#Hmm they were really interested in weird instruments

[lady-ashfade]

Cold & Chill

Day 10 of celebration marathon

Book Percy Jackson x Ares!reader

-£ ask: Can you do, a Percy × Ares!reader, that's kinda actually a mix between Ares and Apollo?You can do with you want with that, I just haven't seen any Ares!reader x Percy, or any good ones at least.

-£ warnings: readers personality being all over the place but what did you expect, reader is a mix between grunge and dark hipster, it’s confusing to explain. Also probably not a “good one” because I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do.

Percy wasn’t the best person when it came to you, he never talked to you before. When he first joined camp he heard your name then that you were a ares kid, and since they wanted to kill him— he decided to let it be.

But the more time he spent around camp he heard your name pop up more. Nothing ever bad which was weird since a lot of people had opinions here.

You were on quests a lot and when you did come back you stayed by your friends. You hung around your siblings sometimes or the apollos kids. From what Percy could tell you were different.

Yes, you had a dark and slightly different palette then the others but you didn’t act like your siblings. everytime he saw you— you looked almost bored.

Safe to say when he did meet you he was even more confused. You had found him outside before dawn leaning against a tree.

“Is a tree softer then your bed?” The smallest hint of mischievous tone in your voice. You still had this calm aura about you.

“Wanted some fresh air.” He stated

“Hmm…Shouldn’t you be in water then? Thought that like, soothes you?” He blinks at you. You really knew who he was was?

“Not all my problems can be solved with water.” He didn’t mean to sound rude but he was tired and wanted to be alone. Luckily you didn’t care.

“That sucks.” You shrug your shoulders and walk away from him with you hands in your pockets without any interest to stay with him.

You had skills with many instrument you touched since they were your interests. Like the drums you used to bring out your anger…and no one interrupted you when you did. Then the guitar which you were skilled as well, playing faster then light itself at times. So you played with the Apollos kids and sometimes camp songs when they wanted.

You did have a way about you that seemed as if you didn’t care about anything. and somehow your ego was high? I mean, a mix of ares and Apollo? You have the biggest ego in the world…maybe it was better you had a chill way about you.

Percy grew a massive crush on you. He admired you so much that he couldn’t help but to blush when he thought of you, or saw you.

He liked that you could kill your opponent easily but didn’t care to hurt them so you took them down as fast as possible and moved on. you held a straight face the whole time. And then how you played a guitar…he couldn’t stop looking at you every time.

After years he never saw you angry, annoyed maybe? But you were ares child so you had his anger.

The way you shouted and grabbed ahold of some poor boy by his shirt. Your veins popped out of your skin and looked like you wanted to kill him.

The boy had interrupted one of your drumming sessions and you were far into it. You didn’t like to show anger so you waited until you could do something about. And when you get angry you stay that way, gods help who pulls you away before you get it out of your system.

He watched clarisse and two others take ahold of your arms and start to drag you away. You twist and shaked to get out of their hold and lunge at the boy who looked so scared until he ran away.

Now he knew how you ares kid.

But he grew to handle your emotions easily when you both started dating.

You might be calm most of the time but boy did you have a death glare when someone threatened him or your friends.

He once saw you reach for a weapon when someone said something mean about a new camper who wanted to play a instrument (it sounded horrible) and don’t get him wrong! He loved when you acted protective over him but you’d take it to far.

He liked it when you’d sit behind him and place his hands on the guitar to try and teach him. Oh, boy did he love that.

He thought the one of the perks of dating you would be that your siblings might lay off him, but even you didn’t at times. You made fun of him (lovingly) about his water powers.

“Aren’t you going to stick up for me?” He crossed his arms.

You popped a chip in your mouth, “I already stopped her from attacking you without a good reason. I’ve done my part”

taglist: @maria699669 @purplerose291 @itzmeme @ravenmedows

#older percy jackson #Percy Jackson x reader #percy jackson x you #percy jackson x male reader #Percy Jackson x fem!reader #Percy Jackson x ares!reader #Percy Jackson x gn!reader #pjo x reader #pjo x you #book percy #book percy jackson

[beewolfwrites]

Hiii! I live for your writing, so if your requests are open I was wondering if you could make a fic where chishiya has a s/o that has a similar personality to him. Idk, it seems interesting to see how they’d interact in the games or if a near death experience were to happen to either of them. Thank you so much, have an amazing day!

Hi! This felt so weird to write, kind of like getting Siri to have a conversation with another Siri. But two Chishiyas (?)

Anyway, I hope you like it! :)

(Also, I'm so sorry for those who read the previous request I wrote with Wingwoman Kuina - I'd accidentally left some female pronouns in there as I'd written it as a female reader, then decided to make it gn because why not. My editing is terrible because I'm always half asleep, so I'm really sorry if I accidentally made anyone uncomfortable!)

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

Pain flared in your shoulder as you trudged back into the hotel. You bypassed the crowded areas around the courtyard, bar and pool, slipping in through a quiet side entrance and up through the fire escape. The less people that knew about this little “incident”, the better. You didn’t want anyone taking advantage during your next game. 

Those idiots. Not the ones partying and wasting the remainder of their insignificant lives, but the militants. This was their fault, this agony. 

How can I get back at them, I wonder?

Perhaps leaving a nasty surprise in their rooms? Hmm, the possibilities were endless. You’d have to throw around some ideas with Chishiya and come up with something really creative. 

Speak of the devil, as you passed through the annex the shape of Chishiya’s white hoodie could be seen rounding the corner ahead. He appeared at the end of the corridor, his eyes honing in on your shoulder as you approached. 

‘That looks nasty,’ he said. 

‘It feels it.’ 

Luckily, the bullet had struck the fleshy upper portion of your arm just where it meets the shoulder, bypassing your bone and resulting in a flesh wound. However, even if the injury itself wasn’t fatal, the muscles had stiffened, sparks of pain shooting down to your wrist and across your chest and back. You had always hated asking for help, especially for such a pathetic wound, but still.  

‘Normally I’d deal with this myself, but I might need your expertise, Dr Chishiya. I’m pretty sure the bullet’s still in there.’ 

‘Ch… you’d better come this way then,’ he replied, unimpressed. ‘And don’t call me that.’ 

He led you back to his room where you took a seat on his bed. He pulled out a box of surgical instruments and medical supplies from within the wardrobe, having stolen them from who knows where. Knowing what would come next, you tried to remove your shirt, but stopped, wincing, when needles shot through your arm. Chishiya sat down beside you, using a pair of surgical scissors to carefully cut away your sleeve. 

A shame. I really like this shirt too. 

‘What did you do this time then?’ There was a burning wetness on your skin as he cleaned the area.

‘Me?’ You raised a brow. ‘I didn’t do anything.’ 

‘So the bullet flew into you by itself?’

You couldn’t quite see what he was doing from this angle, but whatever it was, it hurt tremendously, like he was poking and prodding inside the wound. Probably trying to find the bullet with a pair of tweezers. 

‘It was Niragi’s idiots, or one of them anyway,’ you winced. ‘He wasn’t even aiming that thing correctly. Perhaps I should have given him a demonstration.’ 

‘As if you could,’ Chishiya muttered. ‘You’re lucky. If it had hit you square in the shoulder you would have bled out in minutes.’ 

Oh well…it happens. 

Your lips curled into a smile. ‘What would you do if it did? Would you cry?’ 

He paused his ministrations. ‘Obviously not. That would be ridiculous.’ 

You tried to turn to face him better, but he held you in place with one hand, gesturing for you to keep from moving. You obeyed his silent order. However, that didn’t stop you from speaking your mind. Nothing could stop you from doing that. 

‘Chishiya,’ you said, ‘if I die in my next game, don’t you dare waste your time crying. I’ll never let you live it down in the afterlife.’ 

‘I have nothing to worry about then.’ Even from here, you could hear the smirk in his voice. ‘You’re not dying in your next game.’ 

‘You don’t know that. What if I fall into a giant pool of acid?’ 

‘If you do something that stupid,’ he said, ‘you deserve what you get.’

You hissed as he pulled the tiny bullet from your arm and dropped it into a metal dish. You could feel the ooze of blood dripping down your skin. Somehow, now that the bullet had been removed, the pain was both better and worse at the same time.

How can something that tiny be so annoying? 

‘You know, if you died in a game I’d be pretty sad, I think.’ You tilted your head, trying to see his face in the mirror on the wall. His expression was one of deep concentration. ‘I might even cry.’ 

‘Oh…’ He rooted around in the box and pulled out a sterile needle and surgical thread. ‘Would you now?’ 

‘Maybe.’ You braced yourself mentally, as once he began sewing the wound, the pain would soon become unbearable. ‘I guess I’ll never find out though.’ 

‘No?’

You finally arched your head back to look at him, eyes shining and heart full with a feeling you couldn’t describe. You had never quite been able to describe it, no matter how much it filled the emptiness within you. 

‘Because you’re not allowed die in a game either,’ you stated.  

The moment would have almost been romantic, or at least as romantic as it could get for two people who really didn’t have any interest in romance at all. If anything, it was unfortunate that Chishiya chose that exact moment to jab the needle into your wound.

Between hisses of pain, you asked him, ‘About that guy. How do you think I should return the favour?’ 

You didn’t need to look back to know that Chishiya was smiling slyly. It was the same smile he always wore when the cogs in his brain were turning.

‘I have a few ideas.’ 

#alice in borderland #aib #chishiya #chishiya shuntaro #chishiya x reader #imawa no kuni no arisu

[verydeadaten]

Need

Yang: Ugh, Port's class was so boring.

Blake: If he goes on another tangent, I'll pull my ears out.

Ruby: I kinda like his stories. I wonder If I'll be able to tell stories like that when I'm older.

Weiss: Of course a child like you would like his tangents. You're so easily entertained.

Ruby: Hey!

Pyrrha: Um, excuse me.

Yang: Hey P-Money! What's up?

Pyrrha: I need to talk to Weiss... In private.

Yang: *looking at Weiss* Really?

Ruby: But we were gonna have BFFAF time after this!

Weiss: No we weren't. Where would you like to talk Pyrrha?

Pyrrha: There's an empty room.

Weiss: Lead the way!

As Weiss and Pyrrha walk away, Weiss looks back to both, seeing Yang and Blake both holding a thumbs up. After a bit of walking, they enter the empty classroom, with Pyrrha shutting the door behind them.

Weiss: So, what did you want to talk to me about?

Pyrrha: ...I need you...

Weiss:

Weiss: *thinking* Oh my gods. It's happening. IT'S HAPPENING!!!

Weiss: Pyrrha Nikos, the most beautiful (besides me), perfect (besides me), and strongest person in the whole world finally noticed me!

Pyrrha: I need you to....

Weiss: It was only a matter of time before she lost interest in that oaf, Arc. I knew it was only a passing fancy. How could anyone as wonderful as her? She deserves someone better, smarter, stronger.

Pyrrha: To t-teach...

Weiss: We'll get married in Argus, and I'll have Winter be my maid of honor. I'll make sure Father and Whitley aren't invited, and especially that ignorant fool, Arc, and my dolt of a leader, Ruby. It'll be perfect, and-

Pyrrha:

I NEED YOU TO TEACH ME HOW TO SING!!!

Weiss: E-e-e-excuse me?!

Pyrrha: I need you to teach me how to sing! You're the only singer I personally know, so please teach me!

Weiss: *utterly flabberghasted* WHY?

Pyrrha: Well...

Two weeks earlier...

Team JNPR where relaxing in their dorm after class. Pyrrha was reading a book. Ren was taking a nap, with Nora lying on his chest. Jaune was playing his guitar. He stopped suddenly, and looked up at his team.

Jaune: You guys wanna start a band?

Nora: *immediatly bolting up from Ren's chest* Can I play drums?

Jaune: Sure.

Nora: YES.

Ren: *woken up from his nap* What's happening?

Nora: Jaune wants us to start a band.

Ren: Oh. I guess I'll play bass then.

Jaune: You play bass?

Ren: No. But I know Nora's going to play drums. And you're going to play guitar. I'm alright with playing bass. It's dark, like my soul.

Nora: But Renny, you have the brightest soul out of all of us!

Ren: *smiles*

Jaune: Are you sure you want to play bass?

Ren: It's fine. I'm a quick learner, and I'm good with my fingers. *goes back to napping*

Jaune: Hmm, alright. What a bout you Pyrrha? Do you want to join the band?

Pyrrha: Y-Yes! Of course.

Jaune: What do you want to play?

Pyrrha: Um, I really don't know. I don't play any instruments.

Jaune: Really? Have you ever tried to play something? Try to get into music as a passing fancy?

Pyrrha: No. I was always so busy with training and studying, I never even thought of making music. My grandma played harp and flute, but she died when I was really little. She was the only really musical person I knew.

Jaune: Hmmm... I guess you can sing.

Pyrrha: W-W-W-WHAT?

Jaune: Yeah. I mean, your voice is already so beautiful.

Pyrrha: You think my voice is beautiful?

Jaune: Pyrrha, your voice is what the sunrise sounds like.

Pyrrha: Oh gods, he's so sweet! He looks so excited about this, I have to do it. I HAVE TO PROTECT THAT SMILE!

Pyrrha: *grinning* Alright Jaune, I'll sing for our band.

Jaune: YES! You're the best Pyr. I know this is going to be great. Lets have our first band practice next week, after we get the instruments, of course.

Pyrrha: Okay.

Nora: SIR YES SIR!

Ren: ZZZZzzzz...

Back to the present...

Pyrrha; And then next week we rehearsed, and I was terrible! I tried to sing White Dog but I just couldn't!

Pyrrha: *on the verge of tears* Ren and Nora where looking at me weird, and Jaune had this really fake smile on his face! He said " I think you did a pretty good job Pyrrha." I know he was lying to make me feel better.

Pyrrha: *sobbing* I couldn't protect that smile. I don't deserve him. He deserves a partner who can sing Banned In D.V. by Rad Brains without ripping out their vocal cords. Please Weiss, I'm begging you. I need to redeem myself in his eyes. Please. I'll even pay for the lessons, please. I need this. I've seen him writing songs, and they're so beautiful, and he wants ME to sing them. You have to understand.

Weiss:

Weiss: *sighs the deepest sigh humanly possible*

Weiss: *realizing that she'll never get any pyrussy* I'll teach you how to sing.

Pyrrha: Thank you, thank you so much. I could never thank you enough, thank you.

Weiss: *completely dead on the inside* It's fine.

Pyrrha: *crying tears of joy* Really Weiss. You don't know how important this is for me. You have my deepest thanks.

Weiss: *smiling through the pain* That's what friends are for!

______________________________________________________________

Colored words works on desktop know. Praise the lord. Here are the songs Pyrrha talks about btw.

#rwby #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #nora valkyrie #weiss schnee #lie ren #arkos #Youtube

[besiegedhunter]

After reading about Siracusa's relationship with courts, Lappland's weird lines about revenge and justice start to make more sense

Do you think it will be important theme in her future arc? I mean besides wilderness

Before the actual ask I want to just say, I've not read Lappland's dialogue with the context of Il Siracusano and further Siracusa lore so I'm glad this pushed me to do that.

Cause of spoilers I'll put my thoughts below.

So hmm. Actually another thing I'm glad about is upon thinking about this I think it contextualizes Lappland and also a little bit of her relationship with Signora Sicily.

Cause that's always been something I've been curious about in tandem with Lappland's connections with Laterano but thing is about Sicily and Laterano with Siracusa is they represent Order. Sicily in particular brought Order to Siracusa, she decides what is justice and right and she is the ultimate judge. She is Order itself. Siracusa's justice system itself.

And Lappland is her enforcer.

We know the sort of work that Lappland did for her by To Be Continued where Sicily sent her to eliminate Gambino and Capone. Sicily was judge and jury, while Lappland was her executioner. Her gavel. It could also be assumed that Lappland was sent on many more jobs like this, possibly the several gangs she's destroyed by Signora Sicily who thought highly enough of her to ask her to be one of the Bocca al Lupo.

So Lappland all this time has been an instrument for Justice and maybe even had opportunities to act as Judge and Jury on top of Executioner in other matters. Like it is odd. She's a mafioso. Once heir to the Saluzzo family. But when she was exiled she effectively went from a mafioso to someone in Siracusa's Justice System lol.

And so for the future I think it's an interesting prospect. She's been dishing out justice for Sicily, while she thought Siracusa and the Saluzzos were a swamp she couldn't escape from. When she got her wake up call that she can cut ties from them we see a repeating statement:

Destroying Siracusa.

I've not been understanding what exactly she intends with that and honestly I think the wilderness theme has made it murky but if Lappland is an instrument of justice through working for Sicily, it's embodiment as well as the head of Siracusa,

And Lappland is saying she will destroy Siracusa; is that not her cutting ties with Signora Sicily, the judge and jury to her executioner, and deciding instead to be the one who decides what justice is? Maybe having judged Siracusa already or her "destroying Siracusa" is judging the mafia families.

I also think it's interesting she says this in correlation to Vigil's plan. Like Penance and Texas agree with Vigil to work alongside him but Lappland just says that she's going to destroy Siracusa in another way.

Like Vigil's plan, what he sees to change is the mafias. That's the extent that we know of and if Lappland says she's going to destroy Siracusa in another way, does that mean she thinks they're doing the same thing? And that "destroying Siracusa" is getting rid of the mafia and that's her plan?

It could also add onto why she doesn't really show much hostility to Sicily because she's putting herself in a similar bracket as her and Vigil wherein they all see the issue at Siracusa's core: the mafia but each have a different way to tackle it.

Sicily made a legal system and system for the mafia to limit the harm they can do but ultimately not get rid of them despite her desire for just that

Vigil desires to make a mafia free city, to prove it works, and through such a thing replicate that in other cities

Lappland just wants to pull the weeds out of the ground and eliminate them herself maybe

Could also further draw parallels through her and Sicily, maybe even Vigil not that we know that Sicily herself was part of a mafia family before bringing Guns and Order to Siracusa.

Just an interesting thought tacked onto this and my further attempts to understand what exactly Lappland is doing at the end of the event.

But yeah honestly I much prefer this theming than the wilderness one for her. Sure they can work together but Red already exists to explore the theme of the wilderness and Lappland has her own themes that I personally find more interesting.

Granted, her form of justice feels very much like it's just the wilderness and if they want to look at Lappland and make a point that she's every bit the problem, to either steer her away or (more interestingly maybe) say that she's continuing down a road of self destruction.

Well that'd be interesting. I also wouldn't be surprised if they go down the road of not self destruction that Laterano plays a role in that.

But I still think Red's going to Sette Colli and someone has got to go to Montelupe so who knows where that'll go...

Actually I just realized. I think the lore goes that Siracusa's cities used to be named after the family that ruled over it ergo Sicily City which we know Signora Sicily's family ruled and that once she took over, I think? Think she turned her old home into the first courthouse.

Which is just to say maybe Sicily doesn't operate out of Montelupe OR that Sicily City became Montelupe when the naming convention was done away with. It also raises questions about like, where other cities could be and so on.

Like if you think Sicily only did Guns and Order sixty years ago and a century ago did someone take over Sette Colli, did that family change Sette Colli's name?

Unrelated thoughts those are but ones I think are semi-relevant. Like the Montelupe family could've ruled the capital. Lappland's event could take place... in Saluzzo City. Etc etc.

But that's my thoughts for now. Interesting to think of how Lappland is integrally tied to justice and how that'd explain her skin.

#ask #cn spoilers

[speaking-at-the-theater]

otgw

watching over the garden wal!!! obviously spoilers so like, watch out for that. this is gonna be a long one as i plan to do the whole series at once so we go on until the picture limit breaks and then we start another post

—

the intro has such vibes. the best part about it being a miniseries is that it doesnt worry about like. spoilers. it can just tell you “this is the short of it, now lemme tell you the long of it.”

–

the chorus that starts playing when wirt is like “where are we”??? haunting. where can i find it?

–

whoever wrote this knows exactly how to write kids i love it

—

“welcome to the unknown boys, you’re mor elost than you realize” indeed

—

greg- greg no- bad idea. dont go towards the forest.

-

what is up with that turtle???

—

“it is your burden to bear” thank you mr woodsman

-

ep 2

—

the drawings in the wood in the intro. what’s up with that

–

“the good woman of the woods”....i dont believe that. that’s sus.

—

that festival seems so interesting??? –

what do you mean the fucking pumpkin *talks*

–

love that “patient is the night” song

-

oo that was…a plot twist

…..

that “you’ll join us someday” is…….something

—

the fuck. is up. with the leaf.

—----

ep 3-

“see, no willpower whatsoever” ms beatrice. what. 

i mean its true though

–

aww, that school concert was such a clever idea! and that small twist. when you hear greg say “let’s steal the instruments” you think he’s still thinking about giving them back to the school for fun. but then the concert is revealed and you see “oh, greg isnt as stupid as he seems”, it’s cute.

–

ep 4

songs of the dark lantern??? sounds interesting

–

that highwayman animation is so???? idk. it’s weird. thy were bordering the uncanny valley for this one and i think it was on purpose

–

the fuck. is up. with those trees. i want answers.

–

haha. the beast is fucking terryfying i’ll be seeing it in my nightmares now.

–

ep 5

this illustration is so good tho??

—

this guys just having an entire existential crisis mood

–

beatrice used to be human? that’s interesting

–

what is up with these fainting ladies and mr-s? –

two pennies for the ferry…like two coins for the charon?

......

also love how the twist here wasnt that there were supernatural shenanigans but that there werent supernatural shenanigans

–

the fish?????? what have the coins got to do with anything??? hmm????

–

ep 5

that frog song is really nice

–

beatrice is sus.

-

also, i love how wirt is slowly warming up to greg??

–

aaand yep. adelaide is bad. fairytale back. has anyone written a fairytale re-telling of otgw? it has the themes…

—

oh….poor bea

andd just like that the character development is gone.

–

chapter 7

also just noticed the eps are labeled chapters! like books! –

oh dear….the woodsman is….wow.

“ we should talk”

we’re never seeing the woodsman again i think.

–

auntie whispers is so fucking creepy??? is there a single adult with a house that is also not entiwned with any dark magic?? not a single one??

–

huh. so it was lorna alla long huh…..yk what they say about appearances

—

did whispers never think to say “begone evil spirit” or????

also. if whispers isnt lorna’s real aunt, but they still consider eachothr family…..how did they meet?

it must have been a sad story, though.

–

“there is only the forest and there is only surrender”

….

i want a story for the beast. even if it’s just “it sprouted from the ground one day”. i need mor eof it.

oh well, fics must exist. if not, i’ll make one.

–

ep 8

—

aand wirt lost hope. 

bye.

–

this episode is…sooo weird

–

it’s snowing?? already?? wasnt it autumns just a few episodes ago???

—

….at least now i know where the edelwood trees come from.

—

what did gregory wish for tho???

—

.....

—

9 ep….were going at the speed of light huh?

—”into the unknown”....they do say be careful what you wish for, no?

-

oh….oh wirt’s…teenagery. which means Really Fucking Mean.

—

10

:((((

oh…sio the beast is setting tasks for wirt, fairytale style, so he’ll give up, huh?

…..

-

the beast’s eyes are the same as the dog’s after it ate the turtle…..maybe it’s some sign of corruption? or evil??

–

“take on the task of lantern bearer” how bout no.

–

WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THE BEAST WHATS IT MADE OF WHAT THE FUCK

it looks like wood but???? holy shit??? trypophobiaed wood. 

if the beast is made of wood and it eats the sap (oil) from trees is it a tree vampire????

–

HOLY SHIT HE DID IT

–

….

lovely ending is lovely

this show met all my expectations, and surpassed them, too!

#otgw #otgw spoilers #ig?

[4ggravation]

liveblogging my first time listening to midnights

(warning: long ass post)

lavender haze

this instrumental is fun, i like this

oh this is good! i wasnt expecting it to sound so peppy

very 80s-esque ig? idk how to refer to it

i was expecting a slower, more gentle sorta song, not this

ok i love this

maroon

oh this is different from lavender haze, much less lively

this feels so sadly romantic

that chorus was so good minus the reference to red shades. maroon scarlet and burgundy are not the same color girl

"that's a real fucking legacy" i love how she says that

her voice is so much more faint and mature, it really adds to things

anti-hero

before we begin uh. i have not heard good things about this song. not getting my hopes up

"i have this things where i get older, but just never wiser" she just like me frfr

oh this chorus is not...

"sometimes i feel like everybody is a sexy baby / and i'm a monster on the hill" be so fucking fr rn

the chorus is fucking back. goddamnit.

love the way she says "everybody agrees"

snow on the beach

this instrumental sounds like something in an animated film, if that makes sense

"life is emotionally abusive" real

these lyrics, oh this is so nice

very nostalgic and calm, i'm enjoying this

is that lana's voice? i can't tell

y'all were right. where tf is lana i don't see her

you're on your own, kid

oh my god, this is so

"i waited ages to see you there" woagh

"i search the party of better bodies / just to learn that my dreams aren't rare"

these lyrics bro. i can't explain it but they're making me feel some kinda way

like lavender haze, i was expecting something slower

but i still liked it!

i've already listened to midnight rain, so we shall skip it!

question...?

"fuckin situations, circumstances" me when i have to do things

no taylor, i have never been kissed

"politics and gender roles / and you're not sure and i don't know"

i could see this playing at like. a wine tasting. for some reason

vigilante shit

i'm going into this expecting girlboss taylor, but we shall see

oh my. i like

okay i really like this one. this instrumental fucks

that bridge tho. this song is so

lately i've been dressing for revenge!!!!

bejeweled

immediately the beat is running away from her...

okay, it's getting better i think

why did she say "and we're dancing all night" like that

her flow is weird asf but the instrumental is kinda fun ngl

like anti-hero, it's... alright. not amazing

labyrinth

ooh? this is an interesting intro

these vocals are so nice oh my

"lost in the labyrinth of my mind" i love that line. maybe it's because i'm a maladaptive daydreamer idk

this song is kinda what i expected you're on your own, kid to be. it's lovely and gentle and melancholic, like you could cry and sway to it at the same time

that was so nice omg!!

i've also already listened to karma, so we shall skip it too.

sweet nothing

is this gonna be a sad song. i feel it

aww, these lyrics are nice. not really sad but more wholesome ig? like finally coming home after a long, tiring day

this song is so sweet omg??

ough. why am i feeling so many emotions

the piano was really nice! very pretty song <3

mastermind

the intro... hmm

oh wow. this reminds me of blorbo from my head hold on

this is such a pretty sound. reminds me of the nighttime, ironically

"i'm only cryptic and machiavellian because i care" inch resting...

hmm... as the end to the album, it's really good. definitely one of my favorites!

#hope you enjoyed reading all that #overall the album was good! #minus a couple duds #(cough cough anti-hero) #my favorite songs were definitely lavender haze mastermind and vigilante shit #thanks for reading! #taylor swift #midnights

[fandom-necromancer]

828. part 2

This was prompted by @thetruefor3stspirit! Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900

[part1]

That comment had been a weird one to hear from the human and Nines spent the remaining car ride to the precinct thinking about it. They hadn’t been working together for long, but long enough for Nines to confirm what others had told him about the man: He was rude, impolite, swore more than was good for him and still thought of androids as machines, as objects. He could play along well enough, but Nines still was met by derogatory terms and jokes about his kind. Gavin hated Connor to the bone, couldn’t care less about androids and Nines knew he was sorted in somewhere in between those two.

For this assessment the human’s words had been strangely out of character.  Maybe he had misunderstood something? Maybe it was one of Gavin’s frequent self-hating jokes, telling him that no one would take him as someone as bad as himself. Yeah, that had to be it. Anything else was impossible.

They worked relentlessly on their case, Gavin checking the evidence at hand while Nines accessed public CCTV and how many TR models were currently active in Detroit. Unfortunately, none of them got any results from their research. The evidence they had wasn’t enough to find any trace of the murderer, even after a thorough autopsy of the android victim. The footage was conveniently deleted, looped or obstructed and there were far too many TRs to just go around asking for a spare, ripped out Thirium pump. If anything, that told them the TR in question wasn’t working alone as they had neither the ability nor the computing power to hack the cameras that fast and effectively. Except for if their suspect was a RK900, of course. Then all that would be possible with just one unit. Nines really wished it wasn’t the case.

‘Hey, Gavin, Nines? You’ve got a new crime-scene to look at. I would hurry, it’s still fresh.’ Gavin was immediately up and picked up his jacket from the chair. Nines followed shortly. It had been two days since the last one and everyone knew they had enough open cases already. That could only mean… ‘What’s it, Chris? Any details?’ ‘Ripped out Thirium pump.’ ‘You are shitting me’, Gavin uttered. ‘Nope. Same shit as last time.’ ‘Phck.’

‘Phck, please don’t let this be some serial killer, please!’ Nines was processing the information the DPD had already gathered, ignoring the emotional outburst from his partner. ‘Victim is another android. It looks… awfully much like our last victim. It is very much possible that they were murdered by the same person.’ ‘Shit. Detroit really doesn’t need this kind of bullshit.’ ‘Don’t worry, Detective. At least they only target androids.’ Gavin clenched his teeth. Nines had quickly lost his uncertainty around him that had clung to him the first days of them working together. Apparently, the machine had concluded his assessment of him in keeping his distance. And what was that last comment for? Phcking androids. ‘Yeah, at least they only target androids’, he hissed at the droid. What had he thought? Nines was just a prick like any other.

They arrived at the scene and as Gavin entered the kitchen of the house, he near gagged from the chemical stench. It hurt in his nose like spilled washing agent. Only then he could squint at the body. And holy shit, that was a lot of blood. The blue liquid gathered in a pool underneath the android. It was still visible though and that let his brain run at top speed. ‘This happened less than two hours ago, right? As the thirium is still liquid?’ ‘That’s right, Detective.’ ‘And the hole in his chest is the same size again?’ ‘Correct.’ ‘How long would you need to erase all camera footage?’ ‘Detective, I am not-‘ ‘How long?’ ‘If I wanted to be as thoroughly as our suspect, it really just depends on the amount of cameras.’ ‘Well, look out of the window, I immediately counted at least five in those shops.’ ‘I see thirteen.’ ‘Ugh, smartass. How long then?’ ‘More than two hours. But we would need a warrant and it could still be a TR-‘ ‘Phck warrants, if this is a serial killer, do you want to wait until the next android dies?’ ‘What is it to you, Detective.’ ‘Phcking… Would you just hack the shit? Come on, we can argue about it later and we don’t have to tell anyone. We’ll get that footage eventually anyways.’

Nines scowled at the man, who was already kneeling in front of the victim, putting on gloves to lift the android’s clothing. Then he started to find a way to access the footage. ‘No.’ ‘What is it?’ ‘The murderer is a RK900.’ ‘Shit. Where is he now? I will call in backup.’ ‘And what will you tell them how we found it out?’ ‘I’ll bullshit something for them, okay toaster? Just find him, quick!’

-

They had found the RK900 by hacking several surveillance cameras on their way and had to fight the android in the end to subdue him. Both had the bruises to proof just how strong a RK900 unit was and Gavin swore to never anger his partner the way he had had his fun with Connor. They interrogated the machine and tried to find out where the rest of them were hiding but were met by it stating his missions and how they were not authorised to be told the information they searched. The RK900 was stubborn in his programming and created enough problems for the police that two permanent android guards were positioned in front of his cell. Or the cell next to his first one he had smashed the reinforced glass of. The machine tried everything to get out of there, displaying his brute force and disregard of his own health. He had severed his own hand to cause an electric surge on the lock of the door and had always doubled his efforts when he sensed an android outside. He babbled on about deviancy being a plague, a malfunction and that all free androids had to be eliminated.

‘It’s a fucking Terminator’, people commented. ‘How could someone build something like that?’ ‘God, this is scary.’ No one seemed to notice how everyone subconsciously kept their distance to Nines after the day the android had freed himself a second time and not only broke the glass, but also an arm and a leg of the guards before Connor could send the android into forced stasis. No one noticed how the heart rates of everyone not over two metres away of Nines spiked. No one noticed how Nines tried to make himself smaller, to not move too much in the precinct and kept seated in front of his terminal, even during break time.

‘Hey, lighten up a little.’ Nines flinched at the sudden contact of a hand on his shoulder. Who still dared to- ‘You’ve been red all day, tin-can.’ Of course. ‘Don’t you have work to do?’, Nines grumbled, scowl deepening as the human sat himself on his desk awfully close. Yeah, we got it. You are not scared. You have a death wish anyway, thinking androids are below you. ‘I actually have, yes. But it’s time for a break and your disco-light is damn distracting.’ ‘You never take your break, Detective.’ ‘Yeah, but you do. So why is your metal ass still here and not over there with drunkard and poodle?’ ‘None of your business.’ ‘Fine. But you know, keeping your distance to them won’t solve your problem.’ ‘What problem?’, Nines asked, his question more a threat than anything. A threat the human ignored as always: ‘They are scared of you because you are the same damn model than the idiot in our holding cell. You know, it’s funny, you predicted that scenario last week and somehow missed the whole thing playing out in front of you.’

‘I saw it, Detective’, the android snarled. ‘Don’t you think I would be the first to notice?’ ‘Well, you are not doing anything about it, so… no?’ ‘What is your problem? Just lean back and enjoy the show. You might lose an android on the force over this. Thought that would be a win for you?’ ‘I think you are overexaggerating.’ ‘What? You being happy when I’m gone? I don’t think so.’ Gavin sighed and slipped from the table. ‘You are a real pain in the ass, you know? Continue like this and I really would be.’

He yawned and walked over to Connor’s desk and Nines thought that would be the end of it. Until he was surprised by two folders repeatedly being smacked together. Nines looked over to the detective, who kept on doing this with two of Connor’s open case files while marching down the bullpen. Then he let them sink to his respective sides and yelled: ‘Attention, dipshits! The android in the holding cell is the killing machine here. I thought the DPD would only hire people who had the braincells to show for it, but apparently you all cheated your end exam or something. My partner isn’t the phcking serial killer and you assholes better don’t treat him like one. I need a fully operational partner and I won’t let you all pull him down, understood?’ Gavin had all the attention of a shocked crowd screaming through the precinct loud enough the people in the lobby had to hear it and the human nodded into the silence. ‘Good.’ He had arrived at the entrance and casually threw both folders into a – thankfully empty – trashcan. The man added a ‘Phcking Kindergarten’ to his speech and exited the precinct.

Nines had been left to the attention of his co-workers after Gavin had went outside and couldn’t help but blush and turn around to his terminal. What the hell had the human thought doing this? An hour later Gavin came back, holding a coffee from a local coffeeshop. He strode through the precinct as if it was a day like any other and sat down at his table across from Nines, ignoring the whispered talks of everyone else. The android however heard them loud and clear. ‘What the hell happened to Reed?’ ‘I know right? He hates attention!’ ‘Yeah, more importantly he hates androids. Didn’t you hear what he did before the revolution?’ ‘No. What?’ ‘I heard he was one of those guys abusing thrown out androids.’ ‘Holy shit. They let someone like that work at the police?’ ‘I know, right?’

Nines shook his head trying to concentrate on the screen in front of him again.

‘I bet he did it because Nines is convenient for him. Just some android he can command around.’

‘Poor Nines, stuck with such an asshole.’

‘Must be the worst. I wouldn’t last a day partnered up to Reed.’

Nines looked over to the man silently sipping his coffee, completely focussed on the photos of the crime-scene laying before him. He really seemed as if his head was in a different world, being able to ignore all of this. He had to hear it. How could he filter it out that well? As Gavin looked up to type up the report for this case, Nines interrupted: ‘Why?’ ‘Hmm?’ The man put down his coffee and looked at him innocently as if he hadn’t just guilt-shamed all of the precinct to be nice to him. ‘Why did you do that?’ ‘What? Bought me a coffee? I had my break and well, I couldn’t exactly stay after-‘ ‘You know exactly what I mean, don’t evade it!’ ‘Why did I defend my partner, you mean? Didn’t think I had to explain that. I’m keeping my promise, tin-can. Even if not, partners are supposed to have each other’s back.’ ‘What promise?’ ‘Last week? In the car? Don’t tell me you forgot that already!’ ‘You meant that?’ ‘Did I mean tha- Of course I meant that! Why else would I say it? Did you think I was joking?’ ‘At least I didn’t think you were being serious. You hate androids.’ Gavin leaned back in his chair and sighed. ‘Listen, Nines. I don’t hate androids, okay? I used to demolish thrown out machines. I could as well had been vandalising bus-stops or graffiti dicks on walls. I can’t care less about androids, that’s right. I couldn’t care less for humans either. But I care about the persons around me and what is right and what is wrong. Why else should I choose to work at the police? It definitely isn’t the nice work atmosphere and the great retirement policy.’

Nines just stared at the man, who quickly evaded his eyes. That was the most honest the human had been to him so far. Or had Nines just never noticed it? He thought back to their talk in the car. Had he really meant every word he had said? In the lights of his recent actions he might have. And Nines realised the chances weren’t too bad that he had let himself become a victim of prejudice. Everyone had told him the detective was an asshole, someone who hated androids and would rather see one in a ditch than save one on the job. He had been wrong to believe them. Gavin was a good partner, caring and compassionate about his job.

‘Thank you’, Nines said in all honesty, thinking back to what he had thrown at the human back in the car.

I don’t want to be pegged as someone like you.

‘Hmm?’ The human looked up at him again and Nines couldn’t shake the feeling Gavin had already been back at thinking about their case, not even bothering what Nines’ evaluation of him was once he made clear how he thought about the android.

‘I think I would be honoured to be put in a box with people like you.’

#detroit become human #dbh #Reed900 #RK900 #Gavin Reed #THEY ARE FLUFFY IDIOTS #Sorry #Miscommunication + good communication is my guilty pleasure #selective attention is something I have too Gavin #Hey do you remember that one person last lab course? #Hmm u need to be more specific... #Hmm they were really interested in weird instruments #boy or girl? #I don't phcking know #Gavin banging the folders together: I aint got no functional partner because of y'all now you aint get a break cause of me #Also rip Connor having to fish his papers out of there #Gavin's just petty like this

[path-of-my-childhood]

Aaron Dessner on How His Collaborative Chemistry With Taylor Swift Led to “Evermore”

By: Claire Shaffer for Rolling Stone Date: December 18th 2020

Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner didn’t expect to make another record so soon after Folklore. As they were putting the final touches on Swift’s album this past summer, the two artists had been collaborating remotely on possible songs for Big Red Machine, Dessner’s music project with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (who also dueted with Swift on the Folklore track “Exile”). Dessner recalls:

“I think I’d written around 30 of those instrumentals in total. So when I started sharing them with Taylor over the months that we were working on Folklore, she got really into it, and she wrote two songs to some of that music.”

One was “Closure,” an experimental electronic track in 5/4 time signature that was built over a staccato drum kit. The other song was “Dorothea,” a rollicking, Americana piano tune. The more Dessner listened to them, the more he realized that they were continuations of Folklore‘s characters and stories. But the real turning point came soon after Folklore‘s surprise release in late July, when Dessner wrote a musical sketch and named it “Westerly,” after the town in Rhode Island where Swift owns the house previously occupied by Rebekah Harkness.

“I didn’t really think she would write something to it — sometimes I’ll name songs after my friends’ hometowns or their babies, just because I write a lot of music and you have to call it something, and then I’ll send it to them. But, anyway, I sent it to her, and not long after she wrote ‘Willow’ to that song and sent it back.”

It was a moment not unlike when Swift first sent him the song “Cardigan” back in the spring, where both she and Dessner felt an instant creative spark — and then just kept writing. Before long, they were creating even more songs with Vernon, Jack Antonoff, Dessner’s brother Bryce, and “William Bowery” (the pseudonym of Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn) for what would eventually lead to Folklore‘s wintry sister record, Evermore.

Even more spontaneous than the album that preceded it, Evermore features more eclectic production alongside Swift’s continued project of character-driven songwriting, and includes an even wider group of collaborators, like Haim and Dessner’s own band the National. Dessner spoke to Rolling Stone about the album’s experimentation, how it was recorded during the making of the doc The Long Pond Studio Sessions, and how he sees his collaboration with Swift continuing in the future.

When did you realize this was going to end up being another album?

It was after we’d written several songs, seven or eight or nine. Each one would happen, and we would both be in this sort of disbelief of this weird alchemy that we had unleashed. The ideas were coming fast and furiously and were just as compelling as anything on Folklore, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. At some point, Taylor wrote “Evermore” with William Bowery, and then we sent it to Justin, who wrote the bridge, and all of a sudden, that’s when it started to become clear that there was a sister record. Historically, there are examples of this, of records which came in close succession that I love — certain Dylan records, Kid A and Amnesiac. I secretly fell in love with the idea that this was part of the same current, and that these were two manifestations that were interrelated. And with Taylor, I think it just became clear to her what was happening. It really picked up steam, and at some point, there were 17 songs — because there are two bonus tracks, which I love just as much.

Evermore definitely sounds more experimental than Folklore, and has more variety — you have these electronic songs that sound like Bon Iver or Big Red Machine, but you also have the closest thing Taylor has written to country songs in the last decade. Was there a conscious effort on her part to branch out more with this album?

Sonically, the ideas were coming from me more. But I remember when I wrote the piano track to “Tolerate It,” right before I sent it to her, I thought, This song is intense. It’s in 10/8, which is an odd time signature. And I did think for a second, “Maybe I shouldn’t send it to her, she won’t be into it.” But I sent it to her, and it conjured a scene in her mind, and she wrote this crushingly beautiful song to it and sent it back. I think I cried when I first heard it. But it just felt like the most natural thing, you know? There weren’t limitations to the process. And in these places where we were pushing into more experimental sounds or odd time signatures, that just felt like part of the work.

It was really impressive to me that she could tell these stories as easily in something like “Closure” as she could in a country song like “Cowboy Like Me.” Obviously, “Cowboy Like Me” is much more familiar, musically. But to me, she’s just as sharp and just as masterful in her craft in either of those situations. And also, just in terms of what we were interested in, there is a wintry nostalgia to a lot of the music that was intentional on my part. I was leaning into the idea that this was fall and winter, and she’s talked about that as well, that Folklore feels like spring and summer to her and Evermore is fall and winter. So that’s why you hear sleigh bells on “Ivy,” or why some of the imagery in the songs is wintery.

I can hear that in the guitar on “‘Tis the Damn Season,” too. It almost sounds like the National with that very icy guitar line.

I mean, that is literally like, me in my most natural state. [laughs] If you hand me a guitar, that’s what it sounds like when I start playing it. People associate that sound with the National, but that’s just because I finger-pick an electric guitar like that a lot — if you solo the guitar on “Mr. November,” it’s not unlike that.

That song, to me, has always felt nostalgic or like some sort of longing. And the song that Taylor wrote is so instantly relatable, you know, “There’s an ache in you put there by the ache in me.” I remember when she sang that to me in my kitchen — she had written it overnight during The Long Pond Studio Sessions, actually.

Did she record all her Evermore vocals at Long Pond while you were filming the Studio Sessions documentary?

Not all of them, but most of them. She stayed after we were done filming and then we recorded a lot. It was crazy because we were getting ready to make that film, but at the same time, these songs were accumulating. And so we thought, “Hmm, I guess we should just stay and work.”

On “Closure,” there are parts where Taylor’s vocals are filtered through the Messina, which is this vocal modifier that Justin Vernon uses a lot in his work with Bon Iver. How were you able to modify her vocals with it, if she was never in the same room as Justin?

I went to see Justin at one point — that’s the one trip I’ve made — and we worked together at his place on stuff. He plays the drums on “Cowboy Like Me” and “Closure,” and he plays guitar and banjo and sings on “Ivy,” and sings on “Marjorie” and “Evermore.” And then we processed Taylor’s vocals through his Messina chain together. He was really deeply involved in this record, even more so than the last record. He’s always been such a huge help to me, and not just by getting him to play stuff or sing stuff — I can also send him things and get his feedback. We’ve done a ton of work together, but we have different perspectives and different harmonic brains. He obviously has his own studio set up at home, but it was nice to be able to see him and work on this stuff.

“No Body, No Crime” is also really interesting, just because I don’t think I’ve ever heard you produce a song like that. How did this country murder ballad featuring Haim end up on the record?

Taylor wrote that one alone and sent me a voice memo of her playing guitar — she wrote it on this rubber-bridge guitar that I got for her. It’s the same kind I play on “Invisible String.” So she wrote “No Body, No Crime” and sent me a voice memo of it, and then I started building on that. It’s funny, because the music I’ve listened to the most in my life are things that are more like that — roots music, folk music, country music, old-school rock & roll, the Grateful Dead. It’s not really the sound of the National or other things I’ve done, but it feels like a warm blanket.

That song also had a lot of my friends on it — Josh Kaufman, who played harmonica on “Betty,” also plays harmonica on this one and some guitar. JT Bates plays the drums on that song — he’s an amazing jazz guitarist, but he also has an incredible feel [for rhythm] when it comes to a song like that. He also played the drums on “Dorothea.” And then Taylor had specific ideas from the beginning about references and how she wanted it to feel, and that she wanted the Haim sisters to sing on it. We had them record the song with Ariel Reichshaid, they sent that from L.A., and then we put it together when Taylor was here [at Long Pond]. They’re an incredible band, and it was another situation where we were like, “Well, this happened.” It felt like this weird little rock & roll history anecdote.

You also brought on the National to record “Coney Island.” What was that process like, where you’re recording a song with your band that’s for a different artist?

I had been working on a bunch of music with my brother [Bryce Dessner], some of which we were sending to Taylor also. At that stage, “Coney Island” was all the music except the drums. And as I was writing it, I don’t think I was ever thinking, “This sounds like the National or this sounds like Big Red Machine or this sounds like something totally different.” But Taylor and William Bowery wrote this incredible song, and we first recorded it with just her vocals. It has this really beautiful arc to the story, and I think it’s one of the strongest, lyrically and musically. But listening to the words, we all collectively realized that this does feel like the most related to the National — it almost feels like a story Matt [Berninger] might tell, or I could hear Bryan [Devendorf] playing the drum part.

So we started talking about how it would be cool to get the band, and I called Matt and he was excited for it. We got Bryan to play drums and we got Scott [Devendorf] to play bass and a pocket piano, and Bryce helped produce it. It’s weird, because it does really feel like Taylor, obviously, since she and William Bowery wrote all the words, but it also feels like a National song in a good way. I love how Matt and Taylor sound together. And it was nice because we haven’t played a show in a year, and I don’t know when we will again. You kind of lose track of each other, so in a way, it was nice to reconnect.

When working on Folklore, you had to keep most of your collaborators in the dark about who you were working with. What was the process like this time around, now that everyone knew it was Taylor? How did you keep it a secret?

It was hard. We had to be secretive because of how much people are consuming every shred of information they can find about her, and that’s been an oppressive reality she’s had to deal with. But the fact that no one in the public knew allowed for more freedom of enjoying the process. A lot of the same musicians that played on Folklore played on Evermore. Again, it was a situation where I didn’t tell them what it was, and they couldn’t hear her vocals, but I think a lot of them assumed, especially because of the level of secrecy. [laughs] But as funny as this is, I think everyone who’s been involved has been grateful for these records to play on this year and is proud of them. It kind of just doesn’t happen, to make two great records in such a short period of time. Everyone’s a little bit like, “How did this happen?” and nobody takes it for granted.

Taylor has mentioned that you recorded “Happiness” just a week before the album was released. Was that something you guys wrote, recorded, and produced all at the last minute, or was it something you’d been sitting on for a while before you finally cracked the code?

There were two songs like that. One is a bonus track called “Right Where You Left Me,” and the other one was “Happiness,” which she wrote literally days before we were supposed to master. That’s similar to what happened with Folklore, with “The 1” and “Hoax,” which she wrote days before. We mixed all the tracks here, and it’s a lot to mix 17 songs, it’s like a Herculean task. And it was funny, because I walked into the studio and Jon Low, our engineer here, was mixing and had been working the whole time toward this. And I came in and he’s in the middle of mixing and I was like, “There are two more songs.” And he looked at me like, “…We’re not gonna make it.” Because it does take a lot of time to work out how to finish them.

But she sang those remotely. And the music for “Happiness” is something that I had been working on since last year. I had sang a little bit on it, too — I thought it was a Big Red Machine song, but then she loved the instrumental and ended up writing to it. Same with the other one, “Right Where You Left Me” — it was something I had written right before I went to visit Justin, because I thought, “Maybe we’ll make something when we’re together there.” And Taylor had heard that and wrote this amazing song to it. That is a little bit how she works — she writes a lot of songs, and then at the very end she sometimes writes one or two more, and they often are important ones.

My favorite song on the album is “Marjorie,” and I feel like, for most artists, the instinct would be to present a song like that as a somber piano ballad. But “Marjorie” has this lively electronic beat that runs through it — it literally sounds alive. How did you come up with that?

It’s interesting, because with “Marjorie,” that’s a track that actually existed for a while, and you can hear elements of it behind the song “Peace.” This weird drone that you hear on “Peace,” if you pay attention to the bridge of “Marjorie,” you’ll hear a little bit of that in the distance. Some of what you hear is from my friend Jason Treuting playing percussion, playing these chord sticks, that he actually made for a piece that my brother wrote called “Music for Wooden Strings.” They’re playing these chord sticks, and you can hear those same chord sticks on the National song “Quiet Light.”

I collect a lot of rhythmic elements like that, and all kinds of other sounds, and I give them to my friend Ryan Olson, who’s a producer from Minnesota and has been developing this crazy software called Allovers Hi-Hat Generator. It can take sounds, any sounds, and split them into identifiable sound samples, and then regenerate them in randomized patterns that are weirdly very musical. There’s a lot of new Big Red Machine songs that use those elements. But I’ll go through it and find little parts that I like and loop them. That’s how I made the backing rhythm of “Marjorie.” Then I wrote a song to it, and Taylor wrote to that. In a weird way, it’s one of the most experimental songs on the album — it doesn’t sound that way, but when you pick apart the layers underneath it, it’s pretty interesting.

I do have to ask: How did you come to find out about William Bowery’s real identity as Joe Alwyn? Or did you know all along?

I guess I can say now that I’ve sort of known all along — I was just being careful. Although we never really explicitly talked about it. But I do think it’s been really special to see a number of songs on these albums that they wrote together. William plays the piano on “Evermore,” actually. We recorded that remotely. That was really important to me and to them, to do that, because he also wrote the piano part of “Exile,” but on the record, it’s me playing it because we couldn’t record him easily. But this time, we could. I just think it’s an important and special part of the story.

Do you have a personal favorite song or a moment that you’re proudest of?

“‘Tis the Damn Season” is a really special song to me for a number of reasons. When I wrote the music to it, which was a long time ago, I remember thinking that this is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made, even though it’s an incredibly simple musical sketch. But it has this arc to it, and there’s this simplicity in the minimalism of it and the kind of drum programming in there, and I always loved the tone of that guitar. When Taylor played the track and sang it to me in my kitchen, that was a highlight of this whole time. That track felt like something I have always loved and could have just stayed music, but instead, someone of her incredible storytelling ability and musical ability took it and made something much greater. And it’s something that we can all relate to. It was a really special moment, not unlike how it felt when she wrote “Peace,” but even more so.

Do you see this collaboration with Taylor continuing onward, to more albums or Big Red Machine projects?

It’s kind of the thing where I have so many musicians in my life that I’ve grown close to, and make things with, and are just part of my life. And I’ve rarely had this kind of chemistry with anyone in my life — to be able to write together, to make so many beautiful songs together in such a short period of time. Inevitably, I think we will continue to be in each other’s artistic and personal lives. I don’t know exactly what the next form that will take, but certainly, it will continue.

I do think this story, this era, has concluded, and I think in such a beautiful way with these sister records — it does kind of feel like there’s closure to that. But she’s definitely been very helpful and engaged with Big Red Machine, and just in general. She feels like another incredible musician that I’ve gotten to know and am lucky to have in my life. It’s this whole community that moves forward and takes risks and, hopefully, there will be other records that appear in the future.

#cute #Aaron Dessner #interview #about taylor #taylor swift #Rolling Stone magazine #making of #evermore album #evermore era

[ateezgf]

Hi I’m a new atiny and I’m excited about my first comeback with them but I had a question? Maybe it’s dumb but is there like a storyline to their MVs? I still haven’t watched all of them but I was wondering what the hourglass meant that’s all over this comeback. Anyway thank you very much, I’m sorry if this is weird

hi !! first off, welcome :D how are you liking ateez so far? any favorite boys yet? i hope all the pre-comeback activities are hyping you up!! ALSO, that isn't a dumb question i promise !! yes, they do have a storyline! it comes with a lot of theories since they won’t explicitly tell us & it also spans across A LOT of their content. like mvs, albums, lyrics, vcrs, shows, etc. i’ll put my own thoughts under the read more because it’s a lot. i also can’t explain the hourglass without telling you about their story too. 

to me, the ateez storyline has pretty general themes in regards to good vs evil.. rebellion vs control.. multiverses/timelines/time travel. i’ll be going through this per era (treasure & fever) !! i’ll try to focus primarily on their mvs, but i’ll mention some things from their albums and some vcrs for their comebacks.

TREASURE ERA (EP.1-5): 

pirate king/treasure mv doesn’t have too much story to it. these two mvs are mainly just introductions to them and their story. esp with the very iconic lines “will you be my friend?” and in the intro track on the album right before pirate king, “will you join us?” they sing a lot about their ambitions and the future. it’s safe to believe that this is the good ateez. 

say my name is our first glance at the bad ateez (or who everyone calls halateez). in this mv, we can see that ateez are in distress. in a lot of their solo shots, they’re typically in not likable settings. yeosang is trapped in a glass box with a member of halateez staring him down. hongjoong is sat in a blue hallway with a lot of smoke. yunho is at a desk surrounded by papers & this is also where we first see the hourglass (or cromer). however, it’s just a prop for now. san is in a room surrounded by broken glass.. BUT only after he is seen staring at one of the members of halateez through it. in the big table scene, you can see them all working to find the answer to something.. which is very interesting to note that wooyoung is the only one to be seen in that room alone after an alarm seemingly makes all the other evacuate. WE ALSO get the first face-off between halateez and ateez. but they’re not directly face to face. they’re only seeing them through glass panels & we can see that ateez is very clearly defiant when it comes to them. we also see that when seonghwa is facing the halateez member alone, that it’s him. which could also showcase the time traveling aspect. as if halateez is jumping through the timelines to get to them. another interesting thing to note that in the last verse of the song, it switches off between ateez and halateez. this mv ends with the treasure instrumental & yeosang missing from the glass casing. 

in hala hala, it is primarily halateez. the members in this mv are seen in darker attire & makeup and more clean cut. i believe halateez is from a universe where they are the ones in charge & calling the shots. if not that, then a very organized and powerful rebellion group. hence the same outfits almost like a uniform. this mv isn’t much but halateez dancing.. HOWEVER, the ending is VERY interesting. all members snap their necks at the same time (hence the lyric ‘suicide squad’).. all members BUT wooyoung. he ultimately pretends to do it, but is the last one standing and wiping blood from his mouth while surrounded by all of the bodies.. and remember, wooyoung was the only one alone in the room all of ateez were in while they were working on documents. 

jumping to wave & illusion.. we can see that this is a pretty sudden change. however, it all still matches with their storyline very well. 

in illusion, the members are seen in bright and colorful clothing on a flying boat asleep. in this, they’re back to that adventuring pirate crew from the beginning. however, the lyrics show that they have... no idea who they are and where they are. it’s believed too that the lyrics are talking to someone. in the middle of all of their singing about how they found paradise and how they can just party it up now, there’s a repeated “let me free” which kind of seems.. out of place. if we’re having fun, why do we need to be let free? as the title entails, this is all an illusion. the hourglass is seen again along with a glass cube and a butterfly on a table. we also see a quick glance of a halateez mask on the globe. we can see mingi listening to a headset/tape player. they make it to an island that is very.. fake. a large compass.. a floating hourglass and just very desaturated colors. even the members lose saturation when they reach the ground. they eventually find.. a cave? it has a lot of drapes and tinfoil looking walls. for a split second, we see a member of halateez standing there. ateez then reaches a very smokey room with lights and flowers. they don’t look so happy anymore. it’s like the illusion is very much wearing off. also remember, they initially were looking for their paradise so for the illusion of one to be broken... hmm. this mv ends with the members running away towards a light & shots of them sleeping in wave play where it ends with a whispered “open your eyes”. 

in wave, the members are together once again on an island. just them this time. it’s very fun. but.. it’s almost like they were dropped there. i mean, sure it makes sense that san/yeosang/jongho wake up in a bed... but why is mingi waking up under a tree in the middle of nowhere? looking at the headset/tape player confused like it isnt his? why is seonghwa waking up in a pool and why is hongjoong waking up on the road? for the most part, they all wake up alone but they eventually find each other again. once they’re all together, we can see that ateez are suddenly the same carefree souls they were before. constantly talking about how there should be no worries. 

in wonderland, it’s kind of.. hard to distinguish if this is halateez or ateez. we can see a lot of power dynamics here. hongjoong raps about how he shouldn’t be doubted if they wanted to reach neverland/their utopia. i say this because he mentions being a child forever like peter; but also because of the illusion mv. it’s also pretty obvious that mingi holds a type of power here. he’s seen as the center of attention with the marching band like he’s the leader of a grand army. aside from that, i think there’s a bit of a rescue mission occurring? in all honesty, i do not know where san & jongho are within the storyline for this mv. however, we can see that yeosang & seonghwa are in the same tunnel.. but not together. the elevator shot in the beginning is believed to show them going through time and same with the tunnel. which makes sense when you look at the updated ateez logo and the way it looks like it has a lot of lines that meet into the middle. aside from that, we have yunho staring at a bunch of tvs albeit they’re playing nothing we can see. then we have wooyoung.. all chained up and alone. it looks like nobody’s coming to save him the way hwa came to save yeosang and san. perhaps because he had betrayed them in hala hala? the staircase is also pretty important. i dont know the exact piece but i know it’s similar to an art piece that shows an endless staircase and continuous loop.. perhaps a hint at a continuous cycle in the storylines? seeing as this wonderland mv has gone up in flames, it looks like the next plan of action has to be to cross that bridge seen earlier. believed to have been the bridge between dystopia & utopia. 

in the utopia mv, there isn’t a lot of crazy storyline? it’s believed that once ateez walk across that bridge and through the door, they’re in utopia... or so they think. it’s mainly a lot of dancing and pretty shots, but the reoccurrence of smoke-filled rooms leading to rooms of oversaturation is back. the answer vcr before this comeback also show a lot of story. we see halateez and ateez facing off together once again with essentially.. the same question. we’ve spent this whole time believing that ateez are the good guys and halateez are the bad guys... but what if that wasn’t the case? sure, we see them as such but is that who they really are? each respective party holds up a mirror to the other asking “are you evil?” / “are you good?”. cut to the iconic intro of san on his knees.. almost like he’s the one having this war? almost like he’s trying to figure out the answer himself about if he is good or evil. 

the answer mv starts with a man in a white suit looking at the destruction of what was left behind of ateez/halateez. the move of san tipping over an overflowing wine glass.. it’s also thought like he’s turning the hourglass as well as if to start their timer once again. mingi is talking about how he sees that the end is near, but hongjoong brings up how we should finish as strong as we started until we get what we desired. it looks like wooyoung is walking in snow.. or is it the sand of time? i mean.. the hourglass was just tipped over wasn’t it? yeosang is seen alone in a red desert surrounded by broken glass. almost like he’s alone with no way out? speaking of mirrors, it’s also possible that ateez uses mirrors to travel through dimensions. like how san was staring at a member of halateez instead of himself in say my name? well.. yunho is surrounded by mirrors but cant seem to see anything but himself. he’s pretty frustrated about that. wooyoung is also seen in a room of butterflies. butterflies typical have a positive meaning of change, hope, transformation. we then get the icONIC AS HELL SHOT of halateez and ateez face to face at last at the table. as a repeated line entails, they’re making a toast to something. perhaps they have finally come to terms with each other and what to do so that they could exist peacefully as one? but maybe ateez has already done so much to one timeline that another had to be ruined? either way, an agreement was made between both hongjoong’s. at the end of the mv, we are greeted by the man in the white suit again... perhaps it’s another time traveler who knows about what ateez & halateez had done and was trying to stop them. no one knows who that is in all honesty. it’s believed that it might be one of the members. 

FEVER ERA (EP 6-8): 

PHEW OKAY UHHH.. honestly.. i say it’s crucial to watch this diary film at the very least. it explains this timeline of events now. halateez makes a brief appearance to hongjoong and the hourglass is back. poor hongjoong is tasked with finding everyone to bring them together once again. seemingly.. a fallout between friends.. another broken timeline. i feel as though it’s pretty explanatory on each individual backstory, but there is a lot more in depth things. like seonghwa crossing the line and breaking the rules. the endless loop of staircases being represented with san on the escalators as he recounts having to leave his friends again.  they all have their individual things that grounds them whenever theyre feeling lost, but they also had each other. i’m assuming that ateez from the treasure era managed to mess up this timeline of ateez causing them to drive everyone away from each other.. which is why halateez tasked hongjoong with the control of time. i mean, an hourglass holds a specific amount of time but you can manipulate it by turning it before it’s done or choosing to turn it way after it has finished. ultimately, the diary film shows 8 friends who broke off into 8 different paths when they weren’t suppose to and now they’re trying to find each other once again. 

we can see this in the inception mv. a lot of their dreams were broken and so they’re lost without it. ultimately.. they are lost again without each other and their dreams. 

hm.. im not too sure about thanxx. we see a parallel shot of ateez holding the flag like in wonderland. we see the theme of defiance once again. this song talks a lot about how they’re choosing to move on their own path despite what anyone says because who knows themselves better than .. themself. in this mv, they tease their song the real, which they performed on kingdom. 

SPEAKING OF KINGDOM.... EVERY STAGE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THEIR STORYLINE. wave overtune showed the pirate route where something happened to hongjoong’s crew and he lost them all. similar to how hongjoong in inception/thanxx has lost them all. from the wonderland is showing WHAT happened to the crew, but this time they don’t lose. rhythm ta (the awakening of summer) has all of these past props (records, yeosang’s violin) being confiscated. this performance is inspired by money heist. AGAIN, we have the theme of government defiance. on the newspaper that wooyoung rips up, it shows that the govt had deemed halateez (Black Pirates) as terr0r1sts. initially, i was wondering if this is just a re-branded halateez but then i remembered.... ateez and halateez had that agreement. perhaps this is the original ateez and they’re doing their part of the deal in protecting halateez. which means stealing back all of the stuff that was stolen and removing evidence & calling for the people to turn against the govt. i see this as halateez turning ateez into a second version of them. especially because the stage ends with hongjoong punching the glass and retrieving the hourglass after putting on a halateez hat. 

in answer: ode to joy, it offers.. closure to the treasure era. kind of. we see yeosang in the glass case again looking at the man in white from answer. then it cuts to halateez seonghwa in the cage with yeosang & the two of them flipping the hourglass together. it’s like yunho tries to stop him, but is too late... which is when he starts facing off with the man in the white suit to distract him so that yeosang & halahwa can get away. we are once again greeted with halateez and ateez facing each other at the table directly mirroring each other. halasan is right behind him copying every move. i know.. yeosang’s bit has symbolism but i can’t remember.. but i know it’s suppose to be like he’s swimming? then during hongjoong’s part, we can see halateez assisting the members in each kingdom stage leading up to answer.. so it’s like showing that halateez (although not seen) has been orchestrating everything this whole time. 

this last bit is pretty major in the story. so it seen that san is praying in the middle of this entire fight.. and wooyoung tries stopping him. his efforts don’t work and san essentially sacrifices himself so that he could fight the man in the white suit alone. i feel like there are more.. perhaps.. 8? men in white suits given that san took down one, jongho was with another, and hongjoong was surrounded by them. it makes me believe that these white suits are again ateez from another timeline trying to stop them. halateez is giving ateez the crown.. as if passing off their power to them. but jongho throws it away instead of accepting it. at the end of all of this chaos.. ateez ultimately comes out on top and defeats both halateez and the white suits. 

OR SO THEY THOUGHT !! in the fireworks mv, they are seen in a dystopian society once again. if you remember, i had brought up smokey rooms often. reason being in the diary ver. of this album, there’s a part that goes into more detail about their story. i need to read into the theories for this era more but the smoke is very important. jongho recounts how he gets suffocated with a smoke that makes him see illusions and past events, but since it all feels so real it all just seems like DEJA VU.......... the dystopian society ateez are in for this mv... it’s smokey as hell. which is believed to be the smoke that causes such illusions but they’re able to break through it. i mean.. look at this teaser for the comeback.. looks way too colorful and peaceful. we don’t see this at all in the fireworks video.. SIKE. when ateez are walking around the dystopian wasteland (aka strictland), they’re in these nice suits. it’s almost like the effects of their illusion from the teaser was wearing off and they started waking up to the reality. and once they start seeing everything for what it is, they once again.. start creating havoc as they have in the past. this mv ends with the white suit man RETURNING ... and seeing the aftermaths of what ateez has done. he looks around as if he knows.. that it was them. 

in the dreamers mv.. again it has small symbolisms. jongho with the headphones (mingi’s headphones).. hongjoong with the small cube.. the spray cans like from halahala. but i dont know too much here. 

NOW.. WE HAVE DEJA VU AND ETERNAL SUNSHINE. we don’t have too much info on them right now since it hasnt been released.. bUT THE HOURGLASS IS BROKEN. the teaser they posted showed that the hourglass has been broken and essentially... all the timelines are broken. this leaves room for a lot of mixed up timelines. which is what people believe is the reason for the reoccurrence of similar hair colors from past eras on different members. we’re all getting deja vu from these repeated looks, no? eternal sunshine... it’s another super bright concept like illusion, thanxx, and celebrate. people are tying this to the movie eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (i actually like this movie). in the movie, the couple gets a medical procedure to have their memories erase from each other. perhaps like how ateez had forgotten about each other?.. but in the movie, the main guy is trying REEEEALLY hard to get her back. which causes a mess in the timelines of their memories. things start repeating with countless acts of DEJA VU and things that just do not seem real. which again.. lines up to their story. 

SIDENOTES: 

first off.. if you read all of this, i love you. i never have been so invested in a story like this before and it genuinely is such an amazing storyline. 

there’s plenty i missed. like.. i didnt even talk about fever road but they have a couple things in there that elaborate on their friendship and everything. i also remembered their mama stage?? im p sure that had plot but i never.. looked  into that one. and not EVERYTHING ateez releases is releated obv.. unless KJK is the man in the white suit but i doubt it. 

but yeah :D those were just my thoughts. if you read this far and have any other theories, plEASE SEND THEM. i think it’s so interesting and i love discussing things.

ADDED NOTES:

control — if you look at some of the choreos, mingi controls ateez with just a gesture of his hand a lot. so perhaps that's also story-related as well? like how i mentioned he had a type of power in wonderland? leader of an army? ateez also has this seoul music awards 2021 perf where they dance like puppets, but it’s not orderly.. they’re missing their puppet master & this performance was during mingi’s hiatus.. hmmm

#SORRY I INFODUMPED ON YOU AND IM SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT I JUST !!!!!!! #you really do need to know the story because just saying that theyre pirate timetravelers isnt enough #i dont even know if anyone will read this . i didnt even think it'd get THIS long #if you do read it im giving u a kiss because wow #answered #save

[dr-ethan-ramseyy]

Never Stop

Pairing: Jonathan Hayes x f!reader

Word Count: 3.57K

Warnings: implied sex, pregnancy

Summary: some snapshots of a future with our boy Jonathan 

✨ Find the prequel here. ✨

(The title comes from “Never Stop” by SafetySuit, in case anyone is wondering. That song is the sweetest thing ever and it reminds me of him)

Nearly six months after Jonathan and I had decided to start looking for a place to move in together in Maine, we were pulling up to our new house. Our. HOUSE. 

Jonathan turned to me with a huge smile on his face and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. 

“I can’t believe we’re really here,” he breathed, his eyes trailing over my face. 

“I can’t believe it’s really ours,” I smiled. 

He leaned across the center console, kissing me sweetly before getting out of the car and rounding to my side to open my door for me. Before I could react, he had lifted me into his arms, carrying me bridal style to the front door. 

“Jonathan!” I laughed. 

“What? This is a big day for us! You know I like to be a romantic from time to time.”

 I couldn’t help but laugh again as he set me down momentarily on the porch to fish the key out of his pocket, opened the door, then picked me up again before walking into the empty house. 

It was just a small starter home, the most we could afford, and really, all we needed. Jonathan kissed me and slowly set me on my feet. The kiss started out sweet but quickly turned heated. He backed me up against the wall, then moved his hands around to grip my backside. 

“Jump,” he grunted between kisses. 

I jumped, and he pinned me to the wall as I wrapped my legs around his waist. 

“I think,” he said, his breath heavy, “we should make use of every single one of these rooms before the movers get here.”

I raised my eyebrow. “That’s quite the tall order.”

“I’m up to the challenge, baby,” he winked before surging forward to kiss me again. 

“Then I’m up for it, too,” I moaned. 

“We need to get started then,” he teased, moving to lift up my shirt. 

~~~

“Hey sweetheart,”Jonathan called as he came through the door one afternoon, slinging his backpack off his shoulders. 

“Hey!” I smiled, looking up from my spot on the couch. “How was class?”

He shrugged, flopping down on the couch next to me and pulling me into his arms. He kissed the top of my head before answering, “Fine. I have to make up some building designs for next week, which I’m excited about.” 

“I’m so proud of you,” I said, leaning into him and resting my head on his shoulder. “And I’m so glad you’re enjoying your architecture classes.”

“That means so much to me, thank you, Y/N,” he grinned, kissing me. “I’d much rather hang out with you all day than go to class though.”

“Well, obviously,” I laughed. 

“You know what? We should do something fun today.”

“Like what?”

“We haven’t gone out on the boat in a while.”

“Mmm,” I hummed. “You do love the boat.”

“I love what you and I get up to on the boat,” he murmured in my ear, making me shiver.

“Well…” I pretended to think about it, drawing it out to tease him. “I am off today. And you’re done with class for the day…”

“And you look really sexy in your bathing suit,” he said quietly, slowly inching his face closer to mine, his eyes trained on my lips. 

“Hmm. So do you.” 

“Mmhmm. Say yes, baby.”

I decided I had tortured him enough. “Yes,” I said. 

He grinned, moving forward to pin me under him on the couch. He kissed me deeply, his tongue teasing mine. 

“Are you sure we’ll make it to the boat?” I asked after he pulled back for a moment to catch his breath.

He tangled his hands in my hair and grinned. “What’s the rush? We’ll get there eventually.”

It took a while, but we eventually did make it out to the boat. Jonathan and I were in our bathing suits, and he pulled me to sit on his lap as he drove us around the waters that he knew so well and that I was growing so accustomed to. 

I leaned back against his bare chest, reveling in the feeling of the sun against my skin. Jonathan ran his fingers back and forth slowly over my bare thigh. 

After a bit of wandering the waters, Jonathan put the anchor down, and we laid on the boat, looking up at the blue sky, feeling like we were the only two people in the world. 

Jonathan rolled on top of me, bracing himself on his forearms so he didn’t crush me. He gazed into my eyes intently with a small smile on his face, running his thumb along my cheekbone gently. 

“What is it?” I asked.

“Hmm?” he hummed absentmindedly, still tracing my face.

“You’re looking at me weird. What are you thinking about?”

“I’m not looking at you weird,” he said quietly, dipping his head down to brush featherlight kisses across my cheeks. 

I giggled, threading my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Yes, you were. Tell me what you were thinking,” I teased.

He sighed theatrically, lifting his head to look at me again. “I was thinking,” he brushed a lock of hair away from my face, “that I love when it’s just the two of us…” he trailed off, his eyes fixed on mine.

“But?”

“But…” He smiled, a small, almost shy smile, “it might be nice to add to our family a little.”

“What did you have in mind?” I raised my eyebrow. 

“I may have been looking around at some of the local shelters… they have quite a few dogs looking for homes,” he said, sounding hopeful. 

“You want to get a dog? You think we’re ready for that?”

“Well,” he sat up, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “Not if you don’t think we are. It’s just, we have a house, and I’m not leaving all the time anymore, and you love dogs-”

“I love dogs,” I cut in, excitedly. “And I love you,” I scooted closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I definitely want to give a dog a home, if you do.”

His whole face lit up and he hugged me closer. “I’m so glad you do.”

~~~

I should have known I would cry at the shelter. 

Jonathan and I had decided to swing by after he got out of class to look at the dogs they had. We walked along, his arm around my waist. 

And then I locked eyes with a little brown and white mutt with floppy ears and the biggest puppy eyes I had ever seen and I broke down crying. 

Jonathan looked at me, concerned but not surprised. “Should I ask if we can meet that one?”

I nodded, and he squeezed my arm affectionately before going off to find an employee to help us. 

I dropped to my knees, not taking my eyes off the dog until Jonathan came back. The employee let the dog out and he ran right to us, excitedly wagging his tail. 

“I think we were meant to be,” I said, scratching behind the dog’s ear. 

“Kinda like us,” Jonathan grinned, petting the dog, too. 

And that was that. We brought Wally home with us and we were a family. 

Jonathan and I took Wally to the park, we went on walks, we hung out in the backyard. It was perfect. 

~~~

Jonathan swore under his breath as he closed the door behind him, shaking snow out of his hair and stomping the excess snow off his boots before putting the wood he had grabbed from outside in our fireplace. 

“I thought our first winter here together would be a little more magical, but so far it’s just cold,” he joked as he got the fire going. 

Wally watched him intently, as he often did. The two of them were the best of friends; Wally followed Jonathan around everywhere. I would be jealous if it wasn’t so cute. I couldn’t blame him, really. Who wouldn’t be obsessed with Jonathan?

“I don’t know, I think it’s kind of magical,” I smiled. “You’re here, aren’t you? That’s all I need.”

Jonathan grinned at me over his shoulder. Once he got the fire going, he went back to the front door, kicked his boots off onto the mat, wiped up some of the water that he had trekked into the house, and finally settled in next to me, draping our favorite blanket across our laps and pulling me into his side, resting his cheek against the top of my head. 

“You’ve made a good point, as always, baby. I can’t believe we’ve had our own house for half a year,” Jonathan said, running his hand up and down my arm soothingly. 

“We’re really nailing this home ownership thing,” I laughed. 

To my delight, Jonathan laughed too, kissing the top of my head before saying, “You want to watch a Christmas movie?”

“It seems like the perfect night for it,” I smiled.

Jonathan picked up the remote, scrolling through our several streaming services until he found my favorite Christmas movie and played it. 

We cuddled there under the blanket and watched the movie, Wally settled in on Jonathan’s other side. Occasionally Jonathan would lose interest in the plot and pull me on top of him, kissing me until I was breathless.

“Jonathan,” I groaned into his mouth one such time.

“Sorry, sorry,” he laughed, pulling away and shifting so I could rest my head on his shoulder, his arm draped around me. “I’ll let you get back to your movie.”

Once the movie ended, he looked at me, raising an eyebrow mischievously. 

“Oh no, what does that face mean?”

He laughed, kissed my forehead, and stood up, grinning at me. “I have an idea. Wait here, sweetheart.”

Turning on his heel, he disappeared into our bedroom for a moment, then came back, smiling. 

“What was that about?”

“Nothing,” he said, walking over to our stereo and putting on a Christmas song. A slow instrumental. 

I smiled. 

Jonathan walked towards me slowly, his hand outstretched. “You remember this one, baby?”

Standing up with a small smile, I placed my hand in his. “It’s the same one from your parents’ house. When we talked about moving out here.”

He pulled me close, and we swayed back and forth. “That’s when you randomly started crying and scared me half to death,” he joked, gazing down at me lovingly. 

I rolled my eyes. “I know. That’s so embarrassing.”

“It’s one of my favorite memories, actually,” he said gently. He was leading us in small circles around the living room, careful not to trip over Wally who was curiously watching us, right at our heels. 

“It is?”

“Of course. That was a big moment for us.”

I gazed up at him, and he leaned down to kiss me sweetly. “I want to make so many more memories with you,” he murmured, his lips barely an inch from mine. 

He pulled back then, and took both of my hands in his, his eyes lit up with joy and love. “I love you so much, Y/N. I know you know that, but I never get tired of saying it. I want to keep saying it to you every day for the rest of our lives.”

He took a deep breath, glancing down at the ground before looking into my eyes again. “I love everything about you. So, I was wondering…”

My breath hitched in my throat. Was he doing what I thought he was?

“Every day I think about how lucky I am that we matched on that app all that time ago. I’m even more lucky that you waited for me. That you love me back. I can’t imagine my life without you in it, sweetheart.”

Jonathan shot me a small smile before dropping down to one knee, still holding onto one of my hands, but letting go of the other to pull a small box out of his pocket. He looked up into my eyes with the most hopeful expression I’ve ever seen. He opened the box as he said, “Y/N L/N, will you marry me?”

Tears burst into my eyes even though by that point, I knew it was coming. “Yes!” I practically yelled.

“Oh, thank god,” he laughed gleefully, standing up and reaching for me, lifting me up and spinning me around in a circle. 

He set me down after a moment, cupping my face in his hands and kissing me with so much passion, my knees felt weak. 

Finally, we pulled back and he slipped the ring onto my finger. It was perfect. Everything I’d ever wanted. 

We both looked at it for a moment, and then we looked at each other, just smiling because there was too much joy to put into words. 

~~~

I felt all eyes on me as I slowly walked down the aisle, but all I could see was Jonathan. He looked good-- wearing a perfectly tailored black tuxedo that he had picked out. His eyes were shining as they locked on mine; it looked like he was close to crying. It took all of my willpower not to run to him. 

Looking into Jonathan’s eyes as I got closer, I thought back to the night that he proposed, before the whirlwind of wedding planning.

“I was going to wait until I had a plan,” he whispered as he held me in bed, lightly brushing my hair off my face as he gazed at me. “I was going to plan it all out but… then we were there and I was holding you and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I love you. I was just so happy, and I had the ring and… I couldn’t wait.” he smiled sheepishly. 

“It was perfect,” I whispered back, leaning forward slightly to kiss him. 

And all the months leading up to the wedding had been perfect, too, though nobody could believe it. We worked well together, Jonathan and I. Sure, there were little disputes but we figured them all out together. 

I finally made it up to Jonathan, who really looked like he might cry now. He smiled at me in awe as I stood in front of him. 

The officiant started the ceremony and Jonathan kept his eyes on me the whole time. “I love you,” he mouthed.

I grinned and mouthed it back.

The rings were exchanged. We said “I do.” Then it was time to kiss.

Jonathan wrapped me up in his arms as soon as the words left the officiant’s mouth. He kissed me passionately, lifting me up off the ground. 

The two of us were together for most of the night, taking up the dance floor with every slow song. Even after endless pictures, we couldn’t stop smiling. 

As the night was winding down and guests were starting to leave, Jonathan wrapped his arms around me, leaning down so his lips were touching my ear as he murmured, “Did you have a good night, sweetheart?”

“I had the best night,” I said, looking up into his eyes. “We’re married.”

His eyes lit up. “We are absolutely married,” he said before kissing me slowly, like we had our whole lives to do it. 

~~~

I sighed, cutting up vegetables for dinner that night. Frankly, I hated when it was my turn to make dinner these days. Everything was just so tiring. But, Jonathan was doing a lot more around the house when he wasn’t working late, which was always so appreciated. He always was doing so much for me, but it had really increased in the last few months. He was sweeter than ever, really. 

I heard the front door open and couldn’t help smiling. It was my favorite time of day, when we could both finally come home and be together.

“How are my two favorite people doing this evening?” Jonathan asked, coming up behind me and placing his hands on my ever-growing belly. 

“Mm. I’m okay. Baby’s feeling rambunctious, I think.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jonathan kissed my cheek. “What’s he doing?”

“She has been kicking me constantly for the past hour and a half.”

As if on cue, I felt another kick. Jonathan chuckled, feeling it, too. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I know it’s uncomfortable for you, but I have to admit, it excites me every time.”

“It is exciting that she’s growing and healthy but,” I sighed. “It’s exhausting being kicked from the inside all the time.”

Jonathan moved to stand next to me, gently nudging me away from the cutting board, gingerly taking the knife out of my hand. “I’ll take over, you go lay down.”

“No, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to complain. It’s my turn for dinner duty.”

He set the knife down on the counter and turned to me, rubbing my upper arms affectionately. “Baby, you’re growing a human and working full time. You have a right to complain about how tired you are.” He gently kissed my forehead and made a “shoo” motion with his hand. “Go, take care of yourself and our little boy.” 

I laughed, doing what he said. Jonathan and I had been arguing about whether the baby would be a boy or a girl since we found out I was pregnant. Really, neither of us cared what the sex was, and gender is just a construct anyway, but it had turned into a goofy game we played with each other frequently. 

Wally came up and snuggled with me as I watched Jonathan expertly move around our kitchen. He told me about his day, all about how he loves working with architecture. I grinned. I was so proud of him for doing what he wanted to do, and so thankful that he would be here and safe with our family from now on. 

Jonathan helped me off the couch when dinner was ready (even though I’ve told him several times it wasn’t really necessary), and we laughed and talked all the way through the night.

“I’m so excited to be a dad,” he murmured as we were getting ready for bed that night, pressing a light kiss to my stomach. 

“You’re going to be the best dad,” I said, running my hands through his hair as he knelt in front of me. 

“You think?” he said, looking up at me with a smile.

Just then, the baby kicked. “Yeah. The baby knows it already, too. She always kicks when she hears your voice.”

Jonathan's eyes were shining as he pressed his lips to my stomach again and whispered. “I love you so much already, little one. I can’t wait to meet you.”

I fell asleep that night in Jonathan’s arms, feeling more thankful than I ever thought possible.

~~~

“Dad, will you push me on the swings again?”

“Hey, he just pushed you! It’s my turn now, right Dad?”

Jonathan glanced at me, beaming, before turning back to the kids. “Lucy’s right, Sam. It’s her turn now, but it’ll be your turn again next, okay?”

Sam groaned and ran to my place on the park bench, sitting next to me and leaning his little head against my arm. “I can’t wait til the new baby comes so you can push us again, Mom.”

I laughed, running my hand through Sam’s blond hair and looking back to watch Jonathan and Lucy laughing by the swings. “Are you excited to be a big brother again?”

“Yeah!” he grinned up at me. His smile reminded so much of Jonathan’s, it almost hurt.

They went on like that for a while before Jonathan said, “You two push each other for a while, okay? I’m gonna go check on your mom.”

Jonathan settled in next to me, draping his arm across my shoulders and resting his cheek on the top of my head. “How are you feeling?” he asked in a low voice.

“I’m good, Jonathan, you don’t have to keep such a close eye on me. I’ve done this before,” I joked.

He kissed my cheek. “You know I can’t help it. I love keeping my eye on you,” he said teasingly, nuzzling my neck.

I laughed. 

We grew quiet for a bit and he looked at me quizzically. “Are you okay? Something on your mind?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been thinking…” I trailed off, not sure if I should bring it up.

“About?”

“Well, the kids love playing outside.”

“Yes…”

“And we don’t have much of a yard…”

“True,” he said, looking at me with anticipation. 

“And we’re about to have another kid.”

“I had noticed that,” he joked.

“So…” I trailed off again, looking at him. 

He was smiling. “So. I think we're going to need a bigger house.”

I grinned. “I think so, too.”

Jonathan got a mischievous glint in his eye, and he leaned close to my ear, so the kids wouldn’t be able to hear a thing. “We’ll need a babysitter the day we move in.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. 

“Well, we’ll have to consummate every room, just like we did in our house now.”

I burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Yes! It brought us good luck, I think.”

“Well, how can I say no to that?” I asked as he leaned in to kiss me.

“Ewww!” Sam and Lucy shrieked in unison. 

Jonathan sighed, smiling at me. “I love you, sweetheart.”

I beamed. “I love you, too.”

#lovelink #lovelink jonathan #jonathan hayes fic #jonathan hayes x reader #jonathan hayes x mc #jonathan hayes #Jonathan hayes lovelink #jonathan hayes fanfic #albert bishop #lovelink albert #lovelink fanfic #lovelink fanfiction #lovelink fluff #jonathan hayes fluff #fluff fanfic

[sgt-paul]

Paul McCartney Is Still Trying to Figure Out Love – The New York Times Magazine

By David Marchese, Nov. 29, 2020

Paul McCartney, like the rest of us, this year found himself with an unexpected amount of time stuck indoors. Unlike the rest of us — or most of us, anyway — he used that time to record a new album. The pandemic-induced circumstances of its creation may mark “McCartney III” as an outlier in the former Beatle’s catalog, but as its title suggests, it does have precedents: Like “McCartney” (1970) and “McCartney II” (1980), the album, out Dec. 18, was primarily recorded by McCartney alone, with him playing nearly all the instruments and handling all the production. “At no point,” McCartney said, “did I think: I’m making an album. I’d better be serious. This was more like: You’re locked down. You can do whatever the hell you want.” Which was a gas, as always. “What I’m amazed with,” McCartney explained, “is that I’m not fed up with music. Because, strictly speaking, I should have gotten bored years ago.”

It seems to me that working on music by yourself, as you did on the new album, might allow for some insights about what you do and how you do it. So are there aspects of “McCartney III” that represent creative growth to you? 

The idea of growing and adding more arrows to your bow is nice, but I’m not sure if I’m interested in it. The thing is, when I look back to “Yesterday,” which was written when I was 21 or something, there’s me talking like a 90-year-old: “Suddenly I’m not half the man I used to be.” Things like that and “Eleanor Rigby” have a kind of wisdom. You would naturally think, OK, as I get older I’m going to get deeper, but I’m not sure that’s true. I think it’s a fact of life that personalities don’t change much. Throughout your life, there you are.

Is there anything different about the nature of your musical gift today at 78 than in 1980 or 1970 or when you first started writing songs? 

It’s the story that you’re telling. That changes. When I first said to John, “I’ve written a few songs,” they were simple. My first song was called “I Lost My Little Girl” — four chords. Then we went into the next phase of songwriting, which was talking to our fans. Those were songs like “Thank You Girl,” “Love Me Do,” “Please Please Me.” Then came a rich vein as we got more mature, with things like “Let It Be,” “The Long and Winding Road.” But basically I think it’s all the same, and you get lucky sometimes. Like, “Let It Be” came from a dream where my mother had said that phrase. “Yesterday” came from a dream of a melody. I’m a great believer in dreams. I’m a great rememberer of dreams.

What’s the last interesting dream you had? 

Last night’s was pretty good.

What was it? 

It was of a sexual nature, so I’m not sure it’s good for the Kids section. Pretty cool, though. Very interesting, dreams of a sexual nature when you’re married. Because your married head is in the dream saying: “Don’t do this. Don’t go here.” And just to let you know, I didn’t. It was still a good dream.

You know, I was conscious of not mentioning the Beatles early in this interview, and you’ve already mentioned them a few times. So let me ask you: The band broke up 50 years ago. You were in it for roughly 10 years. When you’re not doing interviews or playing concerts, how central to your own story of your life are those 10 years from half a century ago? 

Very. It was a great group. That’s commonly acknowledged.

Generally speaking. 

[Laughs.] It’s like your high school memories — those are my Beatles memories. This is the danger: At a dinner party, I am liable to tell stories about my life, and people already know them. I can see everyone stifling a yawn. But the Beatles are inescapable. My daughter Mary will send me a photo or a text a few times a week: “There you were on an advert” or “I heard you on the radio.” The thing that amazes me now, because of my venerable age, is that I will be with, like, one of New York’s finest dermatologists, and he will be a rabid Beatles fan. All of that amazes me. We were trying to get known, we were trying to do good work and we did it. So to me, it’s all happy memories.

“McCartney III” will come out very close to the 40th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. Has your processing of what happened to him changed over the years? 

It’s difficult for me to think about. I rerun the scenario in my head. Very emotional. So much so that I can’t really think about it. It kind of implodes. What can you think about that besides anger, sorrow? Like any bereavement, the only way out is to remember how good it was with John. Because I can’t get over the senseless act. I can’t think about it. I’m sure it’s some form of denial. But denial is the only way that I can deal with it. Having said that, of course I do think about it, and it’s horrible. You do things to help yourself out of it. I did an interview with Sean, his son. That was nice — to talk about how cool John was and fill in little gaps in his knowledge. So it’s little things that I am able to do, but I know that none of them can get over the hill and make it OK. But you know, after he was killed, he was taken to Frank Campbell’s funeral parlor in New York. I’m often passing that. I never pass it without saying: “All right, John. Hi, John.”

And how about your perspective on the work you did together? Has that changed? 

I always thought it was good. I still think it’s good. Sometimes I had to reassure him that it was good. I remember one time he said to me: “What are they going to think of me when I’m dead? Am I going to be remembered?” I felt like the older brother, even though he was older than me. I said: “John, listen to me. You are going to be so remembered. You are so [expletive] great that there’s no way that this disappears.” I guess that was a moment of insecurity on his part. He straightened me up on other occasions. It was a great collaboration. I can’t think of any better collaboration, and there have been millions. I feel very lucky. We happened upon each other in Liverpool through a friend of mine, Ivan Vaughan. Ivan said, “I think you’d like this mate of mine.” Everyone’s lives have magic, but that guy putting me and John together and then George getting on a bus — an awful lot of coincidences had to happen to make the Beatles.

People always ask you about John. I’ve noticed they rarely ask about George, who of course also died relatively young. 

John is probably the one in the group you would remember, but the circumstances of his death were particularly harrowing. When you die horrifically, you’re remembered more. But I like your point, which is: What about George? I often think of George because he was my little buddy. I was thinking the other day of my hitchhiking bursts. This was before the Beatles. I suddenly was keen on hitchhiking, so I sold this idea to George and then John.

I know this memory. You and George hitchhiked to Paignton.

Yeah, Exeter and Paignton. We did that, and then I also hitchhiked with John. He and I got as far as Paris. What I was thinking about was — it’s interesting how I was the instigator. Neither of them came to me and said, “Should we go hitchhiking?” It was me, like, “I’ve got this great idea.”

Why is that interesting? 

My theory is that attitude followed us into our recording career. Everyone was hanging out in the sticks, and I used to ring them up and say, “Guys, it’s time for an album.” Then we’d all come in, and they’d all be grumbling. “He’s making us work.” We used to laugh about it. So the same way I instigated the hitchhiking holidays, I would put forward ideas like, “It’s time to make an album.” I don’t remember Ringo, George or John ever ringing me up and saying that.

How strange is it to share an idle recollection from your youth, as you just did with that hitchhiking story, and then have the person to whom you’re sharing it — in this case, me — know the memory? It seems as though it would be weird. 

It’s quite annoying, David. It’s like people at dinner yawning when I’m telling stories. This keeps happening to me.

I even know the details. You and George slept on the beach. 

That’s right.

Some Salvation Army girls kept you warm. 

Yes.

Then at some point you sat on a car battery and zapped your ass? 

That was George who did that! I have a very clear recollection. He showed me the scar. Let’s set the record straight: It was George’s ass, and it was a burn the exact shape of a zip from his jeans.

Do you remember the last thing George said to you? 

We said silly things. We were in New York before he went to Los Angeles to die, and they were silly but important to me. And, I think, important to him. We were sitting there, and I was holding his hand, and it occurred to me — I’ve never told this — I don’t want to hold George’s hand. You don’t hold your mate’s hands. I mean, we didn’t anyway. And I remember he was getting a bit annoyed at having to travel all the time — chasing a cure. He’d gone to Geneva to see what they could do. Then he came to a special clinic in New York to see what they could do. Then the thought was to go to L.A. and see what they could do. He was sort of getting a bit, “Can’t we just stay in one place?” And I said: “Yes, Speke Hall. Let’s go to Speke Hall.” That was one of the last things we said to each other, knowing that he would be the only person in the room who would know what Speke Hall was. You probably know what the hell it is.

Yep.

I can’t amaze you with anything! Anyway, the nice thing for me when I was holding George’s hands, he looked at me, and there was a smile.

How many good Beatles stories are there left to tell that haven’t been told? 

There are millions. Sometimes the reason is that they’re too private, and I don’t want to go gossiping. But the main stories do get told and told again.

Can you think of one now that you haven’t told before? 

Hmm. I will rake through the embers. Oh, I’ll tell you one! I thought of one this morning. It’s pretty good. I don’t think I’ve told it. You’re going to have to say in the article, “I forced this out of him,” because it’s a bit telling-out-of-school.

I am hereby twisting your arm. 

So when we did the album “Abbey Road,” the photographer was set up and taking the pictures that ended up as the album cover. Linda was also there taking incidental pictures. She has some that are of us — I think it was all four of us — sitting on the steps of Abbey Road studios, taking a break from the session, and I’m in quite earnest conversation with John. This morning I thought, I remember why. John’s accountants had rung my accountants and said: “Someone’s got to tell John he’s got to fill in his tax returns. He’s not doing it.” So I was trying to say to him, “Listen, man, you’ve got to do this.” I was trying to give him the sensible advice on not getting busted for not doing your taxes. That’s why I looked so earnest. I don’t think I’ve told that story before.

Tax filings — that’s some deep arcana. 

I have dredged the barrel.

I know that your goal with making music is to do something that pleases yourself. What’s most pleasing to you on the new album? 

I’m very happy with “Women and Wives.” I’ve been reading a book about Lead Belly. I was looking at his life and thinking about the blues scene of that day. I love that tone of voice and energy and style. So I was sitting at my piano, and I’m thinking about Huddie Ledbetter, and I started noodling around in the key of D minor, and this thing came to me. “Hear me women and wives” — in a vocal tone like what I imagine a blues singer might make. I was taking clues from Lead Belly, from the universe, from blues. And why I’m pleased with it is because the lyrics are pretty good advice. It’s advice I wouldn’t mind getting myself.

There’s a song on “McCartney III,” “Pretty Boys,” that is kind of unusual for you in how the music is sort of unassuming but��the lyrics have an almost sinister edge. What inspired that one? 

I’ll tell you exactly. I’ve been photographed by many photographers through the years. And when you get down to London, doing sessions with people like David Bailey, they can get pretty energetic in the studio. It’s like “Blow-Up,” [the director Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film thriller about a fashion photographer, thought to be loosely based on David Bailey] you know? “Give it to me! [Expletive] the lens!” And it’s like: “What? No, I’m not going to.” But I understand why they’re doing that. They’re that kind of artist. So you allow it. Certain photographers — they tend to be very good photographers, by the way — can be totally out of line in the studio. So “Pretty Boys” is about male models. And going around New York or London, you see the lines of bicycles for hire. It struck me that they’re like models, there to be used. It’s most unfortunate.

“Lavatory Lil” is another song I was curious about. That’s quite a title. 

“Lavatory Lil” is a parody of someone I didn’t like. Someone I was working with who turned out to be a bit of a baddie. I thought things were great; it turned nasty. So I made up the character Lavatory Lil and remembered some of the things that had gone on and put them in the song. I don’t need to be more specific than that. I will never divulge who it was.

I have another bigger-picture question. In your experience, how is the love in a marriage different at different stages of your life and in different marriages?

I don’t think it’s different. It’s always a splendid puzzle. Even though I write love songs, I don’t think I know what’s going on. It would be great if it was smooth and wonderful all the time, but you get pockets of that, and sometimes it’s — you could be annoying. To Nancy I’m pretty complex, with everything I’ve been through.

In what ways? 

I’m some poor working-class kid from Liverpool. I’ve done music all my life. I’ve had huge success, and people often try to do what I want, so you get a false feeling of omnipotence. All that together makes a complex person. We’re all complex. Well, maybe I’m more complex than other people because of coming from poverty.

And how do you think about money these days? 

It has obviously changed. What has stayed the same is the central core. When I was in Liverpool as a kid, I used to listen to people’s conversations. I remember a couple of women going on about money: “Ah, me and my husband, we’re always arguing about money.” And I remember thinking very consciously, “OK, I’ll solve that; I will try to get money.” That set me off on the “Let’s not have too many problems with money” trail. What happened also was, not having much money, when anything came into the house, it was important. It was important when my weekly comic was delivered. Or my penpal — I had a penpal in Spain, Rodrigo — when his letter came through, that was a big event. When they had giveaways in comics with little trinkets, I kept them all. Some people would say that’s a hoarding instinct, but not having anything when I was a kid has stuck with me as far as money. You know, I’m kind of crazy. My wife is not. She knows you can get rid of things you don’t need.

You’re a hoarder? 

I’m a keeper. If I go somewhere and I get whatever I bought in a nice bag, I will want to keep the bag. My rationale is that I might want to put my sandwiches in it tomorrow. Whereas Nancy says, “We’ll get another bag.” In that way, my attitude toward money hasn’t changed that much. It’s the same instinct to preserve. One of the great things now about money is what you can do with it. Family and friends, if they have any medical problem, I can just say, “I’ll help.” The nicest thing about having money is you can help people with it.

Something that has been a constant for you musically is your ability to keep coming up with melodies. It’s there on the new album — the melodies all flow. Is your facility for writing a catchy melody ever an obstacle to getting the songs to be more than just catchy? Because a good tune by itself is not always enough to make a good song. “Bip Bop” would be an example of that. Do you know what I’m saying? 

No, I know. “Bip Bop” is not lyrically stunning. I was always embarrassed about that song. Literally, it goes, “Bip Bop / take your bottom dollar.” It’s inconsequential. But I mentioned that to a friend, a producer, a few years ago, and he said, “That’s my favorite song of yours.” So you don’t know what people like. It’s enough if I like it and enjoyed putting it on record and don’t particularly want to think of any more lyrics. I don’t want to sweat it. Sometimes maybe it would be better if I sweated it. Once or twice I tried to sweat it, and I hated it. It’s like, What are you doing this for?

Sixty-something years into writing songs, do you feel any closer to knowing where melodies come from? 

No. There is something with my ability to write music that I don’t think I’m necessarily responsible for. It just seems to come easier to me — touch wood — than it does to some people. That’s it. I’m a fortunate man.

#paul mccartney #old paul #grandpaul #*m #(the start of the interview was pretty worrying (with him bringing up yesterday like after 5 seconds) but actually? #it turned out to be a decent one) #favourite bit hands down paul's dirty dreams. DUDE... he cannot keep it in his pants even when he is in his dreams #well actually he said he did but lmao #but yeah many other great bits. ''i'm a keeper'' ... loved that one #the complex man rant #and the john and george bits #him being the instigator #!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love this guy :)

[romance-de-la-luna]

Okay here we go: my answers to ALL of the asks I reblogged 🙄

Thank you SO MUCH @ginny-lily 🙄

This was so fun 🙄

Describe your favourite shirt

Don't care about clothes enough to have one

If you could, would you change your eye colour?

No

Name of an artist you think is underappreciated

Emy Taliana

Favourite flower?

Dandelion

Preferred type of weather?

Storms

A poem you think describes your closest friend?

Hmm let me write one: PURE EVIL. BUT I LOVE HER. THE END.

Do you keep your fingernails long or short?

Short (for climbing)

Favourite sea animal?

Don't have one (it's not sharks. I don't have favourite animals)

Favourite land animal?

Again, I don't have favourites. I have absolutely no preference for birds, moths and shieldbugs. I love all animals equally.

Are you religious? Spiritual?

Religious? No. Spiritual? Not really

Can you fold a fitted sheet?

Umm? I can fold sheets?

Are you part of the lgbt+ community?

You know what? I think I might be xD

What's saved as your phone's lockscreen?

Do you thrift?

That's an American word. I'm skipping this question

What's your natural hair colour?

Brown

Have any pets?

No

Would you ever try going vegetarian or vegan?

Already vegetarian; would consider going vegan one day (but would probably fail)

An animal you wish hadn't gone extinct?

Uhh, all of them?

How many languages do you speak?

English and un-fluent Spanish

Do you care for clothing brands?

Not at all

Favourite scent on a person?

Coconut? Or nothing?

Have you ever been camping?

Yes, many times

Do you play an instrument?

Used to play the piano

Gold or silver jewellery?

Gold

Any piercings or tattoos?

No but I wanna get tattoos! And maybe get my nose pierced as well

How many pairs of sunglasses do you own?

One

Would you ever want to play a game on television?

I'd be too scared of getting things wrong on a quiz game, but things like Total Wipeout (do people know what that is??) look so fun!!

Have you ever lived on a farm?

No

If you had the option, would you choose to move to another country?

Of course! I'd go and live in Rome with my sister!

Relationship status?

Single

What is your best school subject?

Spanish or English

Any unpopular opinions?

As you know, my opinions on food xD

Another name you think would suit you?

I've been told my name suits me very well?? But imagine if I was called Moon or Rain or Ocean...

A subject you enjoy learning about?

Ancient Siberian tribal rituals involving fly agarics 😏

A -core you enjoy?

Is it just me who doesn't understand all this aesthetic stuff?? I don't know 😂 I really don't know

An TV show you used to love? (AN TV SHOW???? WHAT IS THAT???? ARE THERE PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD WHO DON'T REALISE THE LETTER 'T' IS A CONSONANT???? IT'S *A* TV SHOW)

My parents never let us watch normal kids' TV when we were little, so all we used to watch were cartoons like Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny 😌

Any interesting family stories?

This is the best I can come up with:

You know those blocks with letters of the alphabet on that you have when you're little to help you learn how to write? Well apparently my dad used to spell rude words out with them 😂😂 and of course I had no idea what they meant so he could get away with it (he is just generally the most immature person ever. 😝 For example, EVERY time we eat melon he makes jokes. Every time anyone mentions buttering toast he makes jokes. Every time anyone says or does anything remotely innuendo-sounding, he makes jokes. And honestly I love him for it 😂)

Do you wear your socks mismatched?

I prefer to walk barefoot everywhere, but yes, when I have to wear socks they're ALWAYS odd

Your thoughts on magic - does it exist?

Maybe... ✨

Form of art you enjoy doing?

I can't art 😝

Any sideblogs?

Nope

YouTubers you enjoy watching?

Jonna Jinton, Keara Graves (IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE, YOU MUST WATCH THEIR VIDEOS!!!! THEY'RE AMAZING AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH), Dan and Phil, Frank James, and my group of cringey American YouTuber friends (the AMP squad)

Do you have a type?

I can have more than one type right? I love people with red hair, goths, weird people...

Twin beds, queen, or king?

Queen? I think?

Do you have strong feelings against the colour pink?

No

A food you've never tried?

I don't think I've ever had steak? And I probably never will

Dogs, cats or fish?

Dogs

Do you collect anything?

Let's just say I went through a phase that I'm not proud of, and I may or may not own about 30-50 lip balms 🙈

Earbuds or headphones?

Headphones

Jean jackets?

I... have nothing against them? But I've never owned one?

Have a job?

Nope, too lazy 😇

Kill the spider or take it outside?

Make cute eyes at them and tell them how adorable they are, then either leave them to it or take them to my room

Do you think you can sing well?

Amazingly 😉

Favourite flavour of gum?

Mint?

Shuffle your playlist, what's the first song that comes up? (that should be a semicolon 😜)

Enter Sandman - Metallica

Icecream or cake? (ice-cream!!! Hyphens exist!!!)

Cake

Can you do your own makeup?

Nope

Ever written fanfiction?

Surprisingly, yes

How many blogs do you follow?

341

Do you brush your teeth before you eat?

You mean before every meal???? I don't do that! But I normally brush my teeth before breakfast

Type of phone you have?

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G apparently

What's your first choice at the vending machine?

BBQ Mini Cheddars (or crisps, to be less specific)

Beach or pool?

BEACH

Least favourite condiment?

I don't know? I think I love them all?

How much sugar in your tea/coffee?

None because I only drink chamomile tea

Ever broken a bone?

No

Rings or necklaces?

Necklaces (but I very rarely wear jewellery because I forget it exists)

Do you still play Minecraft?

I love Minecraft!!!! But I usually only play it at Christmas

Ever ridden a motorcycle? (MOTORBIKE 😡)

No

Favourite holiday?

Christmas ^^

Opinion on 3-in-1 body wash?

What is this question?? 😂

Practical, but I don't trust it

Do you follow politics?

Not really. I like taking online quizzes though so I've done this a few times, and that's as far into the world of politics as I'll go xD (WHY AM I NOT FURTHER LEFT??? I SHOULD BE FURTHER LEFT?? THIS CONCERNS ME??)

Your instagram handle?

I'm not sharing it on here! I've been thinking about giving you my normal insta though, Fransiska (if you want it)

#I'm too good to you sometimes #and you already know half of these answers!! 🙄 #franzi ilysm you make me so happy and idk what i'd do without you you're amazing

[stitch1830]

Joy keeps yelling at me to update this story, so here I am. Updating.

Here is the original plus add ons, and Here is where you can read it on ao3 (eventually, still uploading chapters lmao). This is a long chapter, my apologies.

......

First Date

“All right, ready to go?”

Toph muttered and grumbled obscenities under her breath in the passenger seat, and Aang just chuckled as he started the car up and drove off to their first date destination.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Toph finally spoke. “Where are we going?”

“A special breakfast awaits us.”

“You sure you’re not just gonna kidnap and kill me, Twinkles?”

“I mean, let’s see where the day takes us, don’t you think?”

Despite her sleep-deprived state, Toph couldn’t help but laugh. Aang seemed to have that effect on her.

When they arrived at their destination, Aang quickly hopped out of the car to meet Toph outside her door because he was giddy with excitement. Toph raised an eyebrow at her potential kidnapper. “You’re awfully excited for some breakfast food.”

“What, are you telling me that you’re not a fan of,” he paused for dramatic effect, “breakfast food??”

“I am, but unless I’ve stayed up all night, I’d rather not get up at seven to eat,” she groaned.

“Not to worry, date buddy,” Aang began as he wrapped an arm around Toph’s shoulder. “This food will not only wake up your taste buds, but it will fill you with all the love and happiness you’ll need to continue on with the day!”

Toph sighed, “You really are a morning person, aren’t ya.”

“Oh, yeah. If that wasn’t clear earlier, I am most definitely a morning person.”

“Charming.”

Aang continued to grin like a 3rd grade schoolboy and led Toph inside the establishment.

When they settled in their seats, Toph leaned across the table and asked, “Alright Twinkletoes, how are their eggs and bacon here?”

Aang hummed, “Eggs are good, can’t say I know what the bacon is like. I’m a vegetarian.”

Toph’s mouth was agape. “What?”

The man chuckled. “Is that a problem?”

“I mean I’m on a date with a fuckin’ plant eater!” She practically yelled at him, but her tone was facetious and the smile that played across her lips told Aang that she only pretended to care.

“Don’t worry about food though, Toph. I’ve got it all planned out.”

And he did. At the crack of dawn, Aang called the restaurant owner to relay his brilliant breakfast sampler idea.

He also made a few other calls, but those date activities were for later.

An amused but skeptical look graced Toph’s face, and it didn’t leave until the food was presented in front of them.

“Okay,” Aang began to explain. “We’ve got lots of options to sample in front of us, all meat free sad to say for you, but all food items are absolutely delicious and have the owner’s honor on them.”

Toph laughed. “What does that even mean, Twinkletoes?”

“Uh, just that he vouches for the food!”

She let out a sigh. “All right. What should I try first?”

And so they sampled everything on the table, smelling and tasting every item with precision and order. Aang somehow planned out every bite to be better than the last, culminating to the pièce de résistance: Belgian waffles.

Now, that wasn’t to say that the other food was subpar. Far from it. But as far as Toph was concerned, the owner of the establishment knew his way around Belgian waffles and it was the absolute best breakfast food she ever had.

As Toph leaned back in her chair, stuffed, she wondered what else could be on the ‘date list,’ considering they just spent almost 2 hours over indulging themselves with breakfast food. Not to mention the pair had spent the entire day yesterday talking to one another. There wasn’t much else to talk about, and Toph was worried they might lose their momentum for the remainder of the date.

She was wrong.

Their second stop on the date was a music museum. One that carried a collection of songs and instruments from around the world.

“Okay, date spot number two, let’s go!”

“And what’s the plan here?”

“We are gonna be traveling all over the world, Toph!” he exclaimed. “And we’re gonna do it in style.”

All of a sudden, a popular trumpet melody and lick blared around the entire museum (empty museum. Apparently it was closed to all except Toph and Aang).

Because of the oh so mushy and romantic gesture, Toph had to scoff at the song selection. “'Come Fly With Me' by Frank Sinatra?” she teased. “What are you, 80, Twinkletoes?”

“Hey! I’ll have you know that this is a classic and it was my foster father’s favorite song!” he defended. “And, it is the perfect song for this, because we are going to fly.”

“What??”

“Well, not really, but use your imagination will, you?”

So she did.

They walked around the museum, listening to different types of music around the world. Aang made her pay special attention to the different rhythms of the world, and they went back and forth listening attentively for special sounds in the songs. The museum curator, Chong, apparently gave Aang a list of facts and interesting tidbits about the music as well. It certainly added to the experience, even if Aang was just reading what was on the cards. And while they ‘travelled’ to different parts of the building, Aang put on his cheesy Sinatra song and even skipped around the museum to the beat of it.

It was absolutely ridiculous hearing him dance around the museum, but also absolutely endearing.

When they completed their trip around the world, Toph and Aang drove twenty minutes off campus to a small vineyard. Toph raised a skeptical eyebrow toward her date, then asked, “What’s all this about, Twinkletoes?”

She could practically feel his grin from where she stood. “We’ll find out soon! Come on, I think you’ll really like this one.”

“Well if we’re at a vineyard, you’re damn right I’m gonna like it.”

Aang clicked his tongue at her. “Not like that, Toph. Just wait.” He grabbed her hand and led her into the building. Aang led her through the building and suddenly stopped the two of them. His hand squeezed hers, motioning her to reach out in front of her. What Toph found was something that felt like a large, metal tub. She wrinkled her eyebrows and turned the corners of her lips down. “What is this?”

“It’s a tub filled with grapes. We’re gonna crush them.”

“Crush them?” she questioned. “Like, with a grape stomper—”

“—With our feet!”

The woman maintained her skeptical look. “Don’t they have machines for this?”

“Yes, but stomping grapes with your feet gives the winery more control on the seed separating process. They can control the amount of tannins—”

“—Okay too many fancy words, Twinkles.” Toph playfully put a hand up to stop his ramblings and smiled at him. “What are we waiting for? Let’s stomp some grapes!”

So they did.

They stomped, smashed, and crushed grapes with their bare feet as Toph and Aang held onto each other for support. The grapes poked and tickled at their feet, but it was such a fun experience. Toph even challenged Aang to goof around and jump in the vat of grapes to crush them. A silly dare that ended in near failure (Aang almost landed in the crushed grapes and juice on his ass), but all was well and no clothes were stained during the dare. Toph even promised she wouldn’t hold it over his head… Well, not for long at least.

Once they finished their stomping session, they cleaned off their feet and ventured into the restaurant part of the winery for dinner. This time, Aang promised Toph that she could choose her own meal, and she was adamant on getting a plate that served some sort of meat.

“You deprived me of meat all day, Twinkletoes,” she began. “If this was an all-you-can-eat buffet, my plate would be stacked this high with meat.” Her hand went above her head for her meat tower reference, and Aang laughed at the visual aid.

“Hey, you have to admit, those waffles were good though!”

Toph smiled genuinely. “They were.”

They spent the next five minutes going over the menu and choosing their respective meals and drinks.

“Hey, do we get to taste the grapes we just stomped?” she teased. “Hmm,” Aang jokingly pondered. “Maybe in a couple years, but we can buy a bottle right now to remember the experience,” he offered.

“Make it two.”

Dinner was a delight, and so was the company. It seemed that conversation topics were in abundance for the couple, and the only time they were silent was when they ate their meals (which were delicious). Then, it was time to go home.

As they were driving back to Toph’s apartment, Toph’s mind simply wandered back to all the activities and things they accomplished in the last few hours. It was a sensory overload kind of date. Every activity focused on a different sense, and Toph loved every second of it. So much thought and care went into this day, and she only gave the man 6 hours at most to prepare it all. Needless to say, Toph was impressed with Aang.

When the night came to a close and they were preparing to say their goodbyes at Toph’s door, it was only fitting a bit of banter was thrown around.

“Thanks for not kidnapping me.” She grinned.

“I was close near the middle when we went to Peru, but by the time we were in Acapulco Bay, I decided against it.”

“Hey, at least I didn’t nearly stain my entire outfit by taking a swim in freshly squeezed grapes!”

“I take no blame for that you egged me on! And I didn’t fall in, so it’s not as funny.”

“Still, the thought is funny enough.”

Aang chuckled and smiled at Toph. “I suppose.”

A comfortable silence fell between them, and now was the time for sincerity. For the first time in a long time, Toph didn’t want the day to end. She didn’t want the date to end. Toph broke the silence and began by saying, “Aang.”

Aang looked at her. Even though she only made up a nickname for him yesterday, it was weird for her to use his actual name. He stopped talking and looked at her. “This was…” Toph paused to form the right words, and a great big smile grew across her face. “This was the most amazing day ever. Thank you.”

“I’m so glad you liked it, Toph. It was the best day ever for me, too,” he grinned.

“How did you even reserve some of these activities? I mean, the stomping grape shit? C’mon.”

Aang shrugged. “I’ve volunteered at a lot of places around campus. I guess you can say I’ve got the connections.”

“Wow, who would’ve thought being a good samaritan would pay off?”

“Pretty sure Jesus did, Toph,” he teased.

And for that, he received a good punch to the arm.

“Whatever, Twinkles,” she jabbed. “But if that was the first date, can’t imagine what the second date will be like. High expectations, my fancy dancer.”

“Oh, so there will be a second date?”

It was Toph’s turn to shrug. “Well, you said there was more to me, and there seems to be more to you that I would like to find out.”

Aang couldn’t help but smile at Toph. Goodness, she was something else.

“Date number two can be arranged,” he began. “Although it sounds like maybe this is your date to manage.”

“Absolutely not, I already challenged you to outdo yourself,” she smirked.

Aang playfully groaned. “Fine! But… There is one last thing we have to do before date night is considered over.”

Toph raised a skeptical eyebrow at her date. “What else could you possibly have planned for—”

Her sentence was interrupted by his lips. It was just a light peck on her lips, and when he pulled away, Toph immediately dragged him back to her to kiss him. This time, it was longer and harder, and she pulled him just a little too hard, because they stumbled into the apartment door. But they didn’t break apart for a second. The most exhilarating first date culminated into the best first—er—makeout session?

Their little stumble into the door must’ve been interpreted as a knock, though, because suddenly Katara opened the door and the couple nearly fell into her arms.

“What the fuck?! You guys!” Katara exclaimed. She was rather surprised by the scene in front of her, but not completely taken aback. She playfully chastised her friend and yelled, “Quit defiling my roommate, Aang!”

Aang turned beet red, but Toph just cackled at the inconvenience. She straightened herself and called back to Aang as Katara pulled her into their place. “Night night, Twinkles! Bring your A game next week, will ya?”

The door was shut in his face before he could reply.

But Aang was pretty sure he floated back to his car. He was on cloud nine after that kiss, after the most perfect day.

#taang #toph #aang #toph and aang #continuation #writing #aang pulls out all the stops for this date #it's kind of ridiculous that's on me #but I thought it was kinda cute #katara interrupts their makeout session #lmao #ope she don't feel that bad

[problematicfavesareproblematic]

Never Be Sorry, Not For This

It was just supposed to be two friends dancing. You should’ve known better: Eugene Roe + Dirty Jazz in a dark club on a hot Georgia night would be the death of you.

(i listened to Death Letter by Cassandra Wilson while writing this, in case you wanna feel the spice)

You giggle slightly when Gene’s hand presses hot on the middle of your back, the giggle graduating to an apologetic snicker when he shot you an impatient look.

“Really? Are you twelve?” Roe grumbles, holding your right hand up gently and keeping it close to their sides.

“And a half.” You wink, smirking as he rolls his eyes and shakes his head at you.

He looked stupidly handsome in the low light of the club, a light sheen of sweat on his skin catching the light and making him shine like some sort of angel.

Careful, a voice in your head whispers. Don’t read more into this than there is.

He had only brought you here because Bill fucking Guarnere was incapable on minding his own business and keeping his goddamn mouth shut for longer than two minutes and practically strong-armed Gene into inviting you. 

During a night of Sobel-assigned kitchens inventory with Gene and Guarnere, Bill had asked you about your recent birthday- what you’d done, who you’d heard from, if you’d gotten anything. 

“Paperwork, my dad and my sister and her family, and Sobel gave me an earful about controlling my facial expressions when he’s trying to establish his authority- Thanks for asking.”

Your answer was apparently incorrect, and Guarnere had turned to Gene and pointed at you with his thumb conspiratorial.

“That’s gotta be the saddest shit I’ve ever heard, eh Doc? Can’t let such an important day go to waste like that, can we, pal?”

Guarnere proceeded to bully Gene into inviting you to the jazz club the medic always flocked to on his weekend passes, the place he chose to escape to  in lieu of the bar favored by most residents of Toccoa. 

But before you’d had a chance to tell Bill to shut up and stop being weird, Gene had nodded and looked down at the inventory sheet in his hand.

“I mean, we could if you wanted to.”

You had a feeling that he was regretting extending the invitation now. 

When the two of you had entered the club you’d suddenly realized that this wasn’t the traditional, big band jazz you’d been expecting.

Oh no, you were pretty sure Gene had accidentally taken you to a sex club of some kind- and you became even more sure the moment your eyes had adjusted to the darkness and you’d been able to make out your surroundings.

The singer on the stage was lit with a red light, voice smokey and seductive as she crooned a slow melody, eyes hazy as her hands trailed up and down the microphone’s stand in a clearly suggestive manner. There were two men with instruments behind her, the one with the drum looking at her silk-clad body like he meant to ravage it.

Maybe jazz means something different in the south?

Couples were writhing to the drums rhythm, bodies draped over each other like some kind of Rodinian menagerie. 

Now, you were pretty confident in your capabilities as both a soldier and a human woman- you wouldn’t have gotten this far if you hadn’t been able to trust yourself and what you could handle.

And you knew for a fact that you were incapable of pulling this off.

Now, Gene was a patient man, but you could see in the set of his jaw he was starting to get frustrated.

 I don’t blame him, I’m acting like I’ve never been alone with a boy before. 

Clearing your throat, you bite the inside of your cheek to try and get your shit together.

He’s trying to do something nice for you and you’re ruining it….

”I’ll stop, I promise.” you plead, ducking your head to try and catch his gaze. “I’m just nervous, give me a break…”

“You’ve literally run out in front of a moving plane to get a piece of debris off a runway ” he interrupts you like you hadn’t been talking. “You stole Sobel’s car—”

“At least if those things went wrong I would’ve just been killed.”

Eugene snorts at that, and you hear him mutter something to himself in French.

“And now?” He asks, tilting his head towards the band on the stage and the other dancers around you . “You think this is worse?”

You fix him with a look of shock that you know will make him laugh again. “Death over humiliation, every time! Obviously. What sort of question is that? C’mon Genie—”

“I know you know how to dance. I’ve seen you and Nixon dance at Malarkey’s birthday dinner in last July—”

You cringed internally. You’d forgotten there had been witnesses to that.

“Ok, first off,” you tap one of your fingers against his shoulder for emphasis. “that only happened because I lost  a bet with Lewis. And to be clear-I know how to ballroom dance, and that’s different because the whole point is to be rigid and straight and precise. This is….proving to be a challenge.”

You’d always been good at those sorts of things- order and rigidity and accuracy. You were used to knowing what was expected of you and how you measured up to those expectations. But you were going into this completely unprepared. You hated it.

“Just think of this as a basic waltz step, just slower.” Gene supplied, and when you started to fall into the familiar step he immediately made it clear that he was going to be dictating the pace, meeting your quirked brow with one of his own.

“Much slower. Glacial. Frozen molasses sliding down a flat hill—” You chide lightly, trying to disguise the waiver of apprehension in your voice.

“I don’t think that’s a phrase. But yes- that slow.”

You sigh, letting him lead you in an almost unbearably slow box step, letting him take you through five box-steps before huffing and hooking your chin over his shoulder and rest your head there, groaning melodramatically like you were in pain.

“This is impractically slow.” you lament. “It doesn’t look or feel right—”

With a quick move of his arm he presses you closer into his chest, knocking you slightly off balance before moving you so his thigh is wedged between your legs. 

You flush at what you assumed was a mistake on his part, and when you go to step back down from his thigh he moves with you and holds you in place.

Eugene Roe, you saucy boy.

“Gotta let me have some of your weight. That’s why it feels like you’re doing it wrong….” 

His voice is soft as stone, and you know he can feel your breath catch in your throat. “C’mon, mon cher- I got you.”

You’re suddenly very glad that he's pulled you so close because you don’t have to hide the scarlet blush on your cheeks at the imploring tone in his voice.

It made you want to trust him. It made you want him, period. 

Full stop.

It’s dancing. People dance. Friends dance, it doesn’t mean anything unless you want it to.

Unless you let it.

You take a deep breath and let your knees bend slightly, allowing your hips to slot together and your heart thud against his. 

Just as he promised, he keeps a hold on you, the arm around your waist like a belt holding the two of you together, and your ribs jump in a quick inhale as his fingers curl around your waist.

If he notices your reaction, he’s kind enough not to mention it.

“Good,” he says under his breath, and you feel him nodding against your hair. “That’s good.”

Good God, had his voice always been so low?  Fuck he was good at this….

You hmm in reply, your self-consciousness put on the back burner in order to cope with the absolute burning electric currents seeming to run through your body, just beneath your skin. 

You’ve never been so overwhelmed by another person, let alone some boy as you felt at this moment in Eugene Roe’s arms- you couldn’t so much as breathe without him knowing, each inhale bringing with it the sweet, clean smell of the aftershave you couldn’t quite identify and the salt of his skin.

The steps of the waltz have melted into a rhythmic sway of your bodies, shifting weight from the ball of one foot to the other in time with Gene’s lead.

It’s everything you can do not to shake as his thigh flexes between your legs, your sex rubbing agianst it deliciously every so often and making you feel stupid with longing.

“You okay?” he asks quietly, and you realize that you’ve been holding your breath the whole time, a distracted chuckle escaping your lips before your nod softly.

“Yeah, course.” You wrap an arm around his shoulder and sway with him, giving the hand holding yours a quick squeeze of reassurance. “You?”

You feel him nod. “Yeah, me too.”

You hum, letting your eyes drift closed as you try to think about keeping your breathing even and touch light.

Which was proving harder than you’d anticipated— the slow curling beat of the new song beginning and it’s rumbling melody settling over your heads like the foreboding clouds of a storm that neither of you seemed too interested in seeking shelter from.

This whole place could burn down and all I’d see is him

After a few more moments you feel the hand at your back begin to knead at the knots along your spine, strong fingers rolling like revered thunder against your tense muscles.

“Give me some more,” he quietly demands. “You need to lean on me more….you’re still too tense—” and you bend your knees a bit so you can feel the pressure of his thigh where you’re throbbing for him the most. 

“Shhhhhhiiiiiit…” he hisses quietly, almost to himself. 

“Eugene,” you breathe before you can stop yourself, titling your head so your temples press together. “ We, uh…..We said we wanted to go by eleven...”

Your reminder is purely for show, arousal hot in your chest and stomach. 

When he hums in acknowledgement, you can hear the lack of intention behind it. The idea of separating from this man made you feel cold—a prospect you found unbearable despite the heat making your hair stick to the back of your neck.

Staying, we’re going to stay.

Part of this feels inevitable, like the two of you had always been destined to end in this sinfully filthy embrace with nearly every single part of your bodies touching, and you couldn’t find it in yourself to curse the humidity you so loathed.

A whimper escapes your throat when you catch your clothed clit on some bunched fabric from the leg of his pants, and his arms abandon their dancing position to wrap around your torso and smooth his hands up and down your back

“Like this, Doc?” you can’t help but whisper, sighing prettily when his grip digs into the meat of your shoulder blades. 

You know you aren’t dancing anymore, haven’t been dancing for a while. You feel your hips jump against his, a low groan rumbling in his chest as one of his hands flashes down to squeeze at your ass.

“Fuck darlin’....” 

You turn your head so your lips are at his ear, eyes nearly rolling back in your head at the sinful roll of his hips as he drops a bit lower, a growl in his chest at the breathy way you gasp his name.

“I’m sorry” he’s whispering. “I’m sorry—”

You know what he’s apologizing for.

He thinks he’s confirming Sobel’s horrible accusations— that you’re nothing more than a warm body in the eyes of the men of Easy Company.

Their CO had a special place in his heart for taking the time to remind you that you were a woman and insinuate that you were nothing more than a barrack whore who was a pretty good shot on a rifle. 

“Even pious Winters seems to find you distracting, Miss Y/N. Maybe we should send you ahead of the pack to give the Krauts something to enjoy before we show up.”

“Don’t be sorry,” you shake your head and bring one hand up to lightly touch his cheek, voice thick in your throat. “Never be sorry. Not for this— Shit, Gene....”

One of Gene’s hands slid up your neck and into your hair, holding your head as he turned to look at you, pupils blown wide beneath heavily lidded eyes.

You look at his lips, bringing your thumb over to smooth the furrow in his brow.

“Never?” he asks, and with one final look into his eyes you shake your head.

“Never.” you hear yourself say, 

You kiss the corner of his mouth first, not wanting to rush him, still worried that (somehow) you were misreading his intentions. 

As if he wasn't gyrating his hips with you in a way so dirty that you were surprised you hadn’t been asked to leave. As if you couldn’t feel the ghost of his hard cock against your hip….

Apparently Gene thought you were now the one moving too slowly, because he uses his hand in your hair to turn your mouth to his and kiss the breath from your lungs.

His lips taste like whiskey and a tiny bit like the candied pecans you’d brought him as a thank you for taking you out. 

You sighed against his mouth as you slid one of your hands down his chest, fisting his shirt as his tongue parts the seam of your lips and deepens the kiss.

“Embrasse-moi (kiss me),” he mumbles between the kisses he plucked from your lips. “Je pense toujours à toi, Je ne peux pas vivre sans toi….tu as besoin de savoir que (I always think about you, I can’t live without you. You need to know that.).”

You’re french is lackluster at best, but something in the way he’s saying the words that makes you feel as if he’s being unbearably sincere in whatever it is he’s telling you. 

“I dont…” you begin, but then something wicked and heavy settles in your lower belly that has you pulling back enough that you can look him in the eye.

HIs lips are pink and swollen, and you nearly forget what you wanted to tell him.

Debauched, absolutely lewd and lustful.

Your hands find his and with a reassuring nodyou put his hands on your hip and thigh, another curse slipping past his lips as his fingers bunched the soft fabric of your skirt in his hands.

“Show me what you said.” You know you’ve said it like a command but you’ve never felt more less in control in your entire life. “Please, Eugene—”

He nods solemnly, and when he replies you get the feeling he’s making you a deeper promise than you are aware of.

“I will. I promise.”

and he does.

(*throws fic at you and runs away* than you for reading bYE (p2?))

#band of brothers x reader #band of brothers imagine #eugene roe x reader #it's vv bad but I'll just add it to the pile of already burning garbage pile that is my bibliography #idk if anyone wants to be tagged but if you so for some reason let a sister know

[cobertaddict]

Tagged by the lovely @bella-caecilia & the amazing @levinson-mannion thank ya loves 💕

Nickname(s): I don’t really have one, I'm not into nicknames really. Occasionally my friends call me Kar Kar (relating to my first name), but only jokingly or to annoy me lol

Zodiac: Pisces! :)

Height: 5′ 2.5 / 158.75 cm *yes, that 0.5 matters to me because I’m short lol

Last movie I watched: The Incredibles, I’m currently on a Disney movie binge to relive my childhood... Edna Mode is such a ✨icon✨

Last thing I googled: turpitude definition *it means wickedness for those who are curious lol

Favorite musician(s): I haven’t really got into a single artist per se, I’m more into bands I suppose. I do enjoy Alex Turner’s lyrical writing tho, and of course I love Arctic Monkeys. Another band I love is Alt-J, which just released a new song today, so I guess I’ll be listening to that all day :)

Song stuck in my head: U&Me by Alt-J 😂, especially the lyrics at the end of the song

Other blogs: I do have two other blogs out there, but unfortunately I do not remember the names of them. I created them when I was younger (one in middle school & the other when I was a freshman in high school), they’re were just blogs of my general interests

Blogs following: 37

Amount of Sleep: On average, about 7 hours

Lucky number: 5

What I’m wearing: a navy polo shirt with khaki shorts

Dream job: History professor... but I might change it to something that includes more writing, I got into creative writing (nonfiction) recently & have a professor mentoring me a bit in that department. I guess we’ll have to wait and see :)

Dream trip: hmm... perhaps London. I think it be fun to visit and see its historical sites/ monuments & such, plus I wouldn’t mind the cold weather :)

Languages: English, very little Spanish & German. I am a bit better at speaking German tho, but still nowhere near proficient or fluent

Favorite food: a good ol’ medium rare steak :)

Do I play an instrument: nope. I’m talentless 🙃

Favorite song: currently it’s Piledriver Waltz by Alex Turner 

Random Fact: I know a lot about JFK 🙈. I’m talking about general information, family history, useless facts, random fun facts, his achievements, his flaws (there’s a lot, trust me I’m aware he’s no saint lol)... almost everything there is to know about the guy 😂. Why JFK you may ask? Well, it’s a long and weird story that only a small handful of people in my private life know, and I intend on keeping it that way lol. I’ve been reading/ researching about him since I was about 12 years old and I am now 20. There’s very seldom things I’m confident about myself, but one thing I am confident in is my knowledge about JFK 😂. I bet if I went to the JFK Presidential Library, I could get a job on the spot as a tour guide because how much I know lol. I don’t exactly look up to him, but I can definitely see how many consider him an icon. In a way, I guess you can say I fell for that Kennedy charm 😂

Tagging: @downton-bridgerton, @dreamsalones, @ohtobealady *no pressure if you don’t want to :)

[twsted-tales-of-scheherazade]

Hmm, new blog. 👀 I would like to request a fluff scenario of Sebek, Idia, and Azul with a fem!reader who is color blind. Colors can be hard sometimes.

Sebek first finds out about your condition one day when you point out how Malleus' flames didn't appear green in your eyes. They just looked brown. Naturally, the fae was shocked and asked if you were joking. You shook your head 'no' and explained how some humans like you suffer from color blindness. A specific color that he sees may not appear the same as what you see. 

It wasn't just Malleus' flames. Diasomnia's signature green was not present in your vision. The bright color looked brown in your eyes and you told your boyfriend as such. His shocked expression turned aghast. As expected of Sebek, he started going on about how it was unacceptable that you were not able to see his lord's brilliance. 

You were used to his tangents by now and he would most likely continue for quite a while. So you got comfy in your seat and watched in mild exasperation as the fae continued speaking.

The tea he brewed is, as always, very delicious.

"Lord Lilia...I would like you a question."

The ancient fae hummed and turned his curious gaze to the first year once he put down his bagpipe (up to this day, Sebek did not know where he got that instrument from). "What is it?"

"Is there perhaps a spell that can show someone dreams? Is it possible to meet in a dream?"

Lilia raised his eyebrows at the strange question. "Certainly. But what would you do with such a spell?"

The first year cleared his throat before he started explaining. "You see, [Name] has..." His senior stayed silent and listened attentively as he explained his plans. Once he was done, Lilia smiled. "My, my. Such a sweet gift...very well. I' shall help you."

"T-Thank you very much, Lord Lilia! I apologize for my lack of skill! I vow to make this up to you."

"Nonsense. Young love is a wonderful thing, Sebek. Just tell me how that little one reacts afterward."

The next day, you had spent a few hours after school with your boyfriend in the library, studying for the upcoming exams. Ever the gentleman, he escorted you to your dorm afterward. You gave him a kiss and bid goodnight. However, before you shut the door, you heard him say "You will have good dreams tonight. I guarantee it."

It honestly made you confused. That was a rather strange way to say good night to someone. Though you didn't think much of it and got ready for bed.

...

You open your eyes to the sight of a starry sky. You blinked before shooting up, looking around your unfamiliar surroundings. The sight of the glowing flowers surrounding you took your breath away.

"W-Wh-"

"I see the spell worked. As expected of Lord Lilia and the young maste."

You turned towards the source of the voice, eyes widening once you saw Sebek. "Y-You're hair...your clothes?! They're..." You spluttered.

He sent a smug smile your way. "How do you like it, [Name]? Surely, you see the brilliant green of Diasomnia now."

Your mind couldn't process what was happening all at once. You looked at your boyfriend then out into the clearing of flowers beneath the starry sky. It seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"Is this a dream?"

"It is. Yet, it isn't." He murmured, taking a seat beside you. "This is a world created by a powerful spell of the ancient faes. Lord Lilia had helped me with it along with the young master. To be honest, I was rather ashamed that he had to assist me too...however...he wished for you to see the world in all of its beauty. Are you happy with this, [Name]? 

"...Y-Yes! A hundred times, yes! I love this! I love this so much! I love you, Sebek! Thank you!" You cried before tackling him in a hug. His strong arms caught you easily. He could hear your delighted laughter right next to his ear, causing a small blush to rise to his cheeks.

"...You haven't seen anything yet." With a snap of his fingers, small green lights started rising out of the field of flowers. You gasped as hundreds of fireflies flew through the air.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let us explore this place. We have a few hours left before you wake up."

"Yeah!" 

Sebek watched from behind as you frolicked in the endless garden, pointing out new colors you have never seen before.

Illuminated by the green fireflies, you looked even more breath-taking in his eyes.

Idia knew that you were colorblind before your relationship with him started. It honestly amazed him how your condition altered the world you saw around you. He's looked up information about color blindness on the internet several times, and with each article he read, the fact that he would never understand the world you see became even more clear. 

Sometimes, he would even ask you what it was like. What colors do you see? How did your condition affect your life? Once, he showed you different pictures and with every answer, he finds himself looking at them intently, marveling about how you were seeing something different. Of course, once he catches your amused stare, he turns into an embarrassing mess and ends up curling into a ball while hiding his blushing face from view.

He never stopped thinking about you though. You said that you were used to the world you're seeing. You've been dealing with color blindness for years...but was there a way to improve your vision?

Apparently, there was. They were in the form of enchroma glasses. According to the website he found - he checked the sources and confirmed that the information there was legitimate, the glasses filter out specific color wavelengths and let people with color blindness see with normal vision. However, it was also mentioned that the effectiveness of it vary depending on the severity of color blindness. 

"...Filter...these glasses filter wavelengths...can I enhance that with magic?" He murmured to himself.

"Well now, Idia. This is a rather interesting project you've thought of." Azul stated as his sky blue eyes gazed at the enchroma glasses with interest. "Humans are rather interesting...so many aspects of them are new to us."

"...You'll help me, right? I already promised to give you that new board game you wanted." Idia said with a huff.

The octopus chuckled before pushing his glasses up. "Of course. It's a deal."

Both of them had a lot of experimenting to do.

...

A few weeks later, your boyfriend had asked you to visit his room since he had something to give you. Once you arrived, he urged you to sit on his bed as he rummaged through his work desk.

"Close your eyes first."

You raised your eyebrows but complied. A few moments later, you felt something being placed on your face...they felt like glasses? Why was he making you wear glasses?

"Alright. You can open them now." You felt a tingling sensation just as your eyelids lifted. What greeted you afterward was a completely different place. A gasp left your mouth as you looked around the room. 

'The colors...!'

They were more vibrant, more beautiful than you could have ever imagined. For the first time in your life, you were seeing the world that other people saw. What really took your breath away, however, was how Idia looked. Especially the glow of his hair that burned a bright blue. "Wow..." You murmured before reaching out and touching his locks.

"Wh-why are you touching my hair?" And then, the glowing blue turns into flaming red as your boyfriend stammers in embarrassment. "You're so weird..."

"Thank you, Idia. I...really wasn't expecting this."

"Y-Yeah...well...you always mention how it was a pain to deal with...the color blindness. I had Azul help me out...but it still took a long time to get the desired effect..."

"I see! I'll make sure to thank Azul too. These are amazing. And you know what I love the most about this?"

"...What?"

"I got to see you become even more beautiful in a different shade of blue." You chirped, pecking his rosy cheeks.

"Ugh...what the hell was that, so cringey..." He muttered as he pulled his hood up to hide his embarrassed face.

You laughed in response and as Idia stares at your delighted expression, he feels himself falling in love all over again.

“Angelfish? Is there something wrong?" Azul asked as he stared at your depressed state. You had curled up on the sofa with such a displeased frown that he can't help but worry. 

"...I wanna go into you octopus pot and stay there forever." You mumbled. The merman blinked in confusion before setting down his pen and taking a seat beside you. He patted your head, and in turn, you moved to lay your head on his lap. "Talk to me, angelfish. I'll listen to all your troubles."

"...I mixed up my clothes today."

"Pardon?"

You sighed before looking up at his eyes. "I got up late today so I had to rush. I wasn't paying attention so I wore different colored socks and shoes. My shirt was different too. It was super embarrassing..." Your frown got deeper and you hid your face with your hands, groaning. "I think someone took a video of me dashing through the school in those clothes...god. I must have looked like a moron."

Ah...so it was one of those "colorblind problems" you've told him about. It wasn't a condition that he encountered often and the most important fact he learned from his research on it was that it affects some aspects of your life. Being able to see colors are something that most creatures take for granted. But for people like you, he can at least understand that you're going to have a hard time.

"I see. Don't worry, I'll have Jade look into it. If such a video exists, then it will be deleted immediately."

"Thanks..." You mumbled, turning to the side and burying your face in his stomach. He gave you an exasperated smile, knowing that he won't be getting any more work done today.

"Shall we perhaps go to my room? It's more comfortable on the bed."

"Yeah..."

Now, you find yourself in his embrace, still upset about your mistake earlier in the day. "It's hard dealing with colors sometimes...and frustrating." 

"You can always .make a contract with me." He said with a chuckle. "I'm sure I can find a way to improve your vision."

"...Tempting. But, strangely enough, when I think about it...I don't want to. I've spent so many years with my color blindness, saw the world differently from most people...it would feel kind of wrong if I suddenly started seeing everything. Sorry...I complain a lot but I don't even want to make changes...I know it's confusing."

"That's alright. I am here to listen to other's woes after all."

"Like the sea witch, right?"

"Exactly."

You giggled before both of you lapsed into a comfortable silence. He pulled you close to his chest, letting you hear the sound of his beating heart.

"Hey, Azul...can you describe a color to me? What is that color to you? Anything will do..."

He hummed before kissing your forehead. "Alright. I can certainly try. Let me see..."

“...Blue is the color of the ocean. My home filled with mysteries that humans have yet to understand. It is also the sky we see on a sunny afternoon. Do you remember, angelfish? When Jade had dragged us to the mountains, we found a clearing and decided to lay down and rest. We looked up at the sky and stared at the clouds. 

And then, when the sun had set and night took over, it becomes a canvas, being filled with twinkling stars. You loved that sight too. Why we almost spent the night in the mountains because you wanted to look at those stars and engrave it into your memory.

It’s the sound of rain falling outside. The rainy weather keeps you from going outside, so you sit by the window, watching the sky's tears. Your thoughts drift and you enjoy the warmth of a blanket around your shoulders.

It is also the color of my eyes, is it not? You've told me over and over again how you loved my eyes, glittering behind my glasses. I admit that when you first said that, it had me quite flustered."

You laughed at his statement. Azul's flustered expression was a sight to see indeed.

“Blue is the frost we see when everything becomes a winter wonderland. As we spend winter together, we also await the welcoming of a new year where we'll make new memories.

...It will also mean the sadness we feel in our lives. But do not fret, because beyond that sadness will surely be something wonderful. It is a sign that you will grow as a person through the pain you've felt..."

The merman trailed off as he heard the sound of your steady breathing. It seems you fell asleep. He smiled at you fondly before closing his eyes as well. Tomorrow is a brand new day.

"There's no need to worry, angelfish. My eyes are yours. I will let you see the world through them for as long as you need me to."

Another story has been told. To tell you the truth, I did not know much about color blindness and I wasn’t sure if I portrayed it well in these scenarios, even if I did do a bit of reading around the subject. Regardless of its possible inaccuracies, I do hope you still enjoyed it, traveler.

References: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/513nkf/wp_explain_a_color_to_a_blind_person/

https://www.thecut.com/2018/02/my-life-as-a-woman-with-colorblindness.html

Credits for the images used on this post:

Border: https://pngtree.com/freepng/vector-title-frame_3573975.html

Lantern decorations: https://pngtree.com/freepng/ramadan-decorations-luminous-ramadan-lantern-moon-and-star_5356170.html

Divider: https://pngtree.com/freepng/european-border-curtain-pattern_4068944.html

#Alf layla wa layla #Sebek Zigvolt #twst Sebek #Idia Shroud #twst Idia #Azul Ashengrotto #twst Azul #Diasomnia #Ignihyde #Octavinelle