#and also the best song that can come on in an irish bar at a ski resort

[feyd-meowtha]

Christmas AU officially has a title and it is Take Me Home, Country Roads!

To celebrate have this lil moodboard of highly strung Yuppie Gale Cleven in the late 80s. A man who is about the have simultaneously the best and worst two days of his life.

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

about that guy I met on my European vacation--

OK, don’t get too excited, nothing that crazy or illegal happened. But I learned a few things about myself in the process that I thought I’d share. GET READY BECAUSE SHE A LONG ONE

So here I am on my 35 day European tour of a lifetime, starting in Barcelona and ending in Greece. When I get to Barcelona I have to meet my tour director after driving from the airport because he has the keys to our rooms. I knew he was Greek beforehand in the group chat--I’ve seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding about a million times and also I’ve played Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and his accent confirms it. “I like your name,” he says when I introduce myself, and it’s from this point onward that I have two missions for this trip. Number one: have an amazing time. Two: avoid this man at all costs, except when necessary for the tour. 

Avoiding him is simply about survival, even if he seems personable and truly wants to get to know all of us on the tour. I know I’m not that interesting a person and he is quite good looking and also really charming. If I’m not careful, I’ll catch feelings. I know me. He’ll just be doing his job and I’ll mistake it for attraction. I’ve lived through this song and dance before. It’s the curse you wear when you’ve grown up in a body that society doesn’t deem as good enough. Even if time has made me what society would call “prettier,” old thoughts of you’re not pretty enough for him are going to linger, lines forged by the likes of my grandmothers and casting directors. I am the funny side character, not the romantic lead. Hell, in college I wasn’t even on the stage. I remained in the backstage area as the helper. The funny side character stays on the sidelines. She provides funny banter, not the romance arc. She has to protect herself. 

Yet there’s a moment after Barcelona before we head to Paris where he ends up having dinner with me and my friend, myself terrified when he plops down at the same restaurant we’ve chosen. I don’t do much of the talking, my friend does, asking him all sorts of questions about his life I wish I could have asked, and some brazen ones in my mind anyway like are you married or attached? he’s not, come to find out. I glean he’s sort of a wayward traveler and content with that, but he admits he’s getting a bit too old for this tour directing thing. He also lets me try his food. It’s a small kindness I wouldn’t have expected from an American man. I feel brave. I tell him I like the way he says my name. 

“That’s what I said,” he says, twinkle in his eye. (No, it’s not. I let it be. I like the way he says it. To Europeans I even begin introducing myself via his pronunciation.)

Time passes without incident. I follow my promises in Paris, London, and Amsterdam. I know my other friend L likes him a lot and says she danced with him in Paris where they connected. It’s probably true, but I don’t know--I also can’t help but feel there’s something in the way he looks at me. A glimmer of something or other that some part of me recognizes, but doesn’t think can be the case. Not for me. I know my place. Then Prague happens. 

A lot of things happen in Prague. The morning of our tour through the city I get an email asking if I’m still interested in joining the company I applied to before my trip. I can’t believe it. I’m in Europe, and when I come back there is now the possibility I won’t have to go back to teaching. The day goes on, a terrible heat wave in the city. He takes the group out to a medieval dinner--sort of an interactive renaissance fair. We’re all as a unit, very drunk and ready for more drinking and dancing. It may be one of the best days of my life. Here I am in Europe, a world away from last year in the deepest pits of my depression and anxiety, drinking beer with an amazing group of travelers who I get to call my friends. We hit one bar, and then another, an Irish pub where he is, of course--he loves his Irish pubs and makes no secret of it. He flits around and some of my friends chit chat with him, but I of course don’t say anything. Of course we want to keep the party going--so we head out to this eighties dance club where he follows. I admit my eye is on him during the night--he helps out one of my friends who gets so drunk she can’t walk. (And he avoids her attempts to hit on him as well) but mostly I dance and I dance and I dance and I drink and I let loose in a way I don’t think I ever have. I feel beautiful. I feel free. And hell, when I see myself in the mirror--I am beautiful. Later, my friend tells me how cute I was drunk. I let loose. She’s right. Everything is perfect, except for the nagging realization I have to pee.

Upon what I call the pee test, wherein you get to see how drunk you are in the bathroom, I am moderate. I can stand but things are a little wobbly. Not the drunkest I’ve been, but pretty drunk. I emerge from the bathroom. There he is. 

He grabs my hand. He doesn’t let go. He stares into my goddamn soul. One of my friends is prattling on about going to another bar, I think, but it’s so loud because “Here Comes the Rain Again” or something is playing. He is insistent I come along too to this other bar with them all, still looking into the depths of my soul and holding my hand. In my drunken, yet still somewhat lucid state, I ask him why on earth he’s standing outside the girl’s bathroom. No answer, but my hand is still in his, and his eyes are still looking into the depths of my goodman soul. I feel really fucking pretty. So pretty, part of me realizes a good looking man is holding my hand. I hold on tighter.

We don’t end up going to another bar, we end up staying, but still holding my hand he takes me away from the girl’s restroom, finally, and eventually a tentative arm is places around me, something I reciprocate until more people crowd around. Shots are bought. We take a shot together before back to the dance floor we go. He dances with me, our backs turned in this shoulder-to-shoulder sort of shimmy, and I am vaguely aware of my ass grinding against his. When it’s over I am horror-stricken. People definitely saw me grind with our hot as hell Grecian tour director. But I’m in it too deep. I want to dance with him again, and I throw out some joke as I shake my hips about how they are going to hurt tomorrow--to which he laughs. It’s at this point another girl notices and literally throws herself on him. I watch with my mouth agape as he fights off her advances, and watch as he eventually untangles himself and leaves. 

I can’t sleep that night. Number one there’s a heat wave and I’m on the top bunk, and two, I’m swimming with thoughts of what the hell just happened. He started it, but why? The funny side character shouldn’t be treated like the romantic lead. The morning comes and the girls in my room mention his behavior from previous cities after noting how the other girl danced on top of him. They mention behavior I haven’t seen, and are concerned about his professionalism and if tour guides should go out dancing with tour groups. “I think I danced with him,” I say. “You did,” my friend replies. I  can’t help but feel judged. 

We move on from Prague in our trip. In Switzerland I decide to accept the new job. I see more glances from him here and there. He watches me get hit on in Venice. Then there’s this one particular look he gives me before we drive to Florence that I can’t shake away. I tell him good morning and the way he replies, you’d think I made his morning. 

Once in Rome I end up crying. We are deep into the trip and I want to talk to my Mom about my new job and also what happened. It’s confusing and I don’t get it and is this lack of professionalism true or something that should bother me? My friend L tells me a rumor he kissed a girl in Barcelona in our group and confessed his life story to her--and she says she doesn’t like him anymore, albeit for different reasons. I never ask. But there’s something ingrained within me that senses shenanigans will happen, even that night after I kiss an Italian boy. 

I’m right. It’s the second night in Rome. I go to a bar with two other friends. Apparently this is his favorite Irish bar in the whole of Europe, and of course he’s there. He plops beside me, deriding my choice in drinking Heineken when I should get an Italian beer. He asks me what I’m going to do when I come back to the states. I joke about ice water. He teases me. I tell him the truth, that I want to talk to my mom about a few things. I think about Prague, but leave that out and tell him about my new job, and how it’s everything I wanted but I’m nervous to leave teaching and also take a decrease in pay, but it’s also exciting because my head will be clearer to write more during the day, and I get a foothold in a career that’s interesting to me. He’s happy for me. 

From there, we talk, and we talk, and we talk and do occasional shots with the others I came with. The night is a blur, I can’t say everything we talked about--movies for one where he’s impressed I know who Laurence Olivier is. (”Of course I do! I’m a Shakespearean!”) and places he’s been to. he loves architecture, and tells me I could pass as Italian, and even Greek. (He’s right, I get mistaken for Greek a lot a little later) I show him a picture of my grandparents, and when my friend next to me starts showing pictures of the various colors she’s dyed her hair, I casually mentioned I stopped dyeing my hair. “Why would you?” he asks, “it’s a pretty color.” Once, he offhandedly mentions he’s self-conscious about his accent. I tell him I like it. Rather bashfully, he thanks me.

He takes a picture of us in the bar and posts it to the group chat. More people arrive. We kind of remain by each other’s side. He buys me a beer separate from the rest of the group. At some point I have to pee. On my way back from peeing I end up smooching another Italian man. He uses too much tongue too quickly for my taste. On my way back, he follows me. You know who sees this whole exchange and is very amused I got hit on, apparently. I think I mention something or other about my therapist telling me to kiss boys in Europe. Then he’s gone--gone without saying goodbye, and I’m a little upset but mostly I’m elated. I talked virtually all night with a man I find attractive, and not once did I run away. My good mood is only spoiled by the fact that I learn when I call home that my grandma was placed in the hospital.

The next day after the Vatican I’m eating with my friend L and a few others, and she casually mentions how he tried to get her to party with him yesterday. Driven by tiredness and also my news from the previous night, I go to my hotel room and cry. I don’t feel like he played me, but more so that I played myself. I’m just the funny side character after all. Why would I think I’m special? We’re going to Greece in the morning, and my body is just so tired I have no desire to go. 

But go we do, and once in Athens I just feel very, very happy. I can’t even really describe why the city makes me so happy. but I feel safe there. I feel like maybe the past life reader I emailed back in April was right, Greece was once my home in a time before. One thing is sure, I am not wasting my time on my tour director anymore. I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the trip. 

Except he’s eating lunch the same place me and my friends decide to eat at. We leave him be but he’s as amiable as ever. And then later that night when me and another group of girls decide to go for drinks at a rooftop bar---he tags along. I don’t really speak to him much, other girls in the group dominate the conversation, but I try my best to look wistful and unbothered. He lets me sip from his beer, and when I ask my smoker friend for a cigarette puff  he beats her and gives me a puff of his. He mentions the Irish bar in Rome and how I was there with him. I feel a sort of electricity when he plops by me to smoke and he’s pointed toward me. 

The next day at the Acropolis he gives me this sort of playful, dreamy look I don’t see him give anyone else, and I ask if he thinks I look silly in my hat. “Yes,” he says, and I laugh. Another dreamy look in Paros when we’re by ourselves by the sea for the briefest moment. He looks at me like I’m a revelation. It makes me laugh. It makes me feel like the romantic lead. One last wistful look the next morning before we return to Athens when he tells me “good morning.” Again, I feel a sort of revelation. My friend tells me later there’s a rumor he slept with a girl in our group. I kind of don’t care.

At our last dinner in Athens before we all must leave, I give him his tip. We embrace, we take a photo. He wants me to send it to him. I do, and he gives it a little heart. He comes out dancing with the group, one last time. I don’t see him for a bit, but when he bumps into me in the club he asks me where my drink is. I ask him if he’s going to buy me one to replace it. He teases me before agreeing, and then more people crowd around and suddenly we’re taking shots. It’s at this point I see the rumored girl he slept with in our group cuddle up near him, to which he doesn’t reciprocate. I give a certain look of disgust, one he mirrors. “What happened to the Irish bar?” he asks me. I am possessed. I put my hand on his cheek and I tell him I’ll always remember it. He will too, he says. That’s his favorite in all of Europe. 

I remember that souvenir I bought in Athens a few days ago, my name on a necklace in Greek. He’s supposed to give it me at some point, and when I ask he says he’ll just keep it if he forgets. YOU’RE GOING TO KEEP A NECKLACE WITH MY NAME? I ask, and he just looks sheepishly at me. I know I have to leave soon, so I say my goodbyes. “If I don’t see you, when I leave in the taxi to the airport,” I tell him, “I will kill you.” And then I embrace him again. I kiss his cheek. 

Such a simple thing, a kiss. I always thought I would have to be deliberate about it, because I imagined kissing his cheek in parting before. I wasn’t so. I was possessed, automatic. When he kisses me back on my cheek, an immediate response, it feels like an I see you, you were beautiful, I enjoyed my time with you. It feels romantic. 

So we part a few hours later with an embrace--nothing too crazy. But when I’m home, I message him because he asked us to let him know when we’re home safe. I thank him in Greek, and thank him for everything. I tell him I’m glad I stopped waiting around for someone and did what I always wanted to do. He thanks me. Am I going to leave it there? He lives in Greece, I live here. He told me he wouldn’t live in the US. Fuck, I’d move to Europe for true love, though the chance of him being it for me are very, very slim. I do know he said he’d mention if he was in the US, and asked me to mention if I was in Europe. Of course I’ll go back to Europe. I’ll always return. And I may need to message him. Some of my stories take place partly in Greece. I need research help.

In my therapist’s chair upon my return, she tells me who cares if the rumor about him sleeping with someone is true or not, I know what happened between him and I. He’s a tour director and he probably lied when he said he would never do something like that in Athens. At the end of the day, he’s European, and Europeans have different sensibilities. Good for me for kissing him, and after all, it’s not really about him. It’s about how I felt confident, I felt beautiful, and I held a man’s attention. She’s right of course. She’s always right. This story isn’t about a romance, it’s about the funny side character coming into her own, and knowing she can be the lead. It’s about how I got to know this amazing, incredible woman, and now I know I can’t be without her. And, my therapist says, it’s time for me to write my book. 

I used to be sad I didn’t have a partner, how I would look at pictures of my cousin’s family and be jealous. But I see them now, and I see how beautiful it is, but I also see how that’s not what I want. Not quite yet, I still want to travel. I must, for me. For my soul. For the art that I will make. 

And as for my tour director, I waffle back and forth now that I’m home. I know I can live without him. I’m ready for the man I will marry, but I also don’t want him yet, weirdly enough. There are things I have to do. I learned that in Europe. I learned that with my tour director, talking with him, exchanging heated looks with him he didn’t give anyone else. I was careful to observe that. I admit, there are parts of me that have this knowing that there’s more and I haven’t seen or heard the last of Nikos.  

I guess time will tell. I’m happy either way. I’m still the lead.

[lucienballard]

Shane MacGowan remembered by Nick Cave ............

Ifirst met Shane in 1989 when the music paper NME thought it would be a good idea to bring us two together alongside Mark E Smith from the Fall for a so-called “summit meeting”. I was excited because I was a fan, completely in awe of Shane’s songwriting. Unfortunately, it was my first day out of rehab, and it probably wasn’t the greatest idea to spend the day with two people who were not known for their moderation. It was pure mayhem from the outset. Not the most auspicious start to a friendship, but Shane and I did become close friends soon afterwards. When we initially started to hang out, we often went out to bars and clubs. It was a little difficult, because I’d temporarily stopped taking drugs and drinking, but we liked each other’s company. I don’t think he was used to being around someone who didn’t drink. He essentially didn’t trust anyone who wasn’t completely shit-faced. At some point, when I eventually started drinking again, we met in a bar and he asked me what I wanted. I ordered a double vodka and his eyes just lit up. It was like he was a little kid and it was Christmas Day. And that was that. We spent the next years going out, fucking around, getting wasted. Sometimes I’d call round his flat in King’s Cross and he’d be watching Scarface or one of those violent Kitano cop thrillers. I remember being concerned that he wasn’t writing songs. Once, when I asked him about it, he crawled across the floor and started rooting in the pile of rubbish until he found a scrap of paper. It was the lyrics to a song called St John of Gods. A beautiful title. Beautiful words. To me, his songs were such precious things, deep works of art, really, but he didn’t treat them like that. While I laboured away at my desk, day after day, to produce what I could, Shane’s words were delivered to him on a beer tray with a whiskey chaser.

Shane saw it as a solemn duty to be permanently fucked up and, for most of his life, he was happy to be the way he was

What I really envied about Shane’s lyric writing was that he was doing something extraordinary with the classic songwriting form. His way of writing was steeped in the tradition of Irish balladry. It was in no way modern, whereas my songs, back then, were more of their time: darker and fractured and experimental. There was little compassion in them. No true understanding of the “ordinary”. I don’t think I could have written a lyric like “The wind goes right through you/ It’s no place for the old” [from Fairytale of New York]. It speaks volumes. You can feel the wind and the ice in the air but also the sense of learned empathy and deep compassion Shane had for people.

I loved his voice, too. It was the perfect vehicle for his chaotic, poetic soul. And I loved the way he comported himself when he was singing live. There was a nonchalance about it. I remember watching the Pogues do a soundcheck somewhere at a festival in France. He just walked up to the mic and sang A Pair of Brown Eyes with his hands shoved in his pockets, this gorgeous, racked voice coming out of him like he was a cypher for the angels. It was a rare privilege to witness something like that.

At the end of the day, though, it is his genius we should remember rather than all the other stuff. He wrote a bunch of songs that are truly great. That’s a hell of a lot more than most songwriters manage. His best lyrics have a truly lived-in nature to them. His beautiful soul is baked in to every word, every phrase of A Rainy Night in Soho or The Old Main Drag. They are rooted in earned experience. Those profoundly beautiful words coming out of such a broken soul. He had something that we lesser writers have to work hard to even get close to. An effortless, God-given talent.

When my friendship with him began, it was based on a deep admiration for his songwriting. I was a fan, pure and simple, and I will always be that. But the enduring nature of our relationship grew out of a great love for the man himself. Shane was not like other people. Regardless of what condition he was in, he had a goodness about him and a depth of feeling about the poetic nature of our human condition that was immeasurable. There was a truth to him, a clarity of soul that was of the purest kind. You can’t hide something like that. The whole world could see it, which is why he was so deeply loved by so many.

source

[vampiricsheep]

2, 3, 8, and 27?

ty!!

2. Do you drink tea or coffee? How do you take it? 

Yes! Mainly coffee but I can appreciate a good tea and sometimes take it just as a treat. Coffee I usually take black, which is part of why I'm so picky about it - an acidic or burnt brew is impossible to ignore when you don't have a creamer to mellow it. If my stomach's unwell or I'm stuck with a REALLY bad coffee, I'll add a splay of soymilk to mellow it out. Generally I prepare it in a french press, but I have a keurig I lucked out on getting for days when I don't even have the energy to boil water. I have an espresso machine too, but there's very little counter space in my apartment, so since I used it the least, it's currently tucked away. My dream home has a proper coffee bar space. When I'm getting a coffee From Somewhere instead of at home, I like to enjoy a little fanciness - which also hides a bad brew - and get a mocha or latte. I've found bad brews in cappuccino to be similarly impossible to ignore. For these I prefer soy, but if it's not an option, I'll take the next best nondairy choice. Most teas I'll have straight, but I add a dash of soymilk and honey to masala chai and earl grey and just soymilk to an English breakfast or Irish breakfast.

3. What was the last song you listened to? 

"Marble House" by The Knife

8. What’s your favorite band/artist?

Spotify thinks it's Garbage, which I do listen to, but they're not an actual top 5 for me yknow? I keep coming back to Johnny Hollow though - they have a very good haunting sound.  

It should come as no surprise that I'm also big on Evanescence, too.

27. What’s your favorite book? Or just one you’ve read a few times?

I used to have a stock answer for this that was I book I read and re-read in high school called The Blooding by Patricia Windsor. I'd have to re-read it again sometime, and it's definitely a VERY different read as an adult vs as an isolated teen, but it was definitely interesting. There are definitely a fair amount of trigger warnings I'd have to give anyone who wanted to read it, too - and probably more than I can remember.

As for my favorite book now, I'm not sure, as I haven't actually had a lot of time/energy to read and my memory is incredibly shot. Some fantasy books I enjoyed reading a while ago were Witchmark by C. L. Polk and Vicious by V. E. Schwab. I wish I could remember the nonfiction book on wetlands that I read over the winter because it made me ache in a good way.

Oh! And I'm a perpetual Animorphs fan, but I don't think I need to go into detail about THAT lol

[rabbitcruiser]

World Fiddle Day

Schedule a lesson or find a performance to enjoy one of the classic  instruments of the working class, the fiddle. Or sit down to watch  Fiddler on the Roof!

World Fiddle Day is an annual music celebration day celebrated on the  Third Saturday of May. This year it will be observed on May 19. Even  though World Fiddle Day was created in 2012, it gained popularity all  over the world within a few years. It was created to celebrate and to  teach the playing of bowed string instruments throughout the world by  conducting participatory and inclusive events. The fiddle is a bowed  string musical instrument, used by the players in all genres including  classical music.

World Fiddle Day happens once a year and is meant to celebrate  everything that everyone loves about the chirpy, fun and feisty art of  fiddle music. You’ll see it being celebrated on the third Saturday of  each May. The fiddle is always known to be something positive, with all  the songs and notes it produces high energy, entertaining, and bringing  something positive. Making the room dance, wherever the sound of a  fiddle is played.

Around the world, this day is celebrated with dancing, music, and of course plenty of fiddle playing!

History of World Fiddle Day

Before we speak about the day, it may be best to get a better idea of  the Fiddle that is being celebrated! The fiddle is a four-stringed  musical instrument of the string family, also often referred to as a  small type of violin. Like the violin, it is also played with a bow. The  terms fiddling or fiddle playing actually refer to a style of music,  most commonly folk music. The origins of the name ‘fiddle’ are not known  but is believed to be derived from an early violin or the Old English  word ‘fithele’. The fiddle is common to English folk music, Irish folk  music, Scandinavian music, Austrian, French, Hungarian, Polish,  American, Latin American, African, and even Australian music. There is  no difference between the fiddle and small violin aside from the name  and type of music the instrument is used for.

A fiddle has many parts including the neck, fingerboard, tuning pegs,  scroll, pegbox, bridge, soundhole, strings, fine tuners, tailpiece,  bass bar, soundboard, chinrest, button, backplate, and bow. The earliest  fiddles (or violins) were derived from the bow instruments from the  Middle Ages.

When it comes to building a high-quality fiddle, it can take as many  as 200 hours for craftsmen to handcraft a professional fiddle, showing  that for a relatively simple looking and fun instrument, a lot of craft  and workmanship has to go into building one.

Traditional fiddle strings were made of pig, goat, horse, or sheep  intestine. Today they are made from steel or aluminium over a nylon  core. Now, the last fiddle fact that you may want to take down for your  next game of trivia, is that the fastest fiddler/violinist on record is  Ben lee who played ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ in just over a minute in  2010. He played an average of 13 notes each second for a total of 810  notes in all. Now that is pretty impressive, so now the fiddle has been  explained, what about the day?

The day was founded in 2012 by one Caoimhin Mac Aoidh, a professional  fiddler from Donegal in Ireland. The day was birthed from a deep  respect for one of the most expert and revered violin makers in history.

This month was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the death  of the Italian violin craftsman Antonio Stradivari’s way back in 1737.

Stradivari is today considered the most significant creator of  violins in history, with his surviving instruments today seen as the  most prized and finest ever created. Although he also made the larger  string instruments cellos and violas, it’s the violins that he lovingly  crafted that he is most well-known and remembered for.

Though only a couple of hundred of his works still exists, they have  been known to capture some huge prices at auction and are especially  sought-after amongst professional violin players.

How to celebrate World Fiddle Day

If you ever learned how to play the violin in school, or you  frequently play it either for pleasure or for work, today is a great day  to get out your fiddle and play a couple of tunes! Perhaps play a  little for friends or family, or show your children how to play some  simple themes. If you do not own one, or do not know how to play it,  then this could be a great time to learn. It is always fun and engaging  to learn a new musical instrument, so why not start to learn the art of  the fiddle, and maybe at next year’s celebrations you can play to the  world what you have managed to learn!

If you aren’t lucky enough to have learned how to play this string  instrument, you can celebrate its day by listening to some of the  fantastic performances by string artists easily found on Youtube or  Spotify. Add a spring to your daily commute with some Mozart, Barber or  Brahms!

And if you’ve always fancied trying your hand at the violin, perhaps  today you could take a trial lesson learning how to play? Who knows – by  the time the next World Fiddle Day comes along, you could be able to  play along with everyone else who is fiddling away!

Whatever you get up to, have a great World Fiddle Day!

Source

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 765: Lankum The Livelong Day

I developed an appreciation for Irish folk music in college.

I was by no means an expert in the field... I was mainly fixated on The Clancy Brothers. But those simple, rousing protest songs and folk narratives resonated with me on the same level as classic Bob Dylan and Billy Bragg. The irony is that while The Clancy Brothers' defiant nature paired well with the punk and hardcore stuff I was listening to at the time, the American Irish punk bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys didn't appeal to me at all. As far as I was concerned, the only decent crossover between punk and Irish trad music was The Pogues.

Fast forward twenty years and along comes Lankum. This Dublin quartet uses traditional Irish instruments and culls the majority of their material from songs that have been handed down over the generations. But their musical approach feels more in line with bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Swans. There are long droning passages, textural explorations, an emphasis on repetition, and an embrace of dissonance. Though these are songs that you could likely hear in the pubs of Temple Bar, Lankum's twist makes it sound like something you'd be more likely to hear at a modern art gallery or a European punk squat.

Take album opener "The Wild Rover." It's a fairly common Irish folk song, typically sung in a major key with an air of revelry. In Lankum's hands, the song stretches into a patient, tension-baiting, harmonically rich, and ultimately emotionally crushing 10-minute epic that negates more modern interpretations in favor of the earlier tragic and cautionary tale of the aimless drunk.

But my favorite track on The Livelong Day is an original composition that closes out the album. "Hunting the Wren" was written by Lankum member Ian Lynch in reference to the Wrens of the Curragh, a "community of unmarried mothers, free-thinkers, alcoholics, prostitutes, vagrants, ex-convicts and harvest workers... all of them women who had, in one way or another, put themselves beyond the pale of respectable society." The song also seems to reference to Ireland's Wren Day and the Isle of Man's Hunt the Wren tradition, both of which can be traced back to an old folklore story where an enchantress whose beauty lures men to harm is transformed into a wren and hunted as punishment for her actions.

Between ominous droning minor key choruses and orchestral major key choruses, Lankum vocalist Radie Peat sings of the maligned wren and the mob violence she endures:

The birds of the earth The beasts of the field By spite and by fury Are people revealed

Attacked in the village Spat on in town They come from all over To hunt the wren on the wide open ground

The wren is a small bird Though blamed for much woe Her form is derided Wherever she goes

The best folk songs, like the best punk songs, allow us to view the world from an alternate perspective, to feel empathy for someone who has otherwise been cast as a villain or a misfit. Even the Clancy Brothers, with their songs of rebellion against the British, feel dapper and approachable in their white cable-knit sweaters when compared to the ragged and scrappy members of Lankum. These are the true Irish rebels... the vagrants who busked for spare change and somehow took old familiar songs and revitalized them back to their original downtrodden intent.

[eurovision-revisited]

1993 Millstreet - Number 2 - Niamh Kavanagh - "In Your Eyes"

What can I say? The deserved winner of Eurovision 1993. On home ground in Ireland Niamh Kavanagh delivers a stunning vocal performance of one of the best ballads performed at Eurovision ever. She's so confident - with a rich, soulful voice singing about the first flush of love. There's not a missed beat or note with some stunning singing. The home crowd roar their appreciation at the end. This is one of the Eurovision moments.

Niamh herself has represented Ireland again at Eurovision, in 2010 although only finishing 23rd. As Dustin the Turkey opined, the knack of a good song seemed to have deserted the Irish at that point although Niamh's voice remained undiminished.

Prior to 1993, her big claim to fame was a vocalist on the soundtrack album of the film The Commitments, a film that celebrated soul music. Niamh's voice is soul personified. Despite this, she was not an internally selected act. She had to compete in the Irish Eurosong '93 held in Dublin. Her victory there is one of the most comprehensive ever in a national final. She was only two points away from hitting the maximum of score of 120 with a maximum 12 points from each of the regional juries bar one.

Niamh is now a national treasure, singing at many events although she's not released many singles or albums. She's a performer first and last.

But why is she only at number 2? Well, that's personal preferences coming into play and also you'll have to see what's at number 1. However, of the songs that were in Millstreet, this is head and shoulders the best.

[souridealist]

ace attorney characters at karaoke

Phoenix and Maya: going HOG WILD on the classic Disney back catalog and all the best duets of the 80s.

Phoenix can actually sing quite well; he’s not going to have a side gig as a rock star but he was definitely good enough to be an actual singer at the Borscht Bowl Club instead of a shitty pianist if he’d wanted to

(he perhaps did not want to do something he actually cared about for money at that point in his life)

Maya cannot sing for SHIT but by God she’s not going to let that stop her

they do a great “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and take turns with who takes which role (Meg or the Muses) on “(I Won’t Say) I’m In Love”

they also do “Friends on the Other Side” because they think they’re funny

only in the first half of the evening, though, otherwise they end up kind of weepy drunk about it

If Miles is there: Phoenix will, at some point near the end of the evening, break out an incredibly sappy dad rock ballad. absolutely everyone can tell what’s going on, he’s not even trying to be subtle about it.

like, we’re talking “Faithfully” by Journey and “Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel levels of sappy

I find it hard to picture a karaoke bar in Japanifornia having “Long Time Running” by the Tragically Hip in its repertoire but if I remember that this is a goofy tumblr post and there are no gods or kings, he would absolutely do that too, and if he did, Miles would break sufficiently to kiss him in front of all of their employees

Miles does actually come to karaoke a lot but he absolutely does not sing, he’s just here to be an appreciative audience.

on exactly one occasion, he’s been successfully dragged up to the mic. it took the combined forces of

Maya Fey

the absence of anyone who works for him

the Steel Samurai theme song

the extremely incorrect assumption that a Long Island Iced Tea is to a regular iced tea as Irish coffee is to regular coffee

incidental PSA: It Is Not

the resulting video is an heirloom of the Fey clan and one of Phoenix Wright’s most precious possessions

Franziska: tags along when she’s visiting Miles. allegedly this is against her will but she sure does keep showing up

if she could sing, you wouldn’t get her off the mic all night, but she can’t carry a tune in a bucket and she knows it, and a von Karma is not bad at things in public

but she does keep showing up

did once whip Larry Butz senseless for the hatchet job he did on a Billie Eilish song

originally I was going to have this be Tori Amos or somebody and then I remembered that Franziska von Karma is a fucking zoomer 

Larry was not invited, by the way

Gumshoe: canonically a reggae guy! kind of sheepish and bashful until talked into his first song of the night, after which he has a really great time

Maggey Byrde: I consulted @ozawamitsuko for this and got an excellent answer which is

breaks out the classic Britney and for three minutes is suddenly EXTREMELY SEXY as well as adorable

the hearts orbiting Gumshoe’s head must be seen to be believed

then immediately trips over the mic cord and lands face-first on the ground

she is stone cold sober

Ema Skye: every single thing about this woman indicates that she listens to an absolute fuck ton of They Might Be Giants

who basically have one song that shows up on karaoke setlists so at this point she absolutely KILLS “Istanbul Not Constantinople”

Lana Skye, out of jail by this point: doesn’t get near the mic until she’s had at least two drinks and a great deal of friendly persuasion, at which point she, with the most deadpan facial expression ever seen on Earth, selects “Jailhouse Rock.”

she actually has a very weak voice and no range whatsoever but no one actually hears that much of her singing because they are, after an initial beat of shock, losing their fucking minds

Klavier Gavin: always checks to see if his own songs are available, but he's way too much of a perfectionist to enjoy doing karaoke performances of them, so he doesn’t

also, like. he does have a sense of sportsmanship and that’s just not on

honestly being at karaoke when you’re an actual charting rockstar is kind of unsportsmanlike by default, and as much as he likes being the center of attention he also likes being liked and likes it when people have fun, so he mostly gets everyone else in the room to pick what they think would be funny to make him sing

he does a pretty good “Uptown Funk” and a damn solid “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under”

Ema Skye has tried him on “I Feel Pretty” and he did not hesitate a second

Apollo Justice: regards the microphone with such profound trepidation that everyone assumes he cannot sing a note

naturally him acting like the mic is a guillotine makes every single one of his friends and colleagues decide that it is their highest calling in life to make him do it

at which point Thalassa “Lamiroir” Gramarye’s son sighs, loosens his tie, and breaks out an effortless note-perfect rendition of Nina Simone’s “Feelin’ Good” that leaves Klavier Gavin literally incapable of speech

and mysteriously disinclined to stand up 

(after taking that first plunge Apollo gets a lot more willing to sing but he’s still kind of shy about it)

Athena Cykes: okay I’m actually only halfway through Dual Destinies but I nonetheless feel this in my heart to be true.

Sober: Call Me Maybe -- Carly Rae Jepsen

Lightly buzzed: Woman -- Kesha

Fucking wasted: Thot Shit -- Megan Thee Stallion

she skips the n-words because she has manners but she does not change a single other lyric

as drunk karaoke rapping goes, she’s not half bad

and speaking of karaoke rapping: you know that Simon Blackquill listens to Linkin Park. you know. I do not give a shit about the timeline, that is a fundamental fact of the universe.

honestly “Bleed It Out” does still kind of slap in 2022 and will still do so at karaoke in 2027

Taka has of course tagged along to karaoke and is EXTREMELY offended at how bad a perch Simon has suddenly become

I’m picturing a (Japanese-style) karaoke bar for all of this which is why Trucy and Pearl are Madames Not Appearing In This Text Post but should a family-friendly karaoke location make a convenient appearance

I just feel like Pearl’s go-to is Celine Dion

no, she cannot hit those notes, but she’s going to give it an earnest attempt

meanwhile Trucy and Phoenix have a shared love of classic showtunes and are having a FANTASTIC time

“wait, go back a few poionts, how is Athena in the bar and drinking, then” we don’t ask questions about Japanifornia law

actually if you’re prominently wearing a defense attorney’s badge the bartender probably assumes you’re old enough to drink

“so she’s committing underage drinking in a room filled with every branch of law enforcement” technically they don’t know what’s in that glass. could be juice.

[tommybaholland]

when they’re drunk [shamrock special ☘️]

featuring: captains and vice captains (aka kuroo, bokuto, akaashi, sugawara, and kita)

mentions of drinking and general drunk antics. hope everyone who celebrated had a fun and safe st. patrick’s day! 

kuroo

he’s really fun and entertaining when he starts feeling his drinks

he likes to dance and really gets into it

if you’re lucky, you might even see him try to twerk or throw it back

he mostly likes dancing with you though 

more like watching you dance and have fun

you’re someone who prefers to stay in a little more but you haven’t regretted going out with him and all your friends since the first weekend

kuroo liked going out with you for many reasons 

his number one begin that you always looked so beautiful when you get dressed up to go out

his brain’s like, “that’s my gorgeous s/o right there”

but sometimes other people take too much notice of it for his liking and he gets a little protective over you

one time you and he were waiting for drinks at the bar and there was someone standing on the opposite side of kuroo

they lean over and decide to say hi to you and you said hi back, just to be polite 

kuroo just ignored them until you got your drinks and they try to cheers with you and keep talking to you as if kuroo’s not even there

so when you’re not looking, he decides to talk to them 

“hey, that’s my s/o you’re talking to so i need you to back off >>:(” 

he almost gets into a fight with the guy but instead goes back over to you

“i didn’t do anything, babe. can i please kiss you?”

(this gets a little more heated than just one kiss)

but he’s enjoying it knowing that the guy should be blessed to watch him make out with the most attractive person there

when you’re leaving to find your car and he’s pretty smashed at this point, he’s always losing things

“babe? babyyy where did you go-- oh, you’re right behind me, haha” 

“oh my god, babe, we have to go back. i can’t find my phone!”

he finds it like two minutes later, but enjoys your hands feeling all over him to try to locate it 

he’s also very, very flirty when he’s drunk

presses you up against the car when you find it

“i’m not irish but...can you kiss me anyway?”

bokuto

loud and chaotic, for the most part

loves a good game of beer pong or slap cup

even when he’s drunk, he gets really serious about the game

most of the time he wants you to play with him, even if you’re not that good or confident in your pong abilities 

but if you don’t play, he still likes to involve you somehow

definitely the type to have you kiss the ball for ‘good luck’ 

(after he’s cleaned it off on his shirt, of course) 

he swears by that when he makes it in but it’s also because he’s ‘just awesome’

and if there’s karaoke, well, everyone else should just go home 

because this man will sing all night if he has to 

he really gets into it and that’s what makes him pretty good at it

you have a video of him passionately singing ‘fergalicious’ 

you’re very tempted to post it on tiktok 

honestly, he’d probably let you, especially when he kills the rapping part of the song 

truly the life of the party 

but he checks up on you every now and then

“are you having fun, babe?”

and if you’re not, he wouldn’t let you leave alone and would go home with you if you wanted 

either way, he also makes sure to spend plenty of time with you, which is usually more when he’s bored of games towards the end of the night 

he gets kinda emotional and cheesy at that point

“thank you for coming out with me. you’re the best!”

“you know what, babe? i think it’s so amazing that me, the bestest guy, got paired with you, the bestest person ever!” 

“i just love you a lot, okay? :’)” 

you can always count on him if you want to have a fun night out

akaashi

very calm and relaxed

but he gets very needy and clingy when you’re with him

he tries to socialize if he’s out with you and others but he prefers to stay by your side, touching you delicately somewhere 

usually a hand on your lower back or around your hip or an arm slung around your shoulders

when you’re not around him, like when you’re in the bathroom or getting a drink, he’s still watching out for you

it’s just a little habit he has, making sure no one messes with you or your drink 

he also likes to have bokuto around because he knows he can count on him to help intervene if anything does happen

he trusts you though and knows you can handle yourself pretty well

tries to dance but isn’t the greatest at it 

but he also doesn’t like when it’s in a tight space area with a ton of people and the air is hot because it fogs up his glasses

and at the end of the night when he’s all good and liquored up

his neediness is at like level 1000

it’s like the alcohol makes it very salient in his mind that, “wait, i have an s/o and i love them so much”

so he feels like he has to tell you all things he loves about you as you’re leading him outside to catch an uber

also gets this swoon-worthy, half-lidded expression with a goofy smile to match 

“you’re so beautiful, you know that?”

“and so kind. you take such good care of me, baby”

your face gets all hot and you can’t hide your smile

you don’t even care if it’s the drinks talking bc he’s still the sweetest boy around 

and when you tell him you love him, he looks like he’s about to cry as he hugs you impossibly tight

“aww baby, i love you, too. so much.” 

he keeps an arm around you, making sure you’re warm as you wait for the uber 

(but also to keep himself steady)

leans against you during the car ride home and whispers sweet nothings in your ear as he occasionally kisses your cheek

sugawara

he’s the all-around type and a mix of the previous three

loves to dance, play games, drunkenly yell traditional cheers and songs

but he also very much enjoys and appreciates your company 

can also be very flirty at times

“you look really good tonight. did i tell you that, sugar?”

he’s not much of a fighter or one for conflict in general, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get protective over you

if anyone tries to chat you up or mess with you, he’ll try to get you out of there in the most discrete way possible

he’ll be like, “oh hey, there you are, babe! we’re over here-- oh, who’s this?”

usually, the other person will take the hint by then and back off 

but if they seem more bold and persistent, he’ll just wrap an arm around your shoulders and lead you away while saying to them, “nope, sorry, that’s not happening”

unfortunately, his sweet face doesn’t help too much, so it’s nice when asahi’s also around for some intimidation tactics

he doesn’t usually like to stay out too late and likes to get home early enough so that he can spend more time alone with you

he’s a big fan of eating or cooking something after a night out 

or going to some random convenience store and drunk buying a bunch of junk food for you both 

a lot of times you end up staying up late watching something and usually, it’s a random movie 

but the alcohol always wins and you’re both asleep on the couch before the movie even finishes 

he never sleeps that well when he’s been drinking so he wakes up to turn off the tv 

he’s too inebriated to carry you to bed so he makes sure you’re comfortable and warm with him on the couch

but that usually causes you to wake up and he tries to remain as quiet as possible, his voice at a whisper

“oh, i’m sorry i woke you, sugar. c’mere, lay down on me”

the pressure from your body on his helps to stop the spins and get him to sleep more peacefully 

kita

he’s a man of moderation and not usually a heavy drinker or makes sure he’s drinking plenty of water between drinks

however, that doesn’t mean there aren’t times where he has a little too much fun

it’s a common occurrence when he’s hanging with his old teammates 

prefers a simple and quieter drinking game, like kings, instead of ones where he’d have to clean up a lot afterward

he doesn’t dance much either

he’s more out of it than anything

suna has plenty of pictures and videos of him apologizing to a house plant for ‘bumping into it’

he also wanders around a lot and gets himself lost

one time you found him in a lonely room, laying on a couch

“oh, love, there you are! did they-- did they send you in here?”

you’re like ‘who??’

you sit down and put his head in your lap 

as he tells you how he went to look for water but found this room and decided to lay down

“and someone came in here and tried to lay my head in their lap and touch my face. i think maybe they tried to kiss me too.. but i said, ‘no you can’t do that because i have an s/o. don’t you know that?’ and then i told them to go tell you that i’m in here.”

you tell him that no one told you but that you were looking for him

“well, i’m glad you found me”

he leans up and tries to snuggles into your shoulder

“why would they even come in here? couldn’t they see i was laying down? also, i’m pretty sure everyone here knows that we’re together so why would they do that when you’re the only one i want?”

he becomes kinda emotional and inquisitive about it but you think it’s adorable

even if he’s a little out of it when he’s been drinking, he still knows to put up boundaries when necessary 

you stay there with him for a little bit longer, eventually laying down with him on top of you, his head on your chest 

“let me know if i’m too heavy, okay?”

you kiss his head and rub his back soothingly 

you’re actually kinda looking forward to taking care of him when you get home

because he always takes such good care of you <3

just our luck that it’s haikyuu night, huh? send a request for more luck!

[oneaddishun]

Slow Hands

THIS MIGHT SEEM CONFUSING, SO...

ITALICS- THE STORY OF LAST NIGHT

REGULAR- PRESENT SCENARIO

INDENTED- LYRICS TO SLOW HANDS

You woke up to the smell of fresh coffee. Your eyes flutter open. You look around yourself and realize you were not at your home. Where were you?

You were at Niall's.

How you ended up here was still a mystery to you. Apparently, you were pretty drunk last night and now you have a hangover. Very slowly, you slide out from the plush duvet. Your eyes were wide open when you realized that you were stark naked from your waist down. On the upper half, you were wearing a thin, grey oversized shirt which obviously wasn't yours. You were wearing nothing besides that shirt.

You gasped.

"Please... Jesus Christ... I better not have lost it..." You mumble as you walk out of the room. You said so because you were a virgin.

You went to the living room and sure enough, Niall was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in one hand and a pencil in the other. Some papers rested on his lap.

He looked up and got up when he saw you. He was wearing his boxers. Nothing else. His hair were tousled in a sexy way. This sight alone was enough to make you weak on your knees.

He had a smirk plastered on his face. He stopped walking when he was directly in front of you. Then his face was expressionless. Your mind was swirling with questions. But one question that you really wanted to ask the most was,

"What happened?"

"You were," he replied. "A virgin?"

You look at your feet and nod your head. His intimidating presence could make you faint any time now. The word he said was enough to tell you what happened. He said it- 'were'. Past tense. Not anymore.

"What happened?" you repeat.

In response he shoved the papers into your chest and you put your hand on them to prevent them from falling. He walked away without saying a word. You read the title,

Slow Hands

"What's this Niall?" you yell from your position.

"Proof that you're not as innocent as people tink," he replied in a strong Irish accent. "This is what happened last night."

You read the document and scenarios started flashing in your head. Scenarios of last night. Each line held a story behind it. Niall had written a whole song about last night...

We should take this back to my place

That's what she said right to my face

A very drunk you had called Niall last night. You were at the bar and definitely not aware of what shit you were doing. You called him and started ranting about how irritating he was.

The enmity between you and Niall was very popular amongst your friends.

"Where are you?" he asked after your long lecture was over.

"See? You're so nosy. That's why you're irritating," you reply instead of answering his question.

About an hour later, Niall was on the bar stool beside you with a Guinness in his hand. He had somehow found out where you were and being the nosy person he is, he came over and got tipsy with you.

It first started at flirty arguments. Then it turned into a hot make out session.

"We should take this back to my place," you whispered between the kisses.

"No, mine," he asserted.

You sank down on the dining chair reading the song and remembering the previous night. It was exactly what had happened. You read the next lines and opened your eyes wide in shock.

'Cause I want you bad

Yeah, I want you baby

"Why not mine?" you had questioned.

"Because I want you bad," he replied and kissed you again.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah I want you baby," he planted another kiss. "And my house is closer than yours,"

I've been thinking 'bout it all day

And I hope you feel the same way

Fifteen minutes later, you were completely stripped except for your panties, and lying on his bed. He was kissing you all over your body. You thanked heavens that you were drunk because there was no way you could've done this sober.

He went down south with each kiss until he reached the hem of the only piece of clothing you were wearing. You moaned when he cupped your sex.

He looked up at your face and made eye contact. Then, without losing the contact, he ripped off your panties exposing you completely. You felt a bit shy now but you were more intoxicated. Not just by the alcohol, but also by his presence.

He took a good look at you. "Damn! I've bin tinking 'bout it all day. Yer beautiful," He said before going down on you.

'Cause I want you bad

Yeah I want you baby

"Jesus Christ!" you exclaim. "Did this really happen?!"

"Mmhmm," he replied nonchalantly from the kitchen. "Every nitty gritty detail,"

You went on reading.

Slow, slow hands

Like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry

No, no chance

That I'm leaving here without you on me

He worked his hands slowly on your core, rubbing smoothly. His tongue lapped at your clit as he was gently pushing you to your orgasm. Just when you were about to lose it, he stopped all the movement. He looked at your face. It was then that you realized that despite all the drama, you actually liked Niall. A bead of sweat trickled down his neck towards the collar of his black shirt which was already drenched with his sweat.

Then in a trice, he flipped you over so now you were on the top. You had never been with a man before, let alone sit on his erect hard on.

"Are you sure?" you asked him.

"Der's no chonce yer goin' back widaout being on top of me,"

You hesitantly start unbuckling his belt.

I, I know

Yeah I already know that there ain't no stopping

Your plans and those

Slow hands

You know there was no going back at this point. Only going ahead.

"Yeah babe, there ain't no stopping now," he said.

You had said the last part out loud. Your ears were ringing in anticipation as his belt was fully unbuckled. You opened his button and fly. He was wearing black boxer briefs underneath which came off soon enough.

His length was now fully exposed to you in full glory. While you were working on his lowers, he had managed to take off his shirt. He smelt like lavenders.

His hands trailed on the sides of your body. Wherever his skin came in contact with yours, goosebumps started rising. His hands trailed northwards and plunged his thumb in your mouth. You licked it hungrily.

You swiftly pinned his hands to his sides, preventing them from motion.

"I've got some plans," you smirked.

I just wanna take my time

we could do this baby all night

Yeah, 'cause I want you bad

Yeah I want you baby

One whole hour had passed and you had had three orgasms. None of you showed any trace of stopping. You were bouncing on his cock, ecstatic from the fact that it was Niall who took your virginity tonight. You realized that he had still not climaxed even once.

"I just wanna take me time, love. We can do this all night." he said when you urged him.

Fingertips putting on a show

Got me now when I can't say no

Wanna fuck with you all alone

Take me home

You slithered your hand down to where you were connected. You let out a loud moan while doing so. The pads of your fingers brushed against his balls and you knew where to grip now.

You squeezed his balls gently earning a deep growl from his throat. His back arched up as he squeezed his eyes shut. You knew you hit the right chord.

"Niall James Horan," you declared. "Will you cum or not?"

"Yes - ah - yes I will!!!"

"Good cause I'm so close... Shit!" you went faster. You were on the brink of another climax when-

"Hold it!" he demanded. You knew what he wanted. He wanted you to cum with him. You painfully held it in you till you were sobbing. Even though you were on top, Niall was still the dominant person here.

When you couldn't hold it in, you squeezed his balls again. This time, harshly. Your fingertips put on a great show on his scrotum. This sent him over the edge.

Your eyes rolled back and your toes curled as you felt hot spurts of his seed fill up your contracting walls.

This was the best feeling ever. Your head began to sway as you lost your senses. You collapsed on him. You fainted on his cock.

....

"What do ya think- or remember?" Niall asks, taking the seat beside you.

"Excuse me? You wrote a whole damn song on this?" you ask with confusion.

"Mmhmm... Stayed up all the night. Inspiration can come from anywhere," he gave you a playful grin.

An awkward moment of silence took over on the dining table.

He stood up and without wasting a moment, kissed you on the lips. His tongue swirled in your mouth since you easily allowed him entrance.

He broke away from the kiss. "I wouldn't mind writing another one,"

You kissed him again. "Then let's skip all the small talk and go straight up to your room!"

He smirked sexily.

"Yeah. Small Talk."

[danses-with-dogmeat]

What Instruments would the Companions play?

Fallout 4 -- 

Cait: Uilleann Pipes (or Elbow Bagpipes) 

     - Okay, it's not just because it’s an Irish instrument (I mean, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it), but also it's the way the unique pipes are played. The player is seated with the instrument strapped to their waist and dominant hand, using their opposite elbow to control the flow of air in the bag (rather than blowing into it like with normal bagpipes). It's a complicated instrument that requires an immense amount of physical control and discipline to play, which meshes well with Cait's physicality and athleticism. She's had the instrument as long as she can remember, finding it lying around in her childhood home. She managed to grab it before her parents sold her, and though it does sometimes remind her of them, all of the hours she spent learning to play it practically forces her to hold onto the instrument. She is wildly adept at playing it, and will sometimes do so in front of Sole, as long as they keep quiet about this ability of hers.  

Curie: Violin

     - A delicate instrument that requires dexterity and control, Curie would love the challenges that playing the violin would present. She found the string instrument in the depths of the vault before she became a synth, but held onto it thinking one day she would find someone who could make it sound beautiful. When she made the change to her synth body, she was incredibly excited to finally be able to play it, and though it took a while, she managed to become quite skilled. As a medical professional, she already has incredible coordination, so not only does the violin provide a creative outlet for Curie, but also it allows her to practice her control, since she still is getting used to just having the two hands, and all of her fingers. Once well-practiced, she loves to play softly to recovering patients in her ward. 

Danse: Baritone

     - When he first found the large horn, he didn’t really know what to think of it, he certainly didn’t consider playing it. However, once Sole explained it to him and told him how the instrument is played, he decided to pick it up one day when he was alone. He might have a hard time at first, since learning to play a new instrument can be especially frustrating for someone as hard on themselves as Danse is, but once he gets the hang of it, he's a big fan of the rich, loud sound it creates. He still rarely plays in front of anyone else (Sole and Haylen being the only exceptions), but he likes to practice in the little amount of downtime that he does have. Plus he enjoys caring for it by constantly cleaning and polishing the different pieces of the larger brass instrument. 

Deacon: Kazoo 

     - It started out as a joke, he found a little metal kazoo, discovered the manner in which to play it, and decided to have a field day with Carrington back at HQ. Later though, after practicing a number of the most obnoxious songs he could find, he found he was quite good at it and quickly he grew fond of the plucky little instrument. Now he carries it around with him almost everywhere, telling everyone that he plays it ironically, but deep down he knows that he truly enjoys it. 

Hancock: Saxophone 

     - Hancock has quite the reputation of being good with his lips and hands, and his adept ability to play the saxophone would only support this. He's had a lot of time to perfect his playing and will sometimes go up on stage with Magnolia to the delight of nearly everyone in Goodneighbor. He loves the instrument's smooth, jazzy sound and always revels in showing off his skills with a good solo.

MacCready: Harmonica 

     - An easy instrument to carry with you on the road, MacCready picked it up in his travels and messed with it whenever he knew the sound wouldn't endanger him. After a couple years, he became quite skilled with the wind instrument and would play it both for Lucy and Duncan as often as he could. He always keeps it with him, almost as a crutch at this point, even if he can't find the right place to play it, just having it with him reminds him of his travels with his son and his late wife. 

Nick: Piano 

     - Always the classic gentleman type, it's no surprise that the old detective knows how to manipulate piano keys in such a way that he seems to transport you back in time to a dark and hazy pre-war bar. The old Nick is where the original skill came from, but the synth's fingers are much more nimble than the human Nick's were. He enjoys playing whenever he can find a piano; however, be warned, if it isn't tuned, you can bet your ass he'll do his best to rectify that, which could take a couple hours at best, and a few days at worst.

Piper: Tambourine 

     - The percussion instrument was a gift from her father, so she's held onto it since she was young and always takes extra care in looking after her tambourine (she considers it the most important item she owns, after her printing press of course.) Besides the fact it was a gift from a loved one, she likes the instrument because of its simplicity and the way she can easily come up with and control her own rhythm. She fondly remembers many an evening prattling away at the tambourine while her and Nat danced the night away in a rare moment of true childish fun. Sometimes Nat will pick up the instrument while Piper is busy at the typewriter and try to create a beat to her sister's typing. 

Preston: Banjo

     - Does this one need an explanation? Preston just gives me mad banjo vibes. Imagine the joy he feels sitting around a campfire, striking up a tune that everyone knows, encouraging all the people around him to join in on the song. He tells himself that he does it for the benefit of those around him, to distract them from their troubles and the cruelty of the wasteland, but the truth is, he does it just as much to distract himself. It makes him happy to see others happy around him, and if the banjo provides a way to do that, then Preston will do his best to stay practiced in as many feel-good songs as he can.

X6-88: Upright/Double Bass 

     - This instrument is an absolute beast, coming in at about 6 feet tall and weighing about 45 lbs, but X6 would welcome the challenge of playing such an instrument; his own height and the large size of his hands providing a distinct advantage in learning how to play the bass properly. Not being of the faint of heart, X6 practices until his playing ability is nearly flawless, reveling in the deep, rich sound that emanates from his intimidating instrument. He prefers to read music and follow chord structure rather than improvise when he is playing, and he works to try and perfect every technique that he can, ranging from using a bow (arco), to striking with his fingers (pizzicato), to slapping the strings against the fingerboard. 

Fallout 3 -- 

Butch: Clarinet 

     - The poor 14 year-old was horrified when he was handed the old reed instrument when inducted into the vault 101 school band. But as Butch grew older, and his playing abilities increased, he realized he could make some pretty cool sounds with this thing. Jazz was always one of his favourite genres of music, and the clarinet allowed him to play along to many of his favourite songs. He doesn't bring the instrument with him while traveling, but he will play it when at home and sometimes will be bold enough to play for audiences at bars. 

Charon: Bass Guitar

     - He had never touched a bass before coming across one while traveling with Lone, but as soon as he picked it up, he found he had an affinity for it. Charon was patient with himself as he learned how to play, his scarred fingers both a blessing and a curse. Though it was sometimes difficult to get the chords right, he didn't have to worry about bloody fingers from long hours practicing plucking the rough strings. He comes up with a few bass lines on his own, then tries replicating songs that he hears. Charon actually really enjoys the creative outlet, and it's the perfect activity to focus on when Lone is gone. 

Clover: Flute

     - Clover treasures her flute, as the instrument was a gift from Eulogy that only reinforces the idea that she's his favourite. After all, he never gave Crimson a flute, or any other instrument for that matter. She finds it difficult at first, as she works to master her finger position and airflow, and occasionally she gets frustrated to the point of being completely unable to play; but once she gets the basics down, Clover uses the little woodwind instrument as a way to distract herself from her jealousy and tends to play it as aggressively as one can play a flute when Eulogy insists on spending time alone with Crimson. Otherwise, she will sometimes play it with Eulogy as her only audience member, but her favourite is when she can sit on her own and play the flute for herself, it makes her happy and it let's her see how far she's come since she was first gifted the instrument. When she begins traveling with Lone, she holds onto the flute and continues to play it for her own benefit, and of course, she wouldn’t be opposed to playing for Lone, if they were to ask...

Cross: Trumpet

     - She discovered the small brass instrument in her travels to pre-war military locations, and was interested in the history of the horn in regards to the old U.S. military. When she first picked it up, she wasn't a huge fan of the brash noise that comes from it, but as she grew more adept at playing it, she found she liked the sound. Cross takes inspiration from the bugle music that was played before the war, and replicates it for the members of the brotherhood of steel. 

Fawkes: Bongos 

     - He's been a fan of percussion ever since he was locked in isolation in the vault. Throughout his time there, he would often find different surfaces to drum his hands on to pass the time. Lone began noticing this little habit of his, and when they surprised him with a pair of bongo drums, Fawkes was elated. He plays them as often as he can, but usually waits until they are at home, after all, he couldn't risk losing or damaging them out in the wastes. But it's his favorite way to relax and unwind after Lone and him return from the hostile wasteland to the security of their home. He did once bring them to Underworld to play for the residents there, but he was anxious about harming the instrument the whole way there and the whole way home. 

Jericho: Maracas

     - Jericho wouldn't have the patience to sit down and learn a complex musical instrument, so maracas are a good fit for him. He found a single one when he and Lone were traveling and didn't think much of it, but thought it was interesting enough to hold onto. Once Lone explained what they believed it was, Jericho began to experiment with the instrument when he was alone (he couldn't risk Lone seeing him acting like such an idiot, with this glorified baby rattle.) But once he discovered another one, he decided he liked the sound of them together. Even though the maracas are all mismatched, he keeps any that he can find and tries them all paired with one another. He still tries to keep it on the down low, but every once in a while he'll know that Lone is listening in, he'll utter some rude comment, but continue playing as though Lone weren't there. 

Fallout New Vegas -- 

Arcade: Ukulele 

     - Arcade doesn't know how it happened, how he found the little guitar-like instrument, honestly, it was left in his tent at the fort, and he doesn't know where it came from. For the longest time, he just left it where it sat near his bed, unsure what to do with it, but after a couple weeks passed, he felt like he had to do something with it. So he started to pluck at the nylon strings, and he couldn't keep from uttering a small yelp of surprise at the sweet sound of the instrument. He doesn't play often, and he still needs to practice, but when he's alone, Arcade loves to strum the strings and come up with little tunes that end up getting way too stuck in his head. 

Boone: Cajón

     - The little, wooden, box-shaped drum is a practical instrument that isn't complicated to play and is easy to transport, making it a nice fit for the 1st recon sniper. Boone has had restless hands for as long as he can remember, and the problem has only gotten worse since the incident at bitter springs, so originally, when he found the cajón and brought it back to his room at the NCR barracks, he would tap at the different sides just as a little habit. However, when he discovered the way each side differed in pitch, he found he could manipulate the tapping of his hands in such a way to create some interesting beats. He brought it with him when he left the NCR and keeps it at his place in Novac to play with whenever he's there. Now it's not only an entertaining pastime, but it's ended up being very therapeutic for him. 

Cass: Acoustic Guitar

     - As a caravaner, you tend to pick up some of the habits of other caravan members that you meet in your travels. Originally, Cass found the guitar and made the decision to sell it, but that was before the guard of another caravan sat himself down by the fire one night, grabbing the instrument from beside Cass's pack, and began to play. When he first picked up the guitar, Cass was ready to deck him for touching one of her wares, but after hearing him play it, she couldn't help but ask him to teach her. She tends to bring the instrument with her when she can, but usually she'll keep it in a safe place so she can practice in her down time. 

Raul: Flamenco/Spanish Guitar 

     - Raul's nimble fingers are good for more than just making repairs, despite their ghoulified appearance, they still possess the muscle memory of when he learned to play the Flamenco guitar before the bombs fell. His family down in Mexico really appreciated the importance of music, and Raul still believes that it helped him get through some of the toughest times after the bombs fell. He makes it a priority to find guitar strings for when his end up breaking, and he tries to keep his original guitar in pristine condition. He doesn't play too often, but when he does, Six can hardly believe the skill in which he plucks the strings of the pre-war instrument.

Veronica: Drums

     - Every time Veronica was sent out on recon, she would keep her eyes peeled for another drum or symbol to add to the developing set she had hidden away at Helios One. It started with a simple snare, then a symbol she had found, and when she discovered a bass drum, she hid it outside the building before she was assigned guard duty, and she snuck the large drum down to her set. She loves the outlet that playing the drums provides, and though she sometimes worries someone will hear her, the risk is worth the thrill of going all out when she takes a seat in front of her drum set. After the events at Helios One that eventually led to her leaving the brotherhood facility, she makes plans to one day return to retrieve the instrument she left hidden away.

[nnightskiess]

santana lopez imagine

r e q u e s t: Can you do a reader x Santana lopez? Where reader and Santana are best friends but reader has been in love with santana for a long time and becomes distant and santana wants to know why and finally knows and just fluff. Thank you

✫彡

Y/N zoned out the conversation Quinn, Brittany and Santana were having and instead fully focused on the smile on Santana’s face. She’d been friends with the girl long enough to know that this smile meant that she felt at ease. 

The corners of Y/N’s mouth curled into a smile at the sight of it as she kept staring at her best friend. Her cheeks flushed when Santana turned her head, just to check up on Y/N who had been a bit quiet. She’d caught the girl staring. Santana’s expression softened a bit before she joined the conversation again.

It had been like this a lot the past few weeks— Y/N zoning out just to stare and admire Santana, only for her to get caught by the latter. However, Santana didn’t seem to mind or notice and thus Y/N’s crush on the girl grew larger every day. 

What had been the turning point? The mindless random kisses they used to share now and then? Which in Santana’s defence were just so that they kept practicing until a cute boy came along. The way Santana only let Y/N see the real her? How Santana carried herself? Or how she could light up Y/N’s world by just a smile or a witty comment? Well, Y/N couldn’t quite put a finger on it. But there was so much about Santana that she adored and liked that it wouldn’t be fair to her to just pick one. 

Her mouth set in a hard line. No. She couldn’t fall in love with Santana. It wouldn’t end well. What if Santana got weirded out by it and decided that it would be too awkward to stay friends? Y/N couldn’t bear to lose the girl. 

“You okay?”

Quinn and Brittany continued their conversation while Santana’s attention went to the girl next to her. Y/N nodded softly, sending her a tight-lipped smile. 

“Here,” Santana handed her the rest of her granola bar in an attempt to cheer her up. Because even though Y/N denied something was wrong, she could see right through her best friend. “And you better eat it because I don’t usually share my food.” 

Brittany heard the two and shoved her lunchbox towards Y/N. It was filled with the Lucky Charms marshmellows. “It took me four boxes to fill it like this but eating this usually makes me happy so I hope it works for you too.” 

“Are you trying to cheer her up or give her diabetes?” Quinn snorted and shook her head in amusement.

“Thanks, Britt, but i'm fine.”

“Suit yourself.” Brittany shrugged, held the lunchbox up to her chest and grabbed a handful. Quinn grimaced at the thought of having to eat that much sweetness in one bite. 

Santana hadn’t stopped staring at Y/N during the conversation, her brows knit together when she realised something was up. She scooted her chair closer to the girl, grabbed the sleeve of her Cheerios jacket and rested her head softly against the girl’s shoulder. Y/N smiled sheepishly while Santana’s frown never disappeared, wondering what kept her best friend so silent, the soft encounter between the two not going unnoticed by Brittany.

✫彡

Santana strutted around the school’s hallway, head held high. She looked fierce, confident and oh so ethereal— if you asked Y/N. The small smirk on her face turned to a smile when she locked eyes with her best friend, Y/N, who was already staring at her from her spot at her locker. 

“How’s the only person I tolerate in this school doing?” She challengingly raised an eyebrow as she came to a stop next to the girl. 

Y/N stared into her eyes for a second, seeing them twinkle. The two girls lingered for a moment in a comfortable silence until the sound of a locker slamming shut cut the girl back to reality. 

“Hey, you okay?” 

Santana’s smile turned into frown, seeing how quiet Y/N seemed.

“Hm? Sorry, yeah...”

The Latina squeezed her eyes in suspicion but decided to let it go, knowing how Y/N worked. If she tried to pry and get it out of her, Y/N would only shut her out even more. She’d come to her when she wanted to or when she was ready. 

“Okay, hear me out— I know you’re insecure about singing high notes but I’ve found the perfect song for us to sing for next week’s assignment.” 

Y/N bit her lip and closed her locker, “I kind of already agreed to sing with Rory...”

“Wait, what? Why?” Santana’s face immediately scrunched up. “And roll back a minute— out of all of them you pick that leprechaun? Let me guess, you’re going to sing his national anthem while he’s Irish dancing in the background, clad in all green while throwing lucky charms out of his pot of gold?”

“Santana...”

The brunette sighed, letting it go, not being able to resist the pleading look on Y/N’s face. 

“He asked me first and he was so shy about it, it was adorable. And he’s new and doesn’t really know anyone yet so it was hard to turn him away... and um, he told me we’d discuss the song over dinner at Breadstix so how could I turn that away?”

“So he asked you out on a date?”

“N-No-”

Santana rolled her eyes at the girl’s obliviousness, “And by the way,” She raised her hand, “Since when do I have to ask you to partner up? We always do everything together?”

Y/N shrugged, “I’m sorry, San. A promise is a promise. But I think you need to start looking for another partner unless you want to end up with Mr. Schue.” 

Santana's jaw clenched in irritation as Y/N walked off without another word. 

✫彡

Santana worry and confusion only grew when Y/N walked passed her and sat down next to Rachel, completely ignoring her usual seat next to Santana. Rory walked into the room. She immediately sent the boy a glare before he sat down next to Y/N. He slightly glanced over his shoulder and as he felt Santana’s eyes on him, he slowly put his arm around Y/N— feeling bold. The girl barely scooted away from him, trying not to hurt his feelings, but it was enough for Santana to notice her discomfort. 

Oh, hell no. 

✫彡

“Hey, St. Paddy!” Santana’s loud voice rang through the courtyard, making Rory stop in his tracks. 

“Oh, boy, here we go.” He slowly mumbled to himself. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

He turned around and saw how furious she was by the frown on her face and the fire in her eyes. 

“What do you mean, Santana?”

She gave him a dirty look, “Oh, cut the crap, cardigan... You know what I’m talking about.”

“It’s... Flanagan...”

“Whatever-” She rolled her eyes. “Listen closely and don’t open your mouth before i’m done talking, okay?” 

Rory nodded hesitantly, not sure if this already counted.

“You’ve got a crush on Y/N. I have eyes. I’m not stupid. But I get it, she’s gorgeous, caring, softhearted and is the best thing in this world since sliced bread. But what she’ll never be, is yours.” She pointed a finger at his chest. “So don’t try and act all adorable while sneakily taking her on a date... because if we’re being honest, she probably just said yes because she pitied you after realising that if she said no, you would have no one to sing with. And since you were oblivious to all of that, I think you also missed the fact that she isn’t into you at all.”

He rose his eyebrows in shock as Santana let her mind run rampant, not sparing his feelings. Rory awkwardly held onto the straps of his backpack.

“Here’s what’s going to happen— first, you’re going to call Breadstix and cancel your reservations...then you’re going to call Y/N and tell her you changed your mind about being duet partners.” Santana gave him a mock smile and was about to walk away. “Oh— and if you ever put your disgusting arm around her again, I’ll kick your ass so hard it will send you flying back to Ireland in just a few seconds. Got it?”

Rory nodded again and watched Santana walk away with a pleased smirk on her face.

✫彡

Santana tapped the girl on her shoulder and whispered, “Wanna go to Breadstix tonight? I heard they have one free table for tomorrow night.” 

Y/N turned around in her seat, sending a glare her way before focusing back on the class. Santana looked to Brittany, taken back and in confusion, but she just shrugged.

✫彡

“I little birdie told me you need a new duet partner.” Santana walked up to Y/N’s locker, hands in the pockets of her comfy Cheerios jacket.

The smile on her face disappeared when Y/N slammed her locker shut and turned to her with her brows furrowed.

“Jeez, who put nails in your shoes today?”

“I know it was you.”

Santana shrugged, “So? I spared you the painful situation where you had to reject him... plus, now you get to sing with me. So change that frown into one of your pretty smiles because I know just the perfect song for us to sing.” She perked up but her cheerful expression vanished once again when Y/N walked away from her. She pursed her lips and frowned in confusion as she watched the girl hurry out of the school.

✫彡

Things had been different since that afternoon. The two barely interacted or even looked at each other anymore, which was all mainly Y/N’s fault. It had even caught the attention of the other Glee club members since Y/N tried to ignore Santana as if she was some disease she wanted to steer clear of. It was out of character for the both of them not to be together.

“Everything okay with you and San?” Brittany leaned over so that no one else could hear. 

Y/N gave her a small smile, as if nothing was wrong, “Oh- yeah, yes, don’t worry.”

“You sure?”

Y/N hummed in return, turning to face Mr. Schue but Brittany scooted even closer before mumbling, “I think you should just tell her how you feel.”

Her head shot to the side, eyes wide as saucers. Brittany didn’t seem to realise how panicked her statement had made the girl feel. Y/N was still trying to stay cool when Mr. Schue called her name.

“Rory and Y/N, would you two like to perform your duet today?”

The two shared a quick glance before Y/N opened her mouth,

“Oh, w-we’re not partners anymore. Can Tina and I perform instead?” 

Santana cocked her head to the side at that new information, seeing Tina nod. They had apparently already planned this out.

“But Tina’s partnered up with Brittany?”

“Yeah, I know, but she doesn’t mind singing twice.”

Mr. Schue rose his eyebrows in confusion. “But we’re with an even number of members so how come you have no partner?”

Rory’s arm slowly went up, “Santana has no partner either.”

“Shut up, leprechaun.”

“I thought that was what you wanted?” Rory mumbled at her but slowly turned back around at the look Santana shot him.

Mr. Schue seemed a bit confused to why the two best friends didn’t seem to want to pair up together. However, that gave him all the more reasons to make them partner up. Maybe whatever was going on between the two would be taken care of that way.

“Santana, Y/N— you’ll be up next week. Alright?”

The two girls shared a glance before Y/N focused back on what Mr. Schue was saying.

✫彡

“Y/N/N, can we meet up after practice? We really need to plan how we want to sing the song if we want to win. You still okay with singing Aguilera?” 

Y/N nodded absentmindedly, not really paying any attention to Santana. Because she knew that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to stop looking at the girl. Besides, the love in her eyes would probably not be missed by Santana and she obviously didn’t want her to know. 

“Hey?”

“Hm?” Y/N looked up, trying her best to not look into her eyes for too long. But the worry and hurt in them broke Y/N’s act.

“I’m worried about you.” Santana placed her hand on top of Y/N’s, squeezing it. 

“Don’t be.” Y/N mumbled out softly, trying to brush things under the carpet.

“Did I do something wrong? Was it the thing with Rory? Or back when-”

“No.” She shook her head, “Don’t worry, okay? You could never do something wrong in my eyes.”

Santana smiled at that.

“Great. So if I’m not the problem, then please tell me why you’ve been so distant with me lately?”

Y/N panicked slightly and racked her brain for anything. “Just... stuff.” She could slap herself for that weak excuse.

“Stuff?” Santana gave her a look, not buying it. “What stuff? Stuff at school? At home? Personal stuff?”

Y/N nodded softly at the last one and looked at her lap. 

“Want to talk to me about it?” Santana’s voice was as soft as a feather and barely even audible.

Y/N didn’t look up from her lap and shook her head. 

“That’s okay.” Santana scooted closer to her best friend, “Then I’m just going to have to-” But when she was about to wrap her arms around Y/N to comfort her, the girl quickly pushed her away, grabbed her stuff and walked out leaving Santana clueless to what she had done wrong.

✫彡

“I’m telling you, Britt, she ran away like I was some bee circling around her.”

Brittany smiled sympathetically. She could see it really affected Santana. 

“Oh, God.” She groaned and held the bridge of her nose. “She’s been like that every time I get close to her, what if it makes her uncomfortable? See?! I should just keep it all to myself, it’s better that way. I haven’t even told her anything yet and she’s already distancing herself from me.”

Brittany sighed loudly, “There you go again— putting two and two together and making six. You worry too much.”

Santana crossed her arms and let out a breathy, sarcastic chuckle, “I worry too much? She’s my best friend— I can’t lose her.”

Brittany’s smile softened, “I know. But you won’t. Sometimes you just have to take the leap and hope that a flying unicorn will scoop you up out of the sky. And I hope Y/N will jump onto its back as well... unless she’s scared of horses...”

Santana smiled at Brittany’s explanation,

“Thanks, Britt.”

✫彡

Santana was talking with Brittany when Y/N walked passed the two, basically making a b-line to the exit of the football fields. 

“Okay, this has got to stop.”

Santana rushed after her, Brittany following suit— afraid Santana was going to lose her rag.

“Y/N, stop-” Santana grabbed her wrist, making the girl turn around. “-and fucking explain to me what’s going on? I’m sick of you acting like this.” She waved her hands around.

Y/N pulled her hand back and squinted her eyes as she looked at Santana before walking off again.

“Oh, no no no. Not so fast, lady.” When Santana grabbed her shoulder, Y/N turned around and pushed her off. 

Santana widened her eyes at seeing Y/N so on the fence.

“Why can’t you just leave me be? I’ve been trying so hard to ignore you and ignore everything I’ve been cropping up inside but you just keep...on...bugging me!” 

Normally, Santana would fire back some witty and fiery reply but she was at a loss for words. She’d never seen Y/N like this. 

“I-I’m s-sorry. I’m so-” Y/N immediately excused herself and groaned before kicking the trashcan next to the bleachers, startling both Brittany and Santana.

Santana glanced at Brittany, silently asking her to give them a moment. The blonde nodded and walked back to the other Cheerios. 

Santana wasn’t sure what to do or say. She wanted to hug Y/N and hold her hand to comfort her, but would she be pushed away again if she did? 

“I haven’t been a good friend to you lately...” Y/N started and looked up into her eyes. 

“You can’t always be amazing at everything.” Santana complimented her and smirked softly, trying to lighten the mood. But her face turned serious again when Y/N didn’t seem to appreciate the effort. 

“But it’s okay. Let’s acknowledge it for a few seconds and then move on and be like we used to be.” Santana took a measured step closer to the girl.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” The brunette immediately shot back, feeling angry and confused once again. Y/N wrapped her arms around herself and softly looked up into Santana’s eyes, which were filled with hurt and worry.

“I-”

She closed her mouth again, how was she supposed to say that she’d been in love with Santana for weeks now?

“I’ve been really respectful towards this all and I’ve given you time to come to me, but this time we’re not going to walk away before I know what’s up. So, tell me.”

Even while Santana glared at her, Y/N could still feel her insides turn to jelly. Y/N looked at the crinkle between her eyebrows and how she slightly pouted her lips together. Her stare lingered a little on her lips, before she quickly looked back into Santana’s eyes. But upon looking, she noticed that Santana’s gaze was fixated on her own lips. 

“T-Tell me now...” Santana cleared her throat and tried to raise her voice again, but it was clear that her mind was elsewhere. She tried to look mad, but Y/N noticed how hard it was for Santana to keep up the tough act. 

Their stare lingered for a moment before Y/N turned her back to Santana to walk back into the school. But before she could take a step, Santana’s voice interrupted her.

“I love you.”

Y/N froze.

“And you ignoring me hurts me so damn much. So, please, don’t. I don’t know what I did wrong but I’d really like to know.” 

It took Y/N a moment to gain the courage to turn back around but when she did, she saw that Santana was on the verge of tears.

“I hope this won’t make you ignore me even more.” She quickly glanced around the area before wiping away a tear.

“Please say something.”

“Santana...”

She immediately took a few steps back when Y/N approached her.

“No, no- it’s fine-” She waved her off. Y/N closed her eyes, ridding herself of any doubts and insecurities. She opened them again and wasted no time in cupping the girl’s cheeks to place a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. 

The two parted, Santana’s face filled with confusion. It wasn’t like they had never kissed before, so what exactly did this kiss mean? Was this just out of pity? 

Y/N left her no time to ponder when she attached her lips against Santana’s once more. She put much more pressure into this one, and when Y/N opened her mouth, Santana swore she could feel her heart explode. She quickly grabbed onto Y/N’s neck and kissed back, not wanting to let it go unanswered. 

They slowly let go of each other after a few seconds. 

“I know I asked you to say something but this was much better.” She blinked her eyes a few times as Y/N let out a breathy chuckle,

“I know, right?”

“Does that...Does that mean-”

“Damn, you don’t catch on very fast, do you?”

Santana rolled her eyes but not without grinning like an idiot. She presented her pinky to Y/N, the other girl locking hers around it as they kept looking at each other, beaming from ear to ear. 

✫彡

The band started playing the first tunes of the song on their trumpets. Everyone’s eyes widened and some of the girls cheered at the run Y/N started the song off with. Santana looked at her with the widest smile on her face before starting to dance the little choreography they had come up with it. She was more than proud of Y/N shoving her insecurities to the side and still singing this song. Her voice was perfect for this song, which was mainly why Santana had picked it out, she wanted the girl to shine more. 

“I don’t know what you did, boy, but you had it.” 

The two faced each other and sang together. Santana smirked while singing.

"That every time I see you everything starts making sense, yeah.”

Everyone clapped when they started singing the chorus. Santana turned towards Y/N at her part, making her take steps back by slightly pushing the girl’s shoulder.

It was clear to everyone that whatever had been happening before, had been solved now. Santana and Y/N seemed at ease around each other again. They acted just like before. Well... not exactly the same, but most of them brushed it off.

Mr. Schue mentally applauded himself for putting the two together. It had clearly resolved their problems. But Brittany knew the real reason of why they had made up. She grinned, enjoying the performance, but also because she was the only one who knew their little secret. It was about time. She had tried to silently drop hints to them that they both liked each other here and there for the longest time. When Santana had returned that afternoon with the biggest smile on her face, Brittany knew enough. 

Santana and Y/N grinned their hearts out at each other after ending the song and locked their pinkies behind their backs.

[luxekook]

chapter one.

⇥ pairing: jungkook x reader; eventual bts/ot7 x reader

⇥ genre: college au with fluff, smut & angst

⇥ summary: a series in which the reader meets (and falls for) seven members of the Beta Tau Sigma (BTS) fraternity

⇥ word count: 2.3k

⇥ warnings: 18+, cursing, dirty talk, kissing, hickies, drinking, tatted jungkook, nipple piercings

© luxekook. please do not repost, modify, edit or translate.

characters | prologue | one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine

Chapter One

Fall of Junior Year – 8:57am

I curse every single decision that has brought me to this very moment as I power-walk across campus, sweating under the already blistering sun. Campus in August could easily be compared to a swamp given the amount of unearthly humidity, and I'm pretty sure I currently qualified as the local swamp thing.

The only positive feature in my morning has been the table of free coffee and doughnuts staffed by Student Government. The first day of the fall semester always seems to be accompanied by frantically wide-eyed freshmen and celebratory freebies. However, air conditioning is the only thing I would be celebrating today as I finally reach Tyson Hall – the destination of my 9:00am class.

As I rush to my classroom with one minute to spare, I slump into a seat in the far corner – my preferred location for people-watching out of the large windows and for getting away with doing homework for other classes.

Familiar faces surround me, an unsurprising observation given that this is our mandatory research seminar as psychology majors. I notice my friend Jenni sitting in the opposite corner, eyes glued to her phone screen.

Opening my laptop, I shoot her a text to come sit with me. Her head whips up, black braids moving every which way as she immediately piles up her things and hustles over, “(y/n), I forgot you were in this seminar! I just switched over from quantitative research because I couldn’t take any more statistics – or Dr. Harding.”

Dr. Harding is the dean of the psychology department and has been teaching here for ages. Feared by most psychology students for his tough grading and intimidating persona, he’s actually a huge softie – something I discovered by going to his office hours and seeing all 85 pictures of his grandchildren hanging throughout the room.

“He’s not that bad, Jen.”

She scoffs, “You would say that because you got an A in statistics like some sort of wizard. Besides, Dr. Newman is so much nicer.”

Jenni has an excellent point. Dr. Newman is the main reason I chose this seminar. As one of the most respected researchers at our university, she’s known for her qualitative studies on gender across cultures. I consider Dr. Newman to be a real badass woman and I lowkey stan her.

I turn to reply, but Dr. Newman begins taking attendance and class begins.

Fifty minutes later, Jenni practically drags me out of the classroom, “I cannot believe she kept us the whole 50 minutes. Is she aware that it’s syllabus week? It’s practically law to just read over the syllabus and then dismiss class. This is outrageous– (y/n), are you even listening?”

“Hmm?” I totally had tuned her out, focusing on the number of students flooding the quad. I had missed this – the rush of students heading to class, the yells of people greeting each other from entirely too far away, the buzz of excitement over potential parties…

“Unbelievable. How did I forget you have this whole weird-ass feminist crush on her?” Jenni forges forth, “It doesn’t matter. What are you doing tonight? You’re going out with us, right? Luna and I want to go to Hannigan’s.”

Since the three of us had all turned 21 over the summer, we finally could legally go to the bars in town. Hannigan’s currently holds the top spot on the list of bars that most of the upperclassman frequent. It’s a popular Irish pub downtown known for its cheap beer and mixed drinks.

It’s also BTS’s unofficial hangout – a fact that makes me slightly uneasy. After learning who the higher-ups are in BTS, I have taken to avoiding them like the plague. It was a relatively easy thing to do since the spring semester tended to be less focused on rushing and recruiting for fraternities and sororities.

But now it’s rush season, and I’m pretty much fucked. There will be no avoiding seeing BTS’s president Kim Namjoon out recruiting with his vice president Min Yoongi and his social chair Jung Hoseok. There will also be no avoiding pledge master Taehyung leading around new BTS pledges like a mother duckling. And don’t even get me started on how Kim Seokjin, Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook will be popping up everywhere to advertise the latest BTS bash.

Sighing, I figure that the chances of actually bumping into them at the bar will be slim, given that it will most likely be super crowded and I can easily blend in.

I turn to Jenni as we keep walking towards our next classes, “Yeah, I’ll go to Hannigan’s. Are you going to come over to get ready at our place?”

Luna and I had moved into a cute little off-campus apartment over the summer. As it turned out, it’s cheaper to live off-campus than on-campus if you look hard enough. We also had it pretty good location-wise being just a few short blocks from both campus and downtown.

“Yes!” Jenni replies, slowing to a stop out front of the science building, “I’ll be over around 8 with tequila. I’ll text you later. I’ve got to go to neuro-psych lab now,” she rolls her eyes, “Hopefully we won’t be kept the whole time.”

Waving, we part ways, and I shake my head.

Tequila never leads to anything good.

Hannigan’s – 10:54pm

Fate seems to be on my side for once in my life. As soon as Luna, Jenni and I walk into Hannigan’s, my eyes are drawn to the back table where the BTS usually sits. It’s empty.

It’s practically an unspoken rule that no one else can sit there, and even though the bar is packed with all other tables accounted for, that one remains vacant – and for good reason.

Greek life essentially has a cult following around here. The Greeks provide status for those who are into that whole exclusivity thing. They also provide the best parties because of the size of their houses and because the university will never complain about one of their best sources of revenue.

I didn’t to rush a sorority way back in freshman year because I couldn’t feasibly afford it. The dues were way out of my price range, considering I was already paying for my education on my own. Luna, on the other hand, is in Epsilon Xi Delta (EXID) and consistently makes me and Jenni tag along to different Greek parties with her.

"Come on, bitches! Let's get some drinks," Jenni drags me and Luna through the packed room towards the bar that is already encircled by a crowd of thirsty students.

Tonight’s plan is simple – stick together, have fun, scope out cute seniors. Having already taken some shots before we left (saving that coin), we’re definitely feeling ourselves, flaunting our outfits like we didn’t spend a good hour picking them out earlier.

I had settled on a black t-shirt dress with a checkered flannel tied around the waist and some black Doc Martens. Luna and Jenni had tried to convince me to wear heels with them, but I knew syllabus week was a marathon – not a sprint. My feet would thank me later, and theirs would be crying.

As the bartender slides us our beers, the opening beats of Cocky AF by our badass queen Megan Thee Stallion blast through the speakers dispersed throughout the bar. Turning immediately to each other, we clink our beers together, take a sip, and head to the makeshift dance floor.

We squeeze and push our way through the masses until we reach a spot towards the back where the crowd has thinned out a little more. Within seconds, we’re in motion, hips swaying in time to Megan saying ‘bitch, I look good and you know that’.

Shaking out my hair, I get in the zone and lose count of how many songs we dance to. Eventually, our beers empty and Luna turns to me, “Another?" She accompanies her shouted question with an unnecessary charade of shot-gunning a beer in case I couldn’t hear her. I roll my eyes, laughing while I nod in response.

“Save our spot!” Jenni yells and disappears into the crowd of dancers with Luna towards the bar.

I continue dancing on my own. Swaying my hips, I decide to put my hair up to try to cool off a little in the sweltering bar. The music shifts into a new song, this one slower, more seductive, a favorite of mine – Lost in the Fire featuring The Weeknd.

As Abel’s angelic voice flows over me, a pair of hands slide over my hips from behind me. I start to pull away, but then I notice – the hands are tattooed. And for some reason, that hot little fact makes me relax into the large body behind me.

Those tattooed hands tug me back even more, bringing me flush against him as he falls into time with my movements. God, this guy can dance – a rarity these days.

His body is all hard muscle and heated skin. His mouth is hot against my neck, alternating between kissing, sucking, and biting. My skin buzzes. Fuck, I haven’t felt this way since–

Turning my head slightly, I can make out the vague outline him and it confirms my sinking suspicion... He’s a BTS boy.

"Hey, noona," he murmurs in my ear, his lips brushing over it as he speaks.

Fuck my life, I think as I shiver involuntarily in response. Spinning to face one of Satan’s henchmen, I toss my ponytail over my shoulder and jut a hip out in both defiance and defense. But really nothing could have prepared me for the sight of Jeon fucking Jungkook, the golden boy of BTS.

He somehow looks like he’s gotten even bigger since the last I saw him playing pong against Taehyung at that party – information that I cannot even comprehend. His left arm is completely tattooed, along with a few smaller ones dotting his hands. I glare at them, blaming those hands for throwing me off.

“Like them?” Jungkook waves his fingers in front of my narrowed eyes, “I got them this summer.” Smirking lazily, Jungkook makes his own perusal of me – taking extra time along the way.

His jaw flexes as his eyes turn molten, “You’re killing me, noona. Tae didn’t mention…” He trails off, swallowing hard.

I follow his gaze. Oh fuck. I had forgotten I decided to forego a regular bra tonight because I wanted to show off my piercings. Just having a thin bralette under my dress, my pierced nipples are definitely noticeable under Jungkook’s heavy stare.

Refusing to give into him, I square my shoulders, “Yeah, I got them this summer, too. But, I don’t see how that’s either your or Taehyung’s business.”

At my words, Jungkook rips his eyes away from my tits to finally meet my own eyes again, “Oh, but it really is our business. Tae said we’d like you and I agree.”

His voice is low and rough, and I swear I can feel it washing over my body, making all of my synapses fire in response.

“We?” I choked out. In full panic mode, I spin and try to leave, but I barely make it a foot away before getting stopped by a now-familiar tattooed hand wrapped around my wrist.

Luckily, a crashing sound echoes from the back table where the other BTS boys must be, and Jungkook lets out a string of curses, “Fucking hell, listen I have to go make sure no one’s hurt, or Joon will kill me. Stay here, okay? I’m not done with you, (y/n).”

His hand rushes up to the nape of my neck, pulling me into him. Our lips fuse together in a brutally hot kiss, his tongue slipping against my bottom lip for a fraction of a second.

And then he’s gone – disappearing rapidly through the fray to manage whatever trouble his frat has gotten into.

I stand there, shaking fingers on my lips wondering what the actual fuck just happened.

“Hey, sorry we took so long! This bitch cut in front of us and I swear she ordered for the entire fucking population of North America—”

Luna smacks Jenni’s arm, cutting her off, “You okay, (y/n)?” Luna peers closer at me, “Holy shit, is that a hickey?  We were only gone for 10 minutes!”

My hand flies to my neck as both Jenni and Luna grab me, dragging me to the slightly quieter back alley of the bar. As they conduct the second Spanish Inquisition, I spill the details on what happened.

After a moment of silence following my explanation, they both start talking at once:

→ Jenni: “Hell yes, girl, go off! Jeon Jungkook is fine as fuck…” → Luna: “(y/f/n) (y/m/n) (y/l/n), have you lost your damn mind…”

→ Jenni: “…I’d hit that in a heartbeat. I’m so proud!” → Luna: “…Do you not remember last semester? Are you high? Oh my GOD, did he drug you?!”

“Stop!” I slap a hand over each of their mouths, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you guys are impossible. I am not ‘hitting’ anything, and, no, he did not fucking drug me.”

Sighing, I continue, “It was a lapse in judgement, okay? I remember last semester more than anyone, but he’s just so powerful and I don’t seem to have any common sense around BTS.”

I take my hands away from their mouths and immediately Jenni asks, “Wait, what happened last semester?”

Luna slings an arm around my shoulder, “Come on, let’s go get pizza and a six-pack from Ralph’s. We can go out another night this week.”

“Take-out from Ralph’s?” Jenni’s eyes widen comically, “This must be major tea. Let’s go.”

Instinctively, we clink our beers together for the second time that night and chug the remainder of our bottles in true broke bitch fashion (never leave paid-for beer behind).

With that, we trek back through the door and out of the bar. We finish our night filling in Jenni with our less than savory experience with the infamous BTS fraternity last semester.

But, as I lay in bed for the night, I can’t help but wonder if Jungkook had looked for me that night after I left… Or if he told Taehyung...

taglist (message me to be added):

@catsandstrawberries​ @h5naaa​

[cristalconnors]

TOP 20 SONGS OF 2020

20. “BELOW THE CLAVICLE”- EARTHEATER

“The meaning hasn’t come up yet. It’s still under the surface below the clavicle.”

It isn’t just Alexandra Drewchin’s ear splitting soprano when she hits that impossibly high B, practically shrieking out the “cle” syllable of clavicle, though that’s undoubtedly when I first knew that Eartheater’s avant folk was for me- it’s also the cinematic, lush strings, both bowed and plucked (is that acoustic guitar or harp? I genuinely can’t tell), deepening and complicating the sonic texture of Drewchin’s study of parsing through emotions you aren’t ready to make sense of yet. 

19. “PUSSY TALK”- CITY GIRLS, FT. DOJA CAT

“This pussy so ghetto, this pussy speak ebonics”

“WAP”’s funnier, classless Irish twin, though it’s important to note “Pussy Talk” came first. Yung Miami and JT enlist Doja Cat to expound on everything their pussies deserve and will absolutely settle for nothing less than. And why should they when they’re spitting out verses this inspiredly hilarious with such confidence and flow? 

18. “LICK IN HEAVEN”- JESSY LANZA

“Once I’m spinning, I can’t stop spinning...”

Jessy Lanza is talking about losing your cool, letting your emotions get the best of you and lashing out instead of letting cooler heads prevail, but when that earworm of a chorus hits- “once I’m spinning, I can’t stop spinning” - I can’t stop spinning. I’m that woman on the single art, a wine mom lost in the delirium of the dance floor and in Lanza’s hypnotic, fragmented rhythms.  

17. “GASLIGHTER”- THE CHICKS

“Boy, you know exactly what you did on my boat!”

“Gaslighter” finds Natalie Ames and her Chicks at their most simultaneously ruthless and ebullient, ripping Ames’s ex-husband Adrian Pasdar a new asshole and ratcheting up the righteous anger of “Goodbye Earl” tenfold, channeling it into a glorious wall of sound in what might be their most rousing, emotionally resonant chorus in their storied career. 

16. “HANNAH SUN”- LOMELDA

“Hannah do no harm...”

While “Hannah Sun” begins as an exquisitely observed rumination on grappling with long-distance, pining for someone who’s a continent away, it gradually becomes clear that Hannah Read blames herself for putting the distance between her and the subject of her longing, and that the distance isn’t strictly literal. Skittering synths (or is that distorted flute?) complicate and enrich the texture of the song, allowing it to build organically and stunningly towards a heartbreaking plea to herself- “Hannah, do no harm.”

15. “FIRE”- WAXAHATCHEE

“And when I turn back around will you drain me back out? Will you let me believe that I broke through?”

When I’d drive back and forth between Dallas and Austin over and over again when I was in college, I’d often get off I-35 past Waco and take the back roads through towns I’d never heard of, the sun setting spectacularly behind the titular hills of Hill Country that were beginning to roll out in earnest. I think about that a lot when listening to “Fire,” a song dripping in rural Americana that was, unsurprisingly, inspired by a road trip. We’ve probably all been Katie Crutchfield as she crossed the bridge into West Memphis- alone in the car, awed by the simple beauty of the American countryside, making speeches to ourselves about our past mistakes and figuring out a way forward. 

14. “3AM”- HAIM

“On the screen and in my jeans, just make me feel good.”

On an album full of genre departures and decidedly darker themes than we’ve typically heard from Haim in their near decade of syncopated bubblegum pop rock, “3AM” stands out not only as their most effective stab at pastiche, slipping into the trappings of contemporary R&B with shocking ease and gusto, but also as their most unabashedly fun track in their entire oeuvre. “I think you can hear the amount of joy and laughs we had making this song” Alana Haim tells Apple Music, and you absolutely can.

13. “QADIR”- NICK HAKIM

“We’re sinking down a hole without thinking about our loved ones who might be shrinking...”

I often wonder if I’m putting enough effort into maintaining my relationships with friends I don’t see regularly, who live several time zones away, living their own lives while I live mine. When the thought of sustaining simple correspondence becomes overwhelming, it’s easy for months to go by before you realize you haven’t spoken to one of your closest friends. “QADIR” plays less like a eulogy for a friend gone too soon (though of course it is that) than a plea to the listener to put in the work. It’s worth it. You never know when it’ll be too late.

12. “LEVITATING”- DUA LIPA

“Glitter in the sky, glitter in our eyes shining just the way we are.”

Just a few bars of that delightfully bouncy, extra-terrestrial beat is enough to launch me into space. It’s so refreshing to hear a song that remembers that pop is supposed to be joyful and is best when it’s a bit silly. When discussing this track with Apple Music, Dua Lipa cites Austin Powers as inspiration, elaborating that “if I do a video for this, Mike Meyers has to be in it.” Can’t you just see them together, performing a farcical pas de deux of seduction like the spiritual successor to “Beautiful Stranger?”

11. “RIQUIQUI”- ARCA

“Love in the face of fear! Fear in the face of God!”

Arca’s made a career of harnessing chaos and somehow making sense of it. On an album that finds her embracing more traditional, accessible song structures, “Riquiqui” is a reminder that even when working within an AB structure, she’s still breaking rules left and right and having a blast doing it. She’s also never sounded so ferociously empowered in either her femininity or in her Venezuelan identity, rattling off local colloquialisms with affection and verve without a second thought as to who’s going to understand it. 

10. “FANTASY”- AGAINST ALL LOGIC

“I think about you all the time...”

Or, the musical embodiment of this gif:

When Nicolas Jaar’s tormented synths and crunching beats give way to Beyoncé’s unmistakable alto, it is indeed quite the shock. But should it be? Even if 2017-2019 finds him ditching the dancefloor in favor of more severe, unforgiving soundscapes, his already varied career has shown us nothing’s off limits to him. So why not reinvent Beyoncé’s iconic “Baby Boy” into an industrial, vaguely sinister certified bop that arguably surpasses the original?

9. “PEOPLE, I’VE BEEN SAD”- CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS

“If you disappear, then I’m disappearing, too.”

“People, I’ve been sad” plays out with the vulnerability and intimacy of a tumblr text post you put out in the middle of the night, only to hastily delete later when it gets no notes. It forgoes flowery language in favor of just getting to the point. “I’ve been sad.” Héloïse Adelaïde Letissier blows up this deceptively simple sentiment with richly layered textures and a big screen gloss not to offer any remedies but instead to offer solidarity. We’re all in this hell together.

8. “DESCRIBE”- PERFUME GENIUS

“Can you just find him for me?”

Mike Hadreas has never sounded so hopeless. Utilizing harsh, rattling guitar that would make Kevin Shields swoon, he conveys the experience of being so estranged from happiness and joy that you need to rely on others to describe the sensation to you. But how, when exploring darker textures than he ever has before, does he make despondency sound so divine? 

7. “4 AMERICAN DOLLARS”- U.S. GIRLS

“No matter how much you get to have, you will still die and that’s the only thing.”

Meg Remy picks up where she left off on “4 American Dollars,” reviving the subversive pastiche she mastered on In a Poem Unlimited, this time harnessing the power of funk to dismantle the fallacies we’re taught about the virtues of capitalism. Heavy stuff, but Remy makes it less didactic than joyous, ensuring the listener will be singing “I don’t believe in pennies and nickels and dimes and dollars and pesos and pounds and rupees and yen and rubles” until they start to wonder if maybe they shouldn’t, either. 

6. “STUPID LOVE”- LADY GAGA

“I freak out, I freak out, I freak out, I freak out!”

Due to a healthy spirit of contrarianism mixed with a touch of internalized homophobia and genuine bafflement at her universal appeal and praise, I was a proud Lady Gaga hater for as long as she’d been a cultural entity. I just didn’t get her at all and loved that about myself. Annoying, I know. 2020 was the year I was finally ready to let that all go. Just before the world fell apart in March, I was out at Flaming Saddles (RIP) with friends the night this song came out and by the sixteenth time it played, I understood why it was inducing such hysteria. This was a cultural shift. After a frustrating near-decade of Gaga subverting expectations so thoroughly that she was actively working against her strengths and sabotaging her cultural ubiquity in the process, coupled with the most frightening era of political upheaval in our lifetimes, she was finally ready to save us and be Lady Gaga again. Booming synth, drag sensibilities, absurd thematic conceits- all was right in the world. For the first time in a long time, people had something to be hopeful about, and as I danced that night, I felt that hope, too. 

5. “SHELLFISH MADEMOISELLE”- RÓISÍN MURPHY

“How dare you sentence me to a lifetime without dancing?”

As soon as that bass starts (the funkiest bassline in the history of music?) it’s like Róisín Murphy’s snake charming oboe, coaxing even the most stalwart curmudgeon onto the dancefloor and keeping them there, dancing frantically and involuntarily like the citizens of Strasbourg in 1518, trying their best to keep up with Murphy who isn’t even breaking a sweat, commanding the masses with a sultry remove, beckoning you closer, pulling you inexorably deeper into the mass of gyrating bodies and whispering in your ear “come and have a dance with yer mum.”

4. “PARTY 4 U”- CHARLI XCX

“I only threw this party for you...”

As PC Music / Bubblegum Bass / whatever you want to call it enters its second decade, Charli XCX proves not only that there’s still new textures to explore within it, but also that no one can exploit its artifice to get down to emotional truths like she can. How can she make something this slick sound so vulnerable? “I only threw this party for you” she croons over and over again over glorious syncopated synths that build exquisitely, reaching their climax only to immediately fall away, until it’s just her and her trusty autotune, pleading with the subject of the song to just come to the damn party. But they won’t, of course. They never do, do they?

3. “WAP”- CARDI B, FT. MEGAN THEE STALLION

“I want you to touch that lil’ dangly thing that swing in the back of my throat!”

Sometimes you just immediately know you’re living through a significant cultural moment. No, not COVID. I’m talking about the experience of hearing Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s instant classic “WAP” for the first time, a titanic meeting of the minds that finds both of them at the apex of their cultural influence and at their most undeniable. Can the argument be made that these two aren’t the two best rappers in the game right now? How could you hear this inspiredly filthy sex positive juggernaut, where Cardi and Megan are trading the sickest verses of their careers, and not think these two deserve the world? 

2. “KEROSENE!”- YVES TUMOR

“I can be your baby in real life, sugar. I can live in your dreams.”

If the 2010′s were all about the pop-ification of all music, trading in live instrumentation in favor of polished synths, 2020 forcefully announced the return of the electric guitar when Yves Tumor and Diana Gordon’s back and forth lustfully submissive declarations of desire suddenly gave way to that nasty guitar rip lifted from Uriah Heep’s “Weep in Silence” to announce yet another cultural shift in a year chock full of them- rock and roll was, indeed, here to stay. 

1. “I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME”- FIONA APPLE

“I move with the trees in the breeze, I know that time is elastic.”

We live and we learn. Years spent soul searching and on self-discovery shape us into better, smarter people, progressively knowing and understanding ourselves and the world around us more and more clearly, but Fiona Apple knows that none of that can quell the ferocious desire to be loved by someone. By anyone. By you, whoever that is. We can know that time is elastic and that when we’re gone all our particles will disband and disperse and then we’ll be back in the pulse, and we can know that none of this stuff actually matters, but still- we want, we want, we want. 

[atlafan]

If Elliot was going to listen to a podcast, she wanted it to be relevant and fun. She wanted to feel like she could contribute to the conversation if she were there in the room. During her scrolling, she stumbled upon a low-followed, highly-rated podcast called Lovable Oafs. There was no picture of these said “oafs”, just a logo. As she lays back in bed, she decides to push play on their latest upload where they’d be talking about what they did during their two weeks off.

“Hello, everyone, your favorite oafs are back!” A chipper Irish accent sounds through Elliot’s headphones.

“That’s right, hope you didn’t miss us too much.” Elliot’s eyes snap open as the smooth, low drawl comes through next. Elliot takes a deep breath and closes her eyes again. “What did you do during your time off, Niall? Other than getting horribly sunburnt.” The deep voice chuckles, and it raises goosebumps on Elliot’s skin.

“Oi, I’m tan, not sunburnt! I spent some time in Ireland to see my mates and family. What about you?”

“Went to Italy for some much needed R and R, ate my weight in gelato.”

“Meet anyone new?”

“And as per usual, my love life is not on the table for discussion, you twat.”

“Well, why don’t you tell the people what is on the table for discussion, Harry?”

Harry, his name is Harry.

“I was thinking we could talk about Ariana Grande’s latest album. I’m gonna make a hot take here, Ni.”

“Better be hot and spicy.”  

“Now, I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, but I feel like it was just sweetener part two.”

“Fucking, yes! I’ve been thinking the same thing for ages! I gave it like three listens, and I don’t know…I liked it, but I’ll admit, there are some skips.”

“Definitely, if I had to give my favorites, I’d say they’re positions, 34+35, nasty, obvious, pov, and magic. That’s also in no specific order, but those are the ones I like best. The others I could take or leave. I was sort of underwhelmed with her collab with The Weeknd.”

Elliot was sort of freaked out. Whoever this Harry was had the sane exact opinions as she did, down to the favorite songs from that particular album.

“I agree about the song with The Weeknd, but I quite liked motive, Doja Cat was in that with her, and I think they made a good pair.”

“I’ll respect what you’re saying, even if I don’t agree.”

It was like she could hear the smirk on his face. She listened to them babble on about Ariana Grande for a while. Harry and Niall were almost yelling at each other when they were comparing Dangerous Woman and Thank You, Next. She fell asleep before she was able to listen to the topic they moved on to. She listened to the rest of it as she got ready for work the next morning, and listened to another episode on her way to work. She texted Val and told her all about her new discovery, and thanked her for not making any recommendations so she could find them on her own.

For whatever reason, she felt perkier at work, more focused. During her lunch break, she couldn’t help but listen to another episode. She thought it would be fun to start from the beginning, and work her way to the present. Apparently, the boys started their podcast back when they were in uni. They had wanted to join the campus radio station, but they also didn’t want to be censored. They were both broadcast majors, and ended up becoming roommates. From there, they both got jobs working at a bar and would do that at night while working on their podcast during the day. They hadn’t blown up all that much, but they were doing well enough now that they were getting ad sponsorships. They both still worked at the bar, but less often.

Elliot found it endearing that Niall and Harry didn’t seem to get sick of one another. They were attached at the hip, and she remembered what that was like. She and Callie were practically attached at the hip just the same; she missed that. Friends like that were hard to come by, but apparently friends like that could also fuck your boyfriend for months behind your back, so Elliot really didn’t know what a real friend was anymore. Even with how close she was with Val, she kept her at an arm’s length.

She was half tempted to check out their Instagram, or even see if they had anything on YouTube, but Elliot sort of liked that she didn’t know what the boys looked like. It kept an air of mystery around it. The boys talked about things she genuinely found interesting, and they were hilarious. They’d make each other laugh, and the way they spoke made the audience feel like they were on the inside of the joke.

The Lovable Oafs podcast soon became part of Elliot’s every day routine. She listened to them to fall asleep, as she got ready, on her commute to and from work, and on her lunch breaks. It seemed a bit obsessive, but when Elliot found something to hyperfixiate on, she clung to it so she could feel any and all serotonin.

She had been listening to them for almost two months now. Elliot of course caught up with them, but she was getting three new shows a week. Lucky for her, the boys usually talked for around an hour, so it would take her a couple of days to get through an episode. Elliot still hadn’t checked their social media, keeping them afar was healthier.

It had been a particularly rough week at work, so Elliot thought to take herself out for a drink. One of her co-workers recommended a bar close by to where they worked. She hadn’t been before, but a glass of red was a glass of red anywhere. Happy hour was alive and well, she was lucky to find an open seat at the bar. She sighs heavily as she waits for one of the bartenders to notice her. It was busy, so she didn’t blame the people that worked there. The man sitting next to her looks her up and down, and smirks.

“Hi, there.” He smiles at her. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“Oh, no thank you. I can get one myself…eventually.” Elliot says to him, then facing forward. She really wasn’t in the mood to be hit on right now. She just wanted a glass of wine.

“C’mon, you look like you’ve had a rough go of it. Let me get you a drink.”

“I’m really all set.”

“You don’t have to play cute, Sweetheart, why else would a woman come to a bar by herself?”

“Probably to relax, Ralph, so why not just leave her alone, hm?” Elliot looks up at the bartender with wide eyes. She’d been listening long enough to recognize his voice. It was Harry…Elliot had ended up at the bar that he and Niall still occasionally worked at. “Course, if you don’t, I’ll have to throw you out, and when I have to do that with the same customer three times, they get banned.”

[COMING TO PATREON THURSDAY, 3/24 @ 8AM]

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Royal Dublin Society Simmonscourt in Dublin, Ireland - November 22, 1979 (Part-1)

(x)

Tonight is the opening night of the "Crazy Tour," the tour when Queen decided to go back and play the smaller, more intimate venues (especially the London ones). The lighting rig had to be scaled down to accommodate most of the venues. There used to be five rows of red and green lights and four rows of white, but the red and green have been cut back to four as well. Along with the change in the band's attire (particularly Freddie's pants with knee-pads) and Roger's bass drum head sporting a picture of himself, all these factors make pictures from this tour easy to distinguish from those taken earlier in the year.

Queen's old front of house sound technician returned to the job after a long illness (the Jazz album is dedicated to him for this reason).

The show now begins with an intense drone leading into the thunder and lightning. Combined with their lighting rig (even the scaled down version), this would be a very effective opening of their show. It has been said that people were often left breathless before the band even played a note.

Being their first gig in the UK since releasing Live Killers, the band decide to shake things up a bit by opening the show with Let Me Entertain You, followed by the fast We Will Rock You. The setlist is otherwise mostly similar to the live album and previous tour, with a couple new songs added to the repertoire (Mustapha made its first appearance in Saarbrucken in the summer).

Tonight would see the first performances of Save Me and Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which had been recently recorded. The latter has been released as a single and would fare quite well on the charts, becoming their first American #1. Save Me would be released as a single early next year, peaking at #11 in the UK. On stage, Brian May plays the piano on the ballad. Through 1981, he'd play the first two verses on piano and switch to guitar at the second chorus. The instrumentation would change slightly in 1982 with the addition of an auxiliary keyboardist. In the meantime, these 1979 versions would have the band finishing the song at the end of the last chorus, omitting the piano outro.

As for Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Brian would start on acoustic guitar, switch to a black Telecaster for the guitar solo, and to his beloved Red Special for the finale of the song. Unlike the 1950s-flavoured studio version, it would become a heavy rock song by the final verse. By 1982, the end of the song would often be a relatively long jam. Freddie would play a 12-string Ovation Pacemaker acoustic guitar for the song through 1982, and would switch to a cream-coloured Telecaster from 1984 to 1986. Throughout the years, he would often joke about how he knew how to play only a few chords on the guitar.

On stage, the band end Crazy Little Thing Called Love with a coda similar to the one in You're My Best Friend.

This is Queen's first of four shows they would play in Ireland, and so they perform a one-off version of Danny Boy in the encore. As told by someone who attended the show, almost no one in the audience knew the words of the second verse, while Freddie had done his homework.

During Now I'm Here, a fan manages to make his way on stage for a brief moment, and Freddie sings, "Now He's Here." An audience recording of the song was reportedly broadcast on the radio not long after the show, but no known copy has survived.

At the end of the show, instead of playing their version of Britain's national anthem as always, in Ireland the band use the outro from the A Day At The Races album - the only location where they would make a political gesture like this.

Here is a review of this show from the Dublin Evening Press, submitted by Rob Schoorl.

Photos 1-3 were taken by Eddie Mallin.

Fan Stories

“I couldn't believe it! Summer 1979 and I was reading a review of a gig in one of Dublin's evening newspapers. At the end of the review, added almost as an afterthought, was news that the promoter, Pat Egan, was planning to bring Queen to Dublin! I read and re-read it but still could not believe it. Queen, at last, would make their debut in front of an Irish audience! The Crazy Tour would begin in Dublin. Fast forward to the autumn and myself and a number of friends from school eagerly queued up to buy tickets to see our heroes. After buying the tickets, it was a long countdown to the show which would take place on Thursday November 22nd 1979. I still clearly remember the date even after all the years. Eventually the day arrived. That night Queen were on Top of the Pops with Crazy Little Thing Called Love but I didn't mind missing it. We were going to the real thing! After a long day in school we made our way to the RDS in Dublin. After a wait outside the gates we were allowed in to the venue and found a standing place near the front of the stage. I recall it got ever more crowded at the front of the stage and before the show, the tour manager (was it Gerry Stickells?) had to go on stage and appeal to people near the stage to relax and step back. Eventually the lights dimmed, there was a tremendous roar from the crowd, the Pizza Oven exploded into light and there were our heroes only yards away from us. I recall at the time being so overwhelmed by the amazing lights and the fact that we could almost touch Freddie, dressed all in black leather and sunglasses, that I barely registered that Let Me Entertain You was the opener. After that, it was into We Will Rock You and, largely the same songs and running order as the Live Killers album which I knew very well (!!) at that time and had almost worn out playing over the previous months. There were however some exceptions. Of most interest to Queen fans now and the biggest shock to me then was that Danny Boy was played live - a great version, from what I recall which received a terrific ovation from the audience. Also, If You Can't Beat Them was played which surprised me as it wasn't included on Live Killers and I wasn't even aware at that time that it was ever played live. The Dublin show was the first time that Save Me and Crazy Little Thing were played live. I remember being astounded at the power and range of Freddie's voice - even better than Live Killers. At that stage he was developing as a singer and over the next few years became recognised as one of the best rock singers and best frontmen in the business. (Am I the only one who was slightly disappointed with the quality and range of his voice during the final Magic Tour especially when compared to earlier tours?). The gig was a terrific show, especially to a young person attending his first major rock gig, and many of the songs are still memorable to me. During Now I'm Here one idiot actually got up on stage and Freddie sang "Now *he's* here" before he was removed from the stage. One girl also managed to get up on stage and plant a kiss on Freddie during the show. The following night, a couple of songs recorded during the show by someone in the audience were played on the Radio Dublin pirate radio station. These included Now I'm Here. A bootleg of the gig definitely exists *somewhere* but, try as I might, I cannot track it down. I would be grateful if anyone reading this comes across it or has it in their collection, that they get in touch with me!” - John Brogan

“The first night of the Crazy tour - amazing show. Seen some people on the web note that they played Danny Boy that night but for some reason I can only remember Brian playing it as part of his solo and us singing our heads off. Freddie handing out a champagne glass to a friend of mine who still has it. Anyway it was nearly 30 years ago and I find it hard to remember what I did last week never mind that long ago. They ended the show with the outro from A Day At The Races which took me a while to figure out what it actually was. The lighting rig was totally amazing - the pizza oven was aptly named - it was scorching and the intensity of the light when it turned around behind the band to face the audience was something else made a couple of friends that night (in the horse show bar opposite the venue) that I am still in contact with and we are all still crazy after all these years.” - Gary aka hoops

“A couple of notes on the Queen show in Dublin, 1979. Fred was in red trousers, not black as John Brogan has mentioned above. Small point but there you go. And when it came time for the audience to sing along to Danny Boy, almost no one knew the words of the second verse - I remember one chap shouting out to Freddie that he was doing a grand job all by himself. I saw them sixteen times in all and that show, the first, has a very special place in my memory. On the subject of bootlegs from that show, a chap in Aungier Street in Dublin used to have just about every show ever played in Dublin by anyone worth taping. I got a really bad and incomplete (C60) copy of the Queen show from him just as a record of having been there - his voice could be heard just before the start of the show, discussing bootlegging. The tape is somewhere in a box in my house and should I come across it, I'll let you know.” - Paul

Part-2