#marl's party

[sunny-marl]

look. a demon-rabbit-dog thing. He names is Theodore. Theodore Melo. but people usually call him Ted, or Teddy <3

[altamontpt]

Os melhores discos internacionais de 2024

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Os últimos anos têm sido marcados pela explosão de oferta digital (leia-se streaming), com a necessária pulverização de gostos e de audições, como se cada um estivesse no seu cantinho a explorar o último nicho do nicho. Parece que nunca houve tanta oferta musical, quando na verdade nunca houve foi tanto acesso. Isso leva, naturalmente, a que se ouça mais…

[ijustwantedtobeoneofthestrokesuk]

Just A Pub In Holloway

North London

Nambucca, on Holloway Road was more than a pub, it was more than a small independent music venue, it was a home for the London 2000’s indie scene, both literally and metaphorically as Frank Turner joined Dave Danger (The Holloways) and Jay McAllister (Beans On Toast) in the flat upstairs (along with several others) while Bryn Fowler (The Holloways) was a sound engineer, Joei Silvester (The Supernovas) and Lee Godwin (We Smoke Fags) worked the bar.

The Nambucca story is one that starts in Essex in the ‘90’s when Jay and Dave were school friends. The pair were also in a band together with the hope of success they moved to London at the end of 1999. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the band didn’t last long, Jay ended up handing out flyers and got into promoting while Dave worked at Tower Records.  

They were living in Archway and started Statik, a club night at The Garage, at the opposite end of Holloway Road. Dave would take his laptop to work and rip CDs then play the tracks at the club night, no mixing, just a straight-up playlist of the latest indie bands around. The pair started to build up a friendship group from Statik and they became regulars at the weekly nights around London.  

Down the road from their flat in Archway was Nambucca, a pub that had just been taken over by Bernard. The new landlord, who already had a few other places in the city didn’t expect much from the pub, when Dave and Jay popped in one Sunday they were the only ones in there. They made a deal with Bernard, if they brought a crowd in the following Sunday they’d get some free beers. After their usual Saturday night shenanigans which rolled over into Sunday they brought everybody to Nambucca, the place was packed, Bernard was buzzing and this was the start of what would become the legendary open mic night Sensible Sunday which has seen everyone from Beans On Toast and The Holloways to Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling and Jamie T play.  

After they started putting on a few midweek gigs and trying to get a PA set-up they ended up moving into the flat upstairs. A couple of months later their mate, Jamie, who’d managed pubs before moved in and managed the place. Things started to get a bit messy as Nambucca became a haunt for the indie kids but, as they fell in between two boroughs they got away with stuff and as Bernard wasn’t expecting much he didn’t care as long as he wasn’t losing money. 

Jay “We were tapped into the club nights and knew bands, there was a lot going on elsewhere, we used Nambucca as an HQ. We used it for after parties, invited people in and it drew others in.  

We put stuff on that we thought was fun. We didn’t do it pat each other on the back, we just wanted to throw a good party and music we loved which in turn helped others but we never looked at it like that. Jamie T, Laura Marling and Florence & The Machine stood out early on.”  

Frog 

Jay “After running Statik at The Garage for a few months, the venue, run by Mean Fiddler had a free Saturday night slot in central London, we went for it. Shooting above our stations. That became Frog. Imran, who was the New Bands editor at the NME booked the bands, me and Dave ran the rest. It was the right place at the right time.” 

Frog became the biggest indie night in the UK when 1000 indie kids packed it out every Saturday from 10pm. DJ’s would play the tunes but what Frog became known for was the bands that played at 1am. They were usually unannounced and Imran got the names before anyone else including Klaxons, CSS, Razorlight, Babyshambles, The View, Paramore... Kaiser Chiefs played their first London show there while Young & Lost Club DJ’d the small room. Frog would also take over the upstairs room at Koko every Friday for Club NME. Frog closed in June 2007 with a set by local hero, Kid Harpoon. 

Jay “It ended because of the introduction of the smoking ban. It feels normal now but the venue couldn’t accommodate a smoking area. As somebody, like everybody else at the time enjoyed to drink and smoke so I didn’t feel like I could promote a club I didn’t want to go to myself.” 

Sensible Sunday’s 

Sensible Sunday’s was influential for many, each week Jay would write a song about what had happened that week and perform it on stage which inspired Frank Turner to pick up an acoustic guitar (while he was still in his hardcore band, Million Dead). Laura Marling, Marcus Mumford, Jamie T and Jack Penate were all regulars too, it gave them a stage to perform on and master their craft. 

This was a period of a few years of iconic all-nighters and banging gigs (the 350 capacity venue saw the likes of The Libertines, Florence & The Machine, The Maccabees, Maximo Park, Noah & The Whale take to the stage)  Dave, Jay and the Nambucca team had built up their own community around the pub in Holloway. One Sensible Sunday in 2004 was responsible for the next part in N7’s chapter. 

The Holloways

Alfie Jackson “I had a girlfriend in West London around 2004 and we broke up and I had no home so I stayed with a friend on Holloway Road. A few days later we went to The Garage at the bottom of Holloway Road where I met Dave (who would go on to become) the drummer of The Holloways and Jay who became our manager, and Tre who became a tour manager, and Tristan who became our producer. 

I also met a girl there. It turned out Dave and Jay ran the events at Nambucca and the girl I met worked behind the bar and Tre lived upstairs. I met Bryn at a bar in Crouch End through the girl working at Nambucca. I convinced him to be a bass player even though he wasn’t really playing an instrument at the time. 

Rob was playing at Nambucca a few weeks later, me and Bryn said “we’ll have him”. Rob and I played a set the following week at Sensible Sunday and Dave immediately said “I’ll be the drummer”. 

So this all happened quickly and organically and brought The Holloways together which is why we named the band The Holloways because like some kind of anti-Bermuda Triangle, it brought a bunch of great people together for a great time. I was inspired by The Beatles, Green Day, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, The Strokes The Libertines and Supergrass. 

Before we started touring we’d be out every night, regulars at the indie discos. It would be cans of Red Stripe on Saturday nights at the Mean Fiddler on Tottenham Court Road for Frog, Sensible Sunday at Nambucca, occasionally Trash on a Monday, Tuesday would’ve been Panic at the Ritzy, sharing jugs of Long Island ice tea, then Jack and Coke’s at Candybox before kicking off the weekend again on Friday at Koko for Club NME. 

I think the first song we wrote was King’s Cross Cutie which ended up being a b-side. I remember playing a demo of this to Bryn on a minidisc player in a bookshop on Tottenham Court Road. There was also Soul For Sale, of which there is on a four-track demo somewhere. Also, early songs were Reinvent Myself and London Town, a personal favourite of mine.” 

The first Holloways show in the capital was a last-minute Babyshambles gig at Nambucca after their central London gig had been cancelled. Gemma Clarke who was drumming for Babyshambles at the time called Dave (they were friends) and asked if Babyshambles could play that night at Nambucca, but on the condition that The Holloways played too. After some convincing he agreed, word spread through the online forums about the gig and The Holloways ended up playing their first hometown show in front of a packed venue.  

The band used Nambucca to write and rehearse, Alfie generally wrote the lyrics and melody while Rob wrote the music. Rob had been riffing the first verse of Generator but it wasn’t a proper song until they started playing it together and beefing it up with punk energy. 

Alfie “We felt like we were the heartbeat of that scene.” 

The Holloways started to take things more seriously in 2005 having quit their day jobs. They’d write their debut album and play live with the likes of Babyshambles, Noel Gallagher, The Wombats, The Pigeon Detectives and Frank Turner where they’d build up a fan base whilst Generator and Two Left Feet got radio play.  

Alfie “For me personally, writing is like breathing and when I find something magic that feeling is hard to describe. I also love putting it together which is what I do now day today as a writer-producer. 

But I also love bouncing off my best mates on stage while hundreds of people go absolutely nuts in a frenetic combustion of joy and energy. The second time we played Glastonbury on the Old Queens Head stage was one of my favourite festival experiences although our performance on The Other Stage was quite monumental while my favourite tour is probably us and The Wombats and my favourite gig was also on that tour when we played at Leeds Met Uni. 

Social media at the time was a new thing. I remember us using Myspace quite a bit but it was something that we did out of necessity rather than want. In a band you just want to be doing things in real life with real people and playing songs and writing songs rather than typing away on a keyboard to try and get people into music.

I’m not sure how we came to the attention of record companies but it was only 18 months after forming that we signed with TVT. In hindsight perhaps we didn’t choose the right label but you never know. Everything happens for a reason. 

We were getting loads of good reviews for live gigs and for the vinyl release of Generator and Two Left Feet put out by Pure Groove Records on Holloway Road.  

We formed late summer 2004 and started recording the debut album during the summer of 2006 in Shepherd’s Bush/Acton, with the legendary duo Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. It wasn’t the most rock ‘n’ roll studio but it fit in our budget. 

They were great, they had loads of amazing ideas and knew how to get our sound and they’ve worked on Madness and Dexys Midnight Runners so it was a huge honour to work with them, absolute gentlemen as well.  

I think the end product was a bit light. It doesn’t have the fuzz, grit and dirt that our live performances had so I was quite disappointed and never really played it with pride when I heard it because it didn’t sound like we did live. I knew it should’ve had more energy and I think then it would’ve really connected with a lot more people and we would’ve had a lot more success.” 

So This Is Great Britain? was released on TVT Records in October 2006 and received an 8/10 review in the NME who tipped the band for big things. The album was filled with singles, however, at the time it felt like they milked Generator, releasing it 3 times. “We knew Generator was a huge song. We were made some promises by the label and Radio 1 which were broken which meant we then had to re-release it to then make use of the potential that Generator had. 

This all should have been done right with the first release. We were annoyed and mad as it made us look a bit stupid and was one of the nails in the coffin.” 

Nambucca’s community spirit was highlighted on Easter Monday 2008 with Van Aid. 

Jay “I was on my way to support Kate Nash with my mate Ali, who also lived at Nambucca. We crashed a van that we borrowed from Captain Black, we were fine but the van wasn’t. We put on a charity event on and raised enough money to get the van fixed. We asked people to bring any unpaid speeding tickets and we paid them with any money left over.” 

The event has become legendary thanks to an insane line-up. As well as Beans On Toast Nambucca residents Frank Turner and The Holloways they rang their mates Florence (& the Machine) Welch, Eliza Doolittle, Jamie T and Mumford & Sons to play for free. It was quite a day! 

A year and a half after the release of So This Is Great Britain? the band headed to the iconic Sawmills studio to record the follow-up, most of which had been written on the road.  

Alfie “We were down in Sawmills residential studio recording the second album on an all-time high and a trajectory that was taking us to the top. We were living the dream then TVT announced bankruptcy due to a legal battle involving the rapper Pitbull. This meant we paid for the rest of the album ourselves. 

At the same time I heard the news of my girlfriend’s dad falling really ill with leukemia and I had to go back to London and in that time he passed away, I then had to go back to Sawmills to finish the album. 

Also in that time my auntie had to go into hospital as she had a terrible fall in John Lewis. This left her with so many broken bones she was housebound for the remaining 11 years of her life. The energy in the studio changed halfway through that month when we heard that news.  

The rest of 2007 was an awful time of legal wranglings with TVT in administration, we were unable to sign with another label even though the likes of Sony had heard the album and really liked it. The mood in the band really really suffered and we all got frustrated and Rob started playing in another band because we weren’t able to do anything because we didn’t have the new material to release to promote. 

Live gigs became really poor as the energy and conflict in the band had taken away the main great thing about The Holloways which was the spirit. I got really angry with Rob for doing another band. I thought he was been unfaithful but he just wanted to make music because that was what Rob was all about so I understand it now, he was frustrated and felt trapped but I was just so committed to The Holloways. the 2 passions came together in a bad way whereas previously they came together in such good way.” 

Nambucca 2.0 

Gemma Clarke “My dad was offered a few venues to take on but none really struck a chord with us until we were offered Nambucca. I had been hanging out there with the people that lived and worked there for a few years, mostly The Holloways and Beans On Toast, I’d known them all for years from the club nights they ran, so walking in one day like “Hey! My dad owns this place now” was great! There was a really cool scene there already with the bands and gigs and clubs they all put on, it was exciting!” 

On the 17th December 2008 there was a fire at Nambucca, completely destroying the home of those who lived there, the bar/venue and The Holloways equipment which was there. Local bands such as Six Nation State and The Supernovas used the venue to rehearse. It also destroyed the scene as Jay, Dave and the venues manager moved on. This was not only the end of an era for Holloway Road and a scene but another setback for The Holloways. Nambucca was more than just a venue for The Holloways, it held their stories. 

Jay “There’s probably a world where we’re all still at Nambucca doing coke and singing songs to one another but we happily moved on when it did happen. We lost our home and our possessions but nobody was particularly upset. How else would you end something like that?”  

Gemma “The fire was just awful. Gutted the place, people lost their homes, work, as well as their possessions. It put the family on our knees. We had just started our new business with big ideas, hopes and dreams… it was closed for 2 years! When we did reopen obviously it was a completely different place. Beautiful, grand, but different. I did have some of the best times of my life living and working there, booking bands and acts I loved, constant partying with my friends… it was amazing!” 

Alfie “The Nambucca fire was just the universe following suit as to what happening with TVT and then in London with The Holloways and then in the UK with our reputation. The universe just decided it should also have a part to play in our downfall and burnt our home down with all our equipment inside which was not insured. Note to all bands, get insurance. 

With everything that happened and the fact that we were still trapped and conflicts between Rob and I meant Rob had enough and just wanted to go make music with his band. Dave felt the trauma was too much and knew that it wouldn’t be the same anymore and he left too. This would’ve been at the start of 2008. 

We just asked around about replacements so that Bryn and I could continue. Mike came through a guitar shop in Denmark Street and Ed came through our guitar tech Barbs from Bristol but ot course course it was never the same again. 

It’s like getting in any pretty girl to fill the hole left by the love of your life when she’s decided to go. The connection and energy just wasn’t the same despite Ed and Mike being amazing players and lovely guys. We still had a good time but times had changed and it was 2 years after we’d originally hoped to get the second album out by the time we did get it out. It was devastating. 

Originally there were more of Rob songs on the second album because he was gonna be part of the band. We had to write a few new ones so we’d be able to play more of the new album live. That’s when Jukebox Sunshine, AAA and Alcohol were written and added. 

Jukebox Sunshine was another song that didn’t turn out anything like the way I’d hoped. The producer did a great job but I think the band and myself were guilty of trying to re-create what we had done before rather than going with the vibe that I was feeling in my heart. It got to a point where you are feeling the pressure of your reputation 

Before we even started doing the second album I was wanting to do a more rootsy acoustic Paul Simon-influenced thing. Bizarrely not long after Vampire Weekend came out doing the sort of sound I wanted to go for but we tried to make So This is Great Britain part 2. 

There are some great songs and moments on the second album but we made it to try and fit a demand whereas the first album was just written from the heart and I wish I’d listen to my heart for the second album. 

Because TVT was in administration it took a long time before we were free and able to sign with anyone else. 

We didn’t sign with anyone else actually, The Orchard just bought the rights and they didn’t know what to do with us. They weren’t a traditional label. This was also a huge part in our downfall in trying to keep it moving forwards. It was just a fight with them trying to get the album out, which eventually happened in October 2009. There was no relationship there.” 

18 months later Alfie and Bryn had lost motivation, it wasn’t as fun as it used to be. The band played their last gig at The Garage on London Road in May which Rob and Dave joined in with. 

Alfie “I think playing live was always fun but in the back of your mind you knew you should’ve been doing better if we had more luck and you’re trying to keep it going with all your heart but you know that it’s going downwards instead of upwards. It was heartbreaking but playing live was always fun.” 

After The Holloways ended Alfie didn’t lose the love of songwriting.  

“I’d always written so many songs that I knew we couldn’t play with The Holloways so it was always a dream for me to be able to write the songs that come to me and get them to other artists but other artists in England don’t really take songs that are pre-written, you just have to write with them which is very restrictive. 

You have to play to their taste and ego rather than just saying “look here’s this great chorus you, should use it” because they have to feel that the song has come from them which I understand but I don’t think it’s always best for the song or the best for the artist. 

I miss the excitement, the optimism, the hope, the laughter the making music that you know is making a difference and connecting with people.” 

The Nambucca team didn’t take long to re-establish themselves as they opened up another venue, The Flowerpot, just up the road in Kentish Town. Each night a band would play for free, sometimes you’d come across a hot new thing, sometimes you’d stumble into chaos as The Kooks or Adam Green would be playing. It would go down in history as the first London venue that The Vaccines played in, there were more people trying to get into the intimate boozer than there was inside.  

Unfortunately, the Kentish Town good times at The Flowerpot were short-lived. After building up another great reputation the lease was sold without them knowing and they would have to find a new home in October 2010. It wasn’t over for Jay and Dave as it was just another short trip up the road into Camden where they opened The Wheelbarrow, another pub that focussed on live music. Then in February 2013 the team gave it one last go in Camden as they took over Monarch. 

Devasting news came in October 2014 as Rob died of an overdose. Rob was a much-loved character in the scene. After leaving The Holloways he formed Hares but over the years he’s played with Babyshambles, Larrikin Love, Patrick Wolf and The Paddingtons. While he was having success as a musician he was also battling a heroin addiction. Aged just 28, after several unsuccessful spells of rehab in the UK he went on a trip to Thailand to clean up but never came home, leaving behind a wife and a child. 

Alfie  “This is very easy and very difficult. Rob loved making music. He came up with the line “generate the music that makes you feel better” which is exactly what he did. 

He was warm, funny, different, a dreamer, an idealist, very open and accepting. His ability on the guitar and all instruments was amazing and he had a really unique warm voice. I loved to sing with him as we really complimented each other. I loved writing with him because I was a real lyric and melody guy and it was amazing coming up with unique guitar parts. 

The two examples of this are So This is Great Britain?, which I wrote as a poem and he came up with all the amazing guitar moves and Two Left Feet was also a great riff of Rob’s which fit perfectly together with the night out narrative lyrics that I put together with a bit of help from Dave. 

Onstage he would really go for it and had a real energy, he just got lost in the music and he really inspired me to do the same, I think we inspired each other. There was really healthy competition in The Holloways both in the way we sang and moved about on stage and also the way we wrote but the way we wrote felt completely healthy and never like a competition. 

My favourite memory is when The Holloways were first getting together and I’d gone for a walk in Hampstead and who did I find on the streets but Rob with his violin busking. He then gave me my first ever magic mushroom and the world went violet and we went up onto Hampstead Heath and the grass was a lovely tinge of green/purple and I just remember singing songs and laughing before we went to a pub where we could only find a ladies toilet which we had to keep using embarrassingly. 

I also have to say what an amazing feel Rob had on the guitar. He might not have been technically the greatest guitar player ever I think what makes any guitar player great is the feel and the character that’s inimitable and Rob had that. 

He was also the only guy who could make the violin punk rock and in the early Holloways days you’d see him doing gigs with Fast Lane Roogalator and Larrikin Love, this was again a reflection of Rob’s freedom and spirit for playing music, which is why he ended up starting another band when things went wrong with The Holloways, he needed to be playing. 

I miss my bandmate I miss my friend.” 

Nambucca finally reopened in October 2014 but it wasn’t the same. The new management had invested money into refurbishing the place and hosted gigs by Wolf Alice, The Enemy, Wretch 32, The Wombats and the Fat White Family but it never captured the vibe that the original Nambucca had. You simply can’t buy stories. 8 years later, following 2 years of struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic the management team behind Nambucca announced that it was no longer financially sustainable and that it would close in May 2022. 

Beans On Toast

Jay McAllister, better known as Beans On Toast isn’t your typical icon. When he wasn’t managing London’s best boozers, small venues and club nights he was probably on a stage or recording an album (always released on his birthday, 1st December). 

Sensible Sundays were Jay’s opportunity to stand on a chair a tell a story. Each week he’d write some songs about what went on at the weekend, mostly drug-related and although there are folk influences in there, he’d never be categorised as ‘folk’. 

Jay “I moved to London with a band that fell apart and went into promoting but I was always writing songs. I used to sing in an American accent and I met this guy who told me to sing in my own voice. Once I did that it instantly became Beans On Toast. Once I found my voice I started to change the way I wrote songs.  

My intention was to start a band, I had 5 or 6 songs and at Glastonbury in 2005, I played the songs solo and realised halfway through the set that it made sense for it to be solo, the songs were direct and it worked. Singing songs about getting hammered at festivals to people getting hammered at festivals was an easy shot and it just rolled from there, one gig led to another, over 15 years later and I’m still doing it. Still finding influences in life, love, art, drugs. I’m older, experienced,  

I release the music myself, I know how it all works now. I take my music more seriously than I did, I’m not as hammered as I was but the songwriter element has stayed the same. I manage my own social media accounts, it is a necessary evil. You can’t put a genie back in the bottle, I don’t know how I’d promote a show without it.” 

He’d play 3 or 4 London gigs a week (on his nights off from promoting), then his flatmate Frank Turner invited him on his first headline tour, on the condition that he’d record an album, something he’d refused to do previously.  

Jay “Over the years my fanbase has grown, touring with Frank Turner is always great, he’s a pal, he plays to massive crowds and his fanbase is kind and if he says he likes you they like you as well.” 

On the 1st December 2009 Beans On Toast released his debut album, Standing On A Chair. The 50 track (yep, 50! He’d already written 46 so he round it up to 50) was put out by Xtra Mile and features guest appearances from Emmy the Great, Justin Young (Jay Jay Pistolet/The Vaccines), Rebecca Taylor (Slow Club/Self Esteem), The Holloways and Frank Turner and it was recorded at Ben Lovett’s (Mumford & Sons) parent’s house, over the course of one weekend. 

He’d got to the stage where his friends had started to get bored of constantly seeing him play and had some fans but not enough to fill a room so he threw a birthday party/album launch party so that his mates had to come along at The Flowerpot on the 1st December. 

The second and third albums coincidentally were ready for release around the same time and it became a tradition ever since which has made it easier for getting festival bookings each summer as he’ll have another set of songs to play, even if everyone wants to hear MDMA-azing. 

Frank Turner

After discovering the punk and hardcore scene, music has dominated Frank Turner's life, he formed Kneejerk when he was 13 before joining Million Dead then going solo. It has been rare moments when Frank hasn’t been on tour or making an album. He might not fit in the indie scene sonically but his DIY ethics have given him the kudos to belong there. One night he could be playing a pub, the next he might be selling out an arena thanks to his hard work and core fanbase. He's become a cult figure for many without being cool or on-trend. 

In his teens he found himself living a double life after getting a scholarship for Eton, he didn’t fit in with the other pupils, except for 3 others, the only 3 to know about punk and hardcore. He formed Kneejerk with them in 1998 and at weekends they’d head to London and hang out with the punk kids, at squat gigs, a community they belonged in, however, some would reject them because of their Eton background, something Frank has had to fight against his whole career, his parents didn’t pay him into the school, he was awarded a scholarship.  

In 2001 he was invited to join London punk band Million Dead by the drummer of Kneejerk. Million Dead gained a following in the underground hardcore movement and Frank developed the skills of being a fearless frontman with overly pretentious lyrics. The band and the lifestyle was everything to Frank. 

2 years later he found a new community in London at Nambucca where the indie scene was thriving. He ended up moving in so he was always around the scene despite never really liking the music. Jay becoming Beans On Toast inspired Frank to pick up an acoustic guitar but there wasn’t space for that in the punk movement that he was still in with Million Dead, he was living a double life again. The band split up in 2005 as they could no longer be friends, Frank was gutted.  

He started performing at folk nights in London before touring with the bands he was friends with from Frog and Nambucca. He went on tour for 2 years, some nights playing to a couple of people, gaining the skills to entertain, all he asked for in return was £50 and a place to stay. His vocal style was crafted during these times as he often found himself having to shout over people talking in the crowd. 

He drew inspiration from Neil Young, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen as well as Kid Harpoon who was a regular on the Nambucca stage. 

After signing to Xtra Mile Recordings in 2006 Frank Turner released his first solo EP Campfire Punkrock in May and recruited members from Dive Dive (a band he’d met on a previous tour) who would go on to become the founding members of The Sleeping Souls who are more than just Frank’s backing band. 

After spending years in tiny pubs, the venues got bigger but nothing could prepare him for his first stadium experience when he was invited to support Green Day at Wembley Stadium in June 2010 where the space between the stage and the front row was bigger than the venues he’d played in the early days. 

By 2012 he had started to build up a fan base so big that he sold out Wembley Arena where Beans on Toast supported him (the pair had spent many tours together). That year would continue to spiral as he performed the Olympic Opening Ceremony. He was living upstairs at The Wheelbarrow at the time, Dave (Danger) asked Frank if he was watching the opening ceremony at the pub, sworn to secrecy Frank casually made up an excuse. After the performance, instead of heading to the showbiz after-party Frank went home to the pub and received a hero’s welcome. 

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Frank hard. After years on the road, he was forced to stay home but he used his power to help others with livestream gigs. The first one was to raise money for his touring crew then he teamed up with the Music Venue Trust to support the independent venues and encouraged other artists to do the same. 

Creativity continued to flow through Frank, leading to his ninth album, FTHC which topped the charts when it came out in February 2022. It is his most honest album yet as he sings openly about depression and anxiety, learning to live a drug-free life, dealing with the death of his friend Scott Hutchison who was the frontman of Frightened Rabbit and committed suicide, the trauma of Eton, his relationship with his dad and acceptance that his dad is now a woman. 

Sensible Sunday, at Nambucca, then in Camden gave people a stage and an opportunity, many of those people went on to bigger things… 

Laura Marling

Laura Marling was the first to get noticed with her wonderful debut, Alas, I Cannot Swim (produced by Charlie from Noah & the Whale and members of Mumford & Sons performing on it) released in February 2008 when she was just 18. Laura’s career has been a steady progression as each album has shown growth and maturity, establishing herself as one of the country's best songwriters without ever really going mainstream. In 2011 she won Best British Female Solo Artist, “Who is Laura Marling?” trended online after. You can imagine she will continue to do what she does for decades and there will always have an audience without making any sacrifices.  

Noah & the Whale

Noah & the Whale followed Laura (Laura guests on their debut album) with a twee pop debut, their sound got bolder and bigger but the three albums that followed never reached the same level of success, or catchiness of the nostalgic single, 5 Years Time.

Mumford & Sons

And then there’s Mumford & Sons, who went from being Laura Marling’s backing band to the biggest band in the world for a couple of years.

The band formed while 3 of them were still touring and recording with Laura Marling. This helped them find an audience when they started uploading songs, including Little Lion Man, The Cave and Awake My Soul to MySpace. These demos already felt like they had been made by an established band, but they were their first songs. 

They spent a couple of years touring but there wasn’t a lot of hype around the band when debut album, Sign No More was released in October 2009. as each week by the songs were getting more radio play but it took 18 months for the album to reach no.2 in the charts and Little Lion Man became a crossover hit for generations, it was impossible to avoid it, even in the US.

Mumford & Sons were different, they looked like farmers, they played the banjo and mandolin, traditional folk instruments but, in reality, the songs are pop songs, big pop songs, with massive chorus’, it shouldn’t work, but it did. The success of the debut on both sides of the Atlantic forced the band to tour it and milk it. 

The band were probably as desperate to release Babel as much as their fans were, they had been playing the same set for 5 years. It was grander but it still featured their folk tones and it topped charts around the world, including both the UK and the States, they were selling out arenas and in 2013 they headlined Glastonbury. They started to drop the folk novelties and the albums that followed, replacing the acoustic guitars for electric but they still hit no.1 in the charts.

Controversy hit them in 2021 when Wintson Marshall praised Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy, a book by far-right journalist Andy Ngo. After criticism Winston apologised, which drew more criticism, not just to himself but to his bandmates, he left the band so that he could continue to speak freely without others feeling the consequences. Cancel culture at its deadliest. 

Jay Jay Pistolet

Frank Turner references’ those Nambucca days on several songs but he predicts something that might have taken longer to happen than he expected but he nailed it when, on ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’, he sings “Justin is the last of the great romantic poets and he’s the only one amongst us who is ever going to make it”, Justin, being Justin Young who at the time was the criminally overlooked Jay Jay Pistolet. It’s kind of mad that he never got to release an album, his songs were years ahead of his peers, it was odd when he went quiet but we’ll come back to his return later… 

Florence & the Machine

Jay McAllister “We put on a party in Camden where Florence performed without an instrument, she banged her foot on a stage and sang acapella, I thought she should be a worldwide superstar, she had it all, she was special so it was amazing watching her flourish into that.” 

Is Florence & The Machine a band fronted by the energetic front-woman Florence Welch or is it Florence Welch’s stage name? Flo’s story was another interesting one that pre-dates the era when everybody shares online. Florence was the Florence, keyboard player Isabella Summers was the initial Machine. In their teens they would perform as Florence Robot/Isa Machine. It wasn’t a name Flo particularly liked but she had no other names ahead of her first gig and it just stuck.  

Florence was a special one from day one. Full of confidence and personality in a male-dominated indie scene. She proved that you didn’t need to have balls to be a rockstar. 

The first elements can be found when Flo was part of London band, Ashok where their 2007 album featured a song called Happy Slap, which would go on to become Kiss With A Fist, Florence & the Machine’s breakthrough single, released in June 2008, over a year before the debut album. Whilst Kiss With A Fist was an underground hit, Dog Days Are Over, which came out in December saw the band reach the mainstream, the hype built as they were awarded the Critics Choice awards at the 2009 Brit Awards and the debut arrived in the summer. 

Instead of tripping up on album 2, she outdid what the debut did with Ceremonials and she started to become a success in the States too. Florence wasn’t your “typical” pop star (pre-2010 “pop” wasn’t credible like it is today) and she had outgrown the “scene”, being in the middle of these two worlds can be lonely but with each album she has established herself as a credible artist.

North London bands

Screaming Ballerinas

Laura Marsh “When I was a kid I’d mince around pretending to be Debbie Harry and Chrissie all the time. I remember thinking Chrissie Hynde was the coolest ever when I was about 8! I watched my dads Old Grey Whistle test videos, Blondie, The Pretenders, The Strokes, YYYs were the bands that made me want to be in a band!  

Screaming Ballerina’s formed in Nambucca, I poached my guitarist Ollie from another band and he helped me develop my songs into bangers. The rest of the band were gathered together pretty quick and the next thing we knew we were playing tours in Europe! A lot of that was thanks to MySpace. That was an incredible tool for getting yourselves out there as an unsigned act. Favourite gig was probably In Perugia in Italy. A massive crowd of people yelling the words I’d written back at me. I crowd surfed and nearly cracked my head open! 

It was the best time ever as I was touring and gigging with my best friends and performing my songs to amazing audiences! But it was tough being young and being in charge of something so sensitive. We suffered lots of heartbreaks but also played some of the most amazing shows so I have no regrets. And we pretty much spent the entire time laughing our arses off when we toured so it doesn’t get better than that. We definitely were under pressure to be a big thing which was weird because all I really wanted was for it to be a little punk band. I don’t think I wanted to be massively famous. But again, being such a young person you can be easily persuaded to push things in the wrong directions. I’ve learned a lot from that time.  

Nambucca was incredibly important. It felt like a weird little universe and those guys were my family. A church of broken glass and glitter on the floors. I broke many tables jumping up and down at the gigs that happened in that place. There were dark days and nights there too. But the good times were the best times.” 

Bombay Bicycle Club

Quartet Bombay Bicycle Club formed just because they wanted to play at school assembly but they found themselves on the London circuit before entering and winning the Virgin Mobile’s Road to V which was aired on Channel 4. The prize? They opened V Festival in 2006.  

After 3 years of touring, releasing EPs and building up a fan base the band signed a deal with Island Records and released debut album, I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose. It wasn’t an overnight success but the band have consistently challenged themselves, evolved and grown. The hard work has paid off with a no.1 album and they still sell out venues around the UK. 

Cajun Dance Party

Bombay Bicycle Club were the catalyst to Cajun Dance Party who formed so they could compete with them at the battle of the band competition at school. The teenagers continued with it, became regulars at Way Out West and uploaded demos to MySpace before signing to XL.

The band released one album, The Colourful Life in 2008 but split up later in the year. In the ashes of Cajun Dance Party came Yuck who released 3 albums over 10 years.

NEXT CHAPTER

[juliendesclefs]

40th Marle Does Things ; Happy birthday to the star of the serie !

Hi everyone !

For this 40th Marle Does Things, our favourite evil girl takes a pause from her schemes to make her own birthday party !

What's inside the presents ? It's up to your imagination (don't worry, it's nothing good)!

Hope you like it.

Marle from Puyo Puyo Tetris2 © SEGA.

[suncoved]

SALTWATER BLUES ! 𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𓇼 ࣪ 𓈒ㅤׂ𓆡 ⭒ㅤ𓈒ㅤׂ

CHAPTER ONE — ENDLESS INTERACTIONS!

pairing; childhoodbestfriend!rafe cameron x fem!reader

summary: You return to the outer banks after moving away with your mother at 13, leaving your best friend Rafe, alone and confused with no way out. Now you're back, 6 years later.. and it's an absolute shit show.

series masterlist !

Rafe threw his head back as he snorted his first line of the night, the rush quickly making its way to his brain as his body relaxed. He sniffed more from the intrusion, scanning his eyes over the crowd of people at the party on a normal night in the outer banks.

"My boy knows how to party!" Topper enthusiastically claimed, walking up to Rafe who was sat around the glass table on the balcony.

"Shut up topper" He grumbled in reply, glancing over at the girl following behind his blonde friend. "Rafe, this is Marley. Said she wanted to get to know you"

The girl batted her eyelashes at Rafe, her legs glistening in her very short skirt. "not happening" Rafe replied, preparing the next round of his supply as he waved his hand at the pair in front of him to go away.

"Well, the king has spoken. Sorry Marls, he's been a bit grumpy for well.. always."

Rafe rolled his eyes at Topper's words, not even bothering to watch as the girl walked away begrudgingly.

"When are you gonna move on man, I mean we all loved her but.. she's not coming back." Topper sighed, sitting on the chair next to Rafe. "Shut the fuck up, you don't know the first thing about me and her. " He snapped back, his blood boiling at the mention of you, as it always did.

He was so angry.

So angry that you had left him without a goodbye. So angry that he couldn't hold your hand or cuddle you. So angry he couldn't just have you back.

But what made him the most angry, was that it wasn't angry at all.

He could never be angry at you. All he wanted was you back in his arms, but he knew that was never happening.

And he was yet to make peace with that fact.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

"I've missed you so much!" Kie squealed as she ran into your arms, pushing you back as you giggled and hugged her. "I've missed you too Kie. It's been too long," you replied solemnly, pulling back to look at her face for the first time in years.

"Outerbanks hasn't been the same without you" Kiara replied, squeezing you extra tight as she pulled back. You just smiled in response, taking a deep breath of the fresh Obx air you didn't know you missed so much.

"Well c'mon, we have swimming to do." You giggled, pulling off your shirt and shorts to reveal your bikini underneath, feeling the soft sand between your toes.

You couldn't wait for her as she shimmed out of her clothes, looking at her and smiling before running to the water.

You had only been back in the Obx for a matter of hours, digging through your suitcase to find the first bathing suit you could see before running out of your house.

The feeling of the fresh, clear, water on your skin as you dived under waves was unmatched to anything you had felt before. Like before this, you had never even lived before.

All the worries and panic about coming back home dissipating the second you touched the sea.

You don't know how long you were swimming, but the second you came back to consciousness the sun was setting over the horizon.

As you swam back to the shore, you heard a bustle on the sand in front of you. You narrowed your eyes at the commotion, your feet finding their way to the sand below you as you walked out of the water.

Having only spent about 6 hours back in the Outerbanks, you hadn't yet become acquainted with the nightlife of the teenagers of Kildare.

You heard your name being yelled behind you as you walked up the beach to your towel and clothes, turning around to see Kiara now fully dry and fully dressed.

"Oh my god, you were swimming that whole time? I thought you went home!" Kie gasped as you noticed a red solo cup in her hand.

"I always lose track of time out there. What's all this?" you questioned, looking around at the crowds of teenagers and music pumping in your ears at the once peaceful boneyard.

"Kegger, Wait! C'mon, The boys will be so happy your back!" She enthusiastically replied, pulling you towards the crowds while you were still drying off with your towel.

"Wait Kie!" you gasped, much preferring that she gave you the chance to put on some clothes first.

"Guys! Look whose back" Kiara exclaimed, pulling you out from behind her to see the trio of troublemaking pouges from your childhood.

"Hey, no way! The kook princess is back in town" JJ gasped, pulling you in for a hug as you smiled. "Hey J"

You were never that close with the Pouges, because well you were never in the same circle as them. Though, Pope's dad Heyward knew your father from childhood and was at your house from time to time.

After exchanging hugs with the rest of the boys, they soon went into a conversation about god knows what, letting you have the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.

You sighed to yourself as you walked down the beach, attempting to escape the commotion of the Kegger. It wasn't dark yet, so you found yourself sitting in the soft sand, staring at the waves in peace.

You were yet to see or hear of the Cameron boy you had been thinking about your whole life.

Wondering what he had been up to for the last 6 years of your life. Was he in college? What did he look like now? Was he tall, handsome?

You had endless amounts of questions, but you were still undecided if you actually wanted them to be answered.

You brought your legs into your chest as you wrapped your arms around yourself, letting your head rest on your arms as you stared into the horizon.

You looked behind you as you heard voices, watching a girl climb onto a red buoy that had washed up on the shore. You squinted your eyes as you saw a familiar boy lend her a hand to get down.

Topper.

As Sarah looked over the shore from her view, she noticed you sat alone. And i mean, you're someone people never forget, and along with the fact she hadn't stopped hearing about you from her older brother since she could remember.

You hear your name from behind you as you turn, seeing Sarah run up to you with Topper following cluelessly behind.

"Hey Sarah" You sigh, trying to be as enthusiastic as possible but you can't help but crave silence right now.

"What're doing back here, I thought I'd never see you again" She exclaims, leaning down to hug you. "Can't get rid of me that quick"

"Hey Topper" You spoke, watching as he nervously peered at you behind Sarah.

As much as you loved Sarah, you guys were never close. Sure you could have a good conversation with her occasionally, but you were always closer to Topper, because well, where you went, Rafe went.

You watched as someone called Sarah's name, making her turn around and walk towards the voice. Leaving you and Topper alone on the shore.

Instead of following her, he took a seat next to you on the sand.

"We've missed you a lot y'know" He sighed, shuffling closer to you as you turned to him "He's not doing good, at all. He needs you"

You felt a tear making its way down your cheek at the mention of Rafe, turning away quickly to wipe it off your face. "See him soon alright, please"

With his last statement, he got up and left you to your thoughts.

When your mom decided to whisk you away back to the mainland, you didn't only lose your father and all you knew, but the love of your life as well.

You and Rafe were inseparable, and you had always wondered what your life would be like if you never had left.

You looked over the crowd at Kie, who was having fun and laughing with her friends. Deciding against having the whole 'I'm going home now' conversation where you knew she was going to try to get you to stay, you walked the length of the beach back to your house.

You didn't even know how you would go about seeing Rafe again. Were you gonna show up to his house and offer milk and cookies, or hide from him for the rest of your life until you could have plastic surgery to change your face so he couldn't recognise you?

Probably the latter.

You held your shoes in your hands as you walked up the staircase to your room, your dad nowhere in sight, and the house as quiet as it was in your childhood.

You sighed as you flicked the light on in your room, the sky outside now pitch black.

You immediately start pulling off your shirt and shorts which were over your bikini. The mixture of the sand and the still-damp swimsuit making you squirm.

You look over to your balcony and realise your curtains are still open, making the wise decision that you should probably shut them before completely stripping, you walk over to the window.

You reach to each side of the fabric, beginning to pull them into each other before your eyes are cast to the light in front of you from outside.

You look over to the bedroom opposite yours out the window, clothes strewn across the floor, the bed unmade... Oh! and your childhood best friend staring right at you in utter shock.

Shoot, there goes your master plan.

[luveline]

How about ploy marauders going to a party and Sirius promised to do readers make up, but is late so the other two are making an attempt. Sure they might know how to do Sirius's messy style, but do they know big dramatic styles? Can James do a perfect wing?

<3 fem, 1k

“Can you stay still?” Remus asks, turning your face a half inch where it’s held in his hand. 

“Can James stop kissing me?” you ask. 

James pulls his face from the curve of your neck, the warmth of his lips lingering on your skin. “Sorry, are you busy?” 

“You’re supposed to be helping.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t enjoying yourself.” 

You smile. Remus rubs the softest curve under your eye with his thumb, the tip of his tongue sticking out between his lips. He doesn’t know he’s doing it, concentrating instead on your face and the wetness of your makeup where it’s beginning to sink in. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” he sighs. 

“You know better than I do,” James says. 

You don’t know a thing about it, that’s why you’d arranged for Sirius to do your makeup tonight before Marl’s birthday bash, but where is your awful boyfriend? Late, decidedly unavailable for makeup-ing. 

“You’ve done his mascara a thousand times,” James argues with Remus. 

“Yes, but Sirius has never asked me to do his blush.” Remus’ hand moves to the side of your face. “You are lovely, though. I think using only a little of everything is working in our favour.” 

“Sirius only lets him do mascara because he already has nice eyelashes,” you worry. It won’t matter if Remus messes up or doesn’t get close enough to the root. 

“Yes, and because he likes it when Remus holds his face like that,” James points out, eyeing Remus’ hand where it stays at your cheek. Remus has long fingers, ever-so slightly thick with two golden rings that kiss your chin as he lets his hand fall, and he’s always gentle. 

“James, I’m tapping out.” 

James pretends to roll up sleeves he isn’t wearing, your bulkiest boyfriend in a short-sleeved t-shirt that showcases the lean muscle of his forearms, the not so lean ridges of his biceps. They tense as he sits up, his knee jabbing yours, the bed creaking dangerously beneath your angled weight. “What’s there left to do? She’s gorgeous.” 

“What did you want?” Remus asks you. 

“Uh, I wanted, you know…” You sound ridiculously shy. You wish you could just do all of this faff by yourself rather than force their attention, but neither boy seems annoyed. “He does that smudgey eyeliner, it makes my eyes look bigger. And lipgloss, but I can do that myself.” 

“Are you kidding? That’s the best part,” James says. He gives you a smile confident enough to reassure you and handsome enough to make you shy from his touch all over again. “Pass me the black pencil, Remus. I’ve got this.” 

James does not got this, his expression melding from happy, adoring, to perturbed, and then annoyed. “Aw, I’ve fucked it.” 

Remus shakes his head vehemently. “You haven’t! We just need a wet wipe.” 

They search the room for Sirius’ wet wipes and come up empty-handed. A towel is wetted and taken carefully to your eyes instead, cold and rough on your eyelids. 

“Be gentler,” Remus whispers. 

James is practically atop you know, your chin tilted up to his hand. “Sorry,” he whispers in turn, then to you solely, “‘m I hurting you?” 

“No.” You’re whispering too. It feels appropriate; they’re both very close to you, and this movement might fix or ruin your makeup with the party’s start time drawing ever closer. 

“I think I’ve fixed it,” James says, taking the pencil up again, the nib soft as it rolls over the corner of your eye. “Sirius can perfect it in the car, right?” 

“I thought you were good at everything?” you ask. 

James turns your face up impossibly higher, craning his head down for a peck. “Yes,” he whispers severely, “I’m good at everything. But Sirius is usually better. Quick, let’s find your lipgloss before we’re late.” 

Remus tries to tell James that it isn’t true, a serious conversation at a bad time, and James won’t listen to a word of it. They quibble over who’s doing your lipgloss, bathe you in compliments when they’re done —aw, dove, you look so cute, and cute? she looks perfect— then suddenly an abrupt beep is sounding outside. The three of you scramble into your jackets and down the stairs, meeting Sirius where he leans against the car. He throws the keys to Remus, ushering you into the backseat with him for some last minute clean up. 

“Hey, they’ve done a good job,” he praises, another hand on your face to turn it up kindly to the light. “Did you bring your lipgloss?”  

You nod quickly and dig for it in your jacket. 

“What!” James says from the front, turning in the passenger seat to complain. “That’s the one thing we did perfectly.” 

The car starts. Remus laughs to himself behind the steering wheel. 

“Did I say otherwise?” Sirius asks, letting his fingers curve toward the back of your neck. Pale in the light, eyes lit with something funny you’ve yet to hear, he dips in close to you and talks quietly, “I’m sorry, I promised I’d do your makeup for the party. But you’ve all done well without me, you look perfect, especially your lips.” 

“Then what did you want it for?” you ask, confused, your seat belt pulling as Sirius encourages you forward. 

“To reapply.” He taps your neck with a fingertip. “Spare a kiss? I promise I’ll fix any mess.” 

Commotion from the front seat.

“James–” Remus warns. 

“What? I want to watch.” 

“Freak,” Sirius says lovingly. 

“How am I a freak? She’s my girlfriend, you’re my boyfriend, and you’re doing that voice like you’re gonna lay her down in the back seat.” 

“James.” 

—

requests r open!! pls think about reblogging if you enjoyed, I hope u did either way!!!

[inkdrinkerworld]

you’re more than a little drunk and your boyfriend looks for you, only to find you in the oddest place

“Have you seen dove?” Remus asks Sirius, not completely concerned, but just mildly.

You’re at a small house party at James’ place and you’d had a few drinks well before you’d run off to dance with Mary and Dorcas.

Sirius and James are playing beer pong, James has significantly more cups than Sirius but they’re seasoned at this- years of collage parties had prepped their livers well.

“Last I’d seen her she was doing shots with Marls.” Sirius smiles as he says it, anyone doing any drink with Marlene was chaos in the making.

Remus shakes his head fondly, looking out to the kitchen to see if he can spot you.

He finds Marlene but he can hear her laughing at something and calling your name. He can see Mary and Dorcas too, the both of them trying to stop you from doing something.

“Good luck,” James says as he lands a ball into Sirius’ cup with little effort. The black haired man groans as he downs the shot.

“Come out from under there,” Marlene laughs as you shake your head, Remus right behind her and catching full sight of you laying under the kitchen table with your hands folded under your head.

“Just need the quickest nap ever, guys. Then m’gonna find Remmy.”

Remus chuckles, patting Marlene on the shoulder to let her know he has it from here.

“There may or may not have been lemon sours involved.” Dorcas says, laughter colouring her words as she, Mary and Marlene back away.

Remus turns to you, all fond and sticky with adoration.

“Hi dovey.” Your eyes barely open.

“Remmy? I think m’drunk.”

Remus chuckles, bending to fit under the table with you. He sits where you’re laying down, his hand coming to stroke your cheek.

“That’s alright. Are you having fun?”

There’s cheering that you hear somewhere far away- James has beaten Sirius less than twenty feet away but your ears feel stuffed up.

“So much fun! Getting drunk with Marls and Dorcas and Mary’s the best.”

Remus smiles, leaning down to kiss your temple. “I bet. Wanna go home and take a nap? Or is the floor suitable?”

You hum, your breathing deepening slightly as Remus continues to stroke the hair at your temple back into the rest of your hair.

“S’suitable,” you mumble after a couple minutes and Remus resigns himself to sitting with you for a few more minutes.

He sees the minute you fall asleep, and snaps the fastest photo ever. Then you call, “Remmy?”

“M’right here, my love.”

You smile slightly, and press your head back into his touch.

“Can we get chips on the way home? With salt and malt vinegar?”

Remus laughs, laying beside you now completely. Your head comes to rest on his chest, your hand slipping under his shirt to trace the scar on his abdomen.

“Course, dove. You just let me know when you’re ready to go.”

[evanpeterswhoresblog]

Innocence

Remus Lupin x f!reader

warnings: smut, oral (female receiving), oral (male receiving), fingering, slight hand job, virgin reader, purity ring 😮‍💨, making out, underage smoking, mention of underage drinking, slight innocence/ corruption kink, lmk if i missed any!

summary: remus learns the ring you wear everyday is called a purity ring, and he develops a strange obsession with it… and wanting to take it off you…

word count: 4.6k

a/n: guys.. dw there’s gonna b a part two but like omgggggg this made me feel so many things i’m in love with this. lmk what you think :) also i’m not religious so if any of this is not accurate i’m sorry lol it’s for the plot

part two is posted!!! here

~~~

Ever since he knew you, Remus noticed that one thing you always wore. It was plain, a simple gold band on your left ring finger, the marriage finger. Typically, such nonsense wouldn’t cross his mind twice, but you wore that ring damn ring every day. Since the first time he ever saw you, that ring was on your finger. He never saw you without it. So, his curiosity got the better of him.

Why would such a simple ring be so important that you never took it off? It couldn’t have been because you were married. No. You wore it even at the young age of eleven. Could it have been a family heirloom? That idea was plausible, however to him, it didn’t feel like the correct answer. And Remus Lupin always needed the correct answer.

So, he eventually decided to ask you.

During dinner one night, when you just so happened to be sitting next to him, his eyes caught sight of the ring and he eyed it suspiciously. You noticed this.

“Something wrong Rem?” You asked.

He looked up from the ring on your delicate finger to meet your confused eyes. “Why do you always wear that specific ring? And always on that finger? Is it special?”

“Oh.” You laughed for a few seconds. “Yeah, it’s stupid really, an old muggle tradition.” You composed yourself and looked up at him, a slight red tint to your cheeks. “It’s called a purity ring. Basically, I wear it as a reminder that I pledged to wait till marriage.”

Remus was confused, and he hated being confused. “Why would anyone wait till marriage?”

You shrugged. “Muggle religion is quite weird. They value keeping teenagers pure until they’re married. I think it’s stupid, but I still wear it.”

“So, you’ve done it but continue wearing it as a... symbol?” He questioned.

“Oh no, I haven’t done it. I might find it stupid, but I still plan to keep my promise. It’s sort of a nice accomplishment don’t you think? I’ve gone through two years of everyone shagging around me and I haven’t given in,” you answered.

He stared at you for a few seconds. You were still a virgin, and that ring was the reason. He thought for a moment. How could you be a virgin? He swore he had seen you go off with a bloke from Ravenclaw a few months ago during a party. But then as his eyes trailed over your small figure, he realized the idea wasn’t completely impossible. He’d never seen you with hickeys, he’d never seen you dress improperly, and he surely had never seen you enter the common room after a long night with someone. For some reason, it made a strange feeling bloom deep inside him.

“Surely you’ve at least done other stuff, right?”

You simply shook your head and took a bite from your sandwich. “Furthest I’ve ever gone is having some Ravenclaws tongue down my throat.”

Ah, so he was right about that.

“Besides, I don’t really even know much about any of that stuff. I mean I know biology, but that’s about it. And of course, what Marls and Mary tell me from their extravagant experiences,” you added after swallowing.

So that meant...

“You haven’t done anything?” He was surprised, it was clear in his tone.

“No need to sound so flabbergasted. Besides, why do you even care about what I’ve done? I always thought you were the modest type too,” you replied with an eye roll.

Remus looked away from you, and the urge to smirk took him over. He thought back to those countless nights over the summer breaks he’d spent with muggle girls. The feelings, the sounds, the tastes, all experiences he’d never forget. But by no means was Remus Lupin a player, oh no. He was nothing like his mate. However, he also wasn’t a saint like everyone painted him out to be.

“I may be modest but that doesn’t mean I’m a virgin,” he said after a moment, his eyes finally turned back to you. He liked the way you looked at him. “That went away a few summers ago.”

You smiled, though something about it was off, almost as if it were forced. “Well, cheers to that.”

“Cheers.” He nodded in agreement.

You turned back to the group conversation before he could say anything else.

~~~

Remus had thought after finding out what the ring's importance was, he would let it go and move on. Unfortunately, he had thought wrong. Ever since that conversation with you, he couldn’t get any of it off his mind. When he’d see you, he’d always look at your left hand, almost making sure that ring was still there. It always was. And for some reason it made him feel almost relieved. He needed more answers.

Thankfully, another opportunity came not too long after the first.

The two of you had been paired together in potions. Typically, he would be a bit upset with the fact given you were never the best in the subject. But for the first time, he was pleased with the pairing.

He watched as you cut up some of the ingredients, that stupid ring shining from the lights. Questions filled his head. Where had you gotten it? When did you get it? Who gave it to you? Did your parents know what it meant? What were you supposed to do with it when the time finally came? He needed to get the answers.

“So, when did you get it?” He casually asked his eyes on the cauldron.

“Get what?”

“The ring.”

You chuckled. “You’re still on about that? I suppose you aren’t too accustomed to muggle things. I got it right before I came here actually. My parents wanted to give me a reminder about life at home, and they wanted to make sure I knew where my ‘loyalties’ lay. Though, I was only a little girl. Did they expect anything to happen at that young?”

Three questions were answered. Good.

Remus dropped his chopped ingredients into the cauldron. “Does that mean you give it back to them when you finally do it?”

“Oh no. I give it to my husband of course,” you replied. “Do these look alright?”

He finally turned his head in your direction and looked over your cutting board then he met your eyes. “Perfect. You can put them in.”

“You don’t know how good that makes me feel to hear. Master of potions Remus Lupin says I’m perfect, I could faint,” you said as you scrapped your work into the cauldron, a hint of laughter in your voice.

He rolled his eyes. “I said your cutting was perfect, but if it makes you feel good, I suppose you are too.”

You looked up at him with a glint in your eyes that made an odd feeling form in his chest. You looked so damn innocent. How had he not noticed it before? You had always been one of the shyer members of Gryffindor, but he always brushed it off as nothing important. He never would’ve guessed just how innocent you were.

“How sweet of you.” You giggled.

“ ’Course, anytime love.”

He noticed the shift in your body at his words. How odd. You looked away from him for a few seconds, that familiar rose tint returning to your cheeks. Did you always do that? Did such simple words always make you blush and turn away? Or was it just him? He watched you bite down on your lip and fiddle with your ring.

You were teasing him.

It was then he decided he was going to get that ring from you.

And you were going to love it.

~~~

Getting you to that point was going to take some time, Remus knew that. But it didn’t stop him. He started simply. When the two of you were hanging out in the group, he made sure to at least say a few words to you alone. When eating meals, he made sure to get a spot next to you. Most importantly though, he started making sure to leave subtle hints. Lingering eye contact, small touches that weren’t necessary, comments that made your face turn red. He could tell all of it made you flustered, and he loved it.

During all of it, his obsession with your innocence only grew. He wanted to take it away. He wanted to taint you, to make you not so pure anymore. He didn’t understand the feeling, he never cared much for such stereotypical nonsense. But each time you looked at him with those curious, innocent eyes, it only made his patience strained.

The first breakthrough came during one of Sirius and James’s parties. The common room blared with music, and people laughed and danced. You were among them. Remus leaned against the wall next to the staircase to the boy's dorm, a cigarette between his lips as he watched you dance with Mary and Lily. Your smile was bright, your body moved to the rhythm almost perfectly. You wore a pretty little dress. But he couldn’t focus on any of that because that damn ring caught his attention.

It had become quite a distraction. He found himself staring at it far more than normal. During class and dinner, it consumed most of his thoughts. He needed to get it off your finger before it caused his grades to slip.

From across the room, your eyes suddenly found his. You gave him a questioning look; he only smirked back and released a cloud of smoke into the air. He watched you say something to the girls before you began to walk in his direction. Perfect.

“Why do you always stand on the sidelines?” You asked once you were close enough. “And if you’re going to stare at me all night you might as well just dance with me.”

He chuckled and took another drag from the cigarette. “I’m not the biggest fan of these parties and I definitely don’t dance.” He offered you the cigarette, and you shook your head and pointed to your ring. “Come on, that applies to cigs too?”

“And alcohol, pretty much whatever is considered sinful. Though, I have indulged in a drink or two. Mommy and Daddy don’t need to know about that,” you answered.

Merlin, he needed to do something with you. It was almost unbearable.

“You’re saying alcohol and cigs are sinful but intense snogging isn’t? Seems a bit hypocritical to me,” he eventually said.

You smiled and shrugged. “That’s muggle religion for you. It’s pretty much up to each person's interpretation and what they value. I value being sober more than refraining from a snog occasionally.”

“But a shag...”

“That’s universally seen as a big sin. Most of us would agree not to do it until marriage.”

He released another breath of smoke. “Most of you?”

“Well, not everyone agrees of course. Like I said, it’s technically up to everyone’s values. Murder is also considered a sin, you know. But even some people commit that,” you explained. He watched you blush. “I don’t think I should compare virginity to murder though.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a fair comparison,” he replied, his lips turned up into a smile.

You turned even more red. “Sorry. But you get what I’m saying, right?”

“Everything is optional is what you’re saying.” He let his eyes trail over your body, making sure you noticed. “So really, you could fuck someone before marriage.”

“I mean yeah, I could, but I don’t think I will,” you said. You began to fiddle with the ring again. “It’s sort of always been with me it would feel weird giving it to someone else.”

“Do you have to give it away for anything? Or just actual sex?” It was another question he’d been dying to know. He watched you think for a moment.

“I think just the full thing. I don’t know. I don’t even really know that much about it like I said when you first asked me. I mean, I know people use their hands and mouths but... sorry. I shouldn't be talking about such things.” You put your face in your hands, Remus couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sorry.”

He needed to do something. Now.

“Don’t be sorry love, it’s alright. You know you can trust me; I wouldn’t dare tell anyone about your sinful thoughts,” he spoke. He turned and dropped his cigarette into one of the many ashtrays in the common room. When he looked back at you, you were already looking at him. “But you know if you ever wanted to indulge in something like that, you can come to me.”

You were beyond flustered, and it showed. “Oh! That’s very um... generous of you, but I don’t think I’ll do any of that I mean... I don’t plan on it.”

He casually shrugged. “We all get a bit curious at some point in our lives.”

For a moment the two of you only stared at each other. He could tell exactly what you were thinking. You were curious. You wanted to try things. He observed you carefully. He could sense the conflict within you. Value versus desire. It was a tough battle, but you didn’t cave. At least, not yet.

“Perhaps, but I made a promise and I need to stick to it,” you said. You looked over your shoulder at your clearly intoxicated friends. “I should get back to Lily and Mary.”

“Right, it was nice talking,” he replied with a smile.

You nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

“Till then love.”

Even as you walked away and joined your friends once again, he could see the way his words affected you. You could deny the feelings all you wanted, but your body craved the unknown. It was only a matter of time till you caved, and Remus would wait.

He was never one to give up easily.

~~~

You came to him faster than he expected. He understood why though, you were on edge about all of it. In the few days it took for you to go to him, he noticed how different you acted. You were more tense, you fiddled with your ring far more than normal. He imagined the inner conflict you faced was stressful, but he was glad about the turnout of it.

After dinner, as he was walking to the library for a study group, you found him. He was a bit surprised at your approach, but nevertheless, he welcomed it with joy.

“Hey Remus, could I talk to you for a second?” You asked.

You were a bit behind him, but he stopped instantly and turned to face you.

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

Your little bit of confidence quickly vanished. You avoided his gaze, focusing suddenly on your shoes. “Um, are you busy? It’s not really that important so if you have something else to do it can wait.”

He fought the urge to smirk. “I was just going to Lily’s little study group, but it can wait. Is something wrong?”

You shook your head and looked up at him, those big innocent eyes staring into his. “No uh... nothing's wrong. It’s just about... well... you know.”

“About what?”

“You know...”

“I don’t think I do love, you’re gonna have to use your words and tell me.”

He felt bad for teasing you, but it was too fun not to. The way your cute little eyes looked around the hallway to make sure no one else was around, the way you fidgeted, it was far too entertaining to stop. A moment passed before you finally spoke in a much softer tone than before.

“It’s about what we talked about at the party last weekend.”

“Oh?” He questioned. “What about it?”

He watched as you slid the ring up and down your finger. “You said um if I ever wanted to you know, indulge, that I could come to you.”

“Yes, I did say that.”

“So... um yeah,” you said. You looked almost uncomfortable. He knew he needed to be nicer.

“Are you asking if that offer is still there?”

You nodded eagerly. “Yes! I mean, um, is it?”

He glanced around to make sure nobody else was around before stepping closer to you. You looked up at him with wide eyes, your mouth parted ever so slightly. He touched his fingers to your chin, lifting your head gently.

“How about you come find out?”

You didn’t fight it. He was glad.

Not too long after that, Remus found himself in a position he’d desperately wanted for almost a month. You were laid out on his bed, open like a flower, and he was on top of you. Your robe, shirt, and tie were thrown to the floor. He kissed you hard, the reward of your gasps kept him going. He let one of his hands travel up your soft thigh, you were so warm, so inviting. It took all his self-control to keep him from moving too fast.

Before it began, you told him you had only ever snogged. That meant no boy had ever touched you. Not with a hand, not with his tongue, nothing. No one had ever even felt up your breasts. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t pleased with the information. He wanted you to be his, he wanted to be as many of your firsts as he could be.

“Can I touch you?” He eventually whispered on your skin; his lips were by your ear.

“Yes, please,” you replied, your breath ragged.

He continued to press soft kisses to your neck as his hand moved between your thighs. You were wet, very wet. He could feel it through your panties. It made him even harder than he already was. He slid his hand under your panties and began to rub soft circles on your clit, you gasped and lifted your hips in response.

You were perfect.

With every flick of his fingers, you let out little whimpers and moans, and one of your hands gripped his shoulder hard. He caught a few glances of your face between kisses. Your cheeks were red, your eyes squeezed shut. You were beyond beautiful.

After a few minutes, he moved his fingers down to your entrance. He made sure to collect your wetness and ask if it was alright before he began to slowly push one of his fingers inside you.

“Remus,” you mumbled as he started thrusting his finger in and out of you at a slow pace. “Fuck.”

“Does it hurt? Do you want me to stop?” He asked.

You lightly shook your head. “It feels so good, do not stop.”

“Do you want another one?”

“Yes.”

He complied instantly and added a second finger. You responded just the way he wanted. In only a few more minutes he was fucking you with his fingers, touching that spot inside that made your thighs clench around him. He kissed you hard, he loved how you struggled to kiss him back. When he also began to press his thumb to your clit, you became a mess.

“Fuck Rem, I-” You paused, your nails dug into his shoulder.

“You’re close.” It was a statement; he could feel your walls clenching around his fingers. He knew you weren’t going to last much longer.

“I am,” you practically whimpered.

“Let go, love, it’s alright.”

Only seconds later you did. You came hard. Your back arched off the mattress, your mouth hung open wide, and your thighs tightened around his hips. Remus had never felt anything as good as the feeling of your walls pulsating around his fingers as you came undone beneath him. He made sure to keep going till you were fully done. At that point, he pulled his hand out of your panties and up to his lips. He knew you were going to taste good.

You sat up, breathless. “Oh my god. I can’t believe I just- you just- we just... I’m going to hell.”

“Relax, it’ll be fine. People do this all the time and nothing bad happens, I promise it’s just a normal thing,” he said. He tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, he thought you looked so beautiful. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not worried about being judged or anything, I’m worried because I don’t feel guilty. I should feel guilty for it but I just... don’t. In fact, I think I...” You looked down at your hand, specifically the ring. “I think I want more.”

Remus couldn’t help the smirk that formed on his lips. “More?”

“Yeah, I mean it’s only right that I return the favor.” He watched your eyes move to his pants; your cheeks turned red. “You’ll have to show me how though.”

“Alright, only if, you’re sure. Don’t feel like you have to because I did something for you,” he replied though he really did want you to touch him. But he could wait if he had to.

“I want to.”

He didn’t question you further. Instead, he guided you through the process of getting him off with your hand. You were a fast learner, though the act itself wasn’t that hard to get the hang of. He found it funny the way you gasped at the size of him. Merlin, you were so innocent. Either way, you made him feel extraordinary. Your hand was much softer than his, and warmer too. You touched him gently, almost teasingly. But that changed fast.

“Can I try something else?” You asked, your hand stopped.

He almost groaned from the lack of motion. “What?”

“Um, can I try using my um...” You pointed to your lips.

“Your mouth?”

“Yeah.”

How could he ever refuse?

It was sloppy, it was rushed, but it was everything he could’ve wanted. As he laid back on the pillows, one of his hands moved through your soft hair. He didn’t dare push you. No. He only stroked your hair gently and whispered praises. He knew you liked it from the way you hummed on his cock each time he told you how good you were doing or how good you made him feel. And when you looked up at him with those eyes, those damn innocent eyes, he could barely contain himself.

He was shocked you even did it to begin with, but he was even more shocked when you let him finish in your mouth. You had him halfway down your throat when he came, and you didn’t pull away for a second. You swallowed it all. Somehow, he became even more attracted to you than he had been before.

“Was it good?” You questioned after you pulled back. You were kneeling beside his legs, a nervous expression on your face.

He smiled. “You were amazing. Are you sure you haven’t done that before?”

“Never even saw one in real life before this,” you replied with a laugh.

“That’s hard to believe,” he said. He sat up and pressed a kiss to your lips before pulling back slightly to look into your eyes. “Do you want to try one more thing?”

“Depends on what thing.”

“I’ll do what you just did to me but on you,” he answered, loving the way your eyes widened at his words. Despite everything that happened already, you were still so innocent. He adored it.

“Oh yeah okay,” you spoke after a moment.

He kissed you again. “Lay down.”

You did as he said and soon it began.

He started by kissing your lips while his hands pulled your skirt and panties off, leaving you only in a bra. Once those were off, he kissed down your neck, and your chest, only pausing for a second to unclip your bra and take one of your nipples in his mouth. You moaned, he stayed there for a few extra seconds. He then moved his mouth further down your body, relishing the sounds you made each time his lips made contact with your skin.

When he started to kiss up one of your thighs, you twitched. You were so sensitive, so untouched. He was obsessed with it. Every few kisses he sucked your skin to leave dark purple hickeys. He had made sure not to leave any on your skin that would be visible to the world so that no one would see the evidence of your sinful acts. But the skin that would be covered by clothing, that was his to mark.

A few minutes of this went by, and it was all on purpose. Remus could tell how eager you were for him to get on with it, but you were far too shy to tell him to do so. So, he didn’t dare touch you where you so desperately wanted him to. He wanted to hear you ask. But you said nothing, so he decided you needed a little push. He gave you one single lick then returned to your black and blue thighs.

“Remus,” you whispered. “Please.”

He looked up at you and almost felt bad. Your desperate eyes were already looking at him, he could tell how much you needed it. He didn’t wait any longer and gave you what you needed; you certainly earned it.

In all his experience with sex and everything surrounding it, Remus enjoyed pleasing his partner as anyone did. He didn’t mind going down on women, in fact, he sort of enjoyed it. At least until you. With you, he quickly realized having his head between your thighs and his tongue on your clit was not just alright, it was heavenly. He never enjoyed the taste of a girl like he enjoyed yours. You were sweet and the sounds you made as he played with you were their own type of reward.

So, it was no surprise how quickly you came undone on his tongue. He devoured you like he had been starving his whole life. Truthfully, he felt as if he had. You were spectacular. You were perfection. You were his. He was crazy about you.

After you finished, he wiped his mouth on one of your thighs before moving to lie on the bed next to you. He laid on his side facing you, his eyes examining your face. Your eyes were closed, and your cheeks were pink. Your hair was messy, and your lips were ever so slightly lifted into a smile. He swore he never saw anyone as beautiful in his life.

“I feel stupid,” you mumbled.

“Why?”

You opened your eyes and looked at him, your smile then undeniable. “I should’ve taken you up on your offer sooner. Now I understand why everyone’s so mad about this stuff, it’s unbelievable.”

“You don’t regret it then?” He asked.

“How could I? You’re just... Remus I...” You turned to your side to face him fully, one of your hands pressed against his chest. “I think we should do this again if you’d want to of course.”

He grinned and let a hand fall to your waist, he pulled you closer, so your bodies touched. He rested his chin on the top of your head, and you buried your face in his neck. For a moment he felt almost victorious, he had gotten you right where he wanted you to be. It would only be a matter of time before you let him take you fully. But then he realized, it wasn’t about taking your virginity so much anymore. He just wanted you.

“I wouldn’t want anything more,” he eventually said, then he pressed a kiss to your forehead, while the cold feeling of your ring on his chest lingered in the back of his mind.

Soon, it would be his. And so would you.

[blossomarlia]

hi bit a of weird request but would you be able to write one where fem!reader is walking home from a party and feeling kind of insecure/sad but james sees her and like cheers her up?

hi! hope this is kind of what you wanted, thanks for the request <3

james potter x fem! reader

warnings: mentions of slut-shaming/victim mindset, reader is drunk and a bit insecure, excessive use of pet names

You try, uselessly, to pull your thin shirt across just a little more of your chest, skin sensitive and prickling with goosebumps as another chill sweeps through the lamp-lit street. You hadn’t expected the cold to affect you so quickly; at Marlene’s party, a combination of alcohol and crowded bodies had kept you perfectly warm. You’d felt warmed inside, too, confident and sparkling, for most of the night. You suppose the cold isn’t helping to remind you how that ended, either.

“You’re certainly putting on a show,” someone said. “Looks like you’re up for just about anything.”

Thankfully, Emmeline and Mary had been standing nearby, and the anonymous plus-one was treated to a thirty-five minute lecture on respect before being sent home. You tried to laugh at his expression and the bitter apology he threw your way- you did, really, but the damage was done. Worse, when you looked around and realised that almost none of your friends were dressed in quite the same calibre of party outfit as you were. 

“What, you’re worried you look too hot? Relax, babe.” Marlene had said, trying to make you feel better. It would’ve worked if you hadn’t had quite so many ciders, and spent half an hour already feeling rotten. Mary, not realising that it had actually upset you (to be fair, you’d done nothing but pretend to be fine) said that to cover up would be proving him right, and how could you ask Marlene for a spare t-shirt after that? It would be vindication for everyone who thought the same thing as that stupid boy, wouldn’t it? 

Now, freezing cold and barely halfway to your flat, you’re completely confused as to why you decided to abandon your cab home. You remember saying something about needing fresh air to the driver, and then you’d paid and he drove off without a second thought. Your friends would be worried sick if they knew you were out here all alone. And dressed like this, too, a mean little voice adds. Really, what do you expect to happen?

It’s not true or fair, you know, but this entire night hasn’t been anything like what you’d imagined when you were putting on makeup and getting dressed, and you’re so cold that your teeth are chattering, and it’s all making you feel awfully close to tears. 

“Hey!” You stiffen, seeing yourself briefly silhouetted against the pavement by headlights behind you. You turn, tense and worried, and squint at the man sitting in the front seat.

“James?” You gasp, a hand on your stomach as you try to swallow the panic climbing your throat. “I thought you were- how are you here?”

James looks very worried and quite guilty, too. “Sorry, angel. Should’ve turned my high-beams off.” If you were sober and quite a lot happier, the endearment would make you smile- James’ habit of referring to everyone by a pet-name is one of the most lovely things about him. “I live this way, remember? I was supposed to be picking Pa- Sirius up, but he’s decided to stay the night at Marls’.”

You know their nicknames for one another- everyone does. Padfoot, Moony, Prongs. You don’t know what they mean, and don’t really need to, but it’s sort of nice that James always makes the effort to use Remus and Sirius’ real names when he’s talking to those outside their trio. Maybe he’s unaware that he does it, but it’s as if he’ll do anything to avoid people feeling excluded. 

“Sorry,” You say, voice suddenly wobbly, and close your eyes tightly. You hear James’ door open and then his footsteps as he comes towards you- you expect his touch, and wouldn’t hate it but wouldn’t want it like you usually do, either- but then he’s draping something warm and soft around your shoulders. You open your eyes. You’re wearing one of his jackets, soft brown corduroy that reaches the tops of your thighs. You think you remember him saying it belonged to his father; Fleamont and Euphemia Potter are known within your circle of friends for being generous with their belongings. You think Lily was wearing one of Euphemia’s scarves in her ponytail tonight.

You sway in your heels. Why didn’t you take them off? Your feet ache terribly, another hurt to add to the list. You press a fist to your chest, willing yourself not to start crying in front of James, who is undoubtedly the nicest boy you’ve ever fancied. 

“Will you let me drop you home? It’s too cold, you’ll get sick,” He asks gently, as if to prove your point. 

“Okay.” 

You sniffle. “Oh, sweetheart,” He says. 

You’re bundled into the car, still shivering, and James reaches into the backseat to get a jumper- why he has so many articles of outerwear in his car, you’ve no idea- and puts it across your bare legs to warm you up. He turns the heater up the whole way and pats your shoulder before he shuts the door.

You look at him as he sits in the driver’s seat, your hands clammy and face raw with upset. “I’m really sorry. This is so embarrassing.”

He gives you a bemused half-smile, shaking his head. “How’s that?” “I’m not sober. And I’m hardly wearing anything.” The second part comes out much quieter, but somewhere between Marlene’s flat and this car you started feeling very sorry to everyone that you’d put on such a ‘show’, or whatever, tonight. Would it have been so hard just to wear jeans? You feel ashamed, dirty, embarrassed. People have probably been whispering about it all night.

James doesn’t start driving yet. “Are you okay?” He asks, more serious than you’re expecting him to be. “Did something happen?”

“No- well, yeah, but it was…” You squeeze your eyes closed again, pressing your fingertips cruelly into your lids and regretting it when they come away stained with mascara. You must look a sight. “Nothing bad happened, I just wish I hadn’t worn this.”

You glance at James to see him frowning at you, but he quickly smooths his expression. Great, he’s judging you too. “Why not, sweetheart? You look gorgeous. I hope someone told you, even if I wasn’t there to say it.”

You look like you’re up for just about anything, the other man’s voice echoes in your head. You take several short breaths. 

“I just should’ve worn something else. I feel- um.” You rub your hands across your face. “There were just- this guy made a comment, I don’t know, it hurt my feelings. It’s silly. I’m drunk.”

You’re slightly startled to sense James tensing beside you, even across the console of his car. His hands tighten around the steering wheel. “Who was it? What did he say?”

“I don’t know,” You reply, truthfully to the former question and not to the latter. “It doesn’t even matter.”

“Is he still there?”

You’re worried James is going to turn around and go back to the party, he sounds so incensed, and when you look at him he’s wearing an expression that you’ve never seen before. You shake your head. “He’s gone. The girls made him. I- please can we just go? Sorry. It’s not worth talking about.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” James blinks and gives you an apologetic smile, pulling back onto the street and waving a hand in front of the heater nearest you. “This working alright? Are you warm enough?”

“Loads better, thank you.” 

You drive in silence for five minutes. You want it to be comfortable, but your mind keeps spinning itself back to just about anything, and it’s getting more and more difficult not to cry. You’re grateful when James says your name.

“Do you want to listen to some music? You can choose anything,” He offers, opening the glove compartment in front of you with his eyes still on the road and revealing an extensive CD collection. “I bet you have good taste.” You look through the jewel cases, bemused but flattered by this assessment. You’re pleasantly surprised. It doesn’t take long for you to pick something, and James nods his approval.

“Good choice, angel,” He smiles over at you. It’s beginning to rain, the droplets scattering shadows across the car with each streetlamp you pass. They look almost like freckles on James’ face. “What’s that look?”

You realise you’ve been staring, though there’s nothing to indicate any sort of judgement in his tone. You look at your lap. “Nothing, sorry, I’m just… um, thanks for driving me. It was really kind.”

“You’re easy to be kind to,” He replies lightly, as if it’s nothing at all. 

There’s another pause, perhaps more comfortable. 

“That idiot who hurt your feelings,” James says eventually, “Was wrong. Whatever he said, he was wrong.”

“You can’t know that. Maybe he was exactly right,” You say, and don’t quite manage to laugh it off. 

“I can’t think of a single bad thing he could’ve said that would’ve been true,” James retorts immediately. You look at him. “Truly.”

His softness is persuasive, even if he’s not trying to get information out of you. “He said that my outfit made it look like I was up for anything,” You admit, and your face heats in shame. Dread, too, that James will remain silent and unable to disagree, after all. 

He’s frowning deeply when you glance at him. “What does that even mean?”

“You know what it means, James.” 

There’s a moment where you worry he’ll make you spell it out, but then he huffs out a breath and nods, eyebrows knitted together. “Yeah, I do- I’m sorry, sweetheart. That’s a ridiculous thing to say to someone. What a dick!”

“I don’t think everyone found it ridiculous. I mean, it’s- it’s not really my most conservative outfit, is it?” You joke half-heartedly. Why am I arguing this? Why did one stupid boy’s comment ruin my confidence so completely? 

“So what?” James counters, “What does it matter what you’re wearing? I- well, it matters to me because you look gorgeous, you really do- but it doesn’t say anything about what you’re ‘up for’!”

“I know that,” You say quietly. 

“I really hope you do, angel,” He sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re- you don’t deserve that. I’m sorry he was so awful. No wonder you're upset.”

“It’s fine; I’m being a bit dramatic. I’m drunk.” “There’s nothing dramatic about being hurt when someone’s said something hurtful, it’s the most normal reaction” James says firmly. “It’s not a weakness, Y/N.”

“It’s just- I don’t know why I’m letting it affect me like this. I know it’s bullshit. If he’d said it to anyone else I’d’ve been one of the people shouting at him.”

“You’re a selfless person,” He says like it’s an immoveable fact. “It can be easier to stand up for other people than yourself; you’re only human.”

“Thanks, James.”

“No need to thank me, lovely girl.”

He starts talking about other things: rugby, a film they’re showing at your local cinema, a new bakery that’s popped up down the street from him. You’re struck by how much care he expresses with every detail; he’s liking rugby, but he worries the early wakeup times mean he’s disturbing Remus and Sirius in the mornings, neither of whom enjoy getting up before ten o’clock; he’s interested to see the film because Mary went on a spiel about its other iterations and interpretations by directors, and he wants to understand what she was talking about better; the new bakery is owned by a man who used to work with James’ father, but always had a knack for pastries and has spent years saving up to buy a place. It was James who told him about the shop being leased. It’s as if his entire world, his life, is constructed out of the love he has for his friends, and you find yourself capable of relaxing, smiling, laughing, the rest of your night momentarily discarded. 

James can’t come in for tea, but he does walk you to your door and refuse to take back the jacket.  “It looks good on you, angel. No surprise,” He grins.

You step forward, emboldened, and kiss him on the cheek. You hope you’re not so tipsy that his blushing is imagined, though he does stammer slightly before clearing his throat and speaking again.

“I should go home to Remus, he was expecting me a while ago. Will you be alright?”

“Yeah, should be,” You look up at him, wishing he didn’t have to go. “Thanks again.”

“Enough thanking. Would it- could I give you a ring tomorrow? Just to-”

“That would be really nice,” You respond, a beat too quickly to be nonchalant. You both laugh. If tonight hadn’t been what it was, you think you might like to kiss James properly. Instead, “Maybe… um, I could buy you something from the bakery to make up for all this?”

James’ brow furrows at the last part, but he’s relievingly open to your suggestion. “I’ll be paying, sweetheart, but it sounds like a plan. I’ll call in the morning to sort it out?”

“Okay,” You smile.

“Okay. Goodnight, angel.”

[moonstruckme]

can i request some poly!marauders where reader tells them they love them for the first time… but like sooo passionate and sappy, maybe some tears of relief.. ugh i love your writing sm 😭😭

Of course you can sweetheart, sorry it took me a bit to get to it!

poly!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 1.4k words

Lately it’s like you can hardly stop yourself. You’ll get off the phone with James, or Remus will let you run your fingers over his scars, or Sirius will braid your hair for you, and you’ll want to say Ugh, I love you.

In some ways, you feel a bit silly for agonizing over it. You know the boys have been saying it to each other for years, platonically before romantically, so sometimes it feels like you’re a bit behind the curve. Sirius flings it about like he has love in endless supply (and from what you can tell, he does). Evans, you know I love you, but that hat is a crime and You have a great personality, Prongs, but I love those big shoulders most of all and Is that drink for me, Marls? I knew I loved you for a reason. And it’s such a small thing, objectively, just three words in their natural order, but it also feels like sort of a big deal. 

You do love them. So much it sometimes feels like your heart swells until it crowds out your lungs and steals your breath, but telling them is no simple matter. Do you tell them together? That feels like making a big deal out of things, like calling a family meeting or something. But if you tell them separately, you’d have to pick an order, and that could only go poorly, too. You don’t want it to be an announcement, though you don’t just want to blurt it out like it’s nothing, either. Maybe it is to some people, maybe even to them (although you don’t think so), but it’s not to you. You’ve never loved anyone like this before, let alone three people. The severity of it had hit you like a truck, all at once, vaulting you into love faster than you could catch your breath. 

It's a new feeling to you, this romantic sort of love, but you have enough acumen to recognize magic when you feel it. No matter how much you hate being at the center of attention, you aren't going to trivialize that. 

The confession tempts your tongue now, sitting on the bathroom counter with Sirius between your legs and James sitting on the floor beside him. 

“I just think you would look cute with a couple little braids.” Sirius’ breath fans your face as he speaks, one hand on your cheek to keep you still as he does your eyeliner. 

“I don’t want to look cute,” James argues. “And everyone else thinks my hair looks great as it is, thank you.” 

“Cute isn’t the right word. Rakish. Kind of like a pirate.” 

“You can’t change the terminology to fool me. I look rakish every day, don’t I Moony?”

“You do.” Remus comes to lean in the open doorway, pulling on his socks. “Though I do think a braid would be fun to try, sometime.” 

Sirius takes only a moment to relish in this small triumph before he's frowning. “You are not wearing that to the party.” 

Remus looks down at his faded green sweater. “It looks like I am. I don’t intend to shiver during the walk there.” 

Sirius scoffs, and James, spotting a pot to stir, says, “I like you in that sweater, actually.” 

Remus knows exactly what his boyfriend is doing, but he smirks anyway. “Thank you, Prongs. It’s like we’re his little projects, aren’t we? At least someone doesn’t want to change me.” 

Everyone’s eyes find you, waiting to see what side you’ll pick. You burn under the spotlight. “I think you look great either way.” You shrug, but stop when Sirius hisses sharply, his grip tightening on your face. 

Remus eyes you, something searching in his gaze that you don’t like. You can never hide a thought for long before he susses you out. But to your surprise, it’s Sirius who says, “You okay, sweet thing? You’re being even quieter than usual. You still want to go, yeah?”

“Yeah, I wanna go,” you say quickly. “Sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry,” he says, finishing up with your eyeliner and stepping back to look at you. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You squirm, pinned like a butterfly beneath his gaze. “It’s nothing, it’s silly.” 

A poor choice. Now you have everyone’s full attention. 

“I’m sure it’s not silly.” James smiles at you encouragingly. “What is it?”

You start to pick at your nails, but Sirius' eyes narrow at them, and you stop. “I just…I’ve been thinking lately.” 

A beat passes before Remus fills the silence. “That’s always a good thing,” he says slowly, amusedly. “C’mon, dove, out with it.” 

This isn’t how you wanted this to go. You’re on the spot. It’s going to feel like a forced confession. They’re expecting something silly and light—I just don’t feel like my outfit is going to work for tonight—and you feel like you’re about to drop a bomb on them in comparison. 

In the end, you give yourself away before you say the words. “Okay, I’m gonna tell you something, and I just need you to know I mean it, but I don’t need it to be…reciprocated.” 

Sirius cocks his head at you, and you decide to burst the bubble of tension before it can expand any further. 

“Just, I love you.” 

And maybe you wanted it to be like when Sirius says it, like he’s thrown confetti and everyone seems brighter and happier for it, but each word falls heavily from your lips, landing at the feet of your boyfriends for them to decide what to do with. Why did you add in a “just”? There’s nothing just about this. It’s a humiliating attempt at downplaying the phrase, and painfully ineffective too. You feel like you could light yourself on fire with the intensity of your embarrassment.

"Argh, sweetheart,” James says after an impossibly long beat, “I wanted to say it first.” 

“No fucking way.” Sirius whirls on him. “You were gonna say it and you didn’t tell me? I was waiting for one of you to do it first.” 

“Dove,” Remus says, relaxing against the doorframe, “I think we’ve all been feeling the same way for some time. Thank you for having the confidence to say it first.” 

You beam so hard your cheeks start to hurt almost instantly. “Yeah?”

“Color me impressed,” Sirius says. “This whole time you've played coy, but you’ve got more balls than any of the rest of us, haven’t you?” He pauses. “Wait, are you crying?”

“Oh, um, I guess so,” you reply when you touch a fingertip to your lower lashes and it comes away wet. “I’m just relieved, I guess. I was pretty nervous.” 

Sirius grabs some toilet paper, pressing a wad under each of your eyes. “Well shit, don’t fuck up your eyeliner, baby. It was never that dire, not like anyone wasn’t going to say it back.” 

“Well, I wasn’t going in with any expectations,” you mumble, holding your makeshift tissues. 

“Sweetheart,” James whines, his bottom lip beginning to tremble sympathetically. “How could you think we wouldn't? I love you so much.” 

“I love you so much,” you counter, laughing even as the paper under your eyes grows damp. “I’ve been wanting to say it forever. I feel so lucky to have you guys, you know?”

Remus crosses the room, forcing you to discard your toilet paper clumps as he takes your face in his hands, kissing your salty cheeks. “We’re lucky to have found you,” he says, and the words are even, sure. “I don’t say it often enough, but I love you all too. You’re everything to me.” 

“Oh, fuck all of you,” Sirius says, blinking rapidly to save his own sparkly eyeliner. “Obviously you’re the best things that’ve ever happened to me. Pricks.” 

Your laugh is wet, and you wonder if you’re peaking right now or if you’ll be this happy forever. With the three of them around you, you’re betting on the latter. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Think you could fix my makeup before we go, Siri? Please?”

He huffs, but the kiss he presses to your lips is syrupy sweet. “We are going to be well past fashionably late.”

[stil-lindigo]

Recently, dual citizenship Palestinians managed to safely arrive back in Australia, and while it is a relief to have them out of the reaches of Israel’s bombs, it’s an undeniable tragedy that they have been unjustly ejected from their homes by an active genocide. While celebrating their arrival, remember that the Albanese government STILL won’t demand a ceasefire and obscures any attempt to uncover details about the military aid we’re currently sending Israel, all the while supplying the US and Israel with surveillance intelligence of Gaza sourced from a base in Alice Springs.

Penny Wong, our minister of foreign affairs, remains committed to doing absolutely nothing besides clutching her pearls and pleading for a “humanitarian pause”. We should all be calling her offices (not emailing) and inundating her with demands for a ceasefire.

You can use this template to call Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles today.

The Greens party (the only party to have enough of a spine to call for a ceasefire and to walk out of Parliament in disgust for our cooperation in Israel’s war crimes) has also put together a petition to stop Labour exports of weapons into Israel. You can sign it here.

If you live in Sydney - a boat carrying armaments meant for Israel is going to be docking there in a few days.

Join trade unionists to protest the boat and delay it for as long as possible.

Australians - I know as a population that a lot of us are checked out of politics. You can’t afford to do that now. 1% of all Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s assault on Palestine - 1 in 100 are dead, and half of those are children. Australia is complicit in genocide and it is up to you to never give our politicians a moment of peace until Palestine is freed.

[ohwowimlonley]

poly!marauders x drunk!reader at a party and reader needy but they don’t want to help reader because they don’t want to do anything when reader basically unconscious of what’s happening because reader is drunk. So they try to explain to reader that they will gladly take care of them after they get better and go to bed. Thank you!

Small psa to all the people that have requested recently - im trying to get through all of them but some i want to write longer fics for and some im keeping in my inbox for blurbs! <3

—

You reach out for them blindly, fingers groping at dead air as you murmer their names. You’re strapped into the back passenger seat of James’ car on the way home from girls night. It’s safe to say that even three hours with Lily and Marlene drinking wine and gossiping about your boys had caused the three of you to go through maybe five bottles of wine between the three of you. Lily had called the boys to pick you up when it got too late, leading to them all but carrying you out to the car while you try to grab at them.

“Siri,” you muster up your sweetest voice, but it’s tinged with a slur and you can’t quite pinpoint where he is when you open your eyes to gaze at him. He makes a small sound from next to you, and his fingers finally brush yours, “you’re so pretty, d’you know that?”

“Oh yeah?” You can hear the grin in his voice, along with the other boys chuckles from the front seats. You squeeze his fingers and follow the line of his arm until you get to his jeans.

“Mhm,” you nod, clenching your fingers around his thigh and fumbling your way towards his crotch, “I tell the girls all about it, like how good you make me feel,”

“Alright, enough,” Remus calls from the passenger seat, leaning back to grip your arm and remove it from Sirius’ crotch. He shushes your whines at the loss lf contact, and fends you off as you lean forward and try to wrap your arm around his chest, “sit back, love, you know that’s not safe in a moving car,”

“But daddy,” you keen, tugging against your seatbelt and pouting around at your boyfriends as they gently keep you from touching them. As your last resort, you turn to James, “Jamsie, you’ll make me feel good, won’t you?”

“I’m sorry, sweetness,” he makes the briefest glimpse of eye contact with you as his head whips back to look through the rear window to check his clearance as he reverses into your driveway.

You don’t exactly remember the next five minutes of your life, it’s mostly a flurry of opening doors and light switches flicking before you’re sat squarely on your shared bed by Remus. The others aren’t far behind him, shutting the door behind them and busying themselves with clinking a glass of water onto the bedside table and finding pyjamas out for the four of you.

Your eyes brighten as James begins removing your dress, and you surge forward and plant a firm kiss on his plush lips. He indulges you for a brief moment before pulling away and tugging your clothes off, only to replace it with one of his tshirts.

“Jamesie,” you whine, wide eyes filling with tears as he moves away from you to begin changing himself, “why won’t you fuck me?”

“Oh, sweetness,” Remus turns in his spot as a tear dribbles down your cheek. He pulls the boys over to you and all of a sudden you’re crowded by your boyfriends.

“Baby,” Sirius takes your hand and crouches down to your level, “you know we love you, and we love makin’ you feel good, but you’ve had way too much to drink tonight,”

“No I haven’t,” you insist.

“Yes you have,” Remus does the same thing as your curly-haired boyfriend, bringing your fist up to smooth a kiss there, “how much wine did you drink with Lily and Marls? You know red is your weakness,”

“But- but that doesn’t mean anything, you can still fuck me,” you grip their hands tighter, nodding at your own words.

“No, baby, not when you’ve been drinking,” James, as always, has the most gentle voice of the three of them, “you’re not in your right mind when you’re drinking, right? You might say yes to something you might regret,”

“But we’ve had sex loads,” you complain, “and I’ve never regretted it before!”

“That’s not the point, sweetness,” Remus interjects, “look, why don’t we go to bed, and when we wake up, I promise we’ll make it up to you, okay?”

“But-“

“No buts,” Sirius extends back to his full height and presses a kiss to your forehead, “go to bed now, okay?”

“And drink some water before you fall asleep,” James reminds you, reaching over and handing you the glass as you resign yourself to silence, pouting to yourself.

“Will you at least kiss me?” Immidietly, you’re overwhelmed with kisses all over your face, causing you to giggle drunkenly at their affection.

[radicalgraff]

“Stop arming Israel, river of blood on your hands Marles”

Graffiti and posters on the Geelong Ministerial office of Richard Miles, the Australian Deputy Prime Minister of the ruling Labor Party.

[felassan]

A new BioWare Blog post:

"Journal #5 Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance A New Weekly Narrative Podcast Starting August 29th Hey everyone, We’re back with more Dragon Age: The Veilguard news! We know that you’re excited to get to know more about our companions and embark on your own adventure to save Thedas. Starting August 26th, we’ll be hosting Companions Week on our social media to give you a deeper dive on our seven allies. In addition to that, how about another little side quest? We’re happy to announce our upcoming immersive fantasy podcast series, Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance, where you’ll meet a new pair of heroes, along with the 7 Veilguard Companions, brought together by fate as they embark on a journey of revenge, redemption, and love - all set in Thedas.  Beginning on August 29th, this eight part weekly narrative series stars podcast-exclusive characters voiced by Mae Whitman, Bridgette Lundy-Paine, and Armen Taylor, and also features all of our companions from Dragon Age: The Veilguard: Harding (Ali Hillis), Davrin (Ike Amadi), Bellara (Jee Young Han), Neve (Jessica Clark), Taash (Jin Maley), Emmrich (Nick Boraine) alongside Manfred (Matt Mercer), and Lucanis (Zach Mendez). Throughout the series, you’ll be able to learn more about each of their extraordinary backstories. This podcast is written by Will Melton and Jeremy Novick, with BioWare narrative support from Mary De Marle and John Epler. Check out the teaser for it here. When the first episode airs, you’ll meet Nadia, a retired thief unknowingly working for the Dread Wolf. Nadia and her lover, Elio, find themselves in the midst of something much greater than them - a threat to the entire world - until Elio is seemingly banished to the Fade. Enter: Drayden, a writer with an interesting connection to the Fade. Drayden and Nadia team up on an arduous adventure to rescue Elio from the Fade with a little help from some familiar friendly faces. Don’t miss a single episode - mark your calendars with the full podcast release schedule below: - 8/29 - Episode 1: Featuring Nadia, Elio, and Drayden - 9/5 - Episode 2: Featuring Harding - 9/12 - Episode 3: Featuring Davrin - 9/19 - Episode 4: Featuring Bellara - 9/26 - Episode 5: Featuring Taash - 10/3 - Episode 6: Featuring Lucanis - 10/10 - Episode 7: Featuring Emmrich - 10/17 - Episode 8: Featuring Neve Join us in the BioWare Discord Server for weekly “listening parties” in #Vows-and-Vengeance, where we’ll set up a discussion thread for each episode to listen and speculate together. Subscribe to Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance on your favorite platform so you don’t miss a single episode.  Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Castbox Pocket Casts Podchaser Player FM See you for Episode 1 on August 29th; chat soon. �� -The Dragon Age Team"

[source] [more info]

[torasplanet]

❝𝙔𝙀𝘼𝙍 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝙍𝘼𝙂𝙊𝙉𝙎.ᐟ❞

K. RYUGUJI + F. READER + T. MITSUYA

𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 ; its the year of the dragon and a celebration occurs for taka and kenny from their personal red envelope;)

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 ; smut, final timeline, kenny is ur bf (srry emma..), threesome, praise, dp(double penetration), anal, petnames(baby, babydoll), reader wears dress, unprotected sex (i really need to write protected damn😭), spit as lube, idk pretty vanilla and skin color not mentioned

marls notes 2 u(*´▽｀*) ; ik this is so late from new years but i got this idea from a tiktok like five days after new yrs haha so this is a lunar new yr special since i celebrate !!

It was a new year, new feelings, new resolutions, new everything! And of course, the entirety of your friend group just had to throw a big ass party with you being one of the many that planned it and of course, the one to make it actually look good and not just a bunch of non-matching decorations being thrown across the room like Mikey and Baji were going to.

Well, Mitsuya was a part of that too and you two worked together to decide the perfect color coordination for the party which is where these new feelings came in. See, Mitsuya has always been attractive; you could never deny that, no one could but something just changed.

He was looking better than usual but you couldn’t find anything about his appearance that physically changed to make him look better. It was like he started glowing for some unusual reason and the glow made him prettier. Of course, you felt bad for finding him so attractive recently because you were dating Draken, his best friend.

However, when thinking about it, you started to feel a little less awful for your feelings because you remembered that Draken had talked about wanting a threesome multiple times but never came up with someone to do it with. He thought Mikey wouldn’t do it and it’s not like he exactly wanted him to because Mikey tended to just sleep around instead of getting in relationships so…it’s self-explanatory. Takemichi obviously couldn't do it, he’s married and Chifuyu damn sure would not, he has too much respect for Draken and you to even be comfortable in that conversation.

Anyone else was off the table for him and for you but neither of you ever considered Mitsuya. Maybe if you brought him up or hinted toward that, Draken might say yes.

The third person in this threesome being Mitsuya made so much sense. You knew him so well and you guys were close, he and draken were extremely close even sharing a tattoo and he was such a gentleman meaning he’d treat you with the utmost respect which was a big thing Draken was worried about. He was also single so there was a chance he’d say yes.

The only problem was that…you just didn’t know how to approach your boyfriend about all of this. So you spent the whole party talking and not saying a word about this while also sneaking peeks at Mitsuya throughout the night and with the more you were around Senju (she kept passing her blunt to you and doing shots with you), the more you got sloppy with the looks.

When Izana suggested that they take this party to Ran and Rindou’s club, you were so quick to agree as you wanted to party but yet, you were at the bar staring at Mitsuya while babysitting a cup that Senju had given you to hold before running off which you were taking small sips at because she obviously wasn’t coming back being too busy throwing ass on some guy.

You stared at the lilac-haired male as he chatted with Baji, your thighs clutching close together at the sight of him but when you felt eyes on you causing you to shift your gaze, you got incredibly embarrassed making eye contact with Draken especially when he grinned at you.

Turning your head and instead focusing on the liquid in the cup. Your face heated up when you heard his loud footsteps even over the loud music hoping he didn’t see that but oh he did. Draken had seen all of the glances you gave to Mitsuya no matter if they were careless or an attempt at being secretive and he kind of knew what you were thinking. He hoped he knew and it wasn’t just a guess that happened to be wrong.

His long arm draped around your shoulder and he pulled your body to his “Hey baby, you okay?” Draken asked. The strong smell of his signature cologne filled your nose while you avoided eye contact with him at all costs so he wouldn’t see the embarrassment and neediness in your eyes “Yeah…just waiting for Senju.” You muttered hoping he wouldn’t pick up on everything and just the weirdness.

Draken grabbed your chin and turned your head to face him with ease making your thighs quake. He stared at you for a second before grinning. He had discovered your thoughts.

“Looks like she’s gon’ be a while baby. Wanna come over there with me?” Draken asked laughing gesturing his head over to the spot in the club he was just at with Mikey and Baji but you just looked away from his eyes laughing a little with him while shaking your head but you didn’t say anything so the conversation went silent as soon as the laughter stopped.

Was this the time to ask Draken about it? Or were you just high and a little drunk? Well, you were definitely that but what if it was both? Nothing would happen…Draken would never judge you especially not about something like this that you’ve talked about before so what’s the harm? He already saw the want in your eyes.

You glanced back over at Mitsuya before looking back up at Draken “You and Takashi have the same tattoo, right?” Yeah, Draken definitely knew what you were thinking now that you had said that.

You knew the answer to that question and you were just asking that to bring up the topic of Mitsuya nonchalantly “Yeah, baby you know that.” Draken said with another chuckle coming from his mouth dropping his hand from your chin as you shuffled in place as if there were a fire in your pants. Your gaze was on your feet which were strained from the straps of your heels then you looked up at Draken through your eyelashes still keeping your head down.

“So, you guys doing anything special after this? I mean, it’s the year of the dragon now…” You said knowing that if Mitsuya had overheard it, he would’ve commented that the Chinese Lunar Year isn’t celebrated until February but it was basically the same. He would know what you mean. “No, you had an idea or somethin’?” The black-haired male asked leaning down to get closer to you as if he couldn’t hear you over the loud music but he could, he just wanted to hear whatever you said loud and clear. Shrugging your shoulders as you put your lips to the cup sipping at it minorly just to conceal your face from your boyfriend more “Maybe a party.” You muttered into the cup but Draken heard you and grinned. Draken understood not only what you were talking about but what your mindset was. Bringing up such a nasty topic as a gift for the Lunar New Year while wearing a red dress.

You were going to be the red envelope given to the two dragons. Whether you did it on purpose or not didn’t matter because it still meant the same and Draken liked it.

His hand went to the small of your back and began to rub over it gently “Gonna plan it for me, baby?” You nodded almost immediately putting the cup down so you could look at draken better to make sure he truly got what you were getting at. “Think Mitsuya would like that?” You nod. “Let’s ask him,” Draken said before leaning up and turning to where Mitsuya was talking with Izana. You leaned closer to your boyfriend watching Mitsuya as he did. Draken called him over and you nearly smiled at how Mitsuya’s head turned side to side like a deer before a smile crawled onto his pink lips once he spotted Draken.

Mitsuya walked over to the two of you after excusing himself from the conversation “Baby, why don’t you tell Mitsuya what you told me?” Draken said glancing down at you and then back at his best friend whose lavender gaze traveled to your form waiting for you to talk. “Well…I thought that since you and Kenny both have dragon tattoos, you both should have a party for the new lunar year.” You said as loud as you could manage without anyone out of the conversation hearing. Mitsuya’s eyes showed intrigue and a bit of confusion.

He picked up on your demeanor. How you looked at him, the way you leaned into Draken with your legs pressed against each other. Mitsuya couldn’t describe it at all but he just knew…something was going on with you but he wasn’t sure what it was just yet. You pushed yourself off Draken and then trodded over to the black and purple-haired male. You pressed your hand on his right temple, running your hands through his hair “Yours is on this side isn’t it?” You questioned blinking at Mitsuya who grinned at your actions. Mitsuya looked toward Draken as if asking if this was alright or not but when he saw the identical grin on his friend’s face, he knew that this was okay. More than okay.

“Yeah.” Mitsuya replied simply and you smiled at him before going to sip at your cup once more but Mitsuya’s hand went to the cup preventing you from drinking the liquid inside of the cup “Think you’ve had enough princess. We want you to at least stay standing.” The man said with a small chuckle and Draken laughed too but he was different. Mitsuyas was a laugh to lighten the mood despite that not being needed whilst Draken’s was malicious as if there was a hidden dirty joke in that sentence. There wasn’t but it could’ve been.

Draken’s hand snaked down to your bottom just letting his large palm rest there. “Well, we want you standing before the party.”

You and the two guys wasted no time at all hoping in Draken’s car and going to your shared apartment. They didn’t want their girl to sit there being so needy all night, did they? “Ah, Kenny.” You moaned into Draken’s ear as his cock stretched you out but he wasn’t moving. It bothered you so much but you’d get what you wanted just as soon as Mitsuya did.

“Don’t forget about me, princess,” Mitsuya said coming up from behind you and placing his cold hands on your bare shoulders while his chest pressed against your back, you whimpered at his touch but nodded. One of Mitsuya’s hands wandered down to your cunt which was being split open by Draken’s fat cock and he began to draw circles onto your clit making your back arch away from Mitsuya and Draken’s large hands held onto your torso to stop you from collapsing onto him “Ever fucked her in here?” Mitsuya asked bringing his other hand down to gently grope at your ass.

“Nah, she’s too sensitive for that,” Draken said pecking your lips lightly as you moaned submissively in a low voice and Mitsuya beamed delivering a light slap to your clit before allowing Draken’s fingers to replace his “Yeah, you’ll probably split her in half. I’ll be gentle don’t worry.” Mitsuya cooed into your ear before pressing a kiss to the shell of your ear making a shiver run down your spine. You didn’t respond and just whined again pressing your butt against his pelvis.

Mitsuya’s hands went to your ass and he spread your cheeks revealing your untouched hole. He spat on his fingers before rubbing it all over your whole and dipping his fingers inside making your body jolt. The tip of his rock-hard cock then pressed against the hole, he didn’t push it in but it just sat there pressing against it lightly. When he gently began to push inside; your whimpers grew louder “Sh, sh, sh…I got you, princess.” He muttered soothingly as Draken moved his hips just a bit to try and distract you from the pain of being used in a different hole. Draken has always wanted to fuck you there but you could barely keep yourself together with him inside of your pussy; always complaining about how he was splitting you open when not even his whole cock was pushed inside of you. He knew that he couldn’t do anal with you because he didn’t want to see you cry but Mitsuya was just a bit smaller than him and less girthy so it’d hurt less if it were him. It’d also get you more comfortable with someone in there so then he could try.

Everyone’s winning with this night. It was…just going to take you a little pain for you to get your trophy.

Draken brought his other hand up to your face cupping your cheek as tears began to prick at your eyes “It’s okay, just relax.” He told you running his thumbprint over your cheek after brushing away the tears from your eyes “‘M trying…just so full.” You muttered feeling Mitsuya push in more and more until he couldn’t and bottomed out. He pressed gentle kisses behind your ear “Wanna adjust or want me to move?” He knew it’d be best for you to just sit there for a bit and get used to the feeling but he wanted to ask you first, it was your body after all. This is why Draken liked the idea of Mitsuya being the one to join the two of you. He was considerate of how other people felt whether or not he knew better than them. So kind…

“Mitsuya asked you a question baby,” Draken said as you tried to find your words, your brain already turning to mush. “I…I wanna move.” You muttered letting out a breath as Draken rubbed away the tears that were threatening to spill out of your eyes. Mitsuya’s chest pressed against your back as his hands moved to wander all over your body, gently brushing over your tits and his fingertips tickling your neck until they found their place on your pelvis. Mitsuya slowly began to move in and out of your ass that was getting extremely tight around him, he hissed as he rose from your skin making you shudder from the new angle. “Relax for me, baby,” Draken said continuing to circle your clit, going a bit faster so you could loosen up around Mitsuya.

“Ha…” You mewled as Mitsuya’s subtle movements made you grind against Draken who was moving his hips around. You sighed as you loosened around Mitsuya finally allowing him to take a breath, he swore you were going to end up cutting his dick off. Mitsuya’s pace slowly grew faster as his eyes fixated on your back and how it arched because of the penetration and he grinned, reaching his hand to run his fingers down your spine making your back curve into a deeper half-moon.

“Kenny…move please.” You mumbled to your black-haired boyfriend as your nails dug into his bare shoulders “Gimmie a kiss first.” Draken said with a playful smile on his face, you pouted at his demand letting out small whimpers because he wasn’t giving you what you wanted “Be a good girl, babydoll.” Mitsuya whispered into your ear and you let out small hopeless moans at that before pressing your lips to your boyfriends who swallowed your mewls and moans. As you and Draken kissed messily, he grabbed onto your torso, his hands were just above Mitsuya’s skinnier and smaller ones, and he began to thrust up into you hitting your cervix. Mitsuya’s hand that was once on your back snuck its way up to the front of your neck and he wrapped his fingers around it as you breathed heavily.

Mitsuya’s hips slapped into your ass as his pace sped up, his rhythm matched Draken’s but he was going faster. His pink lips put gentle smooches behind your ear to your cheek as you moaned in Draken’s mouth, unable to make your pathetic sounds audible. The kiss was incredibly sloppy. It was open-mouthed and drool was spilling from your mouths and running down your faces, suction noises and occasional moans were coming from the both of you which just made Mitsuya fuck into you harder enjoying how pretty you sounded. “You’re so filthy babydoll…so pretty too.” The purple-eyed male cooed to you, his eyes drifting over your shoulder to how Draken’s cock was easily disappearing and reappearing.

Draken’s cock stretched you out like it always did as he continued to fuck up into you, moving his hips once again to change the angle so he could hit your g-spot. You felt every vein rubbing against the ridges of your fleshy walls as his mushroom tip rammed into your sweet spot “Feel so good ‘round me baby.” The Ryuguji male said breaking the kiss and watching you with lidded eyes as you bounced up and down with your tongue lolling out, his eyes shifted to his friend who was losing himself in the deep depths of your and his own pleasure.

“Such a nice gift…” Draken said grabbing at one of your tits roughly and your body trembled at his additional touch of pleasure “Taka! Feels so good, want more!” You shouted grabbing hold of the other boob that was being neglected and squeezing it tightly. Mitsuya would never say this, especially not to your face, hell he was even feeling bad thinking about it but you were such a slutty girl…he loved it though. You wanted so much more of him despite having two dicks being shoved inside of both your holes.

Draken grinned at his friend “Give ‘er what she wants, huh? She ain’t gonna stop begging until you do.” He said pinching your nipple making you shout “Kenny! Bein’ mean…” Your complaints were ignored as Mitsuya had a matching grin to his dragon twin. His fingers tightened around your neck and he began to rapidly fuck into your recently deflowered hole, his bony pelvis and hips were probably going to be bruised at the end of this. “Ugh! S-So good…!” You moaned uncontrollably as you felt your orgasm coming extremely quickly.

It was gonna hit you like a fucking bus. Coming out of nowhere and coming quickly.

“Ah! Cumming! ‘M cummin! Cum with me please, please, want it so bad!” Your moans were quick and all in one breath as your mouth opened into a wide ‘O’ releasing whorish and high-pitched moans “Go ahead, we’re right behind you.” Draken said with a strained grunt as his pace quicked, his rhythm still matched with his friend’s despite this. You let your orgasm come over you as you breathed heavily and sharply as if it was your last breath on earth and it truly felt like it.

You came all over Draken as you yelped and just like he said, he was right behind you, releasing himself all in your warm hole painting the plush walls in a translucent white liquid “Shit…can I cum in?” Mitsuya asked putting his forehead on your shoulder while rutting into your ass and you nodded with a hum tiredly, Mitsuya didn’t waste a single millisecond to burst into your ass copying draken’s actions in dirting your hole and making an absolute mess of it “Wanna stay inside for a little bit…Can I?” The male behind you asked and your heart fluttered at how kind he sounded, you nodded as you collapsed onto Draken’s chest all sweaty and fucked out.

Mitsuya was really the perfect person to be with you and Draken…you guys should do this more.

©torasplanet .ᐟ reblogs and likes are very appreciated! pls do not repost!!

[inkdrinkerworld]

big beefy James who gets a little too drunk at a party and starts showing everyone his folder of photos of reader bc he misses them and is just so in love so sirius and remus call you to come pick him up and he’s clinging to r like a koala

sirius and remus should've expected this when james sucked down three long island iced teas.

they should've led him away from the bar and hidden the vodka from him. 'next time' sirius thinks as james fishes his phone from his pocket when marlene asked about you.

"she had some work to do," james says sadly, but taps at his phone screen. "but look at her!"

there's an album james has on his phone with just pictures of you. he'd upgraded the storage so he could keep taking candid and posed photos of you.

"look at how pretty she looks here, she'd gotten these new jeans and weren't sure about them."

remus shakes head as james goes through more photos- there's one of you laying in the sun by the pool at his parents' place, one of you eating ice cream, you in the snow in one his christmas sweaters, the list is endless.

"miss her, wish she could've come," he says with a forlorn look and remus can tell marlene is holding back some laughs.

sirius on the other hand is over james being lovesick and drunk so he calls you, speaking in hushed whispers lest james hears and plucks the phone from him- it's happened before.

you promise sirius you'll be there in ten minutes with a giggle and sirius can't help the smile on his face as he notes how lovesick you both are.

your arms hook around james' shoulders and he's about to tell you off when you whisper, "hi, loverboy."

his grin is wide and james practically melts under your touch. it's comical how such a big guy goes so soft, james has the faintest inkling that sirius will tease him for it in the morning.

he comes to find he doesn't really care as he says, "hi angel," sirius mock gags at the wet kiss james plants on you.

"ready to go home?" you ask, stroking the base of his neck. james nods, planting another kiss on you before standing up. he sways a little and then leans into you.

"bye boys, later marls," he says happily and you wave them goodbye while james tries to kiss you more as you walk out.

"bye sickos," sirius waves, remus leaning on his shoulder with tired eyes. "oh don't tell me you're gonna start now too moony."