom!Heeseung × dom!Jay × fem!sub!reader

Warnings: Poly relationship, SMUT MINORS DNI, vibrator, double penetration, oral (f and m recieving), dacryphillia, degradation, reader wears a dress, mention of breeding, Heeseung fucks reader with a vibrator, edging, orgasm denial, unprotected sex (definetly not for you), threesome, kinda mean doms hee and jay

A/N: Day 2! I love this song with all my heart so I thought Jay would be the perfect fit cause duh, but then I was like why don't we make it a little interesting and add Heeseung into the mixture? Anyway this is my first time writing poly so please be kind everyone.

THE SYMPHONY SMUT SERIES MASTERLIST

When you took up the offer in college to be lead singer of a three-person band, you hadn't expected to become a celebrity princess overnight. What you also hadn't expected was for your two loving members, Heeseung and Jay, to become your loving boyfriends. A little bit of poly never hurt did it?

"Darling, we're going to be late if you don't hurry up." Jay peeked his head around the door, to see you applying your lip gloss all prettily around your lips.

The lip gloss he had gotten you.

"How do I look?" You turned to him with uncertainty. The dress was beautiful, one that your fans would adore. The makeup was also done to perfection by your '24 hour routine' as Heeseung called it.

"Beautiful as always." Jay responded, stretching his hand out to you, and twirling you around, relishing the tight fit of the dress against your waist, "I think engenes are going to want to steal you from me and Heeseung."

"Please." Heeseung's footsteps announced his arrival into the room, his eyes widening as they fell upon you, "They won't ever be able to do that.

"So protective." You wrapped your arms around Heeseung's neck, whilst Jay's stayed on your waist, "Are we ready?"

You looked into the mirror infront of you, where you all stood out perfectly in color coordinated outfits. A flurry of blues and purples perfectly describing your band's genre stared back at you in the mirror.

"Perfect."

"And now we have the overnight musical sensation! Please welcome Enhypen!" The host's voice boomed across the room, as you entered from backstage, both arms twirled in both your boyfriends' arms.

The audience applauded and hooted, cheering your names, the official fanchant over and over again and again.

"Well aren't they excited for today?" The host merrily laughed, as you sat down in between Heeseung and Jay.

"Well, welcome to the show! How are you feeling?"

"Nervous I guess." You answered with a slight chuckle, calming down as Jay's hand pressed on yours.

"Well of course! I believe you are excited for the live performance tonight?"

"Well of course." Jay responded this time. His perfume did smell good, you thought as you watched him speak with such eloquence. He did always have a way with his words everywhere.

"You're not ignoring me are you?" You heard Heeseung whisper into your ear, his hand creeping up to your thigh. You were thankful for the table infront of you which shielded the bottom part of your body, a part which Heeseung loved to touch.

His hand reached lower into your thigh, tickling your skin with his cold hands as he gripped them hard.

"And Miss Y/N!" The host said, snapping you out of the sudden urge to moan, "How would you describe your relationship with the boys?"

Great, you thought, another dumb question just for me.

"Um I'd say we're best friends." You nervously said. Revealing your relationship to the world wouldn't really be all sunshine and rainbows. "We've been friends since college actually, when we decided to form Enhypen. And well I guess we're close to family now." You awkwardly laughed to cover up the situation as the host moved on to the next question.

"And now, our dear audience let's get ready for the performance!" The host's voice boomed again, as the audience clapped their hands off.

A microphone and two guitars were all prepped and ready as you walked up, adjusting the mic to your level. Jay examined the guitar carefully and slipped it on, teasing the audience by playing a few notes on it, to which you heard girls scream his name. You smiled to yourself, remembering all the shit they wrote on your boys, all the fanfiction which they really thought would come true.

Hah as if! The boys belonged to you, and you only.

If only you knew what was coming for you after the performance.

"Best friends huh?" Jay pinned you against the wall, Heeseung's chuckles filling the room, as he slowly removed his belt and watch, "Too afraid to tell the world what we are darling?"

"Jay y-you know we can't." You reprimanded him, trying to take the upper hand. But only failure came to you at that moment, as you felt your thighs become stickier by the moment.

"Aww look at her." Heeseung chuckled again, "Our good little girl. Why don't we teach her a lesson, huh Jay?"

Jay smirked at you, going in for a kiss before saying, "Want her first?"

"Nah you have fun, I'll take her later." Heeseung settled himself comfortably on the loveseat facing the bed, his legs wide open in a manspread.

You felt shivers around your body as Jay, picked you up like a rag doll and threw you onto the bed.

"We don't need this, do we?" Jay toyed with your panties. The straps of your dress pressed tightly against your shoulders and Jay, pressed his fingers to your clothed labia, removing the underwear with ease and depositing it on the floor.

The shaky breath you took made Jay smile against your skin, the warmth of his breath crashing against your exposed flesh.

As his fingers slowly began to curve in and out of you, he came to kiss your skin, moving down with each kiss towards your clit. The sensation of his lips grazing the latter inevitably brought your hand to rest in his hair as you arched your back.

The room was dimly lit, courtesy to the closed curtains, but you could see Heeseung from the corner of your eye, smirking intently at Jay reaching down to your clit, one of his hands massaging the bulge on his pants gently.

Jacking off while Jay works his way through you, typical Heeseung, you would have scoffed if not for Jay providing heaven to you at that moment.

Jay's tongue made sinuous circles around your clit as his two fingers accelerated slightly. He knew which places he had to touch to make you produce the sweetest sounds, and he wasn't going to deprive himself of hearing them.

You can feel him grinning while he licks and swirls his tongue around your swollen nub, hands beginning to slow to a halt. His fingers pull almost all the way out you, causing your eyes to finally open and a noise of protest leaves your lips.

Your walls were perfect, taking his thick, long fingers into you so good. He curved them while making smaller and smaller circles centered on your clit, kissing and licking it.

Your hands gripped his hair more firmly, your breath quickening as the heat rose to your cheeks and the knot tightened in your belly.

And just as you the climax reached closer and closer, your mouth almost about to scream-

"Jay!" You cried, laying an eye on Jay's face peeking out from between your legs, "Why'd you stop?"

Jay chuckled and glanced over at Heeseung, who sighed and got up, striding over to you, the buttons of his shirt slightly opened, giving him a more powerful look

"Only our girlfriend deserves to cum, but you're not her are you?" Heeseung moved to the atmosphere above you, as Jay slowly collapsed on the loveseat where Heeseung had been sitting, "Remind me what she is Jay?"

"Our best friend." Jay said, an unusually sadistic tone to his voice, "Do you want the vibrator or will you be going in with your fingers?"

"Hand me the vibrator." Heeseung said, stroking your thigh with his fingers again, eliciting a mewl out of you, "You wanna use the pink one princess?"

"Don't ask her that you know she'll say yes." Jay's voice could be heard from across the room, as he dug and dug into the cupboard, "Aha! There you go."

A needy moan falls from your lips as Heeseung presses the pink machine deeper inside your pussy, whining a bit as it clenches tighter. Pleasure rushes through your core while your moans grow louder and needier.

"Aww look at her." Heeseung chuckles, "so fucking needy aren't you?"

He groans softly, biting his lip as he takes in the sight of you before him. Heeseung was never the one to keep his control. The vibrator slides through your folds absentmindedly, keeping you wet and needy. Heeseung's eyes darken a bit at the sight of your arching back.

"Fuck, princess," he whispers, kneeling on the bed closer to you. His free hand come to rest on your hips, sliding along, caressing your thighs, your curves in admiration and desire.

"How does it feel? Good?" he whispers, voice almost raw with need, "Do you want something better?"

"Fuck Heeseung!" You cry, feeling the vibrator switch to a faster pace, Heeseung pushing it deeper and deeper into you.

Tears falls down your face, the pleasure rushing through you almost being impossible to take. And yet, you didn't fuck two men at the same time to crumble so easily did you?

"Are you close, princess?" he leans his body over yours, whispering in your ears, "Do you wanna cum for me?"

“i-i’m gonna cum… fuck! Heeseung–!” you cry out, ready to tip over that peak until the pleasure your boyfriend was giving you was ripped away. "No!"

You whip your head around, glancing over your shoulder to see the shit-eating smirk Jay was wearing on his face.

“ah… i guess you really wanted to cum right?” he teases, one of his hands rubbing soft circles on his dick.

“aw… m’sorry baby,” Heeseung coos at you, his hands coming up to rest on your jaw. “but brats don’t get what they want, now do they?” he says, the grip on your face tightening.

“Think you can handle two dicks in your tight little cunt?” Jay teases, no having joined you and Heeseung in the bed. You've never heard him talk with such vile language before but you loved this side of him. “Yes daddy~” you moan out.

Skin colliding with skin filled the room, the sound bouncing off the walls.

With a loud moan you nodded, feeling how good the stretch provided by Heeseung's cock felt inside your cunt "right there daddy" you mumbled against the tip of Jay's cock before his hips slammed it inside your mouth once again. You couldn't help but whimper while his cock used your mouth, causing waves of pleasure to travel all over Jay's body who was harshly gripping a fistful of your hair as he deep throated you.

"You love doing this don't you, slut?" Heeseung chuckled, "Making us feel good?"

"but who fucks you better, huh darling?" Jay questioned, his eyes focusing on your face completely fucked out. Your ruined make up, your messy hair, the way your cheeks and nose were all red because of how roughly he was using your mouth and the sight of saliva all over your lips and chin made his cock twitch under your hand.

You moan around his cock with the sting of his condescension, feel Heeseung stiffen inside you with a rut of his hips, grazing your tender g-spot with the added swell. He stutters and curses, Jay grins through a breathy moan as he no doubt recognises the signs he’s seen a hundred times before.

"You wanna cum darling?" Heeseung's chuckle sounds like heaven to your ears, "What do you think Jay?"

"She's treatin me so good." Jay groans, feeling his cum in his belly, "Let her."

Heeseung nods, reaching around you to circle your throbbing clit with surprisingly firm and steady motions despite his impending release. He gets you there, bursts through the dam of white-hot pleasure with a final rut that forces you deeper onto Jay's cock, and the three of you come in an eye watering display of lust and synergy that shouldn’t be found in a group that says they're 'best friends'.

With Jay's cum dripping from your lips, Heeseung's from your post-orgasmic pussy, you wonder how you’re ever going to have sex again after this. Nothing could possibly come close to what you just experienced.

"Fucking hell." Jay collapsed on the bed on your right, while Heeseung did the same thing to your left, "That was good, wasn't it darl-" Jay's words stopped in their tracks as soon as they saw you clinging to Heeseung's bicep, and lightly snoring.

"You wanna get showered?" Heeseung whispered to Jay, "I got your favourite shampoo."

"Nah wanna stay like this." Jay answered, wrapping his arms around your waist, spooning you into comfort, "Family." He scoffed, "The only family we're ever going to be is when we fuck our cum into her."

"That's what I was thinking." Heeseung laughed, the three of you holding each other and collapsing into a cocoon of comfort.

#enhypen #Enha #jay #heeseung #heeseung smut #heeseung imagines #lee heeseung #park jay smut #park jay fluff #enhypen smut imagines #enhypen smut #enhypen smut reactions #enha smut #jay smut #park jongseong #park jay imagines #park jay #lee heeseung fluff #lee heeseung fic #lee heeseung smut #enha hard hours #enha hard thoughts #jay hard thoughts #heeseung fanfic #Enhypen smut fics #enha smut fics #poly relationship #jay park smut #heeseung × reader #jay × reader

[leclerc-s]

big reputations - part eight

series masterlist // previous // next

charles leclerc i've decided that this week i will be driving like a menace.

daniel ricciardo i see track terror is making a comeback this week.

max verstappen no more inchidents please.

charles leclerc mate let it go already. it's been over 10 years.

max verstappen admit you pushed me into that puddle and i'll let it go!

oscar piastri i see why the entire internet is convinced you two are secretly dating

charles leclerc excuse me? max verstappen they're what? sabrina carpenter lestappen is lestappening

daniel ricciardo to be fair, they think k-mag and nico are in love with each other, have been since the whole 'suck my balls' thing

daphne jones didn't we have this conversation already?

max verstappen that was in the other group chat

sabrina carpenter YOU HAVE A GROUP CHAT WITHOUT US? THIS IS TREASON!

oscar piastri OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

charles leclerc THIS IS TREACHEROUS!

daphne jones oh grow up, it was started before you three were even in the picture. we don't use it much these days.

sabrina carpenter good. otherwise i'd throw a fit.

max verstappen don't you always?

sabrina carpenter i will make your life miserable verstappen

max verstappen you already do by existing every day.

lando norris MR. RICCIARDO ARE YOU OR ARE NOT A MASTERMIND?! THE TWITTER GIRLIES WANT TO KNOW!!

daniel ricciardo the hell are you talking about lando?

pierre gasly so you saw the same twitter thread i did?

max verstappen i completely forgot daphne had performed at the 2016 austin grand prix.

lewis hamilton huh that did happen

lando norris DANIEL ARE YOU A MASTERMIND?

logan sargeant was going to ask why but then i realized what the song is about.

mark webber i don't get it? what's the song about?

oscar piastri forgive him, he's uncultured.

mark webber that's it, no more sabrina time for you. oscar piastri sabrina said you can't separate siblings. tell him charles! charles leclerc yeah! what she said! lando norris wait a fucking minute, are you all together right now?

carlos sainz is that family thing working for you guys?

max verstappen it actually is. you should've seen the group chat after texas.

max verstappen on second thought maybe not. daniel ricciardo yeah, that's not a good idea. oscar piastri things were said by sabrina. charles leclerc well when you say it like that you make it sound bad. nothing bad was said, they're being dramatic. although, she might be in love with fernando daniel ricciardo you do remember the spa inchident don't you? alex albon they call him fernando rizzlonso

lando norris renamed daniel ricciardo

mastermind hilarious lando. truely.

lando norris you never confirmed or denied it. i took matters into my own hands.

pierre gasly question for sabrina, how does one get a song like nonsense written about them?

sabrina carpenter what an odd question pear gasly, i'd say by dating a singer? which is better for me because that way i can steal your girlfriend with no obstacles.

aelx albon she's a menace.

max verstappen THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING!

oscar piastri it's not that great of a song. i don't get the hype?

sabrina carpenter added one person

sabrina carpenter oscar's been disowned. he didn't know the words to love story.

charles leclerc max doesn't either?

oscar piastri what the hell are you talking about sabrina?

sabrina carpenter i saw that mclaren video.

daphne jones it's one song sabrina, let it go. this is not going to turn into another spa situation.

yuki tsunoda excuse me while i go scream into the void

logan sargeant wait for me! lance stroll and me!

lando norris daniel probably

sabrina carpenter lando with all of his teammates

lando norris man fuck you sabrina

carlos sainz what's the spa situation?

daphne jones you don't want to know, trust me. oscar piastri for your sanity, you don't want to know. daniel ricciardo please don't get her started again.

sabrina carpenter mr. sainz, you truly do not want to get me started. as i said before, i may not have been present for spa but i can and will bite ankles for oscar.

mastermind so who's free to go to daphne's concert in argentina on the 11th?

lando norris SIGN ME TF UP!!

yuki tsunoda I'M IN!

alex albon depends, can i bring lily?

mastermind of course! - sabrina mastermind that's my wife! - sabrina

logan sargeant ready to dance along to the fearless era

mastermind bold of any of you to think you have a choice. I EXPECT ALL OF YOU THERE! - SABRINA

mastermind love the name btw - sabrina

charles leclerc to quote sabrina, "i expect ass shaking for vigilante shit."

oscar piastri dear i god i hope none of you do that.

lando norris well now i'm going to.

sebastian vettel well she's certainly something.

max verstappen she's a menace.

lewis hamilton huh, sounds like someone back in 2016 to 2018. max verstappen YOU TAKE THAT BACK! lewis hamilton i don't think i will

mastermind JUSTICE FOR ABU DHABI 2021 - SABRINA

oscar piastri she just likes to stir the pot.

mark webber sounds like someone else and the infamous alpine tweet.

oscar piastri okay, that was one time.

esteban ocon argentina right before vegas? doesn't seem like a good idea to me but i'm in.

lando norris BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!

jenson button so is daniel dating daphne or not?

mastermind that's a secret i'll never tell - xoxo gossip girl.

alex albon something is brewing i can feel it.

taglist: @glow-ish @agustdpeach @msolbesg @spilled-coffee-cup @1nt3rnetgf @six-call @smol-scream @fernandoswarcrimes @arieltwvdtohamflash @Mimolovescookies @brekkers-whore @camdensreg @mycenterfold @dear-fifi @chiliwhore @tygecjjd @cataf1 @nothaqks @caipng @nataliambc @formulaal @prongsvault @kaa212 @anxxiousaries @julesbabey1 @julesbabey @georgeparisole @hobiismyhopeu @melissayalene @nikfigueiredo

strikethrough means i couldn't tag you

¡leclerc-s speaks! i’m back for 2024! i tried something different for this chapter and i think i liked it so i'm going to change it for all of the other parts, which is going to be a bitch because it's gonna take forever. it's also not that big of a change but i think it makes a difference.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet. enjoy!

#leclerc-s #big reputations series #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x female oc #formula 1 #formula 1 fic #fanfic #fanfiction #f1 #f1 smau #f1 social media au #f1 instagram au #f1 fic

[gardenschedule]

Quotes about the Lennon-Mccartney rivalry & John's insecurity

A long one!!

Pre-fame

“Paul was very good,” said Eric [Griffiths, of The Quarrymen]. “We could all see that. He was precocious in many ways. Not just in music but in relating to people.” […] His charm also worried John, according to Eric. “We were all walking down Halewood Drive to my house to do some practising. I was walking ahead with John. The others were behind. John suddenly said: ‘Let’s split the group, and you and me will start again.’ “We could hear Paul behind us, chatting to Pete [Shotton] as if he was Pete’s best friend. John knew we were all his pals, but now Paul was trying to get in on us. Not to split us up, just make friends with us all. I’m sure that was all it was, but to John it looked as if Paul was trying to take over, dominate the group. I suppose he was worried it could disrupt the balance, upset the group dynamics, as we might say today. “I said to him: ‘Paul’s so good. He’ll contribute a lot to the group. We need him with us.’ John said nothing. But after that the subject was never mentioned again.”

Eric Griffiths, c/o Hunter Davies, Sunday Times: A Beatle’s boyhood. (March 25th, 2001)

"It was uncanny. He could play and sing in a way that none of us could, including John," Eric Griffiths recalls. "He had such confidence, he gave a performance. It was natural. We couldn't get enough of it. It was a real eye-opener." After listening to Paul play, John recalled, "I had thought to myself, 'He's as good as me.' Now, I thought, if I take him on, what will happen? It went through my head that I'd have to keep him in line if I let him join [the band]. But he was good, so he was worth having. He also looked like Elvis. I dug him."

Bob Spitz, The Beatles: The Biography, 2005

Mimi remained resolutely unimpressed by anything her nephew composed with his ‘little friend’. ‘John would say, “We’ve got this song, Mimi, do you want to hear it?”’ she recalled. ‘And I would say, “Certainly not… front porch, John Lennon, front porch.”’ What she overheard that clearly wasn’t ‘caterwauling’ became another way of discomfiting John. ‘[He] got very upset with me when I mentioned one night that I thought Paul was the better guitar player. That set him off, banging away on his own guitar. There was quite a bit of rivalry going on there.’

Philip Norman, Paul McCartney: The Life. (2016)

Yesterday

Barrow describes an incident from 1965 where McCartney ran through a dress rehearsal of “Yesterday” for a live evening performance on Blackpool Night Out. “Beatles Book editor Johnny Dean sat in the stalls close to comperes Mike and Bernie Winters and the other three Beatles, and watched Paul in solitary rehearsal on the stage, singing the song to his own guitar accompaniment. At the end, everybody heard John’s loud and decidedly sarcastic comment.” The nasty remark from John was said to upset Paul for several hours afterwards.

Beatles publicist Tony Barrow

At the end, everybody heard John’s loud and decidedly sarcastic comment. He made no secret of the fact that he thought ‘Yesterday’ was a slice of sentimental rubbish, and this led to several heated exchanges between John and Paul in the privacy of the group’s dressing room after the rehearsal.

Tony Barrow, c/o The Best of the Beatles Book (ed. Johnny Dean). (2005)

Following Paul's rendition of 'Yesterday', a comedy link was rehearsed for when the others reappeared on stage: John clutched a plastic bouquet of flowers which came away as Paul accepted them, leaving him holding only the bottom stems. As if to further puncture any pompous formality, John announced "Thank you Ringo, that was wonderful." "The Beatles were in a terrific mood..." Sean O'Mahony wrote in his editorial (Beatles Book #26), "laughing and gagging their way through rehearsals as though they were preparing for a private Beatle People Telly Show for the fan club rather than a national networked performance to millions of viewers." However, he now remembers a charged atmosphere at Blackpool that day after Lennon sarcastically roared "Thank you, Paul, that was bloody crap!" following McCartney's debut of the song during the afternoon rehearsal. If there was any tension it was swiftly diffused as Bryce's photographs reveal the two relaxed and joking in each other's company. Paul and John rode back to London together in comfort that night in Lennon's new black Phantom V Rolls-Royce.

Looking Through You: The Beatles Book Monthly Photo Archive

Throughout the Beatles’ 1965 summer concert tour of North America, Paul avoided doing the number on stage, partly in order to avoid further unpleasant conflict with John [and partly because nobody would be able to hear it in open air stadiums full of screaming fans]. it was the danger of giving added strength to the ‘Paul is leaving’ rumour that helped to prevent ‘Yesterday’ from being released there and then as a single in the UK. As Paul knows, it could have been a smash hit at home as well as all over the world but it would have annoyed the rest of the group, and their hostility in such circumstances would have caused him a lot of personal grief which he didn’t need.

Tony Barrow, c/o The Best of the Beatles Book (ed. Johnny Dean). (2005)

"John came to my loft and he was all excited," Smith recalls. "He said, 'I think I finally wrote a song with as good a melody as Yesterday.' Yesterday drove him crazy. People'd say, 'Thank you for writing Yesterday, a beautiful song...' He was always civil, but it drove him nuts."Sat at Smith's piano, Lennon revealed a title - Imagine - but only a smattering of lyrics. For the rest he sang "scrambled eggs" - just as McCartney had when inspired to write Yesterday. "He played it through and asked me what I thought. 'It's beautiful.' 'But is it as good as Yesterday?' 'They're impossible to compare.' So he played it again. And again. And he said, 'You'll see, it's just as good as Yesterday."

Howard Smith (DJ), interview w/ Danny Eccleston for Mojo: The Lennon tapes. (July, 2013)

After a particularly heavy session with the lawyers (he was also fighting deportation) Lennon would flop into his music room, pick up a guitar and tear into a primal-scream version of ‘Yesterday’. Sometimes he tried a little writing of his own. Usually he just sank further into the one Beatles song he never quite got over. Friends would find him sitting in the dark, lost in Paul’s ballad.

Christopher Sandford, McCartney. (2005)

PAUL: [laughs; mock-indignant] No. The worst thing for John was, that he didn’t write ‘Yesterday’, I wrote ‘Yesterday’, and he used to get really quite miffed, because he’d be in New York and he’d go into a restaurant, and the pianist would go du-du-du… [sings tune of ‘Yesterday’] And he’d go, “Oh… [grumbling] It’s Paul’s.”

September 19th, 2019: On BBC Newsnight

“Once we were in a Mexican restaurant, in a back room. We’d just been to see the musical Lenny, about Lenny Bruce. In the main room John spotted this strolling guitar player, which used to be standard in Mexican restaurants. He turned to me and said, “Howard, in five minutes that guitar player is gonna come in, stand next to me and play Yesterday. And sure enough, it wasn’t even three minutes. We had hardly settled down, and the guy came in and played Yesterday, a ridiculous over-the-top version. And I said, ‘John, that really does happen to you everywhere…’ And he said: ‘Everywhere.’ It drove him nuts.”

2013 Mojo article

Well, it’s difficult to choose the favourite. It’s one of my favourites. You look at your songs and kinda look to see which of the ones you think are maybe the best constructed and stuff… I think ‘Yesterday’, if it wasn’t so successful, might be my favourite. But, you know, you get that thing when something is just so successful… people often don’t want to do ‘the big one’ that everyone wants them to do. They kind of shy away from it. So… ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ with ‘Yesterday’ as a close second.

Paul McCartney, interviewed by Scott Muni (16 October 1984).

Here are Paul and John sparring in the dressing room following the remark that John made while they were rehearsing for their Blackpool Night Out TV show in August '65. The sparring between John and Paul continued while they were getting ready for the final recording. John and Paul continue their heated discussion with George as piggy-in-the-middle. The two-handed gesture clearly reveals the mood John was in, but Ringo and Brian still refused to join in the argument. Ringo poured himself a fizzy drink before the final show but John clearly decided he needed something a bit stronger before they went into the television studio.

228 of The Beatles Book Monthly Magazine - John and Paul’s argument after the Blackpool Night Out rehearsal

We never released Yesterday' as a single because we didn't think it fitted our image. In fact it was one of our most successful songs. "Michelle' we didn't want to release as a single. They might have been perceived as Paul McCartney singles and maybe John wasn't too keen on that.

The Beatles Recording Sessions The Official Abbey Road Studio Session Notes, 1962–1970

Productivity

But I was still under the false impression that – still felt, every now and then – Brian would come up and say, “It’s time to record,” or, “It’s time to do this.” And Paul started doing that. “Now we’re gonna make a movie. Now we’re gonna make a record.” And, uh, he assumed that if he didn’t call us, nobody would ever make a record. But it’s since shown that we’ve managed quite well to make records on time. [Now] I don’t have any schedule – I just think, “Now, I’ll make it,” you know. But those days, Paul would say, well, now he felt like it, and suddenly I’d have to whip out twenty songs. He would come in with about twenty good songs and say, “We’ll record next Friday.” And I suddenly had to write a stack of songs, like – [Sgt] Pepper was like that. And Magical Mystery Tour was another one of them.

September 5th, 1971 (St Regis Hotel, New York)

SHEFF: You say you haven’t really listened to Paul’s work and haven’t really talked to him since that night in your apartment— JOHN: Really talked to him, no, that’s the operative word. I haven’t really talked to him in ten years. Because I haven’t spent time with him. I’ve been doing other things and so has he. You know, he’s got twenty-five kids and about twenty million records out—how can he spend time talking? He’s always working.

John Lennon, interview w/ David Sheff for Playboy. (September, 1980)

You’d already have 5 or 6 songs so I’d think fuck it, I cant keep up with that. So I didn’t bother, you know, and I thought I don’t really care whether I was on it or not, I convinced myself it didn’t matter. And so for a period if you didn’t invite me to be on an album personally, if you three didn’t say ‘write some more songs because we like your work’, I wasn’t going to fight. There was no point in turning em out, I didn’t have the energy to turn them out and get them on an album as well.

John Lennon, MMT sessions

“John did not let Yoko’s foot-dragging slow him down. He kept working on the album, refining songs and coming up with new ones. He joked that he was becoming more and more like Paul McCartney, whose prodigious musical output had sometimes been a source of friction in their relationship. John wondered if Yoko might be feeling intimidated by his current period of fertility, just as he had once been intimidated by Paul’s greater musical productivity. Still, John kept up the pressure on Yoko over the phone, playing her his songs and encouraging her to play hers for him.”

The Last Days of John Lennon by Frederic Seaman (1991)

“He next expressed concern that Yoko was not giving the album her undivided attention because of the many ‘distractions’ she faced in New York, and even made a snide reference to her being surrounded by ‘useless sycophants.’ He again likened their situation to his old songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney, who had always been the more prolific writer and had frequently prodded John to come up with new material. ‘Paul never stopped working,’ John said with grudging admiration. ‘We’d finish one album and I’d go off and get stoned and forget about writing new stuff, but he’d start working on new material right away, and as soon as he had enough songs he’d want to begin recording again. I would have to scramble to come up with songs of my own. I wrote some of my best songs under that kind of pressure.’”

The Last Days of John Lennon by Frederic Seaman (1991)

We only spoke briefly about Paul and his comments at the time were, 'Yeah, well, you know, that's just Paul.' I think John was deeply hurt by their differences and the fact that their partnership wasn't a partnership. He felt the competition with Paul who would come in with 15 songs and want to record them all. John told me, 'I don't want to be in, you know, "Paul & the Beatles". I don't want to be a sideman for Paul. It's not what I want to do anymore.'

David Cassidy on John from Could it be forever? -My Story

Fear of abandonment

I was sort of answering him here, asking, ‘Does it need to be this hurtful?’ I think this is a good line: ‘Are you afraid, or is it true?’ – meaning, ‘Why is this argument going on? Is it because you’re afraid of something? Are you afraid of the split-up? Are you afraid of my doing something without you? Are you afraid of the consequences of your actions?’ And the little rhyme, ‘Or is it true?’ Are all these hurtful allegations true? This song came out in that kind of mood. It could have been called ‘What the Fuck, Man?’ but I’m not sure we could have gotten away with that then.

Paul McCartney, on “Dear Friend”. In The Lyrics (2021).

JOHN: [Paul] even recorded that all by himself in the other room, that’s how it was getting in those days. We came in and he’d – he’d made the whole record. Him drumming, him playing the piano, him singing. Just because – it was getting to be where he wanted to do it like that, but he couldn’t – couldn’t – maybe he couldn’t make the break from The Beatles, I don’t know what it was. But you know, I enjoyed the track. But we’re all, I’m sure – I can’t speak for George, but I was always hurt when he’d knock something off without… involving us, you know? But that’s just the way it was then.

August, 1980: interview with Playboy writer David Sheff

He is the least independent Beatle, leaning upon the group’s strength as a source for his own fundamental security.

Profile of John written by Tony Barrow (Beatles Press Officer) and published in March of 1968.

During the spring of 1968, John was as confused, lonely, and unhappy as I'd seen him in years. Though his relationship with the other Beatles was still free of serious strain, he was seeing increasingly less of Paul and George, both of whom were now pursuing independent lives and interests of their own.

In My Life, Pete Shotton

Insecurities

If you notice, in the early days the majority of singles—in the movies and everything—were mine. And then only when I became self-conscious and inhibited, and maybe the astrology wasn’t right, did Paul start dominating the group a little too much for my liking. But in the early period, obviously, I’m dominating the group. I did practically every single with my voice except for “Love Me Do.” Either my song, or my voice, or both.

David Sheff - All We Are Saying, The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Do I want him back, Paul? … [D]o I want it back, whatever it is, enough? Then if it is, you know, I’ve had to smother my ego for you, and I’ve had to smother me jealousy for you to carry on, for whatever reasons there is.

Jan. 13: The Lunchroom Tape

I’ll tell you a story about John. He often used to wake up in the middle of the night and ask me, ‘Why do people cover Paul’s songs so much, but never mine?’ I used to tell him, ‘It’s because you are a talented songwriter. You don’t just rhyme June with spoon. And you are a very good singer – lots of people would be too afraid to cover one of your songs.’ Then I would make him a cup of tea, and he would be okay. I just miss that sort of moment that we had.

Yoko Ono, Q Magazine Awards. (October 10th, 2005)

“[John] was much misunderstood but mostly through his own fault. He put up his brick wall of sheer bravado to screen off a chronic fear of inadequacy.”

Beatles publicist Tony Barrow

“Most people in Britain think I’m somebody who won the pools, you know,” he says drily, drawing on a Gauloise. “Won the pools and married a Hawaiian dancer or actress somewhere. Whereas in the States, we’re treated like artists. Which we are! Or anywhere else for that matter,” he added. “But here, it’s like, the lad who knew Paul, got a lucky break, won the pools and married the actress.”

John Lennon, Melody Maker’s Oct 2nd 1971 issue. (no wonder he was so upset by Too Many People if he internalized the concept of 'a lucky break' this much...)

It was Paul who showed John how to play chords properly, instead of banjo chords, which were all John knew. I think John was quite defensive when he realised that through much of his "career" with the Quarrymen, he had been playing two-fingered banjo chords on a guitar. The thought was tempered by the fact that nobody had noticed. John once told me, "Only that fookin' McCartney sussed me out. I love him, but he's such a good musician I could kill him."

Tony Bramwell, Magical Mystery Tours: My Life With The Beatles, 2005

INT: In this song, in the “I Found Out”, “I seen through junkies, I been through it all, I seen religion from Jesus to Paul.” Now a lot of people are wondering which Paul you were talking about? JOHN: (Chuckle) Whichever one you want to mention. I think the Beatles were a kind of religion. And that uh, Paul manifest or, sort of, I can’t think of the word you know — epitomized, the Beatles and the kind of things that–the kind of hero image more than the rest of us in a way. Like he was more popular with the kids, girls and things like that. So it’s in that way it’s Paul. But it’s also the other Paul, who screwed up whatever Jesus said, that one… It’s a double entendre you know, for all the fanatics who like to play things backwards and hear words of wisdom which nobody ever thought of…

WABC-FM New York, Howard Smith interviews John and Yoko (December 12, 1970).

JOHN: I expected… just a little more, you know. I mean, because if Paul and I are sort of disagreeing, and I feel weak, I think he must feel strong, you know. That’s in an argument. Uh, not that we’ve had much physical argument, you know – more a mental, like when we’re talking— But you would expect the opposition. So called. So I was just surprised, you know. And, uh, I was glad too. [laughs; hesitating] I thought, yeah, I – you know. I suddenly re– got it all in perspective, you know.

Rolling Stone December 8th, 1970

SCHOENBERGER: How is it for an 11-year-old boy to have John Lennon as a father? JOHN: It must be hell. SCHOENBERGER: Does he talk about that to you? JOHN: No, because he is a Beatle fan. I mean, what do you expect? I think he likes Paul better than me… I have the funny feeling he wishes Paul was his Dad. But unfortunately he got me…

John Lennon, interview w/ Francis Schoenberger. (Spring, 1975)

SHERIDAN: I guess he realised somewhere along the way, “Well, I’ve got to do something other than just be a rock ‘n’ roll musician if I want to impress the whole world.” He never saw himself as a very good singer, for instance. INTERVIEWER: Really? SHERIDAN: No. He never saw himself as comparable to Paul McCartney, even. Which, you know, he was playing with a guy, writing songs with a guy whom he thought was better than he was in many ways. So he had this immense ego and this immense sort of – it was like a motor in him that had to go to new lengths and reach new heights in order to impress someody or the whole world or whatever. I think the peace movement – maybe he invented it, I don’t know.

2003: Tony Sheridan

We all went through a depression after Maharishi and Brian died; it wasn’t really to do with Maharishi, it was just that period. I was really going through the “What’s it all about?” type thing – this songwriting is nothing, it’s pointless, and I’m no good, I’m not talented, and I’m shitty, and I couldn’t do anything but be a Beatle. What am I going to do about it? It lasted nearly two years and I was still in it during Pepper. I know Paul wasn’t at the time; he was feeling full of confidence, and I was going through murder during those periods. I was just about coming out of it around Maharishi, even though Brian had died – that knocked us back again. Well, it knocked me back.

John Lennon, interview w/ Barry Miles, (partially) unpublished. (September 23rd, 1969)

We’d be cutting a record and he’d say, “Yeah, I remember trying to do this part in ‘Penny Lane’. I couldn’t play it and I got so pissed because Paul could always learn things so fast.”

Andy Newmark (drummer), interview w/ Rick Mattingly for Modern Drummer. (February, 1984)

When John’s first solo album Plastic Ono Band was released I went down to Tittenhurst Park several times. Sometimes, in reaction to the general dismay over the Beatles’ break up, he would ask rhetorical, and I thought slightly absurd, questions such as “Why should I work with Paul McCartney when I can work with Yoko or Frank Zappa?”, or became irritated when I happened to say “Paul has a good voice”. “He has a high voice,” John snapped back. At others, however, he would admit to an admiration for some of Paul’s songs.

Ray Connolly (journalist), Evening Standard: John... ‘performing flea’ or ‘crutch for the world’s social lepers’. (December 10th, 1970) c/o Ray Connolly, The Beatles Archive. (2011)

“His [John] moods were particularly vacillating when he talked about Paul McCartney. While he might be scornful of Paul’s romantic musical streak on one day, on another he would be insisting, ‘Paul and me were the Beatles. We wrote the songs’ – putting down, by inference, the contributions of Ringo and George. He knew how good Paul was, but he couldn’t hide a rivalry and jealous streak that nibbled away at him. ‘Paul has a good voice,’ I once commented as we were discussing singers. ‘He has a high voice,’ came his instant correction.

Ray Connolly, The Sunday Times Magazine: John Lennon, Yoko and Me. (December 9, 2018)

I was wondering whether the relationship had kind of snapped. I believe it was always there. He was very jealous and so was I and it was all stupidity on the surface.”

Paul (Record Mirror, April 1982).

Paul was the one Beatle who posed any challenge to John’s authority and preeminence within the group. Much as John might have found it easier to handle those who—like George and Ringo—seemed to take it for granted that he was the king of the castle, Paul was the only one he considered more or less his equal. John particularly admired and respected—yet at the same time slightly resented—Paul’s independence, his self-discipline, and his all-round musical facility: all qualities in which John felt relatively lacking.

Pete Shotton, John Lennon: In My Life. (1983)

He grew even more paranoid as the acid took effect, and Derek Taylor ended up sitting by him till well after daybreak. In an attempt to rebuild John's shattered ego, he persuaded him to recount his entire life story, from early childhood onwards. Derek even went through every Lennon-McCartney song, line by line, to demonstrate to John the extraordinary scope of his contribution to the Beatles* music. By the time John and I finally left, John's spirits had been lifted considerably.

In My Life, Pete Shotton

“Bit by bit over a two-year period, I had destroyed me ego. I didn’t believe I could do anything. I just was nothing. I was shit… and she (Yoko) made me realize that I was me and that it’s all right. That was it; I started fighting again, being a loudmouth again and saying, “I can do this. Fuck it. This is what I want,” you know. “I want it, and don’t put me down.”

Rolling Stone

"John's complaint to Paul was actually an attempt to get his songs on to albums without the usual democratic vetting by the others, as the conversation between John and Paul recorded by Anthony Fawcett in September 1969 reveals. John tells Paul: If you look back on the Beatles' albums, good or bad or whatever you think of "em, you'll find that most times if anybody has got extra time it's you! For no other reason than you worked it like that. Now when we get into a studio I don't want to go through games with you to get space on the album, you know. I don't want to go through a little manoeuvering or whatever level it's on. I gave up fighting for an Aside or fighting for time. I just thought, well, I'm content to put 'Walrus" on the "B" side when I think it's much better ... I didn't have the energy or the nervous type of thing to push it, you know. So I relaxed a bit nobody else relaxed, you didn't relax in that way. So gradually I was submerging. Paul protested that he had tried to allow space on albums for John's songs, only to find that John hadn't written any. John explained, "There was no point in turning 'em out. I couldn't, didn't have the energy to turn 'em out and get 'em on as well." He then told Paul how he wanted it to be in the future: "When we get in the studio I don't care how we do it but I don't want to think about equal time. I just want it known I'm allowed to put four songs on the album, whatever happens."

Many Years from Now

Everyone settled down in their seats. Paul McCartney tried to make peace with Chris. Chris said, “Paul sat by me and said, ‘Come on, Chris, let’s be friends….’ “I said, ‘Paul, just get away from me, I don’t want nothing to do with you guys. You know, you pissed me off!” As for Lennon, Chris recalled, “John? I guess he was a wise guy. But I got the sense that, I shouldn’t say this, that he was jealous of who I was or what I did. I don’t know what his problem was, but I didn’t like it too much.”

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BRAWL BETWEEN JOHN LENNON AND CHRIS MONTEZ IN 1963! EXCLUSIVE!

Lifestyle

I introduced Yoko to John through my own interest in the avant-garde. John wasn’t avant-garde till later. Then John became wildly avant-garde because he was so fucking constricted living out in Weybridge. He’d come into London and say, ‘What’ve you been doing, man, what have you been doing?’ and I’d say, ‘What’ve you been doing?’ ‘Well, watching telly, smoking pot.’ ‘I went out last night and saw Luciano Berio at the Italian Embassy, that was quite cool. I’ve got this new Stockhausen record, check this out. We went down Robert [Fraser]’s, got this sculpture, it was great, dig this. Wow, Paolozzi, great …’ I think John actually said, ‘I’m fucking jealous of you, man’ – he just needed to get out of Weybridge. It wasn’t his wife’s fault, she just didn’t understand how free he needed to be.

Paul McCartney, c/o Jonathon Green, Days in the Life. (1988)

Living in the Asher house gave me the base and the freedom and the independence. That, alongside all the other things, because I wasn’t married to Jane. I was pretty free. I remember John very much envying me. He said, ‘Well, if you go out with another girl, what does Jane think?’ and I said, 'Well, I don’t care what she thinks, we’re not married. We’ve got a perfectly sensible relationship.’ He was well jealous of that, because at this time he couldn’t do that, he was married with Cynthia and with a lot of energy bursting to get out. He’d tried to give Cynthia the traditional thing, but you kind of knew he couldn’t. There were cracks appearing but he could only paste them over by staying at home and getting very wrecked.

Paul McCartney, Many Years from Now

In the beginning, art was what we talked about. [John] told me he thought he was like [surrealist painter René] Magritte. Why? Because, you know, you have the image of Magritte with the bowler hat and the suit, looking very square, but really his work was very surreal and far out. John was living in suburbia, and he was very embarrassed about that, because he felt as if he was not very hip. When he invited me to his house the first time, the first thing he said when I got there was, “I think of myself as Magritte.”

Yoko Ono, New York Times: An exhibition of drawings celebrates Lennon at 64. (October 7th, 2004)

“I was never in the London scene in the 60’s whereas George and Paul be going around to everybody’s sessions, playing with everybody. I never played anywhere without the Beatles. I never jammed around with people at all. Q: Loyalty, or just didn’t interest you? A: No, just shyness, insecurity, and ah, I couldn’t go in a session and play like George plays; you know I have limited vocabulary on the guitar and piano, so what could I do going in with Cream, or whatever they were doing in those days.”

John Lennon interview

The musician countered the perception of Lennon as the only artistic Beatle, asserting his own powerful avant-garde influence on Sgt. Pepper. “I’m not trying to say it was all me, but I do think John’s avant-garde period later was really to give himself a go at what he’d seen me having a go at.”

Paul Du Noyer, The Paul McCartney World Tour Booklet: 1989–1990 (New York: EMAP Metro, 1989)

Women

“Have you noticed that it’s always men with moustaches and beards who ask me for my autograph?” I said I hadn’t but that I’d watch out in future and, sure enough, it seemed he was right. Only men with moustaches and beards asked John for his autograph. “It was always the same,” he said. “Me and George got the guys with beards wanting to know the meaning of life, while Paul and Ringo got the women!” Inevitably, perhaps, a short while later a girl came to ask John for his autograph. Much to our amusement, though doubtless to her amazement, John grabbed her around the waist and sat her down on his knee. “Where are you now McCartney?” he shouted. “I’ve got a girl at last.””

Chris Charlesworth (journalist), Rock’s Backpages: Memories of John Lennon. (2001)

“I idolized John. He was the big guy in the chip shop. I was the little guy. As I matured and grew up, I started sharing in things with him. I got up to his level. I wrote songs as he did and sometimes they were as good as his. We grew to be equals. It made him insecure. He always was, really. He was insecure with women. You know, he told me when he first met Yoko not to make a play for her.

Paul and Hunter Davies, 1981

In the mirror I looked dreadfully pale and drawn. I still couldn’t believe it. John would never be there again. I kept getting flashbacks to when he was young and awkward. He liked women, but was always a bit uncomfortable, a bit nervous in their company – always a man’s man. Paul was beautiful – still is – and I know John thought, ‘God, with him around, I don’t stand a chance.’ It’s one of those things young lads have to put up with. They’re all dead worried about whether or not they’re going to get the girls, and John, as a teenager, saw Paul as his rival. That made him moody, but it was his moodiness that gave the songs they wrote together an edge. When he was four, John had been abandoned by his dad, deserted by his mum and brought up by his Auntie Mimi. He’d always felt rejected, but that gave his writing depth, a darkness. Paul was the counterbalance, the light. You could see this in Paul’s eyes and the girls just tumbled in and were washed away. What John never really appreciated was that he, too, had charisma, and that women did think he was sexy.

Cilla Black, What’s It All About. (2003)

SALEWICZ: Oh, he was presumably very paranoid. PAUL: I think so. I mean, he warned me off Yoko once. You know, “Look, this is my chick!” ’Cause he knew my reputation. I mean, we knew each other rather well. And um, I felt… I just said, “Yeah, no problem.” But I did sort of feel he ought to have known I wouldn’t, but. You know, he was going through “I’m just a jealous guy”. He was a paranoid guy. And he was into drugs. Heavy.

Paul, September, 1986 (MPL Communications, London)

That’s typical Paul [wanting me to stay inside the George V Hotel with the band instead of going out by myself to see Paris]. It’s just so silly of me to stay at the hotel. It’s just that he’s so insecure. For instance, he keeps saying he’s not interested in the future, but he must be because he says it so often. The trouble is, he wants the fans’ adulation and mine too. He’s so selfish, it’s his biggest fault. He can’t see that my feelings for him are real and that the fans’ are fantasy. Of course, it’s the trouble with all boys. When I first met [the Beatles], I liked them all. Then, when I found out that I liked Paul more, the others became angry with me.

Jane Asher, c/o Michael Braun, Love Me Do!: The Beatles’ Progress. (1964)

"Q: "Now that Paul is the only bachelor Beatle, do you find that the girls gravitate more to him than they do to the rest of you fellas? How do you feel about that?" JOHN: "They always did!" RINGO: "Yeah." PAUL: "Well, the thing that we found... We found after all this business, of all the buttons that say 'I love Ringo,' "I love John,' John's were outselling everyone's." JOHN: "A rather distinctive Beatle." PAUL: "A distinctive Beatle.""

Press conference, New York, August 22, 1966

JOHN: Well, uh… [distracted] There was a lot of – [inaudible] I suppose, but I was so full of myself then, I didn’t give a shit what he did. HILBURN: Full of what? JOHN: Full of meself. Centered, in other words. So I just— HILBURN: So in a sense, you weren’t comparing as much as you might have— JOHN: [matter-of-fact] There’s no comparison for me. ‘Cause we’re— HILBURN: You mean comparing artistically, or you mean comparing sales-wise and stuff? JOHN: Oh, sales-wise, forget it. He always had more fans than me, in the Cavern… So there’s no comparison on that level. And on the other level, I don’t think it counts. I think it’s like comparing… I don’t know, Magritte and, er – Picasso, if you want to put it on that level. Or whatever. How can you compare it?

October 10th, 1980 (Hit Factory, New York)

The same popularity, meaning Paul was always more popular than the rest of us, was going down in the dance halls in Liverpool so it didn’t cause any big surprise. I mean the kids saw him, the girls would go ooh, you know, right away.

John Lennon on The Tomorrow Show – 04/08/1975

Breakup/post breakup

"There was amazing competition between us and we both thrived on it. In terms of music, you cannot beat a bit of competition. Of course, there's times when it hurts, and it's inevitably going to reach a stage where it's hard to live with. Sooner or later, it's going to burn itself out. I think that's what happened at the end of The Beatles.

Paul - Uncut, July 2004

I felt sad, you know. I also felt that film was set up by Paul, for Paul. That’s one of the main reasons the Beatles ended, you know, cause... I can’t speak for George but I pretty damn well know. We got fed up with being sidemen for Paul, after Brian died that’s what began to happen and the camera work was set up to show Paul and not to show anybody else and that’s how I felt about it. And on top of that, the people who cut it, cut it as Paul is god and we’re just lying around.

John Lennon: The Rolling Stone Interview, Part One

Though thinking of Paul caused John pain, he could never get McCartney out of his head; Paul’s music was everywhere, and it always made him jealous, even the songs he enjoyed. In Bermuda, John was listening to all kinds of things on the radio, not just the Muzak and classical he listened to in New York. Coming Up, Paul’s hit single from McCartney II, was unavoidable. Every time he tuned in the BBC or one of the local stations, there it was. It began to drive John crackers; every word of the song was addressed directly to him. Ultimately, he came to admire it and draw inspiration from it.”

Robert Rosen, Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon, (2000)

At that moment, John was at his most unpredictable. Suddenly his fears that his money was going to be taken away from him, that he was going to be cheated, that he had to have as much money as possible, had all come into play. This was also John’s way of resisting the reality that the Beatles were officially about to come to end, and that Paul was about to prevail.

Loving John, MAY PANG (1983)

“The funny part is that I let him get away with it for so long. You know, I used to dread it when he was in town, but I never had the sense to go out to the island or just not answer the door. He’d come striding in with a guitar under one arm and Linda under the other, asking me what was new, knowing nothing was new. Then he’d always ask if I’d heard his latest, which I usually hadn’t. The guitar was so we could sing together, but that was never going to happen. I’d just tell him that I was really busy being a father. He must have seen through that because he’s a father many times over and that certainly doesn’t tie him down. It wasn’t till I told him that I was real busy that if he wanted to see me he’d have to call first that he got the message to leave off. I have your tarot advice to thank for that.”

John Green, Dakota Days. (1983)

COSTAS: if somebody didn’t, mixed in with it all, genuinely love somebody, genuinely care about their feelings about them, they wouldn’t go to the lengths, in whatever strange way, that John did to lash back at you! They wouldn’t hold a pig on the cover to parody you holding a sheep in ‘RAM’! They wouldn’t, you know, call your stuff rubbish and write ‘How Do You Sleep’. They wouldn’t do it! PAUL: Oh, I think that’s right. I think that’s right. He was- he was very hurt, there were people turning him against me. It was his way of defending himself. He was- he was quite pissed off about the ‘McCartney bandwagon’ as he once called it, you know? [mimicking John] ‘Oh, bloody- he’s gettin’ on all the telly, he’s sellin’ records!’ Yeah, he was- he was a jealous guy! But I understood that! That was John! You love it or you leave it! And I stuck with it for many, many years!

Paul McCartney, Interviewed by Bob Costa, 1991.

It was a weird time. The people who were managing us were whispering in our ears and trying to turn us against each other and it became like a feuding family. In the end, I think John had some tough breaks. He used to say, ‘Everyone is on the McCartney bandwagon.’ He wrote ‘I’m Just A Jealous Guy’ and he said that the song was about me. So I think it was just some kind of jealousy. I had to try and forgive John because I sort of knew where he was coming from. I knew that he was trying to get rid of the Beatles in order to say to Yoko, ‘Look, I’ve even given that up for you. I’m ready to devote myself to you and to the avant-garde.’ I don’t know if it’s true. One thing I’m really glad about is that I didn’t answer him back. It’s very difficult to do that when someone is attacking you. But I would have felt sick as a dog now if I had.

Paul McCartney, interview w/ Diane de Dubovay for Playgirl. (February, 1985)

PAUL: He was into heroin, and – see, which I hadn’t realised [the extent of] till just now. It’s all [starting to click a bit] in my brain. I was just figuring, oh, there’s John, my buddy, and he’s turning on me, ’cause he perceives that I’m... “McCartney bandwagon,” he once said to me. “Oh, they’re all on the McCartney bandwagon.” And to me, I was just releasing a record, okay. So you can call it the McCartney bandwagon, but it’s no harm. It’s no more than anyone else does when they put out a record. And yet things like that were hurting him, and looking back on it now I just think that it’s a bit sad really.

September, 1986 (MPL Communications, London)

Lennon’s jealousy of McCartney continued throughout the rest of his life. Lennon’s staff at the Dakota, where he spent his final years, attest to frequent tirades about his former partner. In his personal journals, Lennon wrote about Paul “almost every day” according to author Robert Rosen, who read the diaries in 1981 after they were stolen by Dakota employee Fred Seaman. When asked, in 2010, about the most disturbing takeaway of the diaries, Rosen replied “That’s easy. His jealousy of Paul, his love of money and his obsession with the occult.”

Robert Rosen

RR: Obviously I knew about the rivalry with McCartney, and the jealousy, but I think the extent of it...how often he thought about McCartney, and how jealous he was...I found that pretty shocking. I found it shocking that he was so into money. And the emphasis that was put on the occult was pretty shocking. The extent that they got into it.

An Interview with Robert Rosen

On one McCartney photo, Lennon scribbled the words, “I’m always perfect” as coming from McCartney’s mouth. He drew a Hitler-style moustache on another photo of McCartney. In an entry noting McCartney’s marriage to Linda Eastman, Lennon crossed out “wedding” and wrote “funeral”, the Observer said. But in a final tender moment, the Observer said, Lennon wrote under a photo of himself with McCartney: “The minutes are crumbling away.”

Associated Press: Lennon’s resentment of McCartney reflected in book notes. (July 20th, 1986)

So we went through a lot of those problems. But the nice thing was afterwards each one of them in turn very, very quietly and very briefly said, ‘Oh, thanks for that.’ That was about all I ever heard about it. But again, John turned it round. He said, ‘But you’re always right, aren’t you?’ See, there was always this thing. I mean, it seemed crazy for me because I thought the idea was to try and get it right, you know. It was quite surprising to find that if you did get it right, people could then turn that one around and say: ‘But you’re always right aren’t you?’ It’s like moving the goal posts.

Paul McCartney: An Innocent Man? (October, 1986)

So, here we sit, watching the mighty Dylan and the mighty McCartney and the mighty Jagger slide down the mountain, blood and mud in their nails. Well, that’s the way the world is, ha ha ha, that’s the way the world is, oh yes. The difference between now and a couple of years back is that whenever there was a new thing out by any of the aforesaid, I used to feel a sense of panic and competition. And now, I just feel like even the last few months it’s changed. I would send out for their albums or something just to hear it. There doesn’t seem any point now. Let’s take a break. How do we break? Just put it off. Still, even now, talking about them or thinking about them is still really being involved in it, because the ultimate dissociation would be not even to know they had an album out! [laughs] But now at least I get pleasure in it instead of panic. The main pleasure being of course that it’s all a load of shit. So I suppose I’ll always feel competitive with them, because they were from that same generation, but when I hear something like “Pop Muzik” by Robin Scott or the Blondie single, I really enjoy it, you know. I don’t feel competitive about it.

Lennon audio diaries

“They [Lennon & McCartney] saw each other again in 1977. The Lennons and McCartneys ate dinner together at Le Cirque, Paul’s favourite French restaurant in New York. John regretted going; it was a loathsome night. Paul and Linda blathered on and on about how perfect their lives were, how they had everything they’d ever wanted, and how they were as happy as they’d ever been. Something very paranoid suddenly occurred to John. Maybe Lorraine Boyle was spying on him for the McCartneys! He woke up the next morning still feeling disturbed; he consulted the Oracle. Swan assured him that Paul and Linda were frustrated and unsatisfied. Their marriage was in trouble, he said, predicting it would break up within the year. Lately Swan’s visions had been astonishingly accurate. Relieved, John began composing a song—a little ditty, really, that would never be released—in praise of the Oracle’s powers. But he still couldn’t understand why Paul and Linda had been together for as long as they had. There appeared to be a psychic connection between John and Paul. Every time McCartney was in town, John would hear Paul’s music in his head.”

Robert Rosen, Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon, (2000)

We agreed that if the press got hold of this record we’d pull the plug on it. I’d tell the musicians that John wasn’t sure if he could do it. He was very, very insecure. He didn’t think he had it anymore, you know. He thought he was too old, he just couldn’t write, he couldn’t sing, he couldn’t play, nothing. It took a while.

Jack Douglas on working with John Lennon on Double Fantasy.

“Yoko was an extremist and was even more intense than John taking any idea or comment of his to the limit. If, for example, he complained about any of his fellow Beatles she would hint that that Beatle had always been an enemy implying that John should never deal with that person again. Her extreme positions fascinated John and help him take his mind off himself but when she became self-involved and paranoid herself -her paranoia usually dealt with her career, her fame and the fact that even though she had always been famous everyone conspired to keep her from getting even more famous- he had no place to turn. His insecurity about his solo career, his childhood, his relationships with the other Beatles, the way the public perceived Yoko overwhelmed him and he became more and more involved with drugs.”

May Pang, Loving John (1984)

Klein, on his first meeting with John: “I thought John was losing confidence in himself, and I really didn’t know who had written exactly what, so I couldn’t give John the encouragement he needed. If Paul was really the main factor in the making of records — I mean, if things were really going to fall apart without him — I needed to know that and be able to deal with it. It turned out, of course, that John had written most of the stuff. He’d forgotten a lot of what he’d contributed … John wrote … 60 or 70 percent of Eleanor Rigby. He just didn’t remember till I sat down and had him sort through it all … Everybody thought McCartney was the genius songwriter who did it all by himself and it wasn’t true.”

Allen Klein, Playboy: A candid conversation with the embattled manager of the Beatles. (November, 1971)

Few people disagreed, however, that McCartney always cared deeply about Lennon’s opinion of him. He was still insecure enough on this point to invite Andy Peebles, the Radio 1 DJ who interviewed John the weekend before his death, to join him early on the morning of 10 December. Peebles went to AIR, where he found Paul both ‘deeply shocked [and] obsessed about what John and Yoko had said about him.’ An irony not lost on Peebles, among others, was that Lennon himself had repeatedly tried to find out what Paul had thought of Double Fantasy. “For public consumption,” says another of his final interviewers, “John seemed not to care. The fact that he mentioned McCartney’s name on average ten times an hour suggests otherwise … The strong feeling was that Paul and Yoko were the only two people in the world whose approval he gave a toss for.” Time passed. Paul locked the door of his home studio and played (Just Like) Starting Over, the first single from Double Fantasy. Top volume. For days.

Christopher Sandford, McCartney. (2005)

He became so jealous in the end. You know he wouldn’t let me even touch his baby. He got really crazy with jealousy at times.

Paul McCartney, “off the record” conversation with Hunter Davies. (May 3rd, 1981)

“If you do two LPs there might be a little change!” John laughs. “But until then I don’t mind. When she wants the A side, that’s when we start fighting.

John Lennon, interview w/ Jonathan Cott for Rolling Stone: Yoko Ono and her sixteen-track voice. (March 18th, 1971)

Paul's competitiveness

“My role in [Tug of War] was to goad Paul a bit. I think when he and John Lennon split up, he missed John’s goading enormously. It’s almost like they collaborated by means of competition. John would often say cruel things to Paul and Paul would come back and say, ‘I’ll show him what I can do,’ and Paul could be equally cruel to John and then John would come up with something. Despite the love they had for each other, they would still egg each other on in a funny kind of way. I think Paul missed that spur.”

George Martin, interview w/ Paul Grein for Billboard: Martin/McCartney ‘Tug’ team scores. (February 2nd, 1983)

SMITH: Were you closer to any one of them than the others? GEORGE M.: Not really – certainly not in those days, no. Gradually, as things changed, then they went into their little spheres and they became much more – the rivalry between John and Paul became much more marked. So they were never great cooperators. They were never great – they were never Rodgers and Hart. They never collaborated in the sense of sitting down to write a song together. One would have the idea for a song, and take the other guy and say, “Look, I need your help here on this line, can you give it to me?” And that was the way they collaborated. And generally speaking their songs were pitched against each other, [in the sense of] “Well, you’ve written that, hey, listen to mine,” so it was a competitive collaboration. And it was valuable nonetheless, because – in fact Paul misses it terribly now. He misses that spark of John being rude to him and saying, “You can’t write that, Paul, that’s awful,” you know. He needs that. And only John could say that most effectively.

October 22nd, 1986: George Martin

"Paul McCartney was the most competitive person I've ever met. John [Lennon] wasn't competitive. He just thought everyone else was s-h-*-t."

Ray Davies

TV GUIDE: At the time of Wings, how competitive were you with your former Beatles band mates? PAUL: Really competitive. I don’t think any of us would have ever admitted it. I know we would listen to what each other was doing and [think], “Oh, my God, that’s good.” I know for a fact John did once with [my] song ‘Coming Up’. It was on a documentary, I think, about John, where his recording manager at the time said John listened to it and went, “Oh, I’ll have to go back to work.” I found that a very nice fact that I egged John into doing something.

Paul McCartney, interview w/ Lisa Bernhard and Steven Reddicliffe for TV Guide: Listen to what the man says. (May 1st, 2001)

#the beatles #paul mccartney #john lennon #mclennon #to be clear paul has his own serious jealousies and insecurities #primarily about whether or not john loved him #but this is more about what lead to the breakup than how it affected him afterwards #paul thrived with someone to compete against but it hurt john a lot and seemed to wear him down #i personally believe it's the number 1 cause of the breakdown of their relationship and the breakup itself #because it lead to john stacking his deck with allies like yoko and klein and looking for his own niches to succeed in without paul there

[danisbrainrot]

So i have this idea about Lucy gray

One of those nights, Lucy and reader are drinking, kinda tipsy. Lucy rants about having a crush on this girl and how the girl is paying her no mind. reader would say something like "I would never do you like that," and Lucy would laugh, then say something like "yeah sure, you'll do me worse, you and your heterosexuality." reader would be surprised that Lucy thought she was straight. "What?? I'm not straight.

lucy gray x reader

gonna take this idea and run with it. also I'm so sorry for taking forever to write this, life is hectic right now. I promise I'll be more active now!

lucy gray gives her final bow, waving goodbye to the audience before running off the stage. you were waiting on the side, jumping up and down in excitement when she wrapped her arms around you and pulling you close. you could smell the alcohol oozing off her.

"wow, you got lucky tonight," you tease. she giggles loudly, snuggling her face into the crook of your neck. you felt your cheeks overheating as she did, that you pry her off you.

"mmm, peacekeepers gave me a bottle of moonshine, taste shit, but I like being drunk," she replies, trying to cling on to you again. the mix of her performing high mixing with being tipsy made her almost delirious, which made you struggle not to laugh at her.

you guide her to the shack out the back, and sit her down on a crate that was pushed up against the wall. "you're drunk," you exclaim, hands on your hips as you tower over her.

"I'm barely tipsy," she reassures, but you shake your head. "if I was drunk, would I be able to do this?" she gets up and tried to walk in a straight line.

you slowly clap, raising an eyebrow. "good job, you just walked diagonally," you tease, helping her sit back down as she brushes you off. you pull up a crate and sit next to her, holding her up right.

she began blushing a deep red and you assume it was because of the alcohol in her system—lucy gray was more than glad you didn't know the real reason. she was embarrassed that you were seeing her like this; ever since you were young she had a massive crush on you. she'd scraped her knee on a sharp rock and you immediately kissed it better—the two of you had been inseparable since. but when she got like this, she couldn't help but wonder if you'd ever see her as something other than her best friend. . .

"lucy gray? earth to lucy gray," you joke, waving your hand in front of her face. she offers you a wide smile, forgetting about her thoughts and focusing on your caring face instead. "who was that song about?"

her eyes widen, as she tries to come up with an answer that wasn't 'you.' she'd broken up with billy taupe months back, so you'd see right through that lie. taking a deep breath, she finally replies, "this girl I like."

your eyebrows raise, as cover your mouth in shock. you stare at her, mouth agape, for a moment, "I didn't know you swung that way."

"darlin', I swing both ways," she jokes, a huge weight off her chest. one confession down, just another to go. "I don't know if she likes me back though, we're friends and I don't want to ruin it by asking," she confides, resting her head against your shoulder and pouting.

you shake your head, "any girl who can refuse you and your puppy dog eyes is foolish," you reassure, pressing a finger to her nose. "who is this girl, I'll make her see the light," lucy gray laughs, shaking her head.

readjusting her position, lucy gray moves to get a better look at you. "she's probably not into me like that," she mumbles, moving to avoid your gaze and playing with the hem of her dress.

having had some alcohol yourself, the words tumbled out of your mouth before you could stop them. "I'd be into you," you freeze, covering your mouth as the fear she would make a big deal out of it began escalating—but were pleasantly shocked to see her laughing. lucy gray's laughter was contagious and you couldn't help but join along.

"yeah, right, spoken like the straightest woman I've ever met," she teases, your face scrunches up in confusion as you lean in to get a better look at her.

the face you were making scared lucy gray, as she thought she'd offended you for a moment and gasped, covering her mouth. "you know I'm not straight, right?" there's an oddly long silence as the two of you process what this means. . .

"I'm the girl, aren't i—"

"how long have you known—"

you both pause, before saying in unison, "you go first," the two of you burst into giggles again, before calming down.

"how long have you known you liked girls?" lucy gray asks calmly, fidgeting with her skirt now more than ever.

you shrug, "I've always known, I guess. how bout you?"

she bites her lip, sinking against the wall. "ever since you kissed my knee that one time," she confesses.

"that answers my other question I guess," you tease; her delighted smile warms your heart. she sits up properly, ready to kiss you when suddenly, you put you hand against her mouth. "I'm not billy taupe, I don't kiss drunk girls."

she groans, crossing her arms over her chest, "barely tipsy," she whined, her doe brown eyes never leaving your lips.

you laugh, shaking your head in disbelief, "ok, I don't kiss barely tipsy girls who can't walk in straight lines," you remind her.

"well, I can't walk in a straight line normally. . . matter of fact, I can't do much straight," she jokes, causing you to burst into laughter again.

when the two of you finally settle down, you lean in and give her a peck on the lips. "that's all you're getting from me tonight, sober up first," you demand.

lucy gray pouts, "fine. but you owe me that kiss, sugar," she winks at you.

"don't worry, after that song you wrote, I'm sure there'll be plenty of kisses in the future."

#lucy gray baird #thg series #thg #fanfic #lucy gray baird x reader #tbosas #lucy gray x reader #wlw #fluff #the hunger games #blurb #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #danisasks #friends to lovers #dani's fics <3

[blooming-dahlia]

Could I request MC!reader giving a rockstar performance for the VDC contest? Rockstar as in their singing and performance blew everyone's's socks off. I'd like to see Pomefiore's reaction (emphasis on S/O Rook).

Especially at the end of the VDC while they're super disappointed they didn't win, at the same time they explained it felt like they were truly living and alive.

(Song sung: Empire by Shakira)

Having Fun Is More Important Than Winning [Pomefiore, Rook Hunt x MC!Reader]

╰ At first you weren't sure if you really wanted to participate in the VDC. You knew that if you won by some kind of miracle, NRC would count it as a big success.

╰ Yet you were afraid of Vil's reaction. After all, he and his team had been preparing for this event for a long time already, and you were always there supporting them during the several hours of intense rehearsals. How would the boys feel if, out of nowhere, you jumped on the stage and surprised them with your solo performance?

╰ Finally, you realized that you had nothing to lose. For such a long time you had wanted to show others what you were capable of, but there had never been a chance to do so. The members of the Light Music Club were the only people aware of your talent, and they even insisted that you should perform at the VDC.

╰ “I'm sorry, Vil.” You whispered to yourself and then, after fixing the strand of hair that had fallen across your forehead, you made your way towards the stage.

╰ Everyone fell silent when you started singing somewhat uncertainly, while your friends were watching the whole performance from backstage.

╰ Vil didn't think it was anything but a terrible joke. The song was especially slow and boring. He didn't say that you can't sing at all, on the contrary. The thing is, there's no way you could win a contest like VDC with your depressing ballad.

╰ Epel, on the other hand, seemed to be enchanted by your vocals, he also admired you for your bravery. He thought he could even do a solo performance just to annoy Vil a little.

╰ Most impressed, however, was Rook. So far, he thought Neige's performance before yours was the best of the evening. But then you took the stage and stole the show with your voice. Rook had been interested in you for some time already. Once he discreetly asked Vil for your Magicam account and seemed a bit disappointed when he found out that you didn't have one yet. That's why he took pictures of you from behind, like a typical stalker. But this time, no picture on the phone screen could make him feel as emotional as watching you perform live.

╰ And then, you surprised everyone again. This time, when the chorus hits and in the span of only one minute, you're no longer a non-magical NRC student from another world. You are a true rockstar.

╰ The crowd was loud, much more than you could ever expect. But it didn't throw you off balance. In fact, it only boosted your confidence. The way you hit higher notes made everyone scream even louder.

╰ “Is that NRC's student from another world? The magicless one? I've never heard anyone sing so GOOD in my entire life!” Someone in the crowd could ask.

╰ Meanwhile, the whole backstage was screaming your name in awe, Ace and Deuce being the loudest ones. Even Vil smiled a little when you moved to the chorus, obviously satisfied with the sudden change. “And that's how you make an excellent show.” He said to himself in a proud tone. Epel simply nodded, surprisingly able to hear Vil's words through all the noise.

╰ And then there was Rook. He didn't shout or cheer. He just stood there and watched you, his mouth slightly open, but not a word could be heard. His focus was only on you performing. Even Vil and Neige were no match for you, Rook thought. To be honest, it was unusual for someone to be better than those two. Maybe you had no magic in your veins, but your voice was enough to enchant some people. And Rook Hunt was definitely one of them.

╰ After your performance, you simply bowed and left the stage. You didn't go backstage because you were afraid your friends would be disappointed and upset with you. You just stood outside the stage, nervously waiting for the contest to end.

╰ Royal Sword Academy has just been announced as the winner of this year's VDC contest. You should have expected this, but you were still a bit disappointed. There was no way Vil wouldn't be mad at you for ruining NRC's chances of winning.

╰ You couldn't see their faces, but you could imagine Vil gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, while everyone else just stood there in disbelief, trying not to cry or break anything backstage. Except maybe Rook, who was probably pleased with Neige's win.

╰ The said blond-haired boy standing right behind you surely wasn't something you expected to see when you turned around. He just stared at you with a sympathetic look on his face. You were confused, but quickly managed to get a few words out of your mouth.

╰ “Aren't you happy?” Only a few people knew that Rook was a big fan of Neige, and somehow you'd made it into that group. It was obvious that you would think he would be happy about this turn of events. But there was something about him that seemed off.

╰ “I would be lying if I said I wasn't pleased, but tonight I was suddenly struck by Cupid's arrow and someone else has stolen my heart and soul, Mon Ange.”

╰ A slight blush appeared on your cheeks. There was no way he was referring to you, was there? But somehow, deep down, you really wanted to believe that it really was you. “Oh, really? And who might that person be?”

╰ Rook chuckled, and before he could say anything more, the other two members of Pomefiore approached you. Epel quickly began to praise your performance, while Vil just stood there, his expression rather displeased. But it wasn't because of you, he was obviously upset about losing the VDC.

╰ You just sighed and turned to him. “Look, Vil. I know you are disappointed that we lost, I am too. But hey, at least we had fun, right?” You hoped to cheer him up a bit. Vil's eyes widened at your words.

╰ “Yes, I think you are right. Maybe I was a little too focused on doing this to win rather than for fun.” You could see that he was ashamed of himself, especially since he saw during your performance that you were doing it to finally get your talent noticed, not to win the way he wanted.

╰ “Oh, do not be so ashamed, Roi du Poison. You have done an excellent job. Our performance was magnificent and it was all because of your incredible charms!” Both you and Vil side eyed him, knowing perfectly well that he still preferred Neige's performance.

╰ But then Epel spoke and suggested that you should perform with them at the next VDC. This took you completely by surprise and made you tear up a little. Your friends finally saw your talent.

╰ “Why not? When I was on stage I felt like this was my place and definitely one of the best experiences of my life. And I couldn't ask for anything more than to perform with you.”

╰ Vil smirked and fixed his hair a bit, while Epel's face lit up at your answer. Rook just nodded in satisfaction and bowed to you in a gesture of respect. This was an evening you'll never forget, even if you finally return to your world, leaving Twisted Wonderland for good. But now all you want to do is spend some time and have fun with your friends. Especially the blond-haired hunter, whose compliment meant more to you than any other person's in the world.

Thank you for requesting!

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland hcs #twisted wonderland one-shots #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst hcs #twst one-shots #twst x reader #pomefiore #twst pomefiore #twisted wonderland pomefiore #vil schoenheit #rook hunt #epel felmier #rook hunt x reader #twisted wonderland rook x reader #twst rook x reader

[solyxa]

Being in Hobie's band as the lead singer.

During shows, he always finds himself easing closer to you as he strums away on his guitar, throwing you glances and smiles whenever you do a particularly nice run. He always makes sure to find you backstage and tell you how great you did, throwing an arm around you as he sings your praises

"You blow me away every time we perform, honest! You're prolly the most talented of us geezers." The rest of the band had some opinions about that, but Hobie didn't really care as he kept gassing you up. When you compliment him back, he gives you a soft punch on the arm while brushing it off, saying he appreciates it but, "I've got nothing on you, luv."

At rehearsals, he has a great time changing the line and thinking of new things to try. You're always on board so you two come up with a lot of ideas for the group together. As you're going on about a new way to play a song, commanding the attention of the band, Hobie pays more attention than the rest as he can't help but notice how your eyes light up while you speak, and how he wants to be the one to make you light up that way.

When you two meet up one on one to practice, the air is charged as you sit on Hobie's couch together, talking about ways to switch up your next performance. Hobie is totally in his element as he's a pro at getting people's attention. He's talking animatedly about a new move for you to pull during the show, but you're more focused on how his beautiful brown eyes sparkle as he talks. The way that his wicks bounce with his movements, his full lips, and how much you wanna kiss them. So you do. You lay a hand on his shoulder before inching closer to him, angling your body so that your knees are just touching. He looks surprised and amused as you look up at him, "Damn, I always thought I'd be the one makin' a move on you, though can't say I'm upset it happened this way." He smirks as he wraps an arm around your waist and leans in towards you before catching your lips in a kiss. It's sweet and soft, you can feel him smiling against you as he gently caresses you. When he pulls away, you see the utterly smitten look on his face and get a feeling that things will be different from now on.

Being in Hobie's band as the lead singer WHILE dating him.

You always find yourselves near each other during shows. Whether you're back to back as he plays out a riff or sharing a passionate onstage kiss at the climax of the song, you two just find your way to each other. The rest of the band takes no issue with it because you both are amazing together, it's undeniable. The chemistry between you is electric, and that continues when you're backstage.

Backstage, you take every moment possible to steal a kiss before, after, or even in between shows. Pressed up against Hobie as he peppers you in kisses and showers you with compliments. "So pretty and talented... How'd I get so lucky, eh?" He's sure to never let you forget just how lucky and honored he feels that he gets to be with you. Kissing you is the last thing he does before a show and the first thing he does afterwards.

The energy between you during rehearsals is sweet and playful as you bounce ideas off of one another. "No, Hobie. We can't light the stage on fire." "And why not? When's there ever been creativity without risks, huh?" You have great fun busying yourselves with your little debate before getting to actually rehearsing for your next show.

And when you both finally get some one on one time, it's filled with shameless kisses and loving touches. Hobie all but pulls you into his lap, wrapping his arms around you as he kisses you deeply, moving from kissing your neck, to your jawline, all the way to your lips as he whispers sweet words to you. "You're so beautiful, love. Y'know that? Can't believe I get to be wit' someone as pretty as you, really." When you get all shy from everything he's saying, he just laughs before busying himself with covering you in kisses again and you think to yourself how lucky you are, and how you wouldn't trade the world for your perfect punk boyfriend.

#hobie brown #hobie brown x reader #fluff #across the spiderverse #hobie x reader #~Works~ 🌠

[darkstar225]

Twice’s 10th member has a solo debut

A/N: I actually got another ask on Tumblr, yaaaaay! :)

The request: Can you do something like the 10th member getting a solo and twice's reaction to her being all grown up? I imagine they'd be the type to be so motherly and shocked to see a different side of her.😂 but at the end of the day she's still their lil baby!

PS: Tysm for everyone that reads what I write, I hope I can bring a smile to your faces every time I post! I'd like to thank whoever sent me this idea 'cause I loved to write it <3 

__________________________________________________________

It's been a long time since TWICE debuted and they couldn't be happier, after many requests their dear maknae got a chance to become a soloist. What they never expected was that she would be doing such a different concept from the one the group had. 

As Y/N walked past the trainees, she finally understood how her unnies felt when they knew they'd perform alone. It was a mix of emotions she couldn't grasp how to deal with, after running along the corridors she finally found the waiting room where the staff and managers were all at. 

Y/N: I'm sorry, I got lost *bowing*

Manager oppa: Hahahah, it's okay kid. Did you forget the way here?

Y/N: Yes... Jihyo unnie always guides me here and Sana unnie is always holding my hand so *shrugs*

Manager oppa: At least you got here safe and sound!

Y/N: Thank you for waiting and my apologies again. *bowing*

Meanwhile... her sisters were at the dorm preparing for the surprise they didn't tell their youngest. Even if they had a whole day of schedules they'd cancel it to support their maknae altogether. Also, they're incredibly curious about the title of the album, regardless of the days they spend begging for a sneak peek, Y/N stood her ground and denied showing anything till the day she'd be debuting, which is today!

Sana: I can't wait to see what our baby is gonna sing!!

Nayeon: She's amazing, look at this young pic of her. I can't believe she grew up so much!

Jihyo: She will always be our maknae, even when she's 60.

Jeongyeon: That's true, I can only imagine how much more endearing she can get!

Mina: Let's hurry, Manager oppa already send the signal (찌릿 찌릿 찌릿 찌릿)

Dahyun: It's not gonna be long till she gets on stage, we need to get there asap

Tzuyu: It's not her wedding unnies, we must leave now

Momo: Fineee, come on girls!

Chaeyoung: Finally!

Momo: I heard that -_-

Jihyo: Me too, Son Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung: Sorry unnie.

Jihyo: That's more like it...

After some -years- minutes, they're finally heading to the venue. The traffic was horrible but they got there on time (How? I guess we'll never know)

Sprinting through the halls they noticed their maknae a mile away, she was already on stage getting ready to record, not a single thought on her mind besides "You can do it, if the unnies did it, you can too" and because of that she failed to take note of her unnies eyeing her outfit and the concept of the stage (let's imagine she's the singer of Gotta Go by Chungha) and talking quietly with each other.

Mina: I mean- look at the aesthetic, it seems like she's gonna do something less cute than our songs.

Chaeyoung: Yeahhh, she's gonna rock the stage anyway ✨

Nayeon: There wasn't another option hon, she's our child.

At this moment, Y/N starts walking around the stage to check all aspects of the performance before she begins. Her members can see the change in her eyes and the confidence she carries. Her outfit is way more revealing than anything they've ever seen her use and the most surprising is how different she looks with makeup on, normally she goes for a natural look so spotting something like that makes them realize how grown up their maknae is, even if they refuse to believe it every single day. Sana: Wow, look! It's like a catwalk!

Momo: Ngl, she's looking hot.

Jihyo: HEY. I wanna oppose 'cause it's my kid we're talking about but yeah... I agree.

The youngest goes to her place and starts singing like there's no tomorrow, her members can only stare without saying a word, baffled doesn't even cover how they feel. When it gets to the chorus, her dance makes Momo think back to all the personal classes she gave the maknae when they were only a year after debuting. Jihyo starts to reflect on how much the girl has grown, from a child that followed her around to the woman that's on the stage belting and grooving to the rhythm of the song they could never see their kid doing. With tears in her eyes, Nayeon just seems to be perplexed by the changes between on-stage and off-stage Y/N, the innocent doe eyes she does when she wants some candy, the stumps when she gets frustrated about something she didn't get, the completely full of blush face she gets when her unnies annoy and fool around with her and everything else, disappeared, and TWICE didn't see it coming, they knew Y/N had already ended her teenage years however, seeing up close how adult, like she's by herself, is a shock.

Chaeyoung: Bro... Are you seeing what I'm seeing?

Dahyun: Yeah bro, she doesn't even seem like our maknae.

Sana: Where did my baby go??

Mina: Our honey seems so professional up there, I can't even explain how proud I feel.

Jeongyeon: Who let her do that? JYP didn't give us a warning!

Jihyo: A warning would be good... 

Chaeyoung: Hell yeah.

Nayeon: Language.

Dahyun: Did you actually say that? I'm the only one who heard it??

Tzuyu: I did too, made her more of a grandma than we thought. 

Nayeon: WHAT?

Sana: Shhhh, we're trying to listen to our baby singing. 

Momo: Yeah grandma, let us appreciate our maknae.

Nayeon: Fine. I'm gonna let it slide just for our maknae. 

When Y/N did some waves they couldn't help but want to close their eyes and think "This is a child, our child" but at the end of the day they understood how they should never judge the youngest for her solo, she wasn't that kid that entered the group and made their hearts melt from how much of a child she was, playing with her dolls from time to time, wanting to go to the park with her sisters, dancing to stupid songs just because. She still made them swoon in a blink of an eye but she grew up and they had to recognize that they did help on providing to create an incredible human being, their Y/N, their inspiration to be better every day.

After her stage, Y/N brighten up immediately when she saw her unnies. Running like the kid they remember each second they breathe, and that's when they started thinking the same thing: 

We love our dear maknae.

A/N: I apologise for any errors, English is not my first language. Pls, let me know if there's something wrong, ty for reading <3

#twice fluff #twice imagines #twice scenarios #twice #twice x reader #twice 10th member #twice added member #twice x y/n #kpop imagines #kpop gg #nayeon #nayeon x reader #jeongyeon #jeongyeon x reader #momo #momo x reader #sana #sana x reader #jihyo #jihyo x reader #mina #mina x reader #dahyun #dahyun x reader #chaeyoung #chaeyoung x reader #tzuyu #tzuyu x reader

[itjazzbicch]

Reborn

Pairing:  Kenshi Takashi x Fem Reader 

Summary: Traumatized from all of the horrific sights the reader had seen while defending their timeline and facing Titan Shang Tsung, the reader decided to part ways with her fellow champions and Lui Kang, falling off the grid, but when she is found by her close friend, Kenshi, he offers her a new path in life, at first shutting her down, but his words sticking with her and giving her the motivation to find herself again...

Warnings: Kenshi Tower ending spoilers, The reader deals with some mental health issues, Jax is in this fic (colored purple) slight swearing (but that's about it!) The song used in this fic is listed below!

Word Count: 1.5k 

When I was chosen to be a champion, I thought that my life would excel and that I'd achieve things that I couldn't imagine, but as time progressed, I was put to the test. I passed and made it out alive, but I left with scars on my skin and in my mind.

We all had our lives to live. My friends stayed in touch with one another, but I isolated myself and practically fell off the face of the earth. It would be best if my former friends didn't know where I was and what I was doing.

--------

"She's here. I just have this feeling, Briggs."

"Well, I've never met her, so I'll trust your gut on this one-"

Sooner or later, someone was bound to come and find me. Kenshi, being the one to step up, and did not expect to see me in a nightclub, shocked to hear my singing:

"Now it's one more boy and it's one more line

(Holding on for your call)

Taking the pills just to pass the time

(I can never say no)

'Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine

(Holding on for your call)

'Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine

But maybe not tonight”

"She's a performer?" Briggs saw me on stage, dancing in a skimpy dress, the crowd of the club roaring; disbelief was all over Kenshi's face as he shook his head slowly:

"I never even knew that she could sing."

"It's a different kind of danger And the bells are ringing out And I'm calling for my mother As I pull the pillars down It's a different kind of danger And my feet are spinning around Never knew I was a dancer 'Til Delilah showed me how,"

Nothing was stopping me from singing, this being the one thing that made me feel alive, dancing, and finishing off:

"Too fast for freedom Sometimes it all falls down These chains never leave me I keep dragging them around Too fast for freedom Sometimes it all falls down These chains never leave me I keep dragging them around."

Posing then bowing as the crowd clapped and whistled at me, Kenshi was evident in the crowd, wearing sunglasses instead of that red band, but I knew him when I saw him. When my eyes locked on him, I could feel the tension as his attention was locked on me, too.

I didn't know who the guy with him was, but either way, it was time to get out of there.

"Give it up for our Queen, Y/N!" The DJ had to keep exciting the crowd, just my luck, but he wasn't in charge of this place, so I waved to the crowd again before slipping to the back.

Rushing to grab my stuff and my car keys, I knew Kenshi would try and find a way to me. Hoping security would do good at their job, I slipped out the back and heard from the darkness by my car:

"Since when did you sing?"

"Kenshi," I sighed, rolling my eyes and giving up on avoiding him, "I've always sung. Just never told anyone."

"Ah, well, you're good at it," Stepping out of the darkness with that guy, his tone showed his concern for me, "Just didn't expect to find you in a place like this-"

"Who's the guy?" I was standoff-ish with strangers, but I didn't sense any ill intentions from him as he stepped up and introduced himself:

"Jackson Briggs. Takashi and I now work for the OIA. We hoped to speak with you."

Offering his hand to me, I only stared, cocking my eyebrow at Kenshi, "OIA? What the hell is that?"

"The Outerworld Investigation Agency," Kenshi explained, "I'm sure you can puzzle the pieces together-"

"Yeah, and I decline," I spat quickly, my harshness leaving them silent; I rolled my eyes again as Kenshi only turned his head to Briggs, wanting to talk to me alone.

"Y/N," Now that we were alone, Kenshi wasn't going to leave till he got more answers, showing more concern for me, whispering, "We've all been worrying about you. Johnny, Kung Lao, Raiden, even Lord Lui Kang-"

"As you see, I'm fine," I didn't want to have this conversation, trying to shut it down, "It was nice seeing you, but-"

"Y/N-" More stern in his tone, he held me by the shoulders, trying to read me better, "Even I can see that something's wrong and how you changed so drastically. I know we went through a lot, but-"

"No, buts-" I whispered, my emotions starting to rise, "That stuff mentally screwed me, and I don't want to return to that life."

"Have you forgotten that you are a champion?" His words brought tears to my eyes, and I felt as if a fire was burning under me, a mixture of pressure and deep desires, "We're human, and our minds can be fragile, I get that, but you're strong, whether you believe it or not. The realms need you."

"I haven't forgotten," I whispered, giving false hope before crushing the motivation he tried to give me, "I haven't forgotten the pain that being a 'champion' has put me through. The realms don't need me."

The silence between us was eerie. I had him frozen in disbelief, hugging his stiff body and whispering before I walked away:

"I do appreciate the concern, but we all have different fates. I'm sorry if mine doesn't align with yours."

"Wait-" It was becoming difficult not to snap, but I had a soft spot for Kenshi, stopping and looking as he handed me a card, "Just in case you change your mind."

"Sure," I huffed sarcastically, finally escaping the situation, but it stuck with me.

I spent the next few nights wide awake, lost in thought, questioning my entire life. For some reason, Kenshi's words, "Have you forgotten that you are a champion," replayed in my head. Over and over.

Staring at his business card, I relived everything that I went through as a champion, and the one constant circled my mind. I never gave up. I faced death and overcame it, took down a Titan. The mental conflicts had me shaking.

The life I was living now wasn't meant for me; that was a fact that I could accept. Maybe Kenshi was right.

Laying back, holding that card close, for the first time since I parted ways with everyone, I felt some peace, knowing what I needed to do and what was right.

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

"Hey, Takashi," It took a few more days to get myself together, but it was worth seeing the expression on Kenshi's face as his partner Jax brought me into his office, "Someone important is here to see you."

It was hard not to laugh at his hung jaw, giggling through my question, "You still want me to work with you, right?"

Kenshi's shocked expression turned into a small, relieved smile, "I'm glad you decided to come."

"We got a lot of work to do," Jax smiled at us, heading out the door and teasing Kenshi, "Make sure she knows how to do things right!"

"That won't be an issue," He chuckled, and when the door closed, I took Kenshi's hand and gave him a tight hug, confusing him for a moment, "The job's not that bad-"

"It's not that. It's just-; Thank you, Kenshi," I whispered. Kenshi realized what I had been feeling, returned my hug, and rubbed my back softly.

"I've been wanting to apologize to you. I knew that all the horrible things we went through were getting to your head, and I didn't do anything-"

Hearing him say that made me want to sob, but I shook it off, holding his head to mine, finally defeating the demons in my mind:

"You don't have to apologize for anything. That was a battle that only I could fight. Don't worry anymore, Kenshi. I finally remembered who I am."

Smiling more, he was happy for me and proud, "You're going to make a great agent, you know."

"From what I heard, you made quite a reputation for yourself here. I'll make sure to be even better," I teased, making us laugh, Kenshi teasing back:

"Did you go visit Johnny before you came here? You're sounding a little too cocky, just like him."

Laughing and shaking my head, I acknowledged, "No, but I need to go visit the guys."

"They'll be over the moon when you do. Just don't let Cage know that you can sing. He'll try to get you into the music business," He smirked, making me laugh, leaning over to his desk and then placing a badge in my hand, "Welcome to the team, Y/N."

Staring at the badge, I felt a true purpose in my life again, clenching it in my fist, being filled with a new kind of pride, my voice alone showing my newfound loyalty to Kenshi and the OIA, "I won't disappoint you and give you my all, Kenshi." 

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome 

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat 1 #mortal kombat fic #mortal kombat imagine #mortal kombat fluff #mortal kombat oneshot #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat x y/n #kenshi takashi #kenshi takashi x reader #kenshi takashi x y/n #kenshi takashi imagine #kenshi takashi fic #kenshi takashi fluff #kenshi takashi oneshot #read and enjoy #Spotify

[catcze]

ATE ATE ATE

city of stars from la la land with wriothesley

OH OH OH

OKAY my GOD OOOO so as i write this right im playing it rn in the background and It's inspiring me and making me think thoughts of Wriothesley when he was younger and before he had taken the title of Duke. When he was still an underground boxer and after showing his prowess in the ring, one of his friends decided to treat him by bringing him to one of the most popular (yet classy) bars in all of Fontaine. He tries good (in his opinion, terribly overpriced) food and drinks for most of the night, enjoying his win.

It's on his second hour there that the lights dim and the previous singer steps down from the stage. Wriothesley doesn't pay much attention, at first— the previous act had been a good singer for sure, and their voice had done well to match the ambiance of the club, but he hadn't found himself particularly enraptured by them or anything. He thinks that will likely be the case with the next performer too, attention grabbing for just the first few songs, then conversation with his friends will take his attention yet again.

But lo and behold— you step onto the stage, the crystals and gems and sparkles on your person shining like rain drops under the spotlight and making you absolutely glow, and Wriothesley is hooked. For the rest of the evening, he is enraptured by each song that you croon into the microphone and the way your eyes shut when you get particularly into a song. He no longer finds interest in his friends and instead leans forward in his seat, elbow on the table and chin in his palm, watching you like you are the only thing worth looking at in the entire room. Wriothesley wishes he knew what it was like to be the microphone stand that you hold as you sing— wishes he knew what it was like to have you sing quietly and softly into his ear, as if you were performing just for him. Would you sway him back and forth in time to your tune, as you do with yourself onstage? Would you lean close enough to him for him to feel the brush of your lips with each breath that escapes you?

It must be the drinks, Wriothesley thinks to himself, in a moment of clarity, head in his hands as he questions himself. He's not even spoken to you and here he is, down bad. And you can tell you've got him transfixed too, he thinks. He swears that he's seen you wink at him several times, though he blames the worsening flush on his cheeks on the alcohol.

You end too soon in his opinion, the lights coming on again as you bow, letting those gems on you sparkle. He claps alongside the rest of the crowd, doing his best to seem normal and not clap like his life depended on it. To his dismay you quickly vanish after you take your bow and step offstage, and he cannot for the life of him find you in the crowd again.

He excuses him from his friends, peeling away from his seat and heading over to the bar where he quickly flags down the bartender. "Hi," he says when the man approaches him, glass in hand. "I was wondering if you could send a drink to the singer just now? If that's alright?"

And the barkeep stares at him a bit, blinking before— "Yeah, I can do that. What drink do you want to send?"

"Er, champagne, maybe? Or wine?"

"Our talented singer's drink of choice after a performance is a margarita," offers the bartender with a well-meaning (if not mischievous) smile.

"Send that then, please."

"Any message you want to send along with it? A name, perhaps?"

He hand the man enough mora for the drink, "No, it's fine. I'd just like to express my admiration towards the performer is all." And he hopes that the bartender doesn't see the slight redness in his cheeks.

Later, after he heads back to his seat with his friends and has resigned himself to being little more than a mere audience member that you'll never think about again, he's surprised by the same bartender approaching their table and setting a glass of whiskey before him.

"From our friend," says the bartender, handing him a small slip of paper with that same smile from before.

I'm off in 30, and i know the perfect place for a midnight snack, is hastily scrawled on, and Wriothesley can feel the excitement make his pulse race.

The bartender hands him a pen, and in the neatest hand he can muster, he writes Yes, please, underneath your message. The bartender quickly takes the slip of paper, already beelining towards the backstage entrance.

Wriothesley takes a sip of the whiskey, leaning back in his seat. There's a buzz in his veins, entirely unrelated to the alcohol now, as he checks the time on his friend's watch.

These are going to be the longest 30 minutes in his life.

#Wriothesley x reader #Genshin Impact x reader #Cw GN reader #「 🍓 」 Fave Flavor !! brazo.de.mercedes #「 🐈‍⬛ 」 strawberry.cupcakes #not super directly related to city of stars but MY GOD this came to me like a vision while listening to the song and i HAD to express it

[goldentlme]

i’m searching for you in my fading memories .

alternate versions .

whooh . WHOOH !!!!! good GOD !!!!

listen to the song linked while looking I think it really adds . look up a translation too if you want ! listen to the entire lies of p ost in fact . its fucking fantastic .

NOTES .

in april 2022 , i drew a fanmade book cover for the danganronpa x reader fic Sleep Awake . in december of 2023 i redesigned my reader for that story for the third time and thought it appropriate to redraw that old cover with their new design . and yesterday , january 13th 2024 , i finished that bitch . View the fruits of my labour .

in my last Notes section i talked about nerfing the lighting . well um . i nerfed it again . i dont know if it was fate or if i just . idk . didnt want to but i axed both original concepts - the yellow overhead light ( mostly) , and the light blue under light - and just Winged the fuck outta it . that ' mostly ' means that the light source is Still overhead but i just took the colour out to make it more neutral .

another thing i brought up were the shelves and how i wanted to add more items to them . I did it this time , but not to the extent that i really wanted to . i'd hoped for more Clutter and ultimately couldnt think of anymore than a few items . SAID ITEMS BEING !!!!

the pills . self explanatory , since they haunted the majority of cases 2 and 3 .

chess pieces . cute little reference to the chess scene ! even if the scene itself didnt feature real chess pieces , the imagery wouldnt work if i didnt use real pieces .

the letter opener . dont need to explain this one . but i Did originally plan to have it in shin's hand ( explaining why that one is balled like that , because there was originally a Thing in there ) but i couldnt figure out how to draw it and make it look Good . i only added it back when i was colouring the trinkets on the shelves and realised that i Forgot to put it back into the drawing .

the joker card in the bottom corner . also shouldnt have to explain this one .

LITTLE DETAILS I THINK YOU SHOULD LOOK AT .

THE HANDS !!!!!!!!! i decided at the very last second to make them vaguely see through . and theyre all a persons ! amami and shinguji are the obvious ones , but the two holding at the top are supposed to be ouma ( on the scarf ) and akamatsu ( on the rope ) . i would have included tojo's as well but i couldnt fit it in the composition without it looking awkward and out of place and i thought there were already enough references to case 3 as is .

and you literally cant even see it but if you look REALLY closely at oumas hand . his skin is a little grey and you can see the veins through the skin . wonder what happened there . Guess we'll never know !

THE BOOKS !! did the same thing as last time with a Little More . purple books are ouma , green are both amami and tojo , blue is both kiibo and chabashira , pink is akamatsu , and red is phys themselves . i know phys's canonical colour association is olive green but consider : shin is red . look at him . hes Red . that ones for me specifically .

with that . i did all of those books by hand . i drew about 9 variations of books and copy pasted them sure but i Shaded and Coloured them all individually . youll never guess how fucking LONG that took . so yeah . no one book has the exact same shading . goodie !

THE JOKER !!! yes i know i talked about it in the previous section but i WILL talk about the card itself . because i unironically am so in love with how that drawing came out . the little guy featured there is my Lies of P oc scaramouche or scaramuccia ( i use them interchangeably ) . hes a silly jester :3 . the depiction on the card is of him in his prime , before . All Of That Happened . story-wise he's a super famous circus performer known as " The One Man Show " because all of his acts are done alone and are absolutely insane . hes very good at what he does which is Why he doesnt have a crew . and the only reason hes so good is because he't not even human , just pretending to be !

additionally , i originally planned for that joker card to be a Real Life Joker . because a little known fun fact about me is that i collect playing card decks ! but i looked and literally NONE of the ones i currently own would have fit the piece . so . yeah . i just ended up drawing darling scaramuccia . heres the full image im so chuffed

i think thats all i got for the drawing itself . i initially started this back in early december but got stuck and picked it back up a couple days ago , so its been marinating for a bit . hope we all like it ! i think its Better than the original . THE SERIOUS STUFF .

its so fucking insane to think that its been almost 2 years . not only have i truly rediscovered my love of reader insert fanfiction after so many years unable to even think about it without feeling a little sick to my stomach , but ive made so many good friends and core memories through this fic . i even got back into writing . literally never thought id write again after my 11th grade english class and my 10th grade creative writing class . and im having FUN with it . wild .

anyways , this one goes out to vee @chihirolovebot for writing one of The Fics of all time , putting up with my insane ramblings about idol these past months ( READ SWINGING RIGHT NEOWWWW ) , and for letting me help design their dnd characters . godspeed .

it goes out to nex @nexuswrites for beating better genshin character builds into me , giving great fic recommendations , creating thief of detectives quandary fame . READ DQ ( THREAT ) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , and being a fellow p5 and pokemon lover . i miss the coordinator and justice

and of COURSE !!!! rei @berry-creates . the gay the myth the legend . a fellow oc haver and lover , a fantastic writer , and an overall lovely person . this one goes out to u for sharing oc playlists , playing splatoon with me , and for creating maddie . theyre a little freak and i want to study them . i love seeing u go insane over them its like enrichment for me bc i too am also a little mentally ill about them im just really good at hiding it .

theres a whole lot more i could say and more people i could talk about but this is long enough , isnt it ?

thanks for a beautiful 2 years of physouma yaoi . heres to the upcoming sleep awake case 6 , epilogue , all the future additions to the one shot book , the entire rest of dq , tfp , and sams , and more blorbos to put in the smoothie maker . this took a whole two hours to write .

cheers , boys .

song of the post .

#my art #my words #sleep awake #hen shin #danganronpa

[wavernot4love]

hello fun 2ourdust albany things (note i typed this at like 4:30 am last night when i simply couldn't sleep but then passed out before i could post it so it may not be the most coherent)

- pete talking about upstate being special 2 him due to memories of taking a bus to a tattoo parlor in syracuse and feeling inspired by all these cool achc dudes... god i love hardcore scene lore fob stuff ESPECIALLY when upstate gets brought into it

- reinventing the wheel for the first time in apparently seventeen YEARS (i take full responsibility for making this happen due to my showing up in my tttyg crewneck /s)

- andy waved to us!! long story short about 30 of us were waiting by the wrong buses sadly & just barely missed pete & patrick meeting folks by the right ones. we were pretty heartbroken when we came over & found out, but a combination of the andy thing & meeting/trading bracelets/caroling along to folie songs (if ya know ya know) with cool folks turned waiting after the show into a fond memory regardless. i love the fob community, dude. t/2ourdust has changed everything for me.

and still i just find it worth noting how sick it is that this tour pete & patrick have been taking the time to come out & talk w folks. you don't see that much with bands playing arena shows and it makes me happy to see.

- lots of celebration for the smfs anniversary!

muse live (shit is INCREDIBLE live dude), kintsugi & what a time to be alive for medley, lil pete speech about the record.

- ginasfs instead of sixteen candles as a wild card again!!! i cannot believe i have heard her three times now when if you asked me two years ago i never would have thought i'd hear her once!

- smfs is definitely a worthy replacememt for srar in every sense. i appreciate both similarly, and i love that they recall tourdust's srar performance in the sense of it serving as a great medley transition, also in regard a to collaboration (everyone joining in to sing at the end, in this case joe especially)

- that reminds me, it seemed like pete did a lot of backing vox tonight which was nice

- i may only really know a handful of jimmy songs well but great band and jim adkins is one of those people that just seems nice. i like watching the dude do his thing.

- seeing hot mully in an arena was crazy. was pretty sad they cut featuring mark hoppus but still was nice 2 see them

- i remain wholly not a fan of seated shows, at least not for this kinda music, that did get me down at a couple points as i just can't move the way i wanna (not being able to mosh to cbts etc like at tourdust sucked, as well as just being confined to my seat/row all night) & also it seems to keep the crowd in general way more stagnant.

but at least i could see well + no one around me was particularly disrespectful!!

i also respect fob's ability to make a concert at an arena like this still feel like a SHOW (in the scene sense)

- and finally, have nightmare quality pete randomly crawling inside the inflatable dog (i am currently forgetting dude's name)

#fall out boy #fob #2ourdust #so much for 2ourdust #so much for (2our) dust #pete wentz #patrick stump #andy hurley #joe trohman #am i sat here contemplating if i should try to swing pittsburgh wednesday? perhaps #regardless i am just glad to be here/have fob in my life #grateful to have this music & community #wavernot4love gets 2 the gig #2ourdust albany

[firephoenix2305]

So, an idea for a Good Omens Human AU hit me and, in true me fashion, it just refuses to leave my brain.

SO

If I were to write a silly, fluffy, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers human AU where Serpent a.k.a Crowley is a rock/pop singer (I was thinking like a cover artist, because I can't go writing thousands of original songs for this guy, that would require too many of my braincells. Though there would be an explanation as to why Crowley doesn't sing original stuff, eventually) and Aziraphale is a much less-known, very shy and private, but jaw-droppingly talented opera singer, known as the "Angel of Eden" given his tendency to perform in said theater; and in which they meet because Aziraphale is dragged to one of Serpent's concerts by his best friend Anathema....

...would...would anybody object to that?...

And of course Crowley has anxiety and self-esteem and such problems behind his demonic, cool-and-aloof on-stage persona, 'cause that's my signature. (I'm not quite sure why, nervous breakdowns and the like just always end up happening in my stories. Should I be worried...?)

But anyway! I'm trailing off!

Would...um...would I...have the fandom's blessing? Or at least one bored soul who'd read it just to pass the time?

...

Have I actually already written a whole chunk of what would be the first chapter? Possibly.

Will I share a little so you can see my vision? Sure!

[For context, this takes place in the midst of Serpent's concert, which Aziraphale is attending with Anathema]

- Right! - he sighed into the microphone - I like rock as much as the next guy, but if I keep shouting like a fucking maniac I'll finish snapping my bitchy little vocal cords in half! - laughter echoed through the crowd, making Serpent smile - So, let's try not to do that and sing something slower, yeah? -

To Aziraphale's surprise, the man circled around the piano and sat down on the stool, placing his hands elegantly on the keys. He played a couple of loose notes and addressed his audience again.

- What should we go for? Hm?- he said softly into the microphone before letting out a quiet chuckle as the crowd erupted in applause - Oh, shut the fuck up! I know exactly what you want, you bastards! - he playfully snapped at them.

Then, his slim fingers began moving on the keys as if they had always been meant to be there, leaving Aziraphale near breathless. After a few notes, he began to sing, and the audience exploded.

You know the distance never made a difference to me.

I swam a lake of fire, I'd have walked across the floor of any sea.

Ignored the vastness between all that can be seen,

And all that we believe,

So I thought you were like an angel to me.

His voice felt like silk against Aziraphale's ears, his mouth agape. With all the drumming and the electric guitars, he hadn't really had the chance to listen to Serpent's voice. And now that he could, he was completely entranced. His eyes were glued to the red-haired man, whose eyes were, in turn, closed in concentration beneath the yellow lenses of his glasses.

Funny how true colours shine in darkness and in secrecy.

If there were scarlet flags, they washed out in the mind of me.

Where a blindin' light shone on you every night.

And either side of my sleep,

Where you were held frozen like an angel to me.

It ain't the being alone. Sha-la-la

It ain't the empty home, baby. Sha-la-la.

You know I'm good on my own.Sha-la-la

Sha-la-la, baby, you know, it's more the being unknown.

So much of the livin', love,

is the being unknown.

So, eh, yeah...thoughts?

#good omens #writing #writers on tumblr #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #crowley x aziraphale #ineffable husbands #good omens human au #fic idea #just throwing it out there #tell me what you think #Today in “Ideas which simply won't leave phoenix's head so she has to write them before going insane” #phoenixwrites #original idea #i hope #I haven't found any fics like this on Ao3 but maybe I'm wrong

[dent-de-leon]

Forever heartbroken at the thought that Lucien was another victim of a hag, at the mercy of someone else's bargain with them--like Beau, like Veth. A deal he never made, but was still forced to pay the price. Even as it tore his family apart. Lucien, young and terrified and wallowing in guilt, haunted for years by all the people he was forced to lead to a little house in the woods. Unable to bear it any longer.

"'We did owe her. Mum and Da did, I mean, but I was the one who paid that blood price.' I'm not surprised you remember the way. His stomach lurched. 'I'd...lure folk out to her cottage. Da would hand me a little paper slip, and whoever it said, I'd convince them to come along, get them near her cottage, and she would charm them. You saw what happens after that.'"

"'We were punished for seeing what they couldn't. After a while I couldn't let it go on, couldn't look at myself or live with myself, so I burned down the caravan with all three of them inside, took my sister, and that was that...No more little songs. No more farces.'"

"If all along her demise only required a dagger to the heart, then why had he let it go on so long? A parade of faces whipped by, and Lucien abruptly had to know, had to see...he raced to the cottage and threw open the door. And there he saw the parade of faces again, lifeless and now stretched..."

Lucien who knows so intimately the same pain of Caleb's past, both of them desperate to do everything they can to turn back time, get their family back. But Lucien's parents never loved him like that, were never the kind and warm family that Caleb had. They abused him and his siblings for years. And then they forced him to be part of their deal with a hag.

And all the while, as a young child Lucien was leading dangerous people deep into the woods all alone, that very same witch always intended to add him to her collection one day too. Lucien's father sends others to their deaths so easily. If the hag had outright asked for his own child instead, would he even care? Because he didn't when the hag made their first son Empty, turned him into a hollow puppet.

And what Azrahari says to Lucien is just so chilling, such a violation of his autonomy. "My beautiful boy...I had hoped to make you mine one day. What a perfect specimen you would have made. Oh, how you would have been merry with laughter and dance..." (And the comment about being beautiful? Can't help remembering Jester calling Lucien dreamy, and how it takes him by surprise. How all his life he was made to feel different, cursed--an outcast--)

Thinking about "no more little songs." Thinking about how much Lucien actually loved the little plays and performances his family put on, still remembers his lines all these years later, still carries a love for song and dance that bleeds into Mollymauk. Molly, who does get to be "merry with laughter and dance," who fills the Emptiness Lucien always so feared with joy and warmth and love.

Making a happy life for himself, taking back the freedom and autonomy the hag and the Eyes all tried to steal from Lucien. And maybe a part of Lucien always recoils from Mollymauk because he reminds him too much of the haunting mirror image the hag tried to make him, the promise of eternal happiness while tying him with puppet strings. Lucien never quite believing that Molly is real or whole or free, that such a charmed life can be anything but a dream--like the one he always chased--

Thinking of how the thing Lucien wanted most was a happy family, the "once upon a time" fairytale life from the stories he always cherished, merry little songs and plays and dance. Stories as an escape, a familiar place of childhood comfort, something to cling to in his darkest moments.

"'Once upon a time, there was a happy family.' (He recognized the sweet, musical voice of Elatis...) 'Mother and Father loved their three children dearly, and they all lived in a green wooden house with tall windows and strong doors. Mother taught the young of a fine, rich family, and Father carved instruments for the kingdom's musicians. They never went hungry, they never quarreled, and their lives were golden for all their days.'"

"'Once upon a time,' he said, eyes open and staring across the dome gathering snow. 'There was a happy family, and they were that way for a little while. Something tore them apart from the inside out...There was a happy family, and then it was gone.'"

"Once upon a time, there was a happy family... In the dream they would be whole again. In Cognouza, it would all be fixed...He told himself it wasn't too far gone, then pulled his shoulders back and clawed raw wounds down his monstrous face, smiling all the while, his teeth becoming fangs becoming tusks. Once upon a time..."

Thinking of how it's ultimately the Moonweaver who's able to make those dreams a reality, who gives them the second chance he's always begged for. "Once upon a time--" "Twice upon a time--" "Thrice upon a time--" When a part of him became Molly. When the two of them become Kingsley.

"'Once upon a time,' she says, then her milk-white eyes pop upon in surprise and she giggles. You want to stay here forever, in her odd, forever-moving sensuality. 'No, twice upon a time. Now we can begin. Begin again, I mean.'"

"Here we go: Once upon a time, twice upon a time. She pauses and giggles. 'Thrice upon a time, f--' Her white brow furrows. 'Hang on. What comes after thrice? Does anyone know?...Isn't that the strangest thing? There is nothing after thrice in the sequence, it just ends there. But that doesn't seem right, does it? Or fair. Well. I think we shall just have to make it up."

Thinking about a young and terrified tiefling whose parents handed him over to a witch, who was offered the illusion of happiness and freedom again and again, but always it came with chains. Who always feared becoming Empty, who was almost made into a doll, a puppet, a hollow shell for a hag's entertainment, something to put on display like a grisly trophy, to puppet the strings like a marionette. Thinking about a goddess of Love who cradled this wounded soul in her arms, cut him free and sang him songs, made him the beloved king of a fairytale--

#mollymauk #lucien tavelle #sorry i am once again compromised by the nine eyes book and how much love lucien and molly both had to give #the fact that a hag tried to make him into a puppet is still just so haunting to me and just #im so glad that lucien ended her because it is terrifying to think of her waiting in the savalirwoods for molly to return #and if the nein meet isharnai again? I wonder if king will get back some painful memories about hags in the woods and deals and debts-- #also something about how upset lucien is when the hag wont fight and how he doesn't like seeing people suffer or give in and just #lucien--

[bloomingstay]

favorite kpop group tag~ thank you @binniesbang!

who is your favorite kpop group?

stray kids, if that was any surprise

which member sparked your interest first?

hyunjin! i've almost always been pulled in by the dancer (lee know i know but) specifically the style of dance hyunjin excels in. the isolation is so satisfying and cool. for some reason choreo always gets a song stuck in my head??

But also!! I had heard they produced their own music and that really got me interested in kpop again

who was your first bias?

chris bang 🤍 went from zero to ult within no more than two days tbh…

what makes them your current bias?

oh god. um. i'll put this in the least embarrassing way possible. (this is a kpop tumblr blog I should probably get over it)

it was a particularly bad year. i stumbled upon their silly videos (thank you stay for the edits<3) and they made me laugh. then i started seeing clips of chans room and him interacting with the boys and just like... he's so wonderful. he's generous and kind and loving and thoughtful. just a shy lil guy who also happens to be a flirt and a fucking dork and it's cute man idk shut upp

who is your bias wrecker?

i was certain i'd never have one, i truly adore each of those boys so so much.

i was however proven wrong after a very sweet, silly compilation of binnie being ridiculous. followed by a face cam of his sclass performance in the supreme jersey?? and the curls?? he has such amazing stage presence and he's a great dancer. but he kept going from his cute sweet binnie expressions looking like he was just so into it and having fun, to the "dark rapper" eyes and commanding stage presence. and like, wow. 🖤 i am a sucker for that kind of duality.

which members are you currently obsessing over that aren't your bias/wrecker?

in another reality han is my wrecker. that boy is the epitome of what i used to look for in guys: babygirl. lol. well, and insanely talented and funny and everything. I adore him

after befriending a couple seungmin stans, i started looking for pics and clips to send them and found myself so incredibly impressed with him and touched by some of the things he's said and done. plus he’s a funny little shit.

hwang hyunjin is such a sweet boy. since we got producer jinnie on the last album i have been looking back and just so impressed with his growth 🤍

when did you first discover the group?

(Upon editing I realize I read this as ‘how’ but oh well)

okokok so

i was a kpop fan 2014-2017 and went all in. kcon and concerts the whole thing

but then i was just on my usual 6 hour yt shorts binge as i tried to fall asleep and saw skz reacting to the "your eyes" mv, specifically felix's part, obviously. i watched it like 12 times just cry laughing at han screaming, hyunjin trying to escape, channie hiding behind his hands and squealing. it was just so funny to see a group kind of clowning their own shit? i thought they were hilarious.

then i saw julien (solomita) had reacted to 'topline' and i was soooo into it. immediately went to watch some mvs and decided cool i'll be a totally normal casual fan of this group’s music….. :)

THEN a lovely lady i'd followed on my 10 year old tumblr account posted about skz. i messaged her that I’d finally decided to check them out and she was kind enough to answer questions and entertain my onslaught of messages as I screamed about how much I love these boys. and she still does everyday so. thank you hana 🌸

have you ever been to one of their concerts?

not yet~

what are some of your favorite songs by them?

THIS SECTION TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG. disclaimer: I absolutely could not include non ot8 this would’ve been 30 songs (I’m probably going to cheat)

Hall of fame. bitch ever since that live stage (which was the first time I’d heard it) I’ve listened to the sclass album 3 times a week no joke, goddamn it’s so good. so just know, i pulled almost every song from that album off this list when i made cuts

levanter. a hard pill to swallow mid relationship struggles and holds a lot of meaning for me.

secret secret. i can't get over how professional this song sounds and how it was just a few years in?

leave. where i got my username~ like I said, relationship stuff. You have not yet really bloomed When the new season comes I hope the warmth will make you bloom Into a flower that never dies

sclass. *bling bling* HIPHOPSTEP. such a fucking chaotic mess of a jam.

megaverse. the breakdown? MEGAPHONE. Han, bitch? We make the rules nobody can hold me yeaaahhh. Your body shakes - STRAY KIDS EVERYWHERE ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Sorry, flawless.

gods menu. ate, bitch. chan was something the fuck else

domino. neeed I say more

social path is bomb

grow up. read lyrics for the first time just now ow

eternity. told u I’d cheat.

love poem. big cheat my list worth it

I am going to be so mad when I realize I missed a song I listen to 7 times a day but been doin this for 2 hours so I’m calling it. Also forgive me I’m still working through the discography (backwards) and haven’t listened to the full first couple albums.

the adhd is allowing no further focus or thought so i will be tagging the same friends as my last tag post no pressure <3

@channieblossoms @skzms @roseykat @thefantasyden @seungsungracha @astraysis @channieswife

Thank you again @binniesbang for tagging me~!

#I WONT APOLOGIZE FOR HOW LONG this is #if yo i wanna read it you can if not that's absolutely okay too EVEN if i tagged you~ #chatty #tag #<3 #binniesbang #ur a sweetie tbh thk u #stray kids #skz #stay

[windswept-fields]

My favorites of 2023

I wanted to make little wrap up of 2023, so here are my favorite movies and performances from 2023

Top Five Favorite movies

#5 The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snake - dir. Francis Lawrence

I am a YA/dystopian boy through and through. I thought this was a very faithful adaptation and very visually stunning. The performances were all great and I just really liked it. However, I had my problems with the book itself and I felt the movie didn't do a great job truly villainizing Snow (I found him too likable until like the end of the film) All in all though a fun watch.

#4 Saltburn- Dir. Emerald Fennell

If there's one thing I'm gonna do on this account, It's support a boy's wrongs. This movie has so many visual details and story details, it truly blows my mind. The soundtrack? Banger after banger. I'd never heard Murder on The Dance Floor before this movie but now I want to dance around a mansion to it. The cast? I mean just look at them. I do think occasionally this movie occasionally felt like it was just being shocking for shocking's sake and I got a little tired of it.

#3 Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse- Dir. Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, and Joaquim Dos Santos

I love art. There's no other way to say it. I am in love with creativity. The amount of details that are in this movie are so utterly mind blowing that every time I read about a new one, I feel like I have to rewatch this movie. The first Spider-verse film is an absolute masterpiece and this movie was not about to disappoint it. From the voice performances to the bleeding-water color, to animating on every other frame, this movie just had me floored. I hope it wins an Oscar for best animated feature or I'm throwing shit. I do want the second part before I fully judge the story but so far I think this is one of the best superhero stories in a while

#2 Barbie- Dir Greta Gerwig

I have never cried harder to a Nikki Minaj song. But actually, this movie made me fall in love with the simple act of being alive. It's a movie about a doll and yet its about enjoying life and growing up and how everything's so messy and it's so beautiful and we're so beautiful and I just. I get it. I get why Barbie wanted to be a human. We are all so fascinating. The ending montage alone is enough to make anyone with a heart cry. I hope that one day everyone is as in love with the world around them as this movie made me.

#1 Asteroid City- Dir. Wes Anderson

If you don't know the I'm Wes Anderson's number 1 fan, I'm doing something wrong. Truth be told, I didn't get this movie at first. I left the theater knowing that there was some deeper meaning but...what? So I thought about it for two weeks and then it hit me. There is no clear answer. There's no clear answer because the actors can't find a clear answer. There's no clear answer because the in-universe playwright didn't write one and maybe Anderson himself didn't write one. The movie has clear themes of grief and love and identity but at the end of the day what you choose to make of it is all up to you. There's also a lot to be said about how the play is existential and about uncertainty in the future and I think that's another reason I liked Asteroid City. I'm always so worried about the future. It terrifies me. But what can I do. And with that I once again realized that Wes Anderson was truly genius, and I don't think I'll ever see a film quite like Asteroid City again.

Favorite performances from each film

#5 Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird

I never got the hatred for Rachel Zegler. She was absolutely phenomenal in the 2021 West Side Story and she ate up Lucy Gray Baird. I just felt through the screen that Rachel understood her role so well. She played Lucy to all her vulnerability and strength and goddamn I am in love with her voice!! The old therebefore gave me absolute chills.

#4 Allison Oliver as Venetia Catton

being complete honest she's who I wanted to be in like middle school. Allison Oliver managed to play her as both such a free spirit and then to haunted on such the drop of the dime. From her subtle emotions to her snapping at Oliver in the bathtub she had me eating out of the palm of her hand. She would've loved Tumblr.

#3 Shameik Moore as Miles Morales

He had me laughing, crying, cheering and getting goosebumps the whole time. The absolute power Shameik Moore gives Miles is truly what tie the whole movie together. I feel like his performance often gets overshadowed for some of the bigger names in the cast and I truly find that shame. He gives Miles such a powerful and realistic portrayal that I admire it so deeply. From "Nah, I'mma do my own thing." to his conversations with Gwen to arguments with his parents, Shameik Moore makes Miles feel like a teenager who's trying to figure out who he is and a superhero saving a multiverse from collapsing

#2 Margot Robbie as Barbie

I'm fucking sick of only hearing Ryan Goslings name mentioned when we talk about the BARBIE movie! It is Margot's movie!! SHE ATE THAT SHIT UP!! She managed to so subtly bring in the changes of barbie being only a doll to being a real person. She provides so much of the movies comedy too. Her laying down crying had me wheezing not gonna lie. But she also shows us that how strong Barbie is and how she's so multi-faceted.She is truly someone little girls should see and be inspired by. Margot truly brought Barbie to life in all the ways that the audience and the script needed. She had me laughing, crying and smiling so goddamn wide the whole film. Here's to you, Margot.

#1 Jason Schwartzman as Augie Steenback/Jones Hall

It was the year of Schwartzman and nowhere was the proved more than in Asteroid City. Here we see, Jason Schwartzman playing and actor playing a single dad war photographer. Schwartzman manages to play all these layers so well, letting them blend together through on intense common factor: grief. Jones' grief bleeds into Augie in such a fascinating way that you might not even realize at first. It's so subtle and yet, it complete makes the performance. When we see Jones on his own a few times, though Jason Schwartzman manages to make him feel like a completely different man than Augie. The entire scene from Jones walking offstage to us being returned to 'Asteroid City' is truly some of my favorite acting of the year. Even through subtle expressions, we can truly see everything that Jones is experiencing. It's just such a sight to watch and it blows me away.

Some honorable film and performance mentions

Oppenheimer- Dir Christopher Nolan. Good film but a little too long if you ask me. Sorry!

Fav performance- Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer. She might not have been in a lot of the film but she stuck with me

Renfeild- Dir Chris McKay. Sorry I like fun camp! sue me!

Fav performance- Nic Cage as Dracula. I'm sorry Nic Cage is just so goddamn funny

Poison- Dir. Wes Anderson. Maybe the real snake was the Benedict Cumberbatch we met along the way.

Fav performance- Dev Patel as Woods. Wes please cast Dev Patel in a longer on of your films he ate this up.

Five Nights at Freddy's- Dir. Emma Tammi. I wanted to like it more but it felt like 3 different films until the last 20 minuets

fav performance- Matthew Lilard as William Afton. I want Stu Macher back after this.

The Swan- Dir. Wes Anderson. (Last time I mention Wes in this post I swear.) Hey Wesley! Quick question! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?? Thank youuuu!

Fav performance- Rupert Friend as Narrator/Peter Watson. Yeah he was the only guy speaking and he carried! The one moment where he breaks the stoic delivery and truly pleads for them to not kill the swan? Wow.

Gaurdians of The Galaxy Vol 3- Dir James Gunn. I have never cried over cgi this hard in my life!

Bradley Cooper as Rocket. Just hearing him scream sob almost had me open mouth sobbing in public.

Scream 6- Dir. Matt Bettinelli-olpin, Tyler Gillet. Starting to get real pissed at radiosilence.

fav performance- Jasmin Savoy-Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin. She's so funny, I love her.

If y'all want I also have a favorite tv shows of 2023 post

#shut up pretty boy #the balad of songbirds and snakes #saltburn #across the spiderverse #barbie #asteroid city #rachel zegler #allison oliver #shameik moore #jason schwartzman #lucy gray baird #venetia catton #miles morales #margot robbie #augie steenbeck #jones hall #oppenheimer #scream vi #fnaf #gotg vol 3 #renfield 2023

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hey, Slug! Not to be rude, but I noticed some things in your Positive Is My Life translation that I don't think really line up with Hifumi as a character, so I wanted to give my own POV on it. Sorry if this comes off as mean, I'm just very passionate about this.

For starters, I don't agree that the "princess" stuff was meant to refer to his clients. This song is very explicitly performed for the Block Party, and he's not in host mode here. It's not in character for him to be trying to flirt with his clients/women if he's not in host mode, and there are also no clients present. In my opinion, based off of canon, I think the "enchant" playstyle is meant to refer to his host mode, while the "princess" play style is meant to refer to him out of host mode. In host mode, he's shown to be enchanting, handsome, and, well, host-like. Meanwhile, out of host mode, he's meant to be much more cute, bubbly, effeminate, and generally much like the common idea of a princess, or a man who is princess-like.

Second, I can't see how the last verse would be referring to Honobono at all. This isn't really how he talks about her, and especially with the events of the drama track attached to this song, this wouldnt make sense. He has never once expressed the desire to become friends with her, and his playful tone here isn't reminiscent of how he behaves when talking about her at all.

I respect you deeply as a translator, and you've inspired me to want to try to take up translating myself, but if I'm being honest I feel like you might've taken too many creative liberties with this one. Because of this, a lot of this translation is just... kind of inaccurate, in my opinion. No offense of course, and thank you kindly for it and your work in general, these are just my personal thoughts. Thank you for your time.

Hey! Thanks for reaching out, and I appreciate the feedback. You don't come across as mean, but all the same, I'd like to explain my decisions in further detail. It sounds like you may be missing some context.

I agree that Hifumi isn't in host mode throughout the song, but there are definitely elements that hearken back to the flirtatious attitudes he takes in host mode. 笑顔の魔法に釣られてきた (dictionary-definition literal: you are lured in by the spell of a smile) is one such example. This notion of being "lured in" is common in Japanese romance and is indeed reminiscent of the things Hifumi says to his clients. Here, since it's being used in the context of friendship, I thought English "lured in" suggested a sense of manipulation that's not emphasized as strongly in Japanese 釣られてきた. Since the smile is being used like a video game spell, I wrote it as "I cast SMILE. It’s super effective!" and moved the notion "the smile draws you closer and makes you one of us" into the next line. I would consider all of those decisions to be perfectly valid--and even commonplace--in translation.

We also see more of the host-esque language in the lines 魅せプ決めて騒ごうよ！TO NIGHT! and 姫プ決めて守られたい夜も… As mentioned above, 魅せ ("enchanting") is a staple of Japanese romantic conventions--the idea of someone being so hot/charming/skilled/whatever that the other party goes against their "rational" judgement and lets their emotion take the wheel. 魅せプ is indeed a regular video game term, and it refers to when someone is so damn good at the game that you can't take your eyes off of them. However, with the "tonight" element as well, it suggests the romantic connotation of 魅せる. Hearkening to "night" is another staple feature of Japanese romantic imagery and one Hifumi uses quite frequently.

We see that night (夜) image appear again in the 姫プ line, along with 守られたい (dictionary-definition literal: on nights when [agent] pays like a princess and wants to be protected). The notion of protection once again creates a strong romantic image, especially coupled with "night" and "princess." 姫プis, once again, a normal video game term. However, it's not a positive term. To play "like a princess" is to sit there and let your teammates do all the work. To me, this doesn't make sense to ascribe to Hifumi, as it suddenly switches the agent from the listener/friend in the rest of the song to Hifumi himself. It also doesn't align with the image we've seen of Hifumi in the rest of the song (doing everything for friends, as opposed to selfishly demanding others do work for him). I could see an argument for this being him referring to himself on nights when he wants to let his guard down and let others take care of him, but that again requires a grammatical subject switching that isn't substantiated by the rest of the song. Passive voice doesn't automatically make the speaker the agent, as you can see in 笑顔の魔法に釣られてきた: [the agent] is lured in by the spell of a smile. It doesn't make sense for Hifumi to be drawn in by a smile, so the reader automatically assumes it's the "you" in the rest of the song performing the action.

Finally, I don't think the 姫プ person is Hifumi because the line is strongly feminine-coded. Outside of the word "princess"/姫, the entire notion of sitting back, "selfishly letting others do the work," and "being protected" is associated with women in Japanese romantic conventions. I'm not saying I agree with this idea--I don't whatsoever--but I can also recognize that this line sounds romantically charged, as it plays into a bunch of romantic tropes, and therefore would be a little odd if Hifumi is taking on the female role. (I don't see Hifumi's bubbly persona as supposed to be inherently feminine in Japanese, fwiw.) This is also why I hesitated to write the romantic tone in English; it's founded on misogynistic ideas that tend to stand out as offputting to English readers. Since it's not supposed to be offputting, I thought it would do the translation a disservice to introduce that tone and instead steered around it. I would again consider this to be a completely valid and commonplace translation choice, but I also see the drawbacks. It's clear now that my word choice wasn't as transparent as I would have liked it to be.

As for the final verse, this one does appear to have a different audience than the rest. Previous audiences (the listener, friends) are キミ, a word that, in this instance, denotes a kind of emotional closeness. It must be someone that Hifumi feels comfortable with. In the last verse, Hifumi says お前がラスボス. The お前 is not as close, which suggests both that this is someone Hifumi is not as familiar with and also is perhaps an adversary. The " お前がラスボス" phrase is commonly used in action/adventure stories and thus gives this line a dramatic tone as well, which also makes me think it's supposed to be an adversary. This may partially be him pretending to be more HRGGH MANLY ADVENTURER for the fun of it (evidenced as well in なろうぜ on the following line), which I can see as the biggest argument for this not being Honobono. However, if it's not her, then I don't see why the writers would specify 誰も傷付けず (no one has to be hurt) or include this verse at all. Especially given his line in the second Block Party drama track (仄々…僕は君の友人だ。今までも…これからも… "Honobono, I was once your friend...and I still am!"), I would argue that he explicitly and canonically has expressed his will to be her friend.

Finally, I agree that the overall playful tone of the song doesn't match the serious tone in which he normally addresses her, but to me, this can easily be explained by a difference in mediums. The drama tracks allow for topics to be explored much more seriously than this overtly bouncy and upbeat song.

Again, thank you for messaging me, and I hope this clears up some of my thought process!

#not a translation #asks #misc asks