#Band director! thomas

[autumn0689]

What is the best movie you’ve ever seen and why is it Yöton Yö by Thomas Zane?

[closetofcuriosities]

Licorice Pizza - 2019 - Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

"GROWING UP, RUNNING AROUND, AND FALLING IN LOVE IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY"

[usbulletinz]

Michel Hazanavicius' Oscar-Winning Film "The Artist" Is Formatted Into A Phase Show

The movie won a sum of five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Chief. It was additionally garlanded with BAFTA and Brilliant Globe respects. Read More

[lenaariewrld]

C.05 — the concert thing (w)

ON THE AIR — childe x reader smau

| SYNOPSIS;; Teyvat University’s popular radio personality, Y/n L/n, has only one gripe with her life. Her classmate, neighbour, and all-around nuisance in her life, Tartaglia. Their rivalry extends just past academics and, to her horror, into her work. He becomes the music director and co-host for her radio show, working alongside her most nights and forcing himself even deeper into her life. But is he really trying to just be friends, or is there an ulterior motive to his actions?

| WC: 2.6k

previous! ~ masterlist ! ~ next!

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You and Ganyu stand on the sidewalk as Cyno parks his car and pays for the spot –estimating the amount of time the three of you will be there– while the both of you lean against each other casually. You had snatched one of Cyno’s jackets before leaving the house and now used it to cover you and Ganyu, your arms snaked around her shoulders and your chin on her hair. The air outside was slightly chilly with the wind, but still warm from the summer heat. At least it wasn’t balmy and humid anymore. For that, you were grateful. The pleasant moments ends when Cyno joins the two of you, looping one of his arms each with you and leading the way to the bar.

A small line was already forming when the three of you walked closer, full of excited young adults ready to have a memorable night or anxiously waiting to see Childe and his band perform. You recognize a few of the people in the line, waving to classmates or to people who greet you with an excitable call of your name. This bar was pretty popular for university students, so you aren’t surprised that people who also know about your show are here. You’re just surprised about the overlap between yours and Childe’s audience. As Cyno skirts his way to the front, you overhear a couple conversations. You don’t resist the urge to roll your eyes when you hear a couple girls whispering about him and how attractive they find him.

It was annoying, but you knew the man had charm. That you couldn’t necessarily deny.

It just didn’t work on you.

With a flash of Cyno’s student ID and the newspaper’s lanyard he wore, all three of you get accepted into the bar. Immediately, you and Ganyu beeline it to find an empty table far enough away from the stage to avoid anyone from that group recognizing your presence. Cyno goes to get drinks, meanwhile. The first thing you noticed upon setting your bag down and tucking your friend’s jacket over your legs was the atmosphere. The bar was crowded, expected for a Friday night. 

The lights are dimmed enough to add a sense of intimacy between people’s conversations and to provide contrast to the bright stage lights that have been set up on the far end of the bar, directly opposite from the bar where some very worn-looking bartenders dash left and right to make a million drinks. You pity them, hoping they get tipped well enough to deal with this particular chaos.

A couple minutes pass before Cyno returns, three drinks delicately balanced in his hands. A virgin drink for Ganyu, and two colorful (and probably very boozy) cocktails for the two of you. You clink your glass with him. “So, what all do you need for this paper?” You ask, willing to help where you can since you had nothing better to do. Even if you were dragged here.

“A couple pictures of the performance, some comments from the band members, and maybe a video to replay while I’m writing later so I don’t leave out any details.” The white-haired man tells you, counting off on his fingers. You sip from the little bendy straw in your glass, humming thoughtfully. “I was hoping I could catch Thoma afterwards and get something from him since he’s the only one I know–”

“And can tolerate?” You finish with a cheeky grin. Cyno nods, a smile pulling at his lips as well. You chuckle and lean your elbows on the table. “Me and Ganyu can record the set if you want to focus on everything else,” You offer.

Ganyu reaches over and gently takes the strawberry set on the rim of your glass. “We have a pretty good spot to watch, so if we record it, you definitely won’t miss anything,” She adds, matter-of-factly before eating the red fruit. You nod along, sliding the toothpick of fruits from Cyno’s drink her way as well.

“Thanks, guys,” He smiles, appreciative of your combined efforts to make this night go as quickly as possible. He turns his head as the lights on stage brighten. “They’re starting. I’m gonna go find a good vantage spot,” With that, your friend dismisses himself and disappears in the crowd as Childe and his bandmates shuffle onto stage. They’re loud and over the top, but they draw everyone in as they find their spots and introduce themselves. Admittedly, they even draw your attention in.

“Thank you all for coming to see us! And for those who didn’t, but may be interested; we are Vapriize,” Childe says into the mic, his hands adjusting his grip on the bass in his hands. The lead singer, a short little blue-haired guy named Scara, clears his throat and begins speaking next but you stopped paying attention by that point. Soon enough, they start to play and the music fills the bar.

You listen as Ganyu sets up her phone and begins recording, making sure to hold it high enough to see the entire stage of people’s heads. Oddly enough, as you listen, you find yourself enjoying the songs as the set progresses. It’s not the typical kind of grungy “I fuck girls and I know I’m hot” kind of music you expected.

Though it is a pop-rock type of instrumental, the lyrics imply a heavy heartbreak, with the lead singer passionately pleading whoever the song is about to give any crumb of attention, even if its just listening to the song, rather than leaving point blank. It was a raw desperation you knew well, something that resonated in your chest. The next couple songs are similar, lamenting how though the past relationship is over, the lead singer still finds pieces of her in every aspect of his life. Or about how apparent he’s made her effect on him and now without her absence it’s like he’s transparent. It sits uncomfortably in your gut, the way you relate to the songs, making your stomach sink further to your feet.

You down your drink and dismiss yourself to get another one, tapping Ganyu’s shoulder to alert her you’ll be right back. More music plays. You find yourself humming along once you sit down again, your well-manicured nails tapping on your cocktail glass, your chin propped on your hand, and your body swaying slightly to the music. At some point, Ganyu finds your hand and laces your fingers together, keeping the both of you grounded through the haze of the bar. During a quiet moment, she leans over to check on you.

“Are you enjoying this even a little bit?” She asks, raising her brows just slightly, a tiny wrinkle in between them. You smile and reach out to smooth it away.

“Maybe a little bit, but it’s hard not to be with you guys around,” You admit with a shrug. Cyno briefly shows up to your table once the set ends nearly an hour later, dropping off his camera and notepad.

“Gotta piss,” Is his only explanation before he darts off to the bathrooms. You laugh. Reaching over, you slide his possessions closer to you, taking care not to spill anything on the paper of your friend’s notepad. You glance over what he’s written so far, but you’re stumped by the chaos of his notes and the jumbled lines on the paper. It looks like nonsense, but you know Cyno’s process is one that works. You’ve read his completed works in the newspaper everytime a new issue comes out.

You tense as an all-too-familiar voice greets you. “Well, I didn’t expect to see you here… and dressed so pretty.” Childe slides into the third unoccupied seat at the little table, his chin propping onto his hand in a mirror of your position. You frown, crossing your arms instead. “Is it for me?” He continues, cocking his head to the side and raises his brow, his eyes darting over you. You make a gagging noise and dramatically turn away to cover your mouth.

“No it’s not. It’s for myself,” Your voice is cold as you speak to him, your glare biting. You refuse to break eye contact or back down. You were never one to be intimidated, and much less one to be so easily swooned by cheap words and bad pick-up lines. It helped when you also despised the person they came from. And you hate Childe. You hate his stupid smug face, and his perfectly tousled hair with the little blonde streak in the front. You hate the mischievous glint in his deep blue eyes, or the creases at the corners when he smiles. And you hate the way his voice purrs your name, slipping from his tongue like honey while he sidles ever so closer to your body.

“Mm, why are you here, Y/n?” He asks, watching the way you chug your second drink of the night, avoiding any chance to continue the conversation. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?” His voice is teasing, irritatingly so, but it’s also… softer. You notice his eyes darting around your face, some look in his eyes that for once isn’t mischief or malice. But one you definitely can’t place. You also notice he’s not looking over the rest of your body anymore, caring less about the revealing cut of your dress than the way your expression morphs.

He noticed you frowned less deeply when you were tipsy, your cheeks flushed all pink and your eyes blinking slowly. You looked more like an angry cat than anything. You looked… cute.

When you clear your throat, you notice Childe seem to break out of whatever trance he was in, his shoulders squaring a little more. “My friend needs to be here for his newspaper and I’m offering moral support.”

“Newspaper? Are they writing something about us?~” He hums.

“It’s not like it’s by choice. Your band is about as interesting to see as a flea circus,” You retort, chuckling into your cocktail as you take another dangerous gulp. The liquor burns your throat but it soothes the urge to gag whenever Tartaglia so much as opens his mouth.

“We’re plenty interesting,” Childe pretends to pout dramatically, tilting his head to the side like a wounded puppy. You’d find it charming how easily he could switch if it weren’t for the fact he used this ability to get on every single one of your nerves. “I saw you enjoying yourself for a few of our songs, even you little boytoy was bopping around,” He casts a glance around the bar.

“He’s not my boytoy,” You scoff, “Just because I have a friend who’s a guy doesn’t mean either of us wants to sleep together. Some of us are capable of viewing women as people, unlike you,” You spit the words as you turn your head away, hoping and praying Cyno finds you again so you can shoo Childe off for good.

“I can see plenty of women as people. Just not demons like you,” He laughs as if sharing a funny joke.

“Shut up, you ass,” You huff, moving to get up. Your cocktail no longer does the trick of helping you forget who you’re talking to or why it was so irritating to be around him. Childe moves to grab your wrist.

“Hey, hey, I’m not trying to hurt your feelings–”

“You have no effect on my feelings, Tartaglia,” You spit, teeth bared. “Let me go. I’m tired of talking to an un-empathetic loser,”

“You don’t have to be a bitch, you were the one who made the first joke,” Childe retorts, but he does as you say and lets go of your wrist, but now you were getting annoyed, your hands on your hips as you scoff yet again. His audacity was really something to behold.

“You’re the asshole who tried to force a conversation with me, don’t act like a saint,”

“I’m being friendly, Y/n,” He defends. You throw your hands up, exasperated at the excuse he doesn’t entirely seem to believe either. He’s stood up just like you are at this point, the both of you sizing each other up despite the fact that he easily clears you in height and strength.

“You’re being a fuckboy,” You seethe through gritted teeth, your eyes narrowed. Ganyu grabs bother bag and Cyno’s stuff from the chairs, urging you to evacuate the situation though you don’t entirely hear her, too focused on the annoying ginger right in front of you.

“Fuck you, Y/n,”

“Fuck you, too,” You declare, snatching your things off the table and taking Ganyu’s hand. “Let’s go,” You tell her and storm off without another word to the man. You’re still fuming as every second passes, carving your way through the crowd of people and towards the exit. You can find Cyno later, or even send him a text about where you are. For now, you just needed to get out of there.

You hated that you were worked up. But even worse, you hated that you felt a pang of disappointment in your chest, the conversation between you and Tartaglia having felt pretty naturally before you both exploded. God, that fact alone only made you more angry.

As soon as the fresh night air hits your face, you slow down and turn to Ganyu. “I’m sorry for… that,” You tell her, guilt evident on your face. She squeezes your hand.

“It’s not your fault, he came out of nowhere,” She assures, the both of you walking down the sidewalk to a less populated spot right outside the bar. You lean against the gritty brick and dig around in your purse for your lighter and pack, handing Ganyu your phone so she can text Cyno about where the two of you are.

After retrieving and lighting your cigarette, you place everything neatly back in your bag, inhaling deeply through the stick of nicotine. You manage to get a few drags in before the door to the bar bursts open, Cyno emerging with a tall, relaxed blonde following behind him. You recognize Thoma from the couple of time you had visited the newspaper staff a couple years ago, back when you had been trying out different things for your major. He looked better now. Well-built, more sure of himself. He waves to you and Ganyu as the two men approach, forming a loose group circle.

“How are you? What happened?” Cyno asked, eyeing the cigarette between your pointer and middle finger. You hold it out for him to take, letting him take a drag while you explained how Childe had come up to you and Ganyu and the conversation that had happened. “Dick,” Cyno mutters around the cig, blowing the smoke away from any of your faces before handing it back to you. “Sorry, I know he’s sorta your friend,” He then apologises to Thoma.

“Oh, I know he can be an ass, though,” Thoma waves his hand dismissively, chuckling as he shoves his hands in his pockets. You chuckle, giving him a nod of respect.

You, Cyno, and Ganyu all catch up with Thoma as you relax again and finish your little vice. The conversation remains light-hearted and easy, none of you daring to breach any uncomfortable topics while the night was so nice and peaceful. The buzzing of bugs in your ears and the fuzzy feeling of the nicotine and liquor in your system helping to calm you down. By the time you all call it a night, you feel less shitty.

“Goodnight, take care of yourself,” You say as you hug Thoma, squeezing him tight. He hugs you back, echoing a similar sentiment before you both part. The others give their own goodbyes and your two groups split off. Cyno leads you and Ganyu back to his car, taking back his things from the blue-haired woman with a grateful hum before climbing in and driving you all home.

You’re not sure what to make of this night but one thing is certain. You definitely, certainly, without a doubt, hate Childe. And co-hosting with him was going to be hell.

———

A/Ns: we getting into it!! i looooove writing banter (and getting to see the enemies are maybe-not-so-enemy's)!! as always, likes/reblogs/comments are appreciated in any form, and don't forget to get rest and take care of yourself <33

TAGLIST: @popiizpops

[mysticficti0n]

All my Attention part 3

warnings- swearing, mentions of a dildo, sexual tension, kissing, quite fluffy

words- 3.1k

If you'd like to read the previous parts → All my attention series

a/n- so if you're new here I am British and cannot speak any German, I speak a little French, Spanish and Italian but German- no. I also do not trust Google translate so this is gonna be like an avatar thing (if you've seen the newest one Jake says that their language just became normal or something along those lines) so in reality this is all in German, you as a reader know German but, its wrote in English... make sense? no... well, sorry this part has taken a while- I'm on holiday atm so I probably wont be posting till I'm home BUT I didn't want you to be without, also fucking thank you all so much for the response to the first and second part! I can't believe the response to it, I could've cried because im a baby , love you all 🤍

(also to the people who've sent requests they will be coming soon!)

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backstory- you are the 5th member of Tokio Hotel and you always thought the love was equally platonic between you and a certain guitarist... but what if that all changed?

"exactly what I said- we can't keep doing the same thing at every show" Georg spoke shovelling eggs into his mouth, the band and our runners, managers, directors, and everyone else who I didn't know exactly what they did for us... were all sat on tables eating breakfast before rehearsal "because I'm sorry if we go on tour I wont wanna blow my brain out because i'm playing by your side for the millionth time"

"yeah but there's a thing called a set list, we have to stick with it otherwise" Bill leaned closer into the table facing all of us "otherwise we'd get shit and we all know how Felix will react- we all remember last time" he had a point, Felix as nice as he can act is a massive cock, once in a performance we decided to all go to the front of that stage to say goodnight- but Felix didn't like that and he ended up cancelling our next 3 shows to 'teach us a lesson'

"even so" the bassist grumbled, the conversation fell short as we all continued to eat, I had a bowl of granola, greek yogurt, raspberries and strawberries, soon the scrapping of a chair pulled me from eating my breakfast, I looked up to see Tom in a huge black shirt and basketball shorts "hungry?" Georg joked seeing the pile of food on his friends plate

"a bit" Tom laughed grabbing part of a waffle "whats that?" he spoke looking at me, that was the first time he spoke to me since what happened only an hour before, I think we were both in a shock state still, but I also couldn't deny how good it felt

"granola, yogurt and fruit" I spoke back digging my spoon into the mix and pulling it back so he could have a taste, he bent forward taking the food and hummed

"Tha actuwally gwood" he spoke mouth still full

"ew Thomas swallow for fucks sake!" I spat seeing him nearly choke the food back up "Tom!" I called pushing myself away from the table "whats wrong with you" I laughed I look to see the rest of the boys laughing as well at his stupidity

"we can't go anywhere nice with you two" Bill commented throwing a napkin to his brother who wiped his mouth and finished his laugh

"sorry- I don't know why that was so funny to hear you say" he snorted, I finally sat back in my place next to Gustav who was eating his food with a smile

"all I said was swallow your food" I argued back looking at the guitarist

"normally me saying that to girls-" I rolled my eyes at his words but everyone else chuckled along, after another half an hour (mostly so Tom could finish his monstrous plate) we were bringing our bags down from the hotel room to put in the bus, we all got in the lift which I don't think was made for 5 people, and 2 of those 5 being over six foot tall

"can you move over I can't fucking breath" I spoke shoving Bill back bit

"now I can't breath you cunt!" Bill called back pushing me back laughing, soon the intercom spoke and the doors opened and I made my way out but was soon tackled by the black haired singer

"BILL WHAT THE FUCK" I shouted with a laugh, I crawled from his grip and began running away seeing him get up to and following my movement "AHHH!" I screamed turning a corner and then slipping past a cleaner cart

"Y/N COME HERE!" I herd Tom voice shout as I sprinted to him with his twin hot on my tail, I watched him open his hotel room and I ran as quick as I could into it and slammed the door spitting out a chuckle hearing the boy hit the door

"BITCH!" Bill sang followed by his own laugh and steps faded away from the door, I sat on Tom's bed and lay my head back into the sheets catching my breath hearing the door open again

"you good now?" He asked smiling at me "I didn't realise you were that fast- I swear you weren't when we were kids"

"excuse me! people change" I answered kicking him slightly, he grabbed my ankle stopping me from moving anymore- I melted at his touch which wasn't a usual thing

"mhm, you changed in a good way babe don't worry about it" he flirted looking down at me the smile changing into a smirk

"you're in a very odd mood today mr Kaulitz" I spoke sitting myself as he let go of my ankle

"only for you-" he leant down, pressing his head on mine "and if I remember properly, who moaned when we kissed earlier? hum?" his hand was now resting on the base of my neck "who was it Y/n?"

"I don't know Tom" I answered seeing him bite his lip at my words "maybe you imagined it?" we always played around, flirting but this was different... very different

"I have a fucking good imagination then don't I?" Tom pulled away slightly, his his fingers brushed my skin as he let go and he held my chin, lifting my face to look up to him "....I prefer looking at you like this" I blushed at his words, they made me feel soft

"bet you say that to all the girls" he seethed rolling his eyes

"only the special ones...and you're really special!"

"way to ruin a mood" I huffed

"I'm joking Y/n/n, you just look hot below me ts'all" his hand held me tighter and he bent to reach my lips, he pressed hard humming into the feeling and sucked my bottom lip causing me to have to hold back any noise I threatened to make as I didn't want a repeat of earlier "I better get packing" he spoke pulling back creasing my cheek with his thumb leaving me with a unfulfilled feeling

"yeah.." I pouted, he looked back down at me and grinned

"god don't look at me like that... fuck- stop now, I've gotta pack" I stood with him as he turned to grab a tossed shirt from the floor, his hand glided down my thigh leaving a trail of goosebumps- he knew what he was doing, making me blush and shudder as his hand left me "oopsie"

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we all sat backstage kicking our heals as the crowd arrived, but we also knew the crowd was special- our families were watching us tonight, I decided I'd wear a more appropriate outfit (not like my family hadn't seen pictures of me in mini-skirts and tube tops saying 'pouty') I looked alot like Tom, my baggy jeans hanging around my hips with a matching tank top to him "5 minuets!" a runner called making us all rise from our places

"excited?" Georg smiled shoving me lightly

"I can't wait" I spoke pinning around to the music that began, Bill looked back at me with a smile followed by a wink

"3...2...1" Felix called and Tom, Bill entered the stage erring a eruption from the crowd "go!" Georg and I walked on and smiled seeing the sea of fans watching us with grins plastering their faces and finally Gustav entered

"GOOD EVENING TRIER" Bill called holding the mic close "ARE YOU EXCITED!" though the lights were blinding I could make out the shapes of bodies from my place "ugh we have a show n' a half for you all tonight, and this show is very special to us- one, this is our last show here in the lovely Trier and- most importantly our biggest fans are here tonight" the lights moved to the box above the crowd and for the first time in weeks I saw them: mom, dad, Stella, the Kaulitz, Listing and Schäfer family, I nearly cried waving to them and blowing them kisses "so tonight is going to be the best show we've ever done guys! ARE YOU READY" I watched as my family cheered and little Stella clapped her hands. Tom's guitar began the start of Scream followed by Gustav and Bill ran back to main stage, the crowd danced and jumped along "SCREAM" they called back to us at every chorus making me laugh.

The night carried on and everything was going amazingly, and it came time for me to take centre stage, I brought my mic and herd people call my name "so- this is our newest piece of music, I originally wrote when I was in a very bad place, and as you all know I'm back up singer so usually I don't perform up here- so close to everyone so I'm a little nervous but.. but it means a lot to me so.. this is 'please don't jump'" claps filled the room and Tom joined me giving me a nod as he plucked away followed by Gustav and Georg, Bill was in the corner sipping a water watching me like a proud dad

I let my self get lost in the music, stomping my feet and twirling around "don't let memories go! of me and you" I sang watching my family stare in awe, I began up stage onto the platform where I stood teetering on the edge, all lights went off besides the one on me "PLEASE DON'T JUMP! DON'T JUMP, AND IF ALL THAT CAN'T HOLD YOU BACK, THEN I'LL JUMP FOR YOU" I finished bowing to the crowd who burst out with claps, screams and calls making me jump at the sudden noise

"Y/N Y/N Y/N!" people began to chant making me well up, Gustav ran up the platform steps holding my hand gently so I could get down the steps as it was tricky in platforms, hand in hand we met with Tom who smiled widely mouthing 'they're proud' I looked to see my mom whistling, soon the five of us stood at the tip of that walkway, people reached for us, calling us all over

"THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!" we all shouted bowing once more as the light darkened, we all walked off and back to our room where there were drinks set out and towel "shit Im so thirsty" Georg spoke grabbing the bottle and cracking it open as we all took our first proper breath and relaxed

"erm- sorry I know you got off stage but someones hear" Gayle, my runner spoke holding the door open a little more

"BABA!" a small voice called, I looked down to see Stella dressed in a Tokio Hotel shirt and orange leggings running toward me, her blonde hair tied into piggy tails

"STELLA!" I cried falling to my knees pulling her into my arms "oh my god I missed you so much" I whispered into her neck, her bright eyes looked into mine and I couldn't let go of her, I pressed kisses to her chubby cheeks

"Oh my- Y/n dear! another voice came in and I snapped my head to see my mother, tear stained face reaching for me, I watched as Stella ran onto Gustav who picked her up hugging her tightly and I ran to my mom who was closely followed by the rest of our families "sunshine I missed you!"

"I missed you too mom" I cried as she stroked my hair away from my face, she let go and I turned to see my dad who had Tom in a bro-hug

"aww hello Poppy!" he spoke, I nearly fell apart hearing my nickname again, and he grabbed me into the hug "aw that was amazing kids" he spoke letting go of us, I stood speaking with them until I herd the voice of my sister

"Tommy!" she laughed and everyones faces snapped to her

"SHE SAID MY NAME!" The dreadheaded boy called lifting her into his arms and tickling her "ME BEFORE BILL!" he danced seeing her smile

"Hey! Stella I thought you liked me more!" Bill huffed squishing the cheeks of her face

"am I the better twin?...yeah! I know" Tom scoffed bouncing her on his hip, our families laughed and all began hugging each other

"darlings that show was fantastic and the crowd! I couldn't believe it" Simone, the twins mom smiled "I couldn't be more proud"

"thanks mom" Bill hugged pressing a kiss to her cheek "wait..erm hold on!" we all watched as the singer ran out calling for something, I turned to see Stella smiling and reaching for all the boys, Tom, Georg and Gustav were sat on the floor singing songs and twirling her around, the song finished and Stella did a bow making the boys laugh at her antics

"Baba!" the little blonde called reaching for me, Tom realised and quickly scooped her up so she was lying on her tummy with her arms out she began airplane sounds (but kept interrupting herself with her chuckles) "Brrrrrrrrr!" she grinned showing her two small teeth

"aww my baby airplane" I spoke reaching for her as Tom got closer, the two reached me and I took my sister from his arms spinning her while pressing a kiss to her cheek again "you're a very cute plane Stella"

"Plane!" she repeated getting a 'yeah a plane' from the guitarist who couldn't stop smiling

"Okay... everyone come stand over here were getting a photo!" Bill came back in grabbing his family, the line up was the Kaulitz' far left, then my family the Y/l/n's, then the Schäfer's and finally Listing's "We want a few!" Bill called to the person holding the camera

"1...2....3" everyone did a wide smile, even Stella knew what was going on "perfect, do you want another one of these then we can do different stuff like.. the point?" its like a lightbulb went off it the taller twins head

"okay yes... then the point, then serious faces, then one with us 5 a bit more infront of our families, then on chairs" he rambles while setting us all back out for the next 3000 photo's we'd be taking

I don't think I've ever herd the numbers 1,2 and 3 said so much in my life but after half an hour the pictures were finally done and in fairness they looked great "well we best get going" Christine, Georg's mom spoke grabbing her bag

"oh.." we began before Simone whispered something to her husband

"why don't you all come stay round ours? we can have a family night, drinks, games, food" me and the band cheered, quickly grabbing our stuff and getting ready to walk out- we knew that today being a day show, fans would be waiting for us- we decided the safest option was to give our families over to security along with our bags and walk out on our own

"okay Stella we'll see you in a little while okay?" I hugged her once more before giving her over to dad who was carrying her out, we waited till we knew they were in their cars and I came the time we'd be walking out, with one last check of the room we began outside, screams filled our ears, people threw flowers to us, cards, papers and... thongs- but we picked the flowers up. a few people grabbed at my clothing but besides that it was a safe 3 minuet walk from the building to the bus

"they were loud" Gustav spoke getting into his favourite seat, at the very back on the left "Georg come sit!" he called to the bassist who jumped through the seats, leaving Bill who liked sitting in the front then me and Tom sat in the middle two seats

"god I fucking loved that show" I spoke belting myself in, Tom did the same and our hands brushed- its not something that many would really worry about, it was an accident.. but I could help go hot at the feeling

"it was so good, I feel like we'll be in Felix's good books" the dreaded boy spoke getting a nod from the band, we finally began the drive home, it would only take around an hour and a half so I got myself comfy which meant me resting my legs over Tom- this was a normal thing as usually sometime around the trip we'd switch and I can accidentally put my cold drink on his legs while he's asleep definitely not making him yelp- no not at all...

"can you take my shoes off, you're closer" I spoke tapping his shoulder and with a huff he began unlacing the platforms, I sighed at the feeling of my feet going light and not having to lug those shoes around any more "thanks bab" I called leaning my head back, Tom got comfy to, scooting deeper into the seat and his hands lay on my legs drawing small shapes and humming a long to whatever song was on the radio

"wanna know something crazy?" He asked looking over at me to which I nodded "I haven't fucked a girl since Tuesday, and its Friday now" I pretend to be shocked, slapping my hands to my face

"holy shit! that is crazy!" he rolled his eyes "I can't even remember when I last fucked someone- probably around my birthday" I sighed slightly annoyed, not that I'm some sex freak who needs to be constantly fucked to live but... my birthday is in February and its now July

"damn... how do you go that long?" Georg spoke uncrossing his arms, being genuinely interested

"Notta clue... I-"

"Y/n I know whats in the back draw in your room" Bill turned showing a sinister smile

"Bill!" I called knowing exactly what he was on about

"ooo" the boys cooed making me go red, Bill laughed even harder pointing at my face "aww! she's embarrassed about her dil-"

"BILL SHUT IT!" I shouted flinging my empty water bottle at him making him cackle throwing his pillow at me

"IT'S BLACK!" He called and the 4 boys Burt out laughing again spluttering words and coughing at how much they were laughing

"oh my god you are all dicks!" I groaned trying to push myself as far back into my seat as I could, I even took my legs down from Tom who I could realised but I was way to embarrassed to give him a 'look'

┍━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━┑

"he traffic isn't moving so were going to be a little later to the Kaulitz" Gregory our driver spoke facing us

"ugh" we all collectively sighed, its been over 30 minuets of just stand-still traffic, cars horns went off but nothing was moving and being a warm day in a quite packed van it was getting hot

we'd moved past the dildo conversation thanks to Tom who made a fool of himself by spilling water all down his shirt- I did wonder though, was it on purpose? to take away the attention from me... but anyways whatever it was, or even just it was an accident- my legs were back on his and he continued to draw little shapes

"I'm going to sleep" Bill spoke looking back to which we gave a nod, by we I mean me and Tom as the other two fell asleep a few minuets back, the van sound turned quiet as the radio was turned off

"wanna play a game?" Tom spoke quietly

"sure, which game?" I asked seeing a little grin appear to his face

"erm... eye spy?"

[tommyshelby87]

if all of you boys had your own tumblr account/blog, what'd you do on it?

Fun ask!

Thomas: Posts about horses and cars, quotes about being a bad man, sexual gifs.

Jackson: Tracks down multiple planes across the world and posts about it, is a fan of James Bond and analyzes the movies frequently. Neil always disagrees.

Jonathan: Lots of mental health posts and usually disagrees with the author of the thesis or paper he is discussing. Lots of horror movie gifs. Listens to obscure metal bands.

Robert: Brag and boast posts about his wealth, pictures of him at the golf course (which was only a photo op cause he was too busy to play) and with his many cars, that he doesnt get to drive. Obvious praise kink.

Neil: Movies, movies, movies. Discusses directors, what tropes he likes and dislikes, aesthetic posts with moodboards based on his favorite noir movies and how to get 'that look' from a certain actor or actress. Hunts down other movie posts to give his two cents. Doesn't know Jonathan listens to his band.

[pool-of-gwens]

Duke Thomas hcs

- he has literally no idea what he wants to do when hes older, part of him wants to be a social worker like his mum, or a paleontologist, or a film director, but he kinda flips between possible careers every month or so. (rn its poet)

- he goes to see local bands all the time, around one a week, most of the time with the other we are robin kids (or the robin-squad as they’ve been lovingly nicknamed), Riko, Izzy, Dax and Dre. And he always tries to make Dax’s bands shows when ever they get gigs

- hes actually in a poly relationship with the rest of the robin-squad. It started with Duke and Izzy then Riko joined and Dax and Dre who were already in a relationship joining once Dre had stopped being emotionally constipated

- Duke, Steph and Babs have been banned from being on trivia teams together because they always win by a landslide.

- Dax has always been weird about Duke being fostered by Bruce and avoids going to the manor at all costs, Duke knows why but hes not going to mention it until Dax feels comfortable.

- of all his partners he had the worst relationship with Dre, after the constant fighting while in the we are robin movement together they tried to avoid each other and at least be civil while in their relationship. Eventually their other partners caught on and started trying to get them together. It took a while but one day Duke came over with a rocky dvd and said ‘you like boxing, I like films, d’ya wanna just see if we can go the whole movie without fighting??’.

- The next day all of their partners phone wallpapers were changed to a photo of Duke leaning against Dre's shoulder, both asleep with the rocky credits playing in the background.

- Duke has a list in his notes app labeled ‘shit list’ number one is Izzy's brother, two is joker, three gnomon and for a brief period of time number four was Dick but they have since made up (via a pokemon cards game)

- Cass was the first person Duke introduced his partners to in the family. shes probably the person hes closest too of all the bats and the first one he considered family.

- after a really annoying case or a busy week Duke and Cass will meet on the tallest building in Gotham and just sit together, talking, watching the sunset, sharing the blackmail on their siblings, or just hanging out on a tall building with some pastries (Duke usually gets a danish while Cass gets a chocolate croissant)

[fibula-rasa]

Lost, but Not Forgotten: The Dancer of the Nile (1923)

Alternate Titles: Tut-ankh-amen, Tutankhamen of Luxor

Direction: William P.S. Earle

Scenario: William P.S. Earle

Original Story: Blanche Taylor Earle

Production Manager: Dick L’Estrange

Camera: Jules Cronjager & Joe Goodrich (assistant)

Scenic Artist: Xavier Mochado

Set Designer: Paul Dodge

Technical Advisor: Capt. Dudley S. Corlette

Studio: William P.S. Earle Pictures Corporation (Production) & Film Booking Offices of America (F.B.O.) (Distribution)

Performers: Carmel Myers, Bertram Thomas Grassby, Malcolm McGregor, Anthony Merlo, Sam de Grasse, Iris Ashton, June Elvidge, Paul Weigel, Howard Gaye, Mother/Nellie Anderson, Beatrice Marsh, & Earle Marsh

Premiere: 12 October 1923, Loew’s New York, New York, NY

Status: presumed entirely lost

Length: 6 reels,  5,787 feet

Synopsis (synthesized from magazine summaries of the plot):

Princess Ankhnespaton [sic] (June Elvidge), daughter of King Akhnaton [sic] (Howard Gaye), has a run in with a band of thieves while traveling. Prince Karmit (Malcolm McGregor) of Syria arrives, disguised as a merchant, and saves the princess. The princess becomes enamored with Karmit and invites him back to the royal residence in Thebes. 

While visiting the royal gardens, Karmit encounters a dancer, Arvia (Carmel Myers). He is instantly smitten. The princess is furious that Karmit has rebuffed her for a mere dancer.

Meanwhile, tension between those loyal to the king and those loyal to the old gods erupt when the seasonal flooding of the Nile river doesn’t occur. The princess finds in this situation an opportunity to get her revenge on Arvia. 

The princess decrees that Arvia will be offered as a human sacrifice to the god Sobek, in order that the Nile will rise as expected. Arvia is adorned with a poisoned amulet to knock her out while she is fed to the crocodiles.

In an unexpected turn of events, the high priest Pasheri (Sam De Grasse) discovers that the intended sacrifice is his own daughter. Pasheri sneaks into the chamber where Arvia is to be sacrificed and saves her at the last moment. 

With Pasheri’s aid, Karmit whisks Arvia away. As the Nile rises, the new couple sail away to Karmit’s kingdom to live happily ever after.

The princess goes on to marry Prince Tutankhamen (Bertram Grassby). And, after the death of her father Prince Tut will become King Tut.

Additional sequence(s) featured in the film (but I’m not sure where they fit in the continuity):

The Temple of Amun-Re is also depicted in the film.

Points of Interest:

While many contemporary reviewers of The Dancer of the Nile (DotN) didn’t mark it as an especially good film, props were given for the artistic effects achieved by Director Earle. Earle and his brother, Ferdinand Pinney Earle, were both pioneers of the era in special effects. 

Ferdinand was a painter who contributed matte paintings and art titles to many films of the 1910s and 1920s. While William was primarily a director, both brothers ambitiously created films that were on the cutting edge in regard to techniques of incorporating matte paintings with live actors/studio-shot footage. 

For William, it was DotN, and for Ferdinand it was A Lover’s Oath (1920/1925, presumed lost save for a few fragments), which was an adaptation of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. (ATM, I’m planning on doing the next installment of this series on this film!)

(Explanatory note: One technique at use here involves double exposure. Part of the frame is obscured while filming, leaving the obscured part of the film unexposed. The film is then rewound, with the exposed part of the film obscured, to film another element. The final result is, hopefully, a cohesive sequence. 

Another technique is shooting through painted glass, which, if painted and lit correctly, results in the painting and the scene occurring behind it appearing as a singular space. 

For example, a fully painted environment with live actors moving across the scene. In DotN, there is at least one scene where a live actress ascends a set of stairs, which is a painting. These techniques require an amazing amount of precision, but when done right they can be really dazzling. The double-exposure matting technique has persisted through most of film history, albeit rarely at the scale the Earle brothers were using it! 

Below is an illustration of how a moving version of matte photography works from a 1926 issue of Photoplay, followed by some stills from DotN that used the multiple-exposure technique.

I have a few posts coming up that go into more detail on how special effects were executed in films of the 1920s!)

William P.S. Earle’s focus on the artistic elements without much regard for story or characterization may have left many critics cold, but DotN did prove to be a lasting attraction, running in theatres around the world for years following its release.  DotN was produced hot on the heels of the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 in Luxor, which launched a new wave of Egyptomania. On one hand, Earle was cashing in on a trend, but on the other, he took the opportunity offered by assured profitability to experiment. In addition to the special effects discussed above, Earle attempted to capture as much period accuracy as possible in the painted settings, props, and costumes. Balancing historical accuracy with perceived “authenticity” in period art is exceedingly difficult—Earle seemingly had mixed success. However, one contemporary review in the magazine Art and Archaeology by Dudley S. Corlett (also the film’s technical advisor) is highly complementary of DotN’s attention to historical and artistic detail. [You can find the review in the transcription section!]

After Earle had more or less finished DotN, F.B.O. bought “Tut-ankh-amen” for distribution. F.B.O. financed reshoots that shifted the narrative away from Tut and towards Arvia, the dancer—hence the title change. I guess F.B.O. believed that cashing in on the trend of movies about dancers would be more lucrative than cashing in on Tut-mania!

☕Appreciate my work? Buy me a coffee! ☕

---

Transcribed Sources & Annotations over on the WMM Blog!

[amgerychair]

ON THIS DAY, March 11th, 1991, filming began on the movie SINGLES at various locations around Seattle.

Pictured above are PEARL JAM's Jeff Ament, ALICE IN CHAINS' Layne Staley, SOUNDGARDEN's Chris Cornell, actor Matt Dillon and director Cameron Crowe at the Coryell Court apartment building, located at 1820 E. Thomas Ave on the corner of 19th and E. Thomas Ave in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Seattle. This location is featured prominently in the film.

While the movie was predominantly a rom-com, it features acting cameos and live performances by many of the bands and musicians of the grunge and alternative rock scene of the early '90s.

The soundtrack for Singles is now legendary. Featuring Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Smashing Pumpkins, Mother Love Bone, Paul Westerberg, Jimi Hendrix, The Lovemongers, and Chris Cornell.

Filming took place around Seattle from March 11th to May 24th, 1991. The movie was released on September 18th, 1992.

Source: The year grunge broke

[theersatzcowboy]

Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)

This stylish slasher classic — about an all-girl rock band who is targeted by an annoying (and murderous) rockabilly guitarist — is so much more than lowbrow horror schlock.

Director: Deborah Brock

Cinematographer: Thomas L. Callaway

Starring: Crystal Bernard, Kimberly McArthur, Juliette Cummins, and Heidi Kozak

[pintsizeninja]

Ragnarök Chapters: 10/12 Fandom: Alan Wake (Video Games) Rating: Explicit  Relationships: Odin Anderson/Thomas Zane, Odin Anderson & Tor Anderson, Odin Anderson & "Fat" Bob Balder, Barbara Jagger/Thomas Zane (mentioned)  Characters: Odin Anderson, Tor Anderson, "Fat" Bob Balder, Thomas Zane, Barbara Jagger (mentioned), Frank Breaker, Freya Anderson, Cynthia Weaver, Emil Hartman  Additional Tags: 1970s Bright Falls, (young) old gods of asgard, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Use, lots of moonshine and rock and roll, Explicit Sexual Content, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sex, Canonical Character Death  Series: Part 2 of To Madness and Beyond Summary:  Tom the Poet, the rock opera collaboration between Thomas Zane and the Old Gods of Asgard, was a smash hit, catapulting its writer/star/director and the band into the spotlight. Riding high on that wave, the Old Gods return to Bright Falls to record their fifth studio album. But as the town prepares for its 34th annual Deerfest, tragedy strikes, unleashing a darkness that threatens to devour the town whole.

No new chapter quite yet, but I couldn't wait to debut the gorgeous new banner by the amazing @rangerzath!

I'm hard at work on the final two chapters and hope to have an update for you soon. Stay tuned!

[justforbooks]

The musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who has died aged 71 of cancer, spent his life as a restless traveller, both personally and musically. “I was born in Japan but I don’t think I’m Japanese,” he said in 1988, two years before he moved to New York. “To be a stranger – I like that attitude. I don’t like nationalities and borders.”

A founder member of Tokyo’s pioneering computer-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, whose work between 1978 and 1984 has proved a lasting influence on hip-hop and electronica, Sakamoto was able to combine his skills as an academically trained musician with an aptitude for electronic music and an ear for countless musical styles. He sustained a lengthy partnership with the British musician David Sylvian after first working with his band Japan on the track Taking Islands in Africa from the album Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980), following which the duo collaborated on the double A-side Bamboo Houses/Bamboo Music (1982).

In 1983, Sakamoto achieved a peak of commercial visibility by not only writing the soundtrack for Nagisa Oshima’s film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, but also co-starring in it (as Captain Yonoi) with David Bowie. The soundtrack, which won him a Bafta for best film music, contained the Sakamoto/Sylvian composition Forbidden Colours, a vocal version of the film’s main theme, which was a Top 20 hit in Britain.

Soundtrack work became one of the main planks of Sakamoto’s career. He won an Academy Award (along with his fellow composers David Byrne and Cong Su) for his soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987), in which he also had an acting role, and worked with the director again on The Sheltering Sky (1990) and Little Buddha (1993).

Sakamoto scored the 1990 film version of The Handmaid’s Tale, Pedro Almodóvar’s Tacones Lejanos (High Heels, 1991), and Brian De Palma’s Snake Eyes (1998) and Femme Fatale (2002). Oliver Stone hired him for the soundtrack to his TV series Wild Palms (1993). Alejandro González Iñárritu used some existing Sakamoto recordings in his 2006 film Babel, then recruited him to write the score for his multiple Oscar-winner The Revenant (2015). For the opening of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics he provided El Mar Mediterrani.

Sakamoto released solo albums regularly between 1978 and 2017, many of them reaching the Top 30 in Japan but not registering on charts elsewhere, as well as six live albums and a string of compilations. However, Sakamoto’s subtle, exploratory music earned him a charismatic reputation that drew international guest stars to his projects.

On B-2 Unit (1980), he collaborated closely with Andy Partridge from XTC, and the electrofunk track Riot in Lagos proved inspirational for the likes of Mantronix and Afrikaa Bambaataa. Thomas Dolby featured on the pulsating Field Work from Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia (1986), the track accompanied by an ingeniously conceived video, while for Neo Geo (1987) Sakamoto enlisted Iggy Pop, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Sly Dunbar.

Brian Wilson and Robbie Robertson appeared on Beauty (1989), an album that spanned rock, technopop, flamenco and classical Japanese music. Heartbeat (1991), on which Sakamoto tried rap, funk and jazz, and lyrics in French, Japanese and Russian, numbered Youssou N’Dour, Arto Lindsay, Bill Frisell, Sylvian and John Cage among its contributors. In 1993, Sakamoto co-produced Aztec Camera’s album Dreamland.

Born in Tokyo, Ryuichi was the only child of Keiko (nee Shimomura), a hat designer, and Kazuki Sakomoto, a literary editor. While attending the same progressive primary school that once taught Yoko Ono, he was already writing music for the piano with their encouragement.

The American presence in postwar Japan introduced new western influences to the country, and Sakamoto was enraptured by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He attended Tokyo’s University of the Arts to study music composition, and felt a strong affinity for the compositions of Claude Debussy, in which he discerned an Asian influence. However, in addition he soaked up the work of contemporary composers such as Cage, Pierre Boulez, Györgi Ligeti and Stockhausen, as well as jazz musicians including John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

His early compositions were in an avant-garde vein, while he also performed with free jazz bands and played keyboards with the folk singer Masato Tomobe. He graduated with BA and MA degrees, having studied classical and assorted world and ethnic music, and taken his first steps in electronic music by working with Moog and ARP synthesizers.

He formed Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978 with Haruomi “Harry” Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, whom he had met when they worked together as session musicians. Combining electropop with stylish graphics and costume design, the trio brought wit and warmth to the use of electronics, which contrasted with the studied alienation of European counterparts such as Kraftwerk or Gary Numan.

YMO released eight studio albums during their original lifespan, all of them climbing high in the Japanese charts, and three of them reaching No 1. The group inspired Beatlemania-like hysteria in their homeland. “We were very big, that’s why I hated it,” Sakamoto said. “We were always followed by paparazzi.”

YMO’s albums made little chart impact outside Japan, but their influence was nonetheless widely felt, not least in their innovative use of electronic sequencers, drum machines and sampling. Firecracker, from their 1978 debut album, was itself sampled in Afrika Bambaataa’s Death Mix. In 1980 they had a Top 20 hit in the UK with Computer Game (Theme from the Invaders), which chimed with the craze for the Space Invaders game. Behind the Mask, first conceived for a Seiko wristwatch commercial and then included on their album Solid State Survivor (1979), became a Top 20 UK hit for Eric Clapton; a version by Michael Jackson appeared on the posthumous album Michael (2010).

YMO paused their activities in 1984, though the trio continued to collaborate on each other’s solo work, and they reformed to make the album Technodon (1993). They subsequently reunited several times for recording and live performances, their last shows being for the No Nukes 2012 festival in Chiba, Japan, and the 2012 World Happiness festival in Tokyo.

In his teens in the late 1960s, Sakamoto had been a hippy with leftwing political beliefs – “not 100% Marxist, but kind of” – but he gradually became disillusioned with the failure of political movements to effect significant change. He decided that his music was not the place for social or political messages, observing that “I’ve changed from an avant-garde person to a pop person,” though he would subsequently support causes he felt strongly about.

He campaigned for changes to music copyright law, which he considered outmoded in the internet era, and founded Commmons, a collaborative platform to assist aspiring musicians. He formed a group of musicians called NML (No More Landmines), which featured Brian Eno, Sylvian, Kraftwerk and the other members of YMO, and in 2001 they released the single Zero Landmine.

In 2006 he launched the Stop Rokkasho movement by releasing the track Rokkasho (by a group of musicians dubbed Team 6), in protest at the building of Japan’s Rokkasho nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, and he campaigned to have the Hamaoka nuclear plant shut down to avoid a repeat of the 2011 tsunami disaster at the Fukushima facility. He and Byrne teamed up to record the single Psychedelic Afternoon to aid tsunami survivors.

His solo work continued to explore a huge variety of styles. In 1982 he had ventured into medieval and Renaissance music on the album The End of Asia, a collaboration with the Japanese early music group Danceries. Smoochy (1995) was a detour into easy listening, while Discord (1998) comprised an hour-long orchestral composition.

The album 1996 was a selection of Sakamoto pieces arranged for piano trio featuring the Brazilian cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, and Sakomoto reunited with him and his wife, Paula, a singer, for two albums in celebration of the bossa nova composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, Casa (2001) and A Day in New York (2003). In 1999, his multimedia opera, Life, was performed in Tokyo and Osaka.

Meanwhile, he struck up a fruitful collaboration with Alva Noto (a pseudonym of Carston Nicolai), which resulted in a string of electronica albums including Vrioon (2002) and Insen (2005), culminating in Glass (2018). With the Austrian guitarist and composer Christian Fennesz he recorded Sala Santa Cecilia (2005), Cendre (2007) and Flumina (2011).

In 2014 he was diagnosed with throat cancer, but by the following year was feeling “much much better”. His recovery from illness inspired the creation of his last solo album, Async, hailed as one of 2017’s finest forays into experimental electronica. Its making was documented by Stephen Nomura Schible in the film Coda (2018).

His final album, 12, was recorded during hospital stays in 2021 and 2022, and released in January. In December, he livestreamed a solo piano concert from Tokyo.

Sakamoto was first married to Natsuko, then to the musician Akiko Yano; both marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by his third wife and manager, Norika Sora, and their two children; and a daughter from his first marriage and another daughter from his second.

🔔 Ryuichi Sakamoto, composer, musician and producer, born 17 January 1952; died 28 March 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[8iunie]

Måneskin and Alessandro Michele, an exclusive and open interview (21.11.2022)

The Italian band and Gucci's Creative Director talk about the many things they have in common. While writer Chiara Tagliaferri listen…

Every time they meet, the first thing Alessandro Michele asks the members of Måneskin is always the same: “Are you tired?” In this small, caring gesture lies all the tenderness that flows between them, these people who follow each other around the world, one of them designing outfits for the bodies of the others which then blaze on stage, setting everything alight.

They have one thing in common: Creation is for them an act of rebellion. If we wanted to go back to the moment where the fuse first triggered the explosion, we would find ourselves in Rome, a city that produces wonder and glimmers of redemption in the midst of its chaos.

Alessandro: I don't want to make it a question of geography, but of energy and trajectories. [Rome] is a sort of no man’s land where dreams intersect with possibilities, creating a place of freedom. In Rome things happen because theyhad to happen—it’s nothing to do with money or business. It’s a city teeming with activity, a she-wolf with multiple teats that comes bearing strange opportunities [referring to Rome’s creation myth and the she-wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus]. We come from a city that was pagan before it became Christian, and I feel pagan. We [Romans] have a relationship with the flow of life that’s very intimate, pornographic. We are set alight in the moment when everything happens. Here, creativity is born and it proliferates in a deeply human dimension. 

Damiano: Rome also helps keep your feet on the ground: it doesn't matter where you have to go, it could take half an hour or a couple of hours—the Raccordo Anulare [Rome’s ring road] doesn't give a shit whether you’re in a Ferrari or a Panda. Compared to Rome, you’ll never count for anything; you’re a spectator living in the city. I see this with Giorgia, my girlfriend, who moved from Milan and doesn't understand. I always tell her: “You have to stop trying to control things and abandon your body to the river of Rome, go with the flow.” For the bartender below my apartment, I’m just the lad from the top floor, nice and polite—Damiano from Måneskin doesn't exist. The only rule that applies here is “I like you, or I dislike you”. This is a city that brings things together and irons out differences—everyone exercises the right to make their own judgment.

Victoria: My relationship with Rome has changed over the years, now it’s the city I love most in the world. I like its rawness. It brings you back to reality and since we’re immersed in ever more crazy experiences, that helps us a lot. Los Angeles, London, and New York are stimulating, but coming home allows me to go out into the world without losing myself. When I was a kid, I didn't like it so much: I grew up in Monteverde, which is a very quiet neighborhood, and I remember that when we started playing in the streets, in secondary school, everyone used to make fun of us—we were the weirdos, the ones who dressed like oddballs. If we’d been more fragile this would have stopped us; instead it triggered a sense of revenge in us, which spurred us on even more.

Thomas: I’m in love with [the neighborhood] Trastevere. During the pandemic I rented an Airbnb there, it was like living in a model town: 10,000 inhabitants who all know each other. People have real contact with you. 

Måneskin are waxing lyrical about Rome from Mexico City, where they have just held a rather epic concert. Alessandro Michele and I have got hold of them while we’re in this ancient city that sprinkles the dust of the gods on your shoulders. Victoria, Damiano, Ethan, and Thomas tell us about a boat trip with mariachi bands playing and locals cooking onboard to celebrate the Day of the Dead. As I watch them—bodies still heavy with sleep, curled up in the bright morning sun—I think that Liliana Segre [a 92-year-old Italian politician and Holocaust survivor] is right when she says that she loves their music even though, at times, she has to look up the lyrics because “just by looking at them, I forget to follow the words.” Måneskin has this effect: when you look at them, you’re enchanted. Alessandro Michele once said, “Before communicating with words, communicate the body.” Måneskin’s bodies tell the story of sexual freedom, partly thanks to the harmony of intention that, with Michele, they have forged as a group, stitching together a union of powerful textures that Gucci's creative director explains in this way:

Alessandro: I’m a real pyromaniac and when I get my hands on some fuel I go crazy with happiness. I was following them and I thought, “This has to happen,” because we were already having a dialogue without knowing it. When we finally met it was like when you have sex for the first time with the person you like and you say, “It was obvious that we were going to make love in an extraordinary way.” A project like that can only be realized if there’s real harmony: it's an incredible amount of work because they’re doing so much, but I recognize myself in this hyper-production because I hyper-produce too—so together we create what feels like a super-long rosary prayer in which we “recite” dresses, jackets, bustiers, bodices, and combinations that seem impossible. The kind of clothes that I like are those with bodies in them, and with Måneskin there’s a very precise ritual: the clothes become a bonfire, they are set alight, and turn to dust on stage. 

Damiano: We were already on the same path, but our meeting made everything easier right from the start. Every time, Alessandro conjures up magic. He enters deep into music and transforms it into that visual impact that helps us perform with our bodies, too.

Thomas: What I like most about working together is seeing so much professionalism combined with a very strong artistic side, which is by no means something I take for granted. We have a lot of fun, too. There’s a lot of laughter during the fittings. 

Alessandro: One thing that my way of working has in common with yours is that you set alight something that has already been and gone (fire is clearly the common element of today’s discussion). You’ve taken a genre that was tucked away in a cellar, labelled as old and obsolete, and you’ve brought it back into thenow, making it exist again. You’re a “has been” that has become contemporary, impossible to decipher. How would you describe your relationship with the past?

Damiano: What’s made the difference for us is that yes, we hooked up with something from the past, but we didn’t respect its canon. We just did stuff we like, expressing ourselves exactly as we were. People who call themselves rock purists don’t compete at Sanremo or Eurovision, but we don’t have any issues with that. Being popular isn’t a stain; it doesn't sully you. No one opens a restaurant thinking, “I don't care about filling up the room.” I want to see a line outside the door!

Victoria: When we write our music, we do what comes instinctively to us. Each of us brings our own feelings and inspirations. For instance, I grew up listening to David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Blondie, and the Sex Pistols. So when we get together in the studio we’re a great mix of different worlds. Sometimes this ends up in a clash and makes the creative process more complicated, but ultimately the result is never a copy of something that already exists. We manage to find a new path—a way that is ours and ours alone. 

Thomas: It’s true, we mix up our tastes a lot and since we started out as a band we’ve evolved in the way we play. We've always gone for the rock approach on stage—the electricity we transmit comes naturally to us. Unlike you, Alessandro, I’m pretty nostalgic about the past: I grew up with my father who made me listen to the great rock bands, and so I've been eating up that attitude forever.

Ethan: I’d like to add that in my opinion time doesn't exist, it's a bit of an illusion. Somehow present, past, and future are the same thing—it’s just that we have the perception of moments that pass one after the other, so the past is the present we’ve already lived, and the future is the present that wewill live. It is like when we stand between two mirrors, one in front and one behind: it creates that infinite tunnel in which every movement is reflected in both the front mirror and the back mirror, uniting them. The difference between the past and the future is simply this: the past sees your back, while the future sees your face. You’re in between and you’re a combination of the two—and whatever action you perform happens either because you did something earlier or because of what you will do later.

Alessandro: Building on your mirror metaphor, think about if you turn your back on the future and look at the past, which then reflects what the future could be. I like your idea—the present is an exercise in perception, but maybe we decide the time, and you’ve kind of decided yours. What is your relationship with time? 

Victoria: It's a complicated relationship, mine. Basically, you want what you don’t have at any moment. Up until two years ago, when we were on tour I’d miss Rome, my family, and my friends—but when I’d come back, after a week I’d be fried, I’d feel disoriented. For a couple of years now we've been constantly on the road, and it's crazy but also dangerous, because the lack of time risks affecting the artistic side: It can happen that we find ourselves writing a song in five days and it ends up being really foolish—we should take all the time in the world for our music.

Damiano: If I could take a pill to catch up on moments I have missed, I’d take one to be with friends, family, my girlfriend. I’d like to live the kind of conviviality that I haven't allowed myself in the last few years because I've always told myself, “Goals before everything else.” I did it with sport and now I’m doing it with music. Now that I’m older and have a different relationship with my parents and my brother—much more equal—I’d like to enjoy them.

Ethan: I’d climb a mountain, look for a monastery, and find someone who can teach me everything I can’t grasp by myself. 

Thomas: The subject of time is one that makes me really suffer. The thing I miss most is having the time to grow as a musician, to bring everything I learn into our group. When a car is going so fast, it’s genuinely difficult to maintain a strong artistic component. That's why, even when I’m exhausted, I take the odd moment to just start playing [my guitar]. I don’t want to fall behind the dreams that I have for myself. 

Ethan: The feeling you just described is an obsession of mine, too—I call it “the paradox of the famous artist.” Before they find fame, the artist is a nobody and has all the time in the world to create. When their art becomes famous, so does the artist, but because of their new fame they no longer have time to make the art. It’s an inevitable trap.

Damiano: This is the disease that has afflicted music in recent years. We’ve become used to seeing artists constantly promoting their work. I’m blown away by Harry Styles’s workload, he probably hasn't had a day off in the last four years. Part of me says, “Wow, what willpower,” but I wonder if it's fair to get our audience used to this kind of consumption—you start to forget that we’re human. Overexposure and working too far beyond our physical capabilities is what has destroyed the careers of the best artists of recent generations. When you can no longer live your life because on the one hand you’re overwhelmed by responsibilities and on the other you’re eaten up with fear about disappearing (what happens if I say no to that interview, to the TV appearance, to the tour), you begin to suffocate. I’d like to avoid a second wave of musicians going crazy or dying bloated from medication. There are so many good artists, I’d like to keep them healthy for the next few years!

Alessandro: I was already grown up when I became known to the fashion public. I was almost 42, and I realized that you have to hold onto who you are and where you’re going: You have to love yourself a lot and you have to love what you do just as much. You also have to learn to say no a lot. We’re human beings who like to create worlds: You imagine sounds that don’t exist and put them together, I see things that others don't see. It’s a great gift to be able to share with others what we hear and the stories we want to tell. The things I do must feel right to me: as long as there’s a small part of you in the music you make, that sincerity will pay off. In my spare time, for example, I am practicing idleness. I’m still learning because the need to constantly invent things is ingrained in me. I’m experimenting in a non-philosophical but practical way—what happens if I find the space to say, “Let’s see if I can resist without doing anything”? In my life I’ve developed a Calvinist sense of guilt when it comes to not doing stuff, but idleness is creative. It’s a practice that helps develop the senses.

Compared to Alessandro Michele and the members of Måneskin, I’m a travel newbie: I write books and take planes and trains to accompany them around the world, but there’s no comparison to these guys’ rhythms and lives. And yet, going from place to place, sleeping in hotels is always a bit alienating for me, it makes me feel uncomfortable. So I often cling to smells: When I smell something that reminds me of home, I feel less lonely. And I’ve found that the same goes for Ethan.

Ethan: Smells are very interesting, often we don't realize but they’re portals to another time. For example, the other day I smelled a scent that I’d forgotten, and it physically took me back to a place I hadn't thought about for a long time. I’d lived in a camper van for a year, I didn't have much money at that time and my kitchen had a really specific smell. When I smelled it again, I thought fondly, “I’d forgotten that!”

Damiano: No smells for me, but lots of cat hair. My clothes are always covered in cat hair, every time I open my suitcase I remember the cats, so they’re the ones who are my temporal gateways: they bring me home. By the way, cats are professionals at practicing idleness.

Alessandro: It's true, animals are great masters of idleness. They live this cosmic wholeness that is beautiful. The now is a vast expanse for them while we are restless, worrying about a future ready to punish us for our choices. 

Thomas: I’ve given up with pets. When I was 11 years old, I got my beloved piranha. I loved him so much, he was with me for 10 glorious years, but then he died. I didn’t want to replace him with anything else, and every now and then I pay him a visit. I buried him in the courtyard of my [apartment] building, that way I always have him close by.

Alessandro: You’re like Peggy Guggenheim who wanted all her little dogs buried beside her. My partner and I have a ritual: Every time we go to Venice we go to them, we stop in front of the tombstone, and we read the names that by now I know by heart: Cappucino, Hong Kong, Gypsy, Baby. The relationship we have with these creatures is mysterious, almost shamanic. We look to them to address a need in ourselves. We like them because they allow us to rediscover an affectionate, intimate conversation that has been lost. But I have another question. You’ll have been asked it many times but I’d like to understand your relationship with Victoria—from the outside it seems that there’s a real empathy between you. 

Damiano: It's like with those huge families, with lots of brothers and sisters. After a while you forget your sister’s a woman!

Thomas: We spend so much time together that that thing is no longer there, that barrier that you usually feel between the sexes.

Damiano: Exactly, there's not the awkwardness of wanting to impress or the fear of looking like you're trying. By now we all know that none of us will ever hit on Vic, and Vic will never hit on us. We’re friends. She wants to get naked? Let her get naked! We all do what we want. After seven years we’re the same. 

Victoria: In our family I don't feel any kind of difference. I’m very free, and in general gender cannot and should never be a discriminating factor, but I think I’m lucky: I’ve never been treated differently because I’m female. That’s not always the case: There are many environments where the gender gap creates unacceptable inequality in the way you’re treated, you constantly feel sexualized, inspected, and treated like an object.

Ethan: I’d like to add that being born with a vagina or a penis does not make you a woman or a man. What interests me is the soul of a person, and that’s neither male nor female – it’s simply an energy. I listen to them talk and think of Rupert Brooke's poetry: “I shall desire and I shall find / The best of my desires.” They do not hesitate, getting lost in possibilities, they have a thirst that spurs them on while I’m always sure I’ll lose everything. I go to sleep even as the world sparkles. And then Thomas will tell you about the evening he spent at Madonna’s house…

Thomas: Vic goes out every night. I want to as well, but it's hard to keep up with her. A few days ago I met an Italian guy who lives in New York and he invited me to a party. So I went along while, for once, Vic went back to the hotel. I think it was the first time in two years that she did that. And what happened was that eventually I found myself sitting next to Madonna. I called her and said, “Vic, I'm at Madonna's house!” She was really annoyed. 

Victoria: It was terrible! Even when I’m completely spent, I always go out because I'm afraid of missing things, and actually I was right. The one time I chose to sleep, I missed a party at Madonna's house. That's proof that I have to go out more!

Alessandro: Do you have any day-to-day tasks that one of you always does? Is there something that one of you is particularly good at? For example, I’m the medicine guy at home. I know where everything is so my partner asks me if he ever needs anything. He could find and take it himself, but it's an act of caring that I like to perform for him.

Damiano: I can count on Thomas because he’s curious, he likes to get us into situations even ones he wouldn’t go near if he were alone. For example, he took me to some NBA games even though he’s not a basketball fan. Vic is the most organized in terms of schedule. She reminds us of our appointments, but then always arrives 15 minutes late herself! Ethan is the perfect spokesperson: He has platonic gifts and we can talk together for hours and hours.

Thomas and Victoria: Damiano is very pragmatic, no flights of fancy and he gets straight to the point—he’s a rock.

Alessandro: We could go on with this chat forever. I like you guys so much because you have a precious gift: You’re in touch with life. Maybe for you it’s an unconscious reflex, but when I meet you I feel an electric shock. You have a beautiful awareness, and that’s something that it’s crucial to take care of.

📸 HUGO COMTE

[ask-winston-zeddemore]

can you tell us more about your sons Dr. Zeddemore ?

Well theres my oldest, James, he's quite intellectual and business oriented, he likes to learn about all the fine details of running my companies, managing finances ect.

Then theres Charlie, he quite likes music and creativity, he likes to write songs, and he's been looking for a band to join

And then my youngest, Thomas, he's quite into film and acting and photography and what not, I think he wants to be a director some day. You know, Tommy actually directed and filmed a promotional video for ghost corps once, it was really good, kids got talent

But yes, all 3 of them are growing into fine, talented young men, and I couldn't be more proud

[lenaariewrld]

ON THE AIR !!

cast; childe and co

FEATURING...

childe:: the new music director for the school’s radio show, is a bassist and vocalist in his band and tries to promote their music at any chance, rivals w yn, popular bc of his music and looks, charming but doesnt sleep around much, talks about his family a shitton on his socials

kaeya:: also in childe’s band as the drummer, a loud and proud fuckboy but secretly hes a sweetheart, hockey player, earned most of his popularity through sports but when he started doing music too he skyrocketed, always in playful competition w childe, addicted to energy drinks

scaramouche:: lead singer in childe’s band, has an attitude problem and claims he hates everyone, music is his outlet so he releases solo songs on occasion, uses parties as an excuse to get away from everyone, his tiktoks blow up every couple months because of his songs, hes a bully but deep down he does care about his friends

ayato:: fellow hockey player with kaeya, friends w childe and the others out of circumstance, introduced thoma to the group, popular bc of his model sister ayaka, loaded but refuses to spoil his friends too much, somehow a top student despite going out all the time, insomniac

thoma:: used to be a part of the newspaper staff as a journalist on the gossip column but quit when ayat introduced him to childe’s friend group, became the other guitarist in childe’s band, bakes frequently when hes stressed or just needs a cleanser, doesnt like to party but gets dragged along w ayato, dedicated to his schoolwork and band and thats it

———・ᡣ𐭩

y/n and friends | misc / extra profiles

masterlist 📍

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

Louis is consistently racist. His whole tour crew are white and 90 % men again. Always white and male. But a white southerner like you must feel like home. No wonder you are such a Louis fan. No POC, no POC women is Louis' rule.

What’s wrong with white Southern people? Stereotype much? Clarence Thomas is a racist.

Do you think it’s important to hire a few POCs in your band and crew to look woke because your management consist of the most powerful white men in the entire entertainment industry?

Do you think musicians should pose more next to POC women to give them cover to write more songs about choking them with a sea view? About their hard candy dripping on your feet? So you can splash graphics depicting vaginas on your stage performance?

Do you think it’s good to pose with POCs while marching for Black Lives Matter so you can hyperlink donations through a datamining site? Because that would be morally bankrupt, wouldn’t it. Despicable behavior.

Maybe the few women in a touring band could have stopped a male-gazey summer soft porn video from focusing on women’s sex organs. A female creative director laughs along with spreading rampant misogyny because … power is about going along with those who oppress, isn’t it.

(I bet you’re fun at parties.)