#& no idea what song he played could be organ rock for all you want but aury will Be Polite for Starters

[hollowfaith]

「✧」 A whim induced Aurelius into following the faint strains of music in the air. He'd heard that something called Winterfes was going on in the city (though it appealed to him about as much as wet dirt without Klaus to share it with), so he assumed this was some performer rehearsing for their next piece.

Though...would they really be practicing in some obscure building in the backstreets for the occasion?

When he finally tracked down the source of the noise—an organ—its player only left him more puzzled. But by then the music's stopped and he's suddenly aware that he's been perceived in turn.

"I beg your pardon," he addresses the man/machine/thing/idea(?).

"Did I interrupt? Your beautiful playing spoke to me."

Gloria in excelsis Deo @light-imperfected ໒꒱

[tac-the-unseen]

OUAGH the last one gave me the idea of a musician reader x slasher

If I were to suggest a specific genre maybe they’re into rock because. Yeah.

Could you do something with that?

Slashers x Musician Reader

Micheal Myers:

•Plays it off but thinks it cool as hell

•He did play the piano for a very short time in his childhood, but the ward made him very rusty 

•Will happily watch any concerts you put on for him

•Will Secretly watch you if you don't 

Billy loomis & Stu macher:

•They both immediately pitch in a song request 

•They bring up the fact that you play an instrument to win arguments with people 

•Will eventually find a way to break your instrument 

•They will be very apologetic about it 

•attempts to replace it 

Thomas Hewitt:

•very interested 

•He's curious by nature, he wants to know everything he can about it 

•Your instrument is the most expensive thing in the house 

•daydreams about being able to play a song for you, one day

•until then, he'll try to figure it out himself 

Bubba Sawyer:

•Tries to sing along when you play

•he also dances but always ends up knocking stuff over

•Will sit in front of the door so her brothers can't get in while you're playing

•They constantly complain about the racket 

•Chop-top will occasionally sit in while you play 

Bo Sinclair:

•immediately shows you his acoustic 

•brags about how he can out play you

•loses miserably because he only practiced for a couple months 

•mad about it

•polishes its case whenever he comes around to it 

Vincent Sinclair:

•romanticizes it by thinking about how you're two different types of artists 

•Sketches you playing your instrument 

•Sheepishly asks you to pose

•makes a mini wax sculpture of your instrument 

•He get super giddy if you play a song for him

Lester Sinclair:

•extremely impressed 

•He's always thought of being able to play an instrument as a high class/rich person activity 

•Falls asleep while you play, Not because you're boring, But because he finds it soothing 

•will find out how to care for your instrument so he can help repair any damages it might face

Billy Lenz:

•probably was the reason He zeroed in on you in the first place 

•fines it incredibly alluring and wanted you to play all the time 

•Will find a way to get his grubby hands on your instrument 

•Will eventually break it but not feel sorry 

•(Not So) patiently waits for you to get it fixed

Brahms Heelshire:

•He can play the piano and just uses it as another excuse to hang out with you 

•looks up songs to properly make a duet with you 

•whenever conversations died down or get a little stale, he whips out the instrument card 

•whether you did or didn't know how to play an instrument he's going to romanticize it anyway 

Hannibal Lecter:

•insists on making some kind of duet with you, and whether or not your instruments align with each other 

•buy stuff to make for your instrument is a mint condition 

•’humbly’ braggs about your talent at his dinner parties 

•Will make you food associated with your instrument(s) (look that up, it's a real thing because of course it is)

Will Graham:

•Like to watch you play whatever it is you play

•He's never really had any interest in instruments, But he starts listening to videos featuring your instrument. 

•Casually asks Hannibal facts about your instrument 

•makes you a little charm related to your instrument to put on your keychain 

•Has flashbacks to the guy with his throat turned into a Cello 

The Lost Boys:

•They all at some point have picked up an instrument 

•David can play the Piano, Organ, violin, and guitar

•Dwayne can play the Hand drums, flute, and Bass guitar

•Paul can play the clarinet, electric guitar, French horn, and marimba 

•Marko can play the Drums, Harp, Cello, and viola

•They have all genuinely considered starting a band 

•No matter what you play, you'll fit in

Thanks for reading <3

I went for a more neutral tone with this fic. Because I don't want to write 16 other fanfics about specific music genres ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠🎀)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[artdvdmaster]

The Hills- Haruchiyo Sanzu (Bonten) x Female Reader

Song: The Hills- The weeknd

Summary: You were tired after a mission and Sanzu helps you not get bored anymore with a little entertainment of his…

After a long and tiring mission, you came back at Bonten's headquarters to announce to Mikey what you did, you murdered somebody really important to the government. You were also part of that section called "Bonten's Women's", having multiple privileges because the leader of that section was related to Mikey. But those are just details…

Anyways, you were currently walking to one of the offices of your friend, who's also your superior, Sanzu Haruchiyo, Bonten's number 2 and the mad dog of the criminal organization. You slowly entered the room, noticing Sanzu sitting on his luxurious looking couch, listening to not loud music, and taking drugs alongside a cigarette. From where he was, he couldn't look at you, but if he turned his head a little bit from the side, his dark grey eyes would meet yours.

He was looking at the long and large windows of his office. When you closed the door, he heard it, and immediately looked at you with a smile while swallowing another pill/drug. "Oh, hi y/n." He greeted. "Hi Sanzu..." You replied, "Did ya come back from a mission?" he asked, his dark grey eyes looking at yours while he took a drag from his cigarette. "Yea... And it was tiring... I'm bored now, and I don't know what to do..." You admitted.

"Want entertainment? 'Cause I can give ya some." He replied with a friendly tone, but his eyes showed something else, like if he was employing more. You nodded to his statement and he patted a place on the couch for you to sit. You accepted his offer, and sat next to him, while he picked his cigarette and set it down in the ashtray.

Sanzu then moved his legs closer, so yours legs could almost touch. You looked at his legs and smirked, finally getting to what he wanted. His hand slowly touched your thigh, the grip a little firm. "Sanzu, you know that if you want to do sex with me, just say it... right?" You said after his action. He chuckled at your sentence, at how quick you were to guess what he wanted. "Yeah... I'd like to." He responded.

Without wasting a second, you moved yourself so you could sit on his lap, straddling him. One of his hands was on your thigh, the other on your hip, helping you to get in place. "Wow... You don't waste time when you want to, don't ya?" He teased, "Correct. And I'm just starting..." You answered, your hands reaching his thighs and rubbing them up and down to see his reaction.

Your hands moved still, and you could notice he liked it, he loved how 'rough' you were with the rub on his thighs. "Is that all you're gonna do?" He asked, his voice thick with desire. "No, just wait. I'll remove your pants and boxers and play with your dick in a few seconds." You told your tone confidently. He simply chuckled again and moved to help you have better access to his thighs and pants.

"Bold of you to assume I wear boxers," He smirked, watching your face become flustered. "Then what are you wearing if you don't have boxers?" You asked curiously. "How about I let you find out?" He replied.

You bit your lower lip, having ideas of what his dick would look like. Your fingers slowly trailed up, to unzip his pants, and touch his cock through his boxers (you were right, he does wear boxers). Without a word, he pulled you closer to him and shifted his hips to make his noticeable cock pressed against your center. With his action, a moan almost escaped your lips. "Hm~ Oh... It's long... Shit..." You whimpered.

Sanzu chuckled at your whim, before he pulled you a little away from him to have access to his boxers, he slowly pulled his boxers down, his big and long cock revealed to you. "You know you can touch it, hm?" He teased you. You looked at him with a smirk before you began to touch it up and down, earning a groan of pleasure from him.

Then, he suddenly pulls your hips to make you rock back and forth against him, his cock rubbing against your core through the thin fabric of your clothing. You could feel almost everything. Almost. "You feel that? That's what I want to do to you... now." He adds, hearing you whimper with need. He watches you remove your pants/skirt, now left in panties, and licks his lips with desire at the sight.

You removed your panties, now both of yous lower body fully naked. He reached out, and gently pulled your body so you could lay your back on the couch. He hovers over you, his hands already on either side of your head while you spread your legs for him to have better access. Sanzu helped you out, placing a knee between your thighs to spread them more to his liking.

He moved to position himself at your entrance, his dark grey eyes fixated on yours as he began to slowly push his mushroom head inside your pussy. "Damn...you're so tight..." He whimpered. "Oh... Fuck... damn it... You're big~" You moaned and groaned, the feeling of his cock in you made the sensation burn with pleasure and a little bit painful.

Sanzu groaned at your response, his breath already coming out in ragged pants as he pushed his cock and himself further into your hole. "Ahh~ Sanzu... You feel good~" You moaned, and hearing his name left your lips, he pushed his long and big cock all the way inside you and started to grind at a steady rhythm.

His breath came out in ragged pants again, his movements growing more urgent and uncontrolled every minute, probably because the drugs he took earlier were now doing it's effect. He suddenly leaned closer, his scarred lips finding your neck and leaving a trail of kisses and bites on your skin. You were already a moaning mess, the way he was so deep in you and moving fast...Oh...Dear, you won't be able to walk tomorrow...

Sanzu grabbed your legs and wrapped them around his waist, pulling you closer to him, making his movements even deeper and faster if that was even possible. Sanzu continued to move against you, each thrust more intense than the other and that... made you reach your limit. "Sanzu~! I'm close! I'm gonna cum!" You moaned, earning a grunt from him as he replied to you, "Yea... me too... Cum first, I'll join you." He said, before you cumed first and after he cumed back after you.

You both were breathing heavily, exhausted after what you've done together... Dear, cancel your meetings for tomorrow, you won't be able to walk...

(17 paragraphs)

(1135 words)

[petcr3]

don't shed no tears | bradley bradshaw x reader

summary: you have a terrible day. bradley has a plan.

word count: 845

warnings: bradley calls the reader my girl, this one is very short lol!

You almost hold it together. 

Really, you almost do.

But your work day seemed determined never to end. Each time you thought you’d gotten on top of what you needed to do, there was a new fire to put out. It was as if everything that could have gone wrong did, and just about everyone you encountered during your day was in a foul mood. 

Even so, you had pushed through frustration after frustration, and finally made it home. It’s your day off tomorrow and you get to spend the rest of your night with your boyfriend. Things are looking up.

Any other day, you would have laughed it off. But when you finally let yourself plop down on the couch that’s flush with your living room wall and bang your head, the dam just breaks. 

The sound of a particularly forceful “motherfucker!” sends Bradley bolting downstairs, and when he sees you crouched forward, your face in your hands, he’s on his knees in front of you in seconds.

“Honey? What happened, are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” you say miserably.

“You don’t sound fine.” You don’t respond for a moment. The rough pad of his thumb wipes a wayward tear from your cheek. “You’re crying, hun.”

“I’m fine,” you repeat, voice wavering, “I just hit my head.”

“You hit your head?” You want to curl up and wither away. This is so embarrassing. It’s only the worry in his voice that makes you look up.

“Not hard. I just clonked it when I sat down. I’m… I had a really bad day. I’m sorry.” 

“Hey,” he says softly, “don’t apologize. Not your fault you had a bad day. C’mere.” Bradley leans forward, still kneeling in front of you, and wraps you in his arms. You sag into his embrace, and tears begin to darken the fabric of his sweatshirt. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asks. A little sob works its way out of your chest.

“Not–– not really.” You feel Bradley’s mustache before his lips as he turns to press a kiss to your temple.

“That’s okay,” he coos, “It’s okay.” He’s quiet for a moment, and then: “I have an idea.” 

You aren’t particularly pleased when he gets up, but you don’t have it in you to complain. His footfalls are quiet on the carpet as he pads over to the record player and starts fiddling around.

“What are you doing?” you hazard after a moment.

“I can’t tell you,” he says. “Just hang on a second–– this is gonna be romantic as shit.” You let out a little giggle through your tears, and he grins over his shoulder at you. Leave it to Bradley to make you laugh when all you want to do is crawl into a hole and never come out.

A little flash of blue catches your eye as he finds whatever album he’s been searching for, but you don’t get a good enough look to suss out what it is. Finally, he drops the needle, and you hear the opening notes of No Woman No Cry. The organ plays softly, and you sniffle as a fresh wave of tears hits you. Bradley holds out his hand. 

“Dance with me?” You wipe your eyes and nod, shuffling into his arms. He presses a kiss to the crown of your head and draws you in, settling you against his chest with a hand at the nape of your neck. Relief floods through you at the warmth of his touch, the slow and comforting beat of the music, the sway of your bodies.

“I love you,” you mumble into his chest.

“I love you too, baby. I’m sorry you had a bad day.”

“It’s much better now.” That makes him smile. The rest of the song plays out to comfortable silence as you rock back and forth together. It’s a longer cut–– the live version Bradley is playing is a little more than seven minutes–– and eventually, you find that you’re cried out. As the song ends and the crowd on the recording begins to cheer, you tilt your chin up to look at him.

“Thank you,” you whisper.

“Hey, anything to see my girl smile.” And you do, tilting your head down bashfully. 

As the cheers fade, the next song on the record begins to play and the plucky guitar of Could You Be Loved fills the room. Unable to help himself, Bradley begins to bob along with the rhythm. He withdraws a little from the embrace and takes your hands, bouncing your arms back and forth. You feign a pout, but it’s useless. As usual, Bradley Bradshaw is sunshine, fending off the gathering clouds until all you can see is him. You relent and begin to match his movements and he breaks into a beautiful, enormous grin.

As you dance late into the night, you remember that this is what it’s all about. That no matter how awful your day is, you have someone to come home to that knows, without fail, how to lift you up.

[video-game-luvr]

80's themed Honkai Star Rail!

A/N: Let me cook! Let me cook! These prompts will be made into yandere fics, if you guys enjoy it, the smut will come eventually.. If you folks dig it! Just be patient and let me cook! I haven't ever posted actual fics or series so my work isn't the best but I still hope you bunch enjoy it nonetheless! Feel free to correct me or tell me if it's OOC! I am always open to improving! English was not my first language.

My ask box is open for ideas and thirsts! Maybe an 80s slasher theme next? A serial killer is on the loose! Who could be behind the mass disappearances!

Neighbourhood dilfy uncle Gallagher, who is friends with your parents... This prompt would also work so well with Jingyuan! Your parents just trust their friends so much, don't they?

Welt being that hot librarian with a mature charm. You can't help but gaze at his veiny and calloused hands, holding that book, and scrutinizing everything about the contents of the book.

Sneaking out at night to skate around with Caelus and Luka!

Dan Heng who is part of a band, as a bassist. Walking around everywhere with his headphones on. Talking about music with him, and him sharing all his favourite songs with you by giving you a custom made cassette! (Though it was probably pirated)

Going to a cassette store and befriending Dan Heng gives you butterflies. The usually cold and hard-to-approach Dan Heng was now your friend!

Gepard being the local heartthrob, he is such a sweet man, always helping his neighbours with carrying their groceries to their house. Funnily enough, this man is also really clumsy. Your mom asked for his help in changing a light bulb, only for him to fall over from the ladder, luckily he didn't get any major injuries from it.

More about Gepard, he is part of the baseball club! His broad figure and precise aim makes him perfect for it! Just about everyone has a crush on this brawny oaf! He is such a himbo. He can definitely do no harm!

Rock star Blade/Yingxing! It just makes so much sense! Especially if his band is punk, definitely an alternative band for sure, even if it's not punk. Just cheering for him with all your heart, and seeing him throw a wink your way.. Orz "Meet me behind stage." He mouthed to you. The cold arrogant star took a liking to you! Now this is exciting!

Ah yes, Sunday. The epitome of a perfect man. A role model for everyone in school. (Probably a preppy private school) His drive to keep things in order is commendable. All of his perfect execution as a school president isn't limited to the school. He also most definitely goes to church and organizes youth events, leading the choir, you name it!

However, under that flawless persona. Sunday is probably hiding some deep dark secrets. Who knows what that man is thinking.(It's giving... cult leader!)

Playing videogames with Caelus! Who has been your trusty neighbour for years! Your first encounter was him digging into piles of junk, you were really weirded out at first, and probably refused to play with him. But with enough nagging from your mom, you slowly warmed up to the idea of being friends with that weird silly neighbour of yours. From that point on, you guys started to play videogames together! Caelus has started to change over time, he seems to not be able to focus on videogames anymore.. His face oddly becomes red when he catches you gazing at his face. Without your knowledge, someone's love has started to bud and bloom. (He wants you so bad! You might regret befriending this weird kid!)

Himeko is the absolute hot aunt! The resident MILF! Every time she talks with your mom, you can't help but stare at how beautiful she is. She can't help but tease you about how adorable you look with that flushed face of yours. Your mother trusts her with all her heart. I'm sure she wouldn't do anything twisted.

Argenti, an art student. His vision of what beauty is is directly painted onto the canvas. He is incredibly passionate about his vision. A beautiful birth, a beautiful life, a beautiful end to life. He may seem a bit eccentric at times, but he means well... Right? (He is probably a cult member... Not Sunday's though. He is a follower of the path of beauty!)

[kingconia]

i love your works so much 💕💕 u write the characters so well! i was wondering if you could do the housewardens + a mc who listens to heavy rock and metal? or, alternatively, a mc who plays guitar. thank you <3

A/N: Ah, I am very thankful for these words. I decided to mix these two idea for different characters. I hope it is alright.

HOUSEWARDENS WITH MC, WHO IS INTERESTED IN HEAVY MUSIC

Riddle Rosehearts. ❤️

— I have a headcanon that Riddle rarely listens to music, and if he does, it is something classical and organic. Perhaps, lo-fi for studies purposes, too, but rarely;

— When you ask about putting some of your favourite songs for the evening, Riddle has no arguments against it. You are such a lovely and delightful person, surely, you music is just as sweet as–

— Oh, dear. Congratulations, you scared him with the noises of hell, blasting through dynamics...

— Respectfully, he hates your music preferences. And there is no way it will change. However, he tries to be nice about it...

•

”You are looking as if you are having a heart attack,” you comment absentmindedly, putting song on the pause. ”Riddle, I told you, that you shouldn't make yourself listen to it, if—”

”I am fine! I am fine, really,” he quickly reassures you, plastering a nervous smile on his face. ”Please, put it back. I... I really enjoyed this last part, where... Uhm... He screamed.”

You sigh.

Riddle was impossible to deal with.

Leona Kingscholar. 💛

— When you tell Leona that you make your own music, he thinks you play something careful or pop-like. He doesn't like this type of music, but obviously he can endure a little torment for you;

— However as you take a guitar in your hands, Leona is genuinely shocked. Very pleasantly shocked!

— I headcanon Leona listening to heavy rock, too, so, I think that he absolutely loves what you do. He is your fan number one now, and he brags about you to everyone.

— If you also sing, he will use your voice as a lullaby material. ”Y/n, play ’Numb’ by Linkin Park, I want to sleep.”

•

”Guess what?” You ask as you are standing behind sitting Leona, resting elbows on his shoulders.

”Hm? What is it?”

”Headmaster asked me to sing for the Halloween concert,” you smirk proudly.

As emerald eyes lit up slightly—a very rare sight to witness—Leona folds arms on his chest, clearly boasting:

”Of course, he did,” turning his head to your side, he lands a kiss on your cheek. ”That's my star right there!”

You huff, but your cheeks are instantly flushed from his compliment. Why he has to be so embarrassing?

Azul Ashengrotto. 🩵

— I am sorry, but as soon as he finds out about you, being a musician, he will not even care about what type of music it is. From now, you are playing in the Monster Lounge in all your free times—

— But jokes aside, Azul instantly supports you. He doesn't really have an established opinion about heavy metal. Music is music, isn't it?

— Though, if you ask me, I don't think Azul is a big fan of this genre in general. But he is your fan, so it doesn't really matter;

— He will definitely suggest to become your personal manager, because, of course, he would.

•

”So?” You let out a tired, a little rushed breath, looking at your boyfriend expectantly. ”Was it good? Was it bad? Monster Lounge worthy, or?”

There is a strange dreamy smile on Azul's face, with his teeth slightly baring as he rushes to your side:

”My dear, it was an absolute masterpiece. It is not Monster Lounge worthy. It is a world worthy.’

”Azul,” you groan, rolling your eyes tiredly. ”Please, don't lie to me. It is just some silly songs.”

Ignoring your remark, he presses his cheek to yours, announcing with a strange triumph in his voice.

”And that how legends are made.”

You fight an urge to smack him with a guitar. What an idiot.

Kalim Al-Asim. 🧡

— I think Kalim likes hyperpop the most, but overall, he listens everything. So, don't be afraid, he is definitely not a one to judge or say something against your tastes;

— When you crash in his place to hang out, and put your playlist, he is absolutely delighted! He likes every song you show him, and he makes sure to add it on his favourites, too;

— Kalim might or might not ask you for you account in Magicfy, so you both could constantly see what you are listening to, and exchange songs you like;

— And he makes a special playlist for you, with songs he thinks you might like, and never heard before.

•

”Did you like it?” Kalim asks, shifting from one leg to another, almost nervously. ”A few of them were added from Jamil's playlist, but I hadn't seen anything similar in your Magicfy, so—”

”Kali-im,” you are practically throwing yourself on him, wrapping arms around his neck tightly. ”Kalim, you are the best.”

You spent your last night listening through playlist he made—consisting of forty five songs!—and you can't help but feel grateful. Kalim chose every single song so carefully, just to please you.

”I am glad you like it!”

And, surely, everyone knows that the path to someone's heart lays through new and unexplored music!

Vil Schoenheit. 💜

— Your confession that you make music bring a lot of satisfaction to him. He thinks, it is important to have some similar interests, and he loves the idea both of you being invested in this type of art;

— However, Vil had never expected that you are creating rock music. It is not something he listens to, but, he supports your interest nevertheless;

— You are always amazing in his eyes, but if Vil spots some mistake in your work, or just suggestion how to improve your lyrics, he will point it out;

— Just like Azul, invested in making you a star. Buys you expensive technics, connects you with different famous people, who can teach you something useful, and, accidentally, mentions you in front of his colleagues... Oh, he knows what he is doing.

•

”I am so nervous,” you mumble, fixing your hair for the fifth time in a row. ”This concert place is huge. Why it is so huge?”

”Calm down,” Vil sighs, slightly smacking your hands away. ”And keep your hands of your face and hair, I worked too long on them for you ruining it so easily.”

You smile apologetically.

”Don't worry, my twinkle star. The stage is yours—and you got it,” he kisses you on the back of your hand reassuringly, well-aware of how hard it is; to preform for the first time. ”Now go. And when you return, I will make sure to reward you thoroughly.”

As your cheeks heat up, you can't think of anything but a mystery reward you were promised to... Well, Vil definitely knows how to fight with anxiety.

Idia Shroud. 💙

— Idia literally doesn't care what music is playing. He puts random playlists on the background, when he is playing games most of the time. He is not even familiar with the names of songs or musical bands;

— When you ask if you can put your music, Idia literally just shrugs;

— Have zero reaction on your playlist. Might or might not nod occasionally in the beat of song, but that's it;

— But, if his head hurts, he will ask to turn it down. His migraines can't tolerate this kind of loudness, sorry.

•

”Can I put my playlist?” You ask quietly, plopping on the sofa as you enter the room.

”Not today,” Idia sighs, sitting next to you slowly. ”My head hurts, and if I wanted to hear man screaming in this state, I would simply go to the housewarden meeting.”

You chuckle softly, reaching to pat his hair. As your fingers sink in his unruly locks, he mumbles something incoherent, nuzzling in your touch instantly.

”Rest then, darling,” you scratch the skin of his head gently. ”I am here.”

”Thank you...”

Malleus Draconia. 💚

— Malleus is so excited that you asked him to check your music out, that he doesn't even care about such details as this;

— He has a really superficial knowledge about genres and stuff, but since Lilia plays in the group in his free-time, and it is also the heavy stuff, Malleus is not that ignorant;

— But, truth to be told, he would love your songs anyway. It is you, who makes this songs special, not the other way around;

— Just as Leona, he is your most loyal fan, bragging about you everywhere. He likes to sit on your lap, while you work on lyrics and notes, too.

•

”Had you been here for a long time?” You ask with unhidden surprise in your voice.

Malleus is standing in the doorway, leaning on the door frame with his shoulder, arms folded on his chest. He smiles widely as you acknowledge him, stars in eyes becoming even brighter than before.

”It doesn't matter. The image of you working on what you love, these fingers fumbling in strings, fascinates me completely. The time passes without a notice.”

You huff, already being used to this kind of compliments from him.

”Then come and sit with me,” you offer, patting the place next to you. ”I don't mind having you here, after all.”

And that what makes him beam openly.

What a level of trust it is!

[impactrueno]

Hiii...! Hey, do u think the BJ enjoy music? Musica BJ obviously is very good at it and sure could brag a little about it, but what about the others? I think Cartoon BJ could join him in a rock duet or something xD cuz the flair of theatrical...(?) I think, my Q is... as showmen, what are your thoughts as they forming a band? Or something related with music? :D

PD your art is awesome!!

oh they're totally into music!

cartoon bj was a neitherworld rockstar for a brief while when he started making music with his armpits lmao. and the time he joined lydia's band as betty on the (ear)drums. these are just some major ones, but honestly he's shown to be able to play whatever instrument he wants whenever he's doing a bit. something about organs.

then there's the violin! i think this one is more part of his character than just him doing it as part of a joke. i always took it as a reference to the movie soundtrack, which has beetlejuice's leitmotif be this discordant violin, you know the one.

movie bj seems to enjoy music as well, but not just that-- he likes SAPPY BALLADS??? that's the funniest thing to me. Right Here Waiting was already a cheeseball of a song but now i can't even listen to it with a straight face, i burst out laughing the moment those chords hit because all i see is this motherfucker with his stupid guitar with broken strings

but yeah the three of them seem to be musically inclined at least to some degree. i think that's pretty cool. but them being in a band together? they'd probably try to kill each other if they weren't already dead LMAO three really big egos having to share a spotlight sounds like a bad idea....but it could be fun to witness

[flowerandblood]

Lead me to the light (Oneshot)

[religious • modern!Aemond x female]

[warnings: fingering, mention of masturbation, religious guilt]

[description: He and she are very religious. They are in love, happy and engaged, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for them, to bear the lack of physical intimacy that they both crave. They decide to try something new. Anon Request.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

_____

She met Aemond at the parish school. Once he came with his mother, who was a catechist, to help her carry a few boxes with various things. She helped her in working with children as a volunteer. They organized extracurricular activities and plein-airs in the parish hall, belonging to the nearby church.

She often saw Aemond and his mother at church on Sundays. Alicent always greeted her after they left and had a few words with her, but her son always stood a few steps away, not even looking at them, thoughtful. She noticed, that he always turned, so she couldn't see the scarred part of his face.

One day, the parish priest had the idea, to organize a small picnic for all the faithful in the large parish garden, after the mass. Alicent thought it was a great idea and they ordered the catering together. It was necessary to go for tables, chairs and disposable dishes, so they divided the duties.

“I asked Aemond to drive you to the store. Here's a list of things you need to buy." She said softly, giving her a piece of paper and a bundle of bills, to buy all these things.

She was excited to see him. He intrigued her immensely, and she wondered, if she'd be able to get him to even a brief exchange of words.

Aemond arrived on time. She waited for him on the street and ran to the car, that he parked in the parking lot. She opened the passenger door and sat in the seat, smiling at him.

"Good morning." She said cheerfully and lightly, it was beautiful, summer morning at its best.

"Hi." He said dryly and dispassionately, glancing in the mirror as he reversed the car, making sure it didn't hit anything. She pursed her lips, placing her hands on the small backpack in front of her.

She rolled over and glanced at his player with a smile, hearing, that AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" was playing. She thought it was a funny song choice, given their religious approach to life. All she could see on the playlist, were rock bands, that she knew well. She heard him twist in the seat next to her, confused.

"If you want, I'll play another playlist." He said low. She looked at him as if he had insulted her.

"You must be joking. It's a sin to switch such a piece." She said amused and laughed, turning her face towards the window.

"I was at an AC/DC concert last year." She added after a moment, thinking with satisfaction about this event, that she went to with her dad, a huge fan of the band.

They were silent for a while, as they listened to the song. She heard him clear his throat softly, as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. She thought he was cute.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the store. Aemond went in with her, for there were many things to buy, and his mother had told him not to make her carry too much.

She headed for the aisle with disposable plates and cups. There were so many and with so many patterns, that she didn't know, what to choose. She showed him a pattern with flowers and a pattern with colorful, large polka dots.

"Which one do you like more?" She asked, and he looked at her, surprised.

"Does it matter? They'll be thrown away anyway." He spoke reluctantly, but stopped immediately, apparently thinking, that he might have offended her. He turned his head, pressing his lips together. She looked at the plates and sighed.

"Maybe you're right. So what, we'll take plain white? They're probably even cheaper." She said taking the third set, examining it. Aemond looked at her in surprise, expecting his remark to frustrate her. He nodded.

"Let's take the cheaper ones and buy more juices." He proposed. She thought it was a good idea and they did exactly that.

She had the impression, that her openness and lightness of conversation made him relax. She discussed freely with him the choice of what to buy and what would be better on such a hot day. They gave up the chocolate cookies, thinking, they would just melt.

Alicent told her, that she could also choose some extra items herself, if she found something interesting in the store. She decided to buy surprise eggs for the children, she knew they loved them.

They left the store with everything they needed to buy, packing the things into the trunk. They got in and headed back to the church, continuing to listen to his rock playlist, without talking to each other.

When they arrived, Aemond helped her fetch her things from the car and lay them on the tables, that were already set out in the parish garden. She rummaged in one of the bags and pulled out two chocolate surprise eggs, placing one in front of him and the other in front of her. He looked at her, surprised.

"Why are you giving me this? I thought, it was supposed to be for kids." He said low, indifferent. She looked at him, eyebrows raised in amusement.

"And we are not someone's children? Come on, you didn't collect these toys when you were little?" She asked, unwrapping her egg from the foil, breaking it into two halves with a light movement, immediately popping one piece of chocolate into her mouth.

He was about to say something, but his mother came over to them, talking to her. It turned out, that she needed help in disassembling everything and putting it in order. She apologized to Aemond and followed her, leaving him alone.

When everything was ready, they went to mass together. She invited her to sit together in one of the first pews, and she agreed. Aemond gave her a surprised look and made room for her, to sit next to him.

She tried to focus on what the priest was saying, but her mind kept returning to his scent. Some nice, fresh, intense masculine perfume, that made her head spin. His thighs were slightly parted, his feet, like hers, resting on the kneeler.

His knee was touching hers, and though she knew it was an accident, that it was just tight around them, she shivered at the thought. She couldn't help, but involuntarily pressed her leg against his a little tighter. She felt him shift uneasily in the seat, his fingers tightening on each other.

After a moment, to her surprise, it was his knee that pressed tighter against hers. She pursed her lips at the feeling. She knew, that church wasn't the best place to flirt, but she couldn't help the heat, that was welling up in her belly. She felt her cheeks flushed, a wide smile on her face.

Aemond stayed at the picnic that day and talked to her pretty much the entire time, sitting on one of the blankets, eating grapes and drinking coffee from a disposable cup. She lay down next to him, her backpack under her head. She looked up at the sky, talking to him, letting him look at her.

He opened up to her that day and even let her give him a little hug as part of his farewell. From then on, he came to help his mother more often, but she knew, he meant something else. He always sat in the classroom next to her desk with a cup of coffee in his hand.

He pretended, that he was waiting for Alicent to drive her home, but she knew, that he had only come to talk to her for fifteen minutes. It took him several months to get his true intentions out, but he was received with great enthusiasm. They have been together as a couple ever since.

Exactly after a year, he proposed to her and told her, that he did not want to wait long to get married. They decided, that they would get married next year, so that everything could be done on time. They were both happy thinking about the prospect of living together. They got along very well, also in matters of faith.

One day Aemond invited her to spend the night at his house. They had never stayed the night together before. He told her, that Helaena was away for the weekend and her room would be free, so she could take her bed. He suggested, that they watch something together and have a good time. She was thrilled and terrified at the same time.

She didn't want him to think badly of her, but he aroused so much desire in her, that she couldn't bear it. Even though, she hadn't done it before she met him, she started touching herself between her thighs, seeking fulfillment and relaxation. The tension she felt after meeting him, was unbearable.

She did not share this area of life with him, fearing, that he would lose his good opinion of her. She figured, that she'd make it to their wedding somehow.

However, spending the night together was a temptation for her, that she feared would defeat her. She was afraid of his rejection. That if she kisses him more passionately or puts her hand under his shirt, he'll look at her like she's dirty and worthless. However, she decided, that she would try to fight and not give herself out.

When she arrived at their home, Alicent immediately embraced her. The three of them had dinner - Aegon and his father were at work. Their whole family worked in the family business - Aemond once in a while because, like her, he was still studying.

Then they said goodbye, she took her things to Helaena's room and went to him. He was sitting on his bed with his laptop on his lap. He was browsing some platform, looking for some interesting movie.

She climbed onto his bed and lay down next to him, wrapping her arm around his, placing her cheek against his shoulder. He immediately kissed the top of her head, continuing to scroll down, letting out a grunt of displeasure.

"I don't see anything interesting. I don't know why I'm paying for this." He hummed low, sighing softly, leaning his head against the bed. After a few minutes, they decided together, that they would start a series, that was recommended to her by one of her friends.

They began to watch, his arm wrapped around her and pulled her to him. She automatically buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent, closing her eyes. His hand played with the strands of her hair, curling them around his fingers and letting go.

She felt a pleasant shiver at the feeling, she loved it, when he did that. Her hand ran over his chest thoughtfully. She couldn't concentrate on what she was watching. Aemond looked at her, turning his head in her direction.

"You don't like it? We can turn on something else." He murmured, stroking her head steadily and kissing her forehead. A pleasant shiver ran through her. She thought with horror, that she wanted more. They kissed often. She decided, it was okay, if they did it now.

She looked up at him and moved closer to his face, her lips brushing his, warm and full. He hummed low in contentment, parting his mouth, returning her caress gently with a wet click.

They kissed like that for a moment, tender, innocent, his hand tracing her cheek. She heard his soft moan, as her hand tightened around the nape of his neck, her lips digging deeper, more lustfully into his.

She felt as if he froze for a moment, but she continued to caress him, feeling the throbbing between her thighs, wonderful and hot. She wondered, if he felt it too. He broke away from her suddenly and cleared his throat, looking away.

"So? Are we watching on?” He asked, refreshing the page, rewinding the episode a few minutes.

She pursed her lips and nodded. She felt her whole body stiffen, for some reason, tears of helplessness gathered in her eyes. She buried her face in his neck again, his hand still stroking her steadily.

She felt tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, straight onto his skin, her body twitching slightly, but she made no sound. Aemond felt wetness on his neck and propped himself up on one elbow to see, what was happening. When he saw her red, tear-stained face, he immediately stopped the movie, staring at her, horrified.

"What's going on?" He asked anxiously, stroking with his hand her bare shoulder. She couldn't answer him, only began to cry even more, sucking in a ragged breath.

"Hey, baby, what happened? You can tell me." He said soothingly, wiping away her tears, stroking her cheek.

She could see in his gaze, that he was terrified and surprised, she had never cried in front of him before. She shook her head, letting him know, that she couldn't tell him. He pursed his lips, seeing this.

"Really, you can tell me anything. I want to know, what's bothering you." He said calmly, her hand ran over his chest involuntarily. She couldn't look him in the eye.

"You will despise me, when I tell you." She mumbled softly, sniffling, tears flowing from her eyes again, as if the thought of telling him terrified her so much, that all she could do was sob.

She heard him sigh heavily, pressing his forehead against her temple, his long, blond hair lightly tickling her nose.

"I will never despise you. And since I am to be your husband, I want to support you in all your worries.” He whispered softly, his lips lingeringly kissing her scalp once in a while.

She looked at him finally, turning onto her back, their faces millimeters apart. She opened her mouth several times, trying to force it out. She finally made it.

"I desire you." She said in a broken voice. She saw the pain and surprise in his gaze. He swallowed hard, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his body tensed. He didn't answer for a moment, staring at her with wide eye.

"You know… you know, that I desire you too." He whispered softly. She pursed her lips at his words.

"The frustration I feel is unbearable." She said finally, looking away, shaking her head, shielding her eyes with her hand, so he wouldn't see, that she was crying again.

She felt like an empty girl, unable to contain her simplest urges. She heard him exhale loudly, his breath shaky and loud.

"You think it's easy for me? If only I could…” He said and didn't finish, turning his head, looking to the side, his lips pressed together. “…if only I could, I would take you here and now. But we both know, we'd feel guilty afterwards." He added quickly, looking at her uncertainly.

She pursed her lips at his words. She knew, he was right. She wanted to wait until marriage. With this wonderful experience of feeling him deep inside her.

She swallowed softly and nodded her head. They were silent for a moment. She felt, like he wanted to say something, but couldn't.

“I have to relieve myself before each meeting with you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to resist." He blurted out suddenly softly, his words sending a shiver down her spine. He didn't look at her, embarrassed by his words. She swallowed loudly.

"I… I touch myself too." She said embarrassed, her cheeks burning with tears and emotions.

He looked at her, a silence filled with tension between them. She could feel her muscles clenching with desire, the moisture dripping onto the fabric of her panties. She could see that he was fighting with himself, that something was in the air.

"…can I touch you there?" He asked softly, his voice trembling, unsure. Her eyes widened in shock. She nodded quickly, swallowing hard, her heart pounding like crazy. She was desperate.

"Y-yes. Yes, please, touch me there.” She whispered pleadingly, and he moaned softly at her words, his hand immediately going between her thighs, on the fabric of her panties. She suppressed a moan that escaped her lips and squeezed her eyes shut, her body arching in pleasure.

His fingers pressed lightly against her, starting to massage her through the fabric, moving up and down. A wave of heat ran through her, making her shiver all over. They both started breathing heavily.

"God, your panties are all wet." He whispered softly, delighted and thrilled by what he was doing and seeing. She nodded her head, trembling all over, sweet, soft moans escaped her lips.

Unable to contain himself, he pressed his lips against hers, more passionately and intensely than before. Each time they broke apart and clung to each other, the long, wet click of their saliva accompanied them again.

She moaned into his mouth in surprise, shivering all over, as his fingers slid the material of her panties aside and ran over her throbbing, wet, hot entrance. They both inhaled loudly at the sensation.

"You're so warm." He hummed in delight, his fingers, all sticky with her juices, traveling to her clit, teasing her timidly, seeing how her body would react to it. A sudden, startled groan of pleasure escaped her lips.

"Oh God − yes, touch me like that −" She sobbed helplessly, she felt like she had a fever, her body burning from the inside.

Unwittingly she parted her thighs a bit, allowing him access, and he moaned into her mouth feeling it, his tongue brushing over her upper lip, making them both gasp with excitement.

His fingers sped up, massaging her around her clit with slow, intense strokes, spreading her wetness all over her pussy. He could feel how hot and thirsty she was, how much she needed it, her thighs involuntarily reaching out to meet him. He was so painfully hard that he was dizzy, his cock throbbing in his pants.

He shifted his hand abruptly so that his thumb continued to massage her clit, and his fingers slid over her wet, swollen entrance again. His fingertip teased her, barely slipping in and out, feeling her fleshy walls tighten around him.

"Do you want me to put it in you, baby?" He gasped into her mouth, and she stifled a loud moan, her whole body trembling. She tightened her hand on his hair, burying her nose in his face, her body writhing under his hand.

"Y-yes − please − I need it −" She mumbled, and he closed her mouth with his in an aggressive, sticky kiss, forcing his tongue all the way down her throat.

He slid his finger inside her, stretching her swollen, throbbing muscles, feeling the heat of her body. He thought of how great a delight it would be to enter her, how tight she would clench on his large cock. He began to slip his middle finger in and out of her in a slow, intense rhythm, with the wet click of her juices.

He would never admit it, but he'd read a lot about how to please a woman. He didn't want to hurt her on their wedding night, and he'd thought of her quite often since their engagement.

He wanted to be as prepared as possible, and to be able to touch her so that she would be ready to receive him inside her. He decided that this would be a good training for them, that they would understand and learn what gave them pleasure.

He searched for her sweet spot with his finger, knew that it was somewhere on her upper wall. Suddenly, he felt something like a slight lump under his finger, and she moaned into his mouth in surprise.

He smiled under his breath, massaging this point intensely, rubbing it with a quick, confident motion that made her pant and shiver.

"Feels good, babygirl?" He hummed, a smirk on his face. He felt her walls tightening on him more and more, her hips responding greedily to his every move, seeking fulfillment. He thought it was wonderful what he could do with her body. How sensitive she was to his slightest touch.

"Yes − sweet God − it feels so, so good −" She sobbed, on the brink of despair, all hot and red, she felt hot tension rising up inside her, his thumb and finger touching her two most sensitive places at the same time, driving her crazy. She knew her fulfillment was coming, her head tilted back, her mouth parted, panting heavily.

"− A-Aemond − I'm gonna come − och, God −" She mumbled, and he pressed his lips to hers in a greedy kiss, muffling her loud, helpless moan. He didn't want his mother to hear them and come into his room right now, while his future wife was going through a wonderful, intense orgasm.

He grunted in contentment, feeling her walls tighten on him, refusing to let go, his fingers still massaging her gently, feeling, how sensitive her body was now. He pulled away from her and licked his lips. She was trembling under him, looking at him with a hazy, dreamy look, her mouth slightly parted in pleasure.

"Can I touch you now in return?"

_____

Aemond Taglist:

(bold means I couldn't tag you)

@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno @malfoytargaryen @qyburnsghost @aemondsdelight @persephonerinyes @fan-goddess @sweethoneyblossom1 @watercolorskyy @astral-blossoms @randomdragonfires @amirawritespoorly @apollonshootafar @padfooteyes @darylandbethfanforever9 @fudge13 @snh96 @diosademuerte

[touyas-multi-purpose-saline]

DAY XVI. — ICE BATH

cw: STRICTLY A CONCEPT TO EXPLORE, Temperature Play, Drowning, Murder, Death, Violence, Fondling, Unhealthy Relationships, Slight Yandere, Delusional Thoughts / Behaviors, Distorted Writing at the Bottom, Uncomfortable Scenarios, General Dark Content Not Suitable for Immature Audiences, Fem! Reader. Reader discretion is advised. 18+ Only!

author's note: This is just an extremely graphic fic idea based on one of my favorite songs. I wanted it to have an erotic undertone, but I wanted to emulate what the song feels like to experience. Regardless, this is NOT a good situation. I do not condone healthy behavior in any sense! This is strictly fiction! Do not force yourself to read if you're uncomfortable.

word count: Approximately 1k words.

Droplets splatter across your face whenever Touya shoves your body underneath the water, plummeting deep in, holding you down. Fearful gasps tear through your cracked lips, spittle flying into nothing, hands on your shoulders. There’s something deranged curtaining Touya’s features, something shadowed in the center of his face that makes him so aloof, distant, and his fingers dig through. Thick ropes of cold whip out, crackling, wrapping around your frame and trapping you within its arctic expanse, blues that never stop feeding. It starts underneath your toes, popping rocks that tickle and jolt, and then it’s in your ears. Everything drowns out, muted, a coma that can’t stretch its hand away. 

Terror in your gaze, 

“T-Touya—!” 

You can barely say his name. Touya just coos softly, shushing any words that could be shared between you before they’re even conjured. One of his hands leaves your shoulders, he presses down harder, and then he cups your jaw, cradling. 

“Don’t say anything. Just let this happen. It’ll be better this way.” 

His words are sly, but not really, and if you think hard enough about it then it still doesn’t even really make sense. The water seems to broil and bubble underneath, getting hotter and hotter but your body sinks colder and colder. Shivers are earthquakes beneath your flesh, but you can’t keep your mouth shut. 

“Please, just—just let me go. You’re—Touya, I don’t understand w-what you’re doing.” 

Plunging in fast and heavy didn’t give your body time to properly adjust; the shock doesn’t leave, no, its pressure is atmospheric, unstoppable, and you can feel gooseflesh flourish. 

“Us. This—What the two of us share together. It doesn’t make sense. Why do you—what is it about you that sees me and—”

Touya doesn’t finish his sentence. The hand cupping your jaw swipes its thumb over your cheek gingerly, a drastic mirror reflecting a reality that doesn't exist. A line creases between your brows, down your face, splitting your body in half. The water is clawing, letting the blades of its teeth pinch and settle in within you, down to your organs, down to everything and anything that can feel, can comprehend. It’s excessive, the frost, and your skin is firm, wax, and it’s like you’re submerging into a place unknown. It’s getting hard to breathe, but Touya doesn’t stop pushing your body into the pool. He steps closer, horror in his eyes, deadening realization, but he doesn't stop. He never knows when to stop. 

Your teeth chatter.

“I love you, Touya. That’s what I see in you—I-I can see right through you. Are you just—doing this b-because you want to hurt me? Or d-do you just want to hurt?” 

Touya doesn’t answer. He just smiles. 

The water eats you whole whenever Touya fully submerges your body. His body hovers over your own now, homing in but never quite making it, and you can feel his hands start to slide down your body. He touches the latex of your neck, the arch of your collar bone, the incline of your breast, he squeezes. Touya’s saying words, but they never quite learned how to swim. You guess they soon learn, but so do your screams. They gag, they choke, and all you can do is swipe your kitten paws against Touya’s figure to get him away, far far, away. A feeling of exhaustion leaks into your bones, a split on the surface of your skin’s candle, bleeding in, and you’re so tired. So. So. Very Tired. You can’t breathe. 

“ Is n’t thi s wha t it’ s su pposed to feel li ke?” 

Were those his words or yours? Slurred messes of slosh and dried snow rest heavy on your tongue. It’s hard to even shake your head. Flames burning in your lungs are doused before they can ignite, and you wonder if you’re freezing. Thaw, wonder. Dreams, a haze that begins under the pads of your fingers, smoky nail grins, and start to make a dust storm. Could you even resurface? Do you even want to? Touya’s fingers mold around your breast again, fondling you a few decent rolls before that hand traverses further. It swoops around your waist, finds the small of your back, palms up, and then he locates your hips. Touya drags you to him, pelvis between your loosely flailing legs. 

You should have fought him harder earlier. But you love him. 

Did you get to tell him that before he suffocated you beneath the surface? Or did he just say that to you? Or were those words even actually real or just illusions your sad brain painted? Touya’s hips slot perfectly between your thighs—just like they always have and always will—and he begins gradually rocking against you. Is he hard? Can you even feel him through the soggy shade? Your swinging paws trickle, wavering, broken strings on a guitar, and they collect against Touya. They fumble, you fumble, your toes flex. 

“Th is i s all I know an d I ca n’t und erst and why yo u lo— ? 11 ! 00 ?! 01 !! 00 1 ? — b ut I will ma ke this ri ght.” 

You see Touya in your sleep. His visage is the only thing that isn’t twisted. Everything warbles, paper burning over a bonfire, and sparkling like stone beaten against metal. Colors are blotching your vision, sap and moss covering a foggy window, emerald and plum and maroon. He’s thrusting pathetically, is that even what you’re feeling? Your body is stitching seams, pulling itself and lulling too. 

“I’ ll let every one kn ow wh at I f elt whe n ! !?! 00 di e be cause of ! 11.” 

Touya gets stronger. It gets warmer. Bubbles, immersion. Encroaching darkness. 

“An d you ! Y ou st ayed w ith me even whenever 11 0 !! ?? 0000 11 an d isn’ t tha t worth someth ing, !! 011010 ?! !” 

Your eyes squint, the chlorine stings. Touya’s chest falls on top of yours, a blanket, fresh linen left in the ice. 

“An d !! 001 ! it  !! d o you goo d !! 10001 ! ? 

00 11101 ? dar ling, ri !!!! 

Muted sounds, fading, falling, quieter. Gone. Words no longer words. Burning, flames, passion, the thrusting of hips, the sway of electrical numbness. 

“Be cause !! 00 

I lo 

ve you—1 ! 001 ??—0 1 — 

And Touya Teal is that last thing. 

[black-arcana]

HALESTORM's LZZY HALE Hopes To 'Wrap Up' New Album In December: 'I'm Ready For It To Be Done"

In a new interview with "The Morning After With Nic & Big J" on the 100.3 The X Rocks radio station, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead" album. Lzzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We'll be getting everything, like final wrap-ups are in the beginning of December. And so we'll be wrapping that up and then literally — we'll probably be pushing something out a little sooner than that, hopefully. But all best-laid plans, as you know. So I'm really excited. I'm ready for it to be done."

She continued: "It's been a really crazy whirlwind making it. We ended up going in with Dave Cobb, the producer. And it's something completely different than what we've ever had. We literally rolled in with all of our baggage, all of our songs, our riffs, the whole thing, and he's, like, 'No, we're not gonna do any of that. We're just gonna start.' And I'm, like, 'What? There's no plan? What's happening.' And it's kind of beautiful 'cause all of us are very ADHD, and we're locked together in this house in Savannah, Georgia, which, if you've ever been to Savannah, Georgia, there's no scene. It's a spooky historic town with a lot of Spanish moss. And we're locked — literally I'm saying locked, because we locked the doors — we're locked in this house full of every piece of equipment you could ever need. It's all set up. The board is there — everything — and we're all unsupervised. Which I can't tell you the last time that has happened making an album — probably since the first record, [when] we were all living in an apartment together. So, all of our inner children are screaming and we're all just getting into the sandbox and playing, 'Hey, I brought some LEGOs. You brought a rocket. Let's see if we can get it to space.' And so all of this stuff has really been coming together in such a weird and organic way, to the point that it's very much peeling back the onion of what is HALESTORM.

"My brother [HALESTORM drummer Arejay Hale] and I have had many moments while making this record where we look at each other and we're, like, 'This reminds me of when we were 14.' It's just wild," Lzzy added. "So, I'm very excited for everyone to hear it and I'm excited for it to be done. And so hopefully we wrap it up in December and get get it the hell out — out of my house. [Laughs]"

Elaborating on the songwriting process this time around and how it was different to some of HALESTORM's previous records, Lzzy said: "I think that the big lesson in the front of the race here that has been answered is that usually the weirdest ideas are the best. And sometimes it's the things that you don't think are very good that everyone collectively is, like, 'No, that's actually great.' And I think that that's been the beautiful thing is that the four of us, even though… I mean, my brother's 37 — he's the young gun, but we're all in our early forties — and we've been doing this a long time together. And so to have that kind of reconnection to who you are as people and as friends and really having that kind of come out in the music and it not be this kind of assembly line, like, 'Okay, Lzzy wrote 12 songs. We all really like 'em. Let's record 'em.' Or, 'Hey, we have this collection. And we have a month to be in the studio. Let's just go and bang it out.' We've really kind of taken the time to really let the music tell us what to do and honestly let our weird brains tell us what to do, because we're all terrible adults [laughs], and I think that we were never meant to be. So it's been nice to just kind of have the freedom to do whatever the hell we want and then worry about the consequences later. [Laughs]"

This past July, Arejay was asked by The VORTX Podcast with host Ethan Jackson about HALESTORM's decision to work with Cobb this time around. Arejay said: "It's always good for a band to, if you want your sound to evolve, bring in some fresh minds into it. And the cool thing about Dave is that he's a total hard rock and metalhead at heart. A lot of his most successful projects have been a lot of country, a lot of alternative — I mean, he's all over the spectrum — so when works with us, you can tell… There's a really great mutual respect between [us], 'cause we've been doing this long enough and he's been doing it for so long. We've been a huge fan of his as well, so there's a lot of mutual respect between the two of us, and you can feel it in the room."

Asked if he and his HALESTORM bandmates set a date for themselves for when they want to be done with a record, Arejay said: "It used to be a lot more stringent in the early days. 'Cause when you're trying to get the band off the ground, you really wanna kind of keep that momentum going. But our last couple of records have been a little bit more laid back, which is nice. It kind of gives it room to breathe. It gives us time to like really assess where we wanna go. And definitely COVID changed everything."

On the topic of whether the HALESTORM members do more work remotely now or if they still all get together in the studio and collaborate on ideas in one room, Arejay said: "Oh, it's so much more effective for us to be in the same room. I think it kind of forces you to just… I guess we work well under pressure, 'cause, going back to your last question… We definitely feel the pressure to get the album out at a certain time, but what really cranks up the pressure is the fact that we're leaving Nashville and going to Savannah for only a set period of time, 'cause Dave [only has certain] windows [of availability]. And it really forces us to just dig into your gut and just pull things out. And when we're all together in the room and Joe [Hottinger, HALESTORM guitarist] starts playing around with the riff and I start jamming with them, things just come out, things just happen. There's a magic there."

In June, Lzzy told Decker of the rock station Razor 94.7/104.7 (WZOR) that she and her HALESTORM bandmates initially "got a lot of pushback" from their team about the prospect of working with Cobb. She recalled: "We were saying, 'Oh, wouldn't it be cool to do a record with Dave Cobb? Because that would be something that nobody would really expect from us. And I bet you he would come up with some crazy ideas. Don't know the guy, but let's figure it out.' And everybody on our team was, like, 'No, no, he's too busy. That's not you. He's got this stuff going. He's got, like, nine Grammys with Chris Stapleton. That's not your scene.' And so we kept pushing back. We're, like, 'No, no, no. Just ask him. Just ask him. We can handle rejection, but just ask him.' And so finally, our A&R guy at our label is, like, 'Fine, I'll reach out. Whatever. Just stop bugging me.' And so he reached out, and then he called me, like, the next day. He's, like, 'Hey, I heard back from Dave Cobb. And guess what? Not only does he absolutely know who you are, but he's been wanting to make a record with you for, like, seven years. And he has a plan already of how he wants to do it.' And we're, like, 'What? This is sick.' So anyway, we went to go test the waters, and we go into the studio. And look, I write every day. When I die, there's gonna be so much that everyone has to sift through, just gibberish songs, all that. So I always have, like, a bank with me, like, 'Here's riffs, here's songs, here's subject titles, here's poetry.' And he was, like, 'No, no, no. We're not gonna do anything that you already have. Nothing.' I'm, like, 'Uh. What?' And he's, like, 'No, we're just gonna start.' Everyone's sitting in a circle and we're, like, gonna kumbaya. So everyone got an instrument, like, 'All right. So what are we feeling today?' I'm, like, 'Is this a therapy session?' And we ended up — it's crazy, 'cause then we'll like grab on to something 'cause of that pressure of, like, 'Well, I was thinking about this as this is happening.' 'Cool. Let's go there.' And so he has this amazing instincts that are very, like, you can't see it when you're in it. And then, as soon as we start like putting stuff together, we kind of zoom out and, like, 'Oh, wait a minute. This is so wild and awesome and exactly what we do.' So it's very strange. But we're all very free. And then the other thing is that while we're writing it, we're recording it at the same time. So these tracks are, like, us discovering the song for the first time as well as we're performing them. There are some things that we're performing them all at the same time. There's one track in particular that we completely forgot to put the click track on, and we did like three takes like that, and then we're, like, 'Oh, wait. We don't even have a click going.' Arejay said something, like, 'Were we supposed to have like a click track so we all are on time together?' And everyone's, like, 'We didn't even notice it was gone.' And so we did another take with the click. We're, like, 'No, we like that other one better.' So there's stuff like that. A lot of weird surprises. There's a lot of space. And we're really excited because we're not going country or anything like that, or Americana. This is such a new — it's got so much teeth, and it's so different than what we just did with 'Back From The Dead', but in this almost weightier, heavier way. And the lyrics are — I'm tackling subjects I've never tackled before because I'm having the freedom to do so. So I'm very excited."

HALESTORM and I PREVAIL recently embarked on summer 2024 co-headlining tour. Produced by Live Nation, the trek kicked off on July 9 in Raleigh and ran through August 17 in Las Vegas. HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD and FIT FOR A KING served as support. The tour was also the catalyst and the creative spark for HALESTORM and I PREVAIL's collaborative track "Can U See Me In The Dark?", which was released in June.

"Back From The Dead" has tallied over 100 million streams worldwide. Rolling Stone called the title track "a biting but cathartic howler about overcoming all obstacles," and that song as well as "The Steeple" marked their fifth and sixth number ones at rock radio, respectively. Associated Press said the album "will definitely be in the running for best hard rock/metal album of the year." Their previous album, "Vicious", earned the band their second Grammy nomination, for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for the song "Uncomfortable", the band's fourth #1 at rock radio, and led Loudwire to name HALESTORM "Rock Artist Of The Decade" in 2019.

Fronted by Lzzy with Arejay, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bass player Josh Smith, HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".

[errorwarblesrr]

do you like totk or botw better?

In short: Yes, I like botw better.

Here are my reasons, though!

I know a lot of people view it as the better experience, which is completely subjective and valid if you do and like it better, but I just view botw as being better in almost every way.

I will give it to totk. The dungeons have a lot better atmosphere. The game has some extremely high highs with the build-up to the wind temple, the whole great sky island segment, and the final boss is a much better fight (though dark beast ganon has a better theme song imo).

Other than that, I prefer botw. Totk has a much grander story, but it's completely mishandled. You can argue that totk has a great story but has poor execution, and to me, execution plays a big role in what makes a story good. You can have good ideas bit it all falls apart if they aren't executed well which ends up making the story bad. It's not that totk has a good story with poor execution, it has good ideas but the bad execution leads to a poorly told story. (I hope that makes sense). Botw has less of a story and is more like a set of events. Botw has history and backstory that is told more organically. Link has amnesia so he slowly regains some of his memories of the past with some people trying to help fill him in. It feels more real...in a weird fantasy way. I guess totk is similar with how we see Zelda's memories, but not really? It's weird to explain. Everything 100 years ago is felt in present day botw while in totk most of those things don't really matter as it happened so long ago. Things only start to resurge because Zelda wanted to investigate under the castle. Totk also has twists like a story. Idk if this is making sense but that's how I feel on their stories. There was just not much botw could mess up on story wise as the way it was presented.

Gameplay wise I can not lie totk is technical marvel with the zonai tech. That's the most impressive thing about it. Tbh building contraptions isn't my thing though, it takes too long to make and experiment with a machine when I can just do whatever that machine was gonna do much faster. I see why people have a lot of fun with it though, it just isn't my thing. One thing I HATE in totk though is the amount of menuing I have to do. Elemental arrows had a serious downgrade. Yeah it's cool to fuse stuff to arrows, but not when I have to do it to ever single individual arrow and if I want to try something new I have to scroll past 50 other items in a single line. It's just tedious. If I want to use a good weapon I have to go to the menu, drop an item, and menu again to fuse it to a weapon that will still break. Item breaking is still an issue but it's more annoying and the weapons no longer look cool. Totk has some cool abilities, but idk I'd trade them all for remote bombs lmao. I hate going through caves, especially early game, and having to deal with the rock walls where they want me to fuse a rock to a stick 10 times to get through one cave. There's just a lot of little things gameplay wise that bug me. They doubled down on botws gameplay issues and added some more annoying ones. I don't even have to mention the sages abilities, that's a whole mess.

On the topic of gameplay, botw just has the better world. Idc, exploring that world for the first time is an unforgettable experience. Totks main world is too similar so the magic is gone. The sky and depths are also unimpressive and repetitive. Botw also has the benefit on how the word felt so lonely yet alive. Everything had a purpose or a story. The world has a history. And totk just doesn't have that. Outside of the upheaval, totk doesn't really build on botws world that much. I was hoping to see if they would've added new towns or see how they'd rebuild hyrule, but they really didn't do that. We only got lookout landing, which doesn't really count as a town, and a bunch of building stuff lying around which is cool I guess. Hateno has a school and Terry Town expanded a little, but with the estimate of about 5 years since botw it makes you wonder...what have these people been doing? We can theoretically build Terry Town in one day. There could be new towns.

Totk is a sequel that doesn't really acknowledge it's predecessor which is so odd. Botw stands on its own and is an overall more cohesive experience. Everything in the world feels purposefully crafted for that world while totk just slaps things on top of it with not much thought. Botw has some amazing world building while for totk it's either "the Zonai did it" or has some contradictory world building. For example, the old sages lifted up the sky islands so that Link would be protected from Ganondorf shenanigans, but then other sky islands suggest how they've been around long before Rauru since young Zonai used to train in them or something. There is also how Zelda says Link never leaves her side, but people she interacts with on an almost daily basis do not recognize him and how even treat as if he doesn't know some facts about her. So either she is overexaggerating by a lot and/or lying in her own diary or that people in hyrule have the collective memory of a rock. There's also Zelda supposedly never giving Link the champions leathers yet as a gift, but we see him wearing it in the beginning. Idk there's more contradictories, but I haven't experienced this for botw??? Totk is so disconnected and disjointed in comparison.

I'm trying to be vague but there's a lot to say, I'm sorry. I really was enjoying this game at the beginning but the more I played the more I noticed or saw things that bugged me and just kept adding up and up on each other. Botw was never like this for me. It's just more cohesive and I like that. There are so many other things I haven't brought up like the repetitive cutscenes, or missing characters/characters that SHOULD know Link but don't (namely Bolson and Hestu). But this post is long. I can't keep complaining about this game. Botw really is that one of a kind experience, and totk tries to replicate it but worse. Botw had a vine that totk lacks. You feel so alone, but you meet knew people and make friends. You build connections as you learn about the past and help those around you. There is no story, you're just a person going through the motions and exploring the vast world around you. Totk can't replace that for me. I'm the main character playing a side role in a disjointed world where not much makes sense. Everything is similar in all the wrong ways.

And most important of all, they took away Link's fun dialogue and personality now he really is bland asf and used to defend that he wasn't.

[ourshadowstallerthanoursoul]

Ask-in with a LZ a week - interview to JPJ

(by Ritchie Yorke, NME - April 4, 1970)

What were you doing before Led Zeppelin formed?

Vegetating in studios in London mainly. Jimmy’s also done his share of that. But he got out and went into the Yardbirds. Just before joining the band, I had gotten into arranging and general studio directing, which was better than just sitting and being told what to do. I did a lot of Donovan's stuff. The first thing I did for him was 'Sunshine Superman'. I happened to be on the session and I ended up arranging it. The arranger who was there really didn’t know about anything. I sort of got the rhythm section together and we went from there. 'Mellow Yellow' I did entirely on my own. I was pleased with it; It was different to what was happening in the general session scene.

Were you surprised at the success of LZ?

Yes, I was surprised as to the extent of our success. You see, we’d been doing all this for a long time and, after a while, you can see how a group breaks up and what causes all the ups and downs. You reckon that if you should consciously put together a group that won’t have a lot of stupid troubles; and the basic thing of what people want to listen to; good musicianship; and a certain amount of professionalism; the right promotion — with those things you figure you must stand a good chance. But to what extent, nobody knows. To this extent, its unbelievable!

Do you think your success came because there was a gap in the rock scene after Cream and a perennial need for a hard-hard rock band?

If you think from a pure popologist’s point of view, you could say it was foreseen, inevitable, predictable. There was a gap there and we filled the gap. But there’s a lot of other things which may do it. I think the business did need something different because Cream was going around in circles. They never talked to one another, it seemed. The groups that did have a good sound were successful but they always seemed to have internal troubles; while the groups that did get on never got heard, and somehow you had to get the two together. An amicable group, a good sound and exposure.

LZ seems to be a group which gets on well.

Yeah, especially as we’re all different people. Robert and John have got the Birmingham band thing in common. Nobody had actually worked together before LZ though. We just got together in a 6ft. x 6ft. room and started playing and looked at everybody else and realize what was going to happen.

Who influenced your bass playing?

Not a lot of people because it was only recently that you could even hear the bass on records. So apart from obvious jazz influences — like every good jazz bass player in history; Mingus, Ray Brown, Scott LaFaro… I was into jazz organ for quite a while until I couldn’t stand the musicians any longer and I had to get back to rock'n'roll. I listened to a lot of jazz bass players and that influenced my session playing, and then I cannot tell a lie, the Motown bass players! You just can’t get away from it. Every bass players in every rock group is still doing Motown phrases, whether he wants to admit it or not.

It's a shame that so few artists have credited the Motown bass influence.

Right. Yet it’s been one of the Motown sound’s biggest selling points. I used to know a few names of Motown bass players, but I can’t remember them. Motown was a bass player’s paradise, because they’d actually found a way to record it so that you could hear every note. Their bass players were just unbelievable; some of the Motown records used to end up as sort of concertos for bass guitar.

What do you think of Jack Bruce's playing?

Jack is very good. I’m not too keen on the sound he has, but that’s personal taste. Being a bass player, I obviously have more idea of the sound I like than someone who just listens to records. I like his LP 'Songs For A Tailor' though.

What about Paul McCartney?

Well, I think he’s perfect. He’s always been good. Everything he’s done has always been right, even if he didn’t do too much, it was still just right. He’s improved so much since early Beatles days, and everything is still right. They’re really beautiful, the things he plays.

How about Rick Grech?

I don’t know anything about him.

Bass has really become important in the past two years.

Bass players have really got annoyed and said to engineers “You’ve got to get it through.” Then they went to the people who cut the record, because you can get it on tape and then lose it on record. The cutters start screaming that it won’t play with too much bass and people’s expensive magnetic cartridges will jump up into the air every time you hit a bottom string. I think Cassidy did an awful lot, and he’s still doing so. He designs bass guitars which are utterly unbelievable.

Did you hear Moms Marbley's record of 'Abraham, Martin and John'? It had fantastic bass reproduction.

No, I didn’t hear that. The Motown record that really impressed me was 'I Was Made To Love Her' by Stevie Wonder. When it came out, I just couldn’t believe it.

You must be one of the few people who actually sits down just to hear a bass pattern on a new record.

Bass players are always like that. The first record that really turned me on to bass guitar was 'You Can’t Sit Down' by Phil Upchurch, which had an incredible bass solo and was a good record as well. Very simple musically, but it had an incredible amount in it.

After years of session work, how does it feel to be in a group?

It’s a strain, but it’s a different kind of strain. I much prefer it. In sessions you just vegetate and you reach a certain period where you’re working a helluva lot and that’s it. You can’t do anything musically and it’s horrible. You became a well-used session musician with no imagination. I used to be the only bass player in England that knew anything about the Motown stuff so I used to do all the cover versions. I often used to almost be in tears at the sound they’d get and the way they used to mess up the songs.

The English session scene is rather unique in that. They really only have one man for each instrument, and if you're the man, you get to do every session going.

Right. But it’s not specialised, which is the strangest thing. You can do anything. Every record that’s been made in England you could have been on, if they used your particular instrument — from Petula Clark to visiting Americans. I remember one day — firstly at Decca Studios with the Bachelors; then Little Richard, who’d come over to do a couple of English sessions — and it was bloody awful.

It must have been rough at first, though with people only thinking of LZ as Jimmy Page's band?

Well if Jimmy had been incredibly insecure and really wanted to be a star, he would have picked lesser musicians and gone on the road and done the whole star trip. Everybody in the band recognised that at first having Jimmy’s name was a great help. In fact, it opened a lot of doors, and once you realised that, and because aware that you had a job to do, it worked out all right. I’ve been playing bass for ten years now. I’ve been on the road since I was two years old — my parents were in the business, too… in variety. They had a double act, musical comedy thing. I was in a professional band with Jet Harris and Tony Meehan. That was when I was 17.

What do you think of Robert Plant?

Robert is unique. We’re all unique really, but Robert is really something. I couldn’t imagine any other singer with us. I just couldn’t. Robert is Robert and there’s nothing else to say.

How about John Bonham?

John is the find of the year as far as British drummers are concerned. I can’t remember anyone like him either. It’s obvious why these people have ended up in the same group. We’ve all the right people. If anybody had to leave, the group would have to split up because it wouldn't be LZ anymore. Each of us is irreplaceable in this band.

How about Jimmy?

For years and years, I’ve rated Jimmy. We both come from South London and even then I can remember people saying: “You’ve got to go and listen to Neil Christian and the Crusaders, they’ve got this unbelievable guitarist.” I’d heard of him before I heard of Clapton and Beck. I probably listen to more of Clapton through Jimmy telling me to than any other reason. I’ve always thought Jimmy to be far superior to all of them. It sounds like a mutual admiration society; people don’t believe me when I say this. but I mean it.

Why do you think English bands are beginning to be stronger chartwise, than American bands again?

The Americans have got lazy. They’ve had it their way for so long. As soon as some competition comes along and does well, the not-so-good bands get uptight because they think they’re missing out on all the work. The better bands pull their fingers out and really come up with something great, and they do as well as the best English bands.

Do you think we're in the middle of a second English invasion of the US charts?

I think it can be taken as a criticism of American bands that so many English groups are getting into the US charts. American groups should look at themselves and their music if this is the case, and ask themselves why all these foreigners are going so well when they’re not. And I’m sure if they looked hard enough they’d come up with one reason or another, and they’d be able to get it back together and make it again.

[louisupdates]

What I learned about Louis Tomlinson from making his documentary

Director Charlie Lightening on capturing the former One Direction star in 'All Of Those Voices'

By NME | 30th March 2023

Louis Tomlinson shot to fame with One Direction, the era-defining boy band who conquered the world after being formed on ‘The X Factor’ in 2010. Since the group parted ways in 2016, Tomlinson has forged a solo career that has seen him swap the band’s peppy pop-rock for Oasis-inspired indie bangers. He followed his 2020 solo debut, ‘Walls’, with last year’s chart-topping ‘Faith In The Future’.

For his new documentary, ‘Louis Tomlinson: All Of Those Voices’, the singer has teamed up with Charlie Lightening, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Liam Gallagher’s big-screen doc ‘As It Was’. Here, exclusively for NME, Lightening shares what he learned about Tomlinson from shadowing him during a pivotal and emotional period in his career.

Charlie Lightening, director: “I first met Louis at the premiere of the Liam [Gallagher] film. Well, I say met – I saw him across the way, but we didn’t actually talk. But then he got in touch to ask if I’d make some music videos with him, so we met up properly. I really liked him and found he had a real depth to him. He seemed a lot older than his years and had so much more to say.

When we got talking about his plans to release a solo album [Tomlinson’s 2020 debut ‘Walls’], the idea to make a film came together quite organically. But at that point, I didn’t realise that I would end up shooting him for the next four years. The idea was to follow him on his first solo tour, but he only got two shows in before COVID happened. I think having it all taken away like that made Louis think and really appreciate what he does.

To begin with, Louis’ plan was to do smaller live shows to get a feel for the audience and find out what it’s like to tour as a solo artist. But because of the pandemic, he announced a live-streamed show instead and sold 160,000 tickets without even doing any promo. I think that made him realise: ‘Oh my god, there really is demand for me out there’. So when it was time to get out on the road again, he was ready to bring it.

He started off doing smaller theatre shows in the US, then arena shows in Europe, and by the end he was doing numerous arena shows in South America. So as a filmmaker, I’ve captured a trajectory that would normally take an artist two or three separate tours to achieve. And because of COVID, the fans had two years to live with the [‘Walls’] album, so it much more meaning for them by the time Louis was finally able to play it live.

I think what I find most striking about Louis is how resilient he is. He has been knocked down quite a few times in his life and he keeps getting back up again. He lost his mum [Johanna] in 2016 and sister [Félicité] in 2019 but he never let this define him, so when he says ‘life always throws shit at you’ in the film, he knows what he’s talking about. But he’s still a very positive person and calls himself the product of his mum’s upbringing. Growing up in Doncaster really moulded him; I think that’s why he has such perseverance and self-belief.

At the start of the film, he talks about not really feeling like part of One Direction to begin with. He felt like he had to find his role in the band, as he was excluded from lead vocal lines on the first few singles. This made him more determined and so he started to be involved with writing songs for the band. By the time the band ended, he was the member with the most songwriting credits, which is something that really means a lot to him. He’s proud of that.

I do think that he definitely still misses the band. In a way, you could compare him to Liam Gallagher, who also never wanted Oasis to end and become a solo artist. But I think that’s why Louis’ touring band means so much to him. Louis has done everything already with One Direction – he’s played the world’s biggest venues – so to relive it through their eyes on this tour was a very special thing for him.

Louis is a very private person but I think people will be surprised by just how much he opens up in this film. You see him being a dad and being vulnerable with his family. But what I’ll take away most from the experience is just how much Louis has grown as an artist. At one point, it felt like it was Harry [Styles] and Niall [Horan] who were getting all the headlines and Louis was being slightly underrated, as he hadn’t released anything at this point. I do think that some people who watch this film will be surprised by the level he’s already got to as a solo artist, but this is just the beginning. He knows where he wants to go creatively and he’s in control of his headspace, so the next album will be another massive step forward.”

‘Louis Tomlinson: All Of Those Voices’ is in cinemas now

As told to Nick Levine

[darkisrising]

⭐

suuuuusssshhhhiiiiiiiii my love! Thank you for playing with me, and per our dm conversation you settled on the sex worker bobadinluke au series for the director's commentary ask game. Which is gonna be hard since you were there when I was writing it, I'm not sure what I can come up with that you wouldn't already know/vaguely recall, but I'll give it my best shot.

Right away, I'll say that everyone that knows me has dragged me at least once about my fic titles. I'm not great at coming up with them, and usually just pick something at random. At the time I was writing this series, I had this idea of grouping fics together with some very loose theme. Which is why my dinluke stuff mostly have a mando'a words as titles, the big BDL series are all lines from songs by Frank Sinatra, and this series has titles that are all songs from the 2000s. The songs have nothing to do with the fic, except that the one line I used for the title somewhat had something to do with the fic itself. Which I know drives @bronze-lorica crazy, lololol, and I'm sure she'd not alone.

This series started off as three prompt fills. Three people requested "sex worker" from a list of AUs but asked for different ships, and I decided to make my life easier by setting them all in the same, modern world. This series got me by the throat as I was writing, and I'd post a little more, only to be like "Oh! And another thing..." over and over, until there were 37k words of it.

I knew I didn't want to tell an angsty story with this one-- I love angst but I wasn't in the mood--so instead I went with the idea that Luke's a sex worker that's doing this as a means to an end, and is very clear about when the end will be. So, instead of seeing him hit rock bottom and let that be the motivation for the sex work, it's more transitory than that. This is only a moment in his life that we're seeing, and he's very clear about that.

His sex worker style I sort of based on the persona I take on in my client-facing/customer service jobs. Upbeat and patient. "You can trust me" and "We'll get through this together" vibes. And since I like my triads where everyone is a puzzle piece that fits in together, providing something for each person that's unique and different, it synced up nicely to make Din someone with a repressed/religious fanatic background. Luke's very open and non-judgemental, not to mention competent, energy is like Valium to Din. It lets him soften and be more willing to engage in a way that he doesn't really with his bristly husband. Boba's my gruff, blue collar man and when I hit on the idea of him dealing with chronic pain from an accident at a construction site (the Sarlacc building project, he fell into the pit, natch, and then after I decided that, I couldn't stop hearing Andy Dwyer singing "pit. I fell in it, the pit. You fell in it, the pit. We all were in that pit.") it made sense that Luke was able to help him if he was training to be a physical therapist. After that, it was all a matter of teasing those three connection points in different directions to see how the three of them could provide for each other in unique ways. That's really where the plot (such as it is) came from. Writing it was a really organic, natural process, which isn't normally the case for me. But, I guess, I started off knowing the characters in this incarnation really well (and with faaaaaaar more clarity than usual) so it was mostly a matter of seeing where that would take me.

(link if anyone else wants to play)

[thislovintime]

A closer look at the making of Stranger Things Have Happened:

“That’s another reason that we were friends for life, because I saw him shine when, you know, there were no Monkees, the Monkees idea wasn’t even on the horizon. And he was a wonderful performer and a wonderful musician, and I saw him like that. And I think the fact that he got that from me, that kind of respect all through that period, probably helped the bond as well. And I remember that, after The Monkees’ resurgence, I think it was about, it might have been ’90, ’91 or something, and I said, ‘Peter, why haven’t you made a record? All these guys have made solo records, and you haven’t.’ And he was so humble, he just said, ‘Well, you know, no one has asked me.’ And I said, ‘Jesus, Peter, I have a studio, I have a record label, I have distribution.’ I said, ‘Why don’t we, at some point, make you a solo record, and we’ll shop it, you know. And the worst case scenario, if literally nobody likes it but us, we can put it out on my label, which is distributed by Capitol. So we can’t lose, you know.’ And, you know, I just, I just said, ‘Let’s just do that.’ And I, I must admit that my vision of the first album, because I had seen him perform this organic acoustic music, I wanted to present him doing those, those banjo things. I wanted to make, essentially, an acoustic record, so that I could demonstrate that there was no… no phony stuff behind him, that he was the guy doing this stuff. I wanted to present that so it would shift peoples’ conception of him. Yes, he’s a Monkee, and he was famous and he was a teen idol. He was also always this musician, he played the acoustic guitar — he really played the guitar, he really played the banjo, he really played the piano. And I wanted to do that. But he said, ‘James, you know, I’m not that guy anymore. I want to do a rock ’n’ roll — I’m a rocker, I want to do a rock ’n’ roll record. And I wanna do, I like all these synths and stuff.’ So I said, ‘Okay, well, I mean, let us… let me see what I can do to help further your vision.’ One of the things I’ve always done as a producer is try to figure out what the vision of the artist was, and then serve that. And I learned that from reading about George Martin, who never discouraged The Beatles. He never said, ‘That’s a stupid idea, we can’t do that.’ He always tried to help bring to life whatever the vision was that the artist had. So that’s what I tried to do with Stranger Things Have Happened. Tried to just assist him in realizing that vision. […] [With the 7A re-release] I went back and revisited the record, and I’ll tell you the truth, I liked it a lot. I was, I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked it. I mean, it was Peter’s thing, not mine, and it sounded like a Peter record. It didn’t sound like one of my records; if you listen to my stuff, it’s much different than that. But I liked it, you know. I thought it was very inventive and very varied. […] [As a songwriter, Peter] was always trying to do something which you hadn’t heard. Which is pretty rare, because many of the hit songs that you hear are derivative, they sound like some other hit song. Peter always wanted to write something that you hadn’t heard before. […] I mean, his writing was interesting, you know, and fun to play. Always surprising.“ - James Lee Stanley, The Monkees Pad Show

[whinlatter]

author's note | chapter 5: the flock 🌊

here is the author's note for chapter five of Beasts! this week, the tide's rolling in on the greyback hearings, the press are determined to rock the boat, harry and ginny head for the (metaphorical) lifeboats, and madam pince is officially sick of ginny weasley's shit. all the usual behind the scenes writing notes, headcanons, fic and meta inspo and song choices below, plus a tiny sneak peek of chapter six... 🗞️

✨ spoilers for this chapter below the cut  ✨

[ flock, n.: a number of birds of one kind feeding, resting, or travelling together ]

writing notes and headcanons:

the hearings – this chapter sees ginny forced to zoom out from her own (real) problems and start to confront developments beyond the castles: the trials/hearings, a broader politics and set of questions about justice and inclusions/exclusions from wizarding society, and the role of the media in that society’s political and cultural life. i wanted this chapter to feel like a wave building and building and breaking - narratively, i wanted a false break, with harry and ginny’s reunion, and the actual breaking to be with bill’s speech at the end (jury’s out on that one - also just made the chapter extremely long and a bit top heavy, which i might prune in an edit). but i was so excited to start writing this dimension to the fic more explicitly, because i’m really interested in taking up questions about the kinds of evil and darkness that linger after voldemort’s end, and how wizarding institutions do or don’t confront their own role in furthering kinds of societal divisions and discrimination that helped pre-dated voldemort and have survived him. it’s not that ginny’s personal problems aren’t valid or real, but that what i hoped for in this chapter is to take a step back and put what ginny’s going through into a broader context of a whole society coming to a reckoning. 

the wireless – i’ve taken some creative liberties on the wireless, as we don’t really know how it works (this pottermore page on technology was far more frustrating than it was helpful lmao - if muggle wirelesses have been ‘modified’, are they still running on the same kinds of (muggle) technology, or on magic? how do they work!!!). i decided static must still exist lol, to add to this sensory experience of irritating omnipresent noise ginny experiences throughout this chapter. the lil opener about the shipping forecast i’m so attached to is a bit of a love letter to this very strange british radio tradition (i really recommend listening to a sample one, they’re so charming), but i liked it also as a window onto a possible touchpoint between muggle and wizarding society that the wireless itself symbolises. young ginny’s question to arthur about sea monsters causing waves, and arthur’s response (“there doesn’t always have to be a monster, you know. Sometimes, there are other things to worry about”) is me trying to play with ideas about wizarding hubris that young witches and wizards internalise but which prevent wizarding society from seeing its own blindspots and points of ignorance. also the shipping forecast is foreshadowing for the rest of the chapter lol (forth is the oceanic region nearest hogwarts; lundy is the region nearest cornwall, where bill’s from. don’t worry i think i’m obnoxious too)

on bill weasley – bill is probably my favourite weasley after ron and ginny. he could be a really nothing character, but instead he’s quietly a really strong and reassuring presence who is clearly widely admired and who has these really loving close relationships with other great characters. he’s empathetic and highly observant, he’s got a sense of humour but also knows when to be serious, and he takes his responsibilities to his parents and to his siblings very seriously. but he’s also got this other streak - ginny think it’s him being drawn to ‘glamour’ and ‘adventure’, but i see it more as him having a bit of a capacity to surprise, an edge, a real audacity, strong sense of self, and a belief in his own convictions. that neither bill nor charlie followed arthur into the ministry is i think very revealing of how the weasley siblings grow up seeing through the political institutions of their world (and what makes percy’s arc all the more heartbreaking). 

bill and remus – this is such a personal obsession of mine lol, being a big fan of both bill and remus as characters in their own right, but i think bill and remus’ interactions in canon are small but really meaningful, and speak to two characters bound together in some way, even before bill’s attack. obviously they’re both young(ish) men in the order, reasonably close in age (at least, less than the age gap between remus and dora), and they both often play similar roles within the larger group of resistance fighter, including as peacemakers (to molly in ootp over percy, and to ginny in DH during the evacuation), and sage guides to the younger ones (remus examples too many to name, but on bill i’m thinking of him advising harry in pre-gringotts, sheltering ron after his desertion). they also, canonically, both have an interest in these questions about politics, beings and beasts the place of other species in the wizarding world, actually discussing the goblin Q together with arthur in ootp (remus on goblins: “if they’re offered freedoms we’ve been denying them for centuries they’re going to be tempted [by Voldemort]”) then, of course, after bill’s attack, remus is both a source of information and experience in the immediate aftermath, and has previously shown an interest in comforting victims of werewolf attacks and other wereolves (ootp in st mungo’s). i think they also have a mutual respect and quite a warm friendship, only glimpsed very briefly through harry’s narration. when mad-eye is killed during the seven potters rescue, it’s remus who consoles a crying bill at the burrow (‘Bill’s voice broke. “Of course you couldn’t have done anything,” said Lupin.’) remus knows bill is upset and offers to recover mad-eye’s body with kingsley to spare bill the task, but bill is insistent he wants to go, and the two of them agree to set off alone together. bill also seems to know about remus trying to leave tonks, and knows when they’ve reconciled: ron passes the info on to the trio through bill. then ofc when teddy is born, remus and bill have that lovely moment where bill’s trying to get him drunk to toast to his son’s birth when remus is absolutely elated. i think remus’ experience as a fellow victim of greyback, their age gap and remus’ credentials as a young man who fought in the first war would mean bill would both look up to remus a great deal and would motivate him to do right by remus in death.

bill and ginny – ginny’s admiration, even reverence, for bill, comes through so strongly in canon (harry even seems faintly amused by it, as it borders on hero-worship - “Bill doesn’t like him either,” said Ginny, as though that settled the matter, in OotP). i think if fleur had been with any other of her brothers, ginny might have taken her arrival better. little ginny wants to be charlie, but she also really admires bill and will follow where he leads (👀). bill sticking his neck out will (we’ll see) have big consequences for his family and for ginny. all i’ll say for now is that i think it means a lot that ginny spends this chapter trying to shield bill from the horrors of the greyback hearings, and then he takes her surprise and walks straight into the fire.

on the montgomery family - i wrote much longer versions of all the testimonies drawn from canon here (the montgomery family, parvati on lavender, bill on remus and his own attack). The montgomery family only get a brief mention in HBP, the two sisters whose little brother died after being attacked by greyback, and writing from the perspective from the parents of that child was honestly horrendous. i had to cut a lot of it down because it was just actually horrific and much too sad, too early in the chapter. but yeah sorry writing this chapter really made me realise how fucking awful the greyback stuff is. truly truly not children’s book shit lol

on parvati and lavender - i wanted parvati’s testimony about lavender to address the severity of her injuries after the attack, but it was also important to use this speech as a chance to explore how this friendship feels for those two characters. Harry’s narration is that of a teenage boy - he’s friendly with them both, but not close, probably has a bit more time for parvati than lavender, and he’s largely uninterested in both girls’ inner lives (and tends to dismissive them as silly, girlish and giggly). so it seemed important to explore their friendship as something rich and meaningful, and to put forward a version of lavender that, while shaded by her canon appearances, gives her a more well-rounded and kinder character assessment than the narration in canon ever affords her. hermione looking up to the dormitory steps as she listens to them, ginny and luna holding hands during - girls processing their friendships 2k23 babyyy 

on hermione and ginny – as discussed in the last author’s note, this is me playing with how to write conflict between two female characters that’s true to their characterisation and their relationship’s dynamics, but that also has them both coming from a reasonable and understandable place but both exhibiting unhealthy coping mechanisms. ginny is avoidant, using humour, denial and distractions, and fiercely protective of the other gryffindors, trying to shelter them from exposure to too many emotional triggers. without spoiling anything, hermione has a different perspective; she wants all the information possible, she’s very interested in these questions of how this society will or won’t change, and the prospect of reform (she also, of course, has had her own traumatising run-ins with greyback), but, as ginny, harry and ron can all see, she’s not taking care of herself - she’s not allowing her any respite from the traumatising news cycle, and she’s also clearly showing signs of distress, isolation and PTSD, particularly the absence of harry and ron (especially ron, our real hero in this chap). i’ve found it so fun but challenging to write ginny’s pov when personally i’d probably be much more like hermione (want to know everything and obsessively follow the news lol). i really care about trying to write this arc in a way that feels fair to both characters.

on harry and ginny – i finally let them kiss ok!!! and i even gave harry a semi (sorry). those two just write themselves. it was very very important for me in this chapter to have the two of them thinking together about the world around them, as well as providing each other with forms of emotional support that are valuable to each of them (quiet, careful, lots of physical contact, not overstepping or overreaching, balanced out by laughter). ginny is better practiced at this: harry is still learning, though he’s getting there. what i hope i’m starting to show is how these two people go from teenage sweethearts to two people in a marriage and a partnership. (also how do you know ginny’s in the grounds a lot in the mornings harry??? hmmmmmm???) also harry potter loves the sea it’s canon and he also has no chill and definitely would pick out a little seaside house for them both tomorrow if ginny let him. love u hjp miss writing your narration where i could take for granted that you’re very selectively observant and have you slowly realise things. ginny is too observant i have to work much harder to cultivate her ignorance lol

on ron and ginny – i really feel like you can tell in their parting conversation that i’ve been binging succession lately. the surprise at ‘love you’ is pure roy siblings without any of the you know, deeply-fucked-up-ness

on st andrews/anstruther/scottish coastal destinations – how does ginny know these places, indeed? a story for another time… (we’ll get there)

on arnold – ok confession time: i forgot about arnold when i mapped out this fic. wrote a ginny pov fic about magical beasts and forgot her literal pet. in my defence, on my re-reads i was always just thinking like, what is the point of arnold. also what tf happens to arnold. is arnold one of the fallen fifty? we do not know. (...) at a certain point, though, i realised that arnold is just like, a dumb fun pet an adolescent girl gets to play with, and that’s kind of the point. joy is worth something in its own right. so having remembered he exists in canon lol and had that realisation, i’m happy with how he’s ended up in this fic finally lmao. the story of his handover is still to come, but for now just to say i really like the idea of little bea taking ownership of ginny’s pet, this symbol of innocence and fun and happy girlhood. 

on chapter titles – this one is for my jonathan livingstone seagull fans (👀 again…)

reading list:

on bill weasley: 

up and down and barely made it over by cosmicwritings

Harbor by @greenhousethree

on postwar justice and trials:

castles by @pebblysand

on the sea:

Harry and Ginny at Shell Cottage (meta)

on neville and ginny's friendship:

Ginny and Neville: A Friendship Forged in Fire (meta) by @greenhousethree

on lupin among the werewolves:

It's Just What You Do To Get By by @evesaintyves

songs for this chapter from the playlist:

to anyone who has reached out to tell me they’ve been listening to the playlist - you are all the loves of my life and i could kiss you. i spend an indecent amount of time picking songs out for that damn playlist, and i really used this week’s to get me into the zone for writing different sections, so feel very attached to this chapter's song choices (also it includes one of my all-time favourite songs, nobody else will be there, by the national, which is an immaculate and underrated hinny anthem and maybe my favourite love song in the world)...

house by the sea by moddi | a hidden life - james newton howard | blood bank by bon iver | the tree, the beach, the sea - max richter | the rip tide (ber-abq version) - beirut | the beast - laura marling | funeral - phoebe bridgers | beach baby - bon iver | nobody else will be there - the national | lost at sea - rob grant, lana del ray | what he wrote - laura marling 

and a tiny sneak peek of chapter six... ❓❔⁉️

MEET THE WEASLEYS: THE WIZARDING WORLD’S MOST OUTSPOKEN - AND CONTROVERSIAL - FAMILY  William ‘Bill’ Weasley may have made headlines after his recent pro-werewolf testimony before the Wizengamot. But Bill’s not the only Weasley unafraid to ruffle some feathers. Get to know the notorious family who are no stranger to scandal, with the Daily Prophet’s handy pull-out guide, Which Weasley?