#patty simcox icons

[editfandom]

Patty Simcox - Grease, 1978

[imagineforyourminds]

You had settled down well at Rydell. The teachers admired you for your academic excellence; whereas the students adored your kind personality, not to mention your captivating looks. However, it came as a surprise when you turned down the opportunity to attend the cheerleader try outs, which added the word unpredictable to one of the adjectives people would describe you with. The cheerleaders didn’t hold any grudges against you to popular belief, if anything it made you better friends with the school’s do-gooder Patty Simcox; now that you weren’t a threat to take attention off of her at future prep rally’s. You could understand why the student body had mixed opinions about the enthusiastic blonde; however, you were your own person and based your opinions of people on actual interactions with them, not rumours. Hence why Patty had become a dear friend to you. This didn’t sit well with your other friends though, the pink ladies. The iconic female empowered clique had heard about the new girl whom had everyone’s heads spinning and took it upon themselves to invite you to accompany them on their excursions. Many wondered why such a sweet being would associate herself with girls like them. Truth was that you enjoyed their company and humour. They only thing you didn’t particularly enjoy about them was when they tormented Patty, especially when they convinced the guys to join in as well. Kenickie was by far the worst out of the T Birds when it came to mean antics towards your friend. Ever since your first day witnessing him torment Eugene alongside the others, you tried to avoid him as best as you could. Due to his and Rizzo’s chaotic relationship though, avoiding him was extremely hard.

You were currently late to your biology class, but had a note from your previous teacher giving you the all clear. As you entered the room all eyes were on you, however not wanting to come across nervous or intimidated, you smiled and handed Mr. Jones the notes before taking your seat next to Patty.

“Hiya Honey, how was French? I feel like we should travel to Paris, meet two handsome French men called Pierre and Francoise who we could have beautiful multilingual children with.” Patty smiled her pearly white teeth towards you. You laughed at how enthusiastic she always was.

“It was good thanks, and that definitely sounds like a plan. Has it been eventful in here, or slow as usual?” You asked back whilst taking your notepads and pens out for note taking.

“Well the actual lecture is dreading slowly by as usual, however I have discovered that I have an admirer in this class which will hopefully help the time fly by.” She sighed whilst dreamingly gazing towards the right corner of the room. You looked up to see Kenickie waving at Patty and her waving back. Times like this is when you disliked how naïve the girl could be. What Patty didn’t notice was the rest of the T Birds snickering around the boy. You instantly knew this was bad. Kenickie pointed down to his bag, signalling for Patty to check inside hers. She let out a small giggle as she did, only to shriek with fear as a frog leaped out at her. The poor girl ran out of the classroom of fear, as everyone else laughed at her embarrassment. You hated it, pure rage for the guys and disappointment for all your classmates. You picked the frog up and placed it back inside its tank before following your friend. But before you did you walked straight up to the T Birds and slapped Kenickie across his right cheek. The painful noise caused the whole room to silence within the space of a millisecond.

“What the actual F-“ Kenickie stood up so now he was looming over you, pure rage and shock expressed in his eyes. Before he could finish the sentence you pushed him harshly back away from you.

“No! Patty should be the one saying that Kenickie! What the hell is wrong with you? Matter of fact What the hell is wrong with all of you? Laughing at a poor girls expense, when she’s done absolutely nothing wrong. It’s disgusting, you��re all Disgusting” You yelled at the class, tears brimming at your eyes for the pain of your friend, and the fact that you couldn’t stop it before it happened. Nobody could see the tears apart from Kenickie whom had the feeling of guilt build up inside him. He thought it would be a funny joke, not something you’d get so upset about. You left the room hoping everyone would start to rethink their actions. Your managed to get down the third corridor before you heard rushed steps behind you.

“Y/n Wait!” Kenickie had followed after you much to your disappointment. You ignored him and carried on.

“I said wait!” The tall boy exclaimed as he took hold of you arm trying to turn you towards him.

“What?” You asked as you pulled your arm away from his. He stood there and it was the first time you had seen him in such an awkward stance, not knowing what to do.

“I’m sorry, I thought it would be a funny joke. “He started; you just rolled your eyes at him.

“How can I make it up to you?” he asked taking a step closer to you.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, I’m not the one whose crying in the toilets because the guy she likes pulled a mean prank embarrassing her, because he thought it would be.” You said as you stared into his eyes. What made you feel worse is that right at this moment you couldn’t stop thinking at how attractive the guy before you is.

“I’ll apologize to her, for fucks sake I’ll apologize in front of the whole class. Just please let me make it up to you.” He said quietly as her got closer to you taking hour hands in his. A shiver ran down your spine as you realized how close he was, and the fact that the corridor was empty didn’t help your nerves either. But just in that instant the image of Patty running out of the classroom crying kept replaying through your head, and you found a way for him to repay both you and patty.

“You can repay me by inviting patty out for a date. A real date, no prank.” You said knowing her friend had always had a schoolgirl crush on the T Bird. Patty would appreciate it, even though secretly wished he would have just kissed you right in that moment.

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Greaser Serpents | Part 1

A/N: Currently, I am infatuated with Sweet Pea from Riverdale and I have no clue why since he wasn’t in season 3 that much (also season 3 sucked, just saying), but I can’t seem to get this Serpent out of my head, so I decided, why not start writing imagines and one shots and fanfics about him? So, since I would LOVE to see Riverdale do Grease, I decided to write a mini-series myself. Where OC Luna Simmons, a clean-cut, dutiful Northsider is cast in the school musical as Sandy and the loyal, Northside-hating Serpent is cast as Danny. Somewhere between all the hate between the two, suddenly grows a little love too. 

Pairing: Sweet Pea x OC

Words: 2150

Warnings: none? 

Situated: somewhere during season 2, instead of Carrie: the musical. 

“I’m directing Grease for this year’s musical,” announces Kevin when they’re all sat in the lounge together before classes start. They all look up at him, a small smile playing on each of their lips. Between all the chaos of the black hood and the red circle and everything with Hiram Lodge, the gang could use some good news. Something to focus on outside of the drama.  “I so love you for that,” Luna says with a wide smile plastered on her face. Luna Simmons isn’t new to the gang. She’s lived in Riverdale from the day she was born, next door to the Coopers on Elm Street. She’s been through everything with these kids: Jason Blossom’s murder last year, Veronica joining the gang, the drugs going around, the Sugarman, the Black Hood. And now, when Southside High School has been closed down and Jughead is back at Riverdale High, so are some other troublemakers. To say she can’t stand most of the Serpents is the understatement of the year. Toni Topaz is the only one she can stand. The pinkhaired lady greets her in the hallways, and they sit together in English class. But for some reason, she really cannot stand Sweet Pea nor Fangs. They seem too aggressive for her liking. They always need to solve every problem with violence, and it’s just not Luna’s forte. Musicals, however, and especially Grease, is her forte.  “When are auditions?” Betty asks her best friend.  “No auditions needed, just tell me who you want to play, and I’ll think about it,” Kevin replies, knowing how talented all of his friends are. “The Serpents are doing sets and decor, Toni is doing choreography,” he explains further, sending a shiver down Luna’s spine just thinking about working with the Serpents.  “Per Weatherbee’s orders, I assume?” Veronica retorts. A chuckle erupts from Luna’s body. Kevin nods his head while scrunching up his nose.  “Oh yeah,” he replies. Luna already thinks about what she’s going to do when she’s playing either Marty or Frenchy. Because, let’s face it, she won’t get the role of Sandy. That one has Betty Cooper written all over it. But Luna would be grateful to play an iconic character like Marty or Frenchy. 

“Patty Simcox? Who the hell is Patty Simcox?” Cheryl screams when she sees the character line-up for the musical Kevin had posted on Monday morning. Luna, who just happened to pass by when Cheryl cried out, decides to take a look, just to see whether she got the role of Marty or Frenchy. But, when her eyes fall upon the top of the page where her name is written behind SANDY. Her eyes widen before they glance down to DANNY. Upon seeing the name of Sweet Pea, her stomach churns and her face heats up to the point of nearly exploding. She rips the paper off the board and storms into the lounge where she finds Kevin, Betty and Jughead on the sofas.  “I THOUGHT THE SERPENTS ONLY HELPED WITH SETS?!” she screams at the director, pushing the paper into his chest aggressively. “You know I can’t stand them, Kev, and you still paired me up with fucking Sweet Pea of all people!” she paces the room in a petty rage, instead of being happy she got a leading role.  “Listen, Lunes, I lacked a couple of actors and let’s be honest, Sweet Pea would be a perfect Danny,” Kevin reasons with her, staying calm.  “Kevin is right, Luna,” Betty agrees with him and Luna stops in her tracks to look at the girl-next-door. “Sweet Pea would be one hell of a Danny.” Just at that moment, Sweet Pea and Fangs enter the lounge too, stopping upon hearing the Serpent’s name. Luna makes eye contact with him, suddenly seeing him as Danny. Fuck, he would be a great Danny.  “Wait, what?” the boy asks, tilting his head a little.  “I casted you as Danny for the musical,” Kevin tells him and stands up to hand him the paper, “But since our Sandy over there ripped off the paper in a rage, no one really knows,” he points at Luna, glaring at her for a second.  “I’m not playing in a fucking musical,” Sweet Pea snarls, pushing the paper back into the director’s arms. “I said I would work on sets, not actually play in your stupid play.” the boy growls and walks over to the vending machine for a snack.  “It’s either this or being suspended, Sweet Pea,” Jughead warns him from his spot on the couch next to his girlfriend.  “Fine,” Sweet Pea growls, “But I’m not rehearsing any shit with her,” it sounds bitter coming from his mouth as he sends a glare towards Luna.  “The feeling’s mutual, dickhead,” Luna snarls before grabbing her bag and leaving the lounge, leaving her friends behind, still enraged. “I can’t believe that prick,” she mutters as she passes Toni in the hallway who just happened to pick up on that. She enters the lounge, finding the others, still a little agitated about what had just happened.  “Did a bomb explode here, or what did I miss?” she asks them with a chuckle.  “Sweet Pea landed the role of Danny Zuko,” Fangs explains with a proud smile and a proud pat on his best friend’s back, only to get a glare in return.  “I thought Serpents were only doing sets?” Toni asks, grabbing the character sheet from Kevin to see if she landed a role too.  “I lacked some actors, okay? I had no other choice,” Kevin answers, getting annoyed by everyone’s reactions to him enrolling some Serpents too.  “I’m playing Frenchy?” Toni asks, her eyes sparkling, “Dude, she’s iconic! Thank you!” that was the first grateful response he’s had since he posted the cast list.  “Did you give me a role too?” Fangs asks, grabbing the sheet from Toni.  “You’re Sonny,” Kevin replies with a little smile.  “Because I’m tiny?” Fangs asks, raising an eyebrow. Kevin opens his mouth, wanting to say something, but Fangs beat him to it, “I’m kidding, bro. Thanks!” he gives Kevin a toothy smile before handing him back the sheet.  “When’s the first rehearsal?” Betty asks.  “Tomorrow after school. I hope to see you all at the auditorium at four,” he says when the bell rings, signaling class will start soon. All of them scatter to their classes after bidding brief goodbyes. Some more genuine than the other. This is going to be interesting. 

“Okay, Summer Nights from the top!” Kevin says from his spot in the audience with his script in front of him. Neither Sweet Pea nor Luna are happy to be there, but at least they’re doing what Kevin asks of them.  “So, what you do this summer, Sandy?” Toni asks as her character while the instrumental begins to play already.  “Oh, I spent most of it at the beach. I met a boy there,” Luna says her line without gagging at the thought of that boy being Sweet Pea.  “You hauled all your cookies to the beach for some guy?” Veronica asks as Rizzo. The attitude and the sass match Veronica’s actual, real-life quirks.  “Aw, he was sort of special,” Luna replies with a little smile, acting like she actually likes the guy she’s talking about. In her mind, she was scoffing at herself. Sweet Pea? Special? No way. He was just some plain, aggressive boy that thinks he could intimidate girls with his tough looks.  “Please,” Veronica hauls Luna from her thoughts, “There ain’t no such thing.” “Oh, you haven’t met this boy. It was really romantic,” she turns to Toni who had come to sit next to her, hitting her marks Kevin had given her perfectly.  “Woah, woah,” Sweet Pea then goes as Danny when it’s his turn on the other side of the stage, “You guys really want to hear all the horny details,” Luna rolls her eyes at him absentmindedly, earning a giggle from Toni and a glare from Kevin. The boys surrounding Sweet Pea all cheer. Luna nearly vomits as she hears them speak, until the Serpent begins to sing his part. That’s when she internally melts. His voice sounds like Elvis Presley’s voice. Rough and sultry, causing her toes to tingle.  “Summer lovin’, had me a blast,”  “Summer lovin’, happened so fast,” Luna sings in time, shaking herself out of her gross thoughts. His voice might charm her, but him as a person certainly doesn’t.  “Met a girl, crazy for me,” “Met a boy, cute as can be,” she gets up from her chair now. Her knees nearly giving away as the two harmonize at the next part.  “Summer days drifting away to uh all the summer nights,” they sound so good together. Kevin is proud of himself for casting those to as main characters.  “Tell me more, tell me more,” the girls sing together while doing the choreography Toni had taught them in earlier rehearsals.  “Like does he have a car?” Betty sings as Marty, her voice sounding better than ever. Maybe Betty would be a better Marty than Luna ever could be. Maybe she should be happy with the role she got. And to be fair, even doing this number all week long is actually fun. Seeing it come all together, becoming better and better every day they rehearsed. It’s something Luna could’ve only ever dreamed about. Hell, she dreamed about being Sandy all her life since she first saw the old movie classic with Betty when they were younger.  The music slows down as the cast is nearing the end of the song, Luna hops off the table she was sitting on and Sweet Pea gets off the stands he and the boys were dancing on.  “It turned colder, that’s where it ends,” Luna sings softly, her voice sending shivers down Kevin’s spine as he smiles up at her, proud of his friend.  “So, I told her, we’d still be friends,”  “Then we made our true love vows.” “Wonder what she’s doing now,” Sweet Pea sings, looking out into the distance.  “Summer dreams, ripped at the seams, but ... oh... Those summer...” both sing together, harmonizing perfectly and then even hitting the high note perfectly. “Niiiiiiiights”. Luna wraps her arms around herself, panting a little after using most of her breath intake for that one note. Kevin’s applause rips her out of her thoughts, and she glances over at Sweet Pea, who’s already looking at her with a soft smile on his face.  “That was amazing, you guys! Chills, literal chills!” Kevin says from his spot. “Let’s take that from the top one more time!” and they did. They rehearse that exact scene for a couple more hours until Kevin finally calls it a day. The entire cast is exhausted from all the dancing, but they’re quite chuffed with themselves as it sounds better each and every time. “Hey,” a voice makes Luna snap out of her thoughts as she’s packing up her stuff. She looks up to find Sweet Pea standing in front of her. In place of that intimidating glare he always put on, he now has a sweet, tender smile on his face and his eyes look a little lighter for once. A little less dark. “Just wanted to tell you that you did a really great job,” he compliments, stunning her a little. She didn’t expect that. Not from him anyways. Not at all. Luna Simmons is at a loss for words all at once. Only from one simple glance and one simple compliment. “T-Thanks,” she stutters, “Uhm, you too, Sweet Pea,” she fires back with a little, confused smile. The boy in front of her chuckles, his eyes glancing at the hardwood floor beneath their feet for a split second before looking up to her again. “Maybe we should uhm, you know, rehearse together sometime,” he suggests, pointing his script at her in an awkward and weird way. At least she’s not the only one feeling awkward about this entire interaction. She looks at him for a moment; did he really just ask her that? “Uhm, yeah, sure,” she replies, her eyebrows tugging together for a moment in confusion. “See you around, Zuko,” she bids her goodbyes with a little smirk at the nickname. Sweet Pea laughs lightly, causing Luna’s stomach to flutter for some bizarre reason. She turns around to walk away from the boy and finally head home. She’s ready for a hot bath and a good chick-flick. Maybe she should watch Grease tonight. “See you around, Sandy,” Sweet Pea calls behind her. Yep, she should definitely watch Grease tonight. She casts one last glance to her co-cast member before exiting the auditorium, excited for the next rehearsal with him. And maybe, just maybe, she should take him up on the offer to rehearse together. The boy doesn’t seem that bad after all.

[aion-rsa]

The Beatles: The Strange History of Sexy Sadie

http://bit.ly/2Dq2cvK

John Lennon could turn a bad mood into great song, He worked out some instant karma for a giggling guru for The Beatles' White Album.

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Feature

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Tony Sokol

Music

Jan 21, 2019

The Beatles

"Well, if you’re so cosmic you’ll know why," John Lennon explained to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as the final two Beatles left his Ashram before fulfilling their Transcendental Meditation regimen. "And he gave me a look like ‘I’ll kill you, you bastard,'” Lennon told Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone in December 1970, which was later published as the book Lennon Remembers. Inner peace is as much a bitch as karma, which bites the asses of rock stars and gurus alike. The Maharishi was accused of sexual misconduct during the Beatles' sojourn to India for enlightenment, a journey which may have culminated in the band teaming with the Beach Boys in spreading the movement. But it darkened Lennon's vibes so bad he banged out the holy rocking roller "Sexy Sadie."

Of course, Lennon's original version called the enlightened one a "cunt" and a "twat," and asked "who the fuck do you think you are?" until George Harrison, who was the real reason the pair were making a hasty exit due to production commitments for a Ravi Shankar film, suggested a better rhyme scheme. And a much hotter title. "Sexy Sadie" from The Beatles ("White") album preceded "How Do You Sleep?" as one of Lennon's signature tunes of personality bashing, and gave murderess Susan Atkins her signature alias.

read more: John Lennon's 'How Do You Sleep?' Footage Reveals Unrest

Lennon has a reputation of taking his personal frustrations out in rhyme and chord scheme to produce classic sides of sarcastic acoustics with melodies that get caught in your head. He could turn a bad mood into a great song. He woke up angry at Paul McCartney one morning and had George Harrison doing slide leads by the afternoon to produce "How Do You Sleep?" for his otherwise peaceable Imagine album. He flipped the bird at rich groupies after a bad one-night stand in "Norwegian Wood" from The Beatles' Rubber Soul. He slapped Peter Fonda for ruining a good trip in "She Said, She Said" from Revolver. After about nine revelations, Lennon wanted to wipe the grin off the face of the giggling guru.

Harrison and McCartney have gone on to publicly apologize to the Maharishi. Pattie Boyd, then-wife to Harrison and perennial rock muse, intimated Lennon wanted to leave the ashram to be with Yoko Ono. "Everybody's Got Something to Hide, Except for Me and My Monkey," Lennon sang. Come on. Peace is such a joy.

The Latest and Greatest of the All

The Beatles brought Indian spirituality to everyday awareness. Harrison was already heavily influenced by Hindu thought, opened by his reverence for the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. For the iconic cover of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, Harrison suggested the band include images of Paramahansa Yogananda, the author of the 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi who introduced westerners to Kriya Yoga through his Yogoda Satsanga Society of India and Self-Realization Fellowship; Shyama Charan Lahiri, known as Yogiraj and Kashi Baba; Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, a Kriya yogi, Vedic astrologer and Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads scholar, considered to be the "Incarnation of Wisdom." The Beatles also included Mahātmā Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the civilly disobedient leader of the Indian independence movement, known as the Father of the India.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was born Mahesh Prasad Varma on January 12, 1917, in the Panduka area of Raipur, India. He studied physics at Allahabad University, and became a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, or Guru Deva, in 1939 until Saraswati's death in 1953. In 1955, Maharishi began to teach a meditation technique called Transcendental Deep Meditation, later shortened to Transcendental Meditation. He began the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in 1957 in Madras, India. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became known in the United States in 1959. Funded by a $100,000 donation from American heiress Doris Duke, the Maharishi’s ashram was built in 1963, covering 14 acres of forest.

Pattie Harrison heard the Maharishi was giving a series of talks at the London Hilton on August 24, 1967, and George got them front row seats. They brought along Lennon, McCartney, and Jane Asher because "we always seemed to do everything together," Harrison said in The Beatles Anthology. Starr's wife Maureen had given birth to their son Jason on August 19, 1967, and didn't know they were continuing on to Wales until after the trip was booked.

On August 26, The Beatles, along with the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, and Donovan left London's Euston Station for Bangor, north Wales for a Transcendental Meditation seminar. Lennon's wife Cynthia was held back by a security guard who thought she was a fan after she couldn't keep up with the frantic Beatle-cartoon pace the band learned through years of touring. The Beatles spent two nights in Bangor, sleeping with the other students in a rented schoolroom. The band figured maybe the Maharishi could give them what LSD couldn't, and what banana skins no longer provided for Donovan, and held a press conference saying so. 

Tragedy struck when their manager, Brian Epstein died of an overdose of the barbiturate Carbitral, mixed with alcohol, in the locked bedroom of his London home on August 27, 1967. Epstein had purchased the Saville Theatre in London and was promoting a series of Sunday concerts. On the day he died he was promoting two shows by Jimi Hendrix. Epstein was supposed to meet up with the band after the August Bank Holiday. The band was told of Epstein's death by Peter Brown. They credited meditation for helping them withstand their grief. They cut their visit short, and planned to go on a full retreat after they could clear their schedules.

Video of Beatles interview after death of manager Brian Epstein

The Road to Rishikesh

The Beatles traveled to Rishikesh, India, in February 1968 to take part in a meditation course at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's retreat. George and Pattie Harrison, her sister Jenny, and John and Cynthia Lennon, and Mal Evans, the Beatles’ longtime roadie and personal assistant, arrived on February 16. Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Ringo Starr, and his wife Maureen came on the 19th. Rishikesh is situated where the Ganges river flows out of the Himalayas into the plains between the mountains and Delhi. Ringo brought "fifteen Sherpas carrying Heinz baked beans" because of his allergies, Harrison remembered in Anthology.

Donovan, The Beach Boys' Mike Love, along with jazz flute player Paul Horn, sometimes known as founding father of New Age music, also came. The Maharishi had taught Mike Love meditation in Paris after The Beach Boys played a UNICEF benefit. They were also joined by socialite Nancy Cooke de Herrera; Tim Simcox, an actor who appeared on Bonanza and Gunsmoke; Saturday Evening Post journalist Lewis Lapha and photographer Paul Saltzman. Actress Mia Farrow and her sister Prudence and brother John were already at the ashram. Lennon's former guru, the former TV repairman Alexis “Magic Alex” Mardas arrived weeks later. The Beatles had just gotten back from a trip to Greece where they were looking for an island they could all live together and build a recording studio.

Apple Films head Denis O’Dell stopped by the ashram to pitch The Lord of the Rings as the next Beatles movie project. He wanted John to play Gollum, Paul to play Frodo, George as Gandalf, and Ringo as Sam. O’Dell asked Lennon to read The Fellowship of the Ring, McCartney to read The Two Towers, and Harrison to read The Return of the King. Possible directors included Stanley Kubrick, Michelangelo Antonioni, and David Lean.

read more: Beatles vs. Stones and Two Unmade Stanley Kubrick Movies

Peter Brown's 1983 book The Love You Make claims the Maharishi hit on Mia Farrow, which McCartney and Harrison have since denied, and common wisdom says is a story concocted by Magic Alex. Dr. Susan Shumsky, who has been teaching meditation for 50 years, served on Maharishi’s personal staff for six years. According to her memoir Maharishi & Me: Seeking Enlightenment with the Beatles' Guru, this is merely legend.

Before The Beatles went to India, they were concerned about two things. The first was the Maharishi using them to promote himself. The other was what seemed to be his focus on money, unexpected by them in a spiritual teacher or holy man. Peter Brown's book The Love You Make asserts the Maharishi started using the Beatles without their permission. He even dropped an album as "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Beatles’ Spiritual Teacher." The Maharishi told the American Broadcasting Corporation the Beatles would appear in an upcoming ABC television special he was doing. Peter Brown told the lawyers at ABC the Beatles hadn't agreed but the Maharishi was insistent.

"In fact Peter Brown flew to Stockholm with Paul and George for the express purpose, only for the one purpose of telling him to stop talking to the TV stations, and stop promising that they would do a special for ABC," Shumsky, who was mentored by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for 22 years, tells Den of Geek. "They were angry." The Beatles were also surprised to find the Maharishi expected them to put between ten and twenty-five percent of their annual income in a Swiss bank account in his name. The fool on the hill saw more than the eyes in his head and the sun coming down, he haggled over an extra two and a half percentage points on a film the Beatles wanted no part of.

The World Was Waiting for a Lover

The book Maharishi & Me: Seeking Enlightenment with the Beatles' Guru cites witnesses saying Farrow told them he made a pass at her, and stroked her hair. She even came up with a memorable line, that she could tell a "puja from a pass." By the time Lennon remembered it for Lennon Remembers, the hullabaloo turned into a game of telephone with stories of the Maharishi "trying to rape Mia Farrow or trying to get off with Mia Farrow and a few other women, things like that." Magic Alex was the operator. The Beatles were happy writing songs in spiritual solitude. “Then everything went horribly wrong," Pattie Boyd wrote in her memoirs Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. "Mia Farrow told John she thought Maharishi had been behaving inappropriately. I think he made a pass at her."

Shumsky confirms the incident with the Rosemary's Baby star but says it was not the primary cause. "It was on her birthday, February 9, 1968," Shumsky tells Den of Geek. "The Maharishi would always do Puja for people that were close to him." The Puja is a ceremonial invocation of the spiritual lineage, in this case to Guru Dev, Maharishi's guru Brahmananda Saraswati. "After the Puja, he stroked her hair. That's what she reported." In Farrow's autobiography What Falls Away, she writes the Maharishi also put his "hairy arms" around her.

"That same night, she reported it to a group of people who were at a party," Shumsky says. Farrow told "my friend Ned Winn, who was the son of Keenan Winn and grandson of Ed Winn, famous actors from the 20th century, personally that the Maharishi definitely tried to get her to lie down with him. … Later on, she said in her autobiography that because of her state of mind at the time, even if Jesus Christ tried to hug her, she would have misinterpreted it."

read more: The Beatles' Help Movie is More Influential Than You Think

Like so many Beatles songs, there is a lot to interpret in the motives and mysteries we find across the universe. Deepak Chopra wrote in the Times of India in 2006 that Harrison claimed the Maharishi asked them to leave because the musicians were still doing drugs at the ashram.

"He asked them to leave because some people in their party were taking drugs and alcohol," Shumsky claims. "I believe that because it has been verified by Mike Dolan as well. Dolan was living in the room right next to Rosalyn [Bonas], and every night he would listen to Magic Alex and Rosalyn having sex, and apparently Magic Alex smuggled alcohol into the ashram. I don't know about hashish. The only hashish stories I know about is the one about Donovan and the one about John Lennon."

Ravindra, a "skin boy" or personal assistant to the Maharishi, told Dolan the guru was "'going to ask Rosalyn to leave,'" Shumsky says. "I believe that it wasn't John and George that were being asked to leave. I believe it was Rosalyn and Alex, and once they found out they all got in a big huff over it, because Maharishi had made a pass at Rosalyn, and they decided to leave. That everybody should just leave. That's what I think happened."

read more: The Beatles: In Defense of Revolution 9

Regardless of who was smoking the hashish, Alex began working his magic. "What we do know is that Rosalyn and Magic Alex told the people at the ashram, spread the news, that Maharishi had made a pass at her," Shumsky says. "I believe it's true is because I know eight women personally who Maharishi made a pass at, and either had sex with or were bidden to have sex with."

According to Lennon Remembers, John and his fellow meditators "stayed up all night discussing, was it true or not true. And when George started thinking it might be true, I thought, 'Well it must be true, 'cause if George is doubting it, there must be something in it.'"

read more - The Beatles "Happiness is a Warm Gun" Still Triggers Debate

"John threw a hissy fit.  'Come on, we're leaving,'" Boyd wrote in her memoirs Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. "Then Magic Alex claimed that Maharishi had tried something with a girl he had befriended. I am not sure how true that was. I think Alex wanted to get John away from Rishikesh. … Perhaps John had been waiting for an excuse to leave – he wanted to be with Yoko. Whatever the truth, they left.”

Mardas remembered looking through the window of the Maharishi’s villa one night and seeing the guru hugging a teacher. Harrison was, by all accounts, "furious" at Mardas and didn't believe "a word" of the allegation. Lennon would recount the conversation in an early demo of "The Maharishi Song" he recorded at Esher, which never made The White Album. "John Lennon and I went to the Maharishi about what had happened. He asked the Maharishi to explain himself," Mardas, who died in 2017, told the New York Times in 2010. The guru turned out to be merely human.

"So we went to see Maharishi, the whole gang of us the next day charged down to his hut, his very rich-looking bungalow in the mountains," Lennon told Wenner in Rolling Stone. "And I was the spokesman – as usual, when the dirty work came, I actually had to be leader, whatever the scene was, when it came to the nitty gritty I had to do the leading. And I said, 'We're leaving.'"

The guru stopped giggling. "He said, 'I don't know why, you must tell me,'" Lennon remembered in Rolling Stone. "And I just kept saying, 'You know why' – and he gave me a look like, 'I'll kill you, bastard.' He gave me such a look, and I knew then when he looked at me, because I'd called his bluff. And I was a bit rough to him."

Harrison reminded the Maharishi he would be leaving before the course relocated to Kashmir, to film Raga, a documentary about Ravi Shankar, in the south of India. "That's when John said something like, 'Well, you're supposed to be the mystic, you should know,'" Harrison remembered in the 2000 book The Beatles Anthology. "Poor Maharishi. I remember him standing at the gate of the ashram, under an aide's umbrella, as the Beatles filed by, out of his life," Boyd wrote in Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. "'Wait,' he cried. 'Talk to me.' But no one listened."

Run for Your Life

Perhaps the darker aspects of the divine energies were keeping an ear out. Boyd also wrote that Magic Alex was "convinced that Maharishi was evil. He kept saying, 'It's black magic.'"

"He was always intimating, and there were all his right hand men intimating that he did miracles," Lennon remembered in Rolling Stone.

Vengeful forces may have been unleashed. The entourage couldn't leave Rishikesh because their taxis kept breaking down. Lennon was deserted by the driver after his taxi got a flat. He said they waited for hours, and began to feel he didn't even want to go. Shumsky references Pete Shotton's book John Lennon: In My Life quoting Lennon as saying the Maharishi "sent out so much energy he was like a magnet, drawing me back to him. Suddenly I didn't want to go at all, but I forced myself before it was too late."

"Maharishi was incredibly magnetic, incredibly charismatic," Shumsky says. "He was the most powerful, magnetically charismatic person I've ever met. He was also the happiest person I ever met, and he was filled with this energy that you wanted to be near him all the time. That transfer of energy you just get if you're close to him, you get it by osmosis, by sitting close to him, but if he looks at you and puts his attention on you, it's amplified tremendously. You're feeling these waves of bliss and waves of love, this unconditional love, this love that you've never experienced anything like it before." This energy is much the same as a devotee might feel receiving shaktipat from the Hugging Saint or Mother Meera.

Harrison later mused the incident may have caused the dysentery he caught in Madras which was cured by some amulets Ravi Shankar gave him. Lennon's instant karma kept flowing as he confessed to his wife Cynthia all of times he slept around. In her 2005 book John, Cynthia explains that she initially viewed the India visit as a second honeymoon and this litany was a shattering end. It was a long flight.

When they landed in Delhi, Lennon and Harrison told reporters they had business in London and wouldn't appear in the Maharishi's film. Harrison jetted to Los Angeles, spent time at Ravi Shankar’s Music School and his Hollywood Bowl concert, checked out a Mamas and the Papas studio session, hung out in San Francisco, and wrote "Blue Jay Way" before flying home to London on August 9.

read more: The Beatles' Blue Jay Way Is a Hidden Masterpiece

When Lennon told McCartney about the "big scandal," he wasn't so clear on why it didn’t gel with the free loving attitudes of the swinging sixties. Lennon told McCartney the Maharishi was "just a bloody old letch just like everybody else. What the fuck, we can't go following that!,'" Paul remembered in Anthology.

The Maharishi "claimed to be Bal Brahmachari, which means 'life celibate' and he was not. Also, he encouraged his disciples to be celibate. He told his skin boys to be celibate," Shumscky explains. "He even told married people that they should have celibate marriages. I mean, he was really strong on advocating celibacy, and so people got angry because they thought that he was a hypocrite."

McCartney called the Maharishi a nice fellow the band "wasn't going out with anymore." Harrison told reporters he thought the Spiritual Regeneration Movement was "too much of an organization." "We believe in meditation, but not the Maharishi and his scene," Lennon told The Tonight Show host, Joe Garagiola on May 14. "We made a mistake. He's human like the rest of us." He added, "I don't know what level he's on, but we had a nice holiday in India and came back rested."

And with a lot of songs.

A Songwriting Retreat

The Beatles wrote "48 songs in seven weeks" during their visit to Rishikesh. “I was in a room for five days meditating,” said Lennon in The Beatles Anthology. “I wrote hundreds of songs. I couldn’t sleep and I was hallucinating like crazy, having dreams where you could smell. I’d do a few hours and they you’d trip off, three- or four-hour stretches. It was just a way of getting there, and you could go on amazing trips.”

“Songwriting came easy,” Donovan wrote in The Autobiography of Donovan. “Paul Mac never had a guitar out of his hand. He let us all get a few songs in though, and you can hear the results on the records that followed, the Beatles’ White Album, and my own The Hurdy Gurdy Man.”

Donovan showed Lennon the fingerpicking style he used on the songs "Happiness is a Warm Gun," "Julia," and a song about the sister of the future star of Rosemary's Baby. Prudence Farrow was the inspiration for the song “Dear Prudence.” Mia's sister, who went on to become a meditation instructor, spent hours alone in her room "trying to find God quicker than anyone else,” Lennon told Rolling Stone. “That was the competition in Maharishi’s camp: who was going to get cosmic first.” Lennon even bumped McCartney out of his seat on a helicopter ride because he thought the Maharishi might slip him the answer, the Holy Grail, on the sly. The Beatles weren't in a popularity contest with Jesus, who spent forty days in the desert, though they spent little over a month in Rishikesh.

In 2015, Prudence Farrow told Rolling Stone “The Beatles being there – I can honestly say – did not mean anything to me. But those two people that I met, John and George, I really liked them, and they were very much up my alley.”

“The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" came from a conversation John and Paul overheard American college graduate Richard A. Cooke III tell the Maharishi. Cook and his mother Nancy Cooke de Herrera traveled by elephant on a tiger hunt in Naintal. Richard shot and killed an elephant. The band wrote so many songs, a lot didn't make it to the "White" album, or to the Beatles catalog itself. Lennon wrote “What’s the New Mary Jane?,” “Child of Nature,” which he later reworked as “Jealous Guy” for 1971’s Imagine. McCartney wrote “Junk” and “Teddy Boy” which found a home on his 1970 solo debut McCartney. Harrison wrote “Not Guilty,” which the Beatles recorded in August 1968 but never saw the light until the 1979 solo album George Harrison, and “Circles,” which came out on Gone Troppo in 1982. Harrison also wrote “Sour Milk Sea,” which was It’s based on Vishvasara Tantra, from Tantric art. The song was recorded by Jackie Lomax for the Beatles’ Apple Records. The Beatles also recorded the song “Spiritual Regeneration” which remains unreleased.

  Video of Sexy Sadie (Remastered 2009)

The Song

Lennon started writing "Sexy Sadie" in the car ride from Rishikesh to Delhi. The Beatles' publicist Derek Taylor reportedly remembered Lennon scratching the lyrics onto some wood in the Apple Corps office. Maureen Starkey saved the piece, which ultimately got into the hands of a Beatles collector.

The original lyrics were far more scathing before Lennon changed the protagonist of the song to Sadie. Lennon credited the Smokey Robinson & the Miracles song “I’ve Been Good To You” for the opening line, "Look what you’ve done, You made a fool of everyone." But it could also be a sly reference to McCartney's "Fool on the Hill," which was written on Sept. 2, 1967, weeks after the band first met the guru.

The Beatles recorded a demo of “Sexy Sadie” with the final lyrics onto an Ampex four-track machine on May 29th, 1968, at George Harrison's Esher bungalow "Kinfauns." The cut catches Lennon's double-tracked acoustic guitar and vocals, with a beat held on hand percussion by Paul and Ringo. 

The Beatles first recorded “Sexy Sadie” at EMI Studios' Studio Two on July 19th, 1968 at about 7:30 p.m. John played electric guitar and sang lead vocals, Paul played organ, George was on acoustic guitar and Ringo hit the drums.  The first track improvised lyrics about Brian Epstein and his brother Clive. The band also jammed on the George Gershwin classic "Summertime," for six minutes. The Beatles recorded 21 takes of "Sexy Sadie." Take six was released on the 1996 album Anthology 3.

The band recorded 23 more takes on July 24, using none. On August 13, they recorded eight takes, John played acoustic guitar and vocals, George played an electric guitar through a rotating Leslie speaker, Paul played piano through an echo effect, and Ringo played drums.  The band used the last take, numbered 107, for the basic tracks. The instrumental fade-out was longer and featured a breakdown based on the bridge. This was edited out prior to mixing. On August 21, Lennon recorded a lead vocal and the Hammond organ. The band added bass, tambourine and two sets of backing vocals. George double-tracked the lead guitar on the ending.

"Sexy Sadie" opens with a slightly distorted piano regally inverting six measures of the song's G C F# B minor D chord progression before Ringo kicks it in with one of his impeccably timed runs. Ringo didn't take solos. He didn’t have to. His sound, the timing, the breaths, or cigarette puffs if the studio takes in the film Help! are any indication, is immediately identifiable. The spaces he puts between beats on a run are drum solos by themselves. His bass drum and McCartney's bass strings invariably extend on each other to provide a solid foundation for slippery material. They didn't learn this on retreat in India, this came from a practice as regimented as daily meditation: rehearsal and performance.

Paul McCartney jauntily rises through the spiritual promise of the chords in the bridge, G Am7 Bm7 Cmaj7, as the band gives away everything to sit at her table. The glimpse fulfillment when the chords end on the C major chords as Sadie's smile lightens everything. Only to be let down by the "latest and the greatest" through the descending chromatics of A7 G# G F#7.

read more: The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour Could Have Been a Great Prog Rock Classic

Lennon's vocals come in intimately, but not quite lovingly. He can't believe how far Sadie's foolishness has spread. The harmonies come in as he repeats himself in falsetto, creating a soft netting. We don't know the singer is laying a trap, until Lennon warns "you'll get yours yet, no matter how big you think you are," as the piano tinkles backed with a high vibrato on the guitar. By the second bridge, the harmonies are calling to Sadie, at first seductively, but it turns into a heckle. As George's guitar riff takes over for the outro musical bridge, Lennon's voice becomes taunting, more distorted guitars join in. The vocals seem to mock the giggling of the giddy guru with the head in the clouds.

The Beatles "may have given everything they owned just to sit at her table," but they delivered a tasty just desserts as the song wound up on side 3 of The White Album, cuddled between "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" and McCartney's thrasher "Helter Skelter." According to Vincent Bugliosi's book Helter Skelter, Charles Manson rechristened Susan Atkins, who he had already nicknamed Sadie Mae Glutz, as "Sexy Sadie" while the family was living at the Spahn Movie Ranch in the Santa Susana Mountains. 

The Beatles played a bit of "Sexy Sadie" on January 29th, 1969, during the Let It Be recording sessions. Ringo mentions "Sexy Sadie" in the song “Devil Woman” from his 1973 album Ringo, and the song “Drumming Is My Madness” from Stop And Smell The Roses, his album from 1981. Harrison mentions the title in his song “Simply Shady” from the 1974 album Dark Horse. The Maharishi may have been coyly lampooned as Jeremy Hillary Boob, the nowhere man in the animated film Yellow Submarine.

Video of Sexy Sadie (Take 3)

However big you think you are

After the Beatles left the Ashram, critics tagged them as eccentric faddists. Lennon continued to look for himself through Primal Therapy sessions with Dr. Arthur Janov, but ultimately found solace in the girl with kaleidoscope eyes, Yoko Ono. Harrison embraced Krishna Consciousness under A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, recording the mantra for the Hare Krishna movement and including it as the centerpiece of his song "My Sweet Lord." Harrison offered a public apology to the Maharishi in 1991 and gave a benefit concert for the Maharishi's Natural Law Party in 1992. The Natural Law Party asked Harrison, McCartney and Starr to run for parliament representing the party for for Liverpool in 1994.

read more: The Beatles Got Back Where They Belonged In Rooftop Swan Song

McCartney continues to quietly meditate in a dome in his home, reportedly on a round bed he got as a gift from Alice Cooper, who had gotten it from Groucho Marx. McCartney and his daughter Stella visited the Maharishi in the Netherlands in 2007. McCartney, Starr, Donovan, and Horn reunited at a concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall to benefit the David Lynch Foundation, which pays for schools to teach Transcendental Meditation.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died in Vlodrop, Netherlands, on February 5, 2008, the 45th anniversary of the Deep Space Network. He was 91 years old. "He was a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world and the cause of unity," McCartney said in a statement at the time. "I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read: 'radiate, bliss, consciousness' and that to me says it all. I will miss him but will always think of him with a smile."

On the day Mahesh died, the Lennon song "Across The Universe," was broadcast in space. The song itself turned 40 that day. Jai Guru Deva om.

Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York City's Vampyr Theatre and the rock opera AssassiNation: We Killed JFK. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol.

from Books http://bit.ly/2U5Rekl

[toongrrl-blog]

Poodles and the Postwar Period

Okay I want to let a few things off the bat: I have seen Mad Men several times and I have also watched Hairspray (1988), can you spot something recurring?

Then you must keep in mind the 1950s poodle skirts. 

I just wondered, what was it about the poodle that became a recognizable motif on postwar teen fashion and how did it became such a mainstay (like mermaids and unicorns in the last decade) in fashion and decor, and femininity? Even a buzzword for nostalgia? Maybe a symbolism of all things not “default” in our culture: foreign, feminine, concerned with beauty and appearance. Fasten your seatbelts cats, it’s a bumpy ride. 

I’m first going to start with something from Poodle Lovers Post: despite all the stereotypes, poodles are very hard-working and intelligent dogs. Also it’s of German origins (as far as we know, there’s a chance they came from Asia), with the names Pudelhund or Pudel referring to their use as water retrievers. Poodles were used to guard, guide, hunt, pull wagons, and perform in circuses when the military wasn’t using them. They were crossed with the British Truffle Dog (who hunted truffles). 

The uses for entertainment elevated them to the French Aristocracy where fashionable women began to carry them around as companions but the popularity for them waned in the United States during the 1920s (except for figurines and paintings), so what about that Postwar craze for them and our affiliations for nostalgia? Flash forward to World War II where poodles were used again in the military thanks to Arlene Erlanger, a poodle breeder who noticed that the United States didn’t have a canine program for the military, and volunteered her poodles which kick-started the Dogs for Defense program. While the Poodle was very intelligent and swim-worthy, their easily matted hair was another issue; so they stayed on the home-front guarding the defense plants, the military installations, and the coastline. So how did poodles become associated with femininity, especially of the the kind associated with members of the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers coming of age? Even the icon of sexiness and vanity?

So the 1920s had a lot of Poodle figurines and paintings with peak popularity in the 1950s, with these figurines. What a way to for an America under the spell of the Feminine Mystique where women were urged into secondary roles in society, discrimination ran rampant, girls were encouraged to sit with a aspirin between the knees, date rape was common and went unreported, and ambitious young women were urged to marry a man from college rather than start a career. Tight sweaters, bullet bras, pencil skirts, stiletto heels, starched petticoats, circle skirts with belts that cinched in the waist, and armored girdles were popular! Thank God for saddle shoes and loafers, how else would one be comfortable? (No shade, I like those styles a lot) Cheerful housewives in poufy skirts and perfect hair and blonde bombshells wiggling their butts were popular, along with intimidating looking models who resembled socialites. Poodles were considered frou-frou, haughty, and sexy...it’s no surprise when a woman by the name of Juli Lynn Charlot, a woman with limited clothing skills but wanted something new to wear to a holiday party in 1947, used a circle of felt and cut a smaller hole and sewed a poodle applique onto it. Later she started a business after her friends requested similar skirts with different designs and she made more than just circle skirts and retired in Mexico, last heard working on her memoirs, the trend was more associated with young women as it looked “silly” on their mothers and grandmothers, thus cementing it with teens like Patty Simcox, the real life Annette Funicello, Amber VonTussle, Peggy Olson (who was a 1950s teen), and young Sally Draper. 

You can get a poodle dress or even circle skirts with Jerry drinking a martini or landscapes or the Eiffel Tower!

As soon as the Silent Gens and the early Baby Boomers were entering their adult lives in the 1970s, they started getting more nostalgic for the earlier days of the 1950s and the 1960s with tv shows like Happy Days or Laverne and Shirley and movies like American Graffiti and Grease where character Patty Simcox wore a poodle skirt and that is when poodle skirts became associated with 1950s teen nostalgia. Annette Funicello had done two variety shows talking about that time (given that is when she became a teen idol). Let’s not forget Sha Na Na who debuted at Woodstock, Ricky Nelson who revived his career, and Janis Joplin.  

Thus the whole nostalgia for the postwar, the intro of American Teen culture, and the conflation of the 1950s and 1960s has begun. But wait what about all things feminine? Lynn Peril has talked about “Pink Think” which talked about how aversion postwar America had to androgyny, the counterculture, non-conformists, lack of makeup and hair product, and gals who either dressed for themselves or didn’t give a fuck about the male gaze with the color being associated with that thinking (or used by say female race car drivers to make them less threatening) which was a favorite color of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. 

Pink Think is a set of ideas and attitudes about what constitutes proper female behavior; a groupthink that was consciously or not adhered to by advice writers, manufacturers of toys and other consumer products, experts in many walks of life, and the public at large, particularly during the years spanning the mid-twentieth century--but enduring enven into the twenty-first century. Pink think assumes there is a standard of behavior to which all women, no matter their age, race, or body type, must aspire. 

God forbid a girl becomes a tomboy, a beatnik, an old maid, or a lesbian? (JK I’m super queer, sarcasm people). As discussed in the linked Slate article, poodles were associate with sex appeal, as these ads can demonstrate:

Now you’re thinking, “Toongrrl the 1950s were very slut-shaming!” and they were but between Sexy Bombshell in a tight sweater and skirt or butch Tomboy, guess which were the lesser of two evils in this study that Dr. Ernest Dichter did for the incoming Barbie doll (as detailed in M.G. Lord’s Forever Barbie)?

A lesser manipulator might have been daunted by the mothers’ unvarnished loathing of the doll, but not Dichter. He swiftly located their Achilles’ heel and formulated a plan to exploit it. One woman, who had found Barbie way too racy, changed her mind when she heard her eight-year-old daughter comment, “She’s so well groomed, Mommy.” Out of this came Dichter’s strategy: Convince Mom that Barbie will make a “poised little lady” out of her raffish, unkempt, possibly boyish child. Underscore the outfits’ detailing, and the way it might teach a roughneck to accessorize. Remind Mom what she believes deep down but dares not express: Better her daughter should appeal in a sleazy way to a man than be unable to attract one at all.

For someone like Mrs. Von Tussle, Betty Draper, and Katherine Olson they probably wanted to impose this kind of femininity on their daughters, even if it’ll make them fussy (though this poodle is loyal AF to her kind), a stereotype that persisted into the 1980s.

Currently Gen Z and Generation Alpha has joined in with the Grease revival starring Vanessa Hudgens and Maryellen Larkin.

[harperxxlee]

Hey y’all! I’m Harper Lee and I’ll be auditioning for Patty Simcox with Dolly Parton’s iconic masterpiece, Jolene.

[editfandom]

please make a icon set for patty simcox from grease

done :)

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Greaser Serpents | Part 2

A/N: I’m planning on doing a five-parter for this one as I love it way too much already. I’ve had a few people asking to be in the tag list, so, if you want to be in the taglist too, just lemme know! :) 

Pairing: Sweet Pea x OC (Luna Simmons) 

Words: 3054

Warnings: none

It’s been a good week of rehearsals, and Luna has learned to live with the fact that she has to pretend to love the Southside Serpent that’s become her love interest in the musical they’re doing at Riverdale High. To be completely and truly honest, the entire process of rehearsing and singing and dancing with the entire cast has been so much fun thus far. Even with the Serpents.  “Okay, Luna, I absolutely love everything about that!” Kevin comments when they’ve finished the scene at the peprally where Sandy and Danny see each other again, but Danny’s being a dick about it. “You’re all amazing!” the director exclaims, overexcitedly. “Let’s take five and then we’re doing Greased Lightning,” the entire cast nods and Kevin looks at them for a moment, taking everything in. He’s proud of this entire cast. Proud of him for picking out the right people for the right characters.  Luna as Sandy and Sweet Pea as Danny has been the best idea he’s ever had. Even though they hate each other, the chemistry between them is undeniable. Betty’s the perfect Marty, and Rizzo’s the role of Veronica’s life. Toni as Frenchy and Midge as Jan is the most perfect casting ever. The T-birds are well-cast too. Archie as Kenickie, Jughead as Doody, Fangs as Sonny and Reggie as Putzie. Cheryl plays Patty Simcox and Josie would be Chacha. He had never been prouder of a casting as he was of this one. Those roles are made for his friends and there was no lie in that. 

“Can we rehearse lines together tonight?” Betty asks when she and Luna go to sit down in the auditorium. They want to watch the boys perform Greased Lightning and wait for Kevin’s notes on previous scenes too. Luna convinces herself she’s staying to see Archie and Jughead do one of her favorite songs, but in reality, she just wants to see Sweet Pea doing it.  “Yeah, sure! I wanted to ask you to help me with the reprise of Look at me I’m Sandra Dee at the end anyway,” Luna whispers to Betty as Kevin calls action on the boys. Sweet Pea stands in his spot, right next to a block of wood where the car will be during the actual play. For now, the wood would do.  “Why this car could be systematic,” Sweet Pea begins as he takes his Serpent jacket off with the beat of the music that began to play at the same time.  “Hydromatic, ultramatic,” he throws away his jacket and jumps on a table next to the block of wood. Luna’s breath hitches in her throat as she watches him. His biceps flex at every move he makes, and sends shivers down her spine for some reason. Every time he performs one of the songs and his beautiful voice and amazing dancemoves are shown, Luna gets weak in the knees and hates the person he is a little bit less.  “We'll get some overhead lifters and four barrel quads, oh yeah,” Sweet Pea sings in a deep, sultry voice, matching the actual voice of John Travolta. “Keep talking, woah, keep talking” Archie sings his line. “A fuel injection cut off and chrome plated rods, oh yeah,” “I'll get the money, I'll kill to get the money” Archie sings again from his spot on the block. “With a four-speed on the floor, they'll be waitin' at the door You know that it ain't shit, we'll be gettin' lots of tit, greased lightnin'” “Go go go, go go go go go go go go,” All the boys sing as they run towards the wooden block. Fangs, Archie, Reggie and Jughead in front and next to the block, Sweet Pea on top. “Go, greased lightnin', you're burnin' up the quarter mile.” “Greased lightnin', go, greased lightnin'” seeing the boys do the iconic dance moves makes Luna smile a little. This is going to be the greatest musical Riverdale High has ever done. During the instrumental bit, the boys o the choreography Toni had taught them as Sweet Pea hops off the wood and does whatever he’s supposed to do as choreography as well. His eyes meet Luna’s, and he gives her a wink. His biceps flex again, weakening her. They sing the last bit and end up in their pose on the wooden block. “Alright, guys! Let’s get to work!” Sweet Pea says his last line before the girls and Kevin in the audience begin cheering. Luna’s eyes are glued on her Serpent co-star and his glance lands on her as well. He gives her a little smile, and inside even melts a little at the look she’s giving him. Her eyes sparkle. Something has shifted inside her that made her stop looking at him with absolute hatred in her eyes. For some reason, her hazel eyes suddenly look lighter. “Amazing, guys!” Kevin tells them with a wide, toothpaste-commercial-like smile. “Let’s call it a day and assemble tomorrow for the epic dance scene!” he informs them, and everyone starts packing up. Sweet Pea walks up to Luna, leaving all of his friends to head home without him. She smiles up at him as she puts her bag over her shoulder. “How about I treat you to a milkshake at Pop’s and we can go over some lines together?” he suggests with a little smile. Her eyes glance over to Betty, who’s heard what the guy asked, and she gives her neighbor a little nod. They could do their lines some other time. Right now, it’s more important that the two get along. And maybe even a little more. “Yeah, sure,” Luna replies with a smile and the two head outside school together. Outside, it’s chucking down rain, almost making it impossible to see one foot in front of them. “Okay, my car is at the back of the parking lot,” Luna mumbles, annoyed at herself for not coming to school earlier so she’d have a better spot. “Whatever we do, we’re going to get soaking wet,” Sweet Pea mumbles. A smirk appears on Luna’s face as she looks up at the tall Serpent, her glance lingering on the tattoo on his neck. He looks down at her, realizing what she’s thinking, and his expression falters, “Not like that,” he scoffs, rolling his eyes. Luna giggles a little, shaking her head. “Let’s just make a run for it, shall we?” she suggests with a little sigh. Sweet Pea hums in agreement and, as if on automatic, grabs Luna’s hand in his before dashing off into the rain and dragging the Northsider girl with him. Giggles and loud laughs fill the air, almost muting the pattering rain on the pavement. “Get inside!” Luna yells as she lets go of the boy’s hand and clicks the button on her key to open the car. Both of them get inside, each of them soaking wet, but still laughing through it. “Fuck, that’s cold,” Sweet Pea mutters, wiping his hair back that’s now sticking to his head. That beautiful curl that normally sits on his forehead is gone. “Let’s get to Pop’s,” Luna nods and starts her car, driving off through the rain and to their favorite diner.

“Hello, Luna,” Pop greets her with a smile as he arrives at the booth the two had taken a seat in. The blonde girl smiles up at the old man, happy to see him again. “The usual?” Sweet Pea looks at the girl in front of him, a tender smile on his face. Northsiders are so weird with their usual orders at the diner, but it’s kind of sweet too. “Just the strawberry milkshake today, Pop,” she tells him before glancing to the boy. “A vanilla milkshake for me, please,” Sweet Pea orders, looking at the old man now. Luna’s eyebrows furrow. She never expected a serpent like him to be the vanilla-milkshake type. “And some fries to share,” he adds quickly with a smile. Pop nods and leaves the kids alone. Luna still stares at Sweet Pea, the confused look still plastered on her face. “What?” he asks, blushing only a tiny bit. “Nothing, I just didn’t take you for the vanilla-type,” she shrugs and leans back in her seat. “I guess you just don’t know me that well,” Sweet Pea leans forward, his elbows resting on the table in front of him. Luna opens her mouth to say something, but then closes it again. “You might be right. We’re playing the main roles in a musical and have to pretend to be hopelessly devoted to each other, but we don’t even know one another,” she says, more to herself than to Sweet Pea. The guy chuckles and wants to say something, but Pop handing the milkshake and fries interferes with that.   “Thanks, Pop,” Sweet Pea tells the man and Luna gives him a thankful smile before taking the metal straw between her teeth. “So, tell me something about you,” he nudges, staring in her eyes as she looks up from her milkshake. He pops a fry into his mouth. “Why don’t you say what you think about me?” she suggests on playing a game. “Ok…” he mumbles and sips from his beverage once, “I think you’re this clean-cut, straight A-student who has been living on the Northside her entire life. You live in this pastel-pink world where your parents love and pamper you to death and your friends live close to you and you spend every waking hour with them. Or that’s what you want people to think…” he trails off at the last part, his eyes scanning her face. Her flawless face with the freckles decorating her nose and cheeks, and her hazelnut bright eyes. Luna chuckles. “Almost,” she replies and takes a deep breath, “My parents don’t really have time for me as they’re too busy building their empire with Hiram Lodge, which I strongly disagree to, by the way. I tried to stop them, believe me, but I’ve failed,” Sweet Pea shifts in his seat at the mention of Hiram Lodge. He’s the reason why his school was shut down and will be closed soon. “I get straight A’s, but I don’t study that much, I have a gift, people tell me,” she scoffs a little at that. She has no clue how she gets straight A’s without studying for it, but it just happens. “I only ever see my friends at school, except for Betty. She lives next door, so I see her every now and then outside of school too,” Sweet Pea listens intently, a smile tugging at his lips. “Your turn,” he then says and takes another sip from his milkshake while she pops a fry in her mouth. She chews for a moment, thinking about what to stay whilst scanning his face. “You’re this tough-looking guy with the intimidating looks and the aggression and violence, but in reality, you’re actually this big soft teddy bear who cares about his friends and family and would literally die for them,” she rambles, leaving Sweet Pea speechless. “Did I get something wrong?” she asks, raising an eyebrow and grabbing a few fries. “Not at all,” he mumbles, a little shocked she got that spot-on, “I don’t really have a family anymore though, not by blood, I mean. The Serpents are my family. And I know you hate us, and you don’t like our laws, but they took me in when I lost my parents in a tragic accident. I never really thought about leaving them. They’ve raised me and I don’t know anything else but that family and their laws. Even if it makes people hate me,” he explains truthfully. Luna stops in her tracks for a moment and stares at the vulnerable Sweet Pea in front of her. “That’s actually really sweet, Sweet Pea,” she chuckles, “No pun intended.” The boy laughs at that a little and grabs a few more fries. The two talk about their lives for a moment, really getting to know each other. For some bizarre reason, Luna feels attracted to him all of a sudden. It’s like a weird connection has grown between them. Like they now see each other in a completely different light and every single drop of hatred they had towards each other, is just gone. Poof. Like that. With only one milkshake and a shared portion of fries. That’s until a couple of Serpents decide to ruin the party.

“What do we have here?” Fangs asks with a smirk as he and a couple other Serpents reach their table. Luna looks at Sweet Pea for a moment, and she can tell he’s getting embarrassed for being caught with a Northsider at Pop’s. “We’re just rehearsing lines, Fogarty,” Sweet Pea grumbles, his fist clenching on the table. “Over milkshakes and fries?” he asks, “This looks more like a date than anything else,” Fangs laughs, making the other Serpents laugh too as if on cue. Luna rolls her eyes at the Serpents, sick of their attitude all the time. They may be family, but they’re still annoying as hell. And most of all, she hates how they treat Northsiders. How they treat her. “It’s nothing, Fangs. You really think I would go on a date with a Northsider?” Sweet Pea asks, only to break Luna’s heart a little. She actually feels it break then and there. Physical pain courses through her chest, and she’d much rather be at home rehearsing lines with Betty instead of this gross, toxic masculinity-filled asshole. Fangs looks at Luna for a moment, feeling sorry for her. She actually seems nice. Why can’t Sweet Pea stand up for her like he should? He knows they’re only teasing him. “Sorry, bro,” Fangs holds up his hands in defense, “You’re coming to the Whyte Wyrm for a game of pool?” Sweet Pea’s eyes glance over at Luna. She’d sunk into her seat, arms crossed and glaring at him. If looks could kill, Sweet Pea would be bleeding to death now. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a moment,” he replies, his voice low. Fangs and the Serpents go to the counter to grab their order from Pop and leave the co-stars alone in the booth. “Luna, I—” he begins to make up some lame excuse, but Luna isn’t having any of it. “You’re always going to be the same, aren’t you?” she asks, “You open up to me about your family and make me believe you’re actually this sweet, vulnerable guy when in reality you’re just the typical chauvinistic macho who thinks he could make girls go weak in the knees,” Sweet Pea sinks in his seat, head hung low. “Isn’t that true, Sweet Pea? Well, sucks for you, but I’m not one of those girls who would fall for your macho-traits. I’m not Sandy,” she stands up, grabbing her bag and shaking her head at him as he’s sulking into his embarrassment. “See you at rehearsals,” she mumbles before leaving him at the diner. Sweet Pea sighs deeply, shaking his head at what had just happened. He hates himself for letting the girl go. For once, he was opening up to someone, letting someone see a more vulnerable side of him. She finally stopped looking at him  like he was a culprit, a criminal. She finally looked at him like he was human.  “Stranded at the drivin', branded a fool What will they say Monday at school?” he mumbles his lines from his solo song. He wanted to rehearse that scene with Luna, but since that won’t happen anymore, he might as well rehearse the song on his own. “Sandy, can't you see I'm in misery? We made a start, now we're apart There's nothing left for me,” he gets up from his seat, whacks some cash on the table and leaves the diner. Fangs looks at him for a moment, sympathy arising inside of him. This is all his fault. He shouldn’t have come between the two.   “Love has flown, all alone I sit and wonder why yi-yi-yi Oh why you left me, oh Sandy, oh Sandy,” he thinks about the conversation they just had and how he could be so stupid to let Fangs get underneath his skin. He could’ve just told him the truth. He could’ve told her the truth. “Baby, someday, when high school is done Somehow, someway, our two worlds will be one In heaven forever and ever we will be Oh, please say you'll stay, oh, Sandy” He walks towards the Northside and stops at Riverdale High where he sees Luna with her friends, talking. She seems angry, probably yelling at Betty about what had happened at the diner. Tears come rushing down her cheeks, and he’s left wondering whether they’re tears of anger or sadness. “Sandy, my darlin' You hurt me real bad You know it's true But, baby, you gotta believe me when I say I'm helpless without you” The boy now makes his way towards the auditorium where he continues to sing his solo. For once in the entire rehearsing-process, he’s really feeling what he’s singing. For once, he’s truly realizing that the crush on his co-star might not just be a crush. But he can’t date a Northsider, can he? He’s a Southside Serpent. He would be ridiculed, and she would be bullied into joining the Serpents and thus doing the dance. “Love has flown, all alone, I sit I wonder why yi-yi-yi, Oh why You left me, Oh Sandy Sandy, Sandy Why yi-yi-yi” She can’t do the Serpent dance. No one is supposed to see her like that. Not before he has. Not before he has told her what he truly feels for her. How the hatred he felt towards her, has disappeared the moment she began singing that first day of rehearsals. “Oh Sandy,” he mumbles the last words with his hands in his hair. Applause makes him jump out his thoughts, his eyes wide as he looks into the audience. “I’m glad you’re rehearsing on your own, man,” Kevin tells him with a smile, “Wish everyone was as dedicated as you.” He’s oblivious to what had just happened. Oblivious to the feelings Sweet Pea has for Luna. Oblivious to what he sang was actually felt deep inside of him.

Taglist: @iamaunicorn4704, @cvvlxx