#fanfiction. singing as a group not performatively but communally

[yellowhollyhock]

you have to write about and draw about and make all kinds of art about it right now

Life is infinitely varied and our minds are continuously changing shape and you're never going to feel this way again!

You'll have all kinds of other equally poignant moments. And of course you can remember.

But you're never going to graduate high school again, you're never going to be that close to someone in so much pain in the way you were again, you're never going to be that invested in a baseball game you're never going to hate a job with the same intensity for the same reasons again you're never going to fall in love exactly that way anymore at all.

Your brain is not a good storage space because every time you pull up the memory it changes it a little based on what you've learned since then that you didn't know at the time. And that process is important! Our past changes shape as we learn from it.

But you also need to capture this right now in a way that can be preserved outside of yourself. For your own humanity but also for us collectively because someone else will graduate from high school and fall in love and drop out of college and try to drown themselves and go through jobs that just aren't great and change their life one day because they saw a flower right when they needed it. Someone else is going to have all those confusing feelings, not in the exact same way but your poem about it can help orient them in a torrent of confusing and conflicting emotions

And that's why it's so important that art isn't just for experts, amateur writing and amateur singing and amateur painting need to exist and need to be shared

[jaeminscoffee]

Not the same anymore | l.tn

Pairing-Ten Lee x Reader

Genre- Angst

Warning(s)- None

Word count- 1.59k

Synopsis- 'I can feel it, you can feel it too, we just don't have the same spark anymore'

Type- Requested!

@kpopscape

You both felt it. 

The feeling you had felt when Ten had joined the same college as you in junior high was way beyond the word ecstatic. It made the word seem like an understatement. You were more than happy to meet your friend whom you'd spent the most of your childhood with, having to part ways when your father faced a promotion, which, of course is a good thing, only that his branch would now be across an ocean. Which only asked for the beginning of a new chapter in your life. And you two had no other choice but to go with the flow. 

Then came the time when you grew as close as you were before moving away towards the middle of your academics. It all felt surreal but nevertheless, amazing. Studies going well along with you finally becoming a team lead for musicals and of course, gaining one of the most important people back in your life. You'd felt the same spark you'd felt when you first saw him again after ages. 

The next time you were scared when you'd flutter each time Ten would look at you with that dazzling smile of his. Scared that letting your feelings out would change everything you'd built up to date, only for it to come crumbling back down in a mere second if what you felt for him would have not been reciprocated. 

And so you held it in, until Ten himself blurt out everything he'd felt from day one towards the end of senior high, deciding to only confess then because according to him 'you'd be all that's on my mind and I would've failed term exams and then we wouldn't have been able to get into the same university' 

Of course you'd gotten into the same University. And you still didn't know how that happened, and you'd like to call it a little game played upon the two of you by destiny. The University you two had gotten into called for leaving the current town to the one adjacent to it. Not much of a location difference but you'd definitely miss all that you'd made of in your current town.

"Ten.. I think it's about time we talk" you call out as he mumbled out yet another, 'I'll be back soon'

You were, yet again extremely happy, when he proposed the idea of moving in together into the apartment his father had got him for acing his finals just a few minutes away from the location. You agreed to it, of course. At least that way you'd find time to spend with him through the busy days your university life had for you ahead. And you couldn't have asked for more.

Living with Ten was your haven. Your happiness. Your escape from the busy movements outside the four walls of your shared apartment, a small, mini house the two of you made feel big through small yet meaningful times you spent. You'd been lucky enough to have Ten as your boyfriend. Then you'd been lucky enough to wake up to see the sunshine's rays illuminating his honey skin, highlighting all of his imperfectly yet perfect features. To be able to snuggle up onto him in the morning during your lazy days, to have him kiss the crown of your head when you'd accidentally end up waking him up from his slumber. Usually he'd be grumpy about someone disturbing his beauty sleep as you claimed, but being able to see your slightly puffy face the first thing when he'd open his eyes always managed to bring out a smile of content and fullness on his face. 

Added to that, even though you'd know of his not so impressive cooking skills, he'd still try making meals for you to seem like one of those 'ideal tumblr fanfiction' boyfriend's according to how he worded it. You found it cute even after having to just go with cereal most of the mornings after he'd somehow burn Eggo's which you still haven't figured out how. 

Best of all were the evening's you'd spent watching him come up with new drawing ideas while both of you would be sprawled out on the floor with a bunch of colors and canvases and brushed of all sizes spread carelessly beside the two of you. And all the days he'd sing while helping you do house chores to distract you from the fatigue of university stuff and keeping your sweet little house intact. And he did an amazing job at doing so. 

"Can we..do it later?" Ten let out in a small voice, exhaustion evident from the tone and a slight tone of defeat made you feel a pang of sorrow, but yet, you felt a little ease upon hearing his voice for the first time in weeks. Maybe it was an exaggerated sentence, as you'd still hear him say 'I'll be back in a while' or 'I'm back home' or 'I had dinner already'.

All started going downhill when he'd had to start training in order to possess his father's position in his company, definitely not against will, something you'd heard Ten saying he'd want to do ever since you'd known him. Ten admired his father and wanted nothing more than to walk down the same path as him, and you supported him full fledged. 

"Let's just speak and get it over with, it's physically getting unbearable for me at this point, Ten. And i need to know where all of this is going to"

You can't blame him. He had become a busy man ever since he'd gotten into a lower position at the same company, for his father to be able to monitor his performance. And you'd yourself gotten a little busy, you'd gotten into a piano academy, where you taught a group of youths and along with it you'd work part time at this small 24/7 mart, not that you were employed there, it's just you'd want to let the old lady working all the time there to get some rest. Added to that the weekly community charity you'd have to attend on her behalf. All in all, you weren't oh so free yourself. 

But you were ready to make some time to mend this slightly parting relationship between you and Ten, and the more or less time you spent with each other, the more you just started giving up on trying. Don't take this the wrong way, of course you still loved him, it's just, you'd been so desperate to fill up the gap yet for it to be fruitless, you just couldn't find it in yourself to try anymore.

Ten heaved out a heavy sigh, turning back and leaning against the now closed door, lifting up his hands up to his collar to undo one of the buttons and loosen the tie, almost as if the clothing were suffocating him. "You're feeling it too, huh?"

You got up from your position on the breakfast counter to stand up and in front of him, leaning against the armrest of your couch. "I-uh. Of course" you say, refusing to meet his gaze, which wasn't on you in the first place as he'd done the same as you. Avoid your gaze. 

You weren't hurt, per say. Neither was Ten. It was just the disappointment that you managed to come this far, and yet, you're willingly let it all wither away. It was that self hate you both felt for yourself, how you're not trying anymore. How you'd let the other slip out of your grasp. But once again, it's all a little game played upon the two of you by destiny. 

"Listen, whatever's going to happen tonight, is not your fault." Ten walks up to you, kneeling down to be eye level with you, "I'm sorry I haven't been doing much for you, for me, and for us in all. If anything, it's my carelessness that's making you feel-"

"It's not just yours. I let it go too." You cut him off, "I didn't do much either." you look up, slightly once his hands find home in yours, "We're both to be blamed here."

Ten oh so desperately wanted to avoid confrontation. He felt it too, of course. And he'd brush you off each time you'd get the same topic up over and over. He knew this talk would be a total game changer for both of you. Nothing would remain the same and that to remain would only be disappointment and emptiness.

That feeling of not trying your best would linger not just him, but you too. Which was mainly the reason Ten busied himself even more than he already was. To avoid this talk. To avoid this confrontation. He wanted to try, of course. The feelings of adoration and want for you was still there, the same vice versa. But he couldn't find it in himself to maintain the same relationship you had from college. He wanted to blame it on his job. But he knew it was a petty excuse to avoid taking the blame upon himself when he, himself was to be blamed. 

"Should we give it a try? Again? I promise I'll try giving more into it but," you pass a small smile, giving his hand that you'd held for so long a comforting squeeze as you shook your head to contradict what he'd just said. 

"But Ten. It's not the same anymore. I love you but, I can feel it, you can feel it too,"

"We just don't have the same spark anymore"

[musingsofanunorgainizedmind]

Top 10 Things I Love About Supernatural

It’s been almost half a year since the show ended and now that the dust has settlIed, I just want to list ten reasons I love this show. Despite it’s flaws, it’s been quite the ride.

1. Team Free Will

When I first got the idea to make this list, I originally planned on doing entirely separate entries for “Sam & Dean” and “Destiel”. Except then I wanted to pay tribute to “Sastiel”. And then I wanted to do an entry for “Team Free Dads”. By that point, I was already halfway through the list and I hadn’t even moved on from the main characters. A few months ago, I made a post about why I love every single pairing in this group. Obviously, Sam and Dean are a legendary duo. Obviously, Dean and Cas have an unparalleled story. Obviously, Sam and Cas are an underrated team. As for Team Free Dads, I’ve always had a soft spot for father/mentor figure characters and and all three tackle the role in different ways. I love Jack, too. I love how everyone in this bizarro family is “broken” in some way. We’ve got the Allistair’s prized pupil, the spawn of satan, the boy with demon blood, and the angel who nearly obliterated all of heaven. But they help each other heal by being supportive and seeing the good in each other. They all love each other so deeply and when together, nothing can stand in their way. Not Michael, not Lucifer, and not God himself. They tore up the book and wrote their own story. And it was a pleasure to watch it all unfold.

2. The Suppporting Characters

To list every single supporting character I have loved and lost in this show would take way too long. I don’t know if it’s the writing or acting performances, but I love pretty much every single supporting character on this show. Even villains like Azazel or Allistair are top-notch villains. Hell, I even like characters like Metatron, Lucifer, Mary, and John! Characters like Rufus, Charlie, Crowley, Rowena, Kevin, Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Gabriel, Balthazar, Mick...how am I not supposed to love them??? All of their stories were cut so short. I’d watch a show about any of these characters. The Wayward Sisters were robbed. So many ships were gone too soon (Sam/Rowena, Dean/Jo, Cas/Meg, Etc.). So many heartbreaking deaths. I want to be best friends with all these characters. Why be a “dean-girl” or a “sam-girl” when you can be a garth-girl? A kevin-girl? A claire-girl? A bela-girl? There are so many great characters with interesting and compelling backstories and so much untapped potential. I could go on forever on this, but I digress.This show has one of the best supporting casts I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

3. The Themes

It’s no accident that I got addicted to this show at the time that I did. Namely, my Senior Year of College and 2020. Graduating college and entering the “real world” felt like it’s own sort of apocalypse. 2020 definitely exacerbated my worst tendencies. Messages like “family don’t end in blood”, “you can write your own story”, and “always keep fighting” really resonated with me. I could definitely relate to the feelings of insecurity these character’s felt and the ways they suppressed/repressed their issues instead of facing them. I could relate to the feelings of not fitting in and I could definitely relate to the loneliness. This show helped remind me that I’m not alone. That it’s okay if my values and identity don’t line up with the what I envisioned for myself. And, most importantly, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that I should never give up. If Dean, Sam, and Cas can keep moving forward despite their demons and despite how bad it gets, so can I. Regardless of how the story ended, these themes resonated with me and I’ll still hold them with me. A single episode can’t take that away.

4. The Fun Episodes

This show has so many legendary standalone episodes. Changing Channels. Ghostfacers. The French Mistake. Fan Fiction. Tall Tales. Bad Day at Black Rock. When this show goes for the absurd, it goes all-in. It takes the risks it needs to take, it gets completely insane, and it pulls it off. So many of these episodes could have easily been the moment that the show “jumped the shark”. Yet, time after time, the show delivered on it’s potential. I don’t know how much I can say about these episodes except that they made me laugh out loud, made me fall even harder for these characters, and that they’re the episodes I remember best. If I were to rewatch any episode, it would be one of the fun ones. This show knew how to not take itself too seriously and how to poke fun at itself. I’ve always had a soft spot for shows that can make me laugh and cry (X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel, Doctor Who, etc.), and this show definitely nails the fun part. 

5. The Sad Episodes

Death’s Door. Hammer of the Gods. Despair. Carry On. Abandon All Hope. In My Time of Dying. Swan Song. When this show wants you to cry, it doesn’t pull the punches. It gets downright devastating. No character is safe. Literally every character you love will either be forgotten or will die. Or both. The amount of trauma Sam and Dean have to go through is insane. Both have literally been to hell and back. Both have killed countless people, including innocents. When this show decides it wants to wreck you, it’s overwhelming. I sobbed when Bobby died. I sobbed when every single member of Team Free Will died for the final time (I still can’t watch any of those scenes). I still wish Jo, Ellen, Charlie, Kevin, Mick, and Gabriel had been given more time to tell their stories. Being a hunter means a life of endless angst. Being an angel or demon doesn’t get you off the hook, either. I remember going into this show thinking it couldn’t hurt me. My favorite character type is “mentor/father figure”. But holy hell...I don’t think every single sad moment was necessarily good writing, but when it was? Damn. 

6. The Biblical Themes

I’m not a relgious person. But, despite this show being steeped in Christian mythology, it really touched on my feelings about the Old Testament in a profound way. Well, really just Ben Edlund and Robbie Thompson did. I’ve never seen a show really hit the overall feel of the bible the way this show does. The idea of Angels as mystical and terrifying creatures. The idea of God as a flawed father figure with a penchant for wrath. The sheer epicness of the biblical stories. The idea of family members constantly being turned on each other. Cain and Abel. Jacob and Essau. Moses and Ramses. Moses and Aaron. Abraham and Isaac. The bible is full of stories of family drama. This show doesn’t always give angels and demons weight. Sometimes it’s silly and stupid and cheesy. But when it hits right? It’s epic. This is more of a personal thing I love about the show, but definitely a plus!

7. The Music

The early seasons music is so good. I really miss the classic rock of the golden era of the show. I mean, there are still some great musical moments later on, but damn. I loved hearing songs I recognized and I loved learning new songs. I loved when the song and the scene hit perfectly in time (Death’s intro. Cas’s return in Season 13.). Also Supernatural wouldn’t be Supernatural without the ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ song at the end of every season. Even at the end of a season I didn’t love, that recap would always get me pumped. Also Chuck singing Fare Thee Well? Dean and Lee singing together? Fan Fiction? All great. 

8. The Cast & Crew

I never care about the actors or actresses in a show. I definitely don’t bother with the names of specific writers and directors or their styles of writing/directing. They’re just random people who happen to write for or play these characters I love. They’re not actually the characters. But these guys? Well, for one, I’m pretty sure half this cast actually is their character. At least to some degree. They’re also just...really cool people? Who are all friends? They make a point to do community service, to interact with fans, and to promote positive ideas. Jared’s Always Keep Fighting campaign. Misha and GISH. The fact that they all participate in fundraising opportunities and encourage fan engagement. Do they all have issues? Definitely. Have they said stupid things? Yes. But the good far outweighs the bad. They’re an entertaining bunch whether onscreen or not and I hope they all do well in whatever their future endeavors may be.  

9. The Fandom

I joined this fandom late. To be honest, I thought this fandom was obnoxious before I found myself a part of it. Now that I’ve been in the trenches? It’s got it’s ups and downs like any fandom. There are some parts that are more toxic than others. A lot of people yelling that their opinion is the only opinion. But overall? The good outweighs the bad. And the good? The good is great. Some fanfictions I’ve read are better than actual books I’ve read and just as moving. The fanart? Incredible. I love reading all the metas about random aspects of the show I never would have noticed. I love the music videos and I love the analytical videos. In real life, I’ve made many friends through our mutual love of this show. Hell, even getting sucked into GISH once or twice has given me some solid memories and brought me closer to friends. I wish all fandoms were this much like family. I’m so glad I got to be a part of this fandom and I can’t wait to continue being a fan. After all, nothing ever stays dead in Supernatural.

10. The Chaos & Insanity

Season 16 has been a time. First, Destiel went canon. Then suddenly Sherlock was having a 5th season, Putin was retiring, and Georgia was going blue. Destiel going “canon” and Joe Biden winning the presidency will always be correlated in my mind now. Things in the fandom went from quiet to blaringly loud real fast. Carry On happened. The fandom went into a civil war. I can’t even remember half of what happened in Season 16, but it’s been a wild ride. There’s been ups (my personal favorite being the french dub and the Saileen wedding). There’s been downs (Jared’s controversial statements and the original scripts being leaked). At one point Misha Collins had sex with Bill Clinton???? It’s been a wild time. It’s honestly gotten me through the end of this pandemic. At least it’s entertaining. I would say that at least all the craziness is over, but is it ever really over? Every time I say that something else completely insane happens. But it’s been fun. I’m glad I started watching this show despite my reservations and here’s to whatever happens next. 

[coppicefics]

Masked Omens: Week Five

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads ‘Masked Omens’. 

Image 2 - A page from the Entertainment section of the Capital Herald, dated Saturday, 23rd January 2021. Full image description and transcript below cut. End ID.]

Read the fic here!

The Capital Herald - Saturday, 23rd January 2021 Entertainment, page 15

Top section: Stream of Consciousness: Shows To Make You Think A whole host of great documentaries, old and new, have just been added to streaming services Who doesn't love a good documentary? You can learn all sorts of things, and you don't have to do any of the research for yourself. Over the last couple of weeks, loads of people seem to have been tuning into the wealth of documentaries available on various streaming services; here are a few I particularly enjoyed. Green Planet (2020) is not your standard nature documentary; while there are some extremely cute shots of animals (including gorillas, whales, and giant squid) the main focus is on sustainable practices people are experimenting with in all sorts of industries and contexts, and the way they allow local wildlife to flourish. It's thought-provoking stuff. We're As Folk (2019) takes a look at the contemporary folk movement, interviewing figures from the second British revival right through to the present day; contributors include Seth Lakeman, Frank Turner, Anathema and Bellowhead. With folk-festival anecdotes aplenty, the documentary explores the intricacies of the genre and culminates in all the contributors performing a once-in-a-lifetime rendition of 'She Moved Through The Fair'. Gadget If You Can (2015) might be a little outdated now, but that's what makes it such a compelling watch. From watches that tell the time in 21 capital cities concurrently to hoverboards that actually, well, hover, this is a fascinating look at the new devices that seemed to be just on the horizon when it was released more than five years ago. Some have since appeared; some remain pipedreams. All are interesting! Making Fast Friends (2012) is the oldest documentary on this list, and the narrowest in scope. It was released alongside the SEGA charity single 'Fast Friends' and gives us a behind the scenes look at what happened when Sonic the Hedgehog teamed up with a whole bunch of children's TV presenters to make the record. Although largely factual in nature, it does also feature animated 'interviews' with Sonic and Knuckles, so it's entirely suitable for watching with your family. And P-White fans, in particular, will not want to miss this a second time around. A War Without War (2021), by contrast, is both up-to-the-minute and extremely disturbing to watch. It is composed of a mixture of expert analysis of the situation developing on the ground in Celestan and grim footage allegedly smuggled out of the country by fleeing residents. Moreover, with more episodes promised, it forces the viewer to acknowledge what is happening as the country breaks apart, and asks us the difficult question: can you have a war without war? Dinosaurs: The Punchline (2013) is frequently mistaken for a mockumentary thanks to its tongue-in-cheek title. It is, in fact, a thoughtful exploration of how religious groups respond to apparent conflicts between scientific facts and the tenets of their faith. Without shying away from the realities of science as we know it, this film takes a surprisingly sensitive approach to investigating how science and religion intersect in the modern world. By The Numbers (2018) looks back at the history of the televised National Lottery, along with its competitors on other channels and the entertainment chosen to appear directly after it. Featuring clips and interviews with stars from Marjorie Potts aka Telepathic Tracy, whose show aired after the draw for over a decade, to Marvin O. Bagman, whose sports-based quiz show had, at the time of the documentary’s release, the corresponding Channel 4 slot. It’s not groundbreaking, but it is very entertaining. CITRON DEUX-CHEVAL Have I missed any amazing documentaries you think I should be talking about? Drop me an email at entertainment@capitalherald.co.uk or leave a comment on our website and I might feature your recommendations in a future issue.

Centre left: Memory Lane: Kilcridhe Now there’s a vicar I’d have loved to meet at the altar Ask any male-attracted person of a certain age – well, my age and up, really – if they remember Kilcridhe, and you'll be met with flushed cheeks and a glassy expression. We remember Kilcridhe, all right – or perhaps it would be fairer to say that we remember Father Jacob MacCleod. It's hard to believe that heartthrob Jacob was Anthony Crowley's first major role on television, and harder still to believe that he was also one of his last. The show ran for only two six-episode series, between 2005 and 2006, but in those twelve hours I think it's fair to say a fair few of us fell irrevocably in love. Kilcridhe was named for the fictitious Scottish village where it was set, and largely revolved around the goings-on of the local church and its new minister. Much of the series' drama centred around Father MacCleod's ongoing attempts to fill the pews, which saw him trying everything from hosting a bake sale – for which he ended up baking everything himself – to arranging a community talent show, with predictably bizarre results. But during the course of these adventures, each episode also introduced us to one or more of Kilcridhe's residents. We got a glimpse into the little struggles and joys of their lives – most of which quickly became Jacob's struggles and joys, too. My main memory of this show is that it was pretty. Not just Jacob, but everything about it, from the location they chose for the exterior shots, to the tone added in post-production; everything was just slightly more saturated and colourful than real life, not enough to be jarring but enough to give the whole thing a strangely dreamlike feel. In fact, as Jacob remarked as he prepared to leave for Edinburgh at the end of series one (not knowing if he would return or if the show would be cancelled), “leaving [Kilcridhe] feels like waking from a dream, like going back to reality somehow”. It was, perhaps, for the best that Kilcridhe was cancelled after only two series. Shows originally envisioned as limited series rarely keep their charm past a second extension, and the central actor was to encounter personal problems not long after the end of the show. That's not to say that a revival couldn't work, perhaps with a completely new protagonist. But Father Jacob MacCleod lives on in the hearts of his many fans, smiling that enigmatic smile of his, and when that's not enough, there's always online fanfiction. So much fanfiction. SARAH JEUNE Memory Lane is our regular feature, looking back at the books, shows and films of yesteryear through a nostalgic lens. Do you miss something you’d like to see featured? Just send the show name (plus channel and airdates if you know them) in an email to: memorylane@capitalherald.co.uk - your prayers might just be answered!

Centre right: Correspondent’s Corner Stop talking about it Anathema is making waves again as she does the talk-show circuit to promote her new album, Narrative Devices. It's a very pretty album from a very lovely girl, but she does keep getting hung up on one point. Every time somebody describes her music as country, she interrupts to tell them it's folk. Well, I'm no music expert, but even I know that folk is a very European genre, and the United States' equivalent is country, or country and western music, to give it its full name, and to continue to argue to the contrary is simply courting controversy for controversy's sake. It is unbecoming of a young lady – even, or perhaps especially, a young lady with Anathema's obvious talent – to continue to argue with her elders on the subject, and even to correct the likes of Graham Norton and Giles Brandreth. These sage bastions of broadcasting deserve more respect, and they couldn't be more gracious in accepting their 'mistake'. But surely a young musician in the first flush of success should take the time to learn about what she's actually doing? It doesn't seem very much to ask. It’s not entirely her fault, of course; the youth of today are given far too much freedom by their parents and, on top of that, are often propelled to disproportionate success with no chance to prepare for it. Is it any wonder that it all goes to their heads? But there is no excuse for not making an effort to keep their egos in check and defer to their betters on matters of terminology and best practice. Naturally, we all hope that Anathema will enjoy a long and successful career making the music she enjoys the most and , more importantly, music we can all enjoy too. And I also hope that she will, eventually, acquire the humility so rarely found in young people these days and accept that she does not always know best. If she listens to the counsel of older and wiser heads than hers, she might even learn something. ANDY SANDALPHON What can’t they do? If there's one thing that's becoming apparent with every passing week of The Masked Singer UK, it's that celebrities are no longer to content to stay in their lane. No, these multi-talented marvels seem determined to push themselves to the limit in every possible field. So far, we’ve seen sergeants become singers, rugby players become rockers, doctors become divas and authors become, er, audible. And with weeks still to go in this competition, we still have eight masked celebrities to guess. Eight people whose day jobs probably don’t include getting on stage and belting out pop standards are still waiting to impress us with talents that aren’t even their thing. I mean, if I could sing and dance like the contestants on the show, you can bet your life I’d be making a living from it. It would be my number one talent, and I’d be rubbish at anything else, because most of us only get one main skill. Not these jammy gits, though. For them, this is a sideline. It's not just The Masked Singer, of course – from proving their talent for trivia on Pointless Celebrities and their wordplay wisdom on Celebrity Catchphrase to demonstrating their culinary qualities on Celebrity Masterchef and The Great Celebrity Bake Off, it seems that wherever you look someone is adding a new string to their bow. Being a phenomenally talented actor, singer, or footballer is all well and good, but more and more stars are now keen to show us that they really can do anything and everything. And why shouldn't they? It's phenomenally entertaining television to watch. And for those of us who sometimes feel inadequate compared to our famous idols, it can be very reassuring to watch, for example, a comedian weeping into his cupcake mix on Bake Off or an Oscar nominee fall on her face on Dancing On Ice. When they do well, it's amazing; when they do badly, it's life-affirming. That said, I've been blown away by the talent of the contestants on The Masked Singer this series. It's so inspirational, in fact, that I might take up watercolours. EDWARD BIGGS Bottom right (in blue box): Citron’s Quick Picks Fast favourites from Citron Deux-Cheval Look: Sea Change by Hastur LaVista There's never been a journey to to the top quite like P-White's. This authorised biography charts a course from children's presenter to global superstar through interviews, pictures and anecdotes. While the research sometimes seems a little slapdash, the story at the heart of the book is more than interesting enough to hold it together. And since it's authorised, Maputi themself has contributed plenty of private insights and observations. [Image description: A book, its cover featuring a blue-green gradient with black, dripping lines spilling across it. The title reads ‘Sea Change’. End ID.] Listen: Narrative Devices by Anathema Anathema's first album was well-received both within the folk community and beyond it. Now her second album, backed up by an obvious increase in resources, looks set to enjoy similar mainstream success, and deservedly so. The theme this time seems to be the act of telling stories, but it's also a story in itself. You'll have heard the singles, but it takes on new meaning when you play it in order! [Image description: An album cover featuring hands holding a book. The words “Anathema” and “Narrative Devices” are printed on it. End ID.] Laugh: Newtral Stance by AutoTuna on YouTube It's not the first time beleaguered commentator Newton Pulsifer has had his words edited into a supercut. It's not even the first time his frequent disagreements with the VAR have been autotuned – including by YouTube user AutoTuna. But this new edition adds an extra dimension in the form of a flat, robotic voice duetting – and duelling – with the frustrated human, taking the hilarity to a whole new level! [Image description: A screenshot of a young woman wearing a call centre headset (specifically, the woman who cold-calls Crowley in Good Omens and gets Hastur instead). She looks extremely bored. End ID.]

Advertisement, bottom right: IS THIS YOUR CARD? [Image Description: Two business cards with a white-to-yellow gradient, overlapping so that they are slightly fanned out. Printed on the left-hand side of each is ‘This is to certify The Amazing [blank] as a [blank] training under Mr A.Z. Fell.‘ The one behind is filled in with ‘Your Name-’ and ‘Sorcer-’. The front card is filled in in a more child-friendly font, with ‘Your Name Here’ and ‘Junior Magician’. Below this is space for a start and expiry date, filled in with ‘08/20′ and ‘08/21′ respectively. On the right-hand side of the card, a logo shows a rabbit emerging from an upturned top hat, and below it are the words ‘Harry’s Junior Magic Academy’. The word ‘Junior’ is in the same child-friendly font as before. End ID.] IT COULD BE. Membership is open to under 12s and 13-18 year-olds at www.harrys-magic.com

End of transcript.

[maybankiara]

27, 34 & 35

27: what’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?

i’ve received so many and honestly i wish i could just paste them all, but the one that’s been stuck in my head ever since i received it and it keeps motivating me to keep writing is the one @lydias--stiles wrote on one of my jatp fics:

so i like to copy paste parts of fics int my comment to let the writer know what i rlly liked but????? this was all so amazing??? like you really raised the bar in the fandom with this one. dialogue, description and general narrative was so vivid and real and clean. like,,, wow???? you are flawless at writing them??? luke's feelings were very relatable too. we're not ghosts, obvi, but a lot of us have been in a situation where the timing in a relationship was off. and the factnthat he recognised that AND THEN DID IT ANYWAY

dude, i am utterly in love with this. bookmarked forever, will revisit for my monthly serotonin

honestly ophelia saying i “raised the bar in the fandom with this one” makes me tear up whenever i think about it. like. i just. it’s too much.

34: copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

it’s from a bellarke fic about bellamy being a ghost in clarke’s apartment during the covid quarantine (still one of my favourite fics i’ve ever written). it’s a bit long but the interaction is when they see each other for the first time and whenever i reread this, it warms my heart. 

  Bellamy was just in sweatpants.

  Shirtless.

  Clarke made sure she didn’t make a sound.

  From the way he was moving about the kitchen, his back turned to her, she could tell he was making food. His feet were shuffling about and his hips swaying in the rhythm of an Eric Clapton song. The muscles on his back were impressive enough to draw a shaky breath out of Clarke, who just watched. He was the lean type of muscular, the one that comes from genetics and daily life as opposed to getting jacked at the gym, and his hair was tousled in a way that Clarke has seen Murphy’s get after doing a few exercises at home.

  He also looked like he belonged there, in this apartment, in this kitchen, in this moment, just the way Clarke was seeing him.

  Fuck, Clarke thought. Oh, fuck.

  She pushed herself to walk right up to where the bar separated the living room from the kitchen area, quietly. It made her realise what was odd about the music – Bellamy was singing along to it.

  Clarke shivered.

  ‘I’m back,’ she said.

  Bellamy turned around, lips still moving to the words of the song, until they weren’t.

  Until he laid his eyes on her.

  He whispered her name as if it was a prayer to a God he suddenly believed in.

  ‘Hi,’ she said.

  Clarke didn’t know if time stopped, or neither of them moved for a few long seconds. She watched Bellamy’s eyes take her in, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. His face was unreadable, mouth slightly agape, breath quiet.

  Eric Clapton sang Layla in the background.

  ‘Hey,’ Bellamy said, quietly. His eyes found hers again.

  Clarke felt small; unprepared. Maybe she should’ve worn something less revealing. Maybe her face was still flushed – no, it definitely was. Maybe he was expecting her to look different, maybe he didn’t like blondes, maybe he expected her to be skinnier—Clarke felt the need to wrap her hands around her, but she fought it.

  ‘I thought you’d be taller.’ He smiled, warmly, face softening from the initial shock. ‘You’re less intimidating now that I can see you.’

  ‘Unacceptable.’

  ‘Now I know I’m not getting evicted.’

  ‘You still might.’

  Bellamy raised his hand, a plate with a sandwich on it. ‘Would this help?’

  ‘Thanks, Bellamy.’

this fic just has a special place in my heart and the entirety of it is something i’m particularly fond of okay

35: ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

honestly, i just want to say that i love how easy it is to find supportive fic writers on tumblr. just a group of people who all adore the same pairing(s) and are willing to throw around headcanons, theories, concepts, help out in any way whatsoever. it’s my favourite thing about writing fics, even if i haven’t participated in anything like that for a few months because of uni and lack of time -- but just feeling accepted and understood because you’re friends with people who are loving to do the exact thing as you is absolute bliss. it’s priceless. even just having someone to talk to about fic concepts is great. 

that, and kind people who send messages/asks, comment on fics, and reblog it (this goes for ao3 as well). i just adore the community of people who read and write fics, even if sometimes i am a bit irritated at the likes/reblogs ratio, or get a little disheartened when my fic doesn’t perform as well as i expected it to. hearing people say that they love my writing makes me confident about choosing to move countries and pursue writing as a career. if it wasn’t for fic writers and readers and fanfiction in general, i definitely wouldn’t be where i am right now. all i can be is thankful that i got so lucky to have you all ♡

ask me a question from the list for fanfiction writers

[lovemesomesurveys]

What’s one thing you have never done? >> I’ve never gone on a cruise. <<< Me either. There’s a lot of things I haven’t done... like drive a car.

Why? Is this something you would try in the future if you had the chance? Part of me would like to be able to drive, but I’m also scared. Plus, there’s a lot that would go into it. It would be quite expensive between getting a car and the accessible parts needed. I also would need to find someone who could teach me how to drive with the accessible parts. It just hasn’t been a pressing issue for me, but like I said there is a part of me that would like to be able to drive myself so I can go wherever I need to go, whenever I want. What is one trend you wish you have been a part of? I don’t care much about trends.

Or do you think that following trends is stupid? Some are, ha. But honestly, do what you want. I’m not saying I never follow a trend, but it’s just not something I pay much attention to. I’m old. 

Do you enjoy reading fanfictions? About who? Or do you write fanfictions, too? I don’t read any. 

What is something you own that you wish was in your favorite color? Hmm. I have a lot of favorite colors, to be honest. I own a lot of things that are some of those colors.

^ What is your favorite color anyway? Pastels, rose gold, yellow, coral, mint green.

What grade will you be in next school year? Or have you graduated? If so, do you plan on going to college right away? If not, what do you plan to do then? I graduated UC 5 years ago.

Is there someone from your past that you wish you had dated? Yes; Ty. 

Can you snap with both your hands? If not, which hand can you snap with? Yes.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how tolerant are you when it comes to gory movies? I can handle most, but some get carried away. For me, the worst is most definitely a particular scene in Midsommar.  What internet browser do you use? Chrome.

What is your opinion on Ke$ha? Do you listen to her? Or do you think her songs are catchy but uses too much auto-tune? I haven’t heard anything from her in awhile, but I do like some of her songs. 

^ Do you consider that talent at all? What, autotune? If a song is catchy and I vibe with it, I vibe with it. It can still be good. Autotune doesn’t help everyone, either. Look at Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian lol. Some people just can’t sing. Autotune wouldn’t help me either. And actually, with Ke$ha in particular, I’ve heard her without autotune and she can sing.

Do you like cosplays? I’m not a cosplayer, but the amount of time and creativity some people put into their costumes is quite incredible. I’ve seen some really cool costumes.

If you were to participate in one, what/who would you dress up as?

Do you sometimes answer surveys with “Idk”/“Idr” because you’re too lazy? I sometimes really don’t know or remember, but there are times I don’t feel like getting into something or elaborating much. 

Are you usually open to trying a new food that you aren’t familiar with? No. I’m very picky and not adventurous with trying new foods. I really just eat the same few things.  Have you ever tYpEd tHiS wAy (Be honest!)? If so, tell me the first time you got into it: Nooo, I never liked that. It bugged me when other people did it. 

Have you ever acted like a bitch and used PMS as an excuse? I did get quite moody and irritable during that time. I still do now and I don’t even that as an excuse anymore. I’m just a moody and irritable person.

Do you know someone who brushes their teeth in the shower all the time? It’s possible. I don’t know most people’s show and teeth brushing habits.

Have you ever tried doing that? Did you like it? Why or why not? No, it just seemed weird to me. I like to keep those things separate.

Do you like countdown surveys? Or are you like me who suck at them? I’ve done a few, but it’s quite rare. I’m not a big fan of those. 

Have you ever had to perform a monologue before? Yes. I don’t what I was on during my first year at community college cause I took a couple acting classes for some odd reason. Something totally out of my element and comfort zone. I guess I hoped that it would help me out of my shell, but nope. Parts of it were fun, though. I definitely did better with script memorization than improv. That is really hard to do and definitely takes skill. Some people just have that comedic timing and genius and others, like me, do not. Another thing I hated was the first class I took (not the improv), the professor recorded our performances (the class was literally called acting for the camera or something like that) and then we’d watch everyone’s as a class to critique. Some were group/partner performances, but most were solo. Omg that was TORTURE. I hated seeing myself on camera as it was, I’m my own worst critic, but to have everyone else see it, too... what a nightmare.

Have you ever helped/taught someone older than you how to use email before? Yeah and other things regarding the internet. 

Speaking of which, are you patient when it comes to instructing others? Uhh it depends.

Do you ever worry about people finding your layout annoying? I mean, I want them to be able to easily access the surveys. Otherwise, I choose the layout I like and don’t care if other people like it as long as they can get to the surveys. I had a layout once that some kind of issue like that and someone messaged me about it and I changed it. 

What is the stupidest bandwagon you’ve ever jumped in to? Last summer beaded bracelets that you made yourself with different words on them and scrunchies became a thing and I for some reason briefly got into it. I bought a bead set that had a variety of bead types, colors, and letters and made several bracelets. I also ordered a few from Etsy and spent too much. Like I said, it was a very short phase. The bead set is just sitting on my shelf collecting dust and I haven’t even worn the bracelets in months. I do still wear the scrunchies, so that’s something.

Do you listen to Panic At The Disco? If so, how do you feel about Ryan and Jon leaving the band? I like some of their music (I was especially into their “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” album back in the day), but I didn’t keep up with the band members. I don’t recall hearing about that news.

Do you like kids? Why or why not? I mean, don’t not like them. I’m just not a kid person. I haven’t even been around kids in a long time and I don’t want any of my own. I can handle kids in small does, but they can be very overwhelming and exhausting. And annoying.

Do you not mind having dogtears on your books or do you prefer using bookmarks? If so, how many bookmarks do you have? I never dog ear books. That’s a crime! haha. But seriously. I just use bookmarks, even if it’s just a scrap of paper or something. I’ll find something cause I will not bend the pages.

What is your biggest pet peeve? One is eating sounds, which is the one I always mention when this question comes up. I certainly have others, but it’s easier to just say that and it is one of my big ones.

[thewomanwhomarriedarobot]

Kenneth Bruffee - Collaborative Learning and the Conversation of Mankind

Bruffee discusses the value of collaborative versus individual learning. I don’t know about you, but being left to my own devices never bodes well. For example, I am writing this post as the deadline for my (unwritten) independent study Peace Studies thesis looms over my head like the Grim Reaper (it’s due tomorrow). But in collaborative learning environments, in which everybody can contribute and share their thoughts, I find myself more comfortable and learning more than I ever would have studying on my own. After all, the words of others are always better than one’s own.

The entire persona, lifeforce, enigma of The 1975 relies on collaborative communities. Without the advent of tumblr from 2012 on, The 1975 probably would never have moved past performing in shitty bars in Manchester. Long before the band knew that their area of experience would be the internet, the internet knew. More specifically, young people on the internet knew. 

When the self-titled album was released in 2013, Fans took to tumblr, we<3it, pinterest, and more to post photos of their favorite lyrics drawn in their notebooks, ridiculous edits, and fanfictions. Oh, fanfictions. Those were simpler (weirder) times. 

But British boybands were in on tumblr. Arctic Monkeys, One Direction, The Vamps, etc. were plastered all over music kids’ dashboards. But no one adapted to the digital spaces in which these groups were immortalized and idolized quite in quite like The 1975. They responded to this fame and used to their advantage. Call me naive, but I don’t mean that they capitalized on their internet fame, The 1975 utilized digital channels to connect to listeners, to show them that this new, shiny culture of the online world is beautiful and epistemic. When Matty speaks directly to millenials because he sees value in their communities, which is refreshing, considering the fact that most adults scoff at the rise in popularity of online communities. And that’s the beauty of collaborative communities: fans create The 1975 as they create themselves, and vice versa. We grew up in tandem. Longtime fan of The 1975 and avid tumblr user Zach captures the essence of the times pretty perfectly:

It seemed like they were on the exact same wavelength as all of Tumblr--their finger on the pulse of the heartache and melodrama of teenagers around the world. Every song off of their first album was made into every kind of fan art that you can imagine. They had managed to perfectly capture all of the angst and longing and crude natured self-awareness that marked young people in 2013. The glitzy guitars and greatly-sing-along-able-but-barely-intelligible vocals gave the band an upbeat, energetic sound that so starkly contrasted the lyrics about sex and drugs and romance and heartbreak and awkward dates and bank robberies and all of the other things that us romantic-hearted Tumblr kids dreamt about. But The 1975, uniquely, was keenly aware of their popularity on the platform and interacted freely and often with the fans in the fandom.

In another, larger sense, the internet is a limitless collaborative community. We are equipped with interpretive tools like Genius, various social media platforms, and Spotify that allow us to openly discuss our understanding of a band’s songs, lyrics, fashion sense, and more. Through nights spent studying lyrics more meticulously than vocabulary for an exam, knowledge is created. It’s emotional intelligence, poetic justice, idealistic overanalysis. And it’s all worthwhile. 

Fast forward 7 years: the world is in lockdown and all we have left is the internet to keep us sane (or further unravel the spool of our sanity). To combat such monotonous and grief-stricken times, The 1975 dropped a link to the mysteriously titled “MINDSHOWER,” a break from the internet, facilitated on the internet. 

Follow the link below to poke your head into the virtual lobby of what appears to be a wellness center. Navigate over to the coffee table and you can view lookbooks and concept art from various artists and photographers who have worked with The 1975. You can also download templates to create your very own t-shirt and poster designs for the band’s latest album, Notes On a Conditional Form. As tumblr and twitter and now the Mindshower suggest, the internet is an infinite collaborative community that has made way for numerous sub-communities to spring up. It’s overwhelming, but it makes space for everyone, regardless of talent, interest, need, etc. 

MINDSHOWER https://www.mindshower.ai/

Bruffee claims that concepts are better learned in groups than they are individually. He examines conversation vs reflective thought. Where conversation is social interaction, reflective thought is internalized conversation. In a way, the internet allows users to seamlessly transition from conversation to reflective thought. Behind the veil of digital anonymity, a person can post their deepest, darkest secrets and engage in meaningful discourse about it. In this way, with this level of simultaneous anonymity and knowingness, our personal thoughts and conversation are conflated--it’s this weird hybrid of inner thoughts and public discourse. 

I have attached the video for “Give Yourself a Try” because it was the first single from The 1975′s internet-themed album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships and lyrics such as “when your vinyl and your coffee collection is a sign of the times” and “a millenial the babyboomers like” demonstrate Matty’s responses to the digitized world, and the alarming rate at which we seem to get old in this era. Honesty and self-reflection is one of the many (many) we participate in online communities, and to hear it on a chart-topping record is validating (and exciting!). 

[the--concertmaster]

Mormon Headcanons

Ok... So since I literally needed only one person to be interested in hearing my headcanons, I’m gonna post them! Thanks @bookofbway!

Alright... I’m gonna start with James Church, because he doesn’t get enough love. 

THIS IS GONNA START OF REAL SAD. 

James wasn’t originally a Mormon, since due to his upbringing, I seriously doubt his parents were Mormons.

His mum died when he was still young, (probably about 10) from something unrelated to his dad, a car accident or something. (I’m sorry!)

Afterwords, due to the shock of losing his wife, his dad went sober and tried to concentrate on bringing his son up right. 

James never forgave his father for the way he treated him and his mother. 

Mormon missionaries came knocking at their house one day, and James chose to convert as he found it comforting the idea that his mother had went to a better place and that in latter days he could spend eternity with her. 

He also liked the idea of going on a mission to help others, and also liked the idea of being able to get away from his dad for 2 years. 

James was a track runner at school, and although he was sporty, found his passion more in the arts. 

He is an amazing sketch artist and enjoys writing short stories and poetry. 

He’s more serious and sombre than the other Mormon’s in Ugnada, but tries to act cheerful and bright (and turn it off). 

He really liked Chris, because he felt he could relate to him since Chris had lost his sister. (also Poptarts was extremely adorable.)

He has messy black hair, and wears large square framed glasses.

Is the tallest and strongest out of all the Missionaries in Uganda.  OK! Now for poptarts

Enjoys dancing as it’s his way of remembering and commemorating his sister. 

Has an extreme fear of his friends and family dying on him. 

Will never end a conversation on a negative note and always tries to say goodbye to his friends and family when leaving, just in case he never sees them again. 

Loves everything sweet. 

Poptarts was his sisters favourite food. 

He has no formal dance training, but is quite good since his sister taught him how too (and then Mckinley afterwords)

He originally had a crush on his Mission Companion, Elder Mckinley, before he started to develop feelings for James Because James listened to him and understood his pain of loosing his sister rather than just telling him to turn it off. (Also James was hot af, and muscular and...) 

He’s definitely the shortest and cutest of all the Elders

He has a Teddy bear that he took with him to Uganda, and will protect at all costs. 

He loves looking at James art and reading his stories. 

He is Bi (and no-one can tell me otherwise) MCKINLEY!!!!!!

Ok so, Mckinley defintely is the eldest child with 2 younger sisters, so he knows how to be authoritative and control and lead people. 

He took tap classes, literally right up to the time where he left for Uganda.

His sisters were somewhat jealous that Connor is a better dancer than them.

But his sisters also stood up for him to his arents and peers saying that pink is a perfectly normal colour for a boy to like and that they should break gender stereotypes and stop calling him gay. Connor appreciates them for this. 

He was definitely bullied in year 5 for how close he was to his friend Steve and all through highschool people would accuse him of being gay. 

He started dating a female friend of his, to try to make others believe that he was straight. The relationship didn’t last very long though. 

He totally got all the lead roles in the school plays, and sometimes did performance is the Community theatre musicals. 

He is an excellent singer and had also taken vocal lessons from a young age. 

He was also a very strong leader within theatre groups he was part off and often organised mini performances around their community with them. 

Connor may seem friendly and nice, but don’t ever cross him or undermine his authority, he will wring your neck. 

He’s never seen a prettier Boy with more perfect hair than Elder Price. 

It broke his heart to have to ditch Elder Price in Uganda and leave with Elder Cunningham and the other Elder’s, but since he was pushing down his emotions, and trying to be a good Mormon on his Mission it’s what he choose to do. 

He cared more about making the other Elder’s happy, and creating a friendly community among them, than converting the Africans, thus why they literally had no baptisms. 

As soon as they went off-grid with their mission, he immediately got a TV and gaming system installed withing their lodging to entertain the Elders. 

Him and Poptarts crush at Just Dance. 

He literally holds a karaoke night once a month at the Missionary. 

He was actually very surprised (and pleased) to find out Elder Price was gay

Once he did come out completely, he was very open with his affections towards Kevin (which Kevin often got embarrased about) 

Falsettos is totally his favourite musical. He especially loves Whizzer.  ALRIGHT! ARNOLD CUNNINGHAM

Always had the best imaginative writing at school. 

Writes a ton of Fanfiction, and reads them too. 

Has heaps of OC’s.

Bit of a loner at school too, never really had any friends. 

Extremely popular online though.

Had a huge Tumblr following on his blogs about Star Wars, LOTR etc.

Has heaps of Fan theories too. 

Totally Vlogs. 

Cosplays as well. Goes to all the conventions.

Dreams of being able to go to San Diego Comic Con

He has Irlens Syndrome, which is one of the reasons why he didn’t read the Book of Mormon, becuase it was actually difficult for him to read it. 

His father literally thinks of him as a freak due to all his obsessions and fanboying. 

His mother dotes on him though and adores him for the person he is. 

He always wants his fathers approval though, which is why he decided to go on a mission. 

He genuinely wants to do good in the world and make others happy, and will do anything to help others, even if he doesn’t get anything from it. 

He forces Kevin to Cosplay with him on Halloween. He goes as Han Solo and Kevin goes as Luke Skywalker.

He holds a halloween party and costume party in Uganda for all the Elders and Africans.

He also makes a Leia costume for Naba, which she loves, despite not really knowing too much about Star Wars. 

All the Elders end up loving the little quirks about Arnold in the end, and have a great deal of Respect for him, since he’s so kind hearted.

He’s never been happier than he was in Uganda. 

He still admires and loves Kevin after everything they went through.  AND FINALLY THE MOST PERFECT MAN ON EARTH (AND I WILL FIGHT PEOPLE OVER THIS) KEVIN PRICE. I literally love him so much though.

Kevin grew up in a really strict household. 

He’s the second oldest of all his siblings, with an older sister and three younger brothers. 

He always feels that he has to compete against his siblings to be seen as the best, and to do so, tried to do literally nothing wrong. 

His favourite sibling is his Brother Jack, who is just a year younger than him, because Jack worships and admires Kevin and he rather likes that. He also still feels super guilty for blaming him for eating that donut

Him and all his siblings all took piano lesson. 

Kevin is actually very good at piano, but not as good as his older sister, which always really bugged him because he wanted to be the best at everything. 

Straight A student. 

Literally had no time for relationships throughout school since he was too busy trying to make everyone like him, as well as being a good mormon, getting good grades, playing piano well. 

Didn’t realise till he was in Uganda that he was gay.

He never really though about relationships, or had sexual thoughts till he was in Uganda since he was always so busy.

He had a very meticulously planned schedule. 

He absolutely adores everything Disney and Pixar, loves happy endings and cries every time Mufasa dies. 

His favourite Movie is actually Toy Story, since he finds Woody relatable. 

Reads all Arnolds fanfictions. Feruses to admit that he actually enjoys them.

Actually loves and respects his best friend, Arnold, since he truly hasn’t ever had a true best friend before. 

Sings disney songs during Mckinley’s Karaoke nights. 

Everyone is shocked that Kevin can sing. 

Kevin is shocked by his own singing voice. 

He loves how touchy Mckinley is, but is a little embarrassed by it. 

Absolutely adores Mckinley for everything he is. 

Once he realised he was gay, was actually reasonably open about it, since he never really understood why it was bad withing mormonism anyway.

Takes hour long showers to make sure his hair is perfect

Loves dogs. Like really loves dogs OK! SO THOSE ARE MY HEADCANONS ON THE ELDERS!

[thesirenserenity]

Miraculous Medley Chapter Seven: Closer

Marinette, a Vocal Performance and Composition Music Major at a local community college, is secretly Ladybug, the lead singer and songwriter for Paris’ most famous band, The AKs. Adrien, a Cello Performance Major at the most elite Music Conservatory, joins them under the guise of Chat Noir to play Bass. Adrien grew up believing that music was all about following exactly what the composer wanted, but Marinette teaches him that there is so much that can be communicated through music - everyone has someting to say through this universal language. Marinette is closed off to the world after being burned from a recent breakup, and Adrien helps her break down the walls she built up arround her. Based off of gittana’s Musicans AU

Rating: T - swearing and some adult content

Also on: AO3 | Fanfiction

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

Sorry for the delay guys! I’ve had severe writer’s (and life) block for the past couple months.. I think I’m pulling out now (: I’m always looking for more friends/mutuals, so come chat with me! 

We ain’t ever getting older

We aint ever getting older

Adrien sighed and leaned his head against the girls’ kitchen counter, his cheek pressing against the cold tile. His eyes followed Marinette’s pacing through a small patch of the tile floor. Her hands were waving frantically in the air as she talked to Alya, who was leaning against the counter with a smug look on her face.

He stretched his arms out across the counter in a lazy stretch, blinking slowly at the abrasive kitchen light. He was slightly tipsy, enjoying the low buzz of the alcohol in his system and the sleepiness it brought.

They all still had their face paint on, Adrien noticed. Marinette’s was running down her face more than usual, courtesy of the heat of the dance floor at the club. He was sure that his matched, as they had danced for a while longer after discovering Alya’s ‘accidental’ publicity stunt. A couple drinks and dances later, they had made their way back to the girls’ house to scatter to respective homes. Adrien hadn’t gotten that far, following the raging Marinette, who had been dragging a smirking Alya, to the kitchen and planting on a stool at the island. Nino had wisely scattered, disappearing into the house.

Adrien had seen some of the comments on the multiple social media sites. Declarations of how adorable they were together, comments on their natural chemistry, and wistful hopes of them singing together littered the #ladynoir tag. He didn’t see the problem, feeling slightly smug that everyone could see how amazing his lady was and believed that he stood a chance with her; they were rather adorable together. Just by closing his eyes, he could feel her back in his arms on the dance floor, her lithe body swaying against his.

“… you see the problem here, right Adrien?” Marinette’s voice woke him out of his daydreaming stupor. Or was it a nightdreaming stupor? He wasn’t sure, nor did he care.

He lazily lifted his head off the counter. “What problem?” he asked.

Marinette huffed, much to Alya’s amusement. “Everyone is clamoring for us to sing together and they ship us!”

“So give them what they want; it could be fun to sing together,” Adrien murmured as he snuggled back down into his folded arm.

He could see Marinette throwing her arms in the air in frustration, “I don’t have any duets written!”

Adrien sighed, realizing that Marinette had worked herself into her frantic, worried mess. He shook off the dregs of his cat-nap and sat up, ready to reassure his partner and friend.

“Marinette, stop pacing and come sit next to me for a second.”

He watched as she took a deep breath, calming herself, and then came around the island to plop into the seat next to him with a little huff.

Scooping up her hands in his, he turned to face her and met her gaze with his own. “Everyone loves you, no matter what you do. You have an amazing fan base that will stick with you. But, their suggestion could turn out to be something wonderful! It’s a chance to write a whole new type of music. I’m not a trained singer like you, but no one’s complained about my singing yet, and I’m sure that under your guide we could be wonderful. I’ll follow your lead, no matter what.” He could see the frantic anxiety draining out of her eyes as she began to relax.

“What if you guys did a cover? Just a special thing to give the fans what they want?” Alya suggested. “That way, you don’t have to try writing duets yet and can experiment in the style. Though, I don’t think it would be much different than what you normally write, you dork. You’re freaking out over nothing, as per usual.” Alya rolled her eyes affectionately.

Adrien watched the tension melt from Marinette’s body as she began to process Alya’s idea. Her nose scrunched up like when she processed lyrics, her finger coming to tap against the bridge of her nose.

Her eyes lit up and a small smirk quirked up the right side of her mouth. “You know, Alya, I think you are onto something.”

Alya rolled her eyes, “Aren’t I always, girl?’

“Of course,” Marinette huffed. “All hail queen Alya and her brilliant ideas, like posting the video that started this whole mess.”

“Hey, you guys were freaking adorable and the whole world needed to see it,” Alya waved her phone. “Besides, you like to be challenged and stretched. So you’re welcome.”

Adrien’s head had fallen back onto his arms on the table, a sleepy smile stretching across his face.

Marinette’s hand fell on top of his hair, burrowing its way through the locks and scratching his head. His back arched in satisfaction and he moved his head closer to her hand.

Her giggle rang through his ears. “I guess we better get to covering a duet then, kitty. You willing to help me?”

He blinked up at her sleepily, “’course, M’ lady.”

Adrien woke up burrowed in his bed, the comforter wrapped up to his chin. He nuzzled back down into the fluffy pillow and smiled, the thought of Marinette in his arms dancing through his head. She was such an amazing friend and a talented musician. Even though she was trained in vocal music, and him in orchestral music, her knowledge was immense and he always learned with her. They had spent over an hour pouring over popular duets, before he had called Natalie to send him a ride.

They had selected a couple options, but none of them sat right with either of them. Marinette was adamant about not picking a lovey-dovey song and sticking to something more neutral, saying that she didn’t want to feed the fans more.

Adrien unplugged his phone and pulled it into the cocoon of covers, setting it against the pillow in front of his face. Scrolling through youtube, he found himself searching the band that sang one of the songs they danced to the previous night.

Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss

I want something just like this

He smiled to himself, remember how she felt in his arms. How she seemed to know exactly what step he would take and what to do to compliment it. How her voice intermingled with his, their noses touching. He would give anything to sing with her again, and thanks to the fans, they were now looking for a duet to cover.

Adrien flipped through the American group’s youtube channel, playing a few of their songs. They seemed to be a pop take on EDM music, and had two main members who wrote and performed the songs.

He noticed that one had a girl’s name featured in the title. Clicking on it, the music filled the room.

Hey, I was doing just fine before I met you

I drink too much and that's an issue but I'm okay

Hey, you tell your friends it was nice to meet them

But I hope I never see them again

It was catchy, the beat making him want to snap and clap along. Juleka would have a blast making a cover to this. Or maybe they could do a body drumming thing?

The girl’s voice came in a little while into the song.

You look as good as the day I met you

I forget just why I left you, I was insane

Stay and play that Blink-182 song

That we beat to death in Tuscon, okay

Adrien smiled at the catchy chorus, and how their two voices intermingled. It was not too ‘lovey-dovey,’ as Marinette would say, but it still had a lot implied. It could be a really cool cover, without stretching their capabilities. Plus, this was the same group that sung the song that had started this whole shenanigan.

Adrien copied the link and sent it to Marinette.

To Marinette: “Good Morning Bug-a-boo! Check out this song, it’s the same band as the song we got famous with. Could be a good enough excuse for all the lovey-dovey lyrics ;)”

He continued to scroll through their music, listening to the next song on the list. They had a very similar style to something the AK’s would produce.

His phone binged over the music.

From Marinette: “WOW, this might just be perfect, kitty. I like it a lot. I’m surprised I haven’t heard this song before? WHERE HAS IT BEEN ALL MY LIFE. Working on a cover now.”

He smiled at her enthusiasm, wishing he could have watched her reaction as she listened to the song for the first time.

Another text came in right away.

From Marinette: “What are you doing today? You should come over cause I need my partner in crime to do this.”

Adrien’s face lit up as he read the text. He quickly checked his schedule and replied.

To Marinette: “I’m free! I’ll be over as soon as I can get my ass out of bed.”

He added a cute cat emoji and sent it, stretching his arms out of his comforter cocoon. Untangling his legs from the bed, he rolled onto the floor and huffed. Peeling himself from the floor, he made his way to the bathroom for a shower and much needed teeth brushing.

His phone binged at him.

From Marinette: “Can’t wait to see you!”

Adrien grinned, letting the words of the song wash over him.

We ain't ever getting older

No we ain't ever getting older

[aneonbullet]

All the OC questions! :-D

(  @maggiemitchellclark  |  xo  )

1. Your first OC ever?

A great many variations of Helene, because over the years, all I ever did was alter the girls name, for my stories, never her appearance of personality or anything like that. So it’s pretty much been Hel all this time. She has been known as Bailey, Catherine, Lottie, Shae, Gracie etc.

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

Emlyn, Helene, Nicholai and Caleb are probably my favourites, because they are the ones I’ve really devoted a lot of my time to and the ones that appear in my head no matter what I am doing. It hasn’t happened much lately, though. I don’t know why half my muses, if not all, have gone quiet on me.

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?

I don’t believe I have, though many of my original characters are born through canon characters, but that is only as far as face claims go. Like, I have accounts on here for a lot of canons, with faces that I end up using for my own characters, which is usually how I work.

4. A character you rarely talk about?

Half the boys I made a photoset for yesterday; the vampires. I rarely talk about Auberon though have mentioned him several times over the years. I have never mentioned Taiga or Emilio, though can, if only a little, recall mentioning Mathias before. I also don’t really talk about Sebastian much, either.

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? 

Emlyn ! jeez, I have such a hard time getting people to interact with him, let alone appreciate him as a character. I actually gave up trying, which might also explain why I’ve been knocked off most of my accounts recently, ‘cause I’m just not feeling the drive for it anymore.

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?

Bodhi / Jasper although they really are two very different muses and don’t look that much alike as its based on appearance isn’t it? similarities, but two very different looks from both of them. Johnny can look unlike himself and unlike his other characters pretty easy, but for those two, the only difference I see right now is their hair colour. For Bodhi, I opted for his character ‘ Cesar ‘ and for Jasper, I opted for the look of ‘ Roux ‘ so, very different, but also very similar. Personality wise, insanely different.

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?

Absolutely, especially the ones I rarely mention on tumblr. They always have a part in the stories that I write and appear frequently, so it’s surprising I don’t talk about them on here. Perhaps that could in fact change sometime soon, but at the moment, I seem to be stuck in a rut.

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!

Only one? I think most people know Emlyn and Helene pretty well ‘cause I push for notice with them all the time, so I’ll introduce Caerwyn——originally he was going to have some ties with Emlyn until I realised the likeness between Cae and his father would weird the poor boy out, but he too is Welsh; hails from a small town in the vale of Glamorgan and is an officiant at his local chapel. He’s without a doubt one of the sweetest muses I have ever had, alongside Emlyn.

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

Only for fanfiction or artwork purposes, perhaps. I have very close bonds with all of my oc’s so it’d be a really difficult thing for me to watch someone else try and portray them accurately in an rp sense – but for writing stories and drawing or painting? sure. I would be a little unsure of the portrayal, like in ways whereby the writer could turn them into someone completely different, ‘cause then they lose all of the things that make them who they are and make them a special cupcake, but otherwise.. I’d not have too much of a problem with it. There are some of them I would never give up, though. Like, you can’t have Emlyn, you can’t have Helene, you can’t have Caleb or Nicholai or Pipkin.

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? 

Noah, maybe? he was a creation via spur of the moment lustful loathing of Kylo Ren so he came out of literally nowhere with no real purpose, but now he’s genuinely probably one of the most important I have ever created. He plays an enormous role in Helene’s life from time to time, depending on how I’m working on a backstory, or which road I take it down. He has also become rather important to the daughter of Harley and the Joker, so I think he’s developed really well over time. He was also so, so easy to figure out after a short while, where I thought I might struggle ‘cause of how it began.

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? 

Emlyn, hands down. I never stop to think about which oc is the sunshine of the group whenever that question is brought up, really. It’s always going to be the same response, even when he hasn’t been communicating with me and even when I can’t get a bloody thing from him, he’s still a sunshine.

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot

Colleen is literally one of my most treasured favourites! she has one of the best backstories ever, of any oc I have come to know over the years. I also really love her face claim and think everything does work so well all tied in together. Also a huge fan of Diarmad, specifically, because he brought Em to life fully and I will be forever grateful for his existence; also for the stuff that those two get up to - and, also, for the brotherly bond they have that never ever goes away, even with time passed.

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs? 

Oh, I’m pretty sure a lot of them are, they just try and hide it from me. Of the ones I know for a fact do love to cause some drama, though, there’s Death (  not really wanting to refer to him as an oc but by fc choice and other tidbits, he can be  ), Malachi (  yes he has been known to get drunk and go off on one many a time  ) and Alastair (  dude has a problem with authority but he’s pretty low key with it  ).

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory 

Caleb has an awful backstory, so much so I have never penned a drabble for him to let it all out of his system, but we’ll see how that turns out. If I can write anytime soon, I’ll put something up, or just get him onto tumblr to talk it through. He has told Helene, I am dead certain, but nothing is revealed to me; nothing of that nature. The only other depressing backstory is Emlyn’s, but everyone knows what happened there and is still currently happening, if only mildly.

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?

Absolutely ! I no of no writer that doesn’t enjoy this, because even when you think you have it all there and figured out, just talking in detail about your oc or venting wildly, can often times bring with it more details you didn’t even know before, it just kinda pops out at you and it’s brilliant.

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? 

I’m gonna just assume this is aimed solely at Benjamin because, although not biology, he is legit a Physicist, so I’m going to safely say he would have been pretty incredible in that subject. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing he has been fascinated by all things Science for many years, extending to his younger years, as well, so it seems most likely this question is only for him tbh.

17. Any OC OTPs? 

Helene / Caleb are like my favourite married couple in my world of oc’s. Also a huge fan of the Emlyn and Violet pairing, and they are still happily united. Those two otp’s are pretty much the only ones I’m focusing on half the time whenever it comes to writing drabbles or short stories.

18. Any OC crackships? 

I usually don’t work around shipping that way, I just kind of let the oc’s fall for who they fall for and I’m always going from there and helping them out once they have chosen, but for a crackship, I can legit imagine a thing happening between Auberon and Mathias (  they have nothing in common and have personalities that would wind the other up consistently, so for humour purposes, thats the ship  ).

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

Ooosh, all of them do, in varying ways, but Emlyn and Helene are probably the ones that mean most simply because of the enormous weight I feel in my chest whenever I am writing about either one of them, or if they both happen to be spending time together. I find it lovely that they get along so well – but also kinda get it. I mean, they are my favourites and I have devoted most of my time toward them, so it’s only natural that they are the ones that mean a lot to me, in comparison.

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Emlyn, Helene, Caleb, Taiga, Nicholai and Caerwyn can all sing fairly well, though Emlyn’s voice is a theatre trained example of how good he can actually sing outside of production performances. Hel is gifted with a naturally operatic voice / Taiga tossed himself heavily into the rock scene and has gone a lot down the Lestat route in his career attempt at becoming a musician / Nicholai has the softest & most soothing vocals ever and Caerwyn’s voice grew over the years through choir pratice (  Emlyn is also a member of his local choir in one particular verse, though the two are not at all connected  ).

21. Your most artistic OC

I would say Helene, but she doesn’t like to share her creations too often, only piano compositions. It doesn’t really count as artistic in the way I think this question means, so perhaps Anouk - she has a great deal of talent for sketching her surroundings above all else, but can also draw from life, i.e. an interesting looking person within close enough distance, she can actually focus long enough to get something down on paper, before they move away.

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? 

I’m genuinely not sure about this because no one has ever approached me about it, but people d o actually do this often with my canon characters, purely because they don’t pay attention to detail, or appreciate that whichever muse I am writing at the time, can sometimes be unpleasant. I am really not sure if this has happened with an original character but I certainly hope not.

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

I think the only one I really see a change in is Helene, focusing mainly on her run ins with vampires, I am starting to believe it has changed her dramatically. For the most part, she remains the same and untainted by events but certain scenarios that have happened over the years, all relating to vampires - have really pushed her sideways to some degree and she doesn’t stand for taking crap anymore. I recall her near bellowing at Lestat not too many years ago because she was done with his shit, but since having met Caleb, she’s calmed considerably, although she did also yell at him. She honestly has this cruel, unfair grudge against all the undead because of what Lestat did, aha.

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

Emlyn and Helene, but also their other halves as well and we could all like go out for the day. I’d just love getting to know all four of them on an even deeper level and spending time with them in the real world would be a beautiful thing, ‘cause it’d be especially nice to see how happy they are.

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

Helene started off this way and was no different to me at all really, but she’s come into her own and I am glad for it, because characters that are literally you in rp can often end up being a personal blow if a thread doesn’t go as you hoped it would and as some people are highly sensitive in the case, as they went into it with a muse that was identical to themselves, because they wanted to find a certain feeling etc, it can really sting if the oc is too much like yourself. Helene is one on her own now, so I’m not to say any more that she is anything like me. Emlyn is similar to me, but he is everything I would like to be.. he is far more outgoing and speaks his mind as and when; generally a lot more aware & sure of himself under certain circumstances, so that’s where he helps me in turn.

                            (  questions 26 —— 50 will be answered first thing tomorrow !  )

[diverseladybookproject]

(Belated) ARC Review - Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

Oh hey! It's another review, hurray! I finished up the month of May reading Noteworthy, and I absolutely loved it. This is one of many books where part of me wishes I hadn't heard about it so much on Twitter before I read it - I was anticipating some terrible trans rep and gender rep, and I... well. It's out of my lane anyway, but I'll get to that down below.

Okay, so! Jordan Sun is at a specialized art high school in upstate New York as a musical theater "major," if you can call it that in high school. Except... she has yet to get a part in any of the school musicals. She finally goes to ask why and is told her voice is too deep. She's heartbroken, because she's only there because she was able to convince her parents that she'd succeed at a school like this, and in their eyes, she hasn't succeeded at all. But then she gets an email from one of the most prestigious all-male a cappella groups on campus, looking for a tenor to join the group. And Jordan gets this crazy idea.

What if she dresses up like a boy, takes the name of one of her male cousins, and performs with the Sharps? And I'm so glad she did, because the Sharps are FANTASTIC CHARACTERS.

3 Things I Loved

Jordan's voice. Jordan/Julian told this story so perfectly. I never felt like anything was too heavy-handed while she was exploring her gender/sexual identities (she's also bi!), and I liked being with her when she realized that everyone (read: Isaac) is more complicated than they seem.

Isaac. OH MY GOODNESS. I'm still thinking about how cute and wonderful Isaac was throughout this entire book, both before he knows about Jordan's other self (sorry, SPOILER) and after he finds out. I just love him. I want more Jordan and Isaac, even if it's just a fanfiction afterstory. (Is someone writing that? Please tell me someone is writing that.)

The rest of the Sharps. While their names have escaped me in the months that have lapsed between finishing this book and now, I can definitely tell you that I loved all of the Sharps. Riley Redgate is super great and making each of them unique individuals and part of the bigger story, which isn't always easy to do! I was with every single one of them - got annoyed, laughed, got sad, all of it. I was with them. I loved them. *gush*

Anything Problematic?

Well, now that you've asked.

This is completely outside my lane and probably wouldn't have come to my attention at all without book Twitter, but I can objectively see it, now that it's been brought up. Jordan/Julian's storyline is very clear-cut - she is cross-dressing so that she can sing with a boys-only a cappella group. HOWEVER. The marketing of this book made it sound like Jordan was genderqueer or non-binary. That is not the case, and it is explicitly stated in the book that she is a girl dressing as a boy. That is it. So my reservations, when I was rating this on Goodreads, were solely from the marketing of the book and how it was received in the communities that mattered. 

Rating

A reminder of the rating scale:

Red = DNF, I hated everything

Orange = Ugh, no thank you

Yellow = I mean, I've read worse, but there were problems

Green = This was good, but not something I'd reread

Blue = Oh my gosh, everyone should be reading this book

Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart

All righty, so, this book. OH MY GOODNESS this book. I'm giving Noteworthy a BLUE rating, because how could I not? I love it, and I have intentions of purchasing myself a copy at some point in the future. Because it's so good. I love when books give me the warm fuzzies.

This advanced reader copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has no bearing on my opinions - I would have loved this book no matter how I attained it.

Happy reading!

-A.

[demitgibbs]

Anna Kendrick Talks Fluid Sexuality, Kissing Blake Lively

The pitch is perfectly crazy in Anna Kendrick’s walk on the dark side of filmmaker Paul Feig’s warped sense of humor, A Simple Favor. It’s martini-sipper mom versus martini-swigger mom. Target mom versus Met Gala mom. Aspirational versus extra.

It’s regular mom-meets-mom business, a modern mom-com – until Emily (Blake Lively) goes missing. Emily’s sudden disappearance prompts Stephanie (Kendrick) to mount an investigation by employing her keen Nancy Drew smarts and posting distressed clips of herself on her dorky craft vlog. (Friendship-bracelet tutorials are just gonna to have wait.)

A bit camp? Yep. A bit queer? Obviously. And naturally so, as Kendrick’s 15-year career is steeped in queerness: at age 17, she cut her acting teeth on Camp, the 2003 teen musical-comedy directed by out filmmaker Todd Graff; as Beca, she brought covert aca-gayness to the three-part Pitch Perfect franchise; and in 2014, the 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actress slipped into Cinderella’s glass slippers for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. And her long, impulsive kiss – “just another Tuesday,” Emily notes – with Lively in A Simple Favor, well, it’s not exactly straight, she says.

Here, the longtime ally talks about attempting to allow the lesbian love to bloom between queer-coded Pitch Perfect leads Beca and Chloe (Brittany Snow), what irks her about self-congratulatory reactions to celebs coming out and, when it comes to her own sexuality, being open like Emily.

A car sing-along, a little camp, some martinis and a mom makeout sesh: Anna, you sure know what the gay community wants at this point in your career, don’t you?

(Laughs) Oh my gosh! I wasn’t thinking of it in that way, but yeah, it is kind of camp. It takes itself a little seriously, but we’re always winking or having fun. It’s bright and colorful, and there’s an unabashed campiness to it – even though the stakes are very real in places.

You didn’t recognize a queer sensibility going in?

To be honest, when I was going in, there was just so much to play with. I remember having one of those conversations with Blake where we both felt like, “Are we high right now? Are we having a stoner conversation?” Because we were talking about how in a traditional comedy there’s a slider that you’re on from how subtle to how broad, and with this it felt like you weren’t just on this linear slider – you were in three dimensions, and you could go to all these places.

It was so much fun as actors to have that, and I know that sounds really stoner-y and existential and dumb. But the world Paul created had so much possibility, and so I wasn’t really thinking about one group. I was barely getting my brain around what the movie was in the first place! But I think Stephanie is very much an underdog and she’s finding her place in the world. I feel like that’s something that queer people can relate to at one point in their lives or another.

WATCH:

What was it like coming to set for the first time and seeing the giant painting of Blake-as-Emily’s vagina front and center in Emily’s front room?

OK, this is actually really interesting: So that painting – fun fact – was never once on set. That is all post effects. Sometimes it was green screen, and sometimes it was this other painting that was very nice but very Tumblr art. It was actually Blake’s idea to have it be a little bit more, um, obscene. Certainly it’s art, but a little more shocking for Stephanie to see. Not so polished, not so pretty, not so coy. I thought that was really brilliant.

Regarding Pitch Perfect: Are we ever gonna get the Beca and Chloe love story that they so deserve?

I know. I definitely wanted to have an ending that was a Bechloe ending, and we did shoot one version where Brittany and I tricked everybody into just shooting one that was just the two of us getting together. We knew it was a long shot. It meant so much to us that there was this following around their latent relationship and, yeah, I thought it would’ve been really cool if it would have ended up coming to fruition in the end. If we ever do a four, I will fight tooth and nail for it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna happen.

Because the studio doesn’t want to go there with their sexuality?

It wasn’t like Universal was like, “There can be no lesbians in Pitch Perfect!” Because obviously Cynthia Rose is an openly gay character. But I think they were just confused by it because they weren’t listening to all the online chatter about it, whereas I see it every day, and I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is what they want!”

Best lesbian Bechloe fanfiction you’ve read?

OK, I’ve actually only tried to ever read one. It was so sweet and puppy-lovey that I was like, “Aww, I wanted to read some sauciness!” I thought I was gonna get scandalized! Instead, I was like, “Aww! This is, like, so sweet! This reminds me of The Baby-Sitters Club books.” But I haven’t actually followed up on it.

You once met a guy at a Gelson’s market who told you he does your Camp character, Fritzi, in drag. First of all, how often do you run into drag queens at grocery stores who tell you that you’re their inspiration?

(Laughs) Not often enough! That was one of my favorite moments of being recognized, ever. And I’m sorry, what’s the second part of your question? I got too excited.

Which other characters of yours might make good drag material?

Stephanie has a real Sandy-in-Grease vibe, where she doesn’t become the bad girl, exactly, but she loosens up and shakes it off a little bit. But I do always still like Rizzo in Grease, who is more fun than Sandy, so I’m not sure that Stephanie is necessarily the one. She’d have to really just be letting her hair down.

You’ve said you downplayed Fritzi’s sexuality when you filmed Camp.

The thing that made me uncomfortable about Fritzi was I was 16, but it wasn’t so much that she was gay – it was that unrequited gay love situation. I think if she’d been crushing it and getting girls, I would’ve been like, “Awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was just, at 16 you don’t want to be playing the girl that nobody likes, which I totally recognize as I get older is such a silly insecurity issue. But at the time I was definitely like, “Can’t somebody just have a crush on me in a movie – god!”

Would you have approached Fritzi differently in retrospect?

The truth is, I think I would have just enjoyed myself. Todd Graff is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have had him as my first film director. And he really got me to do everything that I think that I would’ve done as a more experienced actor, regardless, but I guess I regret that I didn’t enjoy myself more.

You recently won the Choice Twit award at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your crowning tweet: “Lot of people seem really proud of themselves for announcing they ‘already knew’ Barry Manilow was gay. Yeah……ur the true heroes today guys.”

When a public figure comes out, taking the attitude of like, “Duh, we knew,” is the weirdest thing to me. Even when celebrities announce that they’re pregnant, people aren’t like, “Duh, we could tell three months ago.” They’re like, “Aww, she’s finally ready to talk about the fact that she’s pregnant! That’s amazing!”

And you would think that your sexuality would just be really supported (because) they feel comfortable talking about it now. It’s a really weird topic to feel a sense of superiority that you figured it out first.

So much of what you do is just a bit gay. Was that the case for your role as Santa Claus’s daughter in the forthcoming Noelle?

Again, I would say Noelle has a touch of camp, so hopefully that will be enjoyable. It’s been so long and I haven’t even seen a cut of it, so I’m like, “What did we make?” Oh, but they did make a point to have same-sex couples wherever we went, whether we were at the North Pole or outside the North Pole.

Getting back to A Simple Favor: Where do you think Stephanie and Emily fall on the Kinsey Scale?

That’s a good question. I think Emily is a surprise for Stephanie, and she is completely in love with her in a way that she can’t totally understand. I do think that Stephanie probably would define herself as straight, except that there is this woman and she really is kind of in love with her and there is a part of her that is attracted to her.

That scene: I remember Blake and I both feeling like neither of us wanted to be the aggressor in the scene. Blake was worried that she would come off as taking advantage of me in that scene because I’m in a very vulnerable place, and I was worried that I would come off like I wanted so much more, and that Blake is just kind of playing and Emily is very comfortable with the fluid aspects of her sexuality, whereas Stephanie has more of an emotional component to it. So, I was worried it would be, like, really sad. We definitely struggled to find that perfect balance of, there’s just this moment and they both get caught up in it and it’s a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it was a fun day.

You’ve been open about your girl crushes over the years. Have you ever had a girl crush that was or could have been romantic?

Let me think about that. I definitely – there’s somebody I’m still friends with, and when we met we kissed. This was after high school, and it was the first time I had kissed a girl where it wasn’t just like, we’re at a party and boys are watching! That horrible performance silliness. But I think I haven’t had that emotional love for a lady, which isn’t saying it could never happen to me, but I think I’m more of an Emily than a Stephanie.

And your lip-lock with your longtime girl crush Blake Lively in this movie – thoughts?

(Laughs) I mean, all I’m ever thinking about in (kissing) scenes is, who has gum? Who has a mint? And I think Blake is probably the same because I’ve never experienced a guy, like, searching for a mint and searching for gum. So, we were the mintiest, freshest two people to have ever kissed in the history of America.

Congratulations!

Thank you. Call Guinness.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/09/06/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality-kissing-blake-lively/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/177802820955

[cynthiajayusa]

Anna Kendrick Talks Fluid Sexuality, Kissing Blake Lively

The pitch is perfectly crazy in Anna Kendrick’s walk on the dark side of filmmaker Paul Feig’s warped sense of humor, A Simple Favor. It’s martini-sipper mom versus martini-swigger mom. Target mom versus Met Gala mom. Aspirational versus extra.

It’s regular mom-meets-mom business, a modern mom-com – until Emily (Blake Lively) goes missing. Emily’s sudden disappearance prompts Stephanie (Kendrick) to mount an investigation by employing her keen Nancy Drew smarts and posting distressed clips of herself on her dorky craft vlog. (Friendship-bracelet tutorials are just gonna to have wait.)

A bit camp? Yep. A bit queer? Obviously. And naturally so, as Kendrick’s 15-year career is steeped in queerness: at age 17, she cut her acting teeth on Camp, the 2003 teen musical-comedy directed by out filmmaker Todd Graff; as Beca, she brought covert aca-gayness to the three-part Pitch Perfect franchise; and in 2014, the 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actress slipped into Cinderella’s glass slippers for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. And her long, impulsive kiss – “just another Tuesday,” Emily notes – with Lively in A Simple Favor, well, it’s not exactly straight, she says.

Here, the longtime ally talks about attempting to allow the lesbian love to bloom between queer-coded Pitch Perfect leads Beca and Chloe (Brittany Snow), what irks her about self-congratulatory reactions to celebs coming out and, when it comes to her own sexuality, being open like Emily.

A car sing-along, a little camp, some martinis and a mom makeout sesh: Anna, you sure know what the gay community wants at this point in your career, don’t you? 

(Laughs) Oh my gosh! I wasn’t thinking of it in that way, but yeah, it is kind of camp. It takes itself a little seriously, but we’re always winking or having fun. It’s bright and colorful, and there’s an unabashed campiness to it – even though the stakes are very real in places.

You didn’t recognize a queer sensibility going in? 

To be honest, when I was going in, there was just so much to play with. I remember having one of those conversations with Blake where we both felt like, “Are we high right now? Are we having a stoner conversation?” Because we were talking about how in a traditional comedy there’s a slider that you’re on from how subtle to how broad, and with this it felt like you weren’t just on this linear slider – you were in three dimensions, and you could go to all these places.

It was so much fun as actors to have that, and I know that sounds really stoner-y and existential and dumb. But the world Paul created had so much possibility, and so I wasn’t really thinking about one group. I was barely getting my brain around what the movie was in the first place! But I think Stephanie is very much an underdog and she’s finding her place in the world. I feel like that’s something that queer people can relate to at one point in their lives or another.

WATCH:

What was it like coming to set for the first time and seeing the giant painting of Blake-as-Emily’s vagina front and center in Emily’s front room? 

OK, this is actually really interesting: So that painting – fun fact – was never once on set. That is all post effects. Sometimes it was green screen, and sometimes it was this other painting that was very nice but very Tumblr art. It was actually Blake’s idea to have it be a little bit more, um, obscene. Certainly it’s art, but a little more shocking for Stephanie to see. Not so polished, not so pretty, not so coy. I thought that was really brilliant.

Regarding Pitch Perfect: Are we ever gonna get the Beca and Chloe love story that they so deserve? 

I know. I definitely wanted to have an ending that was a Bechloe ending, and we did shoot one version where Brittany and I tricked everybody into just shooting one that was just the two of us getting together. We knew it was a long shot. It meant so much to us that there was this following around their latent relationship and, yeah, I thought it would’ve been really cool if it would have ended up coming to fruition in the end. If we ever do a four, I will fight tooth and nail for it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna happen.

Because the studio doesn’t want to go there with their sexuality? 

It wasn’t like Universal was like, “There can be no lesbians in Pitch Perfect!” Because obviously Cynthia Rose is an openly gay character. But I think they were just confused by it because they weren’t listening to all the online chatter about it, whereas I see it every day, and I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is what they want!”

Best lesbian Bechloe fanfiction you’ve read? 

OK, I’ve actually only tried to ever read one. It was so sweet and puppy-lovey that I was like, “Aww, I wanted to read some sauciness!” I thought I was gonna get scandalized! Instead, I was like, “Aww! This is, like, so sweet! This reminds me of The Baby-Sitters Club books.” But I haven’t actually followed up on it.

You once met a guy at a Gelson’s market who told you he does your Camp character, Fritzi, in drag. First of all, how often do you run into drag queens at grocery stores who tell you that you’re their inspiration?

(Laughs) Not often enough! That was one of my favorite moments of being recognized, ever. And I’m sorry, what’s the second part of your question? I got too excited.

Which other characters of yours might make good drag material? 

Stephanie has a real Sandy-in-Grease vibe, where she doesn’t become the bad girl, exactly, but she loosens up and shakes it off a little bit. But I do always still like Rizzo in Grease, who is more fun than Sandy, so I’m not sure that Stephanie is necessarily the one. She’d have to really just be letting her hair down.

You’ve said you downplayed Fritzi’s sexuality when you filmed Camp. 

The thing that made me uncomfortable about Fritzi was I was 16, but it wasn’t so much that she was gay – it was that unrequited gay love situation. I think if she’d been crushing it and getting girls, I would’ve been like, “Awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was just, at 16 you don’t want to be playing the girl that nobody likes, which I totally recognize as I get older is such a silly insecurity issue. But at the time I was definitely like, “Can’t somebody just have a crush on me in a movie – god!”

Would you have approached Fritzi differently in retrospect? 

The truth is, I think I would have just enjoyed myself. Todd Graff is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have had him as my first film director. And he really got me to do everything that I think that I would’ve done as a more experienced actor, regardless, but I guess I regret that I didn’t enjoy myself more.

You recently won the Choice Twit award at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your crowning tweet: “Lot of people seem really proud of themselves for announcing they ‘already knew’ Barry Manilow was gay. Yeah……ur the true heroes today guys.” 

When a public figure comes out, taking the attitude of like, “Duh, we knew,” is the weirdest thing to me. Even when celebrities announce that they’re pregnant, people aren’t like, “Duh, we could tell three months ago.” They’re like, “Aww, she’s finally ready to talk about the fact that she’s pregnant! That’s amazing!”

And you would think that your sexuality would just be really supported (because) they feel comfortable talking about it now. It’s a really weird topic to feel a sense of superiority that you figured it out first.

So much of what you do is just a bit gay. Was that the case for your role as Santa Claus’s daughter in the forthcoming Noelle? 

Again, I would say Noelle has a touch of camp, so hopefully that will be enjoyable. It’s been so long and I haven’t even seen a cut of it, so I’m like, “What did we make?” Oh, but they did make a point to have same-sex couples wherever we went, whether we were at the North Pole or outside the North Pole.

Getting back to A Simple Favor: Where do you think Stephanie and Emily fall on the Kinsey Scale? 

That’s a good question. I think Emily is a surprise for Stephanie, and she is completely in love with her in a way that she can’t totally understand. I do think that Stephanie probably would define herself as straight, except that there is this woman and she really is kind of in love with her and there is a part of her that is attracted to her.

That scene: I remember Blake and I both feeling like neither of us wanted to be the aggressor in the scene. Blake was worried that she would come off as taking advantage of me in that scene because I’m in a very vulnerable place, and I was worried that I would come off like I wanted so much more, and that Blake is just kind of playing and Emily is very comfortable with the fluid aspects of her sexuality, whereas Stephanie has more of an emotional component to it. So, I was worried it would be, like, really sad. We definitely struggled to find that perfect balance of, there’s just this moment and they both get caught up in it and it’s a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it was a fun day.

You’ve been open about your girl crushes over the years. Have you ever had a girl crush that was or could have been romantic? 

Let me think about that. I definitely – there’s somebody I’m still friends with, and when we met we kissed. This was after high school, and it was the first time I had kissed a girl where it wasn’t just like, we’re at a party and boys are watching! That horrible performance silliness. But I think I haven’t had that emotional love for a lady, which isn’t saying it could never happen to me, but I think I’m more of an Emily than a Stephanie.

And your lip-lock with your longtime girl crush Blake Lively in this movie – thoughts? 

(Laughs) I mean, all I’m ever thinking about in (kissing) scenes is, who has gum? Who has a mint? And I think Blake is probably the same because I’ve never experienced a guy, like, searching for a mint and searching for gum. So, we were the mintiest, freshest two people to have ever kissed in the history of America.

Congratulations! 

Thank you. Call Guinness.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/09/06/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality-kissing-blake-lively/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/09/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality.html

[camdenartscentre]

Linda Stupart: Get the Message Artist 2016/17

Get The Message is a long running project which delivers life-changing creative experiences for young people aged 11-17 with profound and multiple learning disabilities. During this academic year, the students and teachers from Swiss Cottage School, Mapledown School and Woodfield School have been working with artists Linda Stupart, Betsy Dadd and Andrew Omoding in partnership with Action Space, an organisation which supports the development of artists with learning disabilities.

The workshops are inspired by the practices of the artists that lead the sessions as well as the exhibitions on show in the galleries. As we enter the final term of the year, we have invited Linda Stupart to discuss their practice, experience of working on Get the Message and highlights from the project so far.

Things that are important to my art practice:

Treating my own body as a material amongst other materials

Producing less alienated, less alienating artwork and destroying critical distance

Glitching, or queering linear, continuous narratives, particularly of ‘personal’ narratives

Refusing mastery, which is the skilled manipulation of an object (material) by a special subject (artist). Instead I use Powerpoint, bad 3d models, plagiarism, fanfiction, papier-mâché and other ‘bad’ craft or child-like sculptural materials

Magic

Writing and making new queer bodies and objects, which exceed the gender binary

Asserting that language produces lived realities

Love, and rage

Relationships between bodies, language, and making are central to my practice, and working with young people, particularly young people who communicate in ‘atypical’ ways (including non-verbal communication), is extremely important to furthering my own work. The Get the Message programme is unique in its more rigorous, long-term engagement with groups of young people. The opportunity to work in a more sustained way, and to work collaboratively with the two other lead artists was what particularly drew me to the project.

It’s easy to spot elements of Betsy Dadd’s, Andrew Omoding’s and my work in each of the workshops, which is something I particularly enjoy seeing. My way of working with materials where everyday objects including bodies, stories, paper plates, tape and iPhone Apps are all treated with the same seriousness. It feels like it has organically flowed into the workshops – particularly as Betsy and Andrew both work similarly. My own interests in experimentation with identity, costume, performance, and magic have also all permeated the project.

A really tangible thing that has influenced my own work from the project is working with costumes in performance – I am currently building some DIY costumes for a new work, and have learnt a lot from our costume-making sessions. Andrew’s intensive engagement with fabric and found materials, as well as Betsy’s use of projection onto and into other objects have also found ways into my practice through planning and working together in the sessions.

Highlights include:

Our meetings, which have grown into a more experimental, ‘hands-on’ and more accessible practice

Yair writing his name so it was projected huge on the wall, when we didn’t know he used writing at all

Tie-dyeing jumpsuits

Learning different ways of communicating by touch and sound from the twins

Painting with turmeric

Debating Harry Potter vs. Doctor Who fanfic with Skylar

Marcello painting his tongue green by eating blue and yellow non-toxic paint and then singing

Learning how to smoke fire ceramics

Get the Message returns for the summer term on 25 April 2017. The term will culminate in the annual Get the Message exhibition in July 2017. Join our mailing list to be kept up to date with news about the project.

All images courtesy of Linda Stupart and Camden Arts Centre.

[thesirenserenity]

Miraculous Medley Chapter Six: Something Just Like This

Marinette, a Vocal Performance and Composition Music Major at a local community college, is secretly Ladybug, the lead singer and songwriter for Paris’ most famous band, The AKs. Adrien, a Cello Performance Major at the most elite Music Conservatory, joins them under the guise of Chat Noir to play Bass. Adrien grew up believing that music was all about following exactly what the composer wanted, but Marinette teaches him that there is so much that can be communicated through music - everyone has someting to say through this universal language. Marinette is closed off to the world after being burned from a recent breakup, and Adrien helps her break down the walls she built up arround her. Based off of gittana’s Musicans AU

Rating: T - swearing and some adult content

Also on: AO3 | Fanfiction

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Thank you guys for your patience. I just finished my senior recital and can now graduate college in a month :D 

Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!! 

But she said, where d'you wanna go? How much you wanna risk?

I'm not looking for somebody, with some superhuman gifts

Some superhero; Some fairytale bliss

Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss

I want something just like this

-Something Just like This - Chainsmokers, ft. Coldplay

His hair was sticking up on one side under his hood.

Marinette glared across the room at the offending hairstyle, semi-hidden under his black hood. With any other of the guys, she would not hesitate to cross the room in a couple steps and fix their hair. But she had only known Adrien for a little over a month, and she wasn’t sure if they were close enough, nor had she run her hand through his hair before.  

Though, she meditated, he had all but cuddled up to her leg this afternoon while she was writing, because he had been seeking the patch of sunlight to nap in. All under the pretense of helping her write music, of course. The messed up hair was probably because of his nap.

Silly kitty.

He really did seem to act like a cat. Marinette chuckled to herself, because Alya always bragged about designing characters that were spot on.

Adrien had wiggled his way into her life. He had become her partner in crime for so many things: writing music (the boy had such good taste and his basslines were epic), teasing Alya and Nino, long chats about music history or theory, and the like. One time, they got in a debate on the chord progression of a movie that they were watching with Nino and Alya, who were slightly annoyed at the interruption.

Marinette rolled her eyes and crossed the room. “Chat,” she called, adhering to Alya’s rule of using their pseudo while being fully in costume. This gave her full right to record videos, take pictures, and whatever else she needed to do for advertising purposes. When he didn’t respond, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “Kitty, your hair is a mess,” she said, lifting his hood and running her hands through his hair to fix it properly.

His bright green eyes, accented by the black make-up mask painted on his face, turned to her in surprise. He smiled down at her, allowing her to spike up his hair properly. “Hi, my Lady. You can fix my hair anytime,” he winked.

Marinette propped his hood back up on top of his head, noting the glistening silver that sparkled from his left ear. “How are the piercings feeling? It’s been a couple days since Juleka did them, yes?”

Adrien winced a little. “They still are very sore, but it’s not bad. Juleka did an awesome job.”

Marinette peeked inside the side of his hood. He had one piercing on each ear, and then a cartilage piercing on his left side.

“What did your friends think?” Marinette asked. He had come in after his rehearsal and promptly fallen asleep. Then, there had been the normal flurry of getting ready for a concert. She hadn’t really talked to him in a couple days and found that she had missed the dorky guy.

Adrien chuckled, “The people in my ensemble didn’t say much. One of my friends was a little more opinionated, but she didn’t seem to hate it. My dad was a little more upset, but I’m an adult and it doesn’t affect my performances.” He leaned in a little to her, lifting his hand to block his mouth from others, confiding. “Between you and me, bugaboo, I have been ordered around all my life, so it’s nice to make decisions of my own now.” He pulled back and winked at her.

Marinette giggled in response, but filed away the information. They had been slowly learning more about each other as they worked together as band-mates and writing buddies. He treated her like a close friend, but she could tell that he hid away a lot of his life from everyone.

“Your secret is safe with me!”

He grinned, “Are you ready for the concert tonight? We have been pumping out music pretty fast.”

“That’s usually what happens when it is summer. I have more time to write, and everyone has more time to learn the songs! I’m ready, it’s just going to take a lot of energy for these songs.”

Adrien avoided Rose, who jostled behind him through the kitchen. “You always are able to perform with an abundance of energy, so I don’t think you will have any issues! I’m excited to see you and Alya do the opener.”

Marinette grinned and looked across the room at her best friend, who was taking pictures with one hand and gesturing at Max, who was messing with their video camera. “She always brings out the best in me for these types of songs! The lyrics are a play off of a conversation we had a year ago.”

Adrien paused for a moment, reflecting on the lyrics he remembered. “That makes a lot of sense, now that you say that!”

“Okay kids!” Alya shouted through the group, “It’s showtime!”

Xxxxxx

Marinette took a deep breath as the upbeat intro played. She looked across the stage, that was set up in a park for them, to Alya, who gave her a quick wink.

They both nodded to each other and pranced onto the stage, in front of the band as Marinette began to sing.

Rule number one, is that you gotta have fun

But baby when you're done, you gotta be the first to run.

She and Alya circled around each other as Alya began to sing.

Rule number two, just don't get attached to

Somebody you could lose, so le-let me tell you

The girls high-fived as the chorus started, launching into a simple hip-hop style dance with Rose and Mylene framing them. Marinette belted out the lyrics, and Alya sang a harmony over her.

This is how to be a heartbreaker, boys they like a little danger

We'll get him falling for a stranger, a player, singing I lo-lo-love you

How to be a heartbreaker, boys they like the look of danger

We'll get him falling for a stranger, a player, singing I lo-lo-love you

At least I think I do

The girls finished with a spin and then pranced around the stage as they vocalized. Marinette stopped to dance back-to-back with Lila and Alya went to hip bump Nino at his keyboard.

'Cause I lo-lo-lo-love you

Both of them sang together and then circled back to center stage. Marinette took the lead, and Alya sang the upper harmony over her.

Rule number three, wear your heart on your cheek

But never on your sleeve, unless you wanna taste defeat

Marinette tapped her cheek and then waggled her finger at the audience, a grin etched on her face. Singing with Alya always gave her tons of energy. Again, the girls switched and Alya sang the melody as Marinette sang the upper harmony.

Rule number four, gotta be looking pure

Kiss him goodbye at the door, and leave him wanting more, more

Alya pantomimed a kiss at the front of the stage, and then joined the rest of the girls toward the center to dance again. They launched into the same dance sequence, popping together and spinning.

This is how to be a heartbreaker, boys they like a little danger

We'll get him falling for a stranger, a player, singing lo-lo-love you

Marinette was in a full grin. This was one of her new favorite songs; it was so catchy, thanks to Adrien’s amazing chord progression and bassline, and she loved the lyrics. It was amazing how much Adrien had helped her with music for this concert, and she was so happy he had given her the assistance.

How to be a heartbreaker, boys they like the look of danger

We'll get him falling for a stranger, a player, singing lo-lo-love you

At least I think I do

The song abruptly cut off at the end of the lyric, Max throwing the stage into a full black out. Through the silence, Marinette heard Nino start the beginning melody for the next song, his synth ringing out. She could hear the rest of the crew shuffling to their next positions as she planted center-stage, waiting for her cue.

She heard the phrase starting again, and jumped in, still shrouded in dark.

Tonight feels like we can do anything we like, oh

Tonight feels like the best night of my life

Bright lights started to strobe around her, and she heard Nino begin to rap over her singing, alternating with her as the beat rose.

I'm goin' in, (put your - put your hands up), I'm goin' in, (put your - put your hands up), I'm goin' in (put your - put your hands up), I'm goin' in, (put your - put your hands up)

The music built up around her, and she took a couple steps back, trusting the Alix and Kim wouldn’t run into her in the dark. Nino had recorded her voice and looped it with his own, editing it into the build up.

I'm goin' in, in in in in

On the drop, chaos ensued. There were a blow of small, sparkler-like fireworks across the stage, and the lights snapped on, colors roaming everywhere. Marinette watched as Alix and Kim flipped around the stage. Alya had traded her microphone for her phone, doing a ‘stage cam’ for the fans and running through the chaos.

Marinette pranced to the front of the stage and began to sing.

It's 'go' time, press my button yeah blow the stage, grenade

Oh my, tonight we gon' ring the tank, bananas

The music dropped slightly, allowing her to sing more lyrically.

No hold, there ain't no stopping us tonight

I'm on my crazy, she on a crazy, we on this crazy

We are amazing

She could feel the subtle build again, as Nino looped her voice for the chorus. Marinette was always amazed by Nino’s skill, as he preferred to do the majority of his mixes on the fly, rather than prepare them before, like most DJs. Like any of the other band members on stage, he responds to real time and performs just like them.

Tonight feels like we can do anything we like, oh

Tonight feels like the best night of my life

I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, in in in in

Marinette jumped into the complicated dance sequence with Rose and Mylene framing her. They had been pushing her to do harder choreography, and she could tell that her hard work had been paying off. She popped to the music, putting as much effort into the short sequence as she did her singing. Alix and Kim were pumping up the crowd with their fancy tricks and flips.

Take it to the head, take it off the edge

Nothing but the best

Feeling like a million, million people everywhere

Put it in the air

We don't give a damn, feeling like a billion, billion

Alya came up next to Marinette, her phone still filming in her hand. Marinette sang into the camera, punctuating the section with a wink to the fans. She knew that they loved the view from the stage, watching the performance from their point of view.

No hold, there ain't no stopping us tonight

I'm on my crazy, she on a crazy, we on this crazy

We are amazing

Marinette backed into the left corner where Adrien was rocking out on the bass. She bumped her hip against his, giving him a giant smile. He had worked his butt off with Nino, taking her basic sketches for the music and making it come to life. She was amazed at how talented he was, and his ability to push her to create better music.

Tonight feels like we can do anything we like, oh

Tonight feels like the best night of my life

I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, in in in in

She passed by Juleka on the drums, reaching out her hand. Juleka gave her a fist bump, her drum stick still in hand and not missing a beat. Grinning at Ivan and Lila, who were rocking away on the other side of Juleka, Marinette meet Rose and Mylene at the front of the stage just as Nino took to the mic, rapping away.

Hey you hands on the ceiling, Nobody move, nobody get shot, Lip pounds on me

I love it how a mami went around on me, So I never get enough of yelling, ven aqui

Officer on duty, *Ladybug what they call her; Take me to jail, cause I wanna be your robber

Put me in a cell if you really need to holler; Put me in a cell feed down *Bubbler, hey

To the sky, put your hands on rock, plus nobody telling please that the club is mi casa

So they wanna freak, on the way you call papa, gotta make them sing high notes like Oprah

When the ego, I got four Leo; Even the DJ, wanna rep Puerto Rico

Got it on replay, like you just broke a needle; whatever that he say, better listen up people

The girls finished their dance sequence, Marinette launching out, almost breathless, to sing again. She pranced over to Nino, giving him a high five for spitting out all those words.

Facing the crowd, she planted in center stage, singing out the last chorus.

Tonight, feels like, Tonight, feels like, the best night of my life

I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, I'm goin' in, hey!

The whole crew pumped their right fist to the air, freezing as the lights went out around them.

Xxxx

Adrien watched as Ladybug’s pigtails bounced with each step as she talked animatedly with Nino. Her hands flew in the air as she gestured, almost smacking the boy in the face. Her makeup mask was slightly smudged, but still very present.

The red really brings out her blue eyes, he thought, watching them flash with excitement.

“… And Chat killed that bass part!” She spun around quickly, startling Adrien. Her smile was breathless and beaming, as she walked backwards a couple steps. “I’m so glad that you fixed it on that drop, it made the world of a difference.”

“Of course, my Lady,” he replied with an amused smile.

Nino winked at him over his shoulder, as Marinette turned back around and skipped a few steps to the side door of Le Chat Noir. She flung it open with a bang and dashed in to greet Alya, who had come in Max’s car to help him with the tech stuff.

Nino’s eyes were laughing at her excitement, “She’s super pumped right now.”

“I haven’t seen her this excited after a show yet,” Adrien mused, as he followed Nino in through the door. “I mean, she was pretty happy after the last show, but not walking on literal sunshine.”

Nino shrugged, “She used to be like this after every show when we first started, but that ass she dated for a while kinda brought down her energy.” He smiled fondly at Marinette, who was hopping around in a squealing circle with Alya. “I’m really glad that she seems to be getting better, now that he is gone.”

“Was he really that bad?”

“Yes,” Nino almost growled. “There were many days where Alya wanted to beat the shit outta him, but knew that Marinette would be pissed.”

Adrien sighed, sad that she had to go through that relationship, but happy that she seemed to be getting better now.”

He glanced around the small club, observing the band scattered throughout the room in clumps. Alya and Marinette were still dancing around and chatting a small way from Max, who was pouring over his computer, most likely editing the video from their performance. He didn’t like to do a ton of edits, but merged in some of Alya’s on-stage camera and dubbing a better sound recording over, rather than the crappy camera sound. Juleka was carrying a couple of beers and a pink drink over to Rose and Lila, who were talking. Nathaniel, Mylene, and Ivan were watching Kim and Alix, who seemed to be trying to balance plastic cups on their noses. Everyone was lively and laughing, high off of the energy from the performance.

“It was really nice of your cousin to let us hang out in the club after the performance,” Adrien said, following Nino to the DJ booth.

Nino unpacked his laptop. “Jax is a really cool guy. The club is closed on Tuesdays, so we usually come after concerts, if they happen to be on that day. A lot of the band hangs out here a lot anyways. Mari bartends, so the drinks are free or reduced, and there is always dancing.” Nino smacked Adrien’s shoulder, “You should come on a Latin night! Those are the best.”

Adrien laughed, “Sounds like fun!” He watched as Marinette walked over to the bar and ducked under the counter that lay across the entrance. “I’m gonna go get something to drink, do you want anything?”

Nino followed Adrien’s gaze and gave him an eyebrow raise. “Tell Mari to make me my usual. I’m gonna get set up over here so we can have some beats!”

Adrien rolled his eyes at Nino’s antics and jumped down from the booth. Strolling up to the bar, he sat on one of the seats in front of the girl.

She smirked at him, “This feels familiar.”

Adrien chuckled, “Just a little over a month, huh? Who would have thought that the almighty Ladybug, Paris’ favorite singer, would become one of my close friends?”

Marinette grinned at him. “I’m glad you joined our group, kitty. You’re a fantastic addition to the team and I have enjoyed getting to know you.”

Adrien reached out, releasing her hand from its hold on the glass and setting it on the counter. He brought the back of her hand to his lips, brushing a soft kiss across the back of it. “And I, you, my Lady.”

Marinette pulled her hand back and poked him in the nose, her eyes gleaming. “Alright, you dork. What do you want to drink?”

Adrien smiled a loopy grin at her, “Whatever you made me last time was fantastic, and Nino requested his usual.”

Marinette laughed, picking up the glass Adrien had made her discard. She filled it with ice, and then swooped up two more glasses to join it. “Nino’s usual is just a random beer on tap. I surprise him every time!”

Adrien watched as she quickly poured rum in his glass, and what looked like vodka in the other two glasses at the same time. Another liquor was added to the two glasses with vodka, while she poured coke from the soda gun into his drink. She reached down and grabbed a jug of orange juice from the refrigerator. Dashing a little bit into the two other drinks, she poured what looked like cranberry juice from the gun to top them off. She reached into the fruit tray next to her and squeezed a lime in his drink, and slid it across the bar to him. Two orange slices were dunked into the other two drinks, followed by straws.

Whirling around, she pulled a pint glass off the stack and pondered in front of the beer taps. Adrien watched her pigtails flip over her shoulder, as she cocked her head in contemplation. He felt a loopy smile come across his face; he admired this girl so much. She was so brave, strong, and smart. Her knowledge of and enthusiasm for music amazed him endlessly. He loved watching her eyes light up with excitement when she came up with a genius idea for a chord progression or drew connections between composers’ works. He adored the teasing glint in her eye as she fended off his flirty advances. Her loyalty to her friends and deep love for them made him desire to become that close to her. Her courage to pick herself up after a bad relationship and thrive in her art regardless was inspiring.

Her playfulness made his heart sing.

He knew he was falling for ‘his Lady,’ and falling fast, but part of him did not care.

Marinette whirled back around, her bluebell eyes meeting his. She saw his loopy smile, his chin propped on his hand as he gazed at her, and offered a cocked eyebrow. He could see the familiar teasing glint in her eyes, knowing that she had caught him gazing longingly at her.

She propped one hand on her hip, “Like what you see, alley cat?”

Adrien tried not to sigh, “How could one not, when you are the view?”

Her eyes widened, and he realized that he actually said his thoughts out loud. Stammering, he sat up straight waving his hands in front of him, frantically trying to back track. “I didn’t mean… Well, you are really pretty… I didn’t want to…”

Giving up, he threw his hands in the air in frustration, and flopped his head on the bar top with a groan. His arms came down to hid his face from the still-shocked girl in front of him.

He heard a snicker, some giggles, and then her ringing laughter. Peeking up at her from his hiding place in his arms, he saw her bracing herself against the bar top, almost falling over in laughter.

Indignantly, he cried out a short, “Hey!” She looked up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes and still giggling.

“I’m so sorry, you just got so flustered and I didn’t even do anything this time!” Her eyes met his, filled with mirth.

He sat up, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest in a pout. “Glad to see you find my embarrassment so humorous.”

She leaned down, almost draping herself on the counter, coming close to his face. Her hand came up to caress his cheek, a dangerous glint coming into her eyes. “Kitty, why do you think I tease you so often?” Her right eyebrow cocked upwards, “Besides, you actually caught me off guard this time.”

His breath hitched at her close proximity. She drew back, walking with swaying hips to the end of the bar and ducking back under the entrance. Coming beside him, she teasingly elbowed him out of his frozen state and swooped up the two cocktails and Nino’s beer in her capable hands. Adrien shook himself out of his shock and snatched up his own drink, chasing after her quick strides.

Catching up to her, he looked down at her with a smile. She was amazing.

And he told her so, chuckling when she winked back at him.

They walked up to Alya, who was still working with Max. Marinette handed her one of the cocktails, grinning when Alya thanked her with a kiss on the cheek.

“Wanna go give Nino his beer and get the party started?” Marinette asked her, with a large grin on her face.

“You know it!” Alya snatched the beer from Marinette’s hands and bounded up to the DJ booth.

A moment later, her voice was resounding through the speakers. “Alright gang! You know the drill. I’m gonna be filming for a little bit and snapping some pictures for promo stuff, so stick to alias names for a little while. Let’s get this party started!”

The rest of the crew shouted as Nino turned up the music and down the lights. Adrien felt his heartrate pick up with the beat of the music.

Baby, this is what you came for

Lightning strikes every time she moves

And everybody's watching her but she's looking at you

He looked down at Marinette, who was taking a long sip from her drink, her hips moving in time with the music. She was watching Rose, who had grabbed Juleka by the hand and pulled her to the dance floor. Lila skipped out behind them, her hair fanning out over her shoulders. Mylene and Ivan followed a little slower, Mylene leading him with a cute dance. Alix and Kim swooped down on Max, pulling him off his laptop and onto the dance floor. Even Nathaniel was chilling on the outskirts, sipping on a glass of beer.

Marinette put her half-empty drink on the tall cocktail table and pulled his own out of his hand. “Come on,” her smile beamed up at him, her hand warm in his as she tugged him toward the dance floor. “I said I would teach you how to dance to this style when you could handle me,” she said with a wink.

Adrien’s mind flashed to the first night he had been in this club, Marinette teasing him endlessly. He grinned as she pulled him closer to her in the center of the dance floor, “Teach away, wild mustang!”

He watched as she bobbed to the music in front of him, her arms thrown up in the air, eyes sparkling, and hips swaying to the beat. Her dark hair caught the light of the flashing lights, entrancing him.

Baby, this is what you came for

Lightning strikes every time she moves

And everybody's watching her but she's looking at you

Her eyes met his, laughing. “Come on, kitty. Just let loose and have fun! There are no rules on this dance floor.”

Adrien looked around, finding that everyone was moving however the music led them to. Everyone sang the lyrics to each other, jumping up and down with the beat. He saw how people would gravitate toward each other, touching for moments, and then pull away.

Marinette saw his hesitation and pulled him toward her by his wrist. “Listen to the music and enjoy,” she shouted over the music, putting his hand on her waist.

Adrien took a deep breath, allowing the beat to wash over him as he followed her lead.

We go fast with the game we play

Who knows why it's gotta be this way

We say nothing more than we need

I say, "Your place," when we leave

The music dropped around him and he found himself singing lyrics over the loud music, his nose almost rubbing with Marinette’s.

“Follow my lead,” she said by his ear.

Baby, this is what you came for

Lightning strikes every time she moves

And everybody's watching her but she's looking at you

He looked down at her feet as she took two steps to the side, tapping her foot at the end with a hip swish, and then repeated the other way. Adrien followed her steps, syncing in quickly. This he could do, just like the ballroom dance lessons his father had him take. But this time, it was Marinette, a stunning, enthusiastic, amazing young lady in his arms and not the old ballroom instructor. He felt Marinette pulling him closer and put her right hand in his left, similar to a ballroom closed position. Instead of placing his right on her shoulder blade, as he should, he tightened his full arm around the small of her back, his arm flush against the bare skin exposed by her crop top.

Baby, this is what you came for

Lightning strikes every time she moves

And everybody's watching her but she's looking at you

They continued to move together, her hips swaying in time with his. Once he got the feeling of the step, he pulled his hand up on the touch and spun her around on the next step. He pulled her close at the end, grinning at the breathless surprise on her face. A smirk fell over her face, and her knees bent as she swished her hips more, pressing closer to him.

The music faded around them, switching to a different song. The beat gradually changed – a testament to Nino’s DJing – and everyone cheered as the new song came on. Adrien joined them, recognizing the song as one from a popular American artist. He locked eyes with Marinette, her laughter taking his breath away as she opened her mouth to belt out the lyrics.

I've been reading books of old, the legends and the myths

Achilles and his gold, Hercules and his gifts

Spiderman's control, and Batman with his fists

And clearly I don't see myself upon that list

He joined his voice with hers, singing with her and the rest of the group.

But she said, where d'you wanna go? How much you wanna risk?

I'm not looking for somebody, with some superhuman gifts

Some superhero; Some fairytale bliss

Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss

Adrien cradled her closer, pushing her into a typical ballroom box step. He watched her eyes widen as she followed his lead, picking up quickly.

I want something just like this

Oh, I want something just like this

He spun her around again, pulling her close. Her eyes seared into his soul with her laughter. They sang together as they danced to the music, pressing every inch against each other.

I want something just like this

I want something just like this

He could feel her breath against him, his heart pounding in his ribs. He dipped his head closer to her, singing the lyrics to her.

But she said, where d'you wanna go? How much you wanna risk?

I'm not looking for somebody, with some superhuman gifts

Some superhero; Some fairytale bliss

Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss

I want something just like this

Oh, I want something just like this

The music began to fade again, and the two stood, chest to chest, in the middle of the dance floor. The world had melted around them, leaving them alone. All he could feel was Marinette in his arms, her hands around his neck and tangled in his hair. Their foreheads were pressed together as they swayed with little attempt to follow the music.

“I want something just like this,” Adrien sang with the dying music.

His breath hitched as she pulled closer, laying her head in the crook of his shoulder. Her body fit right into his, her breath against his neck. Adrien folded his arms around her further, hugging her to him.

It felt perfect. Amazing. Miraculous.

They stayed like that for what felt like decades, with no attention to the next song playing through the speakers, lost in each other.

Marinette finally pulled back a little, looking into his eyes with a deep gaze that surprised him. He had never seen her look at him like that.

Confusion splashed suddenly across her face, and she reached into her back pocket. Still tucked in his arms, she fished out her phone and unlocked it, looking at a text. Adrien couldn’t help but watch due to the close proximity and his natural curiosity.

He felt, rather than heard, her gasp against him, her fingers frantically pulling up a different application. Her head whipped toward the edge of the dance floor, where Alya was smirking at them, waving her own phone in the air.

Adrien followed her gaze back down toward the twitter feed on her own phone. A video began to play of a familiar dance floor and two familiar figures in red and black, pressed together and singing their hearts out.

Trending: #Ladynoir

[thesirenserenity]

Miraculous Medley Chapter 5: Something New

Marinette, a Vocal Performance and Composition Music Major at a local community college, is secretly Ladybug, the lead singer and songwriter for Paris’ most famous band, The AKs. Adrien, a Cello Performance Major at the most elite Music Conservatory, joins them under the guise of Chat Noir to play Bass. Adrien grew up believing that music was all about following exactly what the composer wanted, but Marinette teaches him that there is so much that can be communicated through music - everyone has someting to say through this universal language. Marinette is closed off to the world after being burned from a recent breakup, and Adrien helps her break down the walls she built up arround her. Based off of gittana’s Musicans AU

Rating: T - swearing and some adult content

Also on: AO3 | Fanfiction

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Thank you guys for your patience! I got married on New Year’s Eve, so I’ve been a brief hiatus. I had an amazing wedding and adored every minute of it!! My husband is so amazing. 

That being said, this was a hard chapter to write because it is a lot of exposition. The next few chapters will be bonding between the two and the actual plot will kick in ;) Love you all! 

Open your eyes and make your entrance, your first step into this world Take my hand I will embrace you, know you'll never be alone Open your eyes and see the splendor of all the beauty all around Step by step you'll reach the summit, and I will help you on your road

- “Something New” - Noctilucent (Click for song)

Marinette nursed a cup of hot tea between her hands, perched on a stool in the kitchen as commotion swirled around her. Normally she would be bustling around with the rest of her band, but Nino had planted her in a seat, Alya had given her said of black tea, and they had scolded her to stay put.

I guess that’s what I get after composing a song in one night.

She shrugged to herself. Sure, she didn’t get a lot of sleep, okay, any sleep, but she did that all the time during the school session. Marinette rolled her eyes at their fussing, because they both pulled all-nighters before, and it wasn’t like she had to work that evening. She just currently felt groggy and like crap, but that would be remedied with sleep after their impromptu practice.

Normally, the AKs didn’t have a rehearsal the day after their concert, but it was around one in the afternoon; everyone had slept enough. She had composed late into the night, inspired by Adrien’s words and the melodies flowing around in her head, and then had taken time to put it all on paper for the instruments. A phone call had woken Nino up at 8:00 AM, asking him to get his butt outta Alya’s bed and come help her with the fine details. Nino had taken one look at the full song she had laid out, as well as the pieces of two more, and promptly called a rehearsal to work out the fine details of the songs.

“You have another song already?” A voice startled her out of her half-asleep daze.

She turned to face Adrien, who had sat on the stool next to her, a grin on his face and his green eyes sparkling at her.

Her tired smile followed, as she pulled her tea closer to her face. “Yeah, after you left last night, I just couldn’t stop until it was done. Nino called the practice shortly after that.”

Adrien looked at her in amazement, “You didn’t sleep to write a song in one night?”

Marinette shrugged, “I was inspired and wanted to get all the details hammered out before they left my mind. It’s not like I had anything to do today, so it wasn’t a huge deal.”

“You played a concert last night, which is a ton of energy, and then pulled an all-nighter. I’d say it’s a big deal.” He eyed her cup, “Coffee?”

Marinette shook her head, “No, that was consumed at six this morning. I can’t drink coffee before I sing because I like a lot of cream. It’s just black tea, containing caffeine, which is still super bad for singing, but a lot better than coffee with milk products.”

Adrien blinked in surprise, “I didn’t realize that singing was intensive that you couldn’t have milk or caffeine before.”

She laughed a little bit, “It’s my instrument. It would be like if you tried to play without tuning your strings – it just wouldn’t sound good.”

“Fair enough.”

They sat for a moment in amiable silence as the group bustled around them, pastries hanging from mouths and music clutched in hands. Everyone was greeting each other, jokes were flying.

“You know, I met some of the group, but not as the AKs. Would you point everyone out to me, Marinette?” Adrien asked.

She turned, smiling at him. “I think that can be arranged. I’ll point them out as they walk by.”

Spinning around on her seat, she pointed toward Nino, who was hauling a mixing table and his laptop to the rehearsal room. His red cap was perched on his head, and trusty headphones around his neck. “You already know Nino, who is known as the famous DJ The Bubbler. He only plays under that name for the AKs, and does remixes of our stuff. Otherwise, he uses his name, like at the club. He grew up playing piano and learned to mix music before coming to Paris Community College. What I love about him, is that a lot of his performances are mixed on the spot. He doesn’t like to pre-record sounds unless it’s needed.”

Adrien butted in, “He’s a music major, like you, yes?”

Marinette nodded, “Yea, composition major! He is killer at Music Theory and the best piano player at school. He and I are the original members of the AKs. We started recording and posting online, and got pretty popular.”

She pointed as Alya as she rushed by after Nino, a stack of music in her hands. “Alya started the Ladyblog before she knew. She was pretty infatuated with the music, not knowing that her best friend was Ladybug.”

“How did she find out?”

Marinette sighed, “It’s hard to hide secrets from your best friend, especially when you are hanging out more and more with the cute guy in your music classes. She got snoopy and wanted to see if I was dating Nino without her knowing. She followed us to our recording studio and recognized the music. Then she demanded to join.”

Adrien laughed, “That sounds like her. It’s cool that she sings too!”

“She is really good at everything she tries. Picked up a minor in music when she decided to join the band, but she is a journalism major. She sings and plays Saxophone, as I’m sure you saw at the Jazz concert.”

“Lady Wifi, yes? Does she run both blogs?”

Marinette winked at him, “Why do you think the Ladyblog has all the tips on the AKs?”

Adrien laughed, “I’m surprised that no one has figured it out yet.”

Marinette waved her hand at him. “She would have been figuring out all of that anyways. She is just that good!”

Juleka brushed by, carrying two drums for her drum set, with a pair of drum sticks balanced on top. One fell off, to be swooped up by the tiny blonde girl following her.

Marinette pointed her out, “You remember Rose, right? She is Juleka’s girlfriend and one of the dancers for the group. Juleka is actually majoring in business at PCC, but is going to cosmetology school as well.”

Adrien blinked in surprise, “She said she works at a tattoo parlor too? How does she fit all that in?”

Marinette grinned, “She is one of the most hard-working people I know, just never brags about it. Juleka never flaunts her talent or her schedule.”

Adrien watched the two girls, as Rose pressed a kiss to Juleka’s cheek as she set the drum stick back with the other pair. “Opposites attract, I guess. How long have they been dating? They are super cute together.”

Marinette’s sweet smile agreed with him. “They have only been together for a couple months, but it feels like forever. They have been really good friends for a long time. Juleka finally got the nerve to ask Rose out, and Rose said that she thought they were already dating.”

Adrien’s laugh rang through the kitchen. “She is a little spitfire for being so cute.”

“Yea, she is super sassy; I love it. She’s in a professional dance troupe and is a musical theater major. Rose wants to go to New York and perform or choreograph for Broadway.”

“That sounds perfect for her,” Adrien grinned.

Marinette pointed into the main hallway, where Ivan was talking with Mylene. “Those two are also dating, and have been since high school. Ivan is majoring in Psychology, and Mylene is studying business and theater. She wants to open her own theater company and follow in the footsteps of her father, who is a famous mime here.”

Adrien nodded, “They are really cute together. Ivan plays rhythm guitar, yes?”

“Yes, so he plays all the background chords and Lila plays lead. She is amazing at hearing a melody once and playing it by ear. Also, anything she makes up on the spot is really good.”

Adrien looked at her sideways with a small smirk. “I heard that you two don’t get along very well.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “Alya likes to spread rumors. Granted, it’s a true rumor. Lila and I but heads a lot. She is a little egotistical and challenges me a lot as the composer and leader of the band.”

“Is she a music major too?”

Marinette nodded, “Yes, a jazz guitar major. Which causes some issues, because she likes to throw that in my face.”

Adrien smiled at her, “That sounds frusturating, but I’m sure you handle it well.”

“I just don’t like people like that,” Marinette muttered, almost too soft for Adrien to hear. “Is that everyone in the group? What about the other dancers?” Adrien asked.

“Well, there is Alix, who does a lot of the special effects and crazy dances. She’s a Kinesiology major, along with Kim, who is the other dancer and special effect coordinator. Kim also helps us by acting as a sort of body guard when we have shows and don’t want people to swarm the back stage. We met both of them through Max, who is our tech specialist. He is a computer science major, who does all of our research and helps Alya keep the blog going. He is usually the connecting point between us and our venues. Alya introduced us to him right after she got on board!”

“Who does all the art for your group?” Adrien asked. “After every concert, there is always this cool graffiti or presentation of your band name.”

Marinette grinned, “I’m really glad you noticed that. Nathanael is our resident artist, who hangs out with us. He kinda stumbled upon me by accident and offered to help us out. He uses all mediums for art, but loves graffiti and sketching. He is kind of quiet.”

Alya brushed by on her way to grab a water bottle from the fridge. “Quiet, as in he doesn’t talk to anyone but Marinette.” She cracked the water open and took a sip while she raised her eyebrows.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “He does not have a crush on me, Al, no matter how much you insist.”

Alya looked pointedly at Adrien, who put his hands up in surrender.

Marinette glared at her, “Al! Cut it out! He does not.”

Alya smirked and shrugged her shoulders innocently. “I’m just saying! He has said all of two words to me, but has had conversations with you. It’s the same way with everyone.” She sauntered toward the rehearsal room and brushed past Adrien, leaning over to whisper in his ear. “You have some competition, cat-boy,” punctuating it with a wink.

Adrien’s cheeks turned pink and she continued her walk. Marinette gave them a weird look.

“You two better join us soon, or people are going to think you’re making out in here!” Alya threw over her shoulder with a smirk.

“Alya!!” Marinette squeaked, her cheeks joining Adrien’s in a blush.

Xxxx

The group came pouring off the stage in the dark, an electric feel passing between them. They packed the stuff and piled into the van as quickly as possible, Max and Kim staying behind to grab the rest of the groups’ stuff.

Marinette jumped in, followed by Adrien who had just loaded his bass and amp into the back of the van. Alya jumped into the front seat, shouting at Nino to drive! The whole group was in giggles.

Adrien looked over at Marinette, who’s makeup mask was slightly melting off her face and her fingers were tugging up her thigh-high socks. Her hair was frizzy from the heat of the stage, but she had never looked more radiant. It had been one thing for him to watch Ladybug on the screen of his computer, or from the audience of the AK’s show, but to watch her as he played next to her on the stage! It had been absolutely breathtaking. Her energy fed the entire band, fed him. He had played better than any rehearsal, trying to support the energy she was producing. She really blossomed on stage.

The music had been breathtaking, ending with the song he had inspired lyrics for. She had also written a song with him, to feature the bass part a little more and introduce him, ‘Chat Noir,’ to the audience. The reception to having a bassist was astounding.

Alya was already reading them all the tweets, saying that their fans were amazed and super excited about the newest addition to the group. They had put out a teaser the night they had established Adrien’s persona, which gained quite a bit of interest, but the responses were so much larger after the concert.

Nino pulled into the girls’ house shortly after, the group piling out after checking to make sure that it was safe. The house was a flurry of unpacking and removing makeup and changing into different clothes. Everyone was a bundle of energy, compliments flying about each other’s performance.

Marinette came barreling down the stairs, her costume exchanged for leggings and a red and black checkered flannel shirt, her hair still in pigtails and red smudges on her face. In her hurry, she missed the last step and tripped right into Adrien’s chest. She looked up at him, grinning with a blushing ‘thank you.’

Adrien smiled down at her, his arm wrapped around her waist automatically. Even though they had known each other for a little while, he felt an immense connection to her. He wanted to support her and help her succeed as a musician as a person. She was so passionate about music and extremely talented in the area. In less than a year, she was able to found Paris’ most popular band and compose many amazing songs, all under the guise of someone else.

He was inspired by her.

Adrien pulled back, ruffling the top of her hair and grinning down at her blush.

She had already taught him so much about music and what it means to be a musician.

Step by step, she would reach any summit she tried to conquer.

And he would be with her every step of the way.