#✘ fuck the fame -- all I want is them bands ⁞ musings.

[fuckinjaded]

[bcoda]

tag drop * /

[klausinamarink]

Oop let's try this again; for the birthday fics: “Because you’re a jinx!” angsty Steddie established relationship, chasing fame Eddie and some guy Steve who gets discovered while Eddie's band keeps being passed over? Platonic hellcheer and platonic Stobin.

I couldn’t find a way to put in the platonic ships but it’s still Steddie. Enjoy the angsty flavour electric boogaloo.

It was supposed to be Eddie’s lucky day.

This was supposed to be his time. The moment when the rich suits would look at Eddie and immediately offer him the contract that finally pushed his music to fame.

But it was just another fucking mediocre performance. Only a few people out of the dozens in the crowd cheered, but that was worse than getting no response at all. Nobody even went up to them for an autograph, their numbers, Instagram handles, music samples, anything that would’ve made the night worth it.

Eddie stayed silent and seething for the whole drive home. The rest of the band left on their own respective vehicles, though Jeff had lingered longer to say something that Eddie mentally filtered out. Probably some shitty encouragement or a call to quit. 

His hands tightened around the wheel. Eddie felt the pulsing headache crawl to the back of his eyes. Goddamnit, he needed to sleep.

Maybe in Steve’s arms, but for once, Eddie just wanted to be alone for tonight. 

After he parked the car and trudged the stairs back to his apartment, Eddie bit his lip until he tasted the sting of copper. 

He was so tired. Not just physically, but in very foul shape that took its claws into him. It was the apathetic crowds and uninterested advisors. How the rest of the band delayed practice more and more. The bland methodical act of cutting up another piece of his shrinking soul as a muse for his lyrics. 

But still. He was close to that single star of recognition. Eddie had to taste it.

Unlocking the door, Eddie kept himself from collapsing until he dropped his guitar case and landed face-first on the couch. 

In the bedroom, he could catch some muffled conversation, the floor creaking as Steve paced back and forth inside. 

Eddie frowned and checked his phone for any missed messages. Steve hadn’t texted him since five,  soon after Eddie had left for the worst night of his life. It was almost eleven now. So why was his boyfriend still up and talking to someone?

Before Eddie could try and get up, the door opened and Steve came out, his phone in hand. Steve glanced up and stopped in his tracks when he saw Eddie. He gave a bright smile.

“Hey, babe! You okay?” 

Eddie groaned. If he had the energy, he could scream into the pillows.

The floor creaked as Steve approached and gently laid a hand on his back. “Was the band okay?”

Eddie groaned again, unable to hold himself back from pressing against Steve’s hand. He could really use a fucking massage. Or some quick, stress-relief sex. “It’s fucking awful. It’s always fucking awful.”

Steve made a sympathetic noise, “I’m sorry to hear that, Eds.”

Eddie lifted his head up and peered at Steve. Despite his words, there was an odd light in Steve’s eyes and his lips were fighting desperately not to smile.

“What is it?” He asked.

Steve had the nerve to look spooked, “Uh, well, I don’t want to ruin your mood-”

“What is it?”

Steve stared at him for a moment before he sighed like it was the start of a serious discussion.

“You know that audition I did back in Chicago two weeks ago?” Steve bit his lip. It only revealed the cracks of excitement on his face and Eddie already knew what he was about to say. “Well, my agent called and said that I’m officially casted. I’m gonna be in a HBO show!”

Record scratch.

Eddie only stared at Steve as the news hit him with the speed of a truck. When he saw Steve’s smile in full glory, he only saw blank faces who spat at him with rejection and disappointment and ‘try better’s. 

How the fuck does Steve get so many gigs when Eddie could barely find an open venue in advance? And now he’s going to work for fucking HBO, Jesus Christ-

Steve was frowning at him, “You- are you not happy?”

“Of course, I am!” Eddie said quickly. It felt hard to speak when there was something now stuck and burning in his throat. He got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. He needed a drink. Maybe not alcohol, though tempting. But some actual water but he was too exhausted and sober for this shit. 

“I’m always here to support my wonderful and talented boyfriend who never misses an audition. Who always gets a spot in whatever he plays in, even if it’s a fucking diaper commercial or a glorified extra who gets five more cents than his less impressive boyfriend.” 

As he spoke, his words became more tinted with venom. Eddie took an empty glass and filled it under the tap. He almost choked from gulping it down in one go. It cooled his throat, but the burning simply expanded through his veins.

“Okay, you’re mad.” Steve said slowly, now behind him.

Eddie laughed bitterly, “Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. They taught you that in acting class or was it a trick from your last ex?”

“Jesus, okay, Eddie.” Steve put his hands on Eddie’s shoulders but Eddie shook him off with more force than necessary. “You’re obviously in a bad mood and my news isn’t making it better, but you did ask and-”

Eddie whirled around. He was seeing red at the corners of his vision. “And now it’s my fault?!”

Steve backed away, his hands up in a plea of surrender. His face pinched with concern and hurt. “Eddie, let’s, let’s just go to bed. Take a shower-”

“Stop treating me like I’m a child!” 

“Fuck, even a child would tell me what’s making them this upset!”

“You wanna know why I’m so upset? Huh?” Eddie smacked a hand against Steve’s chest, pushing his boyfriend away. “Take a guess with your ‘subtlety’ talents and maybe you can fucking figure it out.”

“No, I- Eds, baby-” Steve stopped to take a breath. He looked back at Eddie with more firmness, but he saw the way Steve’s ego was crumbling in his eyes. “Can you please just tell me why are you acting like this? Was it because I did something or-?”

Eddie’s anger flared. It touched the back of his mouth so he spat it all out like a dragon. “Oh, everything you do with your squeaky clean and easy career is the reason why I’m pissed at you. You get all of these stupid roles to play some stupid character Twitter would make discourse for while I have spent the last three years trying to find someone who’s willing to listen to my band play in a goddamn studio! But I keep missing these opportunities for some reason that I’m starting to think that we’re cursed or shit.”

“Eds, it can’t-”

“And don’t you say you know how it feels like because you never knew how to fucking fail, Stevie! Everything you do is just rich executives giving you silver platters. I bet they all want that Harrington blowjob.”

Steve gasped softly and shook his head. He now had his arms around himself like it would protect him. “That’s not true- Why are you even saying these things to me?!”

“Because you’re a jinx! Because you’re Steve Harrington and I hate your dumb luck!”

Eddie’s words echoed across the apartment as he breathed heavily. He wouldn’t be surprised if it went out the windows and into the streets. 

Steve held an unbelievably idiotic expression. Mouth half-open, a slack jaw, glossy eyes that just stared at Eddie without any more light shining in them.

Finally, he spoke so quietly that Eddie had to strain to hear, “Okay… I’m going to Robin’s.”

With that, Steve hurried out, having some decency to not slam the door.

And then it was just Eddie, alone in the kitchen with the nasty thoughts and words that would soon bite back at him.

[gyll-yee-haw]

Can you write Jake with a leader singer of a rock band? I can't stop thinking of him promoting her band any chance he gets 🤭🤭🤭

Hmm yes? (Nsfw headcanons warning)

Writing so many songs about him <3

Like on an spectrum of I never knew what love felt like before I met you to I never knew someone could be this good in bed

Him being your number 1 stan

Promoting your stuff by posting the whole process of your work, from the studio to the shows

And by talking about you nonstop during interviews... you know how interviewers beg for celebrities to talk about their relationships? Yeah, they wouldn't even have to, I mean, he's your biggest fan

Taking him to the studio because you always want him to be the first to hear the new songs, but being so nervous he may not like them...

Never happened once

Like, he's at every concert he possibly can, recording everything, singing loudly

The fans go wild, filming his reactions to you on stage and posting everywhere

You were THE couple of the moment

Doing magazine covers together

Getting so much shit by the media, which you only reply by posting the most inappropriate pictures together <3

People losing their minds over your (matching) red carpet looks

You know Jake is usually such a dom, but after seeing you so powerful on stage he gets this urge to see you in control...

Giving him head backstage 20 minutes before performing

Going on stage with a smudged lipstick because of it

And it gets him so hard seeing you perform like that, he just can't wait for you to come back

He cries when you get awards :')

You would thank him during your acceptance speech, call him your muse as a joke

But that ignites a fire in his heart

Which leads to fucking on absolutely every ceremony's bathroom

I'm thinking of a loooong term relationship, one of those "if they break up, love isn't real"

Cause you're not only known for being so horny for each other, you're best friends

Best friends who will support each other's careers and help one another with the pressure of it all

Maybe at some point you'll just take a break from the spotlight, because it's exhausting

And everyone will FREAK OUT

Rumors about you cheating on him with your bandmate 🙄

All while the two of you are unbothered, going to the supermarket in your pyjamas to buy snacks for movie night on a small town somewhere far away

Pretending you're just a regular couple who never knew fame

And when you decided to come out again... surprise, we got fucking married :)

Just the two of you, in Vegas

And there's a whole album coming out about it, if someone's curious :)

Yeah, life would be pretty iconic

[mrsnancywheeler]

can’t help but wonder what daisy has to say about billy and his muse… hmm. i feel like she’d have some words about muse’s age, how young she is, and since she’s always starting fights with billy to begin with i can’t imagine it would do poor muse any good. i think daisy would feel some sort of kinship with her because of their shared experiences with absent parents and getting into bad situations with people older than them, i just don’t believe she would handle it responsibly 💀 wanting to help muse develop her own sound and come into herself musically outside of billy dunne and the rest of the band turns into holing up at daisy’s place for days on end and getting ridiculously high together. and i doubt billy would be too happy with his girl showing up completely strung out after vanishing off the face of the earth for a week either. hanging out with daisy feels good but frequently makes things worse instead of better. they’re so interesting i love thinking about them

I'm literally sat for this, I've been thinking about this since it was sent it and need to doscuss with y'all

okay so timeline wise I imagine muse met billy when they were still just the six but like after they'd gained some fame. obviously in this universe there's no camilla, I'd never hurt my girl more, and so billy is just a ticking time bomb of fame and ego and all of his dreams. and he's good but not as good as he thinks he is so when teddy has the idea to give an edge to the six by a collaboration with daisy jones he's still obviously very pissed but now muse is there too, there relationship is probably like 6 months old or so.

and daisy is changing lyrics, she brings so much energy into the studio, she's fun, and muse is young and I think instantly drawn to the magnetic field of daisy jones. kind of in awe of daisy which billy can't fathom because he's too busy being miffed about the whole ordeal. and in this version look at us now is about muse and billy, and daisy see's right through the original lyrics and her changes make muse feel more seen. so she listens to billy bitch and moan but secretly agrees.

and muse definitely pushes for daisy to be in the band, "billy's an ass, but everyone thinks you should join. he'll get over it eventually and realize."

and daisy is just open and honest about her thoughts right off the bat, "why do you stay with him? if he's an ass, then why?"

and muse is taken aback but also honest back because it feels right, "I don't want anyone else. not the way I want him."

daisy does get to join the band and with that she learns a lot more about muse and billy, more to dislike about the arrangement. muse is so young and attached, the only other person she turns to is eddie who obviously also wants to be with her, and daisy feels like any spark that muse has is quelled to play cheerleader for billy. and she respects that muse doesn't want to be a star but she tells her to write, or to talk and daisy will cultivate the ideas.

daisy definitely gets involved in a couple of fights that muse and billy have. "plenty of groupies to go around, don't need one wasting my goddamn time"

"don't fucking talk to her like that!"

"daisy-" you're trying to deescalate because you knows daisy and billy just make the fight worse.

"she's a person, a child, not something you get to call whatever you want when you're pissed off." daisy's turning to you, "c'mon let's go get some air, away from this asshole."

"you can't just walk out of rehearsal, daisy!" billy's calling after but you let daisy guide you.

"watch me!" and you and daisy are sitting outside, she's handing you some pill that you barely question before taking.

"you know, it's okay, it's just the way it is. no reason to fight more because of it."

"no, it's not okay. you know just because he's older and gives you what you crave doesn't mean you need him, right?"

you pause, "I know." you sigh, "daisy, I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself, I know what's going on."

"sure you do, chickadee." and suddenly it's like something lights within her and she's searching her pockets for a paper of napkin, "do you have something to write with?" and she ends up scribbling something you're not allowed to see on a napkin with your lipstick. eventually she makes it a song about you. and then your though and frustrations eventually become many many more songs.

and once during one of the breaks where they've got some time rather than muse spending time with billy she goes to hang out with daisy, which ends up being the whole of the break. she's with daisy, screaming out every frustration into metaphors daisy is scribbling out as they dance around to records taking every pill daisy can get hands on, lines off every surface, so many bottles completely empty. and whenever you just want to call billy or sometimes eddie, daisy totally encourages against it because, "you don't need them!" and when it's finally time to go back to the studio daisy has started to realize she handles highs terribly but better than you, who's not used to taking nearly as much as daisy does.

once they're stepping out of that taxi, billy's first words quickly form from a, "where the hell were you?" to a , "what is she on?" hands softly gripping your face, looking into her eyes, knowing you're gonna feels like crap later. and he's gonna end up nursing you out of a bender, daisy's kind of scared that you were so out of it by the end. so it creates another conflict when she's saying billy is horrible to you and billy brings up how she usually gets you too high to function.

let me know y'all's thoughts bc I'm definitely already cooking up more

[explosionkatsu]

Forgotten Muse

Singer!Drummer!Bakugo x F!CollegeStud!Reader

I was filled with a thrill when I witnessed him launch their first piece.

They were all happy, celebrating in their small garage.

He may not show it, but I can see the delight in his eyes when the music hit the trend bringing it to the top 5 most played.

I’ve witnessed everything. How their band became popular, how they write their music saying that it was mostly his work. I remember his saying the support I give him inspires him to create more and how their fans grew. Opportunities are everywhere. Some are even offering them on a world tour.

Everything was going great.

Until I was forgotten.

..

It was the peak of their band. Katsuki always brings me with him on his world tour which you can say I’m really happy about. But this time, I wasn't able to come with him. Why? Because I was a college student taking the track of Nursing. Maybe someday I’ll become a doctor.

Nevermind that.

I was a college student and there are a lot of opportunities knocking on Kastuki’s door. Of course, he’ll snatch it knowing his ambition was to be a well-known celebrity around the world. He wanted to receive awards, praise, and recognition. So he didn't hesitate to accept them.

For his 5th world tour, he told me to come with him because I am his muse. I am the one who he’ll be staring through the crowd.

But I declined.

“What? Why?” Katsuki raised his eyebrow at her as he looked at her ridiculously. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am.” You look back at him seriously. “I have an exam for my license, that's why I couldn't go.”

“Just take it some other day. You will come with me.” Katsuki insisted and shift his eyes toward the tv.

“Katsuki. You can only take the exam once a year. I can't miss it.” You said convincing him. “Maybe it's fine if I couldn't come with you just this once. I have to work on my ambition as well.”

“Maybe it's fine if you won't come with me at all.”

His statement made you widen your eyes.

“Fuck your ambition. What about mine-

“Don’t you dare say that.” You said tearing up. “I did nothing but support you as you attain your ambition. You are being selfish!”

“Who said I needed your support?”

What.

“I can do it without you! You're just getting in my way.” Katsuki suddenly stood up as he aggressively grabs his car keys and slam the door shut behind him.

You couldn't believe what you heard. Does the fame make him like that? Does this mean you two are over?

My thoughts was running wild.

Katsuki never returned to our shared apartment. I didn't even know he left for his tour until Kirishima told me.

It breaks me that he can just ignore me like that. All the things he said were still lingering inside my head making me lose focus on studying. But I did what I have to do.

The day of the exam came. This is the day of his band will play. But I couldn't let that bother me.

..

5 hours went by and I finished my exam. I answered everything as much as I can and I know I’ll make it. Everything I studied was on the exam so I was confident I’ll pass.

I went home and finally rest my back on the soft sofa Katsuki and I bought when I suddenly remember the world tour will last for almost 9 hours since they were not the only ones will be performing. So immediately, I turned the tv on and switched to every channel where there was a live telecast of the said world tour.

Finding the right channel made me smile, but what it shows made my heart ache.

There was Katsuki, kissing another woman in his arms.

I couldn't believe what I was looking at.

My eyes started watering as I held my chest tightly. Every throb gives me pain.

It hurts.

I was sobbing. The emptiness of our house wasn't helping me at all. Everything in here screams Katsuki Bakugo.

What did I do to deserve this?

I’ve been nothing but a perfect girlfriend.

When I heard on the tv that their band ended I took my phone out of my bag. With shaking hands, I dialed Kirishima’s number. It rang in a bit until Kirishima can finally answer.

“Hey Y/n..” he sounds sad.

“K-kirishima. What's-

“Y/n. I’ll be honest with you.”

His words made my heart stop beating. Anxiousness was eating me.

“Bakugo, he..” He paused for a moment as if hesitating to say it. “He's not with us. He's with a random girl he saw from the crowd and invited her to his hotel.”

Every breath I take hurts.

“W-we tried stopping him. Believe me! We don't want to tolerate his behavior. But he was just yelling at us not to tell you.”

I was sobbing loudly. This isn't enough. Crying isn't enough to ease the pain.

Kirishima held the call for a moment. I can hear him comforting me, saying it’ll be alright.

No.

It won't be.

Not anymore.

I couldn't bring myself to say this.

It was then I heard a loud bang from the call. I can hear Kirishima, Denki, and even Sero shouting in what seems like Katsuki’s room. Then I heard another loud sound followed by Kastuki’s voice.

“Didn’t I say not to fucking kno-

“Y/n is on the phone,” Denki spoke up.

Everything was quiet for a few minutes until I heard Katsuki speak up.

“You told her..” Katsuki said. Terror filled his voice.

“Katsuki,” Kirishima spoke up. “We’re friends, heck even best buddies since high school. I would go through with anything you do as long as you're not hurting anybody. But this? I’m sorry bro. Y/n doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve you.”

Suddenly, I heard a loud smack followed by coughing.

“Bakugo!” I heard Sero.

“We’re just telling you what you're doing is not right!” Sero said.

“Don’t tell me what to fucking-

“Okay! Do whatever you want. We don't care. Let's go Kirishima, Sero.” I heard Denki and suddenly the call ended.

..

Days have passed after the incident. Kirishima messaged me they were going back which scares me.

Why am I scared anyway?

But before I knew it, I heard a jiggle of keys from our front door.

He’s here.

I was in the kitchen preparing my mealwhen he came in. I saw his eyes widen seeing me.

“Y/n..” I heard him whisper.

I averted my eyes away from him to the meal I was cooking. I couldn't look at him in his eyes. It reminds me of what he did.

I saw him take a stride closer to me but I kept my back on him.

Suddenly, he slid his arms around my waist embracing me.

I did nothing though..

[ellewritesandrants]

Okay but what about a modern AU with Rockstar! Eddie who always shouts out his baby, doll, darling, etc. to the point where it becomes a running gag?

Maybe, it starts out with Billy getting into USC-Berkeley and Eddie dropping everything and convincing his band to come with them to California. They get there and unsurprisingly, they have a much larger audience. Billy was the one to get them the gigs when they first got to California, making Eddie always shout out his baby for helping them out with the gig or for inspiring their songs. They eventually go viral and they catch the eye of a recording label, landing them a deal.

Of course, even if they play bigger venues and have a legit manager, Eddie always manages to sneak in a dedication to his darling and light of his life and as they gain fans, so does the interest in the band members’ love life. Billy and Eddie had agreed early on that they wanted to keep Billy’s name out of public speculation for now because he was still finishing up his degree in social justice and he didn’t want to deal with the fame of being with a rockstar.

It doesn’t stop Eddie from gushing about his partner and his everything at every opportunity he gets and fans are simultaneously heartbroken and so in love with how Eddie was in love with his partner. There are legit compilations of his dedications on Youtube and everyone quickly learns the quickest way to get Eddie Munson to talk was to ask about his partner. Some superfans eventually would sleuth around and dig using the clues that Eddie would unknowingly leave them like them being highschool sweethearts and their blond haired and blue eyed appeal.

Somehow, they get the idea that it must be up and coming popstar Chrissy Cunningham since she’s also from Hawkins and she fits the criteria to a tee. Everyone thinks they’ve cracked the code until Chrissy is asked about it an interview and she laughs about it since she and Eddie had dated but they eventually realized they were a tad too different before breaking up and becoming good friends instead.

Chrissy was actually the one to introduce Eddie to her cousin who became the love of his life. Everyone is even more confused than ever but Eddie takes it all in stride, promising to reveal his partner in due time. He continues to dedicate each and every single performance to his muse and inspiration until one day, after Billy’s first proper tour with Corroded Coffin and his agreement to go public after his graduation, Eddie proposes to Billy on stage at the last stop of their tour in front of their friends and family.

Of course, Billy says yes and everyone wonders who the fuck he actually is. All of their friends and family start sharing stories about Billy, with the band members calling him Corroded Coffin’s biggest fan and secret ghostwriter and with their celebrity friends backing up about how much of a sweetheart Billy is, everyone soon falls in love with Billy the same way Eddie had.

It doesn’t help that Eddie immediately floods his Instagram, stories and his Twitter about his amazing partner and all that he’s had to keep secret with the world. He starts a countdown of their wedding from the day he proposed, always sharing one of the reasons he fell in love with Billy. They eventually get married and they adopt and foster a few kids but Eddie and Billy remain one of the most popular celebrity couples since they’re proof that love still exists.

Maybe I’ll come back later on and make this a proper fic because I have an idea leading up to the proposal so I can have Billy blushing with every dedication Eddie gives him and how Eddie yanked Billy onstage for the proposal in front of hundreds of thousands of people just so he could propose.

[original-character-championship]

Bracket G Round 1

Poll 26

Deafheaven Leppard (@ratsovereignity) vs. Summer Jet (@kung-fu-cutbug)

435. Deafheaven Leppard (@ratsovereignity)

They/them, It/its, He/him, She/her

Singularly iconic, one of the greatest players in Jojo fan part Angel Warp. Slutty, powerful, miserable, BEYOND poker-faced: she's got it all. The facilitator of the pillarman return arc. Possibly funniest bitch alive with a cut-and-dry sense of humour, fondness for riddling talk, willful ignorance, and the peepaw flair.

Many great claims to fame, such as destroying a large hill because of being pissed that its name was changed from Leppard's Tit to Twisted Sister's tit (On and off girlfriend, bound to it by The Curse. Springtime ftw. They don't even like eachother that much), skinning people alive, flooding an entire empire despite being terrified of water, and most importantly being chased by the Wild Hunt to facilitate the passage of seasons from autumn to winter. He always gets out in time for spring, so does it matter (Yes. It does.---lifelong (over 70k years) traaaauma---)? It's thanks to her that the harvest is so good.

Don't you want to vote for a father of um. Siiiiix? Two biologicals despite a LOW birth rate, and five unwanted problemchildren that latched onto him as soon as it made the mistake of crawling out that pillar. Seriously, let her escape that narrative, this really isn't good for her. What's the difference between a room and a stage? - I don't want to be your mother, and all that.

Is also the product of the world's first divorce/why there's salt in the sea/the desolation of the princes. You know when a dissociative mad prince groomed for command since birth wielding the agendas of others as a holy blade (the one once with a name, now referred to only as the earthmover) can nail a foppish peacock/caligula's horse longing for something it had a taste of once and then was rewarded and punished with and bound by the strings of fate voluntarily (muse....) whatever kid shows up is going to be a REAL interesting beast. Especially when said monarch threatens to nuke entire civilisation using hamon-by-proxy and the peacock has to start aeons of stories by drowning the freak. And then the kid has to be put in the fridge for literally two million years. Yeah. You know that thing's going to be a freak.

So much Leppard lore, so little time. Whatever. Vote my little buddy. Angel Warp tumblr (It's real. and mostly dead fictional characters in a purgatorial ARG) will love it.

Leppard is very tall, reaching about eight feet by himself and over ten counting horns. Her horns spiral upwards like a gazelle’s and are covered in bands of metal for decoration. She is physically androgynous and very muscular, and has a coppery complexion, dotted with the occasional darker rosette and stripe. Their hair reaches around their lower legs and is a wavy earthen brown, with a few braided and beaded strands woven in. Their eyes are a luminous orange-amber with black sclera and blackened tearducts, their nose hawkish and hooked with a septum piercing, and their eyebrows enormous, their sharp face having very pronounced cheekbones, which is the cause of um. 'Gator style fucked up mouth extending all the way up to there. They wear a simple linen loincloth, and a mantle-cape (both white with orange accents), worn draped across a shoulder, weighed down by a single pauldron and golden necklaces in triangular shapes mimicking sunrays, these shapes also seen on their facepaint; three triangles, one set on an eyelid, and the other set below the other eye. Additionally, Leppard has coiling tattoos (traitor's brandings, actually) on their arms and legs, sharp claws, fangs and floppy ears covered in hoop earrings.

eeeem oh leppard fandragon here https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/76425579

436. Summer Jet (@kung-fu-cutbug)

she/her

Let's see here... She's 6'7" and fucking jacked, I know Tumblr loves big buff women; she's transfem, trans rights!; she's an absolute badass who has survived multiple near-death experiences so far in the tabletop campaign she was made for; she's a huge My Chemical Romance fan & I created her while riding the high of an MCR hyperfixation, I KNOW Tumblr is all over MCR or at least a significant portion of it is; she's my hottest OC, in my opinion; she's a sassy bitch/mom friend combo who takes no BS and will ride or die for anyone she's close with; and she managed to get together with the great-great-whatever-granddaughter of a powerful lightning deity.

So toss Summer your vote! She'll bring you over to her apartment to jam out and play some games together if you do, and uh... well, she's not going to claim responsibility for any power outages or freak lightning strikes you fall victim to if you don't. :p

[cassiewestwood]

"Unfortunately there is one thing stopping us," Cassandra laughed and loved the sound as it rumbled through her body and shook her shoulders gently. Lately, maybe even the last few years, all that put a shining smile on her face was her boys. Things with Vaughn hadn't been horrendous. In fact, they'd felt so familiar that she hadn't even bat an eye when the intricacies of their marriage and relationship had begun to shift and change. A husband too busy for his wife and family because of the demands of his job? Normal. A husband that didn't notice new outfits she'd adorned herself with to look special for him? He was tired all the time, it was understandable.

It never mattered how clean the house was, how delicious their dinner, that his shirts were always so perfectly pressed, his sons were happy and healthy, or that Cassandra always tried to look good for him. The travesty was in the fact that she was used to people falling out of love with her. She'd bore witness to them finding something, someone better each and every time. It was why the mention of marriage, again, even with someone as beloved to her as her Teddy Bear gave Cassandra some pause. There was no survival if she eventually lost Theodora as well. She was so much more than a pseudo niece; she was family, a confidant, a reliable source of love and devotion, Theo was someone Cassandra wanted to be close to so that she could celebrate all the amazing things she'd accomplish with her life.

Left hand lifted and displayed, there was no band on that particular finger as Cassandra frowned, "there may not be a ring here but by law I am still legally married. Fucking asshole or not, I'd rather my claim to fame not be a bigamy headline." A wink and a wrinkle across the bridge of her nose for her sweetest one. "Would you really want to be a step-mom anyway at your young and beautiful age," she further teased, her palm holding the cup of Theo's cheek briefly. It went without saying, if there ever were to be someone else in her love life, her children would have to be loved and accepted as well. "God," Cassandra smirked as she mused, "we really would take the world by storm, wouldn't we?" More so Theo doing big things and Cassie making sure she had a good breakfast before she went out and conquered the day. Maybe that was all she was good for, being someone's support.

As much as she's been pained and hurt, given up and chosen over time and time again, Cassandra's heart hadn't hardened over. There's definite bitterness she'd felt towards the cards she'd been dealt, some big lessons she'd learned, but only now when she holds hope that it's not too late. "Oh, I want to finish him, as they say in that one bloody game the boys love, Mortal Something," eyes playfully rolled and hand waved off what her boys would groan about, "but I want him to take care of the boys and pay a lot in alimony. I want the house and the vacation home." It felt so greedy to say she wanted half of everything, especially since she hadn't worked since she was twenty-one, yet some part of her felt that it was so deserved given everything she'd sacrificed and how hard she'd worked to be everything Vaughn had needed. Only to be be cast aside for someone younger and prettier. Probably better in bed too considering Cassandra had been with a grand total of three men in her forty-five years. "Death seems easy, you know," she grinned to take the weight off of what she felt, "it doesn't erase or fix the savagery of what he's done to me, you know?"

Before tears could spring to her eyes and Cassandra could do a swan dive into the heart of the pain she continuously pretended wasn't that serious, she had too much to remain strong for, and it would be so embarrassing for Vaughn to get a view of just how he'd put her to slaughter, the focus shifted to Theodora. There was something there, she could sense it, like a mother to their child, though she didn't press when the excuse of being tired came. That was entirely plausible. Her fingers were playing with the loose ends of Theo's hair again, "have you not been getting any sleep? Putting all this together," she gestured to the equestrian center, "and keeping up with your lawyer work has to be quite a lot for any one person." Maybe, hopefully, Theo had someone new in her life to support her again. She deserved that and was owed it especially after being abandoned.

Perhaps she wasn't the master deflector. Well, Theodora did it as a profession, and they had switched back to a somewhat previous topic. One that Cassandra actually needed to engage in. When it came to filing and going through the process of divorce she was aware of just how quickly she needed to get the ball rolling. Plans of action needed to be made. Cassandra had no income, no real job history in the last twenty-plus years, and two children to take care of. She should be panicking. "You're tenacious and honestly, there's too many complications when it comes to Saul," because there was something the two of them had to go through alongside Cassandra divorcing husband number two, "you have the job if you want it. Take Vaughn Westwood to the cleaners and please leave him like that in front of his mistress. If you want to be my lawyer." It felt more important to support Theodora's career anyway. Things would be too messy with Saul and conflicts of interest would be the least of worries when she had to ask her first husband what she had to ask of him.

They were on their way to the stables to see the horses, arm in arm and Cassandra's hand slipped down to grasp Theo's hand. Memories of riding came flooding back and she swallowed down the emotions that rose up. The horses were so beautiful. "Wow, Autumn is still thriving, huh?" When she approached the mare, Cassandra placed her palm on the warm, muscled neck of the animal and instantly felt soothed. Riding with Theo, or even when Theo was too busy and she'd go anyway, had been such an escape. It was an ode to a previous way of life, and she too had found freedom on the strong back of a horse. "Good to see that, young girl," Cassie had said to the mare as she stroked her neck, "we may be old but there's still nothing like us." At Theo's comment, a smiling glanced was turned to her. "What's going on with your mother?"

Being raised by a family of lawyers and liars has made Theodora quite adept to spotting even the smallest of fibs. Cassie, for her part, seems to easily dismiss the compliment thrown her way by bringing up beauty routines, which Theo would push back on if she didn’t know it probably wouldn’t go her way. As much as she instinctively wants to defend Cassandra from even herself, there’s only so much she can do in the middle of the work day, reuniting after such a long time plagued by physical distance. There will be time later, she tells herself, to course-correct Cassie’s beliefs — for Theo to find a way to make her feel genuinely, comfortingly loved and admired, as it’s truly all she’s ever felt for her pseudo-aunt. Perhaps this is Theo’s fault, she thinks, for not saying it enough. Proving it enough. Something she has to work on, then, as well.

Cassie’s form of physical affection — the way her hands comb through Theo’s hair gently, for example — is something she’s been so starved for her entire life, it’s almost a little embarrassing how much she relishes it. Even when she was younger, the way Cassie would take her by the arm when they’d cruise along the mall or hug in her in congratulations when she’d be the only one to show to her debate competitions was, perhaps, the only thing that kept Theo from becoming a cold, unaffectionate monster like her mother. Touch starved, her therapist had called her. It’s why her relationship with Samuel had fulfilled her in more ways than one, as well. Every time she needed to reach out to someone, Sam would be there, ready to take her hand, to stroke her hair, to wipe her tears. She’d thought of herself, once, as far too clingy — and, hell, maybe she’d been right. He left her, after all.

“If you want to get married, there’s nothing stopping us,” she winks in jest. “We could take on the world, you and me.” She gives Cassie’s hands another tight squeeze, reassuring. She spares a thought for what Terry would think of such a thing. Her expression turns a little sour at the other’s admittance that Vaughn might have been an awful husband, but he’d never been a terrible father. It is, unfortunately, a valid reason to keep him around, she supposes. A part of her had thrown out the suggestion as a joke, of course — but a smaller, more dangerous part of her knows exactly where half of her comes from, and what she can accomplish with a single call to her maternal grandfather. And the truth of it all, hidden in the crevices of the person that she’s become, is that she’d do anything in her power to keep those she loves happy and safe. Even if it meant compromising her morals and beliefs. 

But it seems that, for now, she’ll continue only flirting with that side of herself. With a resigned sigh, she nods her head in assent. “Alright, so I don't take him out,” she offers Cassie a half-smile. “Not in a literal sense, at least.” Before she can press just a little more lightly on the subject, Cassie’s taking a sharp left turn, asking her what’s wrong. It catches Theo off guard, the way Cassie probably saw right through the steel facade she normally prides herself in maintaining. It feels — out of place, to talk about what’s wrong here. Cassie’s right: clearly, things should be great. They should feel as such, too. She’d gotten a job with Saul, she’d opened an equestrian center, her mother hasn’t yet tried to dismantle everything she’s worked for — the happiness should be toppling over her very being. And yet.

She shakes her head reassuringly at Cassie, making sure her smile is so bright, it leaves little room for discussion. “Everything’s great,” she assures her. “I’m just a little tired. It’s a lot of work, you know?” She offers her a breathy laugh and a self-deprecating roll of her eyes. She takes Cassie’s hand in hers and starts leading her toward the stables, eager to step into a more familiar environment for the both of them, where perhaps her demeanor will withstand scrutiny with more ease. At Cassie’s thoughtful consideration of perhaps using her services instead of Saul, she says, “Either one of us would crush him like a bug underneath our heels.” Which is more true than most of the things she’s had to say throughout her career. “That being said, it might be considered a conflict of interest if he were to take you on, as your ex-husband. I’m sure there are loopholes we can find,” she adds as they finally reach the stables. “But my offer’s on the table, if it comes down to it. I would leave him with nothing but his dick in his hand,” she smiles at her sweetly, though there’s nothing but venom dripping from her tone. “And I’d enjoy it every step of the way.”

She leads her into the stables, where a couple of horses have already taken residence. Some of them have taken to their corners to sleep — others lazily feed themselves, taking little notice of both Theo and Cassie’s presence. Autumn, her mare, is the exception to this — it’s like she knows Theo by the cadence of her footsteps, always peeking out of her stall when she hears her come near. “Come here,” Theo tells Cassie eagerly, pulling her along toward Autumn. Her chestnut fur catches some of the sunlight shining in through the front gates, the mare huffing happily in greeting as they approach her. “I bet she remembers you,” she tells Cassie as they stop alongside Autumn’s snout. Theo reaches out to pet her gingerly, the mare eagerly leaning into the touch. She’s had her for about two decades now, though she still acts like a young foal sometimes, eager to ride and play and explore. She glances over at Cassie, gesturing toward Autumn. “Go on,” she encourages. “Petting Autumn is fantastic therapy,” she says. “I should know. It was, after all, the only therapy I had available to me growing up.”

[fuckinjaded]

Happy Roxanne Tuesday. 😀 @itsroxyp

[melianlmao]

Prolonged Eye Contact

PT.6

A/n: Jeez this story is grimy, I was in no way prepared for this and the format all the way to the introduction of this is junk. I might revamp this whole thing honestly. Anyways enjoy

Warnings: Cursing, Police, nothing else I don't think

The police station is cold as fuck.

You cross your arms in hope to trap some of your body heat and huddle closer into yourself as you wait for the band to come get you.

The police officer is talking to Cindy in the other room and you could hear her ugly crying and high pitched voice claiming you were a danger to society and she did nothing wrong.

You rolled your eyes as the noise of the door swinging open and familiar voices broke through the station.

"Y/n!" Akaashi called pushing past Suna to run up to you and look you over for injuries.

"Ever the mom friend I see." You chuckle as he deems you injured and aggressively ruffles your hair. The rest of the band had caught up now and the silent question hung in the air.

Suna had given them a summary of what has happened on the way but he was also still in a state of shock, so what motivated you to spit back at the bitch.

It's dearest KenKen who asks and you quirk a brow at his interlaced fingers with Kuroo and he just shakes his head prodding you to answer the question

"Was I supposed to just sit there?" You mumble crossing your arms.

"Maybe you wouldn't be sitting at the police station if you did." Kuroo mused with a smirk.

You rolled your ey s and went to say something but before you could the door beside you swung open and our came an ugly crying Bitch face and a black haired tall handsome police officer.

His tag read Daichi Sawamura and he seemed to recognize Kuroo.

"Long time no see Captain." Kuroo whistled.

The cop just smiled good naturedly and turned to you.

"From what I hear you could go away for a long time but I have a feeling that things were exaggerated. if you will, so I'm gonna need a statement." He said beckoning you to the room Cindy just came from.

You grimaced and followed him in with a small wave to the band.

As soon as the door swing shut they turned to Cindy like a pack of hungry wolves.

She had hurt one of their own and that wasn't gonna fly now was it?

"Long time no see." She smiled the fake teary eyes and sniffles long thrown to the side.

"What the hell is your problem?" Atsumu growled at her, taking step forward only to be tugged back by his twin.

"I will not be replaced! Especially not by some random trash that got in by sleeping with my Rinnie." She scoffed and Osamus grip on his brother tightened as he contemplated lunging at her himself.

Surprising everyone is was Kenma who stepped up.

"Oh shut the hell up Cindy Lou Who looking ass." He said plainly, like he was already exhausted with her.

"Wha-" she stared but Kenma stopped her, he went done.

"Your playing sucks ass, your attitude is ten times worse nodody liked you except Sunarin and you fucking cheated on him!" He went off throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Not even to mention Y/n could easily beat your ass,has ten times the personality you have and isn't like you, They actually fucking care about Sunarin and doesn't just want him for the fucking fame." He finished turning on his heel to lean back on Kuroo, exhausted from his rant.

Cindy stood gaping like a fish and it finally hit her as she look at the group of boys bristling before her.

Their sharp gazes fixated on her, brows furrowed, and teeth clenched.

She had no place here.

She clenched her fists to her sides and scoffed.

"Whatever, they're going to jail anyways." She tutted, turning to waltz out the door with what little dignity she had left after Kenma's verbal beat down.

They watched her go with narrow eyes and only turned away from the door when you emerged from the room with Daichi.

"Fortunately, What Your friend here says matches with the report from the security so they're clear to go." He sighed clearly exhausted from having to deal with such a situation.

You nodded to him and followed the band out to the van. You sat on the passenger side while Suna drove.

He hadn't said a word to you this whole ordeal and you can't help but worry that maybe something changed his mind.

You aren't making any assumptions because miscommunication got you here in the first place so instead you elect to talk to him about it later in the confines of his room.

He reaches over the middle console and takes your hand in his smoothing his thumb over the back of your hand and some of the doubt melts away.

Everything will be alright.

[mistressemmedi]

Måneskin: "Different from whom?"

Greetings from Miley Cyrus - phenomenal numbers.

The streams of Zitti e Buoni are growing by the second, and ahead of Muse, on the top of the English charts, twelfth in the Spotify Global Chart. We almost tripled followers after Rotterdam (from 1.4 to 3.3 million, ed). Contagious and universal madness: T-shirts and merchandise sold out in 10 minutes. Like records, tickets for a tour that adds dates and expands on maps. They are even looking for us in festivals where the Rolling Stones have played. - Thomas

After the whole cocaine scandal that was started against us from France, which was later denied by my drug test, in Spain there people have been making murals with my face saying "No drugs". Some tweets made us laugh: «Congratulations, Italy! I have never been so sure that four people have fucked each other ". Miley Cyrus started following us. "You are great". “You are more” . - Damiano

From rags to riches - what a story

It was only 2016, and we were playing in restaurants, on the streets, in via del Corso (famous street in Rome). Damiano without a microphone, Thomas's guitar with broken strings, Ethan drummed on a cajón. At the occupations of the high schools in Rome (Kennedy, Virgilio, Mamiani) we had our first gigs and half an hour of fame, between those who criticized us and those who said "these guys are so cool". One of the rare times in which they offered to pay us to play - 50 euros each - we offered that money to those after us, in exchange for the chance to play during their time slow, as we knew there would have been a bigger crowd. We already understood then how it worked. That visibility was worth more than the money. We still think so ». - Victoria

The intimacy of rock - Choice of a genre

Music allows is this miracle which allows one to talk about very personal and private topics, even difficult and delicate ones. They are and remain deeply yours, but at the same time they become a confession that reaches a wider audience, and in this passage which is like a delivery, they also find their place in you, their elaboration. They are overcome, they are accepted. One moment it feels aggressive, one moment later a (soft) ballad. It's very cathartic. - Damiano

Against panic - The stage as therapy

I have suffered a lot from anxiety and panic attacks, it is a problem that I have worked on thanks to a course of psychotherapy, to my friends and family. Playing has helped me not to let myself be paralyzed by my fears, not to be limited in my private and professional life. I have learned to accept, to live with this side of me. I don't hide it. I no longer feel ashamed. - Victoria

This belief that only crazy people go to the psychologist is widespread ignorance. Nobody is born learned. And it is often difficult to understand why we are here, let alone the derivation and direction of our desires. It is a long and legitimate journey towards one's clarity. - Damiano

Essere fuori di testa – Ma diversi da loro (Be out of your mind - But different from them)

Already feeling a strong passion for something that is not a 'regular' profession but an artistic language, it puts you on a level where you're an anomaly, and while you're neither superior nor inferior to others, it places you in the condition of what breaks the mold but you're also being at a loss, leaving it to you to be bold and to take risks, hoping that they will pay off and land you somewhere. "What good is it if you don't stand out on your own?". You want to give it an aesthetic to your artistic dream, but to others it boils down to " You dress differently! You must be gay! ”, I'm 22 now and it makes me laugh, but at 17 it had an effect on me too. - Damiano

The beauty of being unique - Of believing in that and defending it

After all, we are all different not because we want to be alternative but because really no one is the same. Justice is being judged on what you do and not what you are. Justice is equality, respect, beauty. - Ethan

Fluid sexuality - Pride is freedom

We appreciate heels on men, we kiss each other, we have an open, extended mind, and we are proud of it. The horizons become vast, beyond the oppression of conservative families. With information on the web, knowledge is enriched and with it the possibility that minorities will be fewer and fewer, because majorities will be fewer and fewer. This will lower the volume to insults and bullying. If social networks can reach a village of 50 souls to reveal to someone, who is afraid of the darkness, that someone has felt that same fear.. There is no longer the need to give it a name, to define that "something" to fear, to brand it with labels that only limit you. Definitions have always had this effect on me. Gender should not even be considered in a person's judgment. Let alone orientation ". - Victoria

Sexism - A culture to be dismantled

Emma (Italian singer) dropped the bomb:" When I went to Eurovision, they insulted me over a pair of shorts. Damiano - half naked and in heels - was never criticized ". The judgment against women is constant, ferocious, and demeaning (if I have a lot of sex I'm cool but Vic a whore, where I show myself strong I'm a leader she is domineering and pain in the ass, who is successful because only because of her looks [and not the hard work she puts in]). As a male I am privileged, the harassment I suffer is not comparable to that experienced by a woman, the comments on my aesthetics are focused only on my aesthetics and do not insinuate anything about my professionalism and my competence, while women are victims of this kind of thinking in a systemic way. But I did find myself in a situation, out of nowhere, with someone who, pulling close to her for a selfie, started licking my face ... "What do you want, did you ask me?" Consent exists, and it is a must ». - Damiano

To grow as a person - The only rule to follow

For me, to conform is the total opposite of educating oneself, and the asphyxiation of one's expression (of freedom). Fortunately, I did not suffer heavy bullying, to the point where I felt I needed to change to adapt to how others saw me. But the matrix of who I am and the aggression that marks me is the same. If I'm a kid who dances and loves dolls, then allow me the freedom to do so. I used to be a kid who wanted long hair and played with Barbies. My friends, as a teenager, looked my long hair and teased me: "You have to find yourself a girl with a short hair to make up for it". My grandparents took the dolls away from me and said: “Stop it, they're not for you” ». - Ethan

“I was six and I already could not tolerate the distinctions between masculine and feminine. I've always had strong ideas about how I wanted to be. I refused things typically defined as feminine as a child, and they made fun of me for skating, for playing soccer, for not wearing skirts, for giving myself the chance to be as I wanted to be. I suffered a little, as I was bullied, but I had courage to stay true to myself, and today thanks to that courage I know that I could have been much more hurt, or I would have risked leaving the most important decision to others: the one about being just me". - Victoria

Love - music and girlfriends

I've been married to music for the past 20 years. I cannot wait to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary. - Ethan

Everyone goes through their own experiences, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but it's never other people's business." - Thomas

When, for the first time, I developed feelings and attraction for a girl it was a bit disorienting because I had never had the courage to go beyond the limitations I had imposed on myself. For society, being heterosexual is the norm and therefore often one automatically pegs himself in that way, giving up the freedom to experience many different shades and facets of love. Once I got over the initial insecurity of having to question one's own certainties, I lived my sexuality in a very natural and free way, as it should be for everyone. - Victoria

I had paparazzi under my house morning and night. So, after four years of relationship, I finally revealed her name. I still have the paparazzi under my house morning and night, but at least I don't have to hide anything anymore. - Damiano

The value of the group - Protecting each other

But the real relationship, the real family, is between us. Our band. We believed in it from the first day, even before calling ourselves Måneskin (moonlight in Danish), even before Ethan drew a giant moon, on the poster for our first concert. We share everything, even the pain of the tragedy of Seid Visin, who committed suicide at 20 because he was a victim of racism. Being a group is what we should all do together: stay united and not retreat in the slightest in the face of abuses generated by a distorted vision of someone "being different|. - Thomas

Non ho l’età – like Gigliola (It references Gigliola Cinquetti who won both Sanremo and Eurovision with her song "Non ho l’età" which translates to Not old enough)

Before us, the only one to win Sanremo and Eurovision together was Gigliola Cinquetti (in 1964). Is there is something for which I feel I am not yet old enough for? No, honestly no. Maybe for kids. I'll be honest, I'm not enough to be a dad. - Damiano

Reached the sky - What fears still remain

We are more than in the dream, we have conquered the dream. To fly high this high, there is the risk is to fall and get hurt, but we will try not to end up like Icarus, who burns his wings with the sun. Everything is in our hands. And this - somewhat presumptuously - reassures us rather than frighten us ". - Damiano

(ORIGINAL INTERVIEW IN ITALIAN)

[Please note that I have changed some words or structure sentence, trying to make it so that the interview made more sense lol - I skipped the first two paragraphs, which was basically the interviewer gushing over how pretty the band is lmao (relatable).

Any mistakes in the translation are sorely mine, nothing was proofread, so apologies in advance]

[glass-needles-and-futurisms]

Somehow I've only now seen this post; wish I could've piped in sooner.

Full disclosure: I definitely lean more on the neurodivergent side of this debate. And as someone who's stanned Muse on and off in the past 16 years AND had my brief brushes with music journalism, I have some complicated feelings about the music establishment's perception of them.

A lot of critics, I noticed, are obsessed with legacy narratives. Which is just a fancy way of saying they're fixated on who's "influential" or "The Greatest ______ Ever" or the "next big thing" of their respective genre. Certain publications (coughRollingStonecough) have made an entire cottage industry out of milking this fetish for a "musical canon". And while it's not obvious on the surface, other places like Pitchfork and music YouTube aren't immune to this either.

The problem with a band like Muse, though, is that they fly in the face of this kind of mythmaking. Matt is pathologically humble and very transparent about their musical influences. They don't have the ego to fixate on their place in musical canon, they just make the songs they want to make and put on absurd maximalist live shows because they feel like it. They don't care about how they'll be immortalized in the annals of history tomorrow; they live in the here and now. Above all they seem to understand that fun and friendship matter more than fame. (How many promising young bands have fallen apart due to clashing egos and sheer hubris?)

So of course critics wouldn't "get" them: they want to stand on the shoulders of giants, not chase after playful magpies. They don't see Showbiz as a bunch of rural Devon kids finding their musical voice, they see just another Radiohead copycat. They don't see Simulation Theory as a maniac reckoning with his own nostalgia in the face of socio-political anxiety, they see lazy trendchasers hopping on the vaporwave bandwagon. For them living just to entertain is a dirty word unless you can prove you're the biggest, bestest entertainer on the planet. I'm old enough to have seen this story play out over and over again with the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, etc.

All of this just reminds me of snooty cinephiles who only watch arthouse films and prestige directors, those guys who fixate on Rotten Tomatoes scores and Letterboxd reviews. This ignores everyone else — whoever still unironically enjoys superhero movies, or cries at Hallmark romcoms, or watches goofy b-movies with their friends.

So yeah. As far as these kinds of people are concerned bands like Muse — or the Killers, or Fallout Boy, or Nickelback, or whoever it is they dislike this week — aren't worth talking about unless they can pull out the next OK Computer or To Pimp A Butterfly or whatever. It's just a fancier, more "mature" mutation of cringe culture.

I find it funny that for the last couple decades or so music criticism has been dominated by the opposing forces of Rockism and Poptimism — and neither movement has a satisfying answer for what the fuck Muse is. They're not serious enough for the rockists and not mainstream enough for the popists. For better or worse they've become just another of those bands that only makes sense to devoted weirdos like us.

Muse is music made by and for neurodivergent queer weirdos and that's why the Straights will never really Get It

[mrsnancywheeler]

FINNICKS MUSE IS SO “the moon will sing” by the crane wives

“Tell me once again / I could have been anyone, anyone else / before you made the choice for me” HE LITERALLY TELLS HER ALL THE TIME THAT ANYONE ELSE COULD BE IN HER POSITION

1

“My feet knew the path / we would in the dark, in the dark/ I never gave a single thought to were it might lead” SHE FOLLOWS HIM BLINDLY, SHE DOESNT EVEN THING ABOUT IT

-

“The moon will sing a song for me / I love you like the sun” okay so like the sun and moon do not have an equal relationship. The moon follows the sun, the sun doesn’t care, it’ll continue its movements around the galaxy

-

“Bore the shadows that you made / with no light of my own”

“I shine only with the light you gave me” CAUSE SHE THINKS SHE NEEDS HIM!!! SHE CANT MAKE HER OWN LIGHT!!!

-

“We could have had anything, anything else / instead, you hoarded all that’s left of me” Yk cause he takes all that she has to give and she gets nothing back

-

“Swallowing’ your doubt / like swords to the pit of my belly / I want to feel that fire that you kept from” cause his words hurt, he doubts their relationship is real cause she’s “just a groupie” and those words HURT

-🌾anon

I think you meant billy but that's okay pookie lmao 💋💋💋 anyways I love this so fucking much and I discovered because someone put it on a playlist about conway and I was floored

he's so like, "I chose you, you're here because of me, but I can trade you out just as easily" and damn she acts all tough and venomous back but she's literally going home to sob in her pillows for days because all she wants is too feel like she is special in some way, that she's not replaceable, cared about, not just one of many options.

and she knows the cycle will repeat, exactly where each event will lead to but it's so mindlessly easy to fall right back into place, so she does.

the moon mourns for her because her longing to be fully appreciated by billy (her sun in this situation) isn't being reciprocated except like in his internalized thoughts.

she only had publicity, attention, fame, freedom from the life of her father, because she's with billy. she's young and exploring, he's opened all these new doors for her and given her attention that she craves. so suddenly other people see her too, but as billy would be quick to remind her, all that would be nothing without him.

and by the end of their relationship, the before the band ends and before he goes to rehab breakdown, she's just become so tired. so drained. she wants to be touched, loved, cared about, her emotional capabilities have been stolen away by billy.

his words are literally so venomous and he just keeps hammering them in when he's mad. until reader stops caring about most of his unfaithful shenanigans because he's told her so many times that she's just one of many, that she has no right to be upset. she internalizes the upset, tries to play the roles and fails time and time again. and then when he's in a good way, he's happy and he's suddenly basking her with love, reminding her that she's his girl and that makes her special, it's so confusing, but she's eating up every second of it she gets before it's gone.

which is also giving, "we made our peace with weariness and let it be"

[spinster-sisters]

ohh okay! so to kick it off, can we get ateez members’ reactions to their very successful partner taking them to a company party like their trophy wife/husband/partner — not in a derogatory way tho!! but just like,, flaunting the members around and going on about how handsome and hardworking and amazing they are, even though everyone’s attention should be on their partner in that big event?

This is very different from the stuff I normally write but honestly I had so much fucking fun doing it. Like genuinely this made me smile like an idiot the whole time.

-

Hongjoong:

It's ur birthday or sum shit, but here's the dealio, he had some big work promotion at some smaller company. Most people haven't heard of it and it's nothing like the major corporation you work for so most people there just think of him as your trophy husband cuz he's so good-looking. while the party and presents were for you, you just could stop bring up how proud you were of him. He would immediately shut it down every time you brought it up, "yeah thank baby, I appreciate it. Hey, guys don't you think my baby is beautiful tonight?" Just won't let it distract from your attention no matter how much you bring it up. He doesn't think that he should be praised for doing what he should be doing. It's a nice sentiment and it makes him giggle but he wishes you would just let the guests congratulate you.

Seonghwa:

It's some work party on your behalf at your home. And Seonghwa planned the whole thing. Your not gonna deny you were just looking for a hot husband with social perks (read: rich parents and rich friends) but after meeting Seonghwa you genuinely fell so hard and so fast for how humble he was despite his wealthy upbringing, and you wanted to work even harder to provide him with the lifestyle he had always had at home. And he is happy to fulfill his house husband role for his doting partner. So yall are just happy and in love. Everyone at the party is your coworker and honestly, he would probably have just been your arm candy under any other circumstances, except you keep reminding people how great of a job he did getting everything set up. From a 5-star catering company to a live band, to imported wine from somewhere fancy, the whole thing took him weeks to put together and you will be dammed if he doesn't get the recognition for a job well done. He takes the praise blushing and mumbles quiet thank yous to all you and all guests who praise him, but he leaves it at that. If they ask him questions about the things around him he will keep his answers short and minimal yet polite before slipping away. Despite planning it, it isn't his party and he wants to keep it that way.

Yunho:

it's actually your friend's launch party for something or other. But you had a fair amount to do with the starting of the company as an investor and your friend had wanted to honor you as much as her. But here's the thing. Yunho's also pretty fucking cool, he doesn't have a permanent job, instead, he bounces around to all kinds of random things to keep himself entertained instead of just being at home all the time. the entire fucking time you're like "oh but have you heard what Yunho's been up to lately." He tries to one-up you with praise. Every time you say something cool he does, he brings up something cool you have done. And it just gets more and more intense as the night goes on to the point where the other giggles just fucking giggle cuz yall are so obvious in love.

Yeosang:

Yalls wedding is gonna be the social event of the year. You both come from very prominent families, but Yeosangs family got their money from fame not business. So when yall got engaged there was quite a bit of gossip about how "real" the relationship even was. Who the "throphy" was would change based on who you asked and it was getting annoying reading all the headlines. It was your wedding shower, and it was no secret that most of the people there were there for you and not him, but he couldn't care less. People kept coming up to you trying to talk business, and you were endlessly shutting them down because this was a day for both you and your soon to be husband, not for social climbers to try and get on your good side. The wonderful thing about Yeosang however is how much he can read you emotions even when you are trying to hide them. His course of action was simple. You both just fucking leave. You both had already talked to your actual friends and at a certain point you couldn't be bothered to keep up appearances with people who didn't respect both of you equally. So you left. Probably went and got some food in your cocktail attire. Much better use of time anyway.

San:

You're some kind of model or something. So it's like fashion week. So the whole time u have cameras shoved in your face and are being followed everywhere you go. But ur mans San is also incredibly beautiful, so you play a little game where whenever you go out all you do is put on sweats and a hoodie and you bring him out with him dressed in full fashion week regalia so the photographers are fucking confused who they are supposed to be taking pictures of. He thinks it's funny ao he plays along, wearing whatever you put him in and posing dramatically for literally every photo he can. You two go through the posted photos absolutely howling at them all night.

Mingi:

Your some big-time producer and Mingi is this like an underground rapper. Yall have been together long before you ever made it big and back before you got the job you lived almost exclusively off Mingi's part-timejob. But now the turntables have flipped and he can live mostly of your income allowing him to focus on his music and yall wouldn't have it any other way. But here's the shit. Some dopey fucking pop star you produce for comes over for dinner and makes a "joke" about mingi being a freeloader and you get so fucking petty. Especially after seeing Mingi's dejected face. So basically you help mingi produce a professional track and release it legitimately and not just on SoundCloud or in some shitty nightclub, and it fucking blows up way more than the other person music ever did and you just do nothing but talk up how amazingly talented Mingi is to your boss and he gets signed after the other person is dropped from the label. It's a great time.

Wooyoung:

Allow me to paint you a picture(this is a pun just wait for it.) Your an artist 😃 and Wooyoung is your husband and your muse. Almost everything you paint is either of him or reminds you of him. And your opening this big art exhibit and it's just this super fancy cocktail party with all the art snobs in the city and of course you bring him. As soon as yall walk in people immediately notice he's the guy in all the paintings and you're just like "yes isn't he stunning" and he's like "yes I am stunning" he's only half kidding. Whenever you go on and on to some art blogger about your muse he just sits there drinking it in with a smirk on his face, occasionally adding things like how you owe your success to his beautiful face. In that case, he's completely kidding cuz he knows damn well your talented enough to make anything beautiful with or without him.

Jongho:

ima say you married rich. You didn't have much growing up but Jongho has done nothing but spoil you. Despite the fact he came from a big business family, singing has always been his passion. When you begin to work in his father's company you rise through the ranks alarmingly quick due to your skill. It's some party for your father in laws retirement and everyone coming up to you betting your gonna be the next CEO. Here the thing though, Jongho left the company not long after you joined, so he could pursue singing and most people there haven't seen him since then and they keep giving him side-eyes, clearly thinking he threw his life away and he's just gonna be your "trophy husband" for the rest of his life. Not on your watch homie. You expected this so you and your supper supportive father-in-law set aside time for him to perform to the whole room and you're standing there all proud and satisfied as all your coworkers are dumbfounded at his amazing talent.

[natromanxoff]

How prog were Queen?

By Dave Everley

On 9 January, 1971, Kevin Ayers and Genesis played a show together at the Ewell Technical College near Epsom in Surrey. Ayers was 18 months out of Soft Machine, and making a name for himself as a psychedelically-inclined art-folk rake. Genesis had released their second album, Trespass, a few months earlier, and were carving out a place in the vanguard of the burgeoning progressive rock movement.

There was a third band propping up the bill that night, a bunch of transplanted Londoners calling themselves Queen. In contrast to the wilfully artful approach of the headliners, their music was more straightforward: a heavy, if ornate blend of Led Zeppelin’s earthiness and the flights of fancy of Yes.

Not everyone in the small crowd watching them was impressed, but they caught the attention of one person. After the show, Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel pulled Queen’s blond-bombshell drummer Roger Taylor to one side. Gabriel’s band were about to dismiss their own drummer, John Mayhew, and were looking for a replacement. Was Taylor interested in joining Genesis? The reply was instant: thanks but no thanks. Taylor was utterly dedicated to Queen – there were gigs to play, places to go, and many musical adventures to embark on.

Had Taylor accepted the offer, the course of music – and specifically prog – would have been very different. Genesis would have flourished with Gabriel upfront, though whether they would have survived and prospered as they did without a Phil Collins to step into the breach after their talismanic singer’s departure was another matter.

The knock-on effect on Queen would have been greater. Taylor was an essential part of their carefully balanced four-way chemistry; a chemistry that would go on to throw up some of the most ambitious and game-changing music ever recorded. While Queen weren’t a capital ‘P’ prog band, they were infused with the spirit of the movement, combining its forward-looking values with its absolute disregard for the existing rules. Taking their cues from the likes of Yes, Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator and even Pink Floyd, their flamboyantly cavalier approach would go on to inspire such modern masters as Dream Theater, Queensrÿche and Muse. And, in Bohemian Rhapsody, they ensured that one of the biggest-selling singles in history was, at heart, a prog song. Forget the luxuriant moustaches and sawn-off mike-stands that would come to define them: if the prog ethos meant avoiding the expected, then Queen were definitely a prog band.

“Diversity was probably their greatest asset,” says former Dream Theater drummer and confirmed Queen devotee Mike Portnoy. “From song to song, they could be so different. You could have something that was folk followed by something that was rockabilly followed by something that was metal. And that’s one of the biggest things about prog, having that open-mindedness.”

Queen’s schooling in prog came early on. Brian May’s very first band, 1984, played a 4am slot supporting Pink Floyd at the Christmas On Earth Continued all-nighter in 1967. A year later, his next outfit, Smile – also featuring Roger Taylor – played with Floyd again, this time at London’s Imperial College. By the time of their gig opening for Kevin Ayers, Smile had changed their name to Queen and recruited Freddie Mercury. Collectively, they admired Yes, Van der Graaf Generator and especially Genesis. “Foxtrot is a prog rock classic,” Roger Taylor later wrote in the sleevenotes to Genesis box set 1970-1975. “Arrangements were highly complex in these early days, setting a benchmark for the style of the times.”

When it came to finding someone to produce their debut album, Queen’s first choice was John Anthony, who had worked with both Genesis and Van der Graaf. With Anthony and co-producer Roy Thomas Baker behind the desk, the eponymous album trod heavily in Led Zeppelin’s footsteps. But there was another, altogether more visionary band straining to spread their wings: My Fairy King was a filigreed slice of flamboyant rock’n’roll, while Liar metamorphosised through several different time changes and timings.

Those wings were fully unfurled on the follow-up, 1974’s Queen II. The title was the most prosaic thing about the record: the music inside was as fevered and baroque as rock gets, informed equally by Zeppelin, Yes and crazed Victorian artist Richard Dadd, whose 1864 painting The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke inspired one of the album’s most prog-leaning tracks. It may have been rooted in the heavy rock of the times, but its cavalier approach and sheer sense of scale pegged Queen as a defiantly progressive proposition.

“Queen weren’t like Yes, who had a dualistic role of guitar and keyboards, where both shared the terrain,” says Yes guitarist Steve Howe, supported by Queen at Kingston Poly in early 1971. “Brian had the terrain to himself. The remarkable thing was that he was the front and the back man. It required him to come up with more than guitar solos… He had to come up with a semi-thematic approach to play the guitar. And what he did was keep colouring.”

Queen’s prog inclinations would be deeply woven into the fabric of their early albums, from the audacious multi-part theatrics of Queen II’s March Of The Black Queen to the schizophrenic attack of the two-part Lap Of The Gods from 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack. Even in their more commercial moments, they marched to the beat of their own drum. What other band would have dared serve up something so unusual as Killer Queen?

“It was their diversity,” says Mike Portnoy, who first heard Queen as an eight-year-old in the mid-70s and covered many Queen songs while in Dream Theater. “Their albums took the prototype that The Beatles laid down with the White Album, where you had four different artists bringing in very different styles. Every song was so diverse. You get to A Night At The Opera, and you had this giant multi-layered epic like Bohemian Rhapsody next to something like Seaside Rendezvous or Love Of My Life.”

A Night At The Opera was Queen’s grand artistic statement and their most unashamedly prog album. Pitched around the epic twin tentpoles of The Prophet’s Song and Bohemian Rhapsody, it married their far-reaching vision to a distinctly British barminess. Taken on its own, the eight-minute The Prophets Song, with its incredible ornate a cappella middle section, would be enough to grant Queen access to the Prog Hall Of Fame. But even that sits in the inescapable shadow of Bohemian Rhapsody. Time and success might have lessened its impact, but that song remains the most dazzlingly unique piece of music ever to sell five million copies.

“There are epic things that come along every so often,” says Steve Howe. “There’s Sgt Pepper, there’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. And there’s Bohemian Rhapsody. I don’t know when I first heard it, but once it was there, it was such a formidable thing. You’re thinking: ‘How many tracks did they need to do those vocals? How did they write it? Who invented it? It really was astounding.”

Bohemian Rhapsody encapsulated one of the key things that gave Queen such a distinct identity. Like The Beatles and Beach Boys before them, they used the studio as an instrument – not least when it came to their vocals. And Bohemian Rhapsody raised the bar about as high as it could go.

“They sang each of those parts and triple-stacked them,” says Mike Portnoy. “You heard all three of their voices singing in all three vocal ranges. That’s what made the depth of their music so complex. It wasn’t the instrumentation, it was the vocals. That’s unusual for prog music. When I think of my favourite prog music, it’s always the musicianship that draws me. But with Queen, it was the vocals. It was so deep.”

For all its success, A Night At The Opera would be Queen’s grand kiss-off to their prog roots. Later albums streamlined their sound into a more conventional format. Much like Genesis, the 80s found them swapping experimentalism for chart rock.

It wasn’t until the end of their career as an active band that Queen would again sound so adventurous. During 1989 and 1990, the band began work on their penultimate album, Innuendo, in London and Montreux. In the summer of 1990, Yes guitarist Steve Howe paid a flying visit to the Swiss city, where a chance encounter with a former guitar tech found him being invited to Queen’s studio to hear the album as a work-in-progress.

“Inside, there’s Freddie, Brian and Roger all sitting together. They go: ‘Let’s play you the album,’” says Howe. “Of course, I’m hearing it for the first time: I Can’t Live Without You, I’m Going Slightly Mad. And they saved Innuendo itself until last. They played it and I was fucking blown away.”

If that was surprising, then what happened next was utterly out-of-the-blue. The members of Queen asked if Howe wanted to play on the title track. The Yes man politely suggested they’d lost their minds. It took the combined weight of Mercury, May and Taylor to persuade him.

“They all chimed in: ‘We want some crazy Spanish guitar flying around over the top. Improvise!’” recalls Howe. “I started noodling around on the guitar, and it was pretty tough. After a couple of hours, I thought: ‘I’ve bitten off more than I can chew here.’ I had to learn a bit of the structure, work out the chordal roots were, where you had to fall if you did a mad run in the distance; you have to know where you’re going. But it got towards evening, and we’d doodled and I’d noodled, and it turned out to be really good fun. We have this beautiful dinner, we go back to the studio and have a listen. And they go: ‘That’s great. That’s what we wanted.”

Released as a single in January 1991, Innuendo gave Queen their third Number One single. Like Bohemian Rhapsody 25 years before it, it was as unlikely as hit singles get: a six-and-a-half minute musical jigsaw, complete with flamenco runs, classically-inclined orchestral overloads and maverick 5/4 timing. Queensrÿche covered the song on 2007’s Take Cover album, while you can hear its echo in Radiohead’s Paranoid Android and Muse’s more elaborate sci-fi epics.

“In the world of rock, Queen stands out as a good example of the clash between guitar and piano in songwriting,” Muse’s Matt Bellamy has said. “I think that’s where you stumble across those more unusual arrangements and chord structures.”

Today, Queen have left a bi-polar legacy. They’re arguably best known for their pop hits – Radio Gaga, I Want To Break Free and of course, Bohemian Rhapsody, that ultimate prog Trojan Horse. But their spirit of adventure remains unmatched by all but the boldest of their peers.

“There was no rulebook for Queen,” says Mike Portnoy. “They broke most of the rules that existed, and then they wrote a new set.”