#We were filming a thing for a band at a gig today | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

headfullofpresley · 2 years ago

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𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

Pairing: Vince Everett x reader

Word count: 6K

Summary: You and your boyfriend of two years decide to spice things up in the bedroom because it's raining and what else is there to do other than making a little intimate amateur video?

Warnings: modern!Vince, smut; oral (f. receiving), vaginal penetration, unprotected sex, choking, filming while being intimate, no use of sub/dom dynamics. vince spits in readers' mouth like once.

A/N: this had been sitting in my drafts for a hot minute but i finally decided to finish it, so enjoy mi luvs. <3

masterlist

“Y/N, you still here?”

Your boyfriend’s loud voice echoed through his apartment only thirty minutes after he left it. You were right where he left you – snuggled up in his bed, watching TV. You had traded your usual reality show for a horror movie, figuring you could take it seeing it was in the middle of the day but with the way Vince’s voice had startled you, it was obvious you couldn’t.

Your boyfriend did not wait for a response as he had already barged into the bedroom, knowing you’d still be there. He remembered you telling him that you didn’t have any classes or plans today, starting your weekend early.

Looking at the TV screen that was placed near the end of the bed, he chuckled as he saw the kind of movie you were watching and the position you were in; looking at him with wide eyes, hand over your heart. “You know you can’t handle those movies on your own,”

“I thought I’d risk it,” you sat up in the bed, watching Vince kick off his shoes and pull his shirt over his head. “What are you doing back so soon? I thought you’d be in the studio until late,”

“Me too,” he sighed, a strong hint of annoyance on his tongue. He unbuckled his belt, flicking open the button of his pants before pulling them down. “But I was the only one who bothered to show up. I don’t know what’s wrong with these fuckers. They just don’t give a damn, I’m the only one who actually cares about this band,”

You immediately welcomed your boyfriend into your arms as he crawled underneath the sheets with you. With a heavy sigh, he swung his arm over your waist and rested his head on your chest.

“I’m sorry, bub,” you whispered, running your fingers through his hair. You knew better than to tell him to find a different band, even though those exact words were burning on your tongue. It wasn’t just a band to him – they were his friends and he didn’t want anyone else but them. You could understand that, but you hated when they stood him up like this because they had been drinking too much the night before.

You had no idea what the reason for their absence was today, but you figured it was probably something stupid like always.

“’S not your fault,” he mumbled as he hid his face in your neck, pressing a kiss against your skin. “I know they’ll be there for the show tomorrow night,”

You nodded, agreeing with him. The band usually had small gigs in pubs and bars and even though the other guys hated rehearsals and getting prepared for said shows, they were always right there on stage with Vince on the actual night. You knew Vince hated this more than anything, but to you it didn’t seem like he was doing much about it. You decided to change the topic, because you knew talking about the band would only get him in a mood which caused him to take his frustrations out on you and you really weren’t in the mood for a screaming match with your fiery boyfriend.

You preferred the warmth of the sheets over the dramatics of storming out of the apartment.

“Now that I have you here,” you grinned, playfully tickling the back of his neck with your nails which made him lift his head and look at you. “Why don’t we do something fun today? Maybe go see a movie,”

He thought about your suggestion for a little bit, eyes drifting to the dark clouds that lingered in the sky outside. Rain wasn’t predicted for today, but as you turned to look outside, you noticed raindrops softly hitting against the glass of the window. You wouldn’t mind to go outside in this weather – umbrella’s existed for a reason, right? – but there was no way you could get Vince out of bed and onto the streets.

“Let’s just watch a movie here,” he said, grabbing the remote you placed on his pillow. You shrugged, not having much choice but to agree and watched him exit out of the current movie you were trying to watch and search for another one. Playing with his hair, you let him do his thing until he suddenly took his focus away from the TV and turned his head to look at you.

You should’ve known that he was up to something with the way he was smirking at you like that and with the way his eyes lit up at this idea that was forming and coming together in his head.

“Or… we could make our own movie?” Although the words came out slightly questioning, you could see by the way his eyebrow rose with confidence that he was set on this idea. He just wanted to make sure you were okay with it as well.

You snorted, pressing your lips in a straight line to keep in a laugh. “Baby, I’m sure the boys will show up tomorrow, you don’t have to turn to porn. The industry is cut-throat,”

He could hear by the giggle that managed to escape from your throat that you weren’t serious, but he threw the remote to the end of the bed and shifted his body weight on top of you, tickling you.

“Oh yeah? How do you know, hm? Got any experience in it?”

You laughed, swatting his hands away from your sides which he allowed. Even though he was sure his girlfriend wasn’t living a secretive double life as a college student and a pornstar, he was curious if you had ever done something like this. You and Vince had been in a relationship for two years and he’d like to think he knew everything about you, but still, people kept secrets.

You were quick to ease his heart, though. “I don’t,” you laughed, wrapping your fingers around his wrists as he cupped your face. “But something tells me you’re gonna give me that experience,”

He chuckled, a sense of relief washing over him but he did his best not to show it. Instead, he pecked your lips and caressed a strand of hair out of your face. “Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to ofcourse, but we never done anything like that so I thought it’d be… I don’t know, fun. Something new,”

You feigned a gasp, looking at him as if he had said the most offensive thing he could’ve ever said to you. “Something new? Are you.. are you implying that we are.. boring?”

He sighed deeply, his facial expressions hardening a little as he glared at you. It only made you laugh harder and he shook his head, moving his hands down to your throat. He didn’t add any pressure as he lightly and playfully choked you, laughing softly.

“You’re already a great actress; this might be your calling,”

Never in your life had you thought about making a sex tape. Not with Vince, or anyone else. You wouldn’t say you were boring or vanilla in the bedroom, especially not with the man you were currently in a relationship with, but you were a private person.

You didn’t want to share the details of your sexual activities with anyone other than the person you were doing them with. You barely gave your girlfriends the juicy stories they wanted, let alone complete strangers on the internet. But Vince could be very persuasive and even though he would drop the subject if you told him you really did not want to do this, he could see you were curious about it and he was right. There was something exciting about filming yourself while being intimate – you did tell him you wanted to see the finishing product yourself first before he’d throw it on the internet.

You also told him you wanted to do some research first, hence the reason why you were currently sitting at Vince’s desk, looking at amateur porn videos as if they were a cinematic masterpiece.

But the thing was, if you were going to be on the internet, you didn’t want to embarras yourself.

You wanted to see what other people did and what worked for them and what could work for you and Vince – every couple was different, though. Some made a real home movie out of it, some showed their faces and some didn’t, and some only showed foreplay. You realised there were no rules to this and Vince was happy when you finally clicked out of Pornhub and swiveled his desk chair around to face him.

“Okay, I’m ready,” you told him, watching him place his phone in a tripod. Getting up from the bed, he placed it somewhere next to the chair, making sure the bed was in full view. The smile on his face disappeared as you spoke again. “A few rules, though-“

“Babe, please. Let’s just.. do it and I can edit it later… please?”

You sighed deeply, looking at your boyfriend standing there; hands folded together, lips pouted while only clothed in a pair of boxershorts. Ones that had gotten tighter the moment this idea popped up in his head.

“Alright, fine,” you agreed, squinting your eyes at him in playful suspicion. A smile returned to his face and he grabbed your face, pecking your lips before pressing the record button on his phone camera. You two were far from professional, but some of the amateur video’s you had seen seemed like they were filmed with a brick so you figured an iPhone wasn’t so bad.

“I have to change first!” you told him, getting up from the chair and running toward his wardrobe; you two didn’t live together but there was enough of your things in the apartment that made it look like you did. Vince left the camera on, laying on the bed as he waited for you to trade one of his shirts you were wearing into one of your cute little lingerie sets.

It wasn’t completely over the top and maybe a bit more basic than what you had seen other girls wearing in those videos, but it was one of Vince’s favorites. A white bra and thongs with little sunflowers on them, along with some lace details.

Cute, but sexy.

Vince propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes glued to your frame as you walked over to the bed and smiled at him. He reached out a hand to you and you took it, moving onto the bed to straddle him as he sat up against the pillows. He let go of your hand as you placed both of your hands on his shoulders and his ran down your sides, resting on your hips.

“You look sexy,” he whispered, not caring if it would be audible in the video or not. He seemed more relaxed than you, not bothered by his phone pointing your way at all but he could feel you were a little tense. He leaned in to you and you took the hint, leaning down to kiss him; didn’t take him long to move to your neck, inhaling some of your perfume as he kissed up to your ear.

“Just relax, baby. Pretend there’s no phone, just us lovin’ each other,” his voice whispering right in your ear made you wrap your arms around his shoulders a little tighter, tangling your fingers in his thick locks. He was right; after all, this was no competition. Just something fun you were doing with your boyfriend. It didn’t have to be perfect.

You slowly nodded and focused on Vince and his touches. He moved his hands up and down your arms, fingertips creeping underneath the straps of your bra to slowly slip them down your shoulders. His hands didn’t stay there long though, moving down to your hips and your ass, squeezing the flesh softly in his palms. Because of the fabric of the bra being a little more loose now, he kissed his way from your neck to your collarbones and your cleavage, sucking and biting gently on your soft skin.

Pushing the thought of being recorded right now to the back of your mind as best as you could, you moaned and grinded yourself down onto him. You were steadily growing more aroused and so was he, thrusting his hips up a little as a small groan rolled off his tongue. He pulled his head back in his neck a little and looked at you, a smirk gracing his features. You bit your lip, grinding onto him a little faster as you placed your hands on his shoulders to keep yourself steady; his hands rested on your hips to guide your movements.

“Fuck, you’re so pretty,” he complimented with a soft grunt, slipping his hands underneath the fabric of your panties to squeeze your ass and make you grind onto him a little firmer. “Wanna eat you out on the chair,” he whispered as he kissed your jawline, grinning against your skin.

You chuckled softly and nodded, not saying no to that. Getting up, you walked over to the swivel chair and sat down, watching him turn the tripod into your direction, making sure the camera was aimed mostly down and recording from the side a little so his actions would be visible.

“See, told you I had to edit,” he grinned, leaning down to wave at the camera. You laughed and poked his side with your toe, amusedly shaking your head at him. He grinned and pecked your lips before getting down on his knees; he looked at the camera that was filming his face slightly from the side one more time and even though you didn’t expect anything else from him, you laughed softly when he smirked at the damn thing. Rolling your eyes and chuckling softly, you watched him as he started kissing up and down your calves – a soft moan escaped you as he lapped his tongue at your ankle teasingly, looking up at you with a grin before kissing every single one of your toes. It was light and cute and even though it tickled a little, your heart swelled at the sight.

The iPhone barely bothered you anymore as he spread your legs a little, stroking his fingertips over the small wet spot staining your panties. He leaned down to place kisses on your inner thighs, making you lean back against the cold leather of the chair as you grabbed the arm rests, goosebumps licking at your skin. You could barely keep yourself quiet; Vince was making the task impossible, especially when he hooked his fingers underneath your panties and slowly pulled the fabric down and you found yourself not caring or worrying about how you’d sound on video anymore when he kissed your folds.

And when he suddenly swept his wet muscle through your folds, tongue flicking at your clit once, your whimpering and moaning got a little louder.

Vince wasn’t much of a talker during oral, which you were eternally grateful for and you were happy he wasn’t amping up his cockiness for the camera either. You placed one foot on his shoulder, the other one swung over one of the arm rests you had removed your hand from, giving the camera a better view. Your boyfriend moved one arm around your thigh, his other hand accompanying his mouth as he slipped in a finger, his lips around your clit to suck on it softly. He was looking up at you with a small grin, making your toes curl and your moans a little more high pitched, your hand finding its home in his hair once more. He was quick to add another finger, pushing both of them knuckle deep inside of you before curling his fingers; you gasped and pushed his face firmer against you, making him grunt softly but he didn’t do anything to pull away.

You had taken his breath away on several different occasions and he never complained.

“The phone,” you whispered, biting your lip as your eyes met his. He frowned a little, pulling back as your grip on his hair loosened – he looked at the phone in the tripod, which was still there and still recording. “Give it to me,” you told him with a small exciting smile. He was beginning to think you were having second thoughts but as he saw that look in your eyes, he knew you were too turned on to stop now.

Pulling his fingers out of you, he shamelessly licked them clean and took his phone out of the tripod, handing it to you. You flipped it around, noticing the phone was still recording and he chuckled softly as you pointed the camera at his face, your legs still spread in front of him.

“Go on then,” you grinned teasingly and he was pleasantly surprised by your words, not hesitating to do what you told him to. He gave you a wink as he licked his lips and your heart skipped a beat, watching him through the camera as he grabbed onto the back of your thighs, keeping you in your place before he leaned in closer and went back to eating you out. He started slow, making you whimper and moan softly, making sure it sounded extra sensual. Your confidence was growing now that you had the phone in your hand, but so was his. Vince wasn’t the type of person to shy away from a camera and your sounds were stroking hid ego greatly, but he wanted more.

Didn’t take him long to go all in; the slurping sounds that were created because of his mouth and your arousal were sinful. With the way you were moaning out his name and a string of rambled curse words and the way he was looking up at the camera, it was enough to make porn addicts cum undone in the matter of seconds.

It was enough for you to come undone.

Your fingers clenched around the phone, careful not to cut off the recording. You were looking at him from underneath the phone, because the real life version was so much better.

“S-Shit.. Vince,” you breathed out, your voice shifting into a moan as one of your hands moved back into his hair. Your boyfriend was a bit of an actor too, rolling his eyes into the back of his head as he got you to your breaking point but you were too out of your mind to laugh at him. You could barely keep your body still, the chair creaking and shiveling a little underneath your weight and half of Vince’s weight as he had his arms pressed on the edge of it.

Once you were trying to close your thighs and tugging at his hair a little, he knew you had reached your high and were getting sensitive. He slowly pulled back and licked your arousal from his lips, leaning up to gently take the phone out of your hand; you let him do what he wanted, switching to the front camera and recording the both of you in a sensual make out session.

You tasted yourself on his tongue, which only made you more needy for him and you didn’t even care about your faces being on full display. He opened his eyes, looking in the camera as you bit his lower lip, sucking on it softly afterward; as you turned your head a little and noticed the position of you and your boyfriend in the camera, you giggled softly and turned his face back to you, kissing him again.

It was obvious that being on camera was doing something to the both of you, mostly your ego’s. He was sucking on your tongue, nipping at your lips and moaning into your mouth. It was turning you on to no end and you stole the phone out of his hand, stopping the recording.

“Lay on the bed and film me,” you told him as you handed him the phone, gently shoving him to the bed. He laughed and got on the bed, pressing record again after you fixed your hair a little. You giggled as you wiggled your hips a little, running your hands through your hair before pulling your bra strips further down than they already were. He bit his lip, moving his free hand down to cup himself through his boxershorts.

“Take it off,” he told you with a soft exciting laugh, watching you turn your back to him as your hands found the clasp of your bra. You easily flicked it open and took the fabric off your body, hiding your bare breasts with your arm as you turned back around and threw the piece of underwear at him. He laughed again, putting it beside him on the bed as he watched you through the camera when you slowly removed your arm and softly squeezed your breasts, smiling at him.

“Fuck,” he whispered, squeezing himself a little harder. “Come here, baby. Wanna see you on my cock,”

You grinned and made your way closer to the bed, making sure to sway your hips in a flattering way. He silently signed for you to turn around as he tugged his boxershorts down and you quickly grabbed the fabric to throw it to the floor, doing what he wanted; hovering above him with your ass on full display, he wrapped his hand around his cock and gathered some of your arousal on his tip, the both of you moaning in unison at the skin on skin contact. You looked over your shoulder to the best of your abilities and wiggled your hips a little, desperate for him to fill you up. He grinned, making sure the camera was capturing the moment of him aligning himself at your entrance and you slowly sinking down onto him.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he groaned as he was completely inside of you, his hand rubbing soothing circles on your ass. He didn’t know if it was to sooth himself or you; he had been inside of you countless of times before, but the feeling could transport him to a different universe every time. “My baby girl’s so tight,”

You moaned softly at his words and placed your hands on the bed in between his legs, keeping yourself up but leaned forward a little so the view of him disappearing inside of you every time you came down was perfectly visible to the camera.

“I love your cock, baby, feels so good,” you moaned as you bit your lip while looking at him over your shoulder, fucking yourself onto him slowly. He cursed softly under his breath, knowing your words were for the camera, but he sure as hell wasn’t complaining. Dirty talk wasn’t foreign for you and him, but you were usually a little more reserved with it. Seemed like the camera brought out another side of you, one that he was excited to explore more.

“Yeah? You love it, huh? Show me how much,” the way his voice dropped a few octaves made you slip even further into your newfound role and when he landed a slap on your ass, you moaned pornographically as you picked up your pace. He grinned to himself as he felt you placing your hands on his ankles, helping to keep yourself steady as your ass jiggled onto his lower abdomen every time you came down.

“Look at that ass,” he hummed, making you slow down a little as he squeezed your ass, his large palm kneading the flesh hungrily. Unfortunately for him, the position didn’t allow him to sink his teeth into it, otherwise he would. “Fuckin’ sexy,”

You giggled softly as you slowly twirled your hips around a little while looking at him over your shoulder, wanting to see his reaction. His eyes met yours as he moaned deeply, his hand running up your spine and twirling your hair around his wrist before grabbing onto it. You moaned as you sat up a little more, picking up your pace as you chased your second high of the day; he quickly flipped the phone to selfie mode as he put it on the bedside table, moving his now free hand forward and in between your legs. Your moans grew louder as his fingertips found your clit, rubbing at it skilfully fast. Your position naturally shifted as you pulled your feet from out underneath you and placed them flat on the bed.

He released your hair as you quickly lifted your hips, making him slip out of you. You were planning on riding him while facing him but he seemed to have other ideas as he grabbed your hips and playfully threw you on the bed. You laid in his spot as he got in between your thighs, laughing softly as he reached his arm to the phone to fix its position a little; making sure it was filming your bodies and half of your face.

“You better edit the hell out of that video,” you whispered to him in a giggle and he chuckled, nodding as he pushed himself inside of you. He leaned down to kiss you, swallowing your moans. He didn’t give you time to get used to the change of position, thrusting into you at a steady pace as he pulled back and grabbed your ankles, keeping your legs spread and up in the air a little.

Your eyes rolled in the back of your head as he kissed your ankle and the side of your foot, teasingly sinking his teeth in your big toe. Your hands were in your hair before they moved down to your breasts, squeezing them and pinching at your nipples softly. Vince didn’t try and keep himself quiet anymore either, and while he wasn’t quiet in the bedroom in general, you could hear he was amping it up a little for the camera.

Still, he sounded fucking hot, and it only added fuel to the fire of your own nearly feral state.

“Look at you,” he grunted, gently letting go of your ankles and lowering your legs as he ran his hands down your thighs, squeezing at your hips. He moved one hand up your tummy and in between your breasts, hand wrapping casually around your throat. “Taking my cock so well and looking fuckin’ gorgeous while doing so,”

He added a little pressure to your throat, making you grab onto his arm and at first, he thought it was because you were in pain. He realised that was most definitely not the case when your eyes rolled into the back of your head, moaning as you stuck out your tongue. He smirked as he collected a bit of saliva on his own tongue and leaned down to you, keeping his hips still as he dribbled a string of spit onto your tongue.

Your eyes fluttered open, looking at him as you swallowed his spit and he cursed softly. That was something you hadn’t done before, and he’d be damned if this was the last time you’d ever do it.

A new fire seemed to light inside of him as he grabbed onto your left thigh, pushing it backwards and moving it to the side so your legs were pressed together and side ways. With his hand still around your throat and his other hand now squeezing your ass, landing a firm slap against your skin now and then, he fucked you roughly into the mattress. You were a moaning mess underneath him, holding onto his arm tightly to keep his hand around your throat as you kept your eyes on him the entire time.

He was so damn gorgeous with his messy hair, eyebrows pinched together in concetration as he watched his own cock being covered in your arousal every time he pulled his hips backwards and his plumb lips parted, moans and curses flying off his tongue.

It was a sight you never wanted to forget and as you remembered the phone still recording on the bedside table, you realised you never had to.

Vince Everett truly was a sight for sore eyes and with his balls slapping against your skin with every thrust, you wouldn’t mind to share it with the rest of the world through a computer or phone screen.

Due to your thighs pressed together, Vince was struggling to postpone his orgasm any longer. The position caused you to be even more tight than you already were and he was slowly but surely losing his mind, his hand that was around your throat moving to your thigh to keep your legs in place. He never wanted the moment to end, but the feeling of your warmth surrounding his cock so firmly made it impossible for him to slow down or change the position.

“’M so close, baby girl, so close,” he grunted as he looked down at you through half lidded eyes, his hands squeezing at your thigh and ass as if you were some kind of stress ball that would release pent up tension. In a way, you kind of were in this moment.

You were sure you’d be bruised up in a few hours, but you did not care for one second.

You didn’t have the strength, nor were you in the right mind, to answer him with words so you moaned instead, giving him a little nod. He chased his orgasm, thrusting hard and fast for a few times until he suddenly pulled out and wrapped his hand around his cock. You took the hint and spread your legs in front of him again, propping yourself up on your elbows a little as you watched your boyfriend jerk himself off for a few seconds before he released himself all over your stomach and a little bit on your breasts.

His head hung back in his neck as his hips stuttered forward in his fist, his chest heaving up and down frantically as he moaned out a few incoherent curse words that you were pretty sure wouldn’t be picked up on camera.

As he rolled his head back to look at you, he grinned as you swooped up some of his sperm from your tummy, sucking it off your finger. He licked his lips and leaned down, placing his hands on the pillow on either side of your head as he kissed your lips.

“My dirty little movie star,” he whispered against your lips with a smirk and you laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck. You kissed his neck before softly and teasingly biting his earlobe, giggling.

“You’re definitely cutting that out,”

Vince had sitting at his desk for the rest of the day, working on the sinful video you created a few hours ago. He was motivated, wanting your first “official” sex tape to be flawless. He wanted it to seem like you and him had done this before and even though it was still going to look like an amateur porn because that was what it was, he wanted to make sure it looked better than some other videos that were out there.

He also worked so hard on it because you told him you wanted to see the finished product first before you’d decide if you wanted it to be out there on the internet for everyone to see or not.

You had changed the sheets and after dinner, you made yourself comfortable in his bed and watched TV. You had eventually drifted off to sleep, but your boyfriend startled you awake at around 1 in the morning.

“It’s finished!” he announced loud and proud, smiling brightly as he turned the chair around to face you. “Come see, princess,”

He wasn’t too bothered about the fact he woke you up; this was more important. You sighed softly and got out of the bed, sitting down on his lap as you watched him set up the video.

“Here we go,” you chuckled with an amused shake of your head as you leaned back against his chest, as Vince pressed play.

You felt a little awkward watching yourself and your boyfriend being intimate in a video like this, but you had to admit, his editing was really good. The awkward change of some positions were cut out and he got rid off the moments that felt a little too slow as well. It looked good; like a video from one of those verified couples.

Your faces were in most shots and that’s what you doubtful about uploading it to the public. You were still in college and Vince was doing gigs and whatnot; what if people recognized you? Strangers were one thing, but family and friends were something else entirely.

You had a teenage brother, and you were pretty sure porn wasn’t foreign to him.

“Vince, I don’t know.. maybe we should’ve been more careful with showing our faces. Can’t you cut it out of the frame?”

“Baby, I tried but it ruins the whole video,” he sighed softly, leaning his chin on your shoulder as you were leaning with your elbows on the desk now, looking at the computer screen. “There’s one other option, though,”

You turned your head a little to look at him and he raised his head, shrugging his shoulders a little. “We can put it behind a paywall,” he suggested, quickly continuing before you’d have the chance to stop him. “A lot of couples do that. They don’t upload their full videos for free, only snippets of it or short foreplay videos. Let’s be honest, most people are too stingy to pay for amateur porn unless they’re full on addicts. Chances of people we know being porn addicts are slim to none,”

His words made sense. You had come across a lot of those teaser videos or foreplay videos where you didn’t see anyone’s face, having to pay for a subscription if you wanted to see the full video with face. You were still a little nervous about it, but it meant you’d get paid for it; maybe you wouldn’t be able to shop until you dropped but having some extra money on the side would be nice.

You were a poor student and Vince was the lead singer in a still mostly unknown band. You both could use the money.

“Okay, okay, let’s just do it,” you said, nodding as you turned back to the computer. Vince smiled brightly, slipping one arm around your waist as you watched him create a faceless teaser video out of the full video. You created an account on Pornhub and OnlyFans, watching excitedly but nervously as the teaser was uploaded.

“You’re gonna be famous, baby,” he said jokingly, sending you a wink as you turned around on his lap a little to face him with a soft laugh.

Slipping your arms around his shoulders, you pecked his lips and smiled. “I can’t wait,” you grinned jokingly, your eyes lighting up a little as you grabbed your phone from the desk and opened the Notes app. “We have to come up with ideas. We can’t always do it on the bed or even in your room, that’s boring,” you told him as you already started typing away, listing a few ideas for videos.

Vince raised his eyebrows, blowing a raspberry before letting out a laugh. “I’ve created a monster,”

You ignored his words, smiling as you leaned back against his chest and continued cooking up ideas for your and your boyfriend’s newfound hobby.

Vince didn’t care if he created a monster or not or about the fact that you seemed to be more excited about this all than he was in the moment. Even though the thought of strange people watching the videos stroked his ego and made his confidence grow a little more, it also made him feel even closer to you than he already was.

Because despite putting the videos online for people to see, he felt like creating them was something intense and beautiful that he only shared with you. Not only would it give him something to look at if you weren’t by his side – which was rare because the both of you were together nearly every day – it was also a way of making memories.

Sinful, delicious memories he couldn’t imagine himself creating with anyone else.

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alovesreading · 2 years ago

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Constant Repeat | Part 2

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 15.5k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: Hello!! I'm still pinching myself over the fact that I'm posting this story now lol, it doesn't quite feel real you're all getting to read it now. I remember so clearly how giddy I was writing this chapter back in April 2022 and reading it back again makes me so nostalgic for some reason. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! x

Masterlist

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One thing she wasn’t expecting to hear from Aaron today was that they would be filming another music video. But it wasn’t the fact that it was a music video, it was whose music video they were filming.

Arctic Monkeys were back. And Focus Creeps were producing their new music video. Again.

After filming ‘Brick by Brick’, she had started listening to them religiously, and that was a fact she would keep quiet now that she knew she was going to see the band again. Their latest single, ‘Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’, was so good—she listened to it at least twice on any drive she made.

Another list was handed over by Aaron, this time with days of anticipation and not as long as the first one. She’d just need to make some calls to a couple of models to see who could make it to the shoot and just make sure the costume design department was ready to work with the model once they managed to get her.

Their job shouldn’t be too hard as all the girls that were written down as an option had similar measurements, if anything they’d just have to do a little cinching at the waist or shorten the sleeves of the black bodysuit she’d have to wear.

After multiple calls, they finally had a model. Scarlett would be their hellcat and she’d be coming in for fittings later in the day. With that news and everything else checked out, she made her way over to Aaron’s office.

“We have our girl: Scarlett Kapella. She’ll be coming by at eleven for her fittings and the makeup rehearsal, everything else I’ve checked out twice and if anything comes up I’ll just let you or Ben know.” The director received the now crossed out and annotated list with a nod and a smile.

“Great, after the fittings and all that, please have the costume design department bring me the pictures to show the clients.” Aaron tapped his hands on the table and then put the list to the side.

With a smile she said, “Of course, I'll call Margaret to let her know.”

“Thanks Ella.” Aaron said and continued to do whatever he was doing on his computer.

With a nod she left the office, making her way to her desk and gave Margaret, the costume designer department manager, a quick call about Aaron’s wishes after the fittings.

As Ella went through her emails, she found herself pondering how this time would be, surely she didn’t really know what the plan for the video was other than the model being filmed at the venue they were playing at and catching some of the gig on camera, but she kept wondering what it would be like to hang around them for a second time.

Thinking back to when they were filming their music video always brought a smile to her face because it had been just one of those experiences that get stuck in your mind. And that memory was just as stuck in her mind as they way she had felt talking to them, even if it had been brief, they were so friendly that they’d made her feel incredibly at ease from the very second they spoke to her.

Not to mention the way she had felt under Alex’s gaze and attention. It was weird really, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it and she felt the slightest bit pathetic when she got nervous thinking about seeing Alex again.

Realizing she had been typing an email reply that made absolutely no sense, she forced herself to focus on work and leave the questions for another day, specifically for the day the band was supposed to be in town. You can focus for three more days, right?

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Three torturous days had passed, through which Ella had to force herself to focus on work every minute of the day, only really allowing herself to think about the future encounter during her lunch break.

She had once been staring too long at the wall while eating her favorite chicken salad, thinking and thinking, that she didn’t hear the constant questioning of her coworkers.

“Earth to Ella?” Tyler’s hands were waving in front of her eyes.

It took her six blinks to come back from reality, she swallowed the bite of chicken she had in her mouth and cleared her throat, “What? Sorry, I was just… erm…” another six consecutive blinks, “I was just thinking about the upcoming music video we have to film.” She dug her fork back into her plate to get another bite.

“Oh yeah, well that’s going to be fun, we get to see a concert for free.” Diana, the head of their makeup team, said.

Ella let a hum in agreement, holding back from talking with her mouth full.

“It’s going to be a long day though.” Tyler replied, and rubbed his face with his hands, “I need a nap just from thinking about it.”

She chuckled, “Same.” and sighed thinking about the endless ways that day could unfold.

But now all that was in her head was how tired she was. It had been an early call to work to start shooting as soon as possible and, of course, she had had to wake up at five in the morning to be in the office ready to leave by six.

Once again, they would capture them around LA so Ben had suggested going on a hike next to the beach, that way they could get them in different scenery and they could capture their surroundings to fulfill the California aesthetic they were looking for.

So there they were, being hit by the early morning wind. This time she had brought a jacket, not that it made much difference though, she had her hold tight on her clipboard, having to press it hard to her chest to avoid the papers on it flying everywhere. She was grateful for her decision to put her hair up in a ponytail before leaving the van.

They had parked right beside the blue vintage convertible the band had arrived in. All of them were smoking and chatting. Matt and Jamie were facing them, Nick and Alex with their backs to the van. When Aaron and Ben approached them to say hello, they started tossing the buds to the floor, putting them out quickly before shaking hands with the two Americans.

Ella took Alex’s smile and Matt’s nod as a queue to get closer and wave at them, “Hi guys, good morning.” She smiled and covered her face from the rising sun hitting her face.

They all returned her greeting and she felt warm inside from how nice they were to her, even if she was well aware it was bare minimum.

Ben then decided to get things started out, “Okay guys, long day ahead. Are you ready?”

Four yeah’s were heard and with that Aaron turned to get the whole crew ready. Today they were using four video cameras and she felt bad for the cameramen, their arms would be giving out by the end of the day.

The stylist made her way towards the band, only Jamie asking for a hair touch up after the wind had messed it up on the drive and he couldn’t get it just right with his fingers.

Ella made her way to the crew where a short speech from Aaron was being heard, and right when it finished they all scrambled to get their things ready. She made sure to ask everyone if they needed anything else, and when she got full confirmation that they didn’t, she made her way back to Ben.

“I think having you guys walk around, catching some of the scenery and eventually you posing in front of the landscape would be good.” He waved his hands around pointing to the areas he was thinking of having them, to make sure the lads were following his vision, “We would get most of the footage for the video later at the venue so just enjoy the walk and we’ll capture it all.” A smile came to his face as a silent ‘is that alright and understood?’

The four British men agreed, and with that Aaron came over with the cameramen ready to film. Them all taking different positions: three taking different angles on the band and the other one recording the beach and the rest of the place they were at.

“You guys ready? Cameras ready? … Action!”

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“You’re as bad in the barely cold as I remember.” Alex said, approaching Ella with a playful smile minutes into the break everyone had just decided to take.

An hour had gone by of them recording the band walking around the coast, making their way to the beach and then coming back up to the hiking trail. Up there the wind was strong and, even though the sun had already come up and she was wearing a jean jacket, she was still shivering slightly.

She chuckled and turned to him, hugging herself a little bit tighter, “So easy for you to say, Mr. England.”

He fully laughed this time, her smile getting bigger after the sound left his lips, “Fair enough, Ms. California.”

At that she looked at him, a slight smirk on her face and shook her head, “Ms. Tennessee actually.”

Pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket, Alex nodded, “Doesn’t it snow there though?” He genuinely asked, putting a cigarette between his lips and offered the pack up to her.

He was surprised when Ella took one out, of course he was going to offer one but he didn’t take her for a smoker. “It does, but after living in LA for almost two years, you get used to it being always sunny, warm and rainless.” As soon as she finished her sentence, she quickly put it between her lips, craving the warmth the nicotine would bring her.

Alex lit up both of their cigarettes, enjoying the way she looked when she slightly bent down towards the flame and looked up into his eyes, a faint hollow of her cheeks to take a long drag. Fucking hell, he cursed in his mind.

He took a drag himself while staring at her now very exposed throat from the way she was looking up to the sky and blowing the smoke upwards. She was so effortlessly stunning, completely enthralling.

Aware of the answer he was supposed to give to her statement, he cleared his throat and continued the conversation, “Two years huh? What was that change like?”

“Quite harsh I’d say but nothing ventured, nothing gained right?” Ella held her cigarette between her fingers, smiling at him, knowing damn well she was starting the thing she always does, that only leads up to oversharing to people she just met. Maybe this time she wouldn’t be met with an awkward smile and an apology from a girl wanting to leave the club’s bathroom.

“Right,” Alex matched her smile, “You look like you really like your job though, so I’d say the risk was worth it.”

“It really was,” She started sharing with a smile on her face, “Thinking back to all those first months I was homesick and wanted to go back home to my family…” She filled her lungs with smoke once more before continuing, “I just wish I could tell my past self, everything would get better eventually.”

He nodded, understanding perfectly the feeling of wanting to be back home more than anything else even while doing something to fulfill your dreams, “Homesickness is hard.” He agreed, “After the novelty of touring wore off, it was quite hard for me to leave.” A cloud of smoke made its way past his lips, “Time and having my mates with me helped the feeling pass.”

A low hum came from her, both of their smokes halfway done. She was lost in her head for a few seconds and then she lightly chuckled.

Alex let out a chuckle as well, face showing how intrigued he was in her thoughts, “What?” He tilted his head, smiling at her with a soft questioning frown.

Ella shook her head, “Nothing.” She replied but the little laugh that slipped out betrayed her and she felt the need to explain her amusement then, “It’s just I could picture you all cuddling and crying to each other in a tour bus, quite endearing I’d say.”

With his lips pressed and a slight raise of his eyebrows, he answered that with a vague “I will neither confirm nor deny that scenario.” and with that she exploded in laughter. The sound was so contagious he joined her, chuckling loudly himself.

“Oh God.” Ella said, taking a deep breath to recover from the laughter. She took a last drag of her cigarette, putting it out on the ground, “Thanks for that one, I really needed it.” She tilted her head looking at him with a sincere smile.

Alex turned to look at her and reciprocated the grin, “The laugh or the smoke?” He mimicked her and got rid of the cig too.

“Both.” She replied, her smile stuck on her face.

“You’re welcome.” He noted how he really liked the way her smile reached her eyes.

From afar they heard Jamie calling out the singer's name and instinctively they both turned to where the call came from, only Ella looked back ahead right after, blushing from being caught around Alex. It wasn’t a bad thing per se but she’d rather not be caught by several people talking to him when she was there to do her job and she knew that it would be seen as the opposite of her being professional.

“Excuse me.” Alex said quietly, starting to walk past her.

“It’s alright.” Ella assured shyly, barely audible since her words lost volume when he touched her arm when leaving. Not only just a touch, he had given her arm a little squeeze, as if promising he’d be back.

And she was selfishly hoping he would live up to his silent word because she was starting to really enjoy his company.

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Time hadn’t been on their side, neither the crew or the band.

When they resumed the filming, she was beside the directors watching the musicians pose and move around but after fifty more minutes they decided they had gotten enough footage at the place and to move onto the venue. There the model and costume design crew would be arriving in approximately an hour and a half, giving them enough time to pack, make the drive and settle down at the new place.

So without having a chance to speak again during the hike, Ella followed the crew and got back inside the van.

Ben went over to the left side of the van, and asked for them to open the window. Tyler was informed he had to film the guys drive back, taking advantage of how cool the vintage car would look in the video driving down the west coast highway.

She was beside Tyler the whole drive, watching how the takes were looking like—pretty fucking cool, she’d say if she was asked. With fifteen more minutes of footage, Tyler was given the confirmation that he could stop.

The rest of the drive was quiet and calm, she was glad she could find relaxation in the middle of an already long day.

After a forty five minute drive, they had parked in the first sublevel parking lot. Everyone carried something back up to the room they had been instructed they could use, which turned out to be a ten minute walk in a maze of hallways. She’d make sure not to leave without someone else beside her or else she knew she would get lost.

It took the whole crew about five minutes to settle around the room, and they still had time to rest before the model and other members of the crew arrived so they occupied the sofas and chairs that were there.

She decided to go to the bathroom and freshen up, taking some girls from the crew with her. When they came back, she recognized Alex and Matt talking outside a door all the way down the hall.

“Hey, Ella!” Alex greeted her, waving her over with his left hand, right hand holding a beer.

Blushing slightly, Ella looked at her coworkers telling them she was going over to him and they nodded as if to say it was fine by them.

For fucks sake, was all that went through her head. She was really afraid of people getting the idea that she’d broken the first and most important rule in a production company just from the way he’d called her over. But at the same time she couldn’t help but think maybe it was fine, maybe she was just overthinking it.

Putting some hair behind her ear she made her way to them, “Hey, how is it going?” She asked quite shyly from seeing the room the musicians had been in, full of people she’d never seen before.

“Do you want a beer?” This time Matt asked, holding up his half-empty bottle to show it to her, as if that would help her make her decision.

She thought about it for a hot second, then decided she could use one to relax for a bit, “Sure, thanks.”

Going into the room to get her a bottle, the drummer left Ella by the door standing opposite to Alex.

“Are you guys tired of us following you around with cameras yet?” Playfulness coated Ella’s features as she slightly leaned against the doorframe.

With the bottle stopping midway to his lips, Alex replied in the same playful manner, “I think we have another hour in ourselves before we reach that point.”

She chuckled at that, her eyes wondering over the amount of people inside the room, everyone chatting, sharing drinks and laughing with each other. She thought of how fun it would be to be part of this industry and go on tour, be surrounded by friends and have your job not really feel like one. After all, these people, who she could only think were part of the tour production crew, were drinking a few hours before the show. How she wished she could have a beer while checking emails, or maybe some mimosas.

After Alex swallowed the drink he had taken, he continued, “No but actually, we liked working with Aaron and Ben, that’s why we’re doing the rest of this record’s music videos with you lot.”

She couldn’t help her eyes going wide at that, Aaron and Ben never mentioning it to her, this news made her feel a lot and she couldn’t really point out what everything that she felt meant. So of course a curious “Oh really?” was what came from her.

Alex nodded, “Yeah, or did you really want us out of your hair?”

Ella laughed, shaking her head, “Of course not, shooting music videos is my favorite part of the job. It’s a plus that you’re all so lovely to work with.” He didn’t miss the way her cheeks slightly blushed, smirking at her words.

“Well I hope we are your favorites.” The singer used the bottle in his hands to point at her, giving her a quick wink.

She felt her cheeks burning up from that so she turned her gaze to the inside of the room for him not to see, “I’ll consider it when Matt comes back with that beer he promised me” She pushed herself off the doorframe, her back vaguely aching from resting there.

And as if summoned, the drummer made his way back to the two of them. “Sorry Nick distracted me for a second there.” He apologized and handed Ella a beer bottle.

“Thank you.” She felt the condensation dripping through her fingers as she clutched it.

Alex noticed her bottle still had the cap on and was about to offer to open it for her, when she used the ring on her middle finger to take it off in one swift movement. She put the cap in her back pocket to throw it away later and took a swig of the drink, cold going down her throat.

“Nice trick.” Matt complimented, fairly impressed as well.

Ella looked confused for a second until she realized what he meant, “Oh yeah, people love it when I do that.” She lightly laughed, “Not that impressive really, it’s easier than it looks.” She cleared her throat lightly and started conversation with Matt, “So Alex just told me you’re recording more videos with us…” Another swig of her beer was the cue for them to continue with the conversation.

“Ah that’d be true, yes. It would be the next date we are back here during this tour. August, I reckon.” He turned to Alex to make sure his timeline was correct, to which his best mate nodded.

Ella nodded, a smile forming on her face, “Oh that’s great, California is stunning in August. Are you going to keep the American vibes going for the rest of the videos?”

Helders turned to Alex again, realizing that what Ella had said was true, “We have been doing that, haven’t we?”

Alex nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down after he took the last gulp of his beer, “I guess we’re embracing the fact that this one has an american west coast feeling to it, us recording it here must have played a part on it.”

She hummed against her bottle, hiding the fact that she was really looking forward to that new album, “Does it have a name yet?” curiosity got the best of her and she just couldn’t hold back from keeping that question inside.

“Suck it and See'', replied Matt, an amused expression on his face when he saw Ella frowning immediately after the words reached her ears.

She took a few seconds to find a meaning for it in her head, but never would she say out loud what the first thing that came to her mind was. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her frown only loosened up a bit.

Matt chuckled at her reaction, “It’s kind of like ‘bite the bullet’, although… not really, it’s more like ‘take the risk’”.

Alex and Ella exchanged looks then, the ghost of their conversation back at the hiking trail passing through both their minds. So she smiled and he smiled back at her. She couldn’t believe how comfortable she could feel with a person she’d barely met but it made her feel warm inside and she really quite liked it.

With a tight lip smile she nodded, “Huh, I really like that. It’s a great name.” Her eyes went from Matt to Alex’s figure for a quick second.

“Thanks Ella.” Matt smiled at her, not missing her fleeting glance to the singer standing beside him. “So, what about you? How long have you been working with Ben and Aaron?”

She hesitated for a second before starting to talk, “A little bit over a year now, but I’ve been a PA for two years, I just worked in another company before.” Ella felt so weird talking about her normal slightly boring job to the critically acclaimed musicians, but they were looking at her waiting for her to continue so she cleared her throat and felt her cheeks start to burn.

“Guys I’m not that interesting, I check emails most of the time at work and oversee people filming commercials, I’d rather hear about your tour stories.” Alex chuckled at that, shaking his head, “C’mon, I know there’s some good stories.” She insisted, trying to get the conversation’s topic back to them.

Matt took advantage of the moment to embarrass his friend, “Well there’s always the time when this dickhead decided to have a smoke backstage right under a smoke detector, in a room we were not allowed to smoke. We almost got kicked out of the venue for it.”

Alex shook his head at the story, not even trying to defend himself because he knew he should’ve listened to the sign that said no smoking right at the entrance of the room.

Ella snorted, her hand flying to cover her mouth, “Oh my god Alex,” She said between chuckles, “Didn’t you see it?”

“Not really,” replied the singer with a slight grin on his face.

Matt was quick to counter attack his statement, “But he did see the massive no smoking sign outside the room”, his eyebrows raised.

Her eyes filled with humor looked at Alex and she shook her head, biting her lip to not laugh again but a smile creeping through, “You’re just full of bright ideas aren’t you?” Her rhetorical question was heavily sarcastic.

Alex shrugged then and smirked, “People would say so yeah”.

With the bottle resting on his lips, Matt chuckled, “Dickhead” and took a sip of his drink.

With his mind set on getting payback, Alex started, “Well, Ella I think you’d love to hear about the first time we went to a club in America and Matt went over to flirt with this bird who turned around and thought he worked there so she gave him her empty glass and asked him for another vodka cranberry.”

Ella burst out laughing, head thrown back as she did. Alex liked learning that this meant she was genuinely laughing, she seemed to always show what she felt very clearly through her body language.

“Oh no Matt,” her voice filled with humored sympathy and her hand over her heart.

The drummer shook his head, “That’s what I get for trying to dress nice I suppose.”

A big smirk tugged at the corner of her lips and she just needed to ask, “What were you wearing?”

Matt mumbled his answer, “Black trousers, a white button up and a black tie”, downing the rest of the beer he had left to avoid her glance.

Alex couldn’t help but laugh out loud remembering the moment once again and Ella did the same just imagining the situation in her head. Matt tried to keep his composure but ended up laughing with them.

“Oh nooooo,” She elongated her words trying to get some air back to her lungs, “Wait… what did you do afterwards?”

“I just nodded and turned around.” Another round of laughter came from Alex and Ella, “What was I supposed to do?!”

Alex turned to her and kept adding to the story, “He came back, put her glass down on our table and started taking his tie off.” the words struggling out of his mouth between giggles.

When Ella kept laughing Matt threw his arms up, trying to keep his argument strong, “Once again, what was I supposed to do?!”

The singer let his head hang as he continued laughing and then he took a deep breath, “I dunno mate but I’ll never let you forget that one.” He grinned with satisfaction at his best mate who looked only the slightest bit amused.

She was fanning her face, red now after so much laughter, “I’m sorry Matt but that’s so sad, it’s hilarious.”

Matt turned to look at her and gave her a fake smile, “I’m glad my misfortunes amuse you.”

The shaggy haired man turned to her then, “So, what do you have for us Ella?”

With confusion so clear on her face she looked at both guys who looked at her expectantly, “What do you mean?” Was she meant to bring them something? Did she forget about something in the list? Oh no, I should’ve had a little debrief with Ben or Aaron before leaving our room, she thought, starting to slightly panic.

Panic that was cut off by Alex saying, “It’s your turn to tell us a story.” like it was obvious.

She was relieved but only for a mere second before she started to stress again, “Oh no, you don’t really wanna know” She stated, hoping they would just suddenly change their minds and agree that indeed they didn’t want to know.

But to her dismay, they both nodded with big grins as if already holding back the laughter her story was going to bring.

An embarrassing enough story came to her mind, and she dreaded telling it but she knew they’d eat this one up so she wouldn’t have to tell her most embarrassing one.

“Ugh fine.” Ella sighed, “When I first started in Focus Creeps, I would always try to volunteer to help in anything I could, from helping the makeup department practice on me during my lunch break, get everyone lunch when they were all to busy to think about eating, and even drive a vintage car to a place thirty minutes from the office.” One of her hands was around her empty bottle, tapping her fingers on the glass and the other was waving around the air as she talked.

Well here goes nothing. “A vintage car…which of course was manual,” She paused for a few seconds, Matt and Alex already looking amused expecting just what she was going to continue to say, “And I don’t know how to drive stick.” Another sigh left her lips.

Matt saw her hesitating, “Okay, go on.” He chuckled when she rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.

“Okay, I’m just going to say that I didn't know what car it was. Ben just asked if someone could drive the rental to the studio we were filming at and I said I could.” She explained herself and her two person audience snickered at that. “Anyway, when we got outside and I saw the transmission, it was too late to back down. I just remember thinking, how hard can this be right?”

“Oh Ellie.” Alex managed between small giggles that were coming prematurely to the punchline since he could imagine how the story would end and she just shook her head remembering the embarrassment. Yet, her stomach fluttered at hearing her nickname come from him.

“Ben was going to be on calls, that’s why he asked for someone to drive in the first place, but that’s also the only reason why he didn’t notice me struggling to turn on the car and start driving into the road. When we hit our first red light, two minutes into the drive, I had started feeling confident.” Her hands following her story, then went to rub her forehead cringing at the next part, “But when the light changed, the car wouldn’t move and I didn’t know what to do. I kept stepping on the clutch and then the brake and I just tried everything and it wouldn’t move.” Her eyes were closed now and her cheeks red.

Alex and Matt were fully cackling now, just picturing her panic and it all being in front of one of her bosses.

She looked back at them, flustered but continued, “The car turned off at one point and people kept honking at me so Ben said ‘can I call you in a bit?’ to whoever he was talking to and then turned to me super confused and said ‘why don’t you go?’” A light chuckle came from her at the end of her sentence. “I gave up then, and I just told him ‘so… I don’t know how to drive stick’ but since the honking from everyone was so loud he didn’t hear me at first so I had to say it louder. We ended up having to switch sides and he basically talked me through what I was supposed to do.”

Matt shook his head with a pitiful look on his face, “Well, that was nice of him.”

“Yeah well, we didn’t talk about it for the next few days until one day he sent me an email with just a link to a YouTube video on how to drive a manual car.” Ella’s face was red now and the musicians were still laughing.

Alex couldn’t help but ask, “Alright but the million dollar question is, can you drive manual now?”

Covering her face, Ella shook her head, “As much as I did then.” Her voice was barely audible with her hands hiding her face.

And with that laughter filled the hallway, she uncovered her face and joined them, glad the story time was over and dealt with. She could see Alex’s eyes creasing in the corners, his teeth showing in a perfect smile. He’s so pretty, she thought.

Ella did a curtsy jokingly, “I hope that story satisfied you both.”

The men nodded, Matt smirking at her, “Oh very much, yes.”

“I hate you two.” She tried to sound serious but she just snorted immediately after seeing their faces that didn’t buy her statement one bit. She cleared her throat and tried to dismiss the fact that she had let that sound out again in front of them, “Well let’s forget about that… uhm, big show tonight?”

“We shall never forget that actually,“ Alex said first and foremost, ending in her rolling her eyes playfully, “And maybe? It should be a couple thousand I think.”

Her eyes went wide, “A couple thousand? And that’s ‘maybe’ a big show?” Ella made air signs to emphasize the maybe. “How big are you guys that a couple thousand isn’t a lot to you?”

Matt took over then and completely blew her mind, “Well, we’ve done Glastonbury four years ago, and that was about a hundred thousand people.”

In complete shock she had to ask, “Wait, you’re joking right?” And when they shook their heads she gasped, “A hundred thousand people?! That’s insane! How do you even manage to keep cool and play for that many people?”

Alex’s face lit up with pride and nostalgia, “It was insane, and we were definitely shitting ourselves but that was our biggest moment so we just took it as it went.”

She was so impressed and blown away, she had definitely underrated how big they were but they seemed so cool about it at the same time.

Just when Ella was about to ask a bit more about their experience her phone pinged on her back pocket and when she took it out, she saw a text from Diana.

Diana: Model’s here and getting ready, can you tell Aaron for me please?

Putting the phone back in its place, she looked at her new… friends? acquaintances? and sighed, “Thank you so much for that guys but duty calls. Sorry.”

“S’Alright” Alex gave her a tight lip smile and then timidly suggested, “You can always come back and hang out here when you’re done.” He scratched the back of his neck, avoiding Matt’s not at all subtle glance.

Ella blushed slightly, “Oh- uhm, sure, yes.” was all she managed to say back. She didn’t expect him or well, them, to want to spend even more time with her after this.

She was about to turn around when she looked down at the bottle on her hand, “Where is the tra-”

“I’ll get it for you, don’t worry.” Alex interrupted her, taking it from her hand.

“Oh thanks,” Ella cleared her throat and hoped to god her cheeks weren’t as bright as she was thinking they were from just feeling them burning up. She needed to get a grip and stop blushing like a schoolgirl around the man. “See you later.”

With that she turned and made her way to the door on the other side of the hallway. Her black pants were tight on her and Alex was quite hypnotized by the sight.

Matt followed the trail of his eyes and smirked, “Alexa would get on with her quite nicely, don’t you think?”

Alex turned quickly at the mention of his girlfriend and then rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics, “Piss off, Helders.”

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It had been an hour since Ella left the musicians. She had gotten the message to her bosses and the whole crew had started getting everything ready for filming. Alongside Ben and Aaron she had gone to where Scarlett, the model, was getting ready and after fifteen minutes of the directors explaining what it was she had to do, they had gone back out to see which hallways and routes they were going to take for filming.

Clipboard on her hand, Ella kept writing stuff down that was going to be relayed to the editing team and minor things they should ask the band later to see if they needed reshoots or if the ideas were fine with them. After all, they still had tomorrow to film with them so there was time in case more footage was needed.

After almost twenty minutes they had finally started rolling. Scarlett strutting down the venue's backstage maze in her high heels and tight bodysuit. She’s an actual goddess, was all that went through Ella’s head since the model had come out of the dressing room.

The woman was so effortlessly seductive, flirting with the camera with just her eyes. She wished she had that confidence or even just that talent—because it surely had to be considered a talent to act like her.

The most flirty Ella could ever get was after a few shots of tequila and at least some thirty minutes on the dancefloor, a little liquid courage and the confidence that dancing brought her were her fuel to get with anyone on nights out. But of course most of the time it was hard: the guys mostly turned out to be assholes and the girls were so pretty, they intimidated her.

Needless to say she was feeling jealous, but in a good way, of how Scarlett made it seem so easy to be sexy and teasing—even more so considering how she was doing that to a camera, with a bunch of people behind as an audience. Wow.

She was entranced, the top of her pen resting between her slightly parted lips. Her eyes followed the model’s every move, so intently, that she didn’t notice a door opening a few feet behind the girl.

And out of it walked no one other than Alex Turner.

Scarlett, professional as ever, only turned for a second to see who had interrupted the shot and then went back to keeping her act going. Ella, trying to be professional, held back from doing more than tilting her chin up acknowledging his presence. Alex, definitely not professional, grinned at her and didn’t let his plan of spending more time with the PA be ruined by the fact that she was busy and wouldn’t take him up to going for a smoke with him outside.

So, seeing how the model turned to the camera and started playing with her hair, he mimicked the actions hoping it would make Ella laugh. Scarlett started to slide down the wall, playing with her hair; actions Alex mirrored and made everyone chuckle, even the model when she saw what he was doing in just the same enticing way. He was looking at Ella though, how she was covering her mouth but her grin was so obviously plastered on her face.

And as the hellcat kept going, he did too, with his eyes stuck on Ella and a big smirk playing on his lips. Even though that show only lasted for a minute, Ella couldn’t wash away the feeling of his burning gaze on her.

Ben had cut the scene, laughing at Alex’s actions. “Come here man, let me show you some shots we’ve got.” he waved the singer over, and obeying he walked up to the directors.

Walking past Ella he brushed his hand on her elbow and said a hey quite faintly. Warmth. That’s what she felt when he did those little things and she hated how she couldn’t fight it, very aware of how lame she was looking to herself and to anyone who noticed the way she blushed whenever he did or said something to her. Get a grip Ella, c’mon you can be professional.

For ten minutes Ben and Aaron had Alex slightly hunched over the camera’s monitor, pointing out the different angles and footage they had managed to take so far. They all laughed watching what he had just pulled a few minutes ago, Ella’s grin growing as she watched the footage from a few meters behind them.

“Does that look good?” Aaron asked him when the last clip came to a stop.

Nodding, Alex gave him the green light, “Yeah, it looks great mate.” He itched his chin and decided to share an idea he had come up with, “I was thinking maybe she could come side stage while we’re on, just having her dance along to some songs.”

Ben liked the idea, immediately agreeing with it, “Oh that would work very well in the video.”

Aaron then decided to joke around with him, “Have you considered being a director if the rockstar gig doesn't pay off?”

He laughed softly, stealing a quick glance at Ella who was grinning at him already. “Well I hadn't until now.”

After a wave of laughter from the crew, the directors ordered everyone to take a break. The filming would resume when the band was going on stage, meaning they had around forty to fifty minutes until then.

Before everyone could leave though, Alex made an invitation, “Ben, everyone is welcome to join us in our room. We have drinks and our tour crew is there as well so you can meet everyone and chat.”

Ben clapped the singer's shoulder, “Thanks dude, we’ll take you up on it. We can even record a little bit there, just you all hanging out backstage if that’s alright with the band and your crew.”

He gave the director a nod, “Of course, yeah. See you all there.” He turned around and left, not missing a chance to give Ella one final look, her eyes were on him and they shared a silent promise of seeing each other in a bit.

Of course it all was an excuse to chat with her again whilst they still had time. The band had already gone through soundcheck and the crew had set lighting and the stage up, so everything was ready for the show to start at its time and go smoothly.

He surely was getting tired of having to get filmed but he would bite his tongue for a little longer if it meant he could spend more time with the pretty girl. And yes, he had a girlfriend, but there was nothing wrong with being aware of another girl being pretty right? It’s not like he was going to kiss her or take her back to his hotel room, he was just going to share drinks and conversation with her. Friendly talk, just that.

Ten minutes later, they were being joined by the Focus Creeps crew. Introductions were thrown everywhere, especially from Ella who on her way to get a drink was making sure she had said hello to everyone.

Alex found that endearing but he couldn’t help growing impatient. He had been subtly looking around the room for her a handful of times now. Matt on the other side of the room noticed, and elbowed Jamie who was right beside him. The guitarist frowned at his friend, confused about the sudden aggression. The frown loosening when he saw him nod in Alex’s way, both of them watched him very obviously search for her and chuckled.

“He has been doing that all day, hasn’t he?” Jamie asked Matt.

Nodding, the drummer confirmed, “Yep. I’ve been giving him reminders of Alexa’s existence though, just so he doesn’t forget.” Both laughed into their red cups that were filled with beer.

After what felt much more than the five minutes she had taken, Alex saw her making her way to him. She beamed at him and he smirked at her, raising his cup to her.

She stopped right beside him, they were standing right in one of the corners of the room. “Well hello.”

“Hey Ella,” He greeted and took a sip of his bourbon, “What are you having?”

She showed him her cup, “Saw some red wine on the table and couldn’t resist.” Her faint smile breaking as she took a sip.

“You know… earlier you surprised me, I didn’t take you for a smoker.” He said, his eyebrows raised.

She frowned in curiosity, “Really?” He shrugged, nodding and she continued teasingly, “Well you’d be surprised with the things you could find out.”

He smirked at her flirting, “Like what? Got any secret talents?”

“Secret talent? You’ve got too much faith in me, I literally just told you I don’t even know how to drive stick.” Ella couldn’t help but cackle out loud.

It wasn’t only remembering the story that made him laugh, but how contagious her laughter was. His eyes were crinkled at the edges from his big grin, and she took a mental picture of it.

They continued to laugh, feeding off each other’s giggles and it was loud enough to catch the attention of a few people, including the rest of the band. Jamie pulled Matt with him and waved at Nick to join them on their quest to interrupt Alex’s interaction.

“Hey Ellie.” Matt greeted her as he threw his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side.

Ella blushed under the touch, not because of it making her feel something, but because she had been caught in a corner giggling and drinking with Alex. Of course the aforementioned didn’t know that was the reason behind her cheeks burning, so he was silently fuming at his friend's closeness with the girl, thinking she was blushing from their proximity. “Hi Matt.” She slightly leaned towards his side as a way to reciprocate his hug.

Alex needed a way to break the contact since it seemed Helders wasn’t thinking of getting his arm off of her, so he turned to his other two band mates.

“Ellie, this is Jamie and Nick.” He was relieved to see how she took a step forward to shake hands with the two of them, leaving Matt’s arm to fall back by his side.

She gave a shy smile and corrected the singer, “Ella, nice to meet you guys again.”

They reciprocated her grin and greeting, and she went back to standing in the middle of Alex and Matt. Their group now forming a small circle in the corner.

She was afraid of things becoming awkward now with everyone there but what Nick said next made her face drop. “Ella, you know, I can teach you how to drive manual. It isn't that hard.”

His offer was genuine, it was obvious from his facial expression but she turned to Alex and Matt with a look of betrayal, “I'm never telling you two anything ever again.” She took a swig of her drink as if that would make her embarrassment disappear.

All of them laughed, Matt being fast with his excuse. “Oh c'mon, it was too funny not to share.”

Alex immediately added, “We are kind people Ellie. Did you expect us to be selfish and keep that to ourselves?” She just rolled her eyes at their arguments, not annoyed but very embarrassed.

“I hate that I don’t even have anything to embarrass you back with, because they definitely already know the stories you told me.”

“Which ones?” Nick asked curious to know if they had told her something actually embarrassing.

She sighed, “The american girl who thought Matt worked at the club,” They all chuckle at the memory, Matt mumbling a quiet ‘for fucks sake’ at the mention of it, “and Alex smoking right under a smoke detector in a room he wasn’t allowed to smoke.”

“Oh yeah, the twat almost got us kicked out of the venue.” Jamie pointed at Alex accusingly.

He quickly talked back, “Jamie, do you wanna get thrown under the bus as well?” to which the guitarist shook his head frowning at him, thinking what on earth he could have on him. “Then shut up before I tell her about the ice cream shop bathroom.”

Jamie blushed then. “Don't you dare, Turner.” His threat seemed very serious which only made Ella more eager to find out.

She pouted at Alex, “No, I wanna hear it now.” She elongated the last word like it would get her some pity and they’d tell her but Jamie shook his head once more looking at Alex like he was going to knee him in the balls if he dared open his mouth. “It's only fair since you heard my nightmare of a story, without my permission may I add.” She pointed out.

Alex turned to Jamie and raised his eyebrows in support of her argument. Jamie let out a heavy sigh of defeat, “Fair enough, go ahead.”

Filled with satisfaction for winning the debate, Alex started talking, “So you see, we had just landed in London after a small tour around the States, and from the airport on the way home we went to an ice cream shop and sat down there to eat. Jamie here got some coconut ice cream, wasn’t it, Cook?” He teasingly asked his friend.

Jamie had an unamused face, he just rolled his eyes and replied, “Yes, it was.”

“Well after finishing… his ice cream,” The lads, except for Jamie, laughed at the way the singer had worded that and Ella was so confused. Alex just continued after a chuckle left his lips, “He went to the bathroom to wash his hands, he says, but he hadn’t noticed how he had spilled ice cream on himself, in a very particular area that didn’t make it look like just an accidental ice cream spill.”

The silence that Alex left by the end of it was long enough for her to connect the dots and cover her mouth with her right hand, hiding her hanging jaw behind it. “Jamie, no.” She said feeling the humiliation of the anecdote building up.

The singer resumed his narration, “Mind you, the ice cream was white so the stain was pretty much very realistic. He had also taken a while in the bathroom for some reason and when he came out he was sporting the biggest smile.”

“Oh my god, that’s mortifying.” Ella was shaking her head in disbelief.

Jamie took over then, “Well it got worse when someone recognized us and we took pictures with them. This dickhead here,” He pointed towards Matt, “Said ‘Did you have a special phone call with your girlfriend or summat? Couldn’t you wait until you got home?’ pointing to my crotch in front of the lad. The poor kid looked at me wide eyed, said thank you and left quickly. I was dead confused and then I saw it.”

“You took that long to realize?” She questioned the man.

“Yeah well, my mates are actually the worst so they didn't tell me.” He shrugged, face still very serious. Ella hoped he wasn’t mad.

Matt clapped his shoulder, “We’re the best of mates Jamie, what d’you mean?”

She saw how Jamie wasn’t the slightest bit amused so she turned the conversation into another direction. “Okay Nick, looks like it’s your turn.”

Poor Nick shook his head earnestly, “Oh no, Ella.”

“Please? You’re the only one left.” She insisted with the best puppy eyes she could make.

“Fine, but just because you didn't have a say in these two sharing yours.” He agreed and she stood straighter in excitement.

The bassist took some time to browse through his memories, “It probably has to be me losing my wallets all the time, so I gave up and never got a proper wallet again. And so conveniently in one interview, they asked us all to show what we had in our wallets and the only thing I had in my pockets was a mini harmonica.”

She was expecting something as bad as Jamie’s, “But that's not even embarrassing, that’s just cute and funny.”

Matt quickly cut in the exchange to play with her, “Ellie, are you flirting with O’Malley?”

She looked at the drummer and frowned, “No Matt, shut up, I’m just saying that’s cute and funny because it is!”

He kept going, nudging her hip with his. “Oh no, that sounds to me like you're definitely chatting him up.”

Ella couldn’t help the blush that reached her cheeks, making her roll her eyes and look at the ground for a few seconds.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

“You’re annoying” she sighed, shaking her head.

“Yeah he is, but you get used to it.” Nick said to comfort her, his eyes friendly on her. He decided to bring the attention back to him so she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by Matt’s teasing. “Wait– no. Actually, it’s probably that time I broke a huge ice sculpture at a posh event we went to.”

She gasped, “You’re joking…”

“I wish I was. It was so loud, it was impossible to just walk out and act like nothing had happened.”

She giggled then, “The cleaning people must've wanted to kill you.”

Nick’s eyes were big, remembering how distraught he was at the time. “Oh I'm sure they were. Everyone was giving me nasty looks for the rest of the night.”

Ella tried not to laugh, feeling bad for Nick who seemed to be the nicest guy she’d ever met. “I’m sorry but that’s so embarrassing.” She broke in a fit of giggles then, unable to hold it any longer.

They all started laughing with her, Nick smiling brightly at her. “It really was.” He added, feeling glad she enjoyed the brief story.

After that, it was clear she had grown more comfortable around the musicians, the conversation flowed with ease and laughter could be heard from their group every so often. They would take turns to bring everyone refills, Matt bringing the whole bottle of red wine to her at one point, telling her she should just take it seeing how fast she was going through her cups.

She refilled her cup three times in the span of fifteen minutes, the drummer teasing her about it some more. He took the cup from her hand after she finished with her third serving and started a game of building a pyramid of red cups with every cup she’d finish. Of course, everyone joined and started lining up their cups as well making it a game that now involved everyone in the room.

Tyler had started recording a few minutes ago, catching the fast growth of the stack of plastic on the table. One that ended up being punched and destroyed by its same creator.

It was a lovely time, she was enjoying herself in their presence. But, as time does when you’re having a good time, soon the crew started to scramble out of the room, and five minutes later the band was being called over to head to the stage.

She was suddenly feeling the generous amount of red she had drunk, so a slightly slurred “Break a leg guys!” was what she said before they parted ways.

“Thanks Ellie!” They all said to her. Alex left last, giving her wrist a little squeeze and a soft smile before following his best mates’ path.

She took advantage of the minutes she had while everyone from her crew went to get their stuff, to start drinking water and sobering up. A trip to the bathroom also helped her get her act together.

Twenty minutes later, they had started filming once more. Now the model was making her way from backstage to the side of the stage where the Monkeys were performing. In the background Ella could hear the quick start of ‘Pretty Visitors’, and as they went up the stairs, they felt the vibrations of the bass on their chests.

Scarlett was swiftly moving her hips, twirling on her place and looking back at the camera with those eyes of hers. They took various shots of it, and as that was done she recognized in an instant the starting chords of ‘Teddy Picker’.

She subtly scooted closer to the stage, a few feet away from the production. She looked over the band, seeing how Alex had his guitar clutched in his hands, the way his hips moved as his lips grazed the microphone with every word he sang.

The lyrics of the song came out of her naturally, she kept her voice low, to not get the attention of her bosses—not that they could hear her easily because of the crowd being so loud but she wanted to be careful still.

The filming took quite some time, Ben saying something about wanting to have the model dancing to different rhythms so that later the editing team would choose the clips that better matched the song the video was about.

When the encore came, the band came over and said a quick hello to everyone before going downstairs into the backstage area. She assumed they were gonna take this time to use the restrooms. A few minutes later, she confirmed her theory was correct and as they came back to the side of the stage, Alex approached the directors.

“We’re going to do the song now. Sorry about the late notice, we just decided it.” His voice sounded apologetic.

Aaron was quick to settle him, “It’s alright, it actually will be even better for the music video. I’m gonna send a camera to film the crowd and another one to film you from below, if that’s alright with you?”

“Sure mate, that sounds good.” Alex replied quickly before nodding and leaving to go back on stage with the rest of the guys.

Just like that, they were back on. Screams were drowning the venue, and they only got louder when Alex told them they were going to perform a new one from the album.

With one camera on them, another one on the crowd and the other two back with the directors, they went back to filming Scarlett swaying her hips to the music once more. Ella tried her best to keep some focus on her job but she was entranced by the performance and the way the band caught their audience with such ease.

The song came to an end, the people hollering was all that could be heard for a good twenty seconds. Aaron and Ben decided to wrap up the section of the video, meaning Scarlett was good to go, so Ella went over to her to thank her and send her back with Diana and the rest of the costume and makeup department.

When she was done with that, Ben sent her over to the cameramen that were in front of the stage still recording. “Make sure they record until the concert is done, stay with them. It shouldn’t be that long until then.” She just nodded, quickly following the instructions but her speed was mostly motivated by the fact that she could at least see the last of the show.

As she got to the front of the right side of the crowd, she could hear Alex singing the first verse of ‘The View From the Afternoon’. She looked up at him, smiling and singing back the lines to him. He found her and grinned, his gaze going back to his fingers on his guitar and back to her in a matter of seconds. He almost pointed at her, but realized how that would look and he didn’t want any bullshit being talked about him in the press.

He was enjoying the fact that she knew the song and so confidently was singing along with the crowd. Alex became more surprised when she also knew ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, their last song, but he certainly would forever keep the image of her swaying hips to the song in his mind.

Once the show finished, she went over to the two cameramen and walked back into the backstage zone with them on her side. They spent the short trip back to their room talking about how crazy that was, how many people were there and how good the band was.

In the room, the crew gathered everything and some people started going over to their van with their equipment in hand. The directors and Ella went over to the band’s room to say goodbye.

“Guys, it was a pleasure seeing you today.” Ben said, shaking hands and clapping shoulders with the British men.

“We’ll see you tomorrow. Final day!” Continued Aaron, with far more energy than one would have after such a long day of work.

The bandmates said goodbye to both and then it was Ella’s turn to bid farewell. “Thank you so much for today guys. We had the best time.” She said as she went hugging each member.

They hugged her back, reciprocating her words. When she reached Alex, who was the last to embrace her, he said, “I’ll walk back with you.”

She let go and nodded, “Okay.”

He followed her as she made her way to retrieve her things and some equipment that was left, helping her with a case filled with camera chargers.

They were silent as they made their way through the hallway maze, only when they came out to the parking lot did Ella speak up, her voice glazed with nervousness. “I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow Ellie.” Alex gave her one last hug and she got the case from his hands.

He watched her as she walked over to the van and before she got in, she gave him a little wave and a shy smile to which he responded with a toothy grin.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Just like last time, the crew made the drive to the studio. Traffic had come down by the time they left the office so the trip was smooth and pretty calm.

The van’s atmosphere contrasted the nerves she was feeling, making her skin feel goosebumps when thinking of the day ahead.

She was glad the guys had taken her into the group so easily, making her comfortable and building enough trust to joke around with each other. What made her uneasy though was someone’s comment the night before: just before leaving the office, someone from costume design had teased her about how close she seemed with the band, and even though she knew they hadn’t meant it in a bad way, her stomach was in a knot and she couldn’t do much but shrug and brush it off.

“We were just chatting, they’re very nice.” Was what she said before saying goodbye to everyone and quickly making her way to her car.

That night she had taken longer doing her skin care routine, getting distracted by her thoughts and staring into her reflection for far longer than she realized.

Ella came back to reality when they parked outside the building, seeing the four guys sharing conversation while Jamie and Alex smoked.

Today the crew was smaller, only two cameras were going to be used and it was just four more people coming along the directors and Ella. The small group came out in little time, the band ending their chat in order to greet them.

“Ben, Aaron.” Alex said acknowledging the directors coming towards him, shaking their hands once they reached him. “Good morning everyone.” He waved at the rest of the crew behind the men.

A chorus of ‘good morning’ and ‘hello’ was heard then. Ella showed a shy grin which ended up in a full smile when the rest of the band looked at her and smiled at her presence.

“So, today’s a walk around Hollywood type of shoot right?” Ben asked Aaron for confirmation, Ella checking her clipboard and nodding at the same time as the director. “Well then, I think we could walk around these blocks, just catching you in the streets walking and we’ll see where the day takes us.”

The band nodded, somewhat tired of being recorded doing the most random things but what could they do. It was what came with the job. Their dream job.

And so they started making their way around the streets of Hollywood, California.

The sun hit them heavenly. Alex was wearing the leather jacket she had seen he had perched on the night before, with his usual sunglasses he had worn since they first met. Matt was also wearing sunglasses, while Jamie and Nick were facing the sunshine without any eyewear.

Their outfits were so simple but they wore them in such a way that just made them all look incredibly handsome. Anyone that laid eyes on them would be stuck in a trance for minutes just watching them do something as simple as cross the street.

Just like Ella was, completely and utterly enraptured by their presence. She tripped on a crack in the pavement and that was what brought her back to reality. She went red and only hoped no one had noticed.

Fifteen minutes they had been walking down Hollywood Boulevard, when Matt pointed excitedly at a building just a couple feet away from them. Arcade read the sign, in massive white letters. “Let’s go there, I’m sure we can film inside.”

Jamie sighed, just wanting to be done with the music video and rest. “Do we have to?”

Matt insisted, “C’mon mate, it’ll be fun.” Ella found it funny how much he sounded like a child trying to convince his parents to take him somewhere.

Ben then aided the drummer’s argument, “We can get the rest of the footage there while you all play, and we can have lunch as well.”

His suggestion had Nick and Alex shrugging, Matt nodded frantically and Jamie just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sure, let’s go.” Finally replied the guitarist, making Matt walk a bit faster, now leading the whole group into the establishment.

They found a table beside the bar where they settled down, placing a bunch of equipment on top of the table. The guys were quick to order beer bottles for each other, convincing the production team to order some drinks as well to cool down.

Their beverages arrived not that long after, the band only taking a couple sips before deciding to stand up and go over to the game machines.

Matt patted Ben on the shoulder, “Mate we’re gonna go off to play, that alright?”

“Yes, of course, don’t worry about us.” Ben assured them but giving it a second thought, he continued, “Actually,” he turned to his left side, reaching over a camcorder placed on top of the table and then directed his words towards Ella who was sitting in front of him, “Why don’t you go with them and record them playing? You know your way around working with cameras so it shouldn’t be a problem. Plus you seem to get on with them quite well.” He placed the device on her hands which she had hesitantly put forward.

Fuck! Ella yelled in her mind. To her this could only mean one thing: Ben had noticed how close she had gotten to the musicians and if he had then Aaron had noticed as well. Her freak out lasted a few seconds before she saw things in a new light since she realized her boss hadn’t made a big deal out of it or signaled it becoming an issue that got her in trouble at work. He had noticed, she guessed, but he hadn’t said a thing and maybe that meant it was alright. And if that was alright with the heads of the production company, then it should be alright with her.

Her internal debate felt like it went on for minutes but it had only been the longest five seconds she’d ever experienced. “Oh– sure, yes.” She stood up, taking the camera in one hand and her beer bottle on the other.

Matt nodded at her and started walking towards the guys who were waiting for him a few feet away from the table.

“Ellie! Are you joining us?” Asked Nick, glad to see her hanging out with them again. He found her a nice girl and very fun company.

She lifted the camera up, “It’s my job to torment you all now.” A smirk on her face to tease them, she could clearly see how bad they wanted the filming process to be over.

“Good that you’re getting this all on tape ‘cause yous are getting smoked today.” Matt cheekily said, claiming victory early.

She raised one of her eyebrows, “You think too highly of yourself, Helders.”

The drummer was quick to deny her statement, “No, I’m just aware of my skills.”

“I’d say your ego is going to be your worst enemy today, actually.” She taunted him.

He huffed trying to prove his point, and walked to the first machine that caught his attention, “Okay then, we shall start with this one.” He made his way to the boxing machine.

Nick grabbed Matt’s bottle from his hand so he could punch the bag, and said, “Ten quid Ella beats Helders on this one.”

“Thanks for the faith Nick.” Ella winked at him jokingly and Alex caught her expression, and whilst he found her even more attractive when she did it, he was the littlest bit disappointed it hadn’t been directed to him.

As if he was in the middle of a boxing match, Matt was on guard and moving his feet imitating a boxer’s moves. The camcorder in her hands was rolling, capturing the moment. “Ready?!” his question flying in the air a second before throwing a right hook to the tiny bag.

The red numbers automatically went up all the way until they hit 857. Matt turned around with a massive grin on his face, “Your turn now, Ellie.” He made a gesture for her to approach the game.

She turned to Alex and handed him her bottle, “Hold this for me please,” handing Jamie the camera right after. She made her way to the machine, and jumped a little on her spot letting her arms loose for a little to relax before getting on guard.

“Let’s go Ellie!” loudly cheered Nick, Jamie to his left had the camera in hand focused on her.

With that encouragement she threw a punch to the bag, the numbers climbing fast and reaching the 840s. They were all looking intently as they kept going up making it to 850, going up one more before it stopped.

Matt hollered loudly and anyone could think he had won the lottery not an arcade game against a friend—but hey, that’s men with their pride when it comes to games. He proceeded to take his beer from Nick's hand and down what he had left in celebration.

She clapped her hands, “Well done, Helders.”

“Glad to see you aren’t a sore loser, Ella.” he replied, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

She gave into his action, appreciating the friendly contact and leaning into him as they walked. “I would love to say the same about you but I have the feeling that would be a lie.” she teased, elbowing him on the ribs softly.

Alex walked up to Ella and gave her her drink back, hoping she would take it and leave Matt’s side. His best friend was getting more comfortable around the girl than he’d like to see, and for once Matt had the advantage of actually being single to do anything he’d like.

Fucking hell.

To his relief, Ella grabbed her glass back after giving him a small thank you and then walked to Jamie to retrieve the recording device.

Nick started walking ahead for a few seconds before he stopped and turned to the PA. “How about we race with our favorite driver?” He joked and everyone laughed, even her.

She faked hurt, a hand over her heart, “And here you were becoming my favorite.” She sniffled to seem more dramatic but chuckled right after.

Jamie and Matt went first against each other, leaving their glasses on top of the machines. Curses and insults were thrown all throughout the course of the race, making the laughter of the group loud and continuous. Ella hoped the footage wasn’t too shaky and it could be used in the video.

Just as the last lap was coming to its end, Jamie threw Matt off the road and won the race. The drummer went back on the road to finish the course, and once that was done, he shoved his friend, “You cheating bastard!” Jamie just kept laughing, getting off the seat.

Matt rolled his eyes, completely annoyed, and then said, “Right. Al, Ella, your turn now.”

Alex took a seat on the machine to the right, “Thank God this one isn’t manual right Ellie?” He teased, turning to see her with a smirk on his face.

The three other guys laughed hard at the comment and she looked at him fake offended, “Ha-ha, so funny Alex.” Ella rolled her eyes and turned back to the screen, a couple clicks later their race started.

Silence overcame the group as they watched how Ella had left Alex behind and got a good advantage, which he never at one point managed to overcome.

Nick chuckled into his bottle, “Fucking hell, Alex you do know winning means being first not fifth, right?”

“Shut up.” The singer muttered before going back into silence to focus on the game.

Not even a minute later she had won first place by far, turning to Alex with an amused face, taking a sip of her drink and then faking a yawn to tease him. He turned to her when she made the noise, crossing the finish line at the same time.

“Damn, finally. You were taking your sweet time.” She got up and left him there, sat and humbled.

The guys were doing the worst job at trying to stop their laughter from leaving their chests, it only took Alex taking a glance from Ella to the game’s screen and back for them all to explode.

She waved at them, walking away, “Let’s go before he starts crying.” The lads quickly joined her as she continued walking into the arcade.

Alex caught up with them, coming to walk beside her. “If you had raced Matt, he would’ve definitely cried.”

The mentioned turned around quickly to refute the statement his friend had made, “If she had raced me, she would’ve lost.”

“Sure, whatever you say mate.” Alex replied and then turned to Ella. They looked into each other's eyes and shared a good quiet laugh.

The group kept walking further into the place, stumbling into the basketball hoops. Matt, of course, stopped there and turned to challenge Ella once more.

“How about this one Ellie? You against me.” The brit proposed very confidently.

She only shrugged downplaying her excitement, “Sure, why not?” She gave Alex the camera this time and placed her almost empty bottle on the table behind them.

Matt stood in front of the machine on the right, “Ready to lose Ella?”

She cackled, cracking her knuckles, “You’d be surprised.”

Nick felt like something was going to happen so he said, “Again, ten quid Ella beats Matt.” and Alex accepted the bet, recording his hand shake with the bassist. Ella glared at him and shook her head.

Matt scoffed at his friends, “Mate you’re gonna lose all your money if you keep placing shit bets.”

Ignoring Matt’s comment, she turned around and said, “I won't let you down Nick, I promise.”

With that promise, they started the game. Ella wasn’t missing any hoops and when Matt realized he just yelled, “What the actual fuck?!”

Ella laughed and kept going, the time running out and when it briefly buzzed as they only had twenty seconds left, she felt the drummer leave his place to start blocking her shots. “Matthew! Move!” She said loudly in between laughs, trying to make more points but she could only manage three more as the man in front of her wouldn’t let her.

The buzzer loudly went off and the points on the board showed how poorly Matt had performed.

He turned shocked to look at her, “Did you even miss one?!”

She threw her hair over her shoulder, smiling proudly. “Of course not, I was the best shot at my middle and high school team, that would’ve been an insult to my younger self.”

The loser crossed his arms, “That's cheating then, you’re basically a professional.”

A loud cackle left her and shaking her head, Ella walked over to his side. “Oh c’mon Helders, you aren’t pulling excuses now, are you?” She nudged him with her hip and he smiled down at her playfully.

He shrugged, pressing his lips together to try and not smile at her teasing, “I'm just saying it's an unfair advantage.”

“Sure, sure.” She rolled her eyes before they both started laughing, Nick and Jamie joining.

Alex was still holding the camera in his hand, but looking at the floor, silently fuming at how close Matt and Ella looked. Growing jealous over how much she smiled from their banter or how she seemed to make contact with him out of her own will.

He of course knew he had no right to be jealous, he was in a relationship and they were barely even friends, but he couldn’t not feel unsettled by it. There was no denying he found her attractive, and if he was single maybe he would’ve tried to chat her up but he wasn’t, so he had to bite his tongue and deal with it. Well, put it away, more like.

Ella went towards Alex and got the camcorder from him, “Thanks Al.” She said and gave him a tight lip smile.

He was confused as to why she seemed easily flirty with Matt or Nick but not with him. And maybe she didn’t even notice that she was doing it but he thought maybe that meant she didn’t even see him that way. Yet all she did around him was go shy and blush and that was enough to confuse him.

What he didn’t know—because how could he know if he had just met her once before—, was that she could never flirt when she wanted to with whom she wanted to. Yes, she could seem flirty with Nick and Matt but she actually wanted to flirt with Alex, because she found him very attractive and there was something about him that just drew her in, but she couldn’t do it for the life of her. She just blushed and was a mess with words, she didn’t know what she should say to impress him or keep him in conversation, enough for him to be the slightest interested in her.

They didn’t know better. She was hoping with time, she could learn to read him and he was wishing for the same thing, not wanting to really let the pretty girl be a thing of the past anytime soon.

As they made their way back to the table they passed a Street Fighter machine and they all took turns going against each other. Alex and Matt went three times to settle a tie—which Alex ended up winning and Matt whining about.

When Jamie dared Ella to play, she accepted but had absolutely no clue what to do. The game started and she just kept pressing buttons randomly, moving the joystick everywhere. The group was a mess of laughter and she was obviously losing in the most pathetic way but she was enjoying herself so she didn’t mind making herself look like an idiot.

Jamie was laughing harder than she had ever heard him do, “You’re wank at this!”

“I know.” Ella managed between chuckles, her eyes watering and her stomach hurting from the laughter.

Once she lost, and they all caught their breaths again, they made their way back to where the crew was sitting.

The group settled around in the empty seats, Ella giving the camera back to the directors, who thanked her. Menus were now on the table, so they got tempted into ordering some lunch at the place.

Twenty minutes of chatter later, with their hot plates now in front of them, they all shared the appetizers.

In the middle of the conversation, Nick turned to the directors and Ella who was sitting beside them. “You should all come around the show later tonight.”

Ben swallowed his food and gave him a sad smile, “We would love to but we have a call to do and things to arrange for next week's projects.” He explained pointing to himself and Aaron.

Jamie turned to her then, “What about you Ella?” and Alex telepathically thanked his friend, because he had been wanting to ask her about it for almost an hour.

Covering her mouth with her hand as she swallowed, she nodded. “I’m free tonight so sure I’ll be there.”

“Great, it starts at 8 but come over earlier so you can hang out before we go on.” The guitarist told her with a soft smile.

She nodded, excitement bubbling up in her belly, and she tried not to let it shine through her face as the conversation around the table continued.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

She tried, she really tried getting there in time but traffic had ruined her plans. Despite leaving her house at six, she had only gotten to the venue a little over twenty minutes before the show was set to start.

Finding a parking spot had been a nightmare, and getting into the venue had given her a slight headache. That’s why she made her way through the now familiar venue, with a lit cigarette between her fingers—checking of course if there were any signs that prohibited it before going in.

When she reached the hallway their room was at, she could hear the chatter bouncing on the walls.

She took a long drag of her cigarette and reached the door, letting the smoke out of her lungs through the side of her mouth before saying, “Hi everyone.” Her tone was weaker than usual because she was there all alone, and not for work. She was there as a friend, or that’s what she’d like to consider herself to them now.

“Ella!” shouted Nick, throwing his hands up in the air.

She stepped into the room, waving at the people around, hugging the band members one by one—Jamie leaving for a quick few seconds to get her a cup of wine.

The guitarist gave her the red plastic cup, now half filled with liquid, “We don’t have red today but I hope you like rosé.”

She nodded, “I do, thanks Jamie.”

Alex tested his theories then, pulling Matt’s trick. “I almost thought you weren’t coming.” His leather clad arm came around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.

Ella took a gulp of her drink, hiding her burning cheeks and wide eyes behind the cup. “Oh yeah, uhm, sorry.” She cleared her throat before explaining, “I got stuck in traffic and getting a parking space was a nightmare, there’s still so many people outside.”

Nick looked at Alex, frowning slightly as if to demand an explanation for his behavior. The singer noticed his mate’s glare but decided to clearly ignore him, his arm still around Ella and not planning to move anytime soon.

But it seemed like tonight it wouldn’t be his friends reminding him of his girlfriend that cut his time short with Ella, a few beats of time later, people started scurrying out of the room and to the stairs that led to the stage.

“Let’s go lads, you’re on in ten.” yelled someone from outside the room, their steps echoing as they left.

Alex sighed and took his arm off her, “You can watch us from the side stage if you don’t want to get in the crowd.” His suggestion came accompanied by a soft smile.

She nodded, still dazed by his long contact with her. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a few.”

They started to leave the room, drinks in hand. “Enjoy the show!” said Nick before making his way through the doorway and out of her sight.

Ella downed the rest of her wine, being cheeky and pouring herself another glass before going to the bathroom to calm down. Her burnt out cigarette being tossed into the trash.

Her reflection stared back at her flushed. The kind of flushed that she couldn’t get from just a single serving of alcohol. Ugh, Ella snap out of it! She said to herself, annoyed at how easy it was for him to get a reaction out of her. Her face only grew redder thinking about how the other guys must’ve definitely also noticed it.

Opening the tab, she let the cold water wet her hands and then patted them on her cheeks, hoping it would bring down the color on her face. She shook her hands in the air when she noticed there weren't any paper towels in the dispenser. With a deep breath and a final look at herself in the mirror, she grabbed her cup and left.

The side of the stage was a place she knew she’d love to spend her time permanently on, even though she was afraid of tripping with the amount of wires and tape that were on the floor and the speakers bursting her eardrums. She loved it.

She was dancing and singing to every song, going harder to ‘Teddy Picker’, which Alex and Jamie noticed. Jamie stepped backwards and danced with her while playing the chords swiftly.

And as the gig went by, Alex kept stealing glances over to the side at her and how she knew every line to every song. Was she a fan before we met? He was impressed by how good she had been at keeping her cool when they met her then, if that was the case. He would look for answers after they were done.

When they reached the encore and the lads got off stage, Ella went over to them, “You guys are amazing! Holy shit!”

Matt chuckled, “Thanks.” he said out of breath before chugging down a new beer bottle.

“I’m gonna go down to the side when you guys get back on. I wanna see this madness up close.” She was excited, the crowd was amazing and she wanted to be a part of it.

Alex nodded, “Just be careful with the stairs over there.”

She smiled at him and turned to make her way to the side of the crowd, in front of the barrier. Everyone was chanting for them to come back and give them another song, herself joining to the demands.

The four of them came back on stage waving, and the screams were deafening. How can they even scream that loud? Her throat was hurting just from hearing them.

“Alright Los Angeles, we’ve got three more for you. Are you ready?” Alex asked into the microphone, brushing his hair back with his right hand, the left one holding the neck of his guitar.

The crowd didn’t miss the opportunity to rip their vocal chords once more and they started playing ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’.

There was no doubt every scream that filled the room was excused, Alex’s presence was immaculate with the stage light hitting him just right. And when he looked at her and sang ‘Makes me wanna blow the candles out, just to see if you glow in the dark’, she swore she melted. He had winked at her right after, a big smile breaking on her face and she joined the chorus singing ‘Shalala’s.

Ella’s trance was broken by an arm behind her tapping her shoulder, she looked behind her and saw someone waving a big piece of paper folded to her, signaling for her to throw it on stage. She grabbed it and did her best to throw it at Alex who was currently singing. Lucky for her and the owner of the sign, he noticed and crouched down to get it.

He unfolded it and laughed into the mic, turning it around and holding it over his head for the crowd to see, while he kept singing the verses.

Helders = God

She burst out laughing, the crowd screaming at the words on the paper. He put it down after a few seconds and, when the song was over, turned to show it to his bandmates. Matt loved the praise, so he laughed into his mic and said “Cheers”.

The setlist was the same, as she realized the last two songs were just like the ones she had managed to see the night before. She enjoyed them, nevertheless, absorbing the energy from the room and dreading the fact that the concert was approaching its end.

Alex said goodbye to the crowd when ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ was done, thanking them for coming tonight. Matt threw his sticks to the crowd, for which Ella definitely saw people fighting over. Nick and Jamie waving goodbye after setting their instruments in their stands.

She made her way back into the backstage area with a giant grin and still feeling the bass vibrating on her chest. “If that was that crazy, I can’t even begin to imagine how Glastonbury was.”

They were all sweaty—Matt having gone straight to their greenroom to take a shower—standing in the middle of the hallway waiting for her to catch up to go to their room.

“Glastonbury was mad, but tonight was pretty good.” Jamie said before lighting up a cigarette.

Alex took his chance then to interrogate her, “So Ellie, I couldn’t help but notice how you knew all the lyrics to the songs…”

Ella rolled her eyes at him, blushing slightly but this time because she had been caught. “Well, after filming ‘Brick by Brick’ I started listening to your music. You aren’t that bad, I guess.” She smirked and shrugged, downplaying it.

He shook his head, puffing his chest out to say, “We are very far from bad, actually.”

She nodded and then sarcastically added, “And from humble too.”

Nick and Jamie laughed at the witty remark, Alex sticking to shaking his head and looking down to hide his grin.

“Smart-arse.” The singer said after picking his head up.

When they got back into the room, she went over to the trash to throw away her cup. Looking at the time on her phone and she found herself sad knowing she had to leave soon, she turned to them with a pout on her face, “Pains me to say this, but I gotta get going.”

“Awh, Ellie.” Nick pouted as well and went over to hug her.

She hugged him back, “Sorry guys, but I hope to see you soon.” She patted Nicks back twice before turning over to Jamie who had his arms out waiting for her embrace. “Thank you for having me tonight.”

“It’s no problem, we really appreciate you coming.” Jamie replied while rubbing circles on her back.

She started to walk over to Alex who was still standing near the door to hug him goodbye but he was quick to say, “I’ll walk you to your car.”

She waved her hand dismissing his idea, he didn’t have to go out of his way to do that, “No, don’t worry–”

But he insisted, “Yes, c’mon. I’ll go with you.” to which she gave him a playful roll of her eyes and a smile.

“Alright then.” She turned to wave back at the boys again, “Say bye to Matt for me?”

Both of them nodded and waved back at her, watching her and Alex disappear through the door.

Alex and Ella were walking in silence for a few seconds, their shoes thumping against the floor but she broke it very soon after she found herself thinking back to the gig and the songs she was growing obsessed with, “I’m actually really excited for Suck it and See.” She put some hair behind her ear, looking at him.

“Do you wanna get a copy and some merch?” He asked suddenly, she got confused at the offer.

Frowning all she could mutter was, “Huh?”

He just laughed at her reaction, “I can get you on the PR list so you can get it delivered when it comes out.”

Ella’s eyes lit up, an excited grin breaking on her face, “Oh my God, would you really?”

“Of course, it’s really no big deal. We’re mates now, gotta get the mates perks right?” Alex said, pulling his cigarette pack from his pocket.

“Oh I would love that, thank you.” she nodded as she accepted. Mates, that’s what we were, mates, and she was fine with it.

He lit up the stick between his lips and blew some smoke out, “It’s no problem, really.”

She kind of wished the walk could’ve been longer, but they reached her car faster than she expected. It was time to say goodbye and she didn’t really know how to act. She wasn’t going to see him until the next music video which still had no proper date, just an approximation of it being in August—two months from then.

“Well,” Ella started, fumbling with the keys in her hands, “Until the next music video I guess?”

Alex nodded, taking the cigarette out of his lips to talk, “Until the next music video.”

She unlocked her car, opening the door slightly and turned before getting inside to give him a brief hug, “See you soon then, Al.”

Her scent engulfed him as soon as she opened her car and even more when she wrapped her arms around him. He reciprocated the embrace and the contact was making him get stuck on his thoughts, taking a good five seconds before replying, “See you soon Ellie.��

She smiled as she let go of him, getting inside her car and closing the door. She ignited the engine of her car and started backing up, waving at him before changing gears and stepping on the gas, leaving him behind, with half a cigarette left to smoke and somehow her perfume overpowering the burning tobacco.

He was sure he would think of her for far longer than acceptable, and he would be counting down the days until the next music video was set to be done.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: What did you think about this one then? I hope you liked seeing their dynamics grow, they are all so much fun to write! From now on chapters are coming every other week, so part 3 will be posted on the 24th! This is just so we can have plenty of Constant Repeat to last us a while and I can finish the series without rushing it, hope you understand x Thank you so much for reading again, I truly appreciate it. See you soon!!!!!

Taglist: @imagine-that-100 @red---moon @kennedy-brooke @faveficz @indierockgirrl @ladydraculasthings @moonvr @unwantedlovergirl @eaglestar31

#Alex Turner #alex turner x reader #alex #turner #arctic monkeys #alex turner fanfic #alex turner fanfiction #alex turner fluff #alex turner blurb #alex turner drabble #alex turner imagine #alex turner one shot #alex turner x y/n #alex turner arctic monkeys #matt helders #nick omalley #jamie cook

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theflyingfeeling · 1 year ago

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when I felt happy and carefree again for a while

(= a concert report of a kind from BC @ Särkänniemi 11.8.2023 🖤)

- First things first, the weather report: partly cloudy most of the time, not too warm but not too cold either (until maybe after the gig; I knew I didn't pack my super sexy gloves in vain 😌)

- The atmosphere was rather chill at the amusent park where the concert was held, so we had a chance to hang about and even go to exactly one ride lol (which was quite enough for us and we actually had a fun time and really put the amusement in amusement park tyvm, unlike the other (10-ish) people in the ride who looked like they'd rather be literally anywhere else)

- Also @wearenosaints and I were asked to give our extremely coherent and otherwise correct opinions about the Back To School event to the press like the very important people we are so yeah if you see our faces on the paper tomorrow that's us hiiiii 👋

- I was pleasantly surprised to get MUCH better spots than what I had last time BC played at Särkänniemi (=couldn't see shit from the stage being so low and all the phones and fucking CARDBOARD SIGNS blocking our view), our spots were rather excellent tbh, at least in comparison to what I was expecting

- ...aaaaaaand then the cardboard signs appeared 🙂

- So yeah if anyone was filming a video at that time (just before BC came on stage), the collective voi vittu! that can probably be heard in the background when the signs first appeared that was definitely us hiiiii 👋

- I know the five months between my previous BC show and this one is a short time in the grand scheme of things I guess but I assure you it's felt like half a lifetime at least, so it was an exciting moment to see all the guys run on stage one by one, I was so thrilled about seeing them with my bare eyeballs again that I was surprised everytime any of them showed up lol, for example I think Joonas was the last one I saw and it took a while for him to come to our side of the stage too, so I was like "oh yay Porko's here too!" as if I had forgotten he's in the band as well 😂

- We saw a LOT of Olli and 😩😩😩😩 he's such a sexy motherfucker that I'm actually mad about it. I love how he really puts his whole goddamn pussy into the show, and the way he's so flirty sjfjfjkfkfkffk for a while I thought he had, you know, someone special watching him from the side of the stage because he kept flirting and making faces towards someone on his left side the whole fucking time, but then I figured Santeri was filming there so I guess he was just flirting with the camera like the common slut he is <3

- (and this totally did not give me any fic ideas about flirty!Olli and jealous!Allu 👀)

- Speaking of Aleksi: 😩😩😩😩😩

- He's nice-looking alright although I've never really been that attracted to him, but literally the first time I saw him tonight I was like 'well damn, Aleksi looks fine as hell?' 😩😩😩😩 the hair he has now looks sooooooo good on him, the shirt he was wearing really brought out his tits made him look rather desirable in my eyes, I may have an itsy-bitsy crush on him now byeeeee 💀

- idk man being there just felt a bit like coming home? 😭 there weren't any surprises in the setlist but honestly I didn't expect there to be, it was sort of comforting actually to know exactly how it was going to go and the guys seemed happy about playing in Finland again as well (Niko: "Everyone here knows our songs!!" 😂🥰)

- They also teased us about the Nokia Arena show that's apparently happening at some point in (near?) future 👀 I mean, don’t quote me on this lol they didn't spill any actual deets but it's gotta be Nokia Arena right? I mean, what else could it be lol

- But yeah. Lately there's been so much stuff in my life that's been stressing me out and making me feel uneasy and worried and some of it even a little sad (just earlier today I had to fight back tears in the bus because I was upset about something that had happened I know I shouldn't be upset about and yet...), but during the show? None of that shit mattered. For those 60 minutes, I was so completely happy and carefree again 🖤

- Many thanks to the peeps who tolerated my bad jokes today and only made little fun of my cool and sexy gloves, you know who you are and I love you <3

- See you next week 🤝

#blind channel #i wrote this in the bus back but i'm now back at home safe and sound #no one had stolen my bicycle nor my helmet 🙏#wear your helmets kids even after BC shows when you may feel like nothing can ever hurt you again <3 #also i tried posting another stupid video drom the stupid show but stupid tumblr won't let me 😭#okay to reblog <3 (if you for some reason want to reblog my ramglings 😂)#gig reports by theflyingfeeling #my concert

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lorifragolina · 1 year ago

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The third entry for Mungrove Summer Bingo 2023. Yes, I cheated, I used two prompt but they’re quite similar. B1 Midnight Swim C3 Midnight Drive

@mungrovebingos

Sweet pies

A night in summer

Billy Hargrove was driving quietly on the desert highway.

He turned down a little the volume of the stereo and took a drag from the cig he was holding with his arm over the windowpane. The air was warm and smelled of good things, sand, ocean salt and so much love he couldn’t keep it in his heart.

His boyfriend was sleeping in the passenger side, with his head resting on his own arm, his black long hair all over his shoulders and the shirt open on his chest. He smelled of salt and moonlight too, and Billy smiled dumbly to himself.

They were a couple for just an hour, but he felt he would treasure that moment forever.

Eddie Munson was on tour with his band, the Corroded Coffin, to promote their fourth album, and they were ending the USA branch before leaving to Europe later in summer. They were in a big wave of success and they are working to some soundtracks and original songs for various projects. Their manager said that there was a horror book series they wanted to film for TV and it was rumored they could call Corroded Coffin for the soundtrack.

But the thing that filled Eddie’s thoughts in those days wasn’t his work.

He met Billy at a party and he didn’t let him go.

Billy worked as a model for some of the most important designers in the fashion world, and having him barely dressed on billboards wherever Eddie went helped him not to forget him. Anyway, he saw Billy way more undressed than in the advertising, and it was an experience every time.

It was fucking hard coordinare their commitments, but luckily Billy in that moment didn’t have so much work - meaning that he had only one or two photoshoots a week, probably in the opposite sides of the country - but he wasn’t afraid to travel just to meet Eddie where he was playing and have torrid intercourses between gigs.

“What is this, the tenth hotel we sleep in?” said Eddie one night, pouring some scotch from the minibar, while Billy took off his shoes. He had just sneaked in the hotel, a hoodie and sunglasses on, despite the diligent concierge at the entrance. He lived from hotel to hotel enough to learn a trick or two to go in and out at his will and how to let someone in or out of a hotel room.

“Eighth” answered Billy quickly, he always remembered little details like that.

“You look really sexy” said Eddie again, pulling down the hoodie zip. It was a Corroded Coffin crew hoodie, so the hotel staff wouldn’t stop him. Billy had a pass Eddie stole for him too, just in case.

“Do your crew turn you on in this way?” Asked Billy flickering his eyes, looking intensely at the bulge in the Eddie’s wore pijama.

“Some of them, but just one that works on my personal pleasure” he took off the hoodie and Billy pulled his shirt over his head. He smelled of coconut and almonds, Eddie was amazed of how Billy always smelled good even in the most adverse moments and how he was always perfect, also when he was barely awake or been well shaken by Eddie in his bed.

“You worked today, right?” continued Eddie, smelling his scent loud in that delicate zone under his lobe.

“Mmmm… babe…” whined sweetly Billy. “Yes… but it was in Malibu, I slept at home” he whined harder, while Eddie opened his jeans.

“It means you drove… What, four hours?”

“It’s not that much babe…” Billy cupped Eddie’s face and kissed him passionately on the lips, sucking his tongue and his bottom lips. “It's worth driving…”

“You’re spoiling me, babe, you know…”

Eddie gently pulled him on the bed.

“But now I will take good care of you”.

#stranger things #eddie munson #billy hargrove #writing #mungrove summer bingo #wip

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pitchshitterarchiver · 7 months ago

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Black velvet interview with J.S Clayden from Pitchshifter.

PITCHSHIFTER

(JS Clayden Questionnaire - Taken From Black Velvet 20 - May 99)

By Shari Black Velvet

When JS Clayden sang ‘I must be some kind of genius’, he was not too far wrong. www.pitchshifter.com is an immaculate piece of artwork in one of its noisiest forms. It rips, cuts, tears, bleeps, bops, blares and generally twirls you around in circles leaving you dizzy and decidedly off-balance afterwards. JS Clayden, his brother Mark, plus Johnny Carter, D Walters and Jim Davies are one of the most inventive quintets in rock today. Let’s find out more... courtesy of an email questionnaire which JSC was kind enough to fill in.

J = Js clayden

BV = black velvet interviewer

Black Velvet : What has been the highlight of your career so far?

JS Clayden: Meeting Jello Biafra, selling out the Astoria, playing with Black Sabbath, playing Reading Festival to a full crowd, going to Troma Films offices, not having to get a real job for the last five years.

BV: If you were a contestant on Mastermind, which subject (excluding The Life & Times Of Pitchshifter), would you most like to answer questions on?

J: Punk rock/jazz/art.

BV: How was your UK tour back in February? Do any gigs stick out? Which and why?

J: The UK tour was amazing. We sold out about five venues which was a nice surprise. Our fans in the UK have been very patient while we have been touring the world in '98. It was great to get back home and play to a very appreciative crowd. The London gig was obviously awesome, as there were 2250 nutters up for a mad night out.

BV: Which has been your favourite tour to date and why?

J: Personally I loved the American tour with Gravity Kills, Junkie XL and Cold. It was summer, we had a great tour bus, the tour was 3 months long and we all got along really well. I met a lot of really cool people that I still correspond with over the net and it was just one of those Summers, ya know? Japan was also amazing, but I think America had it.

BV: What would be your dream gig? Where? When? Supported by whom?

J: My dream gig? Dead Kennedys, Big Black, Plug, The Walking Seeds, DJ Shadow, Sex Pistols, Jeff Mills, The Specials, Everclear, The Ruts, Shellac and Girls Against Boys.

BV: Are you looking forward to the 'Big Day Out'? How do you think it will be?

J: We are all looking forward to it. The Ozzfest at the same place was amazing and the Big Day Out will be just as cool I'm sure. I like the fact that crowds get so see different facets of harder edged music rather than just a day of ‘heavy metal’. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. Hopefully I can get in the crowd again and meet the folks down front.

BV: What do you think of Earache's re-issue of 'Infotainment?'?

J: I think for someone who doesn't already own the release it is a great package. And for those who already do, well you get the 3 mixes and all the videos for free if you have a computer. Although the band had nothing to do with the re-release it is quite tastefully done and it looks pretty good. The CD-Rom portion is comprehensible and easy to use.

BV: Fanzines - your thoughts on them...

J: They get to review stuff commercial mags are too afraid to, or can't sell. I like fanzines. Pitchshifter have always featured well in zines. Good luck to them all!

BV: Is there such a thing as a typical Pitchshifter fan?

J: I don't think so. Our public is very cross-genre. I would hope that one thing all our fans have in common is their willingness to be open-minded. We try and give our fans every opportunity to experience new things when we can. We take new bands on tour with us, we talk about what affects us on our website, we get interesting remixes done etc.

BV: You're admired as a band by all sorts. Who would you say is your most famous fan? How do you feel knowing that you might have fans who are also into bands ranging from Bon Jovi to 3 Colours Red to Napalm Death?

J: I was out with 3CR last night! They played Rock City and we had a party afterwards (ouch!) (S: I know, I was there). I am always flattered that people have even heard of the band. We never get any radio play or major press. It's through the small indie stations and fanzines and mags like Metal Hammer and Kerrang! and Terrorizer and our website that people know what we are up to. Our most famous fan? The aliens that left the crop circle in the shape of our eye logo!

BV: Since the Seagram merger/Universal Group takeover, have you found any major changes occurring that involve Pitchshifter? How do you think, as a band, this change will affect you?

J: I can't discuss that element of our deal right now. I can assure you that the new LP is on its way however.

BV: The tour diary on your web site is very interesting and enjoyable to read. When is the release of the book and will it be available worldwide?

J: When I collate it and find a publisher! I am actually in the process of writing a novel based on the first tour diary I did in 1994. It won't be finished for some time though. I am actually far more comfortable writing prose instead of music.

BV: Why did you start writing a tour diary in the first place? Do you keep a regular diary? When did you first start keeping a diary?

J: I have the worst memory. I started writing a tour diary to try and remember what the hell I've been doing for the last 5 years. It was just for me. I think being able to see what you think on paper on the screen also acts as a cathartic catalyst for what you think. You should try it.

BV: You've been touring pretty much constantly for ages. How do you keep things fresh and fun on the road?

J: Satanism, child slavery, sex before marriage, crack cocaine, AC/DC records and Sony playstations. No, seriously - we are having so much fun playing music that we just enjoy it every night. We just literally goof around with each other on stage. Watch us and you'll see us laughing as we stage dive. It's a great life style and it's a shame it can't last for ever. The plethora of laptops, digital cameras and samplers that travel with us keep us on our toes too.

BV: How would you like to see Pitchshifter in the 21st century?

J: Madder, balder, fatter, richer, more irreverent, more cynical.

BV: You once said "The music that spoke to us unemployed kids on sh**ty estates in the North of England was punk music... It was angry and we were angry...". Are you still angry now? What makes you angry?

J: Take a look outside your door... GM foods, police brutality, racism, us f**king the 3rd world over, bulls**t politics, right wing lunatics, pro-life extremists, restrictive religions... Want me to go on?

BV: Is there any subject you'd really like to write a song about that you haven't so far?

J: I think we should write a love song. Now that would be funny.

BV: You come up with all sorts of samples. Where do you get your ideas from for them? Have you thought of anything you'd already like to sample for the next album? Anything really weird?

J: We just go to the studio and sample what we like. I think there will be some more back tracking on this LP. We tried dog whistles but they are outside the audio range of a CD. I have sampled my answer phone messages, my flatmate talking drunk, a woman sleep talking and the sampler feeding back through my computer - I'm sure other stuff will ensue.

BV: If you could introduce three new conditions/regulations into today's society, what would you like to introduce?

J: 1 - Radio stations would be forced at gun point to play wide variety of music and the DJ is only allowed to talk if she/he is telling you the name of the record. 2 - Politicians are not allowed to own ANY businesses and any that are caught lying have to parade naked with a dunce hat around Trafalgar Square for 30 minutes while the populous get to throw rotting vegetable matter at them. 3 - Big business is never allowed to regulate itself, no more BSE scenarios please.

BV: Similarly, you like to get people to question what's going on and you hope to open their eyes by writing and/or talking about your beliefs. What do you currently think the masses should open their eyes to?

J: The continual stream of bulls**t in the news and the government line. The classics from Tony Bore: 1 - "We will not support actions that will endanger the lives of people in minority communities abroad". So what does he do? Grants MORE weapons licences to countries like Indonesia who we know for a fact will use to kill people in East Timore. 2 - "GM foods are safe". Yeah, just like BSE baby. We have no idea what the repercussions of altering food might be until 10 years down the line when they say "Oops, actually they kill you". Just like the pill, just like BSE.

BV: When you originally set up the band, and when you bring new members in (i.e. when Jim began working with the band), do things such as whether the guy is a vegetarian, into Greenpeace and all the other same political and social beliefs as you take up as much a role as whether he's a good musician?

J: They are not mandates but they are important. Jim is a veggie and he believes in a lot of things that we think are important anyway and so all is well. We don't care if people eat meat. It's up to the individual. We don't do it and it works for us and we will be happy to explain why to you. But if you don't want to know then we aren't going to shove it down your throat. It's about education not indoctrination.

BV: Describe the other members of the band.

J: Drinky, mumbly, randy, and happy (does that make me snow white?).

BV: Sum up Pitchshifter in ten words or less.

J: Degenerate low life, mal-adjusted freaks.

BV: Anything else you'd like to add?

J: Go to http://www.pitchshifter.com now and see what's up!

Yep, do as the man says.

#alt #alt metal #alternative #alternative metal #metal #metalhead #nu metal #pitchshifter #idk #industrial #industrial metal #industrial nu metal #British #black velvet

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hmel78 · 4 years ago

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In conversation with Derek Forbes ...

Fans of ‘Simple Minds’, should need no introduction to Derek Forbes. From 1979 - 1985, he formed part of the creative force which drove ‘Simple Minds’ to the pinnacle of their music career and become one of the most successful bands ever to come out of Scotland. His bass lines pushed ‘Simple Minds’ through the boundaries of their experimental post-punk / new wave early albums, to the dancefloor, and more importantly, the charts. In 1985, with the release of ‘The Breakfast Club’ film - which has become something of a cult classic - the single “Don’t You Forget About Me”, catapulted ‘Simple Minds’ into the Top 10 around the world. Around the same time, Forbes left the band ... his reasons for why have been speculated on for decades, and with the recent release of his autobiography ‘A Very Simple Mind’, curious minds may finally find out what happened on that fateful day. Many folks are of the opinion that, with Forbes departure, the band lost it’s sound and became just another pop band, striving to make records and money on relentless tours, without much music of substance. That’s not in any way a criticism of the musicians hired by the band to carry the work forward, but for many fans of ‘Simple Minds’ early work, the new stuff has just never come close.

I caught up for chat with Derek when he was releasing the ‘ZANTI’ album “Broken Hearted City” back in 2018, but hadn’t published it until today! [18.02.2024] HR : We’ve known each other forever, but this is the first time you’ve allowed me to interrogate you.

DF : Aye, and don’t think you’re getting anything exclusive, you know I’m writing a book!

HR : I’ve a wealth of exclusives I could publish already ...

DF : [Laughs] You wouldn’t dare. That look says you would.

HR : I’ll play it safe today!

DF: Keep in printable ..........

HR : How did you get the gig with ‘Simple Minds’?

DF : I had met Jim Kerr when he was around 15. He came to a gig I was doing at Langside College in Glasgow, when I was a Lead Guitarist. We met again in 1977 at the Mars Bar in Glasgow, where I was playing bass guitar with ‘the Subs’ (Subhumans). Jim was a regular at our gigs, he wanted me to join his band, 'Simple Minds'. Jim and Charlie asked me to stand in on bass, after original bass player Tony Donald left, after one gig. My school pal Duncan Barnwell, who played lead guitar along with Charlie, in 'Simple Minds', was instrumental in my joining Simple Minds. I went for an audition with the Rezillos, and a good looking dude got the job, even though Jo Callis had voted for me to join. I was still playing weekends with Simple Minds at that time. They asked me to join full time again, but I said I wanted to get back to playing lead guitar, because that is what I was , a lead guitar player. One night in Glasgow, I turned up at ‘the Subs’ rehearsal room to find that my Gibson Les Paul guitar had been stolen, so I said “fuck it”, and told 'Simple Minds' I was in! I found out later, (2018), that it was Russell Barrie who nicked my guitar, and without whom, I would never have joined ‘Simple Minds’, and they would have been average.

HR : That’s not the most expensive guitar in the world is it? Remember that?

DF : No! That was the blue bass. [Laughs] Wikipedia ... that was funny.

HR : I know things have been tense between you and JK for a while, but what was the camaraderie like in the early days?

DF : It was all fun, although very serious when it came to recordings and song writing. Generally it was immense fun, always laughing and joking, with many a hilarious story to tell. Wind ups galore. We were five young men, who were just about to embark on a meteoric rise to fame. It was a magical time.

Simple Minds circa 1979 : L-R Derek Forbes, Jim Kerr, Mick MacNeil, Charlie Burchill, Brian McGee

HR : How did you work as a creative unit?

DF : Very simply, (forgive the pun, what pun?) The chemistry between the five of us has never been equalled in later formations. The first five albums were the most intensely creative in the bands history , numbers 4/5 Sons and Sisters, had us churning out songs and ideas with such ease, that we couldn’t decide what to leave out, hence the ‘double ‘ album. Which became two separate albums, ‘Sons and Fascination’ and ‘Sister Feelings Call’.

HR : When the bands original drummer Brian McGee left the band, the sound of the albums seemed to change - was that just coincidence?

DF : No! We were so used to ‘Irish Face’ Brian McGee, being there at the back, and it was a real blow to us. This period was the start of the demise of the chemistry. Brian brought a lot to the table, and with the original five guys, we were one of the coolest bands around. Gigs were always sold out. Later, in the following couple of years, we were to hold the record of 10 sold out nights in a row, at Hammersmith Odeon (now the Apollo).

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HR : There’s a distinct difference in style between ‘Sons and Fascination’ / ‘Sister Feelings Call’, and ‘New Gold Dream’ - what prompted that?

DF : I think it was going from one Producer to another, both with their own individual ideas of how the songs should be presented. Steve Hillage was incredible to work with. The fact that Steve was an astounding musician, and a guitar hero to boot, gave us the freedom to express our selves. It was anarchy, as both Steve and ourselves had no one to tell us when to stop! But, what a collection of songs we were left with. Steve got rushed to hospital one day, with a suspected heart attack.. but he was back the next day, and got straight back into the job.

HR : Knowing Steve, it was probably a bowl of stew he’d eaten!

DF : [Laughs] kin’ell, aye! Was it you who told me about that?

HR : Probably - the Deeply Vale collective mind altering incident ...

‘New Gold Dream’ was written by Forbes, Kerr, Burchill and MacNeil, with no mention of a drummer - what happened there?

There were three drummers on NGD. Firstly, there was Kenny Hyslop, (nickname John), on ‘Promised You A Miracle’. It was Kenny who came up with the idea. He used to listen to lots of radio stations whilst on Tour. ‘Promised You A Miracle’ came about from a track Kenny had taped in New York, which he had heard on a black radio station. I wrote a similar bass line to the song, and Mick MacNeil and Charlie Burchill chipped in with their parts. Kenny played the drum parts, and we had the music. Kerr then took the music away and wrote lyrics and melody (what melody?) to it.. hence our first big hit, and, at last, our first appearance on ‘Top of the Pops’!

Drummer number two on NGD, was Mike Ogletree, (nickname Velcro Heid). Mike was the drummer with ‘Café Jacques’, a Scottish band who were managed by Bruce Findlay, (Simple Minds Manager). I saw ‘Café Jacques’ on the ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’ around 1975/6, (I think), so I was familiar with Mike’s work. Mike’s cymbal work is fantastic on NGD album, and it’s probably the best on any of our albums. As time went on Mike got a bit overwhelmed with the bands ever shining star, becoming brighter by the second. We toured the World with Mike on drums, but it was clear that the job wasn’t for him. Take a step back to the recording of New Gold Dream album. Our Producer, Pete Walsh, had noticed that Mike was struggling with some of the parts, and put it to Mike and the rest of us, that we should bring in a session drummer, to complete the tracks. Step forward Mr Mel Gaynor. Mel finished the album for us, and at one point, both Mike and Mel played together in the Studio, each on a drum kit of their own. I was in the room with them, and we all played together .. the song? ‘New Gold Dream’.

Simple Minds circa 1985 : L-R Mick MacNeil, Derek Forbes, Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Mel Gaynor

HR : I love the keyboard on ‘Hunter And The Hunted’, but that wasn’t Mick was it?

DF : No - that’s Herbie Hancock! He was working in the studio next door, and I asked him what he thought was missing from the track and he laid that down in one take.

HR : By the time NGD was released, your touring schedule was pretty rigorous - what are your best memories of touring? What was your favourite leg?

DF : Probably my right leg ... I love kickin’. I like meeting people, and travelling through lots of countries, so, all through the years, and albums , there have been many adventures. Too many to talk about.

HR : ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ followed fast on the heels of NGD- it had a different edge altogether, harder somehow, and it charted at number 1 in the UK - how did that feel?

DF : It rained the first night. It was the start of one of the best years with Simple Minds. America, then Australia with Talking Heads, Pretenders and Eurythmics, and back to America with the Pretenders, followed by Japan with the Pretenders , then out to Europe, before going to Barwell Court, home of John Giblin, to write the new album.

HR : Despite touring in North America “Sparkle ..” only charted at number 64 in the USA charts.

DF : Aye, but whilst we were there we were offered the chance to record ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’, which Jim was not keen on doing. We decided that I would sing it, if Jim didn’t, but I managed to convince Jim to do it, and the rest is history..

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HR : Did that success change the relationship of the band?

DF : It made the greedy brothers more greedy. Money seemed to be an issue. It was simpler in the past. When we had no money, we were more interested in the Art... money changes people.

HR : Within months of DYFAM giving Simple Minds the global success the band deserved, you’d ended up parting ways. There’s always been a lot of speculation about why that was - do you want to give us your side of the story?

Not now, no. You know it already, and Jim’s side.

HR : You’d better put it in the fucking book then! We’ve talked round it a lot over the years, but I know it’s a painful memory ... DF : It was like losing my family in a plane crash. I was on my own.

HR : But you managed to land on your feet again not long afterwards, right? I had to spring back into action, so I recruited my friends, Geordie Walker from ‘Killing Joke’, Billy Currie from ‘Ultravox’, Ray McVeigh from ‘the Professionals’, and Ray Weston who has played with that many people, you had best Google him. We went into Richard Branson’s barge Studios in London, and laid down some tracks. Virgin weren’t interested, so I was now truly free. I got the call from my Simple Minds Manager, Bruce Findlay, and he told me that ‘Propaganda’, the German band from Düsseldorf, were looking for a bass player for some Shows in London. The shows were at the Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End. It was billed as ‘ZTT The Value of Entertainment ‘. We played there, every night, for two weeks. The only band missing from ZTT’s roster was ‘Frankie Goes to Hollywood’. The bands who did play were, ‘The Art Of Noise’, ‘Propaganda’, ‘Instinct’, ‘Andrew Poppy’ and ‘Anne Pigalle’.

‘Propaganda’ were Claudia Brücken, Susanne Freytag, Michael Mertens and Ralf Dörper (who didn’t play the shows), myself on bass, and the wonderful Steve Jansen (Japan) on drums.

HR : I know you’re going to frown at me for asking this ; You’re not credited on “Once Upon A Time”, but you did co-write some of the tracks ...

DF : Yes I did. We even did ‘Ghost Dancing’ at the Barrowland while I was still in the band. I didn’t write ‘Alive and Kicking’, which is one of the few tracks that I rate , after my departure. Charlie worked really hard to get me back in the band, and I had a meeting with the band at their Studios at Lochearnhead, Scotland. Jim played me the new album ‘Street Fighting Years’, and I thought it was poor. I left to mull over their offer, which was, even by today’s standards, very agreeable. I was working with ‘Propaganda’ in Abbey Road Studios at the time, and Charlie called to see if I had made up my mind, which I had. My answer was NO.

HR : Just going back to your earlier answer - Brian McGee ended up joining Propaganda - how did that come about and what was it like to work with him on something different?

DF : Going back in time to not long after playing in London with Steve Jansen and ‘Propaganda’, we did one last TV Show called ‘Bliss’, in Carlisle , and that was to be Steve’s last gig with us. One night, at my farm in Kilmacolm, Brian McGee turned up for a peace pipe of three, and I asked him what he was up to musically. He had just left the band ‘Endgames’ and was at a loose end, whose end, I don’t know. I asked if he would be interested in playing with ‘Propaganda’, and he said yes. I immediately called Michael Mertens in Düsseldorf, and he said ok, if you think he is the right man, then he is in. It was as if someone had turned on the fun button. We had the Germans in stitches. We went to London to rehearse for the World Tour. We had recruited Kevin Armstrong on guitar. Kevin said to me one day, after rehearsals, “I am going to meet Bowie and Jagger at 4am in Soho”, but he didn’t tell me why. It turned out Kevin had been asked to be musical director for the Bowie / Jagger performance of ‘Dancing in the Street’... if you know Kevin, then you know his history. He played in David Bowie’s band for years, at ‘Live Aid’ and even through ‘Tin Machine’ and beyond. Most recently he is with Iggy Pop and has had stints with Sandie Shaw and Thomas Dolby, to name a few... the mans a legend and a thoroughly nice bloke.

HR : “1234” is a stunning album, what are your memories of recording that?

Two years with the wrong Producers. During that album, I met my future wife, got married, had our first son, and moved house twice, and the album still wasn’t finished. I loved working with all the different musicians who guested on the album, from writing with Howard Jones, and having Greg Hawkes from ‘The Cars’ play keys on one song, and the top of the tops, was having Dave Gilmour of ‘Pink Floyd’ play a solo on one of my tracks, at Abbey Road, where we were to work for six months, after working in Bath for a year. The album took 2 years to record and mix, and if you include the 2 year sabbatical before we signed to Virgin Records, when Claudia left and they fought to be released from ZTT.. then you are looking at an album where a lot of the songs had been written for four years, before the finished album came out. Nightmare! The musical landscape had changed dramatically by the time ‘1234’ was released.

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Feat. David Gilmour

HR : You rejoined Simple Minds for the “Neapolis” album and subsequent tour in 1998 - but that reunion was short lived , how come?

DF : Have you heard the album??? I told Jim and Charlie that if I was to write a bass line for any of the songs, then I would be wanting a writing credit. Jim said “no, we don’t work like that anymore” it would just be a session in there eyes. I said “ok, you tell me what to play then!” For the most part I redid Charlie’s attempt at bass playing. ‘Glitterball’ was just strumming big, fat bass chords. The track in my head, was quickly renamed ‘Shitterball’. If you watch the ‘Live’ shows with me, then the bass obviously stands out, and I tried my best to make it more Minds like ... the VH-1 Show is probably the best for comparison to the finished album ... the show was miles better. I had fans coming up to me, and saying they didn’t like the album ...

HR : That’s very diplomatic of you - personally I thought the album was awful and I’d have been a bit embarrassed to have been a part of it, but that’s just me ...

DF : [Laughs] Sounds about right

SM 1997 : L-R Charlie Burchill, Derek Forbes, Jim Kerr, Mel Gaynor

HR : You ended up recording and touring with Big Country for a while - did you know Stu and the guys in their early days?

Yes. I knew Stuart from way back in 1977, before ‘Simple Minds’ existed. I was great friends with Richard Jobson. We would go out clubbing in Glasgow, and he would stay at my house, or flat sometimes. Once he said to my mother..”I’ll put you in touch with a good hairdresser “, and her reaction was hilarious.. she was small but very feisty, my mother. Once ‘the Skids’ were big, we, ‘Simple Minds’, would meet up in pubs, usually in London, with the whole band. Stuart was funny, but usually quite quiet, and shy. Jobson had moved to London. He stayed with my long long time friend Ray McVeigh, in De Vere Gardens , Kensington, and it was he who introduced me to Ray. After Bill left ‘Skids’, Richard asked me to join them, but I saw the bigger picture with ‘Simple Minds’. Later on Stuart Adamson told me, that he wanted me to play bass on the brand new band ‘Big Country’, but he was too shy to ask me...

HR : I didn’t realise that - strange that it came around eventually then. Was there a sense of pride when you were asked to step into the bass boots for them?

DF : Not really! I love Tony’s work, and I think the feeling is mutual.

HR : The album “The Journey” was the first one that Bruce Watson had recorded since Stu passed away - it had Mike Peters at the helm - do you think Stu would have been proud of it?

Not really! It was easy to spot who the real writer was. Without Stuart it wasn’t like ‘Big Country’ really, although I thought it was a great album. ‘The Journey’ album had Jamie Watson and I in the Studio during the week, recording and writing parts, whilst Bruce was working at the Naval Dockyard in Rosyth, and only appeared at weekends . Mike Peters hardly showed up, and he only lived about Forty minutes from the studio, and Mark Brzezicki would be off playing with ‘From the Jam’, and getting to the Studio when he could.

The mainstays were Andrea ‘Ando’ Wright (Producer/Engineer), Myself and Jamie ... we were the inbetweeners, whereas the rest were the weekenders. It was a fun time though..

You did all the artwork for that didn’t you?

HR : [Laughs] Controversially, Yeah, and the record store day stuff. I didn’t take the photos though, I’m not being blamed for those. I still laugh about the ‘new shirt’ that nobody could see the pattern on ...

DF : [Laughs]

Big Country circa 2013 : L-R Bruce Watson, Jamie Watson, Mike Peters, Derek Forbes, Mark Brzezicki

HR : On a personal creative front - you released your debut solo album “ECHOES”, which features a number of reworkings of Simple Minds songs. You played all the instruments on that - was it cathartic in a way? A reward for putting a completely personal spin on the compositions?

DF : I am not Cathartic, I am Presbyterian!

It was a mistake that went right. I was booked in the Studio to record an acoustic album of ‘Simple Minds’ songs. I was supposed to do it with Simon Hough of ‘Big Country’, but he had an important gig that had just came in, and had to cancel. I called Andrea, my friend and astounding Engineer, and told her that Simon couldn’t make it. She suggested that I do it on my own, and to bring every instrument; effect pedals, bells, whistles, cuddly toy, and a few Aleister Crowley books ... because we were going to need some Magick ...

HR : Did you put on a big pointy hat and all that?

DF : I did, and I played, sang and drummed everything on my own.. it was a fantastic experience ... I mentioned the fact that it was meant to be an acoustic album on social media and radio, and all of a sudden, ‘Simple Minds’ announced that they were doing an acoustic album and tour... [Laughs] I wonder where they got that idea? A similar thing happened when XSM were doing so well playing all the old songs accurately, to critical acclaim .. then suddenly out of nowhere the 5x5 Tour was announced.. funny that

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HR : XSM. That brings back memories. The Academy tour we did was funny, apart from your sulking. One day I’ll write my own book!

DF : Do that.

HR : You were part of another project recently with Anni Hogan, under the name of ‘ZANTi’ - I must say that the album is absolutely epic! How did your relationship with Anni come about?

DF : Anni and I met fleetingly, years ago, and I was looking for a keyboard player to write with. Andrea ‘Ando’ Wright, mentioned Anni, and I recalled meeting her at a Sci-fi convention, that by sheer chance, I had wandered into..so Ando called her, to see if she was up for it. It turns out that Anni was a huge admirer of early ‘Simple Minds’, and agreed to meet up with me. We met in Liverpool, and later we booked Parr Street Studios, after sending each other snippets of songs and ideas. We got together in the Studio, and finished the songs there, writing like demons.. it was like meeting your song writing soul mate. We just clicked, and we wrote and produced our first album as ‘ZANTi’ on Downwards Records - available in all the usual formats - it’s called ‘Broken Hearted City’.

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HR : Your vocals on the album are something else. What has it been like to work on material that is a complete departure from anything you’ve recorded before?

DF : A dream within a dream.

HR : And will there be more?

DF : You can count on it.

STILL WAITING ..........

Look out for Derek on the road with his current band “Derek Forbes & The Dark”; and be sure to grab yourself a copy of his autobiography “A Very Simple Mind”

#simple minds #80s music #80s movies #big country #bass #good reads #autobiography #scotland #ivor novello #scottish music #david gilmour #propaganda #Youtube

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thedaveandkimmershow · 1 year ago

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It's Linzy's birthday today and what I shall forthrightly and adamantly avoid is to post pictures of when she was a newborn or when she was a kid.

She's 26 years old, for crying out loud. I shoulda stopped doing that more than a decade ago. 😐

I shall also forthrightly and adamantly avoid making today about the missus 'n me. Because, you know, we've got stories. Stories that are still easily accessible right at the tips of our fingers kinds of stories.

I could tell you one right now about the day Linzy was born...

But I'm not gonna.

Instead, I'll point out how we still feel what our twenties were like. And we can very much see through Linzy's eyes what they're like right now.

In many ways, her twenties and our twenties aren't that different. At the same time, they're nothing like each other. They couldn't be more different.

By which I mean to say that the fundamentals of being a twenty-something haven't changed whilst the environment in which present day twenty-somethings exist is breathtakingly, profoundly different.

Profoundly different.

They're basically living a reboot.

As if the cast of a Western film classic like "High Noon" was reimagined into the middle of a Science Fiction classic like "Blade Runner".

Same people.

Wildly different environment.

And oh yes. They're also living a fiercely different story.

If you don't believe me, God. Just look around. Because this, all around us, is a fiercely different story.

So when we say we're proud of our daughter... it's because we know her story.

From Day 1.

We know her, we know her story, we know the cast of characters who've taken the stage with her (all manner of heroes and villains), and we know the world she's navigating.

And yes.

We remember the twenty-something gig.

So when we say we're proud of her, we say that with the full knowledge of having done the twenty-something gig and recognizing what that's like today. Right now.

This very moment.

With that in mind, we're impressed as hell by her relentless pursuit of her music career. Her dreams. We're impressed by the unimaginable work that goes into being in two successful bands and performing to packed audiences. In fact, by this time next month, one of those bands, The Little Lies, will have performed in front of an arena filled by a crowd of thousands at a Kraken game.

Did not, by the way, see that coming.

Really did not.

In many ways, we're still her first audience for song demos. At least we like to think we are.

We're probably nine and ten on the list 'cause she's got a lot of friends who are professionals in the local music community.

Aside from those demos, I thoroughly enjoy kicking ideas around with her when it comes to her Dream Patrol brand, the wing of her creativity reserved for the techno/pop/cinematic/layered vibe she does so well. It's also a completely engaging exercise to talk about the difference between one of her songs produced as a Linzy Collins production versus a Dream Patrol production. And then imagining what a live Dream Patrol show looks like.

It's her future actively being written before our very eyes.

You know?

Linzy's always been a hard worker which, I admit, I hate how that doesn't sound like one of those cool things of which to be proud. But in Linzy's case, from learning to play the piano, the guitar, the clarinet, the trombone, the cello... to interior and exterior house painting to filing to spreadsheets to high-end home cleaning with an agency... to putting bands together to the DIY nature of being a band in the PNW handling everything from songwriting to arranging to producing to recording to sound mixing to cover art to marketing and promoting and rehearsing and rehearsing and...

Rehearsing.

Maybe "hard worker" isn't the way to put it. Maybe "relentless master of her pursuits" works a little better.

Okay. A lot better. 😁

Because while she has the whatever it is people have inside them that keeps then going... she also has the bandwidth, the intellect, the emotional IQ, the verbal skills, the professional vibe, the work ethic, and the sheer creative prowess to prevail at something that was barely a dream once upon a time that's now an actual, paying, honest-to-God career with plenty of success behind her and plenty of room above her to keep reaching ever upward propelled there by her solo work, her band work, her Dream Patrol work, her production and songwriting services, and so on.

All that atop the reality of living in a major urban center, in her twenties, in today's world.

The challenges are intimidating, of course. I won't lie. They're suffocating, sometimes demoralizing at times. Not just for her but for anyone pursuing the life she's choosing, this passion she's following, this craft she's absolutely mastering alongside the community of professional musicians she calls friends, collaborators, bandmates, and badass gifted artists.

It's a helluva thing to watch, this life she's challenging, this career she's building. And yes yes yes. Of course we're proud. Of course.

But it's also exciting as hell.

☺️😎🤯🥳❤️

#birthday #linzy collins #happy birthday

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twenytwenytwo · 2 years ago

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Dec 30 2022 (6:47am)

Slept good, 9:00pm-5:00am, with wake ups at 1 and 3. This morning, I feel little tired, but not as much as yesterday morning. I think today will feel a lot less groggy.

There is still some funk present, likely just cause I haven’t changed my groove yet, and encouraged forth a more positive sub personality.

Hm. Maybe that’s something I need to live with, or accept better, that this general state of extreme grumpiness and and lack of fun is simply a part of me, a sub personality that is always in me, and always has been. Certain things call it forth, others don’t. There’s no getting rid of it. There’s only choosing to embody a different sub personality, a more pleasant one.

Of course, I’ve already talked about how you choose to do that. It’s thinking like that sub personality. Pleasant thinking. Positive thinking. It’s a choice, not a distraction.

I was thinking a little earlier, trying to get out of my funk. “What would I be looking forward to in 5 years?”. Maybe could is a better word. I could be looking forward to do a new music video for a band that just booked me. It’s good money. Excited to try out all the ideas we put together, it’s gonna look sick.

I could be excited to put out my new song I just finished. The band is humming along nicely and we’ve got some dope gigs coming up. Shooting a new video in a couple months with one of my videographer friends. In the desert. Ye baby. We’re going on a desert road trip and doing a Easy Rider style video.

New album sounds great, best shit I’ve ever made, better than my first bunch of songs. I’ve learned what it was that I liked about the early songs and that I can write many other songs that are like that, songs like Florentine Unknown were just the first glimmer, the spark, of the crackles and flames that now follow.

I met an amazing girl, and we don’t just get along, we love being together. She helps with band affairs, photography and such. We have great sex and go on surprise road trips. She’s hot. I undoubtedly love her. And she loves me and is happy.

With the money of been making through film making, we’re gonna buy a place and have a kid. Business has been good and we’re living comfortably. We have our struggles, but we are handling them well.

Izzy and I parted ways and are still dear friends. I don’t have feelings for her anymore, but there is a certain fondness there still. She’s made great progress with her stuff and is really hitting her golden era. Despite her usual troubles she’s living good.

Ethan and I are still friends, we ended working things out years ago and played music again. We still play but he’s got his own projects now that take up his time. I’ve since found a new bunch of guys who are dedicated, and we’re all friends and get together regularly to have drinks and such.

I’m a respected artist in the community, known as one of the best. People ask me for advice and I tell them that if they’re doing it right, the road will be extremely difficult, and if they stay on it, it will pay off. Practice, run positive things through your mind often, and don’t forget to enjoy other things in life. Being an artist is about transforming your experiences into art. You have to have experiences first, then art comes second.

I feel good about myself. I have done well. The heights to which I used to aim mean nothing to me now, and I’ve found what I truly wanted. I look back on that tough time in my mid twenties and see it as a time of intense transformation, an improvement in myself that I would never wish didn’t happen. I came through it, I figured it out, and learned about what I am.

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idfuann · 3 years ago

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this will be my last rant about this topic, and honestly ranting about this on tumblr will probably do nothing, but i just need to get it out.

i honestly lived in an unaware bliss of how bad it was until i opened my cabin door today and found fans just sitting there, and then talked to other fans in the cafetaria with my friend who told about everything happening last night. i knew about people sitting behind the door of their private party, and that they were at the nightclub, but i had no idea how they acted because i wasn't there myself (i get super overwhelmed with the music blasting as my hearing aids get really easily messed up) and just heard from my friend who was there.

my biggest problem with this cruise is that the guys really probably thought they could go to the nightclub without being harrassed, that they wouldn't need to use the crew halls to walk around in the ship and that they would be able to enjoy their crew christmas party without having to worry about fans. and they should be able to do these things. i'm afraid that after the behavior of fans at this cruise, we will not get the same amount of content in the fear of getting fans follow them around and stalk them. and honestly, they deserve to retreat from the fanbase just as much as they want.

this behavior also puts all of the fans in a bad light. i simply don't understand how someone could feel entitled to get a picture, a hug or anything from the guys. what i've heard is that some people didn't even ask, they just forced their cameras on their faces and touched without consent. and the whole thing where almost hundred fans were just sitting in the lobby waiting for the band????? i was coming back from eating when the guys were leaving their cabins and they were trying their best to hide their faces and were walking with security to just get away from them. and someone really asked, "why didn't they stop?"

fucking wonder why. their actions were disrespectful towards other passengers, the band, the crew and the ship crew.

i also told the info about the fans and their response was, "we know, and we can't do anything about it. we tried already."

i really hope the band had fun yesterday night, but today? i don't think they had any fun. i've seen people say also things like, "well at least now they know they can't party with people like this." etc. but thing is! they should be able to! why is it that they can't be treated like normal fucking people.

i don't know. i'm just mad and sad, especially when just this week joonas said in an interview how it's really overwhelming how people just film everything they do. fans should know better.

at least the gig was good, and the guys really looked like they enjoyed themselves on the stage. :)

#blind channel #LAST RANT I PROMISE #im just sad #going back to work now

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seita · 4 years ago

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the contract girlfriend | semi eita (m.)

˒ pairing: semi eita/reader ˒ genre: angst, fluff, smut ˒ wordcount: 𝟺𝟹𝟹𝟷 ˒ tags: friends2lovers, fake dating, musician!eita ˒ cw: dirty talk, loss of virginity, virgin kink if u squint: sweet talking, pet names, mean girl ex, mutual pining, unrequited love(?), angst with a happy ending, UNEDITED

+ note: this is a collab along with the other writers for the kkc! i would also like to thank @bokutobabie 𝖿for her help with this plot bc it was kickin’ my ass.

˖˖ summary: when he was an unknown musician, his girlfriend left him. now that he’s made it, he wants to make her jealous at a fancy party so he can get her back.unfortunately, he asks you to be his fake date. the downside? you have a very real crush on him.

⇦ back to navigation.

collab masterlist!

“I have a proposition,” is never a sentence you want to hear when you sit down to lunch with your best friend. Especially when that friend is Semi Eita.

“What..?” you ask apprehensively, taking the cup of coffee he’d obviously gotten to bribe you. You took it regardless, not willing to pass up the offer of free coffee.

“Nana is gonna be at the party this weekend,” he muttered, swirling his fingertips around the rim of his cup. You felt your heart drop into the pit of your stomach at his words, “I want you to come and pretend to be my date.”

Just as you’d expected. Not something you wanted to hear.

Nana was Eita’s first love, his first serious relationship, really. They got together when he was fresh out of highschool, the two of them spending almost all of their time together.

It was when his career as a musician was just beginning, he was playing small gigs and there was nothing really successful. But he was happy. And he thought she was too.

Until she dumped him in favor of a much more famous man. He was a big movie producer and offered her a leading role in an upcoming film. Of course, she took the offer.

She would much rather be mingling with the rich and famous than be hanging out with “a nobody like him”, as she put it. You remembered the hurt Eita felt, the tears and heartbreak it took almost 3 years for him to get over.

“Why?” you finally asked with a sigh, “What will that accomplish?”

“Well if she gets jealous, she might want to get back with me,” he grinned impishly, shrugging his shoulders like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

You recognized the look in his eyes, one of determination. So you sighed, nodding your head, “Alright, I’ll be your date.”

He beamed, uttering out endless thanks to you as you went on with your lunch until he decided to go back to the studio. He slipped his hat on low, making sure his mask was in place before hugging your goodbye and leaving you sitting alone at the table.

You sighed, downing the last of your coffee. Your spirits were low; you had no idea what to expect from this party.

Would she fall for it and run back into his arms now that he had had his big breakthrough and became mainstream? She surely must have known by now; his band was already breaking records, wracking up fans by the thousands, his songs were being played on the radio.

Maybe now that he was famous enough, she’d actually want to be with him. Not that she deserved him. And he didn’t deserve someone like that, either. He was too good for her, too good to be treated like that.

You let out another sigh and stood up, grabbing your purse from the back of the chair.

This was going to be painful. You weren’t sure how you would cope with pretending to be his girlfriend all for the sake of him getting back with her.

Surely your heart wouldn’t be able to take it.

Because as much as you tried to hide it, you were irrevocably in love with your best friend.

The entire getup was supplied to you by Eita; from the jewelry to the dress itself. You felt like a different person. Despite the fact he was your best friend, you hadn’t attended one of the big parties since his band’s breakout single.

This particular party wasn’t in celebration of his band, but he was invited regardless so naturally he went. He was still enjoying the high life and was getting used to tasting fame. You were glad it hadn’t actually affected his personality.

“You look nice today,” Tendou complimented with a breezy smile. He was nursing a glass of champagne, which was uncharacteristic to say the least. He had always been more of a whiskey kind of guy.

“Thanks,” you shrugged, “I’m not really a fan of this kind of thing.”

“I know,” he grinned, “You look terribly uncomfortable, that’s why I came over to be such a good pal and keep you company while your darling boyfriend is off galavanting with the people!”

You rolled your eyes, “He’s not my boyfriend, Satori.”

He giggled, taking glee in your embarrassment, “But you wish he was.”

“Are you already drunk?” you raise a brow, making him snicker.

Someone called his name from the crowd and he flashed you a knowing grin, “Eita may be too dim to see it, but the rest of us aren’t!”

You pout and find yourself alone once again. Looking around, you search for your ‘boyfriend’. Suddenly, a heavy arm falls across your shoulders and the familiar scent of his cologne reaches your nose.

“Hey, babygirl,” he coos, making your heart skip a beat at the pet name. He sounds so fond and you feel yourself smiling before he busts out laughing, shaking his head before letting his arm fall from your shoulders, “That’s just so weird. I dunno if I’ll be able to get through this tonight,” Ouch. “Anyway, Nana just arrived so…” he takes your hand but you can’t bring yourself to smile as you feel the ache in your heart at his words.

If he takes note of your deflated behavior, he doesn’t say anything, merely leading you over to the balcony. You breathe in the fresh air and feel the ache in your chest dull.

“Eita? Is that you?” a perky voice makes you cringe.

“Nana,” Eita breathes, tugging you against his side as she breaks through the crowd to stand in front of the two of you.

Her smile promptly disappears at the sight of you crowded in Eita’s arms.

“Eita...who’s this?” she asks, a smile returning but you can tell it’s plastic.

You remembered everything you had gone over with him before the party; the two of you had sat down for a few hours to sort out your story and rules. It had felt like you were making a binding contract with him when you told him no kissing on the lips. It was your only stipulation and you swore you saw a brief downward tug of his lips when you told him before he beamed and readily agreed.

Maybe you were imagining that disappointment in his eyes too.

“This is my girlfriend, _____,” Eita introduced, giving your arm an affectionate squeeze.

“Oh,” she gave you a strained smile and held out her hand for you to shake. When you slipped your hand into hers, she gave it a tense squeeze that made you flinch, “I’m Nana, Eita’s ex.”

“I’ve uh…” you cleared your throat and pulled your hand away, “I’ve heard stories about you.”

“All good I’m sure,” she replied flippantly before setting her sights on him once more, “We should totally catch up, you know? Reminisce about the good old times~”

The sultry, flirtatious undertone made your skin crawl. Even if you weren’t really dating, she thought you were and for her to not respect that made you angry. But still, Eita pulled away and placed a kiss against your temple that set your heart ablaze.

“Sure, why not?” he grinned and gave your hand a squeeze, “You go have some fun, sweetheart. I’ll catch up with you later.”

You gave him a hollow wave as he quickly vanished into the crowd without a second glance your way. You knew this was the end goal but still, to see him walking away hurt. A sense of rejection was seeded within you and you felt your spirits slowly being crushed.

It took all your power to continue on with the party until it felt acceptable to leave. Throughout the party, you kept getting glances of the two of them.

Eita wore a serene smile, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. Whenever she looked at him with a flirtatious smile and a subtle caress, you felt jealousy pool in the core of your stomach. You wanted to march over there and scream “he’s mine!”. But you couldn’t, because he wasn’t really yours.

He was only pretending to be yours so he could have her.

Your phone vibrated as you downed your final glass of wine, making you look at the screen with a frown.

“I’m heading to Nana’s apartment for the night! See if Satori can give you a ride home, thanks for the help!!”

Your jaw ached from how hard you were forcing yourself to keep from crying. When you tried to find the elusive redhead, you found he was drunk and dancing with two girls so you decided to leave him be and simply call an Uber.

For just a short time, you had simply been a contract girlfriend for him to use. Though you knew it was fake, it still felt so nice to be called his.

So you went home, removing your expensive clothing like Cinderella after the ball and decided to relax on the couch. It was only a little past midnight when you got out of the shower, turning on the TV to watch whatever late night nonsense was playing.

Eita thought that being with Nana again would be everything he wanted. But as he laid beside her, her head resting on his naked chest, strangely all he could think of was you.

When he asked you to pretend to be his date, he hadn’t thought of the possibility of how it would really feel. Sure, he had touched you before, naturally. Sometimes he hugged you and held your hand. But that night, when he placed the kiss against your head, the way your eyes lit up in response had his heart stuttering when he thought back to it.

Truth be told, when you told him he couldn’t kiss you he felt so...disappointed. He had thought of assigning the same rule but decided against it at the last moment, secretly thinking about how nice it may feel to kiss you.

He had quickly dashed that though because of how wrong it was to think of you like that.

Yet there he was, thinking of you with his ex girlfriend back in his arms again.

“Eita?” Nana asked, lifting her head to look drowsily at him, “Are you okay?”

“Um...yeah,” he clears his throat, “I should probably get going.”

“Why?” she whines, “Don’t worry about her.”

“Huh? Who?” he asks, confused.

She giggles and clings to his arm, “Your girlfriend! She doesn’t have to know!”

His heart ached at those words -- true, you weren’t really dating but he felt like he had done something wrong. And for some reason Nana’s blatant disregard that he had cheated with her made him nauseous.

“I...I just want to see if she made it home safely,” he gave her a tight lipped smile and picked up his phone.

She rested against the pillow, head propped up on her hand as she watched him dial you. When you didn’t answer, he gave a frustrated sigh and dialed Satori instead.

It rang a few times before the slurred voice of his best friend answered, “H-Hey man, what’s up?”

“Satori, did you drop _____ off okay?” Eita asked.

The redhead made a confused sound over the line, “What’re you talkin’ about? She never asked me to take her anywhere.”

“What?” Eita frowned, “Did you see her leave the party?”

“Gotta tell ya, man, I wasn’t watchin’ her,” Tendou replied, a feminine giggle in the background making Eita frown, “Wasn’t that supposed to be your job?”

Eita sighed, shaking his head, “Alright, dude, just...let me know if you hear from her.”

“Hah? Why would she call me?” Satori chuckled, “Why don’t you just check on her? Better safe than sorry...I mean, she’s a cute girl, you never know what kinda scoundrels were eyeing her in that pretty little dress tonight. If i was a less honorable friend, she would be the one in my bed right now!”

Eita scoffed and hung up as his friend started cackling gleefully over the line. Eita stood up, shaking off Nana’s grabby hands as he slipped his jeans back on.

“You’re not going back to her, are you?” she pouted.

Eita sighed, “I gotta check on her. No one knows where she went off to.”

“She’s a big girl, c’mon Eita~” she purred, letting the sheet fall from her bare body as she crawled towards him.

He shook his head and threw his shirt on, grabbing his keys off of her dresser before moving to the door, “I gotta see her.”

He ignored her obnoxious whining as he bolted out the door. Any sleepiness that was in his system had evaporated at the worry he felt over you.

The drive to your apartment was quick enough, it went by in a blur. He took two steps at a time up to your place on the 3r floor, not patient enough to wait for the elevator.

The knock on your door made you jump. Throwing the pillow you held in your lap aside, you checked through the peephole to see a familiar head of sandy blonde hair.

Pulling the door opened, you looked at him with wide eyes, “Eita? Aren’t you supposed to be with--”

“I couldn’t get a hold of you,” he breathed, stepping past you to enter your living room.

“And?” you laughed, shrugging your shoulders.

“I got worried! Why didn’t you go home with Satori?” he sighed, sitting on your couch with a huff.

You chuckled again, though it was humorless, “He looked like he was having fun, I didn’t want to impose.”

He sighs and relaxes against the couch. As you sit next to him, for a second things feel normal.

You almost feel okay, as if you could forget about everything happening. It’s so easy to forget your crush on your best friend and the fact he wanted to be with another woman.

It was easy to forget it all until it came rushing back into your face in the form of Nana.

You and Eita were having a lunch date, as was normal for the two of you. Unfortunately, amid his retelling of a story you had heard a million times over, she showed up with an obnoxious screech of his name.

“Eita!” she squealed and rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders.

You let out a soft sigh, your eyes falling to your half-finished plate.

“Nana…” he greeted, eyes wide in shock, “H-How did you find me? What’re you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you, silly!” she chirped, taking a seat in his lap in a way that was far too comfortable. Suddenly, her gaze shifted to you and the smile vanished off of her face, “Oh, you’re here.”

“Nana…” Eita sighed but didn’t make any move to get off of him.

“What? I thought you were going to break up with her?” she whined loudly, making your cheeks burn as people looked over at the two of you, “You said you were going to dump her!”

“I--” Eita started.

“You should go,” Nana grinned at you, shrugging her shoulders as she hugged Eita closer to her, “Seriously, he’s mine now. He was fucking me at that party instead of you.”

Although nothing about your relationship that night was real, the humiliation you felt at that very moment was. She was smug that she had gotten your boyfriend to cheat on you and was making a spectacle of her victory.

Biting your lip, you reached behind you to grab your purse, “I-I’ll see you later, Eita.”

“______ wait!” he called but you were already rushing towards the entrance.

You had no idea that he was hot on your heels until you reached your apartment. You went to close it only for the foot to intercept it. Looking over your shoulder, you found Eita panting before he was pushing the door open completely.

“_____ I--” he paused, “Why are you crying?”

“I am?” you wiped under your eyes and frowned when you felt the moisture there, promptly wiping it away, “Sh-She completely made a fool of me, Eita. I don’t know what you ever saw in her and I don’t know why I helped you get back with her.”

“I know, look…” he ran a hand through his already messed up hair, “I feel the same, alright? I’m sorry I pulled you into all this, _____, I really am. Alright, I told her to get lost.”

You sighed and took a seat on your couch, “She only wanted you back because you’re famous now. You know that right?”

He chuckled and sat down, nodding his head, “I guess I was just...hoping for something I guess.”

“What?” you asked.

He shrugged, “I don’t really remember anymore,” he confessed.

“Well,” you didn’t quite know what to say, simply leaning back on the couch to appear relaxed, “I always wondered why you didn’t date after her anyway.”

He shrugged once more. How was he meant to say that he didn’t want anyone impeding on his time with you?

“I guess...no one really came along, you know?”

You nodded, “I guess it’s the same for me.”

He snorted, “You’ve never even dated anyone before.”

“You don’t have to bring that up!” you whined, playfully shoving his shoulder.

He laughed, melodic and pretty, “I think it’s cute. What’s your story then?”

“Eita, we’ve been friends since high school, you know everything about me,” you smiled, feeling your cheeks warm at the soft look he was giving you.

“Yeah but…” he bit his lip, fingers inching closer towards you, “You’re...pretty and sweet. There’s plenty of good looking guys around me that have tried flirting with you before. Hell, Satori even said he was into you.”

You smiled and shook your head, “No, none of them are right…”

“Who is right then?” he asked, unable to hide the hopefulness in his voice.

“Eita…” the smile falls from your lips, your heart hammering in your chest as he moved closer towards you, “I…”

“Hm?” he hummed, his nose brushing against yours, breath fanning over your lips.

“I...I won’t regret this, will I?” you asked.

His breathing stuttered against your skin and he shook his head, bringing his hand up to cup your cheek, “You won’t.”

After those words left his mouth, he brought your lips to his in a sweet kiss that was perfect for a first. You could tell he was experienced, knowing exactly how to move.

There was something sweet lingering on his tongue that you found utterly addictive.

You wish you could find it strange or even scary to wind up in bed with your best friend. The fact your entire relationship was going to be changing should have concerned you but all you felt was anticipation.

He hovered over your body, the two of you stripping your clothes with unhurried ease. His body was firm from working out, a habit he never let go of from his time as a volleyball player.

His hands were calloused and warm as they touched your body, caressing your breasts in a way no one ever had. The feeling of him thumbing over your nipples had your back arching in arousal, your panties becoming soaked embarrassingly fast.

He was hard and throbbing in his jeans, the constricting material almost painful but all he really cared about in that moment was seeing all of you.

Hooking his thumbs into the band of your panties, he pulled the material down. He cursed under his breath at the strings of slick that attached to the fabric.

“You’re so wet,” he breathed, licking his lips as he tossed your panties over his shoulder to be lost somewhere in your room.

“Sh-Shut up, don’t tease me…” you mumble, feeling embarrassed by your body’s own reaction to him.

He smiles, pressing a soft kiss against your knee, “I’m not, baby. It’s sweet...I love knowing you react so honestly to me.”

“Eita…” you whined, reaching up to cover your face as he spread your legs.

“Hmm?” he bites his lip, sliding two fingers between your folds to spread them apart.

Your hole clenched around nothing, drooling more slick for him to gather on his fingertips. He used it to rub smooth circles around your clit, the sweet moan that fell from your lips at the pleasure he so easily gave you.

“I’ll get you nice and prepped, baby,” he cooed, the nickname making your heart soar.

You were so wet, making it easy for him to slide two thick fingers into your pretty cunt. You clamped down tight around the digits, making his cock throb at the mere thought of what that would feel like around his hard cock.

Twisting his wrist, he crooked his fingers up to hit your sweet spot, his thumb coming up to circle around your clit. The inexperience of your body made it so easy for him to bring you to the edge.

You had never felt this, no one had ever touched you so intimately so your body was more reactive than ever.

Reaching down, you wrapped your hand around his wrist, meeting his gaze with wide eyes. He smiled, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth.

“You cumming?” he asked, though he could very easily feel your walls spasming around him.

Still, you nodded, mouth falling open but no sound escaping, “E-Eita…”

“C’mon, baby,” he groaned, fasting his pace to fuck your dripping cunt. The sounds were wet, lewd and if you were with anyone else you would have been completely ashamed. But it was Eita, the person you trusted the most in the world. He groaned as your body began to quake, “Let it go, pretty girl. Cum for me, that’s it.”

At his encouragement, you released with a shrill whine of his name. He eagerly fucked your gushing cunt through the high, only slowing when your back met the bed again.

Pulling his fingers from your hole, he was mindful of your sensitivity. He still couldn’t resist placing a fleeting kiss against your throbbing clit before sitting up to meet you for another heated kiss.

Your body was still trembling as you wrapped your arms around his neck, your thighs spread open around his waist. His clothed cock hovered above your sensitive core and he made sure the rough material of his jeans didn’t make contact.

“Please, Eita, c-can we…?” you asked, biting your lip, too embarrassed to utter the words.

He smiled and nodded, brushing some hair behind your ear before sitting up to discard the remaining clothing on his person. His skin was pretty, tanned and built. His cock reached his navel, dripping precum down the length which he used to easily slick his cock up with his fist.

The sight of your best friend jerking himself off over your naked, trembling body felt beyond taboo. But it only made you more eager to have him.

“Please, Eita...I want you,” you breathed.

He flashed you a smile and sat up on his knees, sliding the dripping tip between your folds. Brushing past your clit, you whined at the sensitivity.

“It might hurt a bit, pretty baby,” he whispered, positioning himself at your entrance.

You had already guessed it. He was big just by looking at him. But nothing compared to when he began to sink into you -- that’s when his size really became apparent.

“Ah, Eita!” you whined, digging your nails into his shoulders.

He hissed but didn’t stop you, eyes falling to where his cock was steadily stretching you open. When he got halfway in, he pulled back until the head remained within your clasping walls. With an experienced roll of his hips, he pushed his cock back in, this time easily bottoming out.

“Fuck!” you squealed, back arching.

He could feel you gushing, dripping down his balls. There wasn’t a single sign of pain in your features so he quickly began to move, the both of you riled up and eager to have each other completely.

Everything felt so right, so sweet. Having him in your arms made you feel so happy.

“You’re mine now, baby,” he groaned, burying his face in your neck, “All mine. N-No more, fuck, of this friend shit...I love you.”

“Eita,” you whined, tears pricking your eyes as you hugged him tightly against you, “I love you too. P-Please make me cum.”

“Fuck, I’ll get you there, baby,” he promised, reaching between your bodies to find your clit. Your walls immediately clamped tight around him as he played with your little bud, “C’mon. Cum for me. I wanna feel you cream, pretty baby. Can you do that for me? Show me how good this cock makes you cum.”

His filthy words, whispered in his sweet, deep voice were enough to throw you over the edge. As you squeezed around him, trembling and gushing through the amazing orgasm, he spilled within you. A soft whimper of your name fell from his lips as his balls throbbed, cock spitting out load after load until you were so filled, it dripped from your cunt.

Finally, the both of you stilled. He leaned back to look in your eyes, tucking some damp hair behind your ear before pecking your lips.

“I meant it, you really are mine now,” he said.

You nodded, “You’re all mine too.”

“Well,” he gave you a teasing grin, “You have to share me with my millions of adoring fans.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself,” you giggled, biting your lip as he pulled out, “You have thousands at most.”

“Oh, way to bruise a guy’s ego,” he laughed.

You were grateful to have him, everything with him was so easy. Everything between you was fine, perfect even. And you didn’t have to worry about ever losing him to another girl again.

#haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #eita x reader #semi eita x reader #eita semi x reader #haikyuu smut #hq smut #eita smut #afton.writes

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charlie-rulerofhell · 3 years ago

Text

An interview with Måneskin: “It's not about out bodies, it's about our music”

Heyo, I'm back with another translation. This time the article is from the German Rolling Stone website who met with Måneskin after their TikTok performance at the Schwuz, Berlin, and posted the interview yesterday. Again there were some interesting questions asked (and the pictures they added to the article are quite nice, though severely lacking some Ethan content, but check it out!).

Again, I hope that no one has already gone through the effort and translated it or is currently working on a translation. Also this is an official invitation, if you stumble across any articles or video interviews in German that you would like to have translated just message me and I'll get to it! (or if you just wanna chat about Måneskin, my inbox is always open :))

Have a great day everyone!

Full article under the cut.

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

An interview with Måneskin: “It's not about out bodies, it's about our music”

Jose-Luis Amsler

July 6, 2021

Måneskin are just what this generation has been missing. Passionate, corny, and full-on honest. In an interview with Rolling Stones, the ESC winners explain to us why they would never work in a normal job and why the hype for their appearance is sometimes going too far.

Damiano, Victoria, Thomas and Ethan are entering the nearly deserted dance hall, before they wait on stage in a red-blue spotlight. They are wearing glittering fish net tops, black tape across their nipples, leather pants, heels and make up. The camera men who are filming in portrait format (9:16) suitable for TikTok are whirling up the haze of the fog machine.

Måneskin are [in] Berlin to give a TikTok concert. A TikTok livestream of this scale has not been done often – tension is in the air. The four Italians don't know at this point that due to the stream the few people present are not allowed to clap or cheer. In complete silence and with slight uncertainty the four are crossing Neukölln's club Schwuz. A few puzzled glances are exchanged. Finally, Måneskin are striking the first chord.

Then the rich sound of Ethan's bass drum is tearing through the silence. It's almost as if someone has flicked a switch somewhere. There it is, the rock star presence that is hovering over everything they do, with an ounce of arrogance (in the best sense of the word). Singer Damiano is dancing lasciviously on his heels, and during an especially ecstatic solo guitarist Thomas is throwing himself down on the floor in a way it can only be done by a passionate 20-year-old musician who had never had to worry about the looming doom of an artificial knee joint [for 'passionate' the interview is using the term 'besessen' which means 'possessed', and although I think it's rather supposed to describe the way Thomas is 'possessed / obsessed' with the music, thus passionate for the music, you never know if they didn't mean to say that the way he dances looks 'possessed' … I mean, they might be on to something here ;)]. Around half an hour and about 120 decibel later, Damiano says their goodbyes with an almost shy-sounding “Okay, bye.” After the performance, we do our interview in the Schwuz.

Rolling Stone: It was a little bit weird, right, when you went on stage today?

Damiano: Yeah, that was really strange (laughs). They only told us after the performance that the audience was instructed to stay silent for the stream.

Vic: But at least they weren't silent because we were shit (all laughing). We are slowly getting used to playing without a live audience. I mean we are doing this now for more than a year.

RS: What do you think about these new kinds of concerts such as the TikTok livestream today?

Damiano: Well, at the moment it is the only option to perform anyway, so it's alright. But of course you cannot compare this to a proper concert.

Thomas: But it's pretty cool that so many people can experience our concert live.

Vic: Also we're gonna start touring again soon. Right now we are arranging some festival and gigs. In December we will be touring Italy and afterwards we are planning to go on tour through Europe. But we don't have anything fixed yet, there is just a lot going on at the moment.

“A lot going on”. Quite an understatement considering the recent journey Måneskin has made through the past weeks after their ESC win. Their singles “Beggin'” and “I Wanna Be Your Slave” went through the roof (also thanks to Social Media) and are currently dominating the international charts – lately they were also number one in Germany. There is barely a radio station that isn't playing the band on heavy rotation [would love to know what stations they listen to, have never heard Måneskin played in German radio tbh :( ], and everyone opening Instagram or TikTok these days is flooded by Måneskin content. Every second a new fanpage with the name of 'maneskin_obsession' or 'damianos_slut' is springing up like a (virtual) mushroom. It sounds like a cliche, but Damiano, Vic, Thomas and Ethan became international stars over night.

“Of course it's nice to get compliments. But sometimes they definitely cross a line.” – Damiano David

RS: How has your life as a band changed since your win at the ESC in Rotterdam?

Vic: I think we don't even notice a lot of what's happening. Right after the ESC we went to a studio in the countryside where we made music the whole day long. So at first we didn't realise that so many things were happening all around us – and that we had so many new fans. We're just now beginning to learn what's going on. We were at Sony yesterday, there were so many fans waiting for us. That was crazy.

RS: A large part of the attention you are getting now is about your outer appearance, your style, your attractiveness. Is that getting a little too much sometimes?

Damiano: Of course it's nice to get compliments (laughs). But sometimes they definitely cross a line. Especially when we just talk about our music or about a social or political topic that we care about. In those moments it's just completely inappropriate to reduce us to our appearance. Sure – when I'm posting a half-naked picture of myself on Instagram I know that I will get these kind of comments. And then it's totally fine, I mean in the end I'm posting the picture to show myself. But sometimes it's not the right place for it.

RS: And also you should be allowed to wear what you want without being sexualised, right?

Vic: Yes, absolutely. We are wearing these outfits because we feel good in them, not to put the focus on our bodies. And in general it shouldn't always only be about how you dress. We are musicians – so first and foremost it should be about our music. But I think it will still be a long way until we will reach that point.

“That the boys are wearing make up does not tell you what gender they are attracted to. Those things should never be equated with each other.” – Victoria De Angelis

RS: But still you are sending a message with your style against stereotypical gender roles. I guess it's also not only coincidence that we are in the Schwuz today, which is normally a party location and safe space for the LGBTQ community.

Vic: Yes, that is all part of the positive message that we try to send. We want to give our audience the feeling that they are free. Free to wear whatever they want to wear, be how they want to be and love whom they want to love. It's unbelievable that there is still so much intolerance in our times. That has always been really important to us so we try to talk about these topics. We also believe that the narrow-mindedness of society is an educational problem. When you grow up with people all around you telling you how you should be, you will never feel completely free. The more people are talking about it, the sooner things will change.

RS: Some artists who are advocating for these topics are accused of 'queerbaiting', that they are only pretending to be a certain way to gain more support from the queer community. Have you also been faced with those allegations?

Vic: Yes, a few times. But of course we never pretended to be anything. Some people accuse of us queerbaiting because we look and act the way we do. But that's flawed thinking. We don't believe that clothes are connected to a person's sexuality. That the boys are wearing make up does not tell you what gender they are attracted to. Those two things should never be equated with each other.

RS: This courage for free self expression that you are conveying is mainly lived by our (young) generation through Instagram and the like. What is your relationship to social media?

Damiano: For me it was almost scary at first. The more we grew, the more people were trying to twist all of my words. But over time you start to understand that with more fame you also get more criticism. The happier you look the more hate you will get. It's not only like that for celebrities. If you are brave enough to show the things that make you happy there will always be people that support you, but they are also those that envy you. Of course, this should never lead anyone to not express themselves openly but that's easier said than done.

Vic: We are also trying not to spend too much time on social media. In the end we just try to be honest with our fans and to avoid negativity.

[caption under the picture of Damiano: 'Is already being compared to icons such as David Bowie']

It's actually surprising how little power a win at the ESC holds in most cases. Almost 200 million people are watching this shining spectacle every year – and still, a few months afterwards it is hard to remember who those people were that got covered in confetti during the award ceremony. It's the well-known curse of a casting show that rests on the winning bands. When just next year a new sensation will come to marvel at, how much impact does a win have then? There are exceptions of course, like Lena who is until this day, 10 years after her win in Oslo, a part of the more famous music scene of German pop music. With their charisma, their unusual sound at least for our modern standards, and their contemporary message Måneskin could become such an exception, too.

It's likely also helpful that the band already had a standing in the Italian music scene prior to their ESC participation. Their first album 'Il ballo della vita' already achieved platinum in 2018, three years prior to Sanremo and the ESC. And then there is also the long way that led the four schoolmates to this point that helped them gain the necessary persistence. Because contrary to what some people might want to believe Måneskin are not a phenomenon that has just been deliberately bred to be this way by the entertainment industry for Eurovision.

“I have worked [in a 'normal' job] for a whole month in my entire life – it didn't really end well.” – Damiano David

RS: You were all raised in Rome, the capital of the catholic church. What was it like to start as a young progressive band in such a conservative environment?

Damiano: In the beginning, when we started as buskers, no one gave a damn about us anyways (all laughing). But of course … Once we got a bit bigger there were a few people who had a problem with us. For example when we went to Sanremo, there were quite many people who thought that the way we looked and acted we shouldn't be allowed to represent Italy. They didn't even want to listen to our music first.

Vic: Especially when it comes to appearance and sexuality, Italy is a little more backward than other countries. The church probably also has an influence there. They are often quite conservative of course, so many people grew up with such a [conservative] mindset.

RS: You once said that the song 'In Nome Del Padre' is an answer to exactly those people. What does the song mean to you?

Damiano: Back in the beginning [of our career] we had to deal with a lot of problems. They didn't want to let us play in clubs because we would take too much space as a band or because they didn't like our (fashion) style or because they didn't want to pay us. Italy isn't a good place for bands. Our musical style was also criticised a lot. Many people were telling us: Don't do that [rock music], you won't get popular with that in Italy, you will never achieve anything with it. Of course those comments were hurtful but they were also a good reason for us to continue with what we did. And we turned our sadness into anger. With that song we wanted to tell those people from back then: Fuck off and look at us, we did it!

RS: Did you ever consider working in a nine-to-five job and live a 'normal' life?

Damiano: Nah, not really. For one month in my life I worked [in a 'normal' job] – it didn't end well (all laughing).

Vic: We all made music since we were kids. It's a huge part of us, that we couldn't just ignore. And the most important thing is that you do something that makes you happy. At least that's what we believe. So we started from a young age to put all our time and energy into music.

Thomas: Yeah, exactly. Ever since we were in school together we always made music. That has always been our main focus and it is until today. We play and play and play because it is the only thing that …

Ethan: … we live for.

Damiano: Music has also something very therapeutic for us. Even when we are in a bad mood or fight with each other – yeah, that happens, too – then all of that is gone the moment we enter the stage. Maybe that's the beautiful thing about music – that it allows you to forget everything else. You're just standing on stage, having fun with your friends.

From most bands you wouldn't buy such a corny love letter to music. Mostly it just sounds like an empty phrase, a well-practiced quotable line. But when there is something that defines Måneskin and that becomes more and more evident during our conversation it's their uncompromising honesty. The four of them are definitely not lacking a sense of humour but they take their music very seriously. Which should not be taken for granted in a generation that has mainly produced sarcastic cloud rappers and has made cynical twitter comedy a national sport. And maybe Måneskin are exactly what this generation was lacking all along.

Still, the four musicians, all in the age of 20 to 22, are also prone to the constant need for self-expression, that has become an intrinsic part of today's life. This does not only reflect in the outfits of the band (always 'on fleek') and their Instagram profiles, but also in their lyrics. Their latest record 'Teatra D'Ira – Vol. 1' shows a clear theme: The album is an ode to individuality, accentuated by fast and hard sounds.

Sometimes this message fitting for a Disney movie [really? guess I have been watching the wrong Disney movies my whole life …] is wrapped in a contrasting loud and forceful packaging, but never so much that it becomes inauthentic or self-caricaturing [note: I'm honestly not entirely sure what they wanted to say with this sentence since it uses a lot of rhetorical devices that could be interpreted in different ways, but I'd say this sounds the most plausible]. And in the end, the thing that makes Måneskin so interesting is their unification of the spirit of this time – between TikTok hedonism and an omnipresent political statement – with the music of past generations.

“When you are twenty, you start to think about what the future will hold.” – Damiano David

RS: Your musical style is often described as classical 70s rock, but in fact there are many different influences in your music. Sometimes you groove almost into funk, sometimes it's more rapping than singing. How did this mixture come to be?

Thomas: It's just that we all have our own individual influences and then we meet somewhere in the middle. And we always try to stay open for experiments.

Ethan: Yes, we are very experimental in our song writing process.

Vic: We also don't want to limit ourselves to what is regarded as typical rock music. If rap fits better at some point then we just add that in. It just happens naturally without us thinking too much about it.

RS: So why was it still rock music in the end?

Vic: Because it's the style that we feel most represented by. But actually we just play the music that we enjoy playing. That's really important to us so that we can show something real on stage. We don't want to pretend to be something that we aren't or mock those people that really enjoy our music. You should always be proud of what you're doing and never fake anything just to sell more records.

RS: Is there something like an Italian rock music scene?

Vic: There are quite a lot of bands – but the most of them are much older than us or they are more going in the direction Indie rock. There isn't really a young rock scene, which we think is a pity. But ever since we got more famous people are telling us that they started listening to rock music because of us or that they bought their first guitar and such. That's incredibly nice!

RS: So you're saying that you also want to show this style of music to a younger generation. And you capture this contrast quite well in the song 'Vent'anni', which is a typical rock ballad but lyrically portrays the thoughts of today's youth. Where did the motivation come from to write that song?

Damiano: With the song I wanted to show that I'm just a normal guy, a really typical 20-year-old. I experience the same things that other people in my age are experiencing, I'm just doing another job than them. Also I wanted to describe this age as a whole because I think it's a really special age. At 20 you start to think about what the future will hold. I think it's one of the most important stages of your life. Since we (the four of us) are all in the same age, I then started to mix our experiences together. In the end the song shows what it means to us to be 20. There is a lot of good things – you are quite carefree and are looking at life enthusiastically. But on the other hand you're too young to do certain things and too old to do others. Some people are treating you like a full-grown adult, but …

Vic: … not entirely.

Damiano: Exactly. It can get pretty frustrating at times. We wanted to show our audience: Hey, we're also just 20 years old, and we're going through the same things as you. We understand you.

RS: Except that you are the ones who are becoming a world-wide phenomenon right now. How do you want to maintain this honesty?

Damiano: I think that we could just reach this point because we have always been authentic – for better or for worse. Also we are just trying to have fun with what we're doing together. That's something special that we don't want to lose. In the end we're just four friends who started to live their dream. It's actually pretty simple. Of course – we go on stage, we get a lot of attention, we give interviews – but when we come back home we're just four friends.

#måneskin #maneskin #måneskin interview #my stuff #esc #again if you ever want anything to be translated just hit me up i'm free most of the time #ig my blog is slowly turning into a måneskin fanpage for translations and shitposting #but tbh i'm not complaining #have a great day everyone and happy waiting for sooooon

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mywritingonlyfans · 3 years ago

Note

i like the idea of thomas for the dad/christmas fic 🥺

heeey!!! thanks for comment on it again!!! once again, i'm sorry for not writing that one with the person 'we' mentioned first😅 hope u like it!

-> dad!thomas raggi x reader

prompt: in which, dad!thomas is bit late for xmas to see his little girl! bonus. he teaching his little girl how to play the guitar!

warnings: none, just the good stuff today!! oh, we actually talk more about the 'finals' holiday than xmas itself on here so i hope it doesnt be too awkward for people who don't celebrate it.

-------------------++++----------------

You closed the fairytale book, putting it in its place on the shelf, and then tidied the blanket to cover Alice better. One of her arms was on her new guitar, which Santa Claus had left for her at Thomas's mother’s house; and by Santa you meant Thomas. She was so happy at the moment that you couldn't wait to show him the video.

Despise this, the smile on her face hadn't lasted long, you didn't know if everyone could see that she looked sad or if it was something maternal that warned you about it. She was asleep, and even though you could tell she was heartbroken, her long eyelashes rested under the freckles of her chubby face; appearing to be all agitated - she had not cried, but you knew she had held back her tears while you put her to sleep. You didn't blame her, you missed him, too.

You hugged your torso, wanting to stay there with her, you didn't feel like going to sleep knowing that he wasn’t home for Christmas. When you looked at her again, with her sad little face, you suddenly felt bad for not thinking about letting her sleep with you; since she liked it when you let her stay in Thomas’s side of the bed when he wasn’t around.

“I love you, angel,” you whispered, brushing her hair away from her face and placing a kiss on the prominent freckles on her nose. She mumbled something you couldn't understand, and smiling silly at your girl, you took her purrs as your cue to make your way to the kicthen.

You hummed one of Thomas’s band songs to yourself after you checked that there was no messages or new call on it. He promised he would at least contact you, and as long as you are together he never was one to broke his promises; so what you could do was wait.

It was the first Christmas after you had Alice that he hadn't been able to come back home on time. And as much as you told him that you understood and that everything would be fine, which was true, you couldn't deny how much you missed him.

You kept the leftovers Alice had begged her grandmother to give her on the frigde, remembering how she had planned on eating it with Thomas when he got home. Glad pleased, you could imagine how happy he’d be that she thought about doing it for him. Just when your mind was ready to get lost in a scenario where Thomas would be home for the Holidays, the vibrations of your phone interrupted you.

“Hey, babe. Merry Christmas!” You said excitedly. It was him, he wouln’t forget of you. It was late at night and you had no idea what time it was for him, but still he called.

“Merry Christmas, babe,” He said in a slurred, almost inaudible voice. He looked a bit sapped and busy.

“It's not a good time, right? I can call you later if you can’t speak right now or are feeling too tired,”

“Nah, it’s fine,” He assured, a bit breathless, getting clearer over the phone. “How was your day? How’s Alice? God, I missed you,”

“It was good,” you sighed, thinking about being cheeky and adding that it would have been better with him, yet you were afraid that it might make him feel worse. “Alice is fine too. She loved the guitar, you will love to see it. I filmed everything, she didn’t stop jumping with it in her arms, telling your parents how it was just like the one his dad have. She misses you so much, Thommy, and I think she’s learning how to deal with it.”

“She’s learning...” he repeated. “I wish she didn't need to learn to deal with me being away from her,”

“Don’t say that, I made a bad choice of words, you know she loves you and she loves even more the way you love her extra when you’re back. She understands, Thomas,”

“She’s 5 years old, Y/N,”

You let the silence fill the chasm between you. You felt how sad he was, he had been away for a long time because of the turns before, still he always managed to return for the special dates - just as he had promised when Alice was born - but this time, well, this time it wasn’t possible.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured and you visualized in your head his eyebrows furrowing as his hand ran agonizingly through his hair, just as he always do when he‘s feeling in low spirits. “You’re right. I should be focusing on the good things, soon I’ll be home, I’m gonna teach her to play the guitar, show her all my love and be the best dad in the world,”

You laughed at his abrupt change in mood mixed with a hint of himself. “I know you will, babe,”

“I’m gonna be the best boyfriend too,” he would give continuity to his words when a loud noise of something falling stopped him abruptly.

“What was it?” You asked. You made it clear that you were suspicious, and by his nervous laugh he knew that. After all, what would he say about the noise that seemed to have come from the room next to where you were? “Oh my god, Thomas, that can’t be you.”

He didn't even need to answer, the sound of your steps going on his way was enough for him to know that you knew he was there, making him curse himself for being so clumsy. And just like in a flash, you were in his arms. He dropped his bag on the floor, giving you al of his attention as he squeezed your shape to his body.

“You’re here,” you bured your face on his chest, letting the feeling of comfort fill your nostrils, and then soul. “You’re really here.” You added in a breathless sigh.

Relief taking over his body as you snuggled into his frame, he grinned, “I promised that I would try my best to be with you all the special dates, didn't I?” He asked, holding your face so he could look at you properly. “Are you crying?”

You nodded at his soft voice. “I’m sorry,”

He laughed, a nasal sound that you missed so much. “It’s ok, 5 months is a long time,” He said, tracing kisses across your face. “I promise I’m gonna love you extra now.”

——————-

It was already possible to see the sun rissing outside, yet you refused to close your eyes and lose any moment with Thomas.

You rested your head on the pillow, waiting for him and thinking of how lucky you were that he managed to catch a last minute flight to spend the New Year at home. He was scheduled to return only after the first day of the year, somehow things would have worked out better than expected and he managed to get back sooner.

“She looks like an angel sleeping so calmly.” He spoke, lying beside you under the covers.

“I thought you were going to wake her up, she'll go crazy when she sees you.”

“I know,” He smiled, proud of himself. He knew she was the definition of daddy’s little girl. “I will wait until she wakes up. I'm dying to fill her with kisses and hugs.”

Still with his charming teeth and cute dimples on display, he pulled you to his chest, trying to wrap you in the blanket next to him. “She loves you. She doesn't care about the time you spend away, as long as you come back to her.” You nuzzled into his neck, squeezing him tighter as you said that. It was likely that this would happen more often, letting Thomas blame himself for that wouldn’t do him any good.

He bobbed, kissing your forehead, enlacing you with the same intensity. “I know, babe,”

“How was turn?” You asked, looking at him, making sure that he was fine. He was thoughtful, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

He told you about his gigs around the globe and you were happy feeling his body soften on your arms. His voice almost lulled you to sleep, but you were sure you would never tire of hearing him talk about what he loves. You showed him the video of Alice receiving the guitar, seeing his eyes fill with water after she said that she‘d be just like her father made your chest almost explode with love. In the best possible way, of course.

“You can sleep if you want, babe.”

“No, I want to spend more time with you.”

“I’m here, I am not intending to go anywhere.” He patted your hair, rubbing his nose through your hairline, and the last thing you remembered was feeling his lips on your temple.

When you opened your eyes again, he was no longer there. You rubbed your eyes tight, trying to adjust to the light, wondering if there was any possibility that it might have been a dream, but then a sweet chuckle brought you back to reality.

Alice was standing in front of you, with the guitar resting awkwardly on her shoulders. Her eyes went from you to Thomas, as if asking him if everything was all right. You smirked lightly at her features that looked the same as Thomas's.

She started playing something, which looked incredibly bad, Thomas wrinkled his nose in an attempt not to laugh so as not to discourage her. He should have spent a lot of time helping her, and she looked like she was trying. Her lips was between her teeth as she concentrated to play her less than a minute of song was so cute that as much as you didn't understand a thing, you couldn’t help but feel proud of her.

“It’s Vent'anni,” Thomas mouthed, waving his hand in a way that would get your attention but not hers. “It’s Vent'anni.”

“Oh my god!” You opened your arms for her as she finished playing, watching you with her excited eyes. “It’s Vent'anni.”

She grinned from ear to ear, handing Thomas the guitar, and then jumping into your arms.

“Did you like this?” She asked happily, making ‘this’ sound like ‘dis’. “It’s not perfect but I’ll get better, right dad?”

“Yes, better than Damiano trying to play It!" Thomas confirmed, stroking her back as he approached you. “Good mornin’, love.” he kissed the top of your head.

“I love you,” you kissed his cheek, wishing he could feel how much you love him. “And I love you too, little one,” you mumbled, pinching Alice’s nose, which eyes was stuck on the two of you.

She laughed, her gaze still on you and Thomas. She looked like a completely different person from the night before.

“Dad said you look cute when you're tired.”

You knew that you looked tired, the day before wasn’t the best and you had barely slept. You bit the inside of your cheek, looking at Thomas who had a silly smile playing on his lips and felt your cheeks get hotter. The reason you still felt that way when he complimented you was a mystery, you liked it anyway.

“You are a gossip little thing,” Thomas joked, poking at her sides.

“No, I’m not.” She laughed, trying to run away from him flawlessly, letting him hug her as she recovered her breath.

“I love you too, both of you,” she pointed a finger at both of you. Thomas's smile was priceless, you could live in there forever. “but can we play more guitar now, please?”

You agreed and Thomas got up to sit upright, putting her between his legs. He looked at you, his face still radiant, you could easily imagine him talking about you with Alice - just like you did talk about him with her as well. He positioned her tiny hands on the guitar, guiding then with his own fingers. His gentle, patient voice teaching her things that both knew she would soon forget and he would have to repeat it all over again - and you knew Thomas would do it without a problem - was lovely to watch. Her head was resting on his chest and whenever she hit a note and heard Thomas praising her, she would turn to you and say "see mom, I did it.” And you swear that you couldn't be happier to have found the meaning of the word home in two of your favorite people in the world.

#maneskin #thomas raggi #thomas raggi x reader #thomas raggi imagines #fanfic #ethan torchio #imagines #fiction #maneskin x reader #måneskin #writing #damiano david #thomas gives me so much of the cuddler vibes just want to lay down and die in bed with him.

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lost-in-the-80s · 4 years ago

Text

It’s So Easy

Pairing: Axl Rose x fem!reader

Words: 1,908k

Requested by: @teasid I hope you like it, hon!

Summary: You have been a personal groupie of Guns n Roses for a while now, and things can get a little heated when they invite you to take part in the It’s So Easy videoclip. (smut)

A/N: You guys know how much I love and relate to Axl, so I wanted to do something for his birthday as well. I’m sorry if it’s not good, I had a hard time writing this one… Requests are open until tomorrow, btw :)

Warnings: mature content, swearing and unprotected sex (use a condom guys)

October 10, 1989

It was an afternoon in Los Angeles and you were in a taxi, crossing the city towards the infamous Cathouse to take part in a video clip.

Guns n Roses had been back in town for a while now, their world tour was finally over and the band wanted to turn It’s So Easy into a music video, going completely against MTV’s standards, making something on the Guns’ style: groupies, sex and rock and roll.

You had to admit that you were a little surprised when you received a call from Axl himself, asking you to take part in the video. You had accompanied the band since early days, and had even gone with them during the US tour. But you hadn’t heard from any of them ever since they went to Europe in 1988.

But you’d never skip a chance to be in a Guns n Roses music video, especially with the little description Axl had given you through the phone. So here you were, entering the club, walking through the corridors while trying to find the guys.

“Y/N!”

You turned around, finding Duff and Slash not too far from you.

“Hey, guys!” You smiled as they walked towards you, hugging you.

“I’m glad you accepted the offer.” Duff smiled.

“You know me, I’d never say no to you guys.” Your smile growing bigger.

“Come on then, let’s find the rest,” Slash said, resting his arm on your shoulders and guiding you towards another part of the club.

Entering the bar area, you found the rest of the boys sitting at a table with an old man and two other girls, who you presumed were groupies as well.

“Good afternoon.” You smiled slightly before sitting on a free chair beside Axl.

“Y/N, this is Jack, he’s gonna be the director. And these are Anna and Pamela, they’ll be in the video too.” Duff pointed to each one of them.

“Hi.” You smiled at them, before resting your back on the chair and taking in the boys around you.

Izzy looked skinnier than ever, dark circles around his eyes along with his constant greasy hair. Steven’s eyes looked tired, but his smile remained there. You could smell the vodka in Duff from far away and Slash’s hair was longer than usual.

You weren’t the only one paying attention to the people around you though, you realized it when you heard Axl’s voice whisper in your ear:

“Your hair’s bigger… I like it.”

You turned your head, facing him.

Damn, how can he be this hot? You thought to yourself.

Axl had always been your favorite, of course, the others were great in bed and you liked them a lot, but Axl was different, there was something about the way his eyes burned your pupils that made you always have a weakness for him.

“Thanks, Ax.” You whispered back.

The two of you stared at each other for some seconds, the room growing hotter and everything around you slowly disappearing. However, someone’s voice caught your attention, making you look away from each other.

“I looked at the rooms and found some nice places to film. Let’s start in an hour, that way everyone can get ready… Let’s film the girls first.” The director looked towards you and the other two groupies. “We’ll film you girls separately, you’ll just need to dance in a very sexy way in front of the camera.”

“Pamela, you’re the white one.” He gave her a bag with clothes. “Anna, you’re in green today.” She nodded while taking the bag from his hands. “Y/N, you’re in black, you’re gonna make some scenes with Axl too.”

You felt Axl’s hand against your thigh, squeezing it slightly. You nodded, getting the bag and taking a look inside. You frowned a little when you found a red gag inside of the bag. You looked to your side, meeting Axl’s smirk, making you bite your lips in expectation for the scenes.

“We have to finish soon, they have to get the club set up for the gig later, so let’s try not to waste too much time getting ready, ok?”

---

Not too long after that, you found yourself tied up, with a gag on your mouth, dressed in black leather clothes as Axl smacked your ass with a whip in front of the cameras. His hands would run through every part of your body, and even though the two of you were acting, you couldn’t help but get wet.

The longer the two of you stayed, doing scenes again and again to get better angles, the wetter you seemed to get, coming to a point where you had to squeeze your legs shut while the director watched the scenes to see if you would have to do it again.

Axl was in the same condition, he had been with a bulge on since the beginning of the scene, and that was just making your situation worse to control.

“Ok, that’s it. We got it.” The director said, and you nodded in relief.

“You can go and get changed.” He said looking at you, so you turned around and went straight to the dressing room, hoping there would be cold water there or even a cold shower.

“Hey! Good job with the scenes.” Pamela smiled as you entered the dressing room.

You nodded, reaching behind your head to try to take the gag away.

“Want some help?” She asked.

You nodded again, dropping your hands beside your body.

She giggled slightly, stopping behind you and opening the gag for you.

“Thanks.” You said, smiling at her while you rubbed your jaw.

“How’s it?”

“Uncomfortable.” You laughed.

“I bet it is.” She laughed with you while getting her purse.

“You going already?”

“Yeah, I have an appointment tonight, won’t be able to stay for the gig.”

“Oh, okay then.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

“Bye!”

You stopped in front of the couch, removing your clothes when you heard the door opening again.

“Forgot something?” You asked, thinking it was Pamela.

“Not really.” Axl’s voice caught your ears as he hugged your naked body from behind, his lips brushing against your neck.

“Hey." You could feel his bone against your butt, making you press yourself more against him, smiling when you heard him hiss.

“What do you say, Y/N? Let’s have some fun?” One of his hands went down your body, finding your already wet core and sliding one finger between your folds.

You leaned your head against his shoulder, closing your eyes as you took in the sensation of his cold finger against your warm clit. You wanted to reply, but your mind went out of words, so you just moved one hand to his hair, grabbing and pulling slightly at his strands.

“Is that a yes?” He gave you a dry chuckle.

You nodded in return, a weak yes leaving your lips.

He started kissing your neck, as he inserted two fingers inside of you, making you gasp and tug at his hair stronger. His lips leaving sloppy and sweet kisses mixed with hungry and harsh bites on your neck, while his fingers explored every single part of you, making a small moan leave your lips.

“So wet for me, already.” He whispered against your ear, and you could clearly hear the smirk in his voice.

“Axl.” You moaned.

He removed his fingers from you, causing a whine to leave your lips as he turned you around, making you face him.

He cupped your face with one of his hands, while the other grabbed your hair, pulling you closer and closer to him. His lips met yours, sharing a dangerously hot kiss, full of desire.

You tangled one of your legs against his waist, smiling slightly when he let go of your hair to grab your leg, moving his hand slowly towards your butt cheek, squeezing it harshly before he started removing his clothes.

You let go of him, admiring his form as he removed the last pieces of clothing remaining on his body, biting your lips eagerly when his member was freed, rising up proudly.

“Like what you see?” He asked.

“Yes.” You smirked before pulling him in for another heated kiss.

He started moving you towards the dressing tables, stopping when your butt hit the cold piece of furniture, turning you around again, making you face yourself in the mirror.

“Lean down for me, doll.” His hand gently pushing your back, making you lean your upper part closer to the table.

“Are you still taking pills?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

You felt his cock collecting some of your juices before sliding slowly inside of you, making a moan leave yours and his lips. His hands found your hips, gripping at them while he started thrusting in and out of you at a delicious pace.

“Fuck, you’re so hot.” He smacked your ass harshly, and you were sure his handprint would be there for a while.

He increased his thrusts, making them faster and harder as one of his hands grabbed your hair, lifting your head a little, making a wave of pure pleasure run through your veins.

Through the mirror, you could see his concentrated face, the way his lips cramped and how sweat started forming on his forehead. You always loved how serious he got during sex.

You buckled up your hips more, giving him a new angle, allowing him to find your sweet spot instantly, making a loud moan leave your throat.

“Oh my God, yes!” You manage to say between moans as he took that as an incentive to start thrusting even harder on you.

After a few minutes you both were moaning loud enough to fill the entire room, your bodies were sweating and his repetitive moves against your sweet spot were making your walls start clenching around his member, making a loud groan left his throat as he pulled at your hair stronger, thrusting in and out of you, each time faster.

"Shit…. I'm gonna cum!" You said between gritted teeth, squeezing your eyes shut and taking in the pleasure that slowly started to take control over your body.

You felt Axl’s finger moving fastly on your clit, turning you into a mess of moans and sweat as your mind started going numb.

"Yes... cum for me, doll!" Axl said between groans, his voice making the deal as your legs started shaking and your grip against the table got stronger.

His thrusts became stronger and you felt a wave of pure pleasure take over your body as you hit your climax, moaning his name loudly.

He thrust inside of you a couple more times before he came too. You opened your eyes just in time to see him saying a lot of incoherent words and his face contorting in pleasure as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back a little.

The sight was a huge turn on, and if you hadn’t just hit your climax, you definitely would have now.

You felt jats of his liquids filling you as he cursed loudly before removing himself, stopping for a second just to see his liquids, mixed with yours, leaving your core, making his member throb.

“Fuck, I missed this.” He said, whipping some sweat out of his forehead.

“Yeah, me too.” You said, still trying to catch your breath as you got up, adjusting the mess Axl had made on your hair.

He turned around, getting a white towel and handing it to you. “Here.”

“Thanks.” You said, starting to clean yourself.

“Will you stay?... You know? For the gig?” He rubbed the back of his neck as he watched you.

“Yes, I will.” You smiled slightly.

“Good.” He smiled. “See you during the gig then.” He came closer, evolving you in another hot kiss before he left the dressing room.

I really did miss this. You thought to yourself

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thesmokingguns · 3 years ago

Text

24 Hours

Word Count:3454

Request/ Summary: “Can i request one where nicki gets turned down by their makeup artist or like stand in manager and hes upset and he finds out the the manager just doesnt sleep with people she just met”

I tried to write this where she breaks rules for him and turns him down. He understands what her restrictions are but he can see that living by her strict rules she created for herself she is making herself unhappy.

I hope I hit the prompt you wanted!

A/N: This turned out longer than I expected it to be so sorry about that one. I do have three requests I’m writing right now on top of some of the stuff I am writing so you can all still make requests but I'm going to be saying it’s a two week wait for a new request right now. I also want to say I am going to write a third and fourth part to the 3am Duff series because I have no self control. Thank you for everyone being patient with me and all your kind words! If you want to be added to my tallest please message me or go HERE

Tag List: @thenobodies-inc , @littlemisscare-all , @agroupiewhore , @ayablackwood

You were having a bad day. Not just a bad day but one of those days where everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. From morning to night it was the literal day from hell for you.

8:12am You woke up, an hour after you had hit snooze on your alarm, twelve minutes after you were supposed to leave your house to get to work.

8:34am After throwing yourself together and rushing out the door, you were running out of the apartment with the cup of coffee you had economically and time consciously thought to make. On the last step before you had escaped into the day you slipped, the hot coffee spilled all down the front of your red dress, because of course it was the one day you weren’t wearing black. Rushing back up the stairs you realized that the keys to get into your apartment were in your apartment, hanging on the hook just out of reach behind the door. So you would be going to work in your coffee dress.

9:01AM You made it to work, only thirty-one minutes late. Your boss wasn’t happy that you were late on a Friday, thinking you had done this on purpose as some slight to them. Which meant they had pulled you in the office and chewed you a new asshole.

They also told you about coming to work in a clean, tidy appearance as if you had wanted to be wearing your coffee.

As you were being yelled at you watched the line back up and couldn’t help but think about how yelling at you was just making the situation worse. You also were also thinking about how next time you’d just call in sick instead of being late.

11:59AM One minute before you were scheduled to take a break, one fucking minute, and the crazy man came in. Throwing his shit smelling money at you and proceeding to vomit all over your window.

Your window, your mess. So instead of having a much needed timeout from the day from hell you were trying to scrub the smell of puke off a counter.

1:47 PM You finally stepped out for lunch. Moving to the payphone to call your roommate. She thankfully answered on the second ring of the apartment phone. At least the door would be unlocked after work, which was one thing you had been worried about.

She was quick to tell you about how she had gotten you a gig for the night. Knowing how you wanted to travel, you two had come up with a plan a few months ago to find work in Hollywood for bands or on film sets. She had been pretty popular making costumes and helping to come up with whole concepts for the upcoming Glam Rock scene. One of her usual bands needed help because their makeup artist had been sick, so you were going to work for her tonight.

This would be considered a good thing but since it was a trial run you were not going to be getting paid for this gig. So your time would be free. The makeup you used on them you needed to provide. And you have to be there at 5PM to set up, which is the exact time that you need to get out of work. Your roommate agreed to help set you up and she was going to bring you a change of clothes to the gig. It would be fine because the band wouldn’t need to be made up until 6 or 7 but it was just another thing on your plate.

So you would be losing money that you needed to pay rent on a bunch of entitled rock stars who would probably not hire you and this whole night would just leave you feeling exhausted and annoyed. Really looking forward to it.

3:49PM Your coworker went home sick with a headache so now you had to do twice the amount of work and there was no hope in hell that you would be making it to the gig in time tonight. That great first impression that you would need to get an actual long job was gone. And you were stuck with a line out the door of people trying to cash their checks all seeming to want to kill you. Happy Friday.

5:02PM You were running down the street, thankful you worked around the corner from the venue. A sigh of relief left your lips seeing your roommate waiting for you. She dragged you inside pushing you towards a bathroom and giving you a bag of clothes to change into. You lined your brown eyes with the kohl liner, winging your eyeliner and adding a deep burgundy lip shade that complimented your darker skin.

“Y/N, hurry up.” you rolled your eyes, repacking the bag and heading out where your friend was waiting for you. “I put your makeup in the dressing room already. It’s not set up yet.” she pulled you down a few hallways. Equipment for the band was more around as they started getting ready to set up everything for the show.

You entered the dressing room, seeing there was a table for food and drinks set up, a rack of costumes for the band to wear, and finally a vanity where your makeup bag was sitting ready to be unpacked. Your friend handed you a cup, pouring a few fingers worth of vodka into it before splashing in some juice to help the taste.

“Cheers,” you tapped red solo cups drinking heavily. If you weren’t going to get paid for the gig you might as well take advantage of whatever free perks came with it.

6:23PM Sitting on the couch, legs crossed, you were chatting aimlessly with your friend when the door opened and a man walked in looking at you confused.

“Hey, I’m Y/N. I’m the makeup artist for the night.” you were quick to introduce yourself not wanting him to think you were another girl who was just trying to sleep with the band.

“Mick.” he moved to pour himself a full cup of straight vodka, “Can you do my makeup now? The three pretty boys take too much time.” Ushering him into the seat you started out on him, wondering what the hell he meant about the other guys being divas.

7:45PM A blonde burst into the room, seeming surprised that you were standing there. The girl on his arm laughed too loudly and you looked over to your roommate who was handing Mick a belt to wear. She just shrugged, this was normal for her.

“Vince, new makeup artist. You should sit now before the Terror Twins stumble in.” Mick warned him. He pulled away from the girl on his arm headed over to your chair with an easy smile.

“You're going to make me prettier, doll?”

“I’m thinking that you would look with some blue eyeshadow. It would really complete your Malibu Barbie look.” You retorted, watching amused as his mouth dropped open, not used to having someone give it back to him.

You hated cocky assholes who thought that they were God’s gift. There was nothing wrong with a man who was confident but the way that he was looking at himself in the mirror as you did his makeup you knew he was the type that thought he was above everyone else.

8:21PM Two men burst into the room as you finished up Vince. Looking at the two taller men you let your eyes wander over them. Vince was a diva but there two were going to be where you had the most trouble. They must be tber terror twins Mick had mentioned.

One of the guys fell into the chair, laughing about something as he sipped the beer he was drinking, rubbing his nose. He lit up a cigarette as he sat back in the chair not seeming to care if it was annoying that he was blowing smoke in your face as you tried to work.

You bit your tongue, annoyed as you tried to work around his cigarette, that he almost burnt you with seven different times. As you worked you could feel a set of eyes on you. Looking up you saw the man he had walked in with, staring at you with these intense olive eyes.

There wasn’t a chance in hell that you would be interested in any of these loudmouth guys, who all seemed to be drunk and hyperactive. It was kind of like you were doing makeup for a bunch of chimps instead of men.

8:55PM Finally the last man was sitting in your chair. His eyes gazing up at you with such intensity you stopped moving around to just look at him.

“Have we met before?” there was something familiar about him and you wondered if you had met him at a bar or at a show before.

“I don’t think so, sweetheart. I’m Nikki.” Usually when a guy used a nickname instead of your given name you chalked it up to them being a douchebag but with him it seemed natural and not derogatory, “Thank you for coming out to do our makeup today. I heard the other artist got sick at the last minute. We appreciate you taking your time to help us out…” he left it blank waiting for you to give him your name.

“Y/N.” You were surprised by how talkative he was. The kindness in his tone is different from the way the other guys have been. Just when you thought he was different you felt a hand on the back of your thigh, “If you don’t get your hand off me I’ll break your fingers so you can’t play tonight.” you warned him, looking into the olive eyes gazing up at you.

He was too good looking. The type of guy you could get into trouble with if you allowed yourself but you wouldn’t be taking home a stranger tonight.

“Do you always talk to your clients like that?” he asked with a coy smile on his face. This was the type of smug you liked. The funny easy going type who could make you laugh if you had not been on your feet for twelve hours.

“Only the ones that don’t pay me.” you replied, swiping his eyeshadow on. You wanted this to be over so you could go home and sleep.

The drummer came over, bumping into the vanity and knocking the eyeshadow off and not seeming to notice as the makeup smashed into a thousand pieces on the ground. You were officially losing a lot of money on this job and didn’t have the funds to replace it.

“Jesus, T-Bone, watch where you’re going.” Nikki commented, watching you start to pack everything up, “Aren’t you sticking around to watch the show?” You shook your head. “Why don’t you stick around and I’ll take you out after for a late dinner. As an apology for this being a bust for you.” You were sure that the way he smiled and how his eyes were so clear made it easy for him to pick up chicks but you weren’t going to be one of them.

“I had a long day. I’m not going out with you.” You zipped up your bag ready to leave

“Listen, Y/N, just stay until we go on. Maybe I can talk to someone and you can get paid for coming out.” You did need the money. So reluctantly you stayed.

9:57PM You shouldn’t have stayed. Nikki had seemed to think you telling him you were not going out with him was a maybe you’d go out with him.

It had been an hour of him sitting on the couch getting to know you, asking questions and being nice to you. Men weren’t nice to you just for the sake of being nice, they were born without the concept of human decency.

But he had also talked to their manager, pointing at you and saying stuff you didn’t get to hear. Now you were stuck in a weird limbo wondering if you were going to get paid.

11:15pm The band rushed on stage and you were pulled aside by the manager. He handed you and envelope that you knew contained cash.

“The boys are going to have a few California gigs. If you can stick it out for a couple weeks I’ll consider hiring you for the tour. I’ll pay you $100 bucks a gig and you need to bring your own supplies to start but if you go on tour you’ll get a contract.” He said. You agreed and he handed you a piece of paper with four dates, the upcoming week, times, and his phone number to call if you couldn’t make it. There was also a chicken scratch handwriting with the name Nikki and a phone number

You were stunned when he walked away. You not only got paid but you have jobs lined up to make even more. It was a dream.

Looking up, you moved towards the stage watching the bassist move around the stage. He was high energy, loving what he was doing. There was this presence about him that drew you in. If you did get the tour position that would be trouble.

11:59PM You had finished packing up and we’re heading out of the venue to head home. You were ready for your bed and a few hours of sleep. The guys were playing tomorrow and you wanted to not be having a bad day.

Trying to sneak out, you almost jumped back when four sweaty men came barreling into the room. Your heart instantly went to your throat seeing Nikki. His smile dancing across his lips, hey black hair stuck to his forehead just oozing self confidence and sex appeal.

“You’re leaving so soon?” You just nodded at his question, wondering if it would be considered rude to tuck his hair out of his face. “Did you call a taxi or need a ride? There’s a lot of unsafe riff raff out this late.” He warned and you almost thought he sounded concerned.

“I’m a grown woman. I can walk myself home. It’s only like 15 minutes from here.” His eyebrow raised as he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“No you won’t.” You shoe back, “I don’t know you and I don’t leave with strangers I’ve only known for one day.” You responded. It was practical to have rules to keep you from getting hurt.

“Well, Y/N, we’ve known each other for two days now since it’s past midnight.” He was so calm saying this to you, “And I’m trying to cut back on drinking so if they see me leave with you I won’t be harassed so you’ll really be doing me the favor.” Thinking about what he said, your tongue licked your top lip nervously. The way his eyes followed this motion gave you your answer.

“Thank you for the offer. I’m going to say goodbye to my roommate. I’ll see you in 20 minutes outside?” You gave him a smile and saw the way he was melting under your touch as you moved away from him.

You moved over to your friend letting her know you were leaving and you’d see her at home.

12:22 AM Adjusting the bag over your shoulder you weaved through the crowds pouring in and out of all the clubs. No one ever really bothered you walking home. It was just the cat calling and guys thinking that they had a right to run their mouths

“Y/N.” You frowned hearing your name. The roar of a motorcycle speeding up had your eyes looking out on the street.

Oh Shit. There was Nikki, looking at you with a line where his smile had been, his kind eyes looking annoyed at you. You had left him after saying you’d let him take you home but he was too pushy.

“Get on.” the steely tone of his voice made you stop what you were doing, thinking of what to do next. People were looking at the pair of you, some probably recognizing Nikki from his band. You rolled your eyes, stepping forward.

“Listen to me, I’m not getting on. I don’t know you.” His look softened and it was like for the first time he understood what the issue was.

“I just want to make sure that you make it home safe. I know you don’t want anything happening to you. It would feel like my responsibility if you went missing after doing the band's makeup.” you rolled your eyes. Eyeing him and the bike. It had been a long day and it was onlya five minute drive. What was the worst that could happen?

1:02AM The worst thing that could happen was happening.

When you got on the back of Nikki’s Harley he had asked where you lived. As he drove, you wrapped around his back you realized for the first time of the night you were smiling a genuine wife smile.

Watching the lights of the Strip and the hustle and bustle fly by when wrapped around his warm body, the noie drowned out by the roar of the bike was nice. It felt good. So when you pulled up on your street and he asked if you wanted to drive around more you didn't say no like you should have.

Weaving around the empty highways with just the pair of you was nice. There was no conversations but it felt like you two were getting to know each other on another level.

3:55AM Nikki pulled the bike into a donut shop on the side of the highway. The smell of fresh baked pastries and coffee brewing awakening you much like the wind whipping your face had been keeping you awake but it had been almost twenty four hours awake.

The pair of your ordered black coffee and a donut, sitting on stools at the counter and eating in a comfortable silence.

“Are you mad at me?” He didn’t have a cheeky grin on his face like you had expected but he was serious. “I know you said you wouldn’t go out with me but it just seemed like you were having a bad day and I have a hero complex.” you snorted when he said this. Surprised he admitted that he had a heroes complex.

“I’m not mad. I got on the back of your bike and stayed out.” you thought for a second, “I think I needed it. I always follow my rules and never break them. I think sometimes I need a break from the rules I create.” you said all this with your heart beating wondering what the hell you were doing with this guy in the middle of nowhere.

5:41AM Nikki had wrapped his leather jacket around you, both your boots abandoned by the motorcycle as you sat with toes in the sand watching the sun rise over the Pacific. You hadn't even seen the sun rising over the ocean before so you were wrapped up in the orange and golds of the sky, how the inky black of the water came alive into blue and purple hues with the light.

It was beautiful.

It felt like something was washing over you as you watchined it. Something was changing as you watched the sun start a new day. A new day that you had this feeling in your bones was going to be a good day.

Wiping a tear away, you took a deep breath remembering that you had moved here to make your dreams come true and for the first time it felt like it was going to happen.

A hand on your back reminded you that you weren’t alone. His olive eyes looking at you, concerned. You wiped a tear away trying to laugh it off.

“I never saw the sunrise over the ocean. It’s beautiful,” It was at that moment, wrapped up in the beauty of everything that you realized that he was going to kiss you. The way his hand was against your check, wiping the tears away.

But you surprised both of you leaning forward to push your lips against his. Making the first move. You were breaking all of your rules for him but it felt good and you could tell you would be breaking more rules with him

6:00AM It was going to be a good day.

#nikki sixx fanfiction #Nikki Sixx #Nikki Sixx headcanon #Nikki Sixx X You #Nikki Sixx X Reader #Nikki Fucking Sixx #Nikki Sixx fanfic #Nikki Sixx Imagine #Nikki Sixx writing #Nikki Sixx Request #Request

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