#that man is always in the background blurred out forget he’s there then they pan to him and I’m like damn

[yourbestbuddie]

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[runa-falls]

pillow princess - pt. 2

summary: ransom really is a pillow princess

pairing: sub!ransom drysdale x maid!reader

rating: explicit 18+ (DNI if you’re under 18 -.-)

warnings: SMUT, fluff :), mentions of transactional sexual favors, edging, overstimulation, creampie, pain-kink [mild], bratty!ransom, kinda dom!reader, needy!ransom, ransom is cute 😩

WC: ~2.1k

A/N: um--this took a while, sorry 😬 I absolutely did not proof read this whoops 😅  

likes are nice, but comments/reblogs keep me going!

masterlist

-=+=-=+=-=+=-

Much to your relief, Ransom returns to his usual bratty attitude the next day. He flawlessly acts like nothing happened, careful not to bother more or less than he did before.

Actually, he bounces back to your old dynamic so easily that you wonder if he even remembers that night. It’s almost meticulous with how he interacts with you now.

 The only evidence of his earlier affections that you can recognize is how he says “maid” with a little more husk than necessary. His silky voice teases goosebumps up your arms, but he never goes further. He wants you to chase him. But you’re not one to fold so easily. 

So you follow his apathetic attitude, not needing more drama in your life regarding the man-child you already have to care for. Ransom is a man of limited patience and interest, so his moving on is an inherent assumption. As long as you keep yourself at arm's length, you can return to your life of cleaning and cooking.

Though he is tempting, you are content with your distant position in his life–any more would simply exhaust you. So you assume that he will eventually forget about your moment of weakness and go back to his usual brand of willing women.

But you should’ve known better because, as you’ve learned from your employment under the Drysdales, Ransom is a man full of surprises. 

–

Apparently, the way into a man’s heart–or at least Ransom’s is to completely ignore him.

You hear Ransom clear his throat from the couch, insisting your attention away from the dishes you are working on. You continue with the dishes anyway, pressing the sponge into a particularly stubborn pan as the sound of running water blurs over his annoyed grunt.

Ransom has been unusually distant today, always in another room doing god knows what, to actively avoid you until dinner. The TV plays idly in the background as he peeks up over the geometric couch with a hesitant expression. You’ve never seen that before. 

"Can you-um, play with my hair?" Your movements pause, thinking you heard him wrong. "Please?" he adds, nervously shuffling himself on the cushion, slightly regretting he even asked. You should make him wait a little longer, stew in his self-doubt, but you can’t help how your body reacts to his sheepish behavior. 

Ransom looks incredibly adorable today, opting to leave his hair alone after his shower: product-free and fluffy. He wears one of his older sweaters, shrowding his broad frame in stretched-out cotton, unbothered by the tattered mess of frayed edges and tugged threads that rub against his skin. 

He almost looks small as he waits for your response, letting the sleeves blanket over his hands as he fiddles with his fingers. You drop the sponge in the sink and dry your hands before walking over to him, wordlessly gesturing for him to move over to make space for you. 

“Lay your head on my lap." You sound bored, acting like this is just another chore to fulfill, but on the inside, you’re thrumming in bliss.  He obediently follows your directions, cheek pressing against the top of your thighs to let you run your fingers through his hair. He closes his eyes as you gently scratch against his scalp, little sighs puffing out every so often.

His hair is just as soft as it looks, little waves fighting to curl up against years of pomade-use. You keep your gaze straight toward the TV, enjoying this spell of serenity, afraid he’d get up if you locked eyes. 

He looks up at you, silently wishing you’d stare right back. 

—

The original plan went out the door as soon as you had a taste of sweet-Ransom. 

He fell asleep on you that night, completely at ease in your embrace as you brushed through his hair, petting him like you would a cat. You watched as he curled up next to you, too entranced in his beauty to move from under him.

Your stomach burns with desire and affection when you reminisce how soft he can be, content to just nuzzle against your hand the whole night. It’s what finally breaks you. 

So you start experimenting with how far you can take this newfound power, dropping little hints as you go on with your day:

Ransom is almost done eating his usual omelet when you proposition him.

"I'll give you a kiss if you put your dishes in the dishwasher..." 

Ransom, who was once avidly watching a youtube video on his iPad, immediately perks up at your words. Expectantly, he shows a bit of resistance to the new dynamic, hmphing at the thought of cleaning up after himself. 

"Yeah, no, I'm not doing that–And what makes you think I couldn't just take a kiss if I wanted to?" 

You slowly walk up to the dining table, placing his second mug of coffee on the corner of the gray-blue placemat. "...So you don't want a kiss?" His eyebrows furrow with sincere dismay, offended by your question. 

"I never said that." 

"So you do?" You sweetly place his utensils on his plate, preparing him for his first chore in god knows how long. 

"Yes." 

"Then… you know what to do." You head toward the stairs before he can argue with you, thinking of the laundry that could occupy your attention as you wait for him to either give in or give up. “Call me when you get it done.” 

Despite living alone, Ransom’s laundry room is just as full as his closet. You stare at the piles of clothes that need to be ironed, folded, and organized, bewildered by how many outfits he can wear in one day. 

You’re barely able to pick up a sweater before he calls you from downstairs. That was fast.

"I'm done! You can come back and give me my kiss now!" You sigh, looking down at the color-coded piles of clothes. It’ll just have to wait.

You pad down the 'floating' staircase and spot him sitting patiently at the dining table where you left him. iPad off with no plate in sight. 

"Good job, Ransom." You praise, speaking to him like a preschool teacher would a child. You mentally shake your head at his arrogant smirk. He’s so proud of himself for doing the absolute minimum, just because you asked.

 "Kiss. Now." You give him a small smile, shuffling over to his eagerly seated figure. He smoothly nuzzles against your hand as you hold his face, eyes closed in anticipation as you lean in for a kiss. You mischievously bite your lip before placing a quick peck on his cheek, immediately turning to walk back to the stairs. 

You wince when you hear the dining chair scrape against the wooden floor as he stands up with indignation. That’ll surely leave a mark. "Hey! That wasn’t what I asked for!" His deep voice whines up the stairs behind you.

You're stopped halfway up the stairs as you turn to speak to him, a pleased smirk gracing your lips. "That was a kiss, Ransom. Maybe be more specific next time?"

"B-but you're the one who offered it!" You shrugged innocently, enjoying how frustrated you could make him.

"Then maybe you should make me clarify next time?"

—

It doesn’t take long for him to use this new give-and-take game to his advantage. 

“I’ll do my laundry if you give me a real kiss on the lips.” Your lips part, dammit, he is learning. “For five minutes.” He hastily adds, knowing what a smart-ass you can be.

You act like you’re reluctantly giving in, answering with a slow nod, agreeing to his terms. 

Your plan is going perfectly, he’s making your job easier AND you get a kiss from sweet, desperate, Ransom. What could go wrong?

“I’ll do the dishes all week if you let me eat you out.” His voice echoes through the bathroom, startling you from cleaning. You drop the disinfectant spray sending a loud bang through the shower, surprised by his sudden presence. Has he been there the whole time? 

“Until you cum.” He specifies as if you’d stop him once he’s over you. You let out a small cough before turning to look at him, gloved hands still frozen in the air. Ransom has his hands stuffed in his pockets as he waits for your answer.

“Ransom…”

“Please,” He walks further into the bathroom until he’s towering over your crouched position. “I’ll only do whatever you want me to do. Promise.” 

—

You melt for him as easily as he does for you, his newfound softness luring you in. You don’t know how he convinced you into his bed, or if he even convinced you at all. 

His pleading eyes eagerly stare up at you bouncing on his lap as your nails rake down his bare chest, decorating his skin with sweet red trails. Ransom seethes through his teeth, “Yesss.” His cock twitches inside of you as he winces at the pain, helplessly laying under you as he takes everything you give him. 

He gently holds on to your waist as you begin teasingly grinding on him with short abrupt movements, earning a sharp groan from his throat. His stomach rubs beautifully against your clit, making you speed up your movements.

His hips weakly cant up to meet yours, the sound of his skin harshly slapping against your ass travels throughout the house, music to your ears. Soon, too soon, his thrusts start to slow down, juddering as he struggles to sync with your movements. He chokes, holding himself inside of you.

"Fuck, I'm gonna-" You quickly push yourself off of him, leaving him to whine as he teeters at the edge of his orgasm. His sweat-shined body shakes when his cock barely brushes against your sopping lips, muscles clenching, feeling overly sensitive.  "Noo, please" he begs, attempting to chase the warmth of your cunt to no avail. 

"You only cum when I say you can, you got that." His chest is rising rapidly, pouting against your cruel denial. You reach down and wrap your fingers around his sensitive cock, squeezing gently to make a point, "I said, you got that?" 

"Y-yes, got it."

—

You were impressed how he's keeping up with you, even after cumming two times tonight. You edged him through both rounds, stretching each orgasm to the limit before finishing him with your hand, letting him spill onto your skin.

You’d soak him in your cunt right until he’s ready to burst. “Uh-uh, creampies are only for good boys.” He nods numbly, exhausted from trying to hold his cum back.

At the beginning of the night, you were making him beg so prettily for his orgasm, but now, he's desperately begging you to stop. Overstimulated to the brim, it’s almost painful how quickly he gets to the edge.

"Please--fuck!" You purposely clench yourself around him, driving him crazy, hands flail to grip at your body, trying to keep you still above him. 

You glare down at his flushed face, "Don't fucking touch me." His hands instantly drop before clenching into fists as he tries to stave himself from cumming. His cock practically vibrates from your harsh words, already oversensitized from the number of times you've gotten him off. 

"I-I can't--" He throbs inside of you, heightening the way he prods against the deepest part of you. You smile cruelly, looking down at him, letting out a breathless chuckle. He stares up at you with pleading eyes, deliriously following your movements.  

"Aw baby," You let go of his right hand to cover his mouth, muffling his groans as you speed up. “You don’t have a choice.” He breathes harshly through his nose, eyes rolling to the back of his head as you fuck him dry, reveling in the way his body trembles under you as he fills you to the brim with his cum.  

—

Ransom’s arms tenderly wrap around your waist as he cloaks you in his warmth. His heart beats steadily against your back as his nose presses into your neck.

Despite his submissive nature, Ransom likes to be the big spoon. Sure, it’s partially due to his urge to protect you, but the main reason is to ensure you don’t leave him as he sleeps--because no matter how cocky and arrogant he acts, Ransom is scared to lose you.

His soft breaths brush against the back of your hair as he sleeps, periodically pulling you in closer to nuzzle his face in the crook of your neck, basking in your scent. 

Ransom feels safe around you. Like he can finally drop the mask he’s been wearing all these years and accept who he is. And he wants to be vulnerable with you. He actually craves it. You’re the first person to see this side of him–or at least the first he has wanted to keep—and he’s never felt so free. 

That’s why he can’t afford to lose you

[anymal28]

Pre-SMP AU by @louisapennyfeather2021

Beginning Notes!

-This is a fan made story.  It’s based around possible events that could’ve happened before Tommy joined the SMP.  None of this is canon nor has it been confirmed by any of the creators.

-This is written as if it were being viewed through a camera.  Almost like an episode from a show or a movie.  But it’s also written as an actual story.

Narrative Inspiration from @ace.wing on Tiktok.

"Legends tell of a world. A realm where you have nothing to fear. No worries. No monsters hiding under your bed. A passage way to escape the darkness

*black and white images flash over a black screen quickly, only slow enough to catch a brief glimpse*

"A world where one could start over. Find meaning to a life they no longer know."

*more images flash across the screen*

"But we all know how quickly that story changes."

*images of war, fighting, and death flash across the screen*

"Legends tell of a monster that overtook the realm. One considered a God among mortals."

*yelling, arguing, screaming echos as more images flash*

"A creature so dark that even the brightest souls submitted to his rule. Faceless and merciless, the realm became his stage and the inhabitants his puppets to be controlled."

*images and conversations from the darkest moments echo*

"But there's always a hero, always someone to finally defeat the monster."

*"It was never meant to be" echos in multiple voices in the background as blurred images of hands salute on screen*

"But to understand the pain, the struggle, the happiness and fear-"

*"Remember..." The voice of a young british boy echos as images of a friendship flash on screen*

"We need to look back through the pages. Read back to the beginning again. We need to return..."

*"It's you and me, versus..." The young british boy's voice trails off as images flash rapidly. Voices and conversations get muddled and get louder and louder until it's silent and the screen is black.

"To the beginning."

*The Beginning lights up in the center of the screen for a few seconds before it goes dark

BAM, the screen changes somehow and all goes silent

Suddenly, there's quiet chirping and wind blowing in the background. The black screen starts to brighten to bright green. The camera pans to a grass covered hill full of bees, butterflies, and flowers.

Faint giggling is heard until a little boy in a red shirt comes running up the small hill. A slightly shorter boy in a green shirt comes running after him, clutching a dirty stuffed bee in his hand.

"You can't catch me Tubbo!" The red shirt boy laughs.

"I bet I can!" The green shirt boy calls back and they continue laughing as they run around the hill.

The red shirt boy slows down when light reflects off of something. He jumps over to it and crouches down. He moves grass aside to find the jagged edges of a half circle with purple around the middle and black around the rest of it. He stands as the green shirt boy runs up to him and tags his shoulder.

"I told you I could catch you!" He breathes heavily, trying to catch his breath.

He peaks over the red shirt boy's shoulder to see why he isn't responding, only to see the jagged circle.

"Woah, what's this?!" He asks in amazement. Both boys stare at it, making sure not to get cut on the edges.

"I don't know." The red shirt boy mumbles, in awe at the object.

"Let's go ask Phil!" The green shirt boy takes off down the hill. The red shirt boy follows as they hurry. The camera pans to a wood and stone cottage tucked at the edge of a forest. Fireplace smoke billows out of a chimney, farm animals wander the grassy area. Clothes are drying on the clothesline, firewood is stacked near a back door.

While the little boys are running home, in the barn next to the cottage, two older boys spar with old broom sticks.

One is tall with brown hair and a yellow tunic a few sizes too big for him. The other is a creature known as a piglin. He wears a hood over his head to hide his shaggy pink hair and piglin features. He hates that he looks different from the others.

They spare on hay bales and laugh as they jump around.

"Why are we even doing this, Wilbur? I thought we were going to make maps. I have to be home before sunset and we won't have time!" The piglin sighs, anxiously pulling at his hood.

"Oh, c'mon Techno! We have to spar to be ready! You never know what kind of big bad wars we could fight in one day!" Wilbur dramatically acts out fighting with his broomstick.

"You're crazy." The piglin shakes his head. Although he can't complain, he lives in a society where government belittles the people. He's lucky he has an escape from all of it by sneaking through the portal to see his friend and Phil.

"Only to those who don't know me." Wilbur jokes. The two continue sparing as the camera pans to the two little boys reaching the door to the house. The hurry inside to the kitchen where a man stands at a counter.

"Dad Dad!" The red shirt boy yells.

"Phil! Philza!" The green shirt boy yells at the same time.

They reach the man and he turns, although the camera stays at eye level with the little boys and doesn't reveal the face of the man.

"Look what we found on the hill!" The red shirt boy holds up the jagged circle. The man gently grabs it and holds it.

"What is it?" The green shirt boy asks.

"Oh my, it looks like you boys have found something special." The camera moves up to the face of the man.

"You see, this here is what we call a Disc. Very hard to retrieve, even harder to find." The man breathes a laugh, surprised at the find.

"Wow, really?" The red shirt boy asks in amazement.

"It's special! Just like our friendship, Tommy!" The green shirt boy jumps and hugs the red shirt boy.

"Oh yes, just like your friendship." The man crouches down to eye level with the boys. "You hold on tight to this, boys. And always remember that just like this disc, you boys are so special. Don't ever forget that."

*Screen goes black again*

It's quiet.

Until there's a quiet crackling, almost inaudible.

It grows and grows until it's a loud roar. Orange and yellow light up the edges of the screen until flames engulf the edges.

And it's chaos.

"Tubbo?! Tubbo, where are you?!" Tommy yells, searching around his room in the cottage for his friend.

"Come on, Tommy!" Wilbur appears and grabs Tommy's arm to drag him down the stairs and outside.

"But Tubbo!"

"Techno will find him, let's go!" Wilbur hauls Tommy up and races down the stairs, dodging flames and smoke until they break free outside. Wilbur races as far as he can before he trips, him and Tommy hitting the ground. They both flip around to see their home going up in flames in front of them.

Inside, TechnoBlade races through the cottage for Tubbo. He had gone home only to see chaos raining down. Screams as Ghast destroyed their home. TechnoBlade grabbed what he could and ran back through the portal in fear, only to see the home of his friends on fire.

"Tubbo!" Techno yells, flinching as a beam falls.

"Techno?!" Tubbo's voice is muffled. Techno bolts up the stairs and to the attic. He finds Tubbo clutching a brown satchel and huddling against the far wall.

"Come on, we have to go now!" Techno hurries through the flames and grabs Tubbo, Tubbo clinging to his chest like a koala and hiding his face. Techno rushes through the flames and out of the house just as parts inside begin to cave in. Techno runs to where Wilbur and Tommy stand.

"Tubbo, where were you?! What were you thinking!?" Wilbur crouches down and hugs Tubbo. He may not have ever been their brother, but that didn't mean Wilbur didn't care about him.

"I had to save the disc!" Tubbo cries as he clutches the singed satchel. Him and Tommy had stashed the disc in the attic for safe keeping. "Philza said the disc is special and I didn't want to lose it!"

"Wait, Dad! Wilbur, we have to help dad!" Tommy yells and tries to run to the cottage. Techno stops him and notices the anger on Wilbur's face.

"Dad left, Tommy. He left before the cottage even caught fire." Wilbur tries to keep calm because he knows how bad of a situation this is.

"What?" Tommy asks, heartbroken.

"Come on, we need to set up a place to sleep until morning." Techno avoids the topic. He sees the barn is still intact since it sits far enough away from the cottage. He leads the other three to the barn and they move up to the hay loft to sleep. Wilbur sets up a small nook made out of hay bales and lights a lantern for Tommy and Tubbo before hurrying down to the ground to talk to Techno. Techno grabs objects from the barn and stuffs them in a bag.

"What are you doing?" Wilbur whispers, trying to not alert the boys.

"I'm leaving, I'm finding Phil. He's an ass for leaving us- you guys, but he's all you have. I'm gonna find him." Techno grabs one of Phil's old horse riding cloaks from the barn closet and pulls it around him.

"So what, you're just going to leave us too?" Wilbur scoffs.

"I have nothing left in my home and I'm not letting this one get destroyed too. Not the way mine did, so I'm finding Phil." Techno vows, clipping the satchel over his shoulder.

"Well I'm coming with you." Wilbur starts to look around for another satchel, but Techno stops him.

"Not yet. You can't leave Tommy and Tubbo." Techno shakes his head and thinks. "Take them to the door, the one on our maps. They'll be safe there. Then come find me."

"You better not be lying to keep me from coming after you." Wilbur mutters, but accepts that he needs to help Tommy and Tubbo first.

"I promise." Techno claps a hand on Wilbur's shoulder before backing away and disappearing out the barn doors.

Wilbur hurries back up to the hay loft and finds the boys nearly asleep under another old cloak they found.

"Wilbur, what's gonna happen tomorrow?" Tommy asks, half asleep despite what they all just went through.

"Don't worry about that now, Tommy." Wilbur shushes and lays down next to Tubbo. Tommy stands up and moves to Wilbur's other side so he can hug his big brother.

"Don't worry about that now." Wilbur mumbles as the boys fall asleep. As soon as he closes his eyes, the screen goes black yet again.

Suddenly there's a lush, green forest. The camera takes a few shots of the different flora and fauna before the crunching of leaves and brush is heard. The camera pans to the back of their heads. One tall with brown hair followed by two short boys. One with blonde hair and one with brown.

The little boys follow the older boy through the woods, all carrying satchels or backpacks and wearing cloaks in case they get cold.

Tommy and Tubbo talk quietly to pass time, both tired from the previous night and the morning they've already had. They've already stopped for lunch and Wilbur keeps saying they're almost there.

Suddenly, Wilbur looks up from his map to see a wooden door surrounded by stone and covered in ivy vines. He hurries over to it, the boys right behind him. He pulls vines away until he sees the four letters carved on the door.

‘DSMP’

"This is it." He whispers.

"What, Wilbur?" Tommy asks, confused.

"The place we're looking for." Wilbur sighs, still amazed. The land that has been passed down in legend as the graceland.

The place where anyone could live freely and safely.

Him and Techno found it only once on one of their mapping expeditions. They never dared to enter, because once you enter, you can never leave.

"What is it?" Tubbo asks. It just looks like a door to him. Wilbur turns around and a half smile works on his face.

"I heard there was a sacred place, where we could live freely. This is that place, boys." Wilbur is almost red eyed as he says it.

He reaches and pulls the door open, squinting as bright, yellow light bursts through.

Through the door is a world he never imagined. Full of hope and no worries. He's almost tempted to go inside, but he has another agenda. He guides the boys to the entrance and they turn to face him as he crouches down.

"Okay boys, I need to leave now. I'm going to find Techno and Phil. I'll come back once I find them, okay?" Wilbur offers them a sad smile.

"Do you have to leave?" Tubbo asks, eyes brimming with tears and a pout on his face.

"I'll come back, just you wait." Wilbur stands. The two boys turn around and nervously walk through the portal. Once they do, they turn around to face Wilbur again. He smiles as he stands up and begins to close the door.

"I'll come back, I promise" and that's the last the two boys see of Wilbur as the door shuts.

While they were doing this, Techno returned to his home to see it in ruins. Skeletons litter the grounds, fire rages. It's a wasteland, still burning as if it's Hell itself. He's infuriated at the carnage because he knows. He knows this could've been avoided had their government and society been better. It all could've been better.

He finds a helmet of one of the Capitol soldiers, one modeled after a piglin skull. The camera pans to Techno's back where we see him remove his hood and strap the mask to his face. He pulls his shaggy hair into a small bun until it's long enough to be braided as is tradition in his culture.

He finds a blade sacred to the capitol and steals it for himself. What once was a sacred to the corrupt government will now lead to the downfall of all other governments.

Techno returns to the overworld and begins his search for Phil. He eventually meets up with Wilbur. As they search for Phil, they raid villages and learn the arts and crafting of potions, spell books, and even the reincarnation of ancient monsters known as Withers.

*Fast forward ten years*

*Yet another black screen*

Until loud whooping is heard and suddenly, teenage chaos ensues in what is personally known as Tommy's first day on the Dream SMP…

Written by @louisapennyfeather2021

Edited by anymal28

End Notes!

-Again, this is a fan made story.

Remember that the SMP is just a roleplay.  Anything said or done in the roleplay does not correlate with real life events.  Any insults or threats issued in the roleplay do not transfer into real life.  Please do not start hating on a creator for something they did in the roleplay.  That can hurt the creator and honestly makes you look like an idiot.

[rikotin]

Picture-perfect (Evak [SKAM], 1768 words)

more prompts from this list (do drop by to leave a prompt or two with a pair you’d like to see <3) wooo!

See the prompt under the cut or read it on AO3

Picture-perfect

Fluff 12 - “Am I your lock screen?” “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

In hindsight, he was probably never supposed to find out about it. But really, it explained so much, now that he thought about it.

He thought back to all the times he had wanted to check for something and hadn’t bothered to find his own phone, asking for Even’s instead, but instead of giving his phone to Isak, Even had offered to check for it himself. All the times Even had handed his phone over to him with Eskild or Jonas on the line, who had called him after not reaching Isak – his phone was constantly on silent as he always forgot to unmute it –, and Even had always seemed to have something to ask as well so Isak had given the phone to him before hanging up.

It was amazing he hadn’t caught on earlier, really, because usually the sort of things wouldn’t go unnoticed by him. Then again, it must’ve become a routine thing for Even, too, because it seemed like this time he had just… forgotten the act.

Isak had closed the door of their flat behind him, returning home after a full day of lectures and essays. He had tossed his coat in the approximate direction of the coat rack, immediately sure he had missed the hooks and would get huffs and puffs for it later, as Even would most likely notice it and pick the coat up before the whole thing would even cross Isak’s mind again.

He had walked into the living room, the evening sun painting the room with golds and reds, sizzling and clanging echoing from the kitchen. Even had called out to him from the other room with a Welcome back! and Could you check if it was mom that called? The phone’s on the sofa and rang a while ago but I’m cooking.

So he had, and it had indeed been Even’s mother who had called. She had a habit of checking in every week, asking how both of them were doing, even if they visited them nearly as frequently. Isak really liked Even’s mom and it was still felt a bit surreal he had been accepted into the new family so quickly and easily, seemingly without question.

Just before switching off the phone screen again, something in the background caught his eye, and with a confused frown he swiped the notification of the missed call away, and froze to stare at what he found.

He stayed staring at the phone for way too long, but now, he felt an odd kind of victory – like he had just won something, even if he wasn’t sure what. He dropped his bag next to the sofa and took the phone with him as he walked over to the kitchen where Even was, indeed, stirring something on the stove. Another pot was softly hissing and bubbling with what appeared to be rice.

“What are you making?”

He leaned against Even’s side, who wrapped a hand over his shoulders and hummed. Isak turned his face to Even just as he tried to place a seemingly absentminded kiss on Isak’s cheek, making it land on his nose. Isak squawked, jerking his head back a little.

“Didn’t know you had a thing for my nose,” he then commented and watched in amusement as Even blinked a couple of times to take it what had happened, before grinning.

“Sorry,” Even laughed out, and then pointed his spatula at the pan in front of them. “I’m trying to make Palak Paneer. You know, that thing you made some time ago.”

Isak turned his head to look at the pan Even was tending to and frowned. It was very green and obviously spinach-y, like it was supposed to, but something looked quite off, as the texture had an odd, granulated look to it.

“Yes, I know the thing,” he said slowly, and glanced at Even. “But what happened to it? Did you use a recipe?”

Even fell silent for a moment too long, before uttering the most unconvincing reply that also landed more as a question than an actual answer: “Uh, yeah?”

“Hmm, really?”

“Uh, well, sort of? It seemed easy enough after I checked the ingredients, okay? I just figured it shouldn’t be too hard if you managed to do it, that’s all.”

Isak scoffed and aimed a kick at Even’s ankle, missing as Even jumped and dodged his effort with a laugh, causing the pots at the stove clang together

“Asshole, it was delicious! I might be shit at improvising but I can read and execute exceptionally well, thank you very much,” he grumbled, trying his luck again by jabbing his finger at Even’s side, landing a poke right in-between his ribs. Even yelped, but followed it with a wholehearted laugh and Isak couldn’t help but join him. He took a step closer and leaned in, pressing a quick kiss onto Even’s lips, who dived right back in to get another one. 

He then remembered his initial intention with the newly found discovery in the phone in his hand, and the remaining smile turned into a smirk. “It was your mom that called, by the way.”

“Hmm?”

“The phone call? Your phone ringing in the living room? You here, hands full of whatever the fuck you’re making?”

“Oi! It’s going to taste amazing!”

“Mhm, I’m sure the porridge-y appearance is merely a façade.”

“Way to crush a man’s ego,” Even sighed exaggeratedly, slouching and clutching his shirt over his chest like Isak had just said something that hurt him deeply as he returned to tend to his pots. Isak snickered at the sight. He then cleared his throat a little and took a step back.

“Listen, Even…”

As Isak purposefully dragged out the silence, Even looked at him quickly, then placed the spatula down and turned so he was facing Isak a bit better. The frown on Even’s face made him almost feel bad. Almost.

“What’s wrong?” 

 Isak did his best to keep a straight face, but he knew he was failing miserably when Even’s expression then turned into amused confusion. Isak then coughed again, lifting up the phone in his hand the screen facing Even, and clicked the unlocking button on the side to reveal the lock screen.

“What’s this?”

The amusement on Even face faltered as he turned to look at his phone, and then back to Isak. Even let out an unsure laugh and rubbed the back of his neck before holding his hand out towards the phone. Isak made no move to hand it over; he only quirked a brow and shook the phone a bit, waiting for an answer. 

“Give it back,” Even huffed instead of answering his question, seemingly embarrassed, and reached out for the phone. A wide, smug grin spread over Isak’s face and jerked his hand away, keeping the phone out of Even’s reach.

“What is this, Even? Am I your lock screen?”

“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“I figured,” Isak snorted, taking a step back as Even tried to catch the phone again. He then turned to look at the picture again and scowled. “Why did you pick this awful pic though? I look like I’m five!” 

He couldn’t even remember when the picture was taken, the basic brick wall behind him giving no indication, either. He had no memory of ever owning a yellow snapback, as the colour really didn’t suit him at all – the picture only glaring evidence of that. Maybe he gave the hat to Mahdi or Jonas at some point. Or destroyed it after seeing the photo for the first time, whenever that had been.

“It is a good picture,” Even scoffed, sounding so defensive it made Isak burst out laughing, forgetting the phone for a second so that Even managed to snatch it away from his hand and pushed it into his pocket.

“It’s really not! Couldn’t you have used, like, any other one?”

 “Well, in fact I would have. But it’s not like you ever send me any.”

Even’s way of crossing his hands over his chest reminded Isak so much of a toddler that  he was sure Even was putting up a show on purpose. Not that he minded. Two could play that game.

“You know, normally people ask for nudes, but you’re getting upset over not having my up-to-date face as your phone background.”

Even shrugged and quickly returned to the stove once more, giving the pan a couple of stirs and checking the rice before turning the stove off altogether. He then slowly turned back to Isak, who was waiting with his eyebrows raised, and he could see a wicked expression spreading on Even’s face as he took a step closer to him again.

“I would actually love to get some nudes from you.”

“And use one of them as your lock screen?” Isak questioned, squinting in disbelief, and wrapped his hands around Even’s waist when his boyfriend was close enough.

“Yeah. And your caller ID, as well. Need to know what’s waiting for me at home, you know.”

Isak snorted and rolled his eyes, pulling Even just a bit closer and slipping his hands lower, onto his hips.

“In that case, I’m totally setting your nude as the the laptop background. Need to know what’s waiting for me at home, after all.”

Isak parroted Even’s words, not even bothering to hide the hint of mockery that made its way to his voice, and Even grinned again, all bright and happy - the way that never, even after years of being together, failed to take his breath away.

“You sure they allow that at on university premises?” Even teased. Isak nodded and cocked his head up a bit in faked confidence.

“Of course they do. Just blur out the too risky details and I’m good to go.”

“I’m not sending you photoshopped nudes Isak, who do you take me for”, Even gasped. Isak hummed, mustering the best pout he could manage. Then, he pressed a slow kiss on Even’s lips, a content sigh escaping his own. After they parted, he stayed rather close. He opened his mouth, dropping his voice into a low one, hoping to sound as sweet and balanced as possible.

“Take that fucking picture down from your lock screen.”

Even leaned closer, so close their noses were now brushing together, and their lips so close they almost touched again, making Isak just a tad dizzy despite his firm request just a second before. Even’s voice was quiet and full of of determination, as his breath puffed warm against Isak’s lips and he whispered:

“Never.”

[jawnjendes]

you lost a part of your existence | shawn mendes

...in the war against yourself

chapter 9/?, university au, shawn x goth oc

AN: i hope this is as angsty as yall wanted. i read this way too many times to make sure its good n stuff. i hope it rly is. pls pls let me know what u think. blease.

masterlist | playlist

August 9

She never wanted him to stay asleep so bad in her life.

Shawn had an unexpected early start to the day. He got a call from his boss at six in the morning and had to deliver some massive flower arrangements to a wedding venue, even though he had the day off due to the birthday shenanigans that happened the night before. Still, he went and came back around noon, when Annalise was up and running. Shawn went down for a nap in the room, even more exhausted than normal.

Annalise was already on the couch, trying to enjoy her day off. She really didn’t want to catch up on the sleep she missed from helping Shawn through his nightmares all night. She knew she would have to stay awake now, knowing that he was inevitably going to fall into the dark place again. Annalise decided to catch up with Bella Santiago and her strange white background on YouTube. Naturally, remaining still on the couch for an extended period of time caused her to doze off.

Two things woke her up some time later. The first was a deep, uncomfortable pit in her stomach that really wanted to get out. She felt it in her throat, and she wiggled her toes to keep it at bay. Her mind began to race like it was second nature; What did I eat? What didn’t I eat? Did I have too much food last night or not enough? Do I have to cut pasta out of my diet now? Did I forget to eat with my birth control? Am I gonna vomit blood? Am I gonna end up in the hospital and have even more surgery? Am I gonna survive this?

The other thing was a distressed sound coming from the bedroom. Annalise tightly gripped the hem of her t-shirt, willing herself to not be sick on the couch. Every one of her senses were amped up in this state, so hearing short, little screams every few seconds only agitated her more. Why did this have to happen now?

“I’ll be just fine,” she whispered as she slowly moved to get up from the couch. “I’ll be just fine…”

Another yell came from the room, and she was not fine at all. As soon as she was on her feet, Annalise felt her stomach flip, and then she was running into the bedroom, where the closest bathroom was. Didn’t even look at Shawn’s convulsing body. Just went straight to the bathroom and slammed the door. She made it to the toilet in time, holding her hand over her still fragile incisions.

The real kicker? She heaved and retched and sobbed, but nothing came out. The horrid sensation of vomiting kept coming, but nothing was being ejected from her body. Annalise shook her head between upchucks, tears staining her cheeks. Why was this still happening?

Shawn woke up due to the loud slam, but his mind and body were still in the nightmare zone. His forehead was beaded with cold sweat, and his jaw was chattering uncontrollably. He could hear his own breathing directly in his ears, like some creepy form of ASMR. Not knowing what else to do, Shawn repeatedly smacked his cheeks like he was still trying to wake himself up. That awful retching could still be heard, his dreams were never this vivid. I’m safe. I’m alive. She’s safe. She’s alive.

Suddenly, he sat up, eyes frantically scanning the room. Who the hell is vomiting so loud? It's really fucking sunny today.

He wiped the sweat off his brow and then rubbed at his arms, wanting to jump out of his skin. He wanted this to be over already. He wanted to breathe again.

“Ann?” he called softly, his voice shaking. “Help me…”

Just as he said those words, he wanted to swallow them. Panicked as he was, Shawn was finally able to figure out that the vomiting sounds were from Ann. He scrambled out of bed and went to the bathroom door, anxiously jiggling the knob. It was locked, and it only sent another shot of fear through his chest. Not to mention, the vomiting sounds had stopped, and it was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time.

“A-Ann?” Don’t do this, she needs you. “Ann, please…” Chill out, man.

Breathing short, Shawn slid down to his knees, leaning against the door. Tears blurred his vision as he stared at the crack at the bottom of the door. He saw a flash of blood seeping out of there from his dreams, and he punched the wall next to the doorway. He tried to find his way back to earth. He breathed the way the therapist told him to, he whispered the calming mantras, he pinched the pressure point in his hand. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake this god awful feeling.

“Please, please…” he cried, weakly banging on the door. “Can’t breathe… Help me…”

Little did he know, Annalise was sitting on the other side of the door, knees to her chest. Now that she wasn’t distracted by her own shitty digestive tract, her mind spiraled even more. She knew she had to pull herself together long enough to help Shawn, but it never felt so impossible. How could she comfort him when she was the one who caused all this emotional turmoil? How could she break him and put him back together at the same time?

“I’m a strong lady, I’m a strong lady, I’m a strong lady,” she whispered between soft little sobs.

Why is this still happening to me? I want it to be over.

Present day.

Annalise felt an uncomfortable chill go down her spine as she recalled that afternoon. To think the following day, she proposed the idea of the separation. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then again, she didn’t know it was going to blow up in her face like this.

She kept scrolling through Instagram as she sat on the floor in the corridor, just outside Shawn’s apartment. She looked at all the pictures and stories from his gig, and noticed how much he was glowing. When he was on stage, he was completely in his element. You wouldn’t be able to tell all the crap his girlfriend dumped on him.

It was almost midnight, and Shawn had told her he would be back by eleven thirty. This is what she gets for trusting men, she sits outside their homes looking fucking stupid. Annalise sighed and picked herself up off the floor just as she heard the staircase door open at the end of the corridor. It’s always right before she decides to leave.

Shawn was surprised to see her as he walked down the hall. He set down his guitar case when he reached the door, giving her a look. “You’re here.”

“I’ve been here for half an hour,” she told him, turning her phone over in her hand repeatedly.

“Sorry.” He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. “Come on.”

The tension heightened tenfold as they entered the spacious apartment. Even when Shawn set his case aside to pick up Henry the cat from the kitchen counter, it never faltered. They went into the living room, where Shawn placed Henry on the giant cat condo in the corner by the screen door. That was new.

“You know I’m always honest with you,” he spoke, though he kept his back to Annalise, who had taken a seat on the couch.

“Yeah…” she trailed off, her stomach in knots. She watched him scratch Henry’s chin, wondering what the fuck was about to happen.

Shawn finally turned to her and sat on the other end of the L shaped couch. “So, you should know Alessia hit on me-”

“I know,” Annalise said coldly as she folded her arms. “I found out from her.”

Unfazed by the attitude, he continued. “No, I mean, she did it again a couple of days ago. And to be very real with you - apart from the gig I just performed - it was the highlight of my week.”

It was like being sucker punched with a frying pan. She had her mouth open like she wanted to say something, but everything she wanted to say was getting mushed up in one big angry ball.

“Now, before you freak out,” Shawn went on, “I’m telling you this so you know what exactly this separation is doing, and how bad I want it to end. I know we’re not broken up, and I will stay faithful to you, but I feel like I’m single.”

“That’s how you tell me you wanna be with me? By telling me you liked someone else’s flirting?” Annalise asked in disbelief. “So you don’t want me, you want someone.”

“I want you, Ann. And I want nothing more than to go back to the way we were.”

“You said you’re always honest.”

“I am. I don’t want to break up, but I don’t know if you feel the same way. How long more are you gonna keep this up? Everyone and their mother are fucking tired of this separation thing! I’m tired of the two week check ins, and I’m tired of wondering what you’re going to do next!”

Annalise scoffed. “You can’t still want to be with me knowing there’s other girls who want you.”

“It’s only one, Ann.”

“But you liked her advances.”

“Because the girl I love is pushing me away!” he snapped, now irritated.

She glared at him. Was that supposed to be charming? Was that supposed to reel her back in? Annalise sat up in her seat and leaned towards him. “A guy hit on me too, and you know what I did? I broke his fucking nose.”

Shawn put his hands up, confused. “You want me to break Alessia’s nose?”

“No, but I will if she-”

“Okay, okay! You’re going too far now.”

There was a pause. Annalise took a breath to cool herself down, but she still felt like she needed to yell. There was something on the tip of her tongue that she needed to talk about. She tried to remember, but the rumbling in her stomach made itself known.

Shawn noticed the sound and tilted his head. It threw him off so much he lost the angry tone. “Are… are you hungry?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “It’s after midnight, I can’t eat anyway.”

“When was the last time you ate?” he asked her.

“That’s not what we’re talking about right now.”

“You know you can’t be skipping meals.”

“Stop!” Annalise snapped, her throat suddenly tight and burning. “Don’t worry about me. Don’t scare yourself like that.”

Shawn gave her a look. Then he scooted a cushion closer. “I’m not scared.” When the silence threatened to persist, he asked, “Are you?”

Now she remembered what she wanted to talk about. She changed the subject. “You told Alessia about my health problems.”

The silence came back. Shawn looked down, trying to find the words to say. “If you heard the conversation we were having, you would understand why-”

“No,” she said firmly. “I could understand if it was just the hospital stay, but you told her everything. You told her about my anxiety with food, and you told her my calming mantra, and she threw it back in my face that night at the bar.”

“Okay, I didn’t know she would do that. If I had known, I wouldn’t have said anything at all.”

“You weren’t supposed to say anything to begin with! That wasn’t your thing to tell! I thought I could trust you, but you tell her my business and you let her stick around even though she clearly has feelings for you. How am I supposed to trust you?”

Shawn sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. He knew she had a point, but he was still frustrated. “I’m sorry I told Alessia, but she’s not a bad person. She had a lot to drink that night, I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

Needless to say, it didn't do any good. Annalise felt herself go red in the face. “Why are you still defending her? Do you have feelings for her?”

“No!”

“So why have you been so quiet this week? You haven’t texted me at all.”

He chuckled, clearly annoyed. “Now you care about that?”

“Answer the question,” she deadpanned.

Shawn scooted a little closer and sighed. “You never answered my texts to begin with, so I stopped sending them. No use talking to a wall.”

That stung a little.

“So you do like her?” she asked.

“I told you no! How do you - Why -” Shawn cut himself off, rubbing his temples. He was really reaching his limit here.

And so was Annalise. “She hits on you, and brags about it to me. Even when I’m nice enough to give her my bed, she leaves so I don’t see her in the morning. That sounds like someone who’s hiding something!”

“Ann, she was embarrassed because she had too much to drink! Why do you always think everyone’s out to get you?” Shawn asked. Nearly there.

“She’s not out to get me, she clearly wants you! I’ve given her plenty of chances! I defended her in gaming club! I dragged her drunk ass back to campus! And then she goes and continues to flirt with you like she’s won you over! Did you even tell her to back off?”

“Of course I did!”

“You’re a liar!”

“And you’re fucking crazy!”

It was a split second of relief, allowing his pent up anger to truly seep out. But Shawn knew he said the wrong thing as soon as that second was over. He had never seen tears well up in her eyes so fast before. He wanted to take it back as soon as it came out, but Annalise was already standing up.

She decided, yeah, she is crazy. She didn’t choose it. She wasn’t always this way, but it’s how she is now. Her eyes looked down at the floor as the last words rang in her head. Heavy tears streamed down her face, but she didn’t even try to hide it.

Shawn stood up as well, much slower, watching her carefully. “Honey-”

“Don’t!” Annalise raised her voice. Her head shot up, a crazed look in her eyes. “You do not get to call me that! He doesn’t get to call me that, and she doesn’t-” She paused, her voice breaking.

“I’m sorry-” Shawn tried to say.

“That’s all I am to you, right? I’m just some crazy chick you’re seeing, huh?" Her eyes were furious, but so, so sad at the same time.

“No, of course not. It just slipped out, I-”

“If you let it slip, then you were thinking about it! You think I’m crazy too!”

“Ann, please…” Shawn reached his hand out, but she took a step back.

“I’ll break your nose too if I have to.”

"I didn't mean it!" he tried again. "I didn't… Ann, I'm so sorry!"

She shook her head as she went for the door. However, when she opened it, she was face to face with Stella and Camila. The two girls had matching smiles that quickly faded upon seeing a teary-eyed Annalise. She pushed past them and fled the vicinity before anyone could even blink.

The two girls looked back, watching Annalise go, and then they turn to Shawn, who looked quite defeated.

Shawn forgot why Stella and Camila were here, and he really didn't care anymore. He made quick strides to follow Ann, but the girls blocked the doorway.

"What did you do?" Stella harshly asked. "Why was Ann crying?"

"Stay calm," Camila said, rubbing her shoulder. "Seriously though, what happened?"

Shawn was still staring out the door, hoping Ann would come back. Forget how pissed off he was this last week, he needed to make this right. He never intended to make her cry and run away. "I don't have time to explain-"

"If you made her cry," Stella said, "she's not gonna fucking talk to you. So you better tell us what you fucking did."

"We're here to help," Camila reassured.

Shawn ran his fingers through his hair, pacing back towards the living room, and the girls followed. Henry jumped down from the condo and walked between his legs, leaving little tufts of orange fur on his jeans.

"Oh my god, he does have a cat," Stella mumbled. Then she spoke directly to Shawn. "You got about five minutes before my allergies start acting up."

"And another five before Brian and Connor get here with the masses," Camila added. "So you better get talking."

They all took a seat on the couch. Too many things have happened in this room. Shawn took a deep breath.

"It's like she wants me to be cheating on her," he said. "She'll pull something out of thin air and use it to prove something that's not even happening!"

Camila tilted her head. "That's… that's just crazy."

"She was irrational?" Stella asked. Her harsh and defensive demeanor seemed to change.

"That's the word I should have used," Shawn glumly replied. "I told her she was crazy, and that's when she left."

"Well, I'm sure she said things she didn't mean, too. Just let her simmer down," Camila told him.

Stella was frowning, still in thought. Surely the wife/roommate had to have some insight on this fuckery.

"Anything you wanna add?" Shawn asked her. "Because I really don't know what to do now. I've never seen her so angry before, I didn't think she could be set off like that."

"Okay so," she began, sitting on the edge of her seat, "I know I don't talk about her business, because she doesn't want me to-"

"So it's not just me!" Shawn interrupted. "Why does she do that, it's so frustrating! I want people to know who my girlfriend is but she makes it so hard!"

Stella raised an eyebrow. "She makes it hard because people are really goddamn nosy. The way she dresses alone causes strangers to ask really invasive questions, not to mention she is - or was - is... linked to the most popular guy on campus and that's given her attention she never wanted. Imagine if they knew she was on Prozac, which brings me to the theory I was going to make before I was interrupted."

"Sorry," Shawn mumbled.

"Like I was saying, it's her business, but her mental health is important. I could be wrong, but she might be off her meds."

The other two only stared. Could this really be the only explanation?

"How do you know?" Camila asked.

"I don't. But I always hear her pill bottle rattling in the morning," Stella explained. "And now that I think about it, I don't remember the last time I heard it."

"Is there a way you can find out?" Shawn asked. "Can you ask her?"

Stella chuckled in disbelief. "You really think she would answer honestly?"

"What about searching her room?" Camila suggested. "Like, when she's not there."

"Ooh, please?" Shawn put his hands together, looking at Stella. "I need to know if that's why she's so pissed at me!"

She gave him a look. "Dude, she's genuinely angry at you. I mean, you called her crazy. Why the hell would you do that? Besides, it's not that I'm worried about."

Shawn was about to ask to elaborate, but there was a knock on the door followed by several voices out in the corridor.

"I'll make it fast," Stella said. "You two should be close because of the hospital thing, but instead she's pushing you away. She's not excited for Halloween, I'm gonna have to force her into a costume. She skipped game club, and I haven't seen her do any school work lately. And I'm willing to be she's not doing so well at work either.  The last time she was like this, she was going through that break up with that asshole Luca, and I know you're nothing like that guy."

______

taglist: @normalcyisoverrated-beyou @ilsolee @mendesromano @1-800-khalid-mendussy @kitykatnumber @strangerliaa @iloveshawnieboi @poppyshawn @shawnsunflower @shawnvvmendes @yourdeflightfullyleft @shawmndes @calyumthomas @havethetimeeofyourlifee @wronglanemendes @chillingbythesea @softmendesss @someoneunimportantxx

[thethinghouse-blog]

Baby You Can Drive My Car...To My Museum: Sir Paul McCartney visits his family home, Forthlin Road

By Gudrun D Whitehead

Like millions of people all over the world, I recently watched James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney. Of course, I did. The first cassette tape I ever got was The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and I played it until the tape loosened. I will not admit to shedding a tear with Corden, but I can confirm that, for the first time in my life, I got a bout of hay-fever which lasted while they sang Let it Be. 

Music, as McCartney said in response to the tearful reaction, has that power: it can make you emotional.

The same holds for museums, as was demonstrated when McCartney, for the first time since his teens, stepped into his family home, 20 Forthlin Road, which is now a National Trust property, open to the public. As a side-note, Forthlin Road is one of the few working-class residences managed by the National Trust, which mostly represents grand country houses. 

The fame of its one-time resident seems to be enough to cross those class-based boundaries. 

The same holds true for John Lennon’s childhood home, Mendips Road, which was bought by Yoko Ono, who donated it to the National Trust. Here are images of both locations.

Like numerous museologists, I am interested in historical house museums. Before getting any further into this blog-post, I would like to add that there is an existing body of work discussing them in an academic capacity. Including The Anarchists Guide to Historical House Museums, Mårdh (2015), Risnicoff de Gorgas (2001), and many more. I encourage interested readers to look them up (and/or wait for me to develop this research into an article in the future).

Historical house museums are quite a unique exhibition space. They represent spaces which are simultaneously alive and dead. 

The previous inhabitant, deemed worthy of an exhibit, is always absent, represented by items (materiality) left behind. The space is usually made to look as if they have just stepped out of the room, thus creating the illusion of time moving forwards, of life in the house.

A great example of this is the final scene of the film Julie & Julia (2009), starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child. The camera pans into the kitchen (as can be seen here), protected by a rope-barrier, demonstrating that this is a museum space and therefore different rules apply than in a normal kitchen. As the light in the room changes, the camera pans in through the looking-glass. Julia Child herself walks in and starts cooking. This is exactly the same kitchen, except the tea towel and tablecloth are slightly wrinkled and the tools on the wall are, perhaps, a little more chaotically displayed. This demonstrates the minor differences between living (lived in) spaces and dead (exhibition) spaces. The latter are polished but correct representations of reality. The Smithsonian's actual recreation of Child's kitchen is, much the same as in the film, a polished version of reality. 

Recreation of Julia Child’s kitchen at the National Museum of American History, Washington D.C. Photograph by dawnmichele and used under a Creative Commons license. 

Yet, understanding the difference, historical house museums might leave the tea towel wrinkled, further blurring the lines between private and public. This gives the stronger impression that the owner, having just stepped out, might reclaim the room at any given moment, making the museum visitor an interloper or Peeping Tom, as though they are gaining an almost illicit look into private lives.

This is core of historical house museums: they freeze that fraction of a second, where the owner is just beyond the door, ready to come in, yet never does. 

Except, as with Child, McCartney did return. Welcome to Wonderland.

This atmosphere is what fascinates me about historical house museums: the recreation of almost-life. It functions much like realistic mannequin displays: the horror and fascination lies in their unnerving resemblance to life. At any given moment, the mannequins might look back at the visitor. A great example of this is the sensationalized silicone figures at the Saga Museum, depicting people and events from Icelandic sagas and history. An exhibition which I delve into further in an article to be published later this year. 

As you walk through the space, it is easy to forget if you are the viewer or the one being viewed.  

Þorbjörg Lítilvölva, from Eiríks saga rauða as represented by the Saga Museum. Image copyright: Saga Museum, 2018.

Þorbjörg Lítilvölva, shown above, demonstrates a meticulous recreation of a literary character (her possible basis in actual history is not part of this blogpost), through materiality, i.e. clothing, jewelry and background drawing. In historical house museums, the same is achieved very similarly, through household objects, clothing and more. The realistic atmosphere is deliberately created by museum staff. In reality, the objects are placed by someone else, and may, in fact, not always have been owned by the person/people being represented in the exhibition space.

As the National Trust verified in our correspondence, in the case of Forthlin Road, none of the interior furnishings, including the piano, are original but are similar in age and design as when the McCartney family lived there. Interestingly, the piano is kept in tune and visitors are allowed to play on it during their stay. This usually ends up in a sing-song (presumably predominantly of Beatles and McCartney songs) which lends life to the museum’s atmosphere. Paul’s brother, Mike McCartney, was vital when furnishing the flat; he also took the photographs on the walls, which helped when choosing the correct paint colours, wallpaper and flooring. The photographs are a paradox in themselves. On one level, they are there for the benefit of the visitor. They are a testament to the cult of Paul McCartney’s celebrity status, rather than the standard images that families frame. Yet they also provide an insider’s gaze into the Beatles’ life, because they were taken by Mike McCartney as he was learning to compose pictures with a 35mm camera. They are a private view into a public life.

According to the Liverpool Echo, Paul only specifically asked for one thing to be included; something to remember his parents by. The result is a wooden plaque above the front door, reading “In loving memory of Mum and Dad, Mary and Jim”. With personal and private memories of his family life, to Paul (and assumedly his brother) Forthlin Road is certainly a memorial to his parents as much as himself. For the rest of the world, it is a testament to the legacy of Paul and the Beatles. The birthplace of a legend. It is a time-capsule, carefully curated by exhibition staff, with a little help from the McCartneys. 

The family does not need to be present in body; they are there through materiality.

What happens when the owner comes back? Do they reclaim the space as theirs, even if just temporarily, disrupting the timelessness of the exhibit? Are they visitors in this professionally created version of their past? Do they become the temporary curator or tour guide? That short clip of Sir Paul walking around his childhood home gave us an insight into such an event. And while I certainly enjoyed the singing in the car and the pub, this, to me, seemed like the most unique aspect of the journey.

I do not doubt that the custodian knew McCartney was coming to visit. Certainly her startlement could be explained as her being starstruck, something most of us can understand. Yet, there is something more paradoxical about the situation, which she might have felt. Here he was, the absent collection object, the man himself, on the doorstep. The artificially created ‘absent but here’ atmosphere was broken. McCartney, knocking on the door as a guest, became the owner as soon as he stepped through the looking glass.

It was the ultimate Bakhtinian Carnivalesque moment, stepping over socially constructed boundaries, the merging of past and present, where anything is possible and permitted.

It all culminated in the moment that Paul McCartney looked out the window at his fans, recreating in the present, the first year of his rise to stardom. It disrupted the time-capsule and lent it credence. In other words, Beatlemania was really happening again. Paul McCartney stood in his family home, looking out at his admiring fans.

Sir Paul himself is aware of his status as a living legend. In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he referred to this, saying, “No matter what you hear, even the stuff that we thought was really bad - it doesn’t sound so bad now. Because it’s the Beatles”. 

Indeed, nothing is void of value when in the hands of an artist. 

Paul McCartney is part of a legacy influencing generations of people around the world. As his visit to Forthlin road showed us, if he stops at any one stop for more than a few minutes, he gathers a crowd. Yet even to him, it must have been odd to walk into his childhood home and find himself musealised within it. Judging by the clip, it did not take long for him to take charge of the situation and become the curator of his own memorialised, musealised life story. Over the years, the museum has gathered stories from both Paul and Mike, which are weaved into the tours, but even that is a reinterpretation of the original through the museum. In this episode of Carpool Karaoke, the ‘museum object’ (Paul himself) narrated its own story.

At the end of the visit, Paul McCartney hugs the custodian and leaves Wonderland. He has seemingly approved of the preservation and representation of his legacy, his roots. 

The museum is returned to its former state of frozen anticipation.

My final note is about the Penny Lane street sign, signed by McCartney himself, seemingly rather offhandedly. I could not help but chuckle to myself when watching that scene unfold. Some of this was because of Corden’s joke that most people will assume the handwriting to be fake, perhaps underestimating the popularity of both McCartney and his own ‘carpool karaoke’ segment. Yet mostly I laughed at the conservational nightmare presented to the city. Would they now have to cut out a segment of the wall and preserve in a museum? McCartney seems to be using some sort of permanent marker on a sign painted (presumably using theft-proof paint) on a stone wall. I am not so familiar with conservation that I can say how long before it rubs off or is simply erased by avid fans touching and signing the sign themselves. Yet surely, it is an important part of the legacy: Paul McCartney is giving a nod to one of the Beatles’ most famous songs, Penny Lane. 

Out of interest, I contacted various branches of Liverpool City Council to inquire about the fate of Paul’s autograph. Sadly, the Planning Department’s Building Conservation Team is unable to act, because the road sign is not listed. The Council’s Culture Team is also unable to act because they are led by the Planning Department. A helpful member of the Council discussed the issue with the Beatles Legacy Group, which also indicated that no action would be taken (i.e. they will ‘let it be’ - this pun needed to be included). The sign is already almost illegible due to fans visiting the site and writing their own names as close to Paul’s as they can. Somehow, the act of having their names close to his brings them closer to their idol. I can only conclude that once the sign is so filled with scribbles that the street name becomes hard to read, it will be painted over and the issue will be resolved with a blank canvas. Perhaps then we will have a sequel ‘Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney’ segment. That would surely require the City Council to list a piece of painted brick wall.

The ‘carpool karaoke’ clip has already had a positive effect on tourism in Liverpool. Because of it, people have flocked to the street sign and other locations to follow in Paul’s footsteps. I do not have information if this interest has trickled down to Forthlin Road, but one can only hope that Paul’s visit has revitalised and disrupted the quiet enough to increase tourist interest. I, for one, will certainly be in their number in the near future.

Gudrun D Whitehead, is Assistant Professor of Museology at the University of Iceland. You can find further details of her work and her blog on her website.

Gudrun would like to thank Dr Julia Petrov for her input, Jackie Crawford and Cerys Edwards of Liverpool City Council, Simon Osborne of The National Trust,  and the Beatles Legacy Group for the information provided.

We accept submissions. Contact the editors at: thethinghouse@gmail.com

[lunawings]

King of Prism MUSIC READY SPARKLING live 10/21, 2017

This past weekend I attended both performances of the very first King of Prism live concert. Here was my view from the afternoon show:

Way to the side but in pretty good view of the stage. 

For the evening show, I didn’t get a ticket to the venue. But I did manage to see the live viewing at a nearby theater. So here was my view for that:

So that was an interesting experience, being able to compare the two. At the actual concert of course I could see more of what was going on the stage in general, but I missed a lot of various small details such as facial expressions and costume details which were apparent in the viewing. So it was good to see it in the theater once. 

I gotta admit it couldn’t beat the energy of actually being it the stage though. Before the performance they were showing PVs and stuff and we were all cheering like we were in the theater except WAY bigger and it was just such a trip.

Okay so. 

Where to begin!!!

The beginning I guess.

In the weeks upcoming to this concert I kept wondering just how it would go down. Like specifically how much would they act/perform like real idols? Would they lip synch? Would they dance?

And then. 

I will never forget the moment all seven Edel Rose boys wearing sparkly costumes rose from a platform and began singing live and dancing and I was just. like. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH–

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

And guess what the first song was. So you know how in the first movie Yu is like, “Let’s just do the usual Boy Meets Girl.” But of course we never actually hear it with the new Edel Rose boys. WELL I FINALLY DID. “The usual” Boy Meets Girl as performed by the new Edel Rose boys oh man it was so cool to hear it in their voices.

Their costumes. were. AMAZING!!! They weren’t particularly based on their characters’ stage outfits. But instead hey were totally new costumes based on the color and styles of the characters. For example, Taiga’s had a hood at the back, Leo had mismatched socks, Kakeru was in this slick gold suit, and Yukinojo’s was quite elegant/detailed. I couldn’t see them that well from where I was at the concert, but at the live viewing I was just mesmerized at how detailed all of their costumes were

After Boy Meets Girl the solos started. It was during this section I played  game with myself where I gave them all little awards.

All of them had elements of their characters. But I gave the award for the one who matched the aura of his character best to Kakaru’s voice actor. Super cool and yet such a dork. I’ll never forget him breakin’ it down in the middle of Emo Chara Night. 

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

Second place to Minato’s voice actor. At one point he was singing while cooking curry and setting a table.

Meanwhile one character I felt a disconnect with was Yu. Yu’s voice actor is… really awesome!! He was just so super cool and badass and I just I… don’t imagine Yu being that way hahah. 

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

I also felt a disconnect with Yukinojo’s voice actor. He has the shortest hair out of all of them! Even all dressed up in a kimono for his solo, his aura felt kinda off. Then again, I suppose Yukinojo isn’t all just hair to me, because in the days that followed the concert I have gotten his fan dance to Ageha Cho stuck in my head whenever I hear the song.

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

Alternatively Shin’s voice actor has hair longer than I would associate with Shin but it was OK because it suited him and HE WAS JUST SO CUTE IT DIDN’T MATTER I COULDN’T HANDLE okay moving on.

My personal award for best character singing voice is a tie between Alexander and Taiga. Like. HOLY SHIT. They can sing. I was not a big fan of Alexander’s voice before but I am now. I seriously could not even comprehend how good EZ DO DANCE sounded live. The recording somehow does not even do it justice?! Taiga was already my favorite voice of the Edel Rose boys, and he was doing these like semi-improv high notes and I was just like OHHH WOW.

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

(Also they released huge fireballs when Alexander’s voice actor jumped on stage like wooooah.)

Alternatively, Leo’s voice actor had a pretty difficult time during his solo. But I mean that song is so fast, it must have taken a lot to both keep up the speed and keep his voice as Leo. Plus he kept glancing at the screens with the lyrics. The entire time I was just like GANBARE GANBARE YOU CAN DO IT I LOVE YOU. 

Cutest cinnamon roll in the world award goes to Shin’s voice actor, with Leo as second. 

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

So after all the solos, Alexander’s voice actor said something about guys from Schwartz Rose being here before leaving the stage. This was the introduction to a big surprise… JOJI(’s singing voice) came up from the platform and started right into LoveMix. (At the first performance this was a huge surprise. But during the second one I saw people getting yellow out in advance and I was like.. n… no you’re gonna ruin it hahah.) After that was finished, the background dancers suddenly disappeared and became four guys in suits with cards symbols on them. And I was like NO WAY IS THAT and it totally was. The Shuffle (Schwartz Rose idols who are in the movies for like 30 seconds total), the entire group, came up and performed Koi no Straight Flush. 

https://twitter.com/koba_tatu/status/921716861502291968

Okay this was really cool. But first I was like whaaaat I was not prepared because I don’t even know the cyalume colors of these guys!! Not to mention Joji’s color is yellow… The official cyalume you could buy at the event doesn’t have yellow!! Instead it has white. Louis is also mysteriously on the merch art despite not attending the concert. Methinks at one point Louis was supposed to attend and it got changed to The Shuffle? Ahhh well. 

After that they showed a goofy greeting video from Over the Rainbow’s voice actors, who did not attend the event. Taiga complained about how their excuse for not atending was different between the afternoon and evening sessions. These videos were really rapid fire and hilarious. The one joke I remember is Kouji’s voice actor insisting they were actually naked from the bottom down (like they are naked in the Pride the Hero intro) and then the camera panned out and blurred their bottom halves even though it was obvious they were fully clothed.  

After that the duo songs began. Except for the boys whose partner is in Over the Rainbow (Taiga, Minato, Yu), those songs became a solo version. They introduced it by referencing their partner and how they could do it on their own, then sang the song. Yukinojo/Leo and Shin/Kakeru sang their songs as usual of course. 

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

Then finally, all the Edel Rose boys gathered together for the finale where they sang Vivic Heart Session and Dramatic Love. Taiga and Kakeru put their arms around each other when they sang their shared line in Dramatic Love and everyone screamed. 

The encore was Over the Sunshine. It began with Shin solo before all the Edel Rose boys rose from the stage and joined him. Once again, even though it’s a song I have heard a million times, hearing it in the voices of all the Edel Rose boys was so COOL. And then, finally, as they walked towards the middle of the venue, a door opened up, Alexander’s voice actor jumped up to join them, and even got a solo line. 

Yes. Alexander singing Over the Sunshine is not something you have ever heard before and will likely never hear again. Unfortunately this and EZ DO DANCE were the only songs he could join. Damn that boy needs more songs.

Finally, everyone said their goodbyes to the crowd. Kakeru’s voice actor was being all weird and robotic in his, and he tried to repeat it a second time but everyone broke him by yelling “KAZUOOOOO” and then he was like “Dammit I told you it’s Kakeru…. oh man I got to say it” hahaha. When Shin performs he always says “Ichijo Shin here I go!” so Shin’s voice actor was just like “Ichijo Shin… I went.” During the second one he made a similar Pride the Hero reference which absolutely killed me but I don’t know how to explain it. (”みんなに言いたいことがあります…みんな、生まれた！”）The Shuffle members were so grateful to attend and even more grateful that some people learned their colors by the second performance eheh.

So yeah… 

Just when I thought I couldn’t like King of Prism any more than I already did. 

I WAS WRONG AGAIN. 

It’s hard to explain, but really I swear, all King of Prism songs sound different to me now. For example, songs I didn’t care much about before I like now, such as Minato’s Home Sweet Home. And songs I already loved, like Vivic Heart Session, somehow I love EVEN MORE. It’s because now whenever I hear them, I see their actual smiling faces and feel how much these people really and truely love what they do so much. Especially Shin. THAT SMILE. And Minato. You could really tell he loves performing. He was getting so emotional in his speech after the second show about how far the series has come and how we have all helped to make it happen.  

https://mantan-web.jp/article/20171021dog00m200015000c.html

I LOVE THEM!!! I LOVE ALL OF THEM!!

The last thing that happened was they showed a montage of the boys prepping for the concert to an instrumental of Dramatic Love, and basically the entire venue began singing the song without a second thought. (TIL I know most of the lyrics to Dramatic Love?!)

All the love, the rainbow colored cyalumes, it was magic. What can I even say. I love this fandom. 

[apuppyforpresident]

“write about a character after a New Years party”

Dan didn't like New Years parties all that much, but the fear of missing out compelled him to go nonetheless. There was just so much drinking involved in the holiday season, it was exhausting - from the idiotic twelve pubs tradition to the lame office parties, Dan had had just about enough. But clearly not enough that it would stop him from going and trying to have a good time - besides, he had a Tinder date lined up, but while she looked a 10 online, her personality said 4. But then who went on Tinder looking for personality? Dan, apparently.

Dan just wanted something real, someone to keep him going for more than one night, someone to talk to and someone to love. But, sure, what was he hoping for at a New Years party in a club? You didn't meet decent people at clubs, everyone knew that. New Years parties in themselves were boring as fuck - sure everyone was hyped and excited before twelve, but once midnight arrived, and the couples kissed and the shots were downed, the novelty wore off within about three minutes.

Dan realised pretty quickly that the previous few New Years parties had all followed the same format, and he was tired of it. His date was pretty wasted already, but she was a waste of space anyway, and Dan was a bit tipsy himself - he left her at the bar after giving some excuse about feeling sick.

And it was this way that Dan found himself kicking a stone down the busy street, crowded with revellers; a taxi here, waiting patiently for the late-night animals; a drunk girl there, holding her heels in her hands and being supported by her friends. He kicked the stone further. He was sick of all the noise, all the clutter, all the drama and buzz of nights out - the pre-drinking, the infuriating drunkards, the shenanigans of fearless men in their 20's with liquid courage. He kicked the stone further. Every night out felt like a broken record to Dan. He kicked the stone further.

"What's your problem?"

Dan stopped abruptly: it took a moment for him to register the colourful rainbow lights outside the city's only gay bar, the fluttering by his ear as the pride flag hanging by the door. It took even longer for him, in his inebriated state, to notice he'd just kicked the pebble into the leg of a patron vaping outside the club doors.

"Sorry," he hastily said, sobering up, "accident."

The stranger - another man in his 20's, with pink streaks in his floppy hair and a deep black leather jacket - kicked the pebble back at Dan.

"You'd want to be careful," he said, "sure that could be seen as homophobic."

Dan laughed awkwardly. "Just an accident, mate - I'm not homophobic, I swear."

"Ally?"

"Bisexual."

"Ah." The stranger took another puff from his e-cigarette, the smoke rising slowly in the cold air, mixing with his breath. "I'm gay through and through. About as straight as the Mississippi."

Dan cast his mind far back to geography class, his brows furrowed - the stranger drew a squiggly line in the air, a meandering imprint on Dan's eyes. He nodded slowly.

"I wouldn't have said bi from lookin' at you," the other man said. Dan cocked his head. "I'd have said... pan. Maybe."

"Well I definitely would've said gay from looking at you," Dan replied. "It's the pink hair. That's super gay."

The stranger laughed, a full, loud one like a bark. It made Dan chuckle.

"What do they call you?"

"Dan."

"Dan? Chris." Chris extended his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"I... bid you adieu," Dan replied, trying to sound formal, but then he realised what "bid adieu" meant. "I mean... not goodbye, I mean... hi."

Chris laughed again, a bit too hard for the lameness of the joke. "So how do you earn your daily bread, Dan?"

"I'm in training to be a Garda - yourself?"

"I own this place," Chris said, pointing his e-cig at the bar behind them. "A Garda, huh? What compelled you to pick that particular profession?"

"Oh, you know, the uniform," Dan joked, and Chris grinned. "For real - since I was young, I always wanted to be one. My dad was one. Hope that doesn't make me a sheep."

"Not at all." Chris cocked his head in the direction of his bar. "Sure wasn't my own father a landlord himself? - admittedly, he didn't own a gay bar."

Dan nodded slowly, feeling that the conversation was reaching its untimely death. He asked, "What kind of bar was it, so?"

"You're not really interested - it was a small-town pub and hotel."

"Well that's boring." Dan scrunched up his face in mock-disapproval, and Chris chuckled.

A pause, a beat. In the background a drunk couple were getting a bit too close. Both men saw it, and Chris pretended to gag.

"Straights - gross," he remarked, glancing at his watch. "It's nearly time-"

"What flavour is that?" Dan asked, pointing to the e-cig Christ held between delicate, long fingers.

"Oh - uh - mulled wine. Festive," Chris replied. He hesitated, eyes glancing from his watch to Dan. "Do you want to try it?"

Dan didn't smoke - someone had offered him a cigarette was a teenager and it had nearly made him sick, so he averted anything that involved inhaling fumes - but he didn't want to look a fool in front of Chris. He took the e-cig carefully, nodded absentmindedly as Chris told him how to use it, and then, slowly, took a careful puff.

He felt the vapour tickle the back of his throat, inhaled as deep as he could - it was just like smelling mulled wine, except for the crackling sound from the device. It was much, much better than tobacco.

He handed it back, nodding - "That's nice. Very... aromatic. Festive."

Chris took another puff and then pocketed the e-cig. He looked at his watch again and said, "Fifteen minutes to midnight - I have to go back in and prep for the countdown."

Dan's face fell - was it really time? Could he not just have another few minutes with this mysterious, fabulous stranger?

"Come on in - drinks are on the house," Chris added.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely! - sure, I need to round off 2018 with one good deed, at least."

Chris reached out, grabbing Dan's hand and pulling him into the doors of the bar. The next fifteen minutes were a blur - colour, alcohol, excitement, music thump-thump-thumping in his ears and through the floor and through his chest, like a knife. Chris poured Dan a beer and then left him at the bar, saying he'd be back for the countdown. Dan drank the beer quickly, not knowing what to do with his hands, his eyes - he watched the dancers, the couples, the gaggles of flamboyant friends, living for the moment. He wished he could join them, be spontaneous like them. He kept drinking.

Ten minutes later and the music quietened, the lights brightened, and all attention was drawn to one wall, where there was projected a 60-second countdown. And there stood Chris - changed from his dark shirt to a bright pink one with the name of the bar and "2019" printed in bright, red letters.

He whetted the audience's appetite, thanking them for spending the night with his bar, promising one free drink to everyone, and briefly alluding to previous New Years parties, earning laughter from the drunker patrons.

He added, in a more sombre note, "Unfortunately, as you all know, this is the last and final New Years party we'll have the pleasure of hosting here - but let that not take away from the memories we've made, the friendships and relationships that have been born within these walls-

"Get on with it!" a bartender hollered, and Chris laughed out loud.

"Now, let the countdown begin - ten... nine... eight..."

The patrons shouted out the numbers, getting louder and louder as they got closer to midnight - Dan shouted at the top of his voice - suddenly, the room erupted in pounding music, glasses clinking and clapping, another New Year done and dusted. The bartender poured him and Dan two shots; they clinked their glasses and toasted the celebration.

"Is this place shutting down?" Dan shouted into the bartender's ear, leaning over the bar.

"Another two months-" the bartender indicated with his fingers "-not making enough money."

Chris appeared next to the bartender, started immediately pouring drinks for patrons who wanted to claim a free one. So everyone was getting free drinks, not just Dan, apparently. He smiled at Dan, a slow smile that wasn't sincere, and quickly looked away.

Dan cast his eyes to the room, drinking in the atmosphere like he had that shot - unlike any other club after midnight, this one was still buzzing, and it looked like it would be until the early hours. He didn't know what to do with himself, since he only knew Chris and Chris was busy - so he ordered another beer and took a few films for his Snapchat story, killing time.

At around half twelve, a hand yanked his phone out of his hand and Chris stood in its place, very close to Dan. He replaced Dan's phone to his front pocket and took the empty glass too, placing it atop the bar.

"Can't have you all alone on New Years," Chris shouted in Dan's ear, his breath fanning Dan's skin and making his hair stand up. "Dance with me."

Chris was a finer dancer by far than Dan - he put his entire personality, all of his energy into the cleanest, slickest moves Dan had seen in a long time. His body flowed like a river, making Dan suddenly self-conscious about his own awkward stumbling and clapping. Chris didn't judge him, though - he encouraged Dan, even trying to teach him one or two easier moves, which Dan would be sure to forget in the morning. Their bodies were so close, their hands brushing once or twice, the air felt electric - Chris's eyes were not shying away from looking Dan up and down.

After a few songs, and even with the energy lent to him by alcohol, Dan felt his fatigue catch up with him, and he pulled Chris off the dance floor to the bar.

"I have to go," he shouted, "early start tomorrow!"

"Thanks for stopping by," Chris shouted back. "See you here again, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, then." Chris's dark eyes lingered, as if waiting for something from Dan, waiting for a sign, a signal, a move. He put his hand on Dan's elbow, gently squeezed, and Dan felt it through his whole body, like the bass. "Good luck!"

And he turned, swiftly, not giving Dan time to respond, to ask for his number or even say goodbye.

Dan picked up a beer mat as a memento and left too, shivering violently as soon as the cold, cold New Years air hit him. It was a relief from the sweaty atmosphere inside, but enveloped him uncaringly, and he immediately wanted to go back inside.

He walked on, the freezing wind making his shirt flap behind him, hands buried deep in his pockets. His thumb traced the edge of the beer mat, his thoughts still firmly on Chris and that enigmatic smile, that hypnotic dance. Was it madness to think there was something there? Sure, Chris was attractive, and maybe that's all it was - but the way he'd touched his elbow, the pleading look in his eyes told Dan it wasn't one-sided. Chris even gave him free drinks - but everyone else got the same. Even so... Dan was sick of waiting for the other person to make a move, sick of not being spontaneous and depending on the wants and intents of others. He played a role in his life too, surely?

He stopped by a streetlamp, fumbled around his pockets for a pen, and hastily scribbled his name and number on the beer mat - then he dashed back to the club, flashed his ID at the bouncer, and scouted the dance floor for Chris. He'd recognise that dance from a mile off, so where was he? Panic arose in him - what if it was a misunderstanding, what if Chris was just a flirt by nature and that's how he was with everyone? - Dan had known his fair share of gay men like that.

It took him a minute to remember that Chris wouldn't be on the dance floor since he owned the place - so he pushed his way through the revellers to the bar, finding Chris elegantly making a cocktail for a waiting patron. Dan watched, admiring the care Chris put in to making drinks, the delicacy with which he handled the ingredients.

Chris slid the glass over the bar to the customer, put the cash in the till, and turned to the next customer - Dan. At first Chris looked surprised, jumped a bit, and then a wide smile broke out, crinkling the corners of his eyes.

"Forget something, stranger?" he asked, straining to be heard over the music.

"To give you this," Dan shouted, and handed Chris the beer mat. Chris laughed, pocketing it quickly.

"Call me," Dan mouthed, putting his hand to his ear as if it was a phone.

[luxus4me]

Design your way http://j.mp/2iRO0AY

Modern high-speed Internet has really made us spoiled.

These days, if a website takes more than 4 seconds to load, we tend to not even bother waiting; we simply close the page and find something else.

That is exactly why designers are taking the time to come up with creative preloaders like this fun little bouncing ball.

What’s a preloader?

Essentially, preloaders (also known as loaders) are what you see on the screen while the rest of the page’s content is still loading.

See the Pen Loading Bouncy ball (provisional) by kota shimura (@wabeshew) on CodePen.

Preloaders are often simple or complex animations that are used to keep visitors entertained while server operations finish processing. Unfortunately, they are also frequently overlooked in the development process of most projects.

Why is a preloader important?

Preloaders are important interface elements that let visitors know that the website hasn’t crashed, it’s just processing data. They are usually designed as moving stripes or blinking circles that represent the time necessary for loading, which, although functional, aren’t entertaining at all. Interesting animations can keep your users engaged while they’re waiting for the page to load.

Designers work really hard to make the waiting time less of a hassle for site visitors, but this can be a very difficult task if the right inspiration (and latest knowledge) isn’t there.

What should a great preloader be?

In recent years, most projects have been developed with simplified loaders as the recommended best practice. Complex loader animations haven’t been popular for a while because they used to take up a lot of resources to work, slowing down the page’s loading process even more. However, with processing power increasing, the era of simple loaders is coming to an end.

Today, a well-designed, creative animation provides an opportunity to enliven your interface. This small, but important detail contributes to the individuality and branding of any product.

For this reason, we’ve compiled and curated the following list of bright, funny, and unique preloader examples (including some of SteelKiwi’s very own designs) to help you and your design team find some inspiration!

30 of the best preloader design out there

Sliding Square LoaderView

This sliding square loader makes the waiting a bit less frustrating as it keeps your eye moving along with the squares. A great solution for businesses who sell electronics or games online to keep their visitors engaged with the website.

DotsLoaderView

The bouncing black balls that appear out of nowhere and disappear serve as an entertaining element and could be used for websites that want to look presentable yet with a pinch of playfulness.

Simple Loader

This is a perfect example of a drum-like preloader which resembles a spinning lottery wheel. If a business owner wants to make a logical connection between this loader and the application which may imply opportunities, luck, or excitement, then this loading screen should serve its needs.

Bird Loader

These simple geometric shapes remind a birdy turning its head to the left or right as if talking to somebody. This animation can make a good preloader for sites featuring businesses in the TV-, radio-, or social media industry.

LittlePin Spinner

Applications featuring travel or location-based services could make loading much more appealing using the little colorful geopin which flips back and forth.

No Halftime Loaders Petrick

An exciting animation with different kinds of balls in motion makes visitors forget that this is just a loader. This loader could complement any website featuring sports events, activities, or sports inventory.

Monkey Swinging Loader Hello Dribbble

Love animals? Here is a loader in disguise — a swinging monkey. Being fun and entertaining, it can entice users while they are waiting for the page to load. Businesses that are in the entertainment industry, such as magazines, movies, marketing, advertising, or those who simply want to stand out among the crowd and draw a smile on visitors’ faces can use it.

Cooper loader

The copper preloader in the shape of the eternity loop moves smoothly like a mesmerizing wave. The loader with its neat, minimalistic design and soothing animation is applicable for almost any business.

Loading…

Here is the drop that never drops. The white and subdued blue colors contrast well together, and this preloader will never make the visitor bored or frustrated with the loading. Businesses who would like to appeal to younger generations could use this loading screen.

Ping-Pong Loader

The ping-pong loader, with its rubber feel animation featuring a paddles and a ball, can’t help get one’s eyes off it. It is supposed to warm visitors up before they actually access the content of a website. This loader is good for sports sites or any other sites that offer anything from sports activities to inventory.

SurveyPlanet app Loader

The turquoise planet with a white rocket orbiting it keeps visitors’ attention on the preloading screen. This planet loader can be used for entertainment apps, or any other organizations which do research or make various discoveries known to the public.

Blurred Gear Loader

A blurred gearwheel loader with the three spinning gearwheels embodies movement and complexity and could be appropriate for businesses who market machinery or mechanic parts.

See the Pen Blurred Gear Loader by Joni Trythall (@jonitrythall) on CodePen.

CSS Stairs Loader

The descending and ascending stairs loader with a white ball jumping on top has a minimalistic design yet it is very straightforward. It could make sense for business who want to present themselves as serious and trustworthy.

See the Pen CSS Stairs Loader by Irko Palenius (@ispal) on CodePen.

Loading Pen

With a light touch of simplicity, the caterpillar-like colorful circles that move to the left or right and come as one at each side make loading less boring to visitors. The loader is appropriate for almost any kind of businesses with it’s universal animation, and it should keep visitors amused while waiting to land on the homepage.

See the Pen ZbVVwa by Dave McCarthy (@AsLittleDesign) on CodePen.

CSS Loader

A simple “attention getter” loader like this rolling cube that gets bigger when moving forward and returns to its initial shape when going back, is a reserved solution for business that want to appear smart and sophisticated to the visitor.

See the Pen Loader css3 by Mathieu Richard (@MathieuRichard) on CodePen.

Vivid CSS3 Spinner

The vivid spinner loader with the rotating rainbow that rolls into a sort of geometric flower-like shape can cheer the visitors up and help them get ready for something fun and exciting. Such loader could be used for businesses who market their products or services to kids. It should work well for children’s education sites.

See the Pen Vivid CSS3 Spinner by Kevin Jannis (@kevinjannis) on CodePen.

Prism Loading Screen

The prism loading screen should remind one of the LinkedIn’s background for photos. The loader remotely looks like constellations which are moving in space with the main element in the middle which could potentially feature a corporate logo. The loader could be used for businesses that work with international clients, for example in the B2B sector.

See the Pen Prism Loading Screen by Ken Chen (@kenchen) on CodePen.

Loader

Like variety? Here is the loader which keeps a visitor entertained, letting them see a countdown accompanied by changing animation of different pictures. Keep in mind, that this loader can have any pictures rotating so it can cater to fit any business’s needs.

See the Pen Loader by Alex Rutherford (@Ruddy) on CodePen.

Redirecting Loader

Here is a silhouette of man with a jetpack on his back flying as as fast as he can. Such loader which redirects a user to the next page can be used by almost any business, especially the ones that would like to highlight the speed element of their service.

See the Pen Redirecting Loader by Mr Alien (@mr_alien) on CodePen.

Codepen Loading Dots

Having a minimalistic and succinct design, this dot preloader could be used by artistic people or designers for their online portfolios for instance.

See the Pen Codepen Loading Dots by White Wolf Wizard (@WhiteWolfWizard) on CodePen.

Preloader Animation

Shouldn’t this preloader remind one of the snake game? This energy icon animation with a plug can make sense for internet providers or any other agencies who help businesses and clients collaborate.

See the Pen Preloader SVG animation by Jason Miller (@imjasonmiller) on CodePen.

Making Pancake

Pancakes right from the stove! The loader with a flipping pancake on the frying pan should make a visitor’s mouth water. It can be a good start for websites dedicated to cooking or baking.

See the Pen ‘Making pancake’ loader by Pawel (@pawelqcm) on CodePen.

Simple Loader

If a business owner is not picky about their preloader and would like to keep it simple, here is a straightforward one with a splitting rectangle that splits.

See the Pen Loader by Maroš Horniak (@majci23) on CodePen.

Loader Animation

Here is a collection of custom animated SVG-powered loaders featuring different shapes and basic geometric forms. Businesses owners who want to maintain seriousness can exploit the neatness of these loaders in various design purposes.

See the Pen SVG Loader Animation by Nikhil Krishnan (@nikhil8krishnan) on CodePen.

Hand Animation Loading

This hand animation seems to never stop tapping its fingers as if always waiting for something. It sort of conveys the feeling people may experience while waiting and could be used by businesses that strive to maintain a great sense of humor about themselves.

See the Pen Hand animation – loading by r4ms3s (@r4ms3s) on CodePen.

Tree Preloader

The SVG and CSS-powered tree preloader is a neat animation to appear on family or medical applications. The tree gradually spreads its branches which seem to be breathing in, making the animation pleasant to look at.

See the Pen Tree Preloader by Jürgen Genser (@juergengenser) on CodePen.

Travel Preloader

Here is a preloader applicable for travel and transportation rentals businesses. The loading screen changes the type of vehicle accompanied by the text to enhance the overall impression.

See the Pen Travel Preloader by Matthew Nahmias (@mnahmias) on CodePen.

Car Drift Loader

This SVG-powered car drift loader is another unconventional solution for websites that market vehicles. However, if taken figuratively, the preloader can be used for websites or apps related to various social events which bring people excitement and make a lasting impression.

See the Pen SVG Car Drift Loader by Chris Gannon (@chrisgannon) on CodePen.

Spinning Head

And a cherry on top! Here is a preloader with a pinch of humor — no matter how hard the bubble gum character is running around his head, it is too heavy and big to move, and he seems to enjoy it.

Greatest examples of page preloading animations

Here are 5 websites with eloquent preloaders for you to enjoy!

1. W. Brett Wilson

Another creative loading screen can be found on W. Brett Wilson’s website. A silhouette of a man running in a hamster wheel and text appearing like a slideshow keep the visitor entertained and engaged with the website, while also complementing its design.

2. Сreative Сruise

Creative Cruise website was built to invite people to celebrate Amsterdam’s creative vibe. To emphasize the atmosphere before a visitor even lands on the homepage, a hilarious looking man who is dancing breakdance appears on the loading screen. The character used in the preloader makes perfect sense since the homepage is full of alike characters dancing and partying.

3. Opencontinents

Here is a website built for cinematic exploration in global storytelling. Open Continents’ animation is a well-disguised preloader featuring dancing stars in a merry-go-round circle. The animation is alluring with its interactive element where a user can direct their cursor on the circle and see how the stars spread along. This preloader complements the Earth that appears on the homepage. The idea is to embody movement and mystery, motivating visitors to explore the site, keeping them interested in the meantime.

4. Kokopako

Websites like Kokopako (created in a form of a portfolio) can make good use of preloaders, adding personal touch and meaning to the content on a site. The year of 1987 is a countdown preloader which deepens the narrative of the website, while also being well-integrated into the homepage.

5. McWhopper.com

McWhopper’s website was created to market a special proposal from McDonald’s and Burger King. The website’s preloader is very appealing to first-time visitors with its animated burger that jumps as if it were on a trampoline, giving an opportunity to see all the ingredients and making the waiting experience more enjoyable. In addition, the preloader makes use of text and fits well with the overall design of the site.

More loader resources

We hope this list will inspire you to develop a great preloader design for your project!

For even more examples of creative loaders, you can also explore this showcase of the best website preloaders made with animated Gifs, CSS3, Canvas, or other Javascript-based techniques, learn from this post about creating animated loaders using nothing but CSS, and read through this post about creating custom animations to decrease your bounce rates.

Don’t have time to build your own? There are lots of preloaders that can be used for free (or for a small price). Check out preloaders.net or browse through this list of free preloaders and spinners for web designers and developers.

If you have any other questions about preloader design, or you need a truly unique and original design for a preloader of your own, contact our team and we will come up with the perfect loader which will turn your project into something really unforgettable!

The post Top 30 Most Captivating Preloaders for Your Website appeared first on Design your way.

http://ift.tt/2n3aS5a via Design your way URL : http://ift.tt/15lrqEz

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Top 30 Most Captivating Preloaders for Your Website

Modern high-speed Internet has really made us spoiled.

These days, if a website takes more than 4 seconds to load, we tend to not even bother waiting; we simply close the page and find something else.

That is exactly why designers are taking the time to come up with creative preloaders like this fun little bouncing ball.

What’s a preloader?

Essentially, preloaders (also known as loaders) are what you see on the screen while the rest of the page’s content is still loading.

See the Pen Loading Bouncy ball (provisional) by kota shimura (@wabeshew) on CodePen.

Preloaders are often simple or complex animations that are used to keep visitors entertained while server operations finish processing. Unfortunately, they are also frequently overlooked in the development process of most projects.

Why is a preloader important?

Preloaders are important interface elements that let visitors know that the website hasn’t crashed, it’s just processing data. They are usually designed as moving stripes or blinking circles that represent the time necessary for loading, which, although functional, aren’t entertaining at all. Interesting animations can keep your users engaged while they’re waiting for the page to load.

Designers work really hard to make the waiting time less of a hassle for site visitors, but this can be a very difficult task if the right inspiration (and latest knowledge) isn’t there.

What should a great preloader be?

In recent years, most projects have been developed with simplified loaders as the recommended best practice. Complex loader animations haven’t been popular for a while because they used to take up a lot of resources to work, slowing down the page’s loading process even more. However, with processing power increasing, the era of simple loaders is coming to an end.

Today, a well-designed, creative animation provides an opportunity to enliven your interface. This small, but important detail contributes to the individuality and branding of any product.

For this reason, we’ve compiled and curated the following list of bright, funny, and unique preloader examples (including some of SteelKiwi’s very own designs) to help you and your design team find some inspiration!

30 of the best preloader design out there

Sliding Square LoaderView

This sliding square loader makes the waiting a bit less frustrating as it keeps your eye moving along with the squares. A great solution for businesses who sell electronics or games online to keep their visitors engaged with the website.

DotsLoaderView

The bouncing black balls that appear out of nowhere and disappear serve as an entertaining element and could be used for websites that want to look presentable yet with a pinch of playfulness.

Simple Loader

This is a perfect example of a drum-like preloader which resembles a spinning lottery wheel. If a business owner wants to make a logical connection between this loader and the application which may imply opportunities, luck, or excitement, then this loading screen should serve its needs.

Bird Loader

These simple geometric shapes remind a birdy turning its head to the left or right as if talking to somebody. This animation can make a good preloader for sites featuring businesses in the TV-, radio-, or social media industry.

LittlePin Spinner

Applications featuring travel or location-based services could make loading much more appealing using the little colorful geopin which flips back and forth.

No Halftime Loaders Petrick

An exciting animation with different kinds of balls in motion makes visitors forget that this is just a loader. This loader could complement any website featuring sports events, activities, or sports inventory.

Monkey Swinging Loader Hello Dribbble

Love animals? Here is a loader in disguise — a swinging monkey. Being fun and entertaining, it can entice users while they are waiting for the page to load. Businesses that are in the entertainment industry, such as magazines, movies, marketing, advertising, or those who simply want to stand out among the crowd and draw a smile on visitors’ faces can use it.

Cooper loader

The copper preloader in the shape of the eternity loop moves smoothly like a mesmerizing wave. The loader with its neat, minimalistic design and soothing animation is applicable for almost any business.

Loading…

Here is the drop that never drops. The white and subdued blue colors contrast well together, and this preloader will never make the visitor bored or frustrated with the loading. Businesses who would like to appeal to younger generations could use this loading screen.

Ping-Pong Loader

The ping-pong loader, with its rubber feel animation featuring a paddles and a ball, can’t help get one’s eyes off it. It is supposed to warm visitors up before they actually access the content of a website. This loader is good for sports sites or any other sites that offer anything from sports activities to inventory.

SurveyPlanet app Loader

The turquoise planet with a white rocket orbiting it keeps visitors’ attention on the preloading screen. This planet loader can be used for entertainment apps, or any other organizations which do research or make various discoveries known to the public.

Blurred Gear Loader

A blurred gearwheel loader with the three spinning gearwheels embodies movement and complexity and could be appropriate for businesses who market machinery or mechanic parts.

See the Pen Blurred Gear Loader by Joni Trythall (@jonitrythall) on CodePen.

CSS Stairs Loader

The descending and ascending stairs loader with a white ball jumping on top has a minimalistic design yet it is very straightforward. It could make sense for business who want to present themselves as serious and trustworthy.

See the Pen CSS Stairs Loader by Irko Palenius (@ispal) on CodePen.

Loading Pen

With a light touch of simplicity, the caterpillar-like colorful circles that move to the left or right and come as one at each side make loading less boring to visitors. The loader is appropriate for almost any kind of businesses with it’s universal animation, and it should keep visitors amused while waiting to land on the homepage.

See the Pen ZbVVwa by Dave McCarthy (@AsLittleDesign) on CodePen.

CSS Loader

A simple “attention getter” loader like this rolling cube that gets bigger when moving forward and returns to its initial shape when going back, is a reserved solution for business that want to appear smart and sophisticated to the visitor.

See the Pen Loader css3 by Mathieu Richard (@MathieuRichard) on CodePen.

Vivid CSS3 Spinner

The vivid spinner loader with the rotating rainbow that rolls into a sort of geometric flower-like shape can cheer the visitors up and help them get ready for something fun and exciting. Such loader could be used for businesses who market their products or services to kids. It should work well for children’s education sites.

See the Pen Vivid CSS3 Spinner by Kevin Jannis (@kevinjannis) on CodePen.

Prism Loading Screen

The prism loading screen should remind one of the LinkedIn’s background for photos. The loader remotely looks like constellations which are moving in space with the main element in the middle which could potentially feature a corporate logo. The loader could be used for businesses that work with international clients, for example in the B2B sector.

See the Pen Prism Loading Screen by Ken Chen (@kenchen) on CodePen.

Loader

Like variety? Here is the loader which keeps a visitor entertained, letting them see a countdown accompanied by changing animation of different pictures. Keep in mind, that this loader can have any pictures rotating so it can cater to fit any business’s needs.

See the Pen Loader by Alex Rutherford (@Ruddy) on CodePen.

Redirecting Loader

Here is a silhouette of man with a jetpack on his back flying as as fast as he can. Such loader which redirects a user to the next page can be used by almost any business, especially the ones that would like to highlight the speed element of their service.

See the Pen Redirecting Loader by Mr Alien (@mr_alien) on CodePen.

Codepen Loading Dots

Having a minimalistic and succinct design, this dot preloader could be used by artistic people or designers for their online portfolios for instance.

See the Pen Codepen Loading Dots by White Wolf Wizard (@WhiteWolfWizard) on CodePen.

Preloader Animation

Shouldn’t this preloader remind one of the snake game? This energy icon animation with a plug can make sense for internet providers or any other agencies who help businesses and clients collaborate.

See the Pen Preloader SVG animation by Jason Miller (@imjasonmiller) on CodePen.

Making Pancake

Pancakes right from the stove! The loader with a flipping pancake on the frying pan should make a visitor’s mouth water. It can be a good start for websites dedicated to cooking or baking.

See the Pen ‘Making pancake’ loader by Pawel (@pawelqcm) on CodePen.

Simple Loader

If a business owner is not picky about their preloader and would like to keep it simple, here is a straightforward one with a splitting rectangle that splits.

See the Pen Loader by Maroš Horniak (@majci23) on CodePen.

Loader Animation

Here is a collection of custom animated SVG-powered loaders featuring different shapes and basic geometric forms. Businesses owners who want to maintain seriousness can exploit the neatness of these loaders in various design purposes.

See the Pen SVG Loader Animation by Nikhil Krishnan (@nikhil8krishnan) on CodePen.

Hand Animation Loading

This hand animation seems to never stop tapping its fingers as if always waiting for something. It sort of conveys the feeling people may experience while waiting and could be used by businesses that strive to maintain a great sense of humor about themselves.

See the Pen Hand animation – loading by r4ms3s (@r4ms3s) on CodePen.

Tree Preloader

The SVG and CSS-powered tree preloader is a neat animation to appear on family or medical applications. The tree gradually spreads its branches which seem to be breathing in, making the animation pleasant to look at.

See the Pen Tree Preloader by Jürgen Genser (@juergengenser) on CodePen.

Travel Preloader

Here is a preloader applicable for travel and transportation rentals businesses. The loading screen changes the type of vehicle accompanied by the text to enhance the overall impression.

See the Pen Travel Preloader by Matthew Nahmias (@mnahmias) on CodePen.

Car Drift Loader

This SVG-powered car drift loader is another unconventional solution for websites that market vehicles. However, if taken figuratively, the preloader can be used for websites or apps related to various social events which bring people excitement and make a lasting impression.

See the Pen SVG Car Drift Loader by Chris Gannon (@chrisgannon) on CodePen.

Spinning Head

And a cherry on top! Here is a preloader with a pinch of humor — no matter how hard the bubble gum character is running around his head, it is too heavy and big to move, and he seems to enjoy it.

Greatest examples of page preloading animations

Here are 5 websites with eloquent preloaders for you to enjoy!

1. W. Brett Wilson

Another creative loading screen can be found on W. Brett Wilson’s website. A silhouette of a man running in a hamster wheel and text appearing like a slideshow keep the visitor entertained and engaged with the website, while also complementing its design.

2. Сreative Сruise

Creative Cruise website was built to invite people to celebrate Amsterdam’s creative vibe. To emphasize the atmosphere before a visitor even lands on the homepage, a hilarious looking man who is dancing breakdance appears on the loading screen. The character used in the preloader makes perfect sense since the homepage is full of alike characters dancing and partying.

3. Opencontinents

Here is a website built for cinematic exploration in global storytelling. Open Continents’ animation is a well-disguised preloader featuring dancing stars in a merry-go-round circle. The animation is alluring with its interactive element where a user can direct their cursor on the circle and see how the stars spread along. This preloader complements the Earth that appears on the homepage. The idea is to embody movement and mystery, motivating visitors to explore the site, keeping them interested in the meantime.

4. Kokopako

Websites like Kokopako (created in a form of a portfolio) can make good use of preloaders, adding personal touch and meaning to the content on a site. The year of 1987 is a countdown preloader which deepens the narrative of the website, while also being well-integrated into the homepage.

5. McWhopper.com

McWhopper’s website was created to market a special proposal from McDonald’s and Burger King. The website’s preloader is very appealing to first-time visitors with its animated burger that jumps as if it were on a trampoline, giving an opportunity to see all the ingredients and making the waiting experience more enjoyable. In addition, the preloader makes use of text and fits well with the overall design of the site.

More loader resources

We hope this list will inspire you to develop a great preloader design for your project!

For even more examples of creative loaders, you can also explore this showcase of the best website preloaders made with animated Gifs, CSS3, Canvas, or other Javascript-based techniques, learn from this post about creating animated loaders using nothing but CSS, and read through this post about creating custom animations to decrease your bounce rates.

Don’t have time to build your own? There are lots of preloaders that can be used for free (or for a small price). Check out preloaders.net or browse through this list of free preloaders and spinners for web designers and developers.

If you have any other questions about preloader design, or you need a truly unique and original design for a preloader of your own, contact our team and we will come up with the perfect loader which will turn your project into something really unforgettable!

The post Top 30 Most Captivating Preloaders for Your Website appeared first on Design your way.

from Web Development & Designing http://www.designyourway.net/blog/web-design/30-captivating-preloaders/