#because I love Paul

[penguininahottub]

The still point around which my world turns. Just like John’s did.

I have come to a conclusion in my life. I'm not a Beatlemaniac. I'm a McCartneymaniac or Paulmaniac. My focus is exclusively on him. The phase before, during and after the Beatles.

I know that's not how the fandom works and a lot of people will reject me. But, what can I do? The heart doesn't choose who you're going to get attached to.

Sorry other fans.

[javelinbk]

fic ask! Perspective flip for Because I Love Paul :)

Honestly took me a moment to remember what Because I Love Paul is, not going to lie.

The first part of that one was slanted to John’s POV, so let’s see if it works from Paul’s POV, and who knows I might even try to add in some semblance of a plot this time!

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Paul walked into EMI with even more swagger than usual, an extra swing in his hips. He knew there wasn’t a single person in this room who didn’t want to either fuck him or be him. Galivanting around town with Robert Fraser had done wonders for his physique lately, and he’d already had to get dressed twice; Jane apparently finding something about the cut of his jacket impossible to resist.  

And then there was the occasion itself. Hot off the success of their Sgt Pepper album, they were now about to represent the entire country, being beamed around the world for a satellite broadcast. Take that, Dad.

Yeah, he was on top of the world alright. So why didn’t he feel like it?

He’d been fine last night – rehearsing with the band, a late dinner with Robert, in bed with Jane. But for some reason he’d woken up this morning feeling as if there was a weight sitting on his chest, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that any moment he was about to get a tap on the shoulder. Sorry, lad. Time’s up. We’ve found you out.

He knew it was ridiculous. He was one of the four most famous and successful men in the world; had been for years. He just got like this sometimes – it would pass.

And so, he did what he always did - he overcompensated. Every smile was broader, every wink bigger, every strut cockier. He knew if he kept it up for long enough, his brain would catch up with his body, and he’d believe the hype as much as anyone else in the room.

He smiled as a young girl came up to him carrying a cardboard box. He recognised her from the office, but fuck knows what her name was – Barbara, or Brenda or something.

“Hello, love,” he said, fixing his gaze on her as if she were the only person in the room.

“Hi,” she said, smiling coyly and blushing as if she was meeting him for the first time. “Brian asked me to hand out these promotional badges, and he wants everyone to wear a One World sticker.”

“Sure,” he said, still keeping his smile in full charm-mode while he reached into the box, pulling out a sticker and a Sgt Pepper badge. “Cheers, love,” he said, throwing in a wink for good measure.

The girl blushed even more, before heading back into the crowd.

I’ve still got it, Paul thought cockily, but as he peeled the backing off his sticker, he noticed that his hand was trembling. That second joint probably hadn’t been a good idea.

He pressed the sticker onto his jacket (it better not leave a fucking mark) before turning his attention to the badge. But the shaking in his hands only got worse, and as he fumbled to try to pin it on he managed to stab himself in the finger once, twice, three times.

”Ah, shitting hell!” he swore as the needle poked into his finger once again.

“What are you doing?” he heard beside him.

“Trying to put this bloody badge on,” he explained to John, still looking down. “But I keep stabbing myself.”

“Give it here, you daft get,” said John, standing closer and holding his hand out. “Can’t have you getting blood all over your jacket, now can we? Not with you looking so handsome.”

Paul smiled, his mood immediately improving. A Lennon compliment was a rarity – he couldn’t be letting the moment be ruined by a few pre-show jitters.

“Oh?” he asked. “Is that so?”

John shrugged casually. “You always looked good in white. Reminds we when we first met. You know, at…”

“Woolton Fete,” interrupted Paul, smiling. “Course I remember.” That was his very first stage outfit, the white sports coat. His first weapon in the Paul McCartney sartorial arsenal. That was the jacket he used to pull birds, to charm mothers, and - apparently – impress future songwriting partners.

“Mind you, you were a little chubby kid back then,” teased John.

Cunt, thought Paul, although he couldn’t find it in himself to be too annoyed with John. And he wasn’t wrong anyway; Paul was chubby back then. Strangely, even that part of the memory made him fond – the reminder that John was one of the few people that knew him before he became Him. He was obviously getting sentimental in his old age.

“Shut up Lennon,” he said in a mock-disgruntled voice. “Or I’ll tell them all the truth about you. Now, are you helping me with this or not?”

“Alright,” chucked John, taking the badge from Paul. “Aw, this is great!” he said, as he looked at the Sgt Pepper logo. “I didn’t know we had these!”

Paul smiled and took the badge back off John. “You have it then,” he said, starting to pin it on the lapel of John’s jacket.

“Aw, no I can’t take it. Pepper was your idea.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong there. But it was only half an idea really – god knows where they would have ended up without John there to fill up the other half of the album.

“And you helped make it happen. I couldn’t have done any of it without you, John. Now stop arguing and stand still. If I hurt you, Brian will kill me.”

Paul began to pin the badge to John’s jacket, and he was halfway through the job before he realised that his hands were no longer shaking. His chest felt less tight as well, as if he could finally take a full breath.

He looked up once he’d finished, and the answer for his sudden calmness became clear as he looked directly into John’s eyes.

John looked at him, or rather he looked in him – that way that only John could do, where he felt like he was looking into his very soul. He’d like to be able to blame it on his new glasses, but they weren’t even that new any more, and actually John seemed to have had that power over him since that first summer day in Woolton. Back then it had felt thrilling, exciting; as if he’d finally met his match. And there were other times when it settled him – like in the touring years, when the whole world had gone crazy around them. In those days, one look from John would be enough to remind him who they were – just two lads from Liverpool who made it very, very big; that’s all.

But recently, he’d found John’s looks unnerving. As if he could see through the smile and the bravado and the white jacket, straight to the truth of Paul. As if John was the one who would find out that it was all a sham.

Not today. Please don’t see me today.

There,” he smiled, looking down and patting the badge in place.

“Ta,” replied John. “Although I should get you one now.”

“Ok,” said Paul, spotting the cardboard box on a nearby table. “Take your pick”.

He handed John the box, watching on fondly as he rummaged around in it like a kid in a toy shop lucky dip.

“Ah, perfect,” John suddenly said, handing Paul the box while he started to pin the badge on him, right at the top of his shirt, so Paul had no way of seeing what it was. He immediately felt his anxiety rising once again.

“Hang on!” he said. “What does it say?”

“It’s a surprise,” said John, finishing up.

Paul craned his neck down, trying to get a look. “It better not say I’m a dickhead or something.”

“Paul, trust me will you - do you really think I’d let you go out in front of the national press with something embarrassing on you?”

“Yes, John - I do,” replied Paul, although it couldn’t be further from the truth. God knows John liked a joke, and Paul knew better than anyone how much John loved to make people feel uncomfortable just to fuck with them – but Paul had never had to worry about it on his part. Whether it was their partnership, or the shared vulnerability of knowing each other as two spotty teenagers, but he’d trusted John implicitly from day one, and he knew he’d never let him down. And he bloody well hoped John thought the same about him.

John gasped, clutching at his chest dramatically. “How could you! After all that I’ve done, letting your chubby little cheeks into my band…”

“Cut it out, will ya,” laughed Paul, swatting him on the chest.

“Boys!” called Brian. “Come on - everyone’s waiting.”

Paul smiled at John, who rolled his eyes. “Yes, sir, sorry sir, on our way, sir!”

The smile didn’t leave his face as they joined George and Ringo for the photo op. But this time the smile was genuine, and thank god, because it was so much easier to just be himself rather than putting on The Paul McCartney Show. That was the great thing about having the others, he supposed – one of them would aways be there to pull each other up, even if putting on a show was the last thing they felt like doing.

Maybe today wouldn’t turn out to be quite so bad after all.

He just had to remember to check what that bloody badge said.

[abstractfrog]

Happy 1 year anniversary to Mr Sherlock Holmes! Here's a litttleee celebratory comic from me

[asshatproductions]

Can’t stop thinking about that moment in Dune 2 where Chani is trying to show him the proper way to sand walk and Paul’s sheltered-space-catholic-white ass immediately goes “according to my research 🤓☝️” like boy if you don’t-

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

More of my TF2 × Gravity Falls crossover because the idea of Stan interacting with the mercs and slowly being accepted into their found family has been EATING away at my brain!!

Rambles:

- I already said this but Stanley's basically hired as the grunt/muscle for Miss Pauling. He helps her out with her missions sometimes and the clean-up that comes after, or just delivers supplies and packages to the mercs :]

- I accidentally made him look a lot older than 19 in my drawings, so he's kinda in the same category as Sniper in the "looks-way-older-than-his-actual-age" department.

- Scout is so happy he's no longer the youngest in the team, and since the nickname "little man" is already taken, Heavy just calls Stanley "child", and Scout teases him about it RELENTLESSLY.

- Stanley has to work with both the RED and BLU team, and is forced to listen to ALL cross-factional the drama, because both teams have somehow dragged him into being their unofficial therapist without his prior knowledge.

[pinazee]

Yes, i can separate actor from character, but its still funny to me that Ted (joey) says, “today has taught me whats most important in life, and its the people you care about,” and pushes emma (lauren, his wife) aside to clasp paul (jon).

Also, for you chaicoffee shippers, on the off chance you haven’t seen this yet.

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[httpiastri]

hope we all know that this isn't just any paul aron who we're gonna see as the f1 reserve next year…

it's the paul who's been in love with racing ever since he was a baby, who wanted to race just so he could grow up to be like his brother. the paul who travels around to support his brother or his team even when he's got a weekend off.

it's the paul who finished third in his first-ever season of formula 3, who was in the fight for the title up until the last round (and would've had a much better chance if not for the team's mistake in spa).

it's the paul who fit so well into the mercedes profile, who expressed his gratitude to the team and their work whenever he could, who fought so hard to make them proud.

it's the paul who was always going to be put behind kimi in toto wolff's eyes, no matter how well he performed.

it's the paul who had to leave everything he had grown up with, his team of many years, his close friends and staff members, and move on. who had to let go of everything he knew from before and go alone.

it's the paul who went into his first full formula 2 season with hopes and dreams instead of expectations; who said he was there to learn and grow, and then he would see where that would take him.

it's the paul who failed to get into the top ten in qualifying for the first round of the 2024 season, but still managed a p5 in the sprint – and a podium in the feature, despite a time penalty, and got to celebrate in parc ferme with his brother and trainer.

it's the paul who, as a rookie, went onto the podium every round in the first seven rounds. who's been consistent like few others in a series (and team) known for its inconsistency.

it's the paul who never forgets to credit and thank his family, team and trainer, acknowledging that every success is thanks to a team effort – and that even if things don't go as well as planned, the team still did their best to help him out.

it's the paul who thanks to his determination and hard work managed to impress his f2 team principal, oliver oakes, so much that the latter thought "i need this guy on my team" when he became the alpine f1 principal.

it's the paul who fights every setback with an attitude of revenge instead of hopelessness; despite everything he's been through, he never gives up. he wants to prove everyone wrong.

it's the paul who turns every heartbreak – from mechanical failures to tactical missteps – into fuel for his fire. it's the paul who reminds us that success isn't a straight line; success is the product of unwavering determination and the courage to keep going.

it's a paul who's learned so much, grown so much stronger; who's been through so many hardships and said "you know what? i'm going to learn from this and come out stronger on the other side", and that's exactly what he did. i'm so proud to have gotten to follow him on this journey, and i can't wait to see where this next chapter of his life will lead him.

our paul aron. 💙

[kairithemang0]

Kim Whalen Paul and Curt Mega Emma

leaves

[silverfoxstole]

A few of the photos from the Paul and India interview in this month’s DWM, plus a couple of snippets:

[neunhofferart]

Got to go back to DreamWorks one last time for the Chaos Theory premiere party <3

[javelinbk]

Brian Epstein watches The Beatles performing at the Washington Coliseum, 11th February 1964

[ratatatastic]

the sauna robe era: a beautiful saga unfolding before us. we really have gone from "it was matthew's idea to wear them for pregame fits" to "sasha texted them team to make them wear the robes for the preds game"

nashville predators @ florida panthers postgame interview | 11.7.24 (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

DO YOU KNOW HOW FUNNY IT IS THAT BOTH RODDY AND MAFFHEW WENT oh the whole team all thought it was a prank but we still wore them anyways which somehow makes the robe walkin an exercise in trust and love that everyone passed with flying colours god this team is filled with lobe and friemdship

also happy mackie did in fact get ribbed for taking the shirt option his team uncles sure are giving him the rookie experience and also "i wasn't sure if i was showing too much skin or not" on a team

THAT WALKED IN LIKE THIS WITHOUT ANY SHAME. YEAH BUD I DONT THINK THATS A PROBLEM HERE.

the robes are truly a hit amongst the team aka we dont have to use our brains and we just put on a robe its fantastic, mackie maffhew and nosey are on absolutely onboard unsurprisingly

and if you wondering oh what about paul when will we see him-

the answer is a firm NO on both accounts so to those (me) who wanted to see an old man in a skimpy robe our dreams have to be crushed from the getgo but maybe if the streak goes long enough-

[reksink]

Requested Works from a Humble Swan 💚

[elvispresley]

The Beatles performing Get Back during the Rooftop Concert (January 30th, 1969)

[p-ogman]

Now what can be done for you?