#the guy from pantera too

[luwha]

It's tough to be a metal fan

[tongue-like-a-razor]

Brother's Best Friend - Part 9

Jake Seresin x F!Reader

A/N: I just wanted to let y'all know how much your enthusiasm and encouragement means to me. Your support, whether it's in the form of comments, reblogs, or asks, literally inspires me to keep writing and I just wanted to say thank you for your kind words! You guys seriously rock!

Summary: The trials and tribulations of falling for your brother's best friend.

CW: Uhh.. you're gonna love it

WC: ~2500

Part 1 | Masterlist

“What’re you up to tonight?” Jake asks casually, about five minutes after you’ve entered the kitchen.

You glance up from your still steeping tea hesitantly; you haven’t spoken to Jake since the pervious night at the club and you’ve all but resolved never to make eye contact with him again. “Uh,” you begin shakily, the stress of the situation resulting in a minor mental shutdown.

You watch as your brother tries on a third Hawaiian shirt and walks over to the mirror in the front hall to check himself out.

You gulp uneasily, your eyes meeting Jake’s as Bradley leaves the kitchen. “Just studying,” you finish, finally remembering your plans for the evening.

“Studying, huh?” Bradley calls from the foyer. A second later, he reemerges with a smirk on his face. “I know what that means.” He wiggles his eyebrows at you and then shoots Jake a knowing grin.

Jake appears, at the very least, unimpressed with Bradley’s insinuation and, quite possibly, even critical of it. He gives him an irked look and proceeds to flip more aggressively through an old National Geographic magazine, one from the stack currently sitting on the living room coffee table. “You look like a douche in that shirt,” Jake grumbles.

Bradley’s eyebrows converge as he stares at his friend with a mixture of shock and disappointment. “Is that true?” he asks, turning to you for support as if you’re there to mediate.

You shrug. “I don’t think the shirt has anything to do with it,” you say.

Jake snorts out a laugh while Bradley’s mouth falls open in outrage. He looks between you and Jake and shakes his head. “That’s how it’s gonna be?”

“Maybe wear a t-shirt,” you suggest. “Borrow one of Jake’s.”

Jake gives you an amused look. “You think I’m just handing out band tees?”

Bradley narrows his eyes. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

“I just finished a load of laundry and I’ve got a Pantera shirt you can wear,” you continue, already smiling in anticipation of Jake’s reaction.

Jake lifts his eyebrows with a grin. “I thought that wasn’t appropriate dating attire. Too many skulls or some shit?”

Bradley places his hands on his hips and tilts his head suspiciously. “I…” he begins. “I have questions,” he concludes, still glancing between you and Jake. His knotted eyebrows indeed confirm just how perplexed he is. “But I’m already late. So, I guess douche shirt’s gonna have to do.” He grabs his jacket off the back of a kitchen chair and heads back out into the hall.

“Have fun!” Jake calls, leaning into the table so that his voice carries through to the front door.

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Bradley calls back. “We’ll be meeting up with her friends later tonight. They’re female.”

You roll your eyes, removing the tea bag from your mug. You look up to see that Jake’s gaze is trained on you.

“I’m good,” Jake calls back, finally breaking eye contact with you. He reverts his attention to the article before him detailing the mating rituals of various species of primates.

“See you tomorrow, then!” Bradley calls, and then the door shuts behind him.

A predictable, but still awkward, silence follows Bradley's departure. You finish preparing your tea while your heart batters relentlessly against your ribcage, daring you to say something – anything­ – about the previous night’s affairs. Naturally, you ignore this sensible impulse, starting for the staircase mutely after shooting Jake a quick, rigid smile.

Jake’s eyes follow you as you cross the room. “You got a date with ‘study group’ guy?” he asks pointedly, using air quotes to emphasize study group as though your evening is sure to consist of anything but that.

You pause, holding your mug close to your chest. “It’s not a date,” you say, although, at this point, you kind of wish that it were.

Jake raises his eyebrows like your response has only served to reinforce his skepticism. “Why do you even need to study?” he says with a cringe. “You’re already smart.”

You purse your lips to suppress a grin. “Funny,” you comment, continuing toward the stairs.

“I could help,” Jake offers.

You glance at him over your shoulder in surprise. “What?”

Jake closes the magazine and straightens his back. “I could help you study.”

You stare at him, trying to imagine how that might go down. “What do you know about psychology?” you ask, having already decided that, despite his noblest intentions, Jake’s assistance would be absolutely useless.

Jake scoffs. “I don’t need to know anything about it to help you cram for a test. You got flash cards?”

You give him a flat look. “It’s an oral exam.”

The corner of his mouth twitches. “Say what, now?”

You close your eyes and massage your temple irritably. “It’s worth fifty percent of my grade.”

Jake grimaces. “How good are you at oral?”

You let out an indignant cry, wishing you had something in your hands to throw at him other than a ceramic mug full of scalding liquid. “And this is why I’m studying with ‘study group’ guy,” you retort, stomping up the stairs.

“I’m joking!” Jake laughs, getting to his feet. “Come back!”

But you’re already on the second floor and you shut your bedroom door before he can say anything else.

…

Twenty minutes later, you return with your book bag, your empty mug, and a disparaging look on your face as Jake approaches the bottom of the stairs to greet you with a sheepish grin.

“Come on, Baby B,” he says as you set your bag down and glide by him with an eyeroll, heading for the sink. “It was a joke.” He follows you through the kitchen and leans into the counter as you start to wash your mug.

You bite into the inside of your cheek to keep a straight face. It’s not every day that Jake takes responsibility for his actions, and you’re sort of enjoying the groveling. “I’m not mad, I just think you’re an idiot.”

“See? I told you you’re smart,” Jake says.

You sigh, glancing up at him wearily. “Unfortunately, my extensive knowledge of Jake Seresin isn’t going to help me pass my midterm.”

“Shame,” he responds with a slight grin. “’Cause you’d ace that.”

You chuckle. “You think?”

Jake’s smile falters and he leans his back into the refrigerator. His eyes scan your face like he’s searching for something. You wonder if he’s finally going to address the elephant in the room, but he just exhales moodily and drops his gaze. “Well, have fun,” he mumbles to the floor.

You narrow your eyes and let out a somewhat resentful scoff. It’s just like Jake to lead a girl on, and you should have known that – after all, you’re apparently the leading expert on Jake Seresin. “Oh yes,” you say. “Studying’s a blast.”

Jake lifts his eyes solemnly. “Come on, you’re not that naïve.”

“What are you talking about?” you ask, picking your book bag back up.

Jake’s gaze slips briefly to your bare abdomen, framed by the hem of your crop top and the band of your baggy joggers. “This dude only wants one thing,” he says. “And it’s not to help you prepare for midterms.”

You let out a cackle and head out of the kitchen. “Seresin, please!” you exclaim. “Not every guy in the world is a total pig.”

“How many people are you meeting tonight?” he asks, trailing behind you.

You pause at the door before putting on your shoes. “He couldn’t get a hold of anyone else,” you respond innocently, trying not to cringe at the – now that you think about it – ridiculous excuse ‘study group’ guy has given you.

“Right,” Jake mutters, taking the bag off your shoulder when you bend down to put on your sneakers.

You stand back up and your eyes meet his for a moment. He looks like he’s got more to say but you have a feeling he isn’t going to say it. “I can handle myself,” you reassure him.

Jake watches you with a dubious expression. “As long as you know what you’re walking into,” he says.

You laugh, taking a step back to ease some of the tension that’s got your back muscles seizing up. “And even if he does have an ulterior motive – which I seriously doubt – would it really be so terrible?”

Jake doesn’t seem as amused at this prospect as you. “It would be manipulative,” he responds levelly.

You shrug nonchalantly. “I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

He squints slightly and you feel like he’s judging your answer. “I thought you needed to study.”

“I do!” you respond defensively. “And I’m not going with the intention of engaging in any…” you pause, thinking of a way to put what you’re about to say more delicately. “… other activities,” you finish with a minor wince. “But, if an opportunity happens to present itself –”

Jake raises his eyebrows. “An opportunity,” he echoes in the same disapproving tone.

“What, like you’ve never taken advantage of an opportunity.”

Jake juts out his jaw in a sulking manner, pondering over your allegation without disputing it. He looks a fair bit guilty but that may very well be your personal interpretation. Finally, he reaches for the door and opens it resignedly. “Call me if you need me,” he says.

You sigh, standing in front of the open door. “You don’t have any plans?” you ask, almost cautiously because you probably don’t want to know the answer.

Jake purses his lips and shakes his head.

This gives you pause, but you try not to let the defeated look on his face sway you. You aren’t sure what he stands to gain from this particular transaction, but you doubt his motive for offering to help is entirely altruistic.

Perhaps he’s gunning for a clean slate. Trying to be a friend. Trying to eclipse recent, reprehensible behavior with an act of goodwill. Maybe he’s worried that you’re mad, or that he might lose you.

The fact of the matter is, you could speculate till the cows come home, but you won’t know unless you ask. So, in a move not even you could have predicted, you do just that. “Why would you even want to waste your evening studying?” you probe.

Jake tilts his head to the side and squints his eyes at you in confusion. “Just tryin’ to help,” he responds.

You look down at your feet uncomfortably and shrug, but continue prodding, nonetheless. “I mean, you could be out with my brother.” What you really want to say is that he could be hooking up with a new chick within the hour if he feels like it; it wouldn’t even be a challenge.

“Didn’t wanna crash his date.”

You glance up at him sharply, wondering if that is, indeed, the only reason he chose to stay behind. His eyes slide slowly over your face as though he’s trying to guess what you’re going to say next. You gulp uneasily; being scrutinized by the guy of your dreams is hardly an enjoyable pastime. At the same time, it’s wildly thrilling to have his undivided attention. “No other reason?” you ask with a slight break in your voice, your throat decidedly too dry to pose any further questions.

Jake glances pointedly at the open door he's still holding and then back at you. He doesn’t respond, nor does he inquire why you’ve still not left. Instead, he starts to slowly close the door, his eyes boring into yours so intently you think the weight of his gaze might vaporize you.

You feel a warmth wash over you – no; a heat. It’s a distressingly abrupt sensation, like you’ve been shoved into an oven set to broil. But it’s nothing new. You’ve experienced this kind of nauseating high before and you’re just as unamused with this bodily reaction now as you’ve been in the past.

Jake stands very still, his back to the door he’s just shut, stalling. And despite the very persistent voice in the back of your head telling you he can’t possibly be interested in pursuing anything remotely romantic with his best friend’s little sister, the hesitation on his face is telling quite a different tale. Jake is torn.

You can relate. You’ve been simultaneously longing for and avoiding direct contact with him for ages. “You, uh” – you take a shallow breath and nervously lick your lips. “You think I’ll get more studying done if I stay?” you ask faintly.

Jake watches you carefully, as though he’s giving himself a minute to consider your question. He takes a step toward you, lowering his face to maintain eye contact. And, while his expression remains mostly impassive, you swear that you notice a brief flicker of exhilaration pass over his features right before he says, “I can’t promise that.”

You stare at him, frozen in place as he takes your chin in his hand and lifts it ever so slightly, as if he knows that you’re in no condition to elevate it on your own. Then, just as you’re about to say something completely irrelevant to fill the silence, Jake’s lips pass softly over yours.

And that’s when you come entirely apart. Your book bag crashes to the floor as your arm drops limply at your side. Your legs vibrate feebly, fighting to keep you standing. But you ignore the – indeed concerning – widespread weakness sweeping through your body. Because the only matter worth attending to is Jake’s hand as it slides purposely down to your throat, his thumb curling around as though he means to choke you.

Admittedly, you’d let him.

But his fingers don’t commit to a firm grasp by any means, instead, they glide up and down, intermittently applying a gentle pressure to your neck as his tongue curves boldly into your open mouth.

Jake Seresin is kissing you.

In a way that no one’s ever kissed you before. In a way that rattles you. Because it’s hungry and unreserved. Because it’s dangerously intimate. Because it’s Jake Seresin.

He’s kissing you like he already knows just how you like to be kissed. Or… the way you like to be kissed just happens to be the way he kisses. He’s had plenty of practice, after all.

Whatever the case may be, there’s a fire at the tip of every one of his fingers, and it follows the length of your collarbone in their wake. There’s a spark in the friction of every touch, at every point of contact.

It’s in the sweet burn of your bottom lip when he catches it between his teeth. It’s in the way he nudges your face with the tip of his nose in between kisses. It’s in his eyes when he finally releases your lips and meets your gaze; it’s in the silence.

You swallow, looking up at him anxiously, unsure how it’s even possible that you’re still standing. Jake is watching you with an unsettling blend of affection and alarm. He sighs finally and tugs on your elbow, pulling you in to rest his forehead over yours. “Fuck,” he mutters, closing his eyes and releasing a heavy – and noticeably unsteady – breath. “Your brother’s gonna kill me.”

Read Part 10

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[wheelsgoroundincircles]

NASCAR Pantera ‐ First To 300

A reporter sat in a late-night cafe, sipping coffee and attempting to calm his nerves after a high-speed ride with Gary and his Pantera. The deafening roar of the V-8 engine still echoed in his mind, and his hands shook as he held his cup. It was as if he had just escaped from the clutches of the devil himself. Tragically, a few minutes later the devil caught up with Garry Mitsunaga and his red Pantera!

For students of Japanese car culture, the Mitsunaga Pantera that graced the cover of Option Magazine is a significant page of Asian tuning lore, as it was the first street-legal vehicle to achieve a recorded speed of 300 km/h in Japan.

Actual speed was 307.69 km/h on the infamous Yatabe Test Circuit in November 1981, making it the most legendary Pantera in all of Japan. Figuring Yatabe was too dangerous for civilian drivers, and wanting to take the human element of unpredictability out of things, driving duties at this event were performed by professional racer Kunimitsu Takahashi, who is considered the father of drifting.

Yatabe was the preeminent destination for high-speed testing in Japan from the 1960s to the 1990s. However, it was closed two decades ago due to a tragic accident involving Masa Saito, the editor of the tuning magazine Option. After the accident manufacturers started shifting towards more contemporary testing facilities.

Prior to the Porsche-vs-Skyline dreams of the 1990s, the streets of Japan were ruled by the infamous Midnight Club running Pantera's, Firebirds and American V-8s. For those unaware of the Pantera, it is an Italian-American sportscar with a Ford 351 Cleveland engine and were sold in the early 70's through Lincoln Mercury dealerships.

Leading up to November 1981, top speeds were achieved by vehicles such as the S30 Fairlady, tuned by SS Kubo, which reached a maximum speed of 257.60km/h. The fastest imported car, surprisingly, was the Trust Firebird Trans-Am, which recorded a top speed of 264.71km/h. So when the Pantera eclipsing the 300km/h mark it was a huge leap forward and a landmark achievement, becoming the benchmark for all the street racers and tuners to beat.

Mitsunaga was not entirely content. Only a speed above 320 km/h (200 mph) would suffice. It is said that Takahashi advised him against driving the Pantera outside of a racetrack. Mitsunaga disregarded the warning.

Just before the accident, he was transporting a journalist down a 38 kilometer (24 mile) stretch of the Tomei Expressway. With a recorded time of 6 minutes and 20 seconds he averaged 250 KM/H ( ~160 MPH).

Not long after dropping off that rattled journalist, he supposedly totaled his Pantera while avoiding a taxi. They meet their end at approximately 1:40 a.m. on November 28, 1981. Tragically, Mitsunaga died in the accident, instantly.

At the moment of his death, Garry Allan Mitsunaga was already a legend in the Japanese dragstrip and top-speed racing scene. He was an American, born in Hawaii and employed by the Harman Kardon audio group. The company sent him to Tokyo in 1975 to work for one of its Japanese divisions, in sales.

Upon his passing, he was revered as a patron saint of street racing, inspiring countless individuals to pursue ever-greater velocities. Despite his non-Japanese origin, he was a hero to the local community, and his legacy lived on through the Mitsunaga Pantera, a symbol of both the thrill and the peril of this high-octane pursuit. Although the whereabouts of the Pantera are unknown, its engine showed up for sale in 1995.

NASCAR

Mitsunaga's Pantera, was tuned by Masaru Hosoki from ABR, one of Japans most famous tuners. It also featuring a 600hp engine built by Mario Rossi, an American NASCAR mechanic and crew chief for the likes of Bobby Allison and Glenn “Fireball” Roberts. Rossi was also the guy that built the only Dodge Daytona to compete during the 1971 season. It's only race was finishing 7th at the Daytona 500 with a de-stroked Plymouth 340 TA engine to meet the new 305ci engine displacement mandate for the five Ford & Chrysler aero cars during the 1971 NASCAR season.

Rossi has been embroiled in controversy since his involvement in the $300 million drug smuggling scandal that shook NASCAR in 1982. Four days after the 1982 Daytona 500 in Florida, authorities arrested 66 people, including several associated with NASCAR teams, on what has been labeled “Black Thursday.” Among those implicated in the scheme that authorities believe grossed $300 million were owner Billie Harvey and driver Gary Balough from the team on which Rossi was working as a mechanic. Rossi’s role (if any) in the drug operation is unclear – though his own daughter implicates him.

Rossi's whereabouts have been a mystery since his disappearance, with some believing him to be in the witness protection program in the United States. Despite claims of his death in a plane crash off the Bahamas in 1983, the insurance company asserts that the plane in question has been sold multiple times without any recorded accidents.

What’s legend and what’s fact we are unlikely to ever know for certain. What we do know, however, is that Garry Mitsunaga and his Pantera dared to dance with the devil in the witching hour.

[justalittlelilac]

Literally on a new hyper-fixation and, damnit, sometimes we can't choose so here's a lil' Simon Riley x fem!reader who's a gamer fic, because the voices wouldn't let me live 'till I wrote it. Just fluffy fluff.

Reader referred to as: She/her, his girl, his woman. Based on my own character, but took out the names. Word count: 713 She's totally not playing Helldivers 2.

Simon opened the door to his and his partner's Manchester flat to a dark living room. This was odd to him because his woman had stayed behind while he met up with the guys for a drink down at the pub. She preferred to stay in during their leaves, and he honestly couldn't blame her. Hell, he would have as well, if it wasn't for Soap dragging him out. 

Still, though, she hadn't been answering his texts, and THAT was unlike her. Preferring face-to-face communication, Simon rarely sent electronic messages. Still, when he did, he would almost always receive an immediate reply from her. He hadn't thought much about it while out, but concern filled his gut now that he was in the dark flat.

For a moment, dark thoughts filled his mind of her being taken or worse. The memory of finding his own family dead fell over him like a cold sheet of ice. At the exact moment, he heard her yell, and he barreled down the hall to the closed door of their spare room. His hand practically trembled as he threw the door open, and light filled his vision.

"Mother fucker!" Simon heard her yell as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. Once things came into focus, he let out a sigh of relief. There she was, sitting cross-legged in a computer chair with a headset on. She had already dressed for bed in one of his large black t's and underwear. Simon cocked his head, perplexed, watching as she leaned over her keyboard, fingers clacking and her mouse flicking from side to side. "Fuck, sorry guys, I need a revive." His presence wasn't even noticed by her; she was so focused. 

Simon approached her slowly, but it still didn't help. As soon as she caught him from the corner of her eye, she jumped and threw her headset to the keyboard, rising from her chair and going into fight mode. The sound of gunfire and "Walk" from Pantera blasted from the speakers, and Simon stifled a laugh. Once she realized it was him, she clutched her chest in relief and chuckled shakily. 

"Jesus, you scared me!" She grabbed her headset to speak. "Sorry guys, one sec," she said before putting them back down. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked in amusement. Her eyes flicked to the screen and then back to him, and she tucked her tousled hair behind her ears. 

"Just playing some video games," she explained. Simon could hear the voices of others on the headphones, and he tilted his head again.

"With who?" 

"Just some people I know online," she shrugged. Simon wasn't online savvy. He never really had time to delve into that sort of thing, and maybe he was too old for it now.

"What're playing?" Simon was genuinely curious. He knew his woman liked video games, but he hadn't ever seen her play nor knew what she preferred. She was an absolute nerd regarding stuff like that, and you wouldn't know unless she told you. He thought it was fucking adorable. 

"Just a shooter, nothing crazy," she shrugged again, and he again cocked an eyebrow in interest.

"Don't you do enough shooting as it is?" He asked, and she laughed. 

"It's not like that!" She chuckled as she went to sit back down. No, no, she was supposed to be relaxing, not leave war to come home and play at it. 

"Nope, think you need a break," he grunted before scooping her up against his chest and moving to carry her. She laughed out loud, only playfully struggling against him.

"No, my teammates! They need me! I can't abandon them!" She called out, arms comedically outstretched towards the computer.

"Sure they'll be fine," he replied simply.

"'Least let me mute my mic!" She demanded loudly.

"Nope," he replied with his own graveled laugh, still carrying her to the bedroom, predicting if he let her go back into that room, she'd just start playing again, knowing her. She relented and just laughed along with it. Fuck, he loved leave, used to not, but he loved his woman enough that coming home to a dark flat could mean finding laughter and not terror. He couldn't thank her enough for that.

[thedevilsoftruth]

Planet Paradise

Pairing: Marc Spector x F!reader

Summary: Khonshu gives Marc a week off duty, and you and Marc are supposed to go visit your family early in the morning... But you choose to spend your time irresponsibly.

Warning: smut, Marc is the sweetest man ever, praise, side/lazy sex, dom! Marc, unprotected ( don't try this at home ) Jed Mackay run references.

It was surely one hot, steamy night. Marc had been let off for a small break from Khonshu, and thankfully his " brother " was willing to fill in his spot while he was gone. Maybe Khonshu wouldn't agree to the way Marc was choosing to spend his time, but Khonshu wasn't there anymore to give Marc orders.

It was thursday, the middle of the week you had with Marc, and in the past six days you had been with him, he had at least fucked you four times. Of course, you had actually went out and did things together, but he also felt like he had to make up for the time he couldn't keep your bed warm for you while he was out doing his superhero bullshit. And tonight was one of those nights expect it was different. You both were supposed to be getting up around 7 to take showers and start taking a two hour drive to go see your family and have lunch with them.

Instead it was five in the morning and you had been binging star wars movies with him to remind him of his childhood, and now, were sitting in his lap with your back pressed against his chest as his lips and teeth explored the nape of your neck. You needed sleep and it was way too late, but you had a hard time resisting him. You could tell from the way he was gripping your thighs and growling, that he was planning on going rough. You didn't want too much energy from him, so you clenched your thighs, moved your neck away, and put your hand on his. he immediately relaxed and stopped moving.

" not tonight? " He asked quietly, and you could just sense the frown on his face.

" no, not that... I just... Go easier tonight? " You asked, rubbing his hand soothingly. He didn't respond for a second. He wasn't upset, he was just surprised. But you were surprised how energized he was, even this late at night. You supposed it was due to literally only being awake during the nighttime, but nonetheless, it was still pretty late and you weren't looking forward to a long bdsm session.

" yeah, sure--yeah--whatever you want, baby. " He said tiredly, laying down on his side and dragging you down with him. He pulled down his pants, and you undid your robe for him. So it looked like it was going to be one of those nights where everything you guys did was lazy. Couldn't even bother to take off your clothes, for fucks sake.

He put his hand on your thigh and raised it so it went over his leg. And then, he slowly, almost hesitantly as if he wasn't allowed to, entered you with his leaking erection. He snuck and arm over your head and grabbed your hand so you had support while he stopped moving and let you adjust yourself onto him. Once you were set, he pushed a little further, making you wince a bit, and began thrusting at a slow pace. He didn't want to start off too fast or crazy as to make sure he took his time with you and didn't hurt you. Normally he immediately went in crazy, but you appreciated how much control he was having over himself. You realized that was something he often struggled with, but you noticed how he was getting better about it.

His warm lips latched back onto your neck, and he soothingly ran his hands up and down your side as he worked himself at you leisurely. Tiny little grunts came out of you, groans out of him and you could tell that this was something he had been looking forward to all day. He was so gentle, so soft, so pleasant, and you didn't ever want to stop having him there with you.

It's was like ... paradise, when you were with him.

" Mm.. I love you, honey. " He breathed in your ear, wrapping an arm around your waist as he involuntarily became faster with his movements. Your breath hitched and your fingers tightened around his.

" I love you too, Moon Man. " You responded slightly jokingly, putting your hand on his forearm and hearing him chuckle lightly. But the light-heartedness of the conversation drifted away when his grip on you tightened and and he began pumping faster thrusts into you. Your lips parted and your eyes closed, tiny gasps and moans leaving their hidden place in your throat.

Marc inhaled your scent deeply and lightly bit the nape of your neck, kissing the spot he had bit immediately after as if he had hurt you and he was making up for it. He lowered his hand in between your thigh and brought his rough fingers to rub harsh circles around your slick clit. You could tell he worked hard because of the callouses on his fingers, which was almost a bit sad, considering he was severely overworked 24/7. You looked over your shoulder to look at him, and when he lifted his gaze to took back, his intense expression immediately softened. You welcomed him in for a kiss, and he gladly went in for it without hesitation.

His fingers circled to a part of you that immediately inflicted a jerk of your legs and a moan into his mouth. You ran the tips of your fingers all the way up to his bicep and slightly dug your fingers into his skin. His thrusts became more urgent, and so did the little circles he traced over your small bud of sensitivity. It was getting a bit hard to breathe, you you both pulled away and simply stared at each other for several minutes.

Marc changed directions on your clit, and when he did, he came into contact with a spot that sent a tiny trickle of your juices to run down his shaft. You bit your lip and threw your head back a bit. Marc couldn't help but just stare in awe at your pretty face scrunching up in pure bliss, and he almost grabbed hold of your wrists like he was about to pin you down and take complete control over you like he normally did, but he immediately stopped himself and swallowed hard.

" Baby, can you flip over so that you're facing me? Wanna see you. All of you. " He said, pulling out of you and patting your ass softly as you got off and turned to face him. He would not get his eyes off your legs as you adjusted yourself back onto him.

" there we go. So pretty. So fucking pretty. " He praised under his heavy breath, a beam of sweat rolling down his forehead as he immediately began thrashing into you, even if he said he'd go a little bit easy on you. He grabbed your hand again to give you support, but his other hand was too busy digging into the skin of your thighs as he angrily went at it. Your legs were shaking and your fingers trembling, a certain burning building up in the deepest parts of you and signaling you of your release.

" Marc im-- "

" I know, I can feel it. Just let me help with that. " He panted, pushing you down on your back so he could have more control with his movements. He promised himself he wasn't going to do it, but desire and need always got the best of him. You both stared helplessly at each other as he finished the both of you off with his harshest thrusts of the night. You slowly met your release, his coming a little bit after yours and making a further mess in your satine sheets.

" Thats.. that's my... That's my girl. " He choked, giving you a peck on the lips as he pulled out of you. You looked at him in shock, feeling a sense of nothing but relief. He lifted you up by your thighs and gave you one final kiss.

" let's go get you cleaned up, yeah? I love you, baby."

[bunniekittiee]

TCM headcanons pt.2:

TW: mentions of self harm

Johnny grew out his hair at one point as a teen, not as long as Chop Top’s but still long.

He cut it after a victim got the upper hand and practically scalped him.

So now he wears it shorter and slicks it back so it doesn’t get into his face

And also because he is fearful he will be nearly scalped again.

When they were younger, Nubbins somehow got lice and infected the household. So, Drayton shaved all of their heads.

It was horrifying for them.

But since Sissy knows her way of utilizing plants to create medicine, they don’t have to worry about shaving their heads if another lice outbreak were to happen.

Bubba enjoys it when Chop Top lets him comb his hair. It’s like a bonding experience.

When Nubbins feels under the weather, he likes to look at the pictures he took of his family when they are busy, having fun, or killing.

It makes him feel better knowing he has his family.

Johnny is a sick bastard and has taken Nubbins’ camera to take pictures of women he has fucked and killed. He keeps them in his room.

Mf pulls a Bo Sinclair.

Bubba has been the sorry soul that stumbled upon them and he freaked out.

Poor guy got scared and avoided Johnny for weeks.

When Bubba is sad, they do everything they can to cheer him up.

Either Chop Top or Johnny will take him to 7-11 to get him snacks, Nubbins will make him more bone jewelry, or Sissy will play dress up with Bubba.

It all makes him very happy.

He kind of is what brings the family together.

Johnny used to kill small animals when he was younger, but when he moved onto humans, he completely stopped cold turkey.

Never gets any urges to hurt animals, he would rather hurt people.

Wants a dog badly but Nancy insists that it is another mouth to feed and a nuisance.

So he has Daisy instead whose like an overgrown dog but in cow form.

Still really wants a dog though.

Drayton considered killing Daisy until Sissy told him how much Johnny enjoys her company.

So she was spared.

Chop Top jokes and says that they will turn her into ground beef when he’s gone out.

Johnny strangles him once more and Bubba has to separate them.

Sissy loves to put makeup on Johnny’s face when he’s asleep.

Wakes up looking like Tim Curry from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Tries to fight Sissy but she gets away with it.

She has painted his toes before, pink and white to be exact.

It took a lot of bribing.

Johnny would hate to admit it but he felt like a pretty girl.

He understood why Bubba was adamant about makeup, nail polish, and self care, it makes you feel good!

Johnny does keep a guitar and will play when he has the time.

Will shred to Pantera.

Drayton smacks him with the broom when he’s playing too loud.

Nancy thinks it’s the “devil’s music” but Johnny does not give one shit.

As much as he loves her, he does not care for her opinion when it comes to what he likes.

Chop Top likes to pull pranks on the family.

One time he messed with Bubba’s dye and Bubba ended up dying one of his masks’ hair pink.

Bubba rocked that shit, he did not care.

When the kids were growing up, Bubba and Sissy played with Barbies together.

Johnny liked to make the dolls have sex which caused Sissy to beat his ass.

Nubbins snitched and Johnny was in deep shit.

Nancy was pissed at her boy, but Drayton thought it was kind of funny.

Chop Top wanted a tattoo as a teen but could not get one, so he had Nubbins brand him with the livestock branding iron.

Definitely not a fun experience, he still has a scar.

In order to punish him more so he would not make the same mistake again, Drayton threw salt on his wound.

Chop Top thought he was going to die.

Nubbins has a lot of scars from cutting himself, not out of sadness though, just because he likes the blood and the pain.

He’s a bit sadistic.

Johnny used to carve x’s into his arms with his blade when he was first gifted it, but it was out of boredom.

The scars are light and not noticeable unless you squint.

When Sissy was staying with the Manson Family, she missed the Sawyers to death.

Cried here and there whenever she was alone because she knew she could never find another family like them.

But the experience was freeing. It gave her freedom.

Nancy and Chop Top have gotten into arguments about him giving Johnny records or tapes when he was a teenager.

Nancy argued that he was a bad influence on Johnny but Chop Top argued back that Johnny was going to grow up to be “the epitome of manly men” and was going to have a liking for metal/rock anyways.

Part 3 will be coming out soon! This is what I have so far 😼

[sanctus-ingenium]

answering asks vol 2.

'Smiths' can encompass enginesmiths (mercury), armoursmiths (mars), alchemists (saturn) and some others - generally a smith is someone who works with engines or metal in any capacity, whether by constructing them, managing their fuel, making armour, etc. all of them have a completely degendered role in the church. They are supposed to be wholly devoted to their craft & church, to the point of becoming almost unpeople, sexless.

-

I like pantera :) he's the main character beast sure (alongside leun) but he's got a lot of interesting history and has been through a lot.

To start out I do some basic sketches while looking at bestiary diagrams of the animal type. Then I draw the base proportions over a photo of the animal's skeleton. Once the joints are all in place and I could imagine it moving relatively freely, I pick a motif and design the armour shapes with that in mind (i.e leun's trefoils, taurus's waves). The motifs come from a bunch of sources - if I see them in medieval art around that animal, the beast's use purpose, the culture that built them and how it might differ in art styles to the 'basic' designs from the heart of the Mezian theocracy. Fun stuff like that.

As an exercise I have taken (human) characters from other settings and made holy beast versions of them, trying to imagine what animal it would be, what weapons, what armour designs, etc. Behold, Bowman:

It's a fun exercise! I recommend :>

-

Hi! Thank you for the suggestion! I actually did try to use OneNote for my thesis but I found that it ended up an extra step that got in the way. Instead I organised my reference papers manually (and wrote up all my bibliography by hand as well). I haven't heard of Notion so I might look into it :> as someone with adhd I find that the best way for me is to make it stupid easy, which is why discord works because I already use it for talking with friends and I like the mobile app.

-

SO true!! You can make whatever the hell you want forever and that sounds really cool, I'm glad I was able to help in some little way >:) (although, holy beasts are not robots.. i think the best description for them is just. exotic vehicles.)

-

lmao it's totally fine!! I love to talk

Sir Heaven had such a profoundly negative experience with Leun that he struggles with the concept of making anybody else do what he now considers to be his burden. He also feels that taking any new people inside Leun would endanger them.

The bishop of Salvius cathedral is the guy Heaven answers to, and his superior officer. The bishop has reported the matter to the pope and they're still working hard presenting new potential novices to Sir Heaven, but the thing is that Sir Heaven rejects them for seemingly valid reasons. He doesn't just say 'no I'm not taking apprentices', he says 'this one's reaction speed isn't good enough' or 'this one is too prideful'. But the longer he tries to keep this up, the more suspicion he heaps on his shoulders. If the time came, no, he would not be able to deny a direct order from the pope.

Ketjan was selected at random, one of a large group of other children who were not raised in the church. This is to ensure that there is no per-existing bias or knowledge of how holy beasts work. And he just happened to be the only one of the group who could master Leun's very demanding dialogue tattoo. The recruiting enginesmiths, who designed Leun's systems, were the ones to train him, but Ketjan was the one to write most of the procedures for operating Leun based on feedback from the dialogue.

-

Replies from THIS post:

@ospreyonthemoon @kicks-tiktaalik-back-into-water

Krokodilos had an amazing high-tech ventilation system that used active air pumps to keep it circulating. But exactly like the second reply says, it broke down frequently. And because of how it worked, the interior of croc had to be air-tight so that the pumps could work efficiently. And, of course, if it broke down, and it was air tight on the inside, it instantly became a more dangerous deathtrap than your average passively ventilated beast.

There were valves that could be opened in an emergency but these were only added after the first Incident. The pumps would break down from the fabric seals degrading, lose efficacy, and then the parts furthest from the pumps would suddenly not get enough air anymore because air couldn't be moved such a distance with faulty pumps. The reason his enginesmiths want him to be re-commissioned is because the only barrier was the material used for the seals, and they believe they can innovate some new materials or try something different and have it work. They were even thinking of trying natural rubber, which would have worked perfectly, but they never got approval for it.

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Sky Full of Stars - Chapter Fourteen.

Thank you as always to my little audience for your dedication to the story. ILY <3

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen

Tag list - In the comments

Words - 3,404

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

“She’s fucking what?” Jade blurted, Sunni beckoning over her shoulder, their security guys moving swiftly down the hallway. 

“I just checked her ticket and it’s legit, but I’m not comfortable with the idea of her remaining. Following you across a fucking ocean equates to stalking in my mind, and I’m not prepared to let her come near any of you. What happened with Dimebag, that still plays in my head all the fucking time. I know it’s different and everyone was searched before they even stepped foot in at the doors, and I might be acting over zealously, but I just can’t risk your safety. Besides that, she’s got a bloody audacity!” 

Indeed, the murder of the much beloved guitarist for Pantera by a deranged fan had stayed with everybody, the girls especially as Dime had been a treasured friend. After touring with his band for the best part of a year in their late teens, they’d bonded with him, Dime often referring to them as his little sisters. Jade had counted him as one of her closest friends, beyond heartbroken when he’d been fatally gunned down while performing live onstage in two thousand and four.  

“Okay, yep, you’re right,” Jade began, taking a deep breath as her pragmatism kicked in. “How do we proceed?” 

“Security will escort her from the building, and I’ll have the promotions company refund her. For publicity’s sake, it paints us and our team in the better light, ejecting her but still prepared to reimburse the two hundred quid she paid out.”  

And that was why Sunni was so damned good at his job; he covered all bases. Working as a roadie for much of his life, he knew the ins and outs of the tour machine. No cog moved without him powering it. He was brilliant.  

“You guys wait here.” He walked away back to the room, three security guys in tow, Jade shaking her head, her eyes darkening. 

“You good, Skip?” Jen asked, rubbing her arm affectionately. 

“I want to go and kick her teeth down her fucking throat for the sheer nerve of her, but other than that, great!” Cracking her knuckles, she looked truly thunderous for a few moments, taking a few breaths to bring herself back to a place of calm. “I won’t even give her the satisfaction of a reaction, though.” 

“You have too much dignity for that, baby,” Jess spoke kindly, wrapping her in a big hug. The sounds of shouting became audible then, Serena protesting being asked to leave, Sunni emphatically stating that she was not welcome and that she should have known she wouldn’t be, the girl herself appearing with a security guard holding each of her arms a second later as she fought against their grasp. 

“How do you think I got out here, Jade? Adrien paid for me to come here! He’s meeting up with me later while you’ll be busy getting ready for the show, you know! Ask him! Get him to tell you the truth! It’s me who he’s in love with now, not you!”  

Jade closed her eyes, her jaw tightening a fraction, shaking her head before she laughed. One other person there didn’t find it quite as funny, though. 

“Yo! Back your shit up, girl!” Katie yelled, her hostility rising sharply. “Don’t think I won’t come down there and fucking crack you, you lying bitch!” 

“Babe, woah,” Charlotte soothed, locking her arms around her waist, not trusting she wasn’t about to go flying in the direction of the woman being escorted out. “Don’t even engage, she’s fucking nuts. We all know that now.”  

Sunni appeared again, puffing his cheeks. “Alright, we’re good to go now, or do you need a minute, boss?” He then looked to Katie. “If you get yourself arrested again, I swear to god, I will never fucking forgive you.”  

His joke cut the tension, the six of them sharing laughter, Katie giving him a little salute before they headed into the meet and greet room. They made a point to apologise to the other fans waiting, everyone stating they had nothing to be sorry for, a few speaking up that they’d seen her picture in the press and wondered how the hell she’d actually gotten that far. 

While the meet and greet went ahead, Sunni took it upon himself to do a little further investigation, calling the promotions company and having the meet and greet sales lists checked to make sure she hadn’t purchased anything further at any point throughout the tour. He was shocked to find out she had. One in London, one in Berlin and another for Hamburg.  

“Void the tickets and refund her. She’s a security risk who I want nowhere near my band.” he spoke.  His next port of call was to head around to the rear of the arena, into the compound where the busses and lorries were all parked up, feeling Adrien should know sooner rather than later. 

“Dude, you’re fucking kidding me,” he spoke, staring in sheer disbelief. “The crazy bitch actually got on a plane? What?” 

“I know,” Sunni sighed, widening his eyes, opening the water bottle he’d grabbed from one of the huge chillers on the tour rider on his way out. “You guys might want to think about taking security with you if you’re heading out anywhere alone along the tour. I have to reason that this girl isn’t in her right mind. She caused a scene while our guys were removing her, came out with a load of nonsense.” 

“Is Jade okay?”  

“Pissed off, understandably so, but she didn’t dignify her ranting with a reaction. Well, she laughed.” He then snorted a chuckle. “Katie threatened to crack her one, though.” 

Of course, she had. “Should’ve let her,” he snorted, “but no, in seriousness, thanks for handling it. I’ll talk to Jade about the security thing, see what she thinks.”  

“I wouldn’t even chance anything, mate,” Sunni spoke, “she bought meet and greet packages for London, Berlin and Hamburg, so she won’t find out her tickets are void until she gets there and they’re shown as such when scanned. Either that or she notices the money going back into her account. Either way, I expect her to continue following the tour.”  

Adrien had to wonder just how much disposable cash this young woman had, to be able to shell out eight hundred pounds for meet and greets alone, let alone travel expenses. Later that night, while he, Jade and Jen sat up in the lounge area on the way to Birmingham for the next show, they found out. 

“She’s a fucking trust fund kid, look at this!” Jen spoke, spinning her laptop around. “Parents are like, super-wealthy upper east side types. Check it. Her dad is a finance tycoon.” 

Jade studied the page that offered information about Johnathan Reid, his wife Marilyn, and their four children, Serena, Kelly, Johnathan Jnr and Nate. “Probably too immersed in their own bullshit high society life to notice what their daughter is up to. But that in itself is strange, being that those families are all about their reputation.”  

“Unless they’re oblivious?” Adrien offered. “They might not even know about it.”  

“Yeah, well I think that they should,” Jen pointing to the screen on the laptop. “That’s the email address for his financial firm. If she continues stalking you, it might be worth reaching out, I dunno.” 

“The words restraining order come to mind first,” he spoke, Jen shaking her head, her forehead creasing. 

“You’re right, yeah. Of course, they would. Don’t mind me, I’m tired.” 

He reached for her, squeezing her shoulder. “You’re fine. I know you’re only trying to help.” She ambled off to bed shortly after, leaving her friends to discuss the issue in more detail.  

“I feel like security is a good idea, but only if she becomes threatening. Not that either of us couldn’t give her a smacking if she did actually try anything. I suppose that isn’t the point, though. If she’s deranged enough to honestly believe she’s having an affair with you, and show up on tour trying to convince me of this, then she’s deranged enough to be dangerous.” Dragging her fingers through her hair, she visibly stiffened, taking a deep breath she exhaled slowly. “We don’t need this hassle. Fucking batshit bitch. She has good taste if nothing else, though.”  

“Well, I didn’t wanna say anything,” he winked, Jade laughing softly as she rested her head against his shoulder, Adrien wrapping an arm around her. “Who knows? Maybe Sunni’s rapid actions in preventing her from entering any of the other venues might put her off and send her home.”  

They could only hope so.  

“Do you wanna go to bed and let me take your mind off it?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.  

Leaning in close, she ghosted his lips, moving to plant a kiss upon the side of his neck. “Sounds perfect, Bug.”  

As soon as they got into the bedroom, the way he looked down at her revealed that it was much more than mere distraction, softly resting his forehead to hers as he stroked her neck. He knew she would never, ever doubt his fidelity for a second, but the need to truly show her that drove his impulses, the desire to be with her, to connect with love and heat, to state it emphatically that he would never be anyone else’s.  

He belonged to one woman alone.  

The intensity of that message rushed over her skin in every touch as he undressed her, every kiss as she was laid to the bed, everywhere his hands and mouth slid in utter worship of her.  

Their bodies rose and fell against each other in the most perfect unison, arms locked around one another, hands moving to stroke while their mouths connected in the most heated, erotic, but loving kisses imaginable. Just the touch, the feel of him against her was solace incomparable. After a day where she’d burned with fury over the actions of someone so delusional, to have her husband right there was truly all she needed. 

His mouth began to inch lower, trailing her throat, tongue dragging slowly over the rise and fall of her collarbones as his hand slipped between her legs. She trembled at feeling his fingers brush over her clit, opening her like a flower as they pushed inside her thereafter. Her arousal bathed them immediately, Adrien biting her nipple in response, her soft moan making his cock throb. It made it even sexier, the fact that the thin divide between their sleeping space and Jen’s required them to keep their volume to a minimum. 

Curling his fingers, he began to stroke at her skilfully, his mouth moving over her skin hungrily as her body undulated against his, arousal soaring through her. He began to inch his mouth downwards slowly, the smell of her sex utterly intoxicating to him. Their longing was sated sweetly, divine pleasures coursing through them gently as they revelled in one another, her hands running through his hair, loving that he’d kept it longer for a while. Her husband was, after all, the king of the ‘grow it, get bored/land a movie that required it shorter, cut it all off’ routine. 

Her breath shuddered in her throat as she felt him begin to lay wet heat at her clit, pleasure blooming as her back arched, his hands grasping at her hips to hold her still. Moving his mouth, he began to kiss her thighs, lips travelling over her skin, wanting to kiss and taste every last inch of her. His fingers moved back to pleasuring her, circling her clit and dipping inside her velvety wetness.   

He explored every last inch of her pussy, fingertips swirling and stroking, mouth now running up her sides and making her shudder and squeak when his tongue tickled her ribcage.   

“Adrien… I… need… can we,” she panted a little incoherently between kisses after his mouth had worked its way back to hers. 

“This?” he questioned, after plunging every last inch of his cock with her. He got his answer by the noise she made, a soft gasp at suddenly being stretched so wide. “I love you so much,” he whispered, kissing her softly, “it’s always been you, and it’ll only ever be you.” 

Her fingers stroked his face as she stared up at him, eyes locked on his as she whispered declarations of love in return, her head then tipping back as he covered her breasts in kisses, licks and nibbles.   

The connection, the chemistry between them was beyond intense, every single cell within them alight with love and lust for one another. Panting quietly, their hands travelled all over one another, intense stares shared and even hotter kisses following. The heat of it skittered over her bones, melded deep within her, nails carving paths of pleasure into his back as he rutted her deeply.  

It was ardent, passionate, erotic bliss they tumbled into as their bodies rolled around on the bed together, the culmination being Jade on top of him, riding him hard.   

Their undoing came in all-consuming wave after wave of fervent tingles, those little sparks of pleasure erupting into the utter beatific release, both feeling lightheaded and warm, floating in elation in the aftermath. They kissed and stroked one another, Jade lying flat against his chest as she felt his cock twitching inside her.  

“You two aren’t nearly as quiet as you think you are, you know.” 

Jen’s voice through the divide had them both laughing softly. “Sorry,” Jade called, her giggles escalating. 

“Don’t be. I cracked one out listening to ya!” Typical Jen humour, her words sending them into absolute fits.  

As the tour moved through the UK, up to Scotland to play Glasgow and Aberdeen before finishing for two nights in London, the security stepped up around the band at Sunni’s behest was immense. They continued to find themselves with a tail, Serena arriving outside of every venue, trying to talk their own security into allowing her entrance after being rejected at the ones where she had VIP packages booked. Further scenes followed. More online nonsense abounded, Jade finding that she was also blogging it all to a Facebook page.  

“You shouldn’t pay it any mind, Burtie,” Adrien advised her as they sat backstage at the first of the London shows, watching as she scrolled and shook her head. “I don’t, when people are making something of nothing with you.” 

Indeed, the press had come down hard on her too in the past, accusing her of having something extra-marital with men who were solely her friends. Jade was very much a hand holder with the people she loved, and that was something Adrien knew well about her. Seeing photographs of her walking hand in hand with her good friend Anthony Bourdain while they’d been out in the West Village a while ago hadn’t bothered him at all, nor when she’d been photographed the previous summer holding hands with, and then being piggybacked around a festival in Germany by Randy Blythe, frontman for the band Lamb of God, another good friends of hers.  

If she loved you, she grabbed your hand. Funnily, nobody batted an eyelid when the friends were female. At the same festival, she’d greeted her friend Shirley Manson, frontwoman for the band Garbage with a big, lingering kiss on the lips, the moment captured by a photographer. Not one comment had come forth, but because Randy had carried her on his back after she’d twisted her knee, that meant she must’ve been fucking him.  

“I know, I know,” she cringed, “guess I’m torturing myself with it a little. Her bullshit irritates me, but it’s like a car crash I can’t look away from. Even though she’s being a monumental pain in following us, too, I feel worried for her. She isn’t well, and she doesn’t seem to have anyone keeping that in check.” 

He was proud of the woman she’d worked hard to become, no longer internalising things, actually getting her inner feelings off her chest. It was also testament to who Jade was as a person; she could have slapped the girl for spreading lies about him, but equally, her heart went out to her in the fact that she truly wasn’t well. “It isn’t your job to do that, though. You aren’t responsible for her.”  

He made a valid point.  

Rather than focus on the stalker issue, Jade instead turned to getting herself ready to walk out on stage at the biggest show of the tour so far, the O2 arena fully sold out, a crowd of twenty thousand people waiting for her. Of course, she’d played to bigger audiences before in her career, but it was special to her, the little girl from Tottenham coming back to play her home crowd. It was a big, big deal.  

With a large, black curtain that would fall at the beginning of the performance shielding the stage, she watched as her girls all took their places, turning to give Adrien a big kiss before she climbed the stage steps, waiting. The crowd cheered loudly as the lights dimmed, that noise reaching fever pitch as the sound of an air raid siren wailed through the venue, the deafening noise sampled on the intro to one of their most popular songs, The Battle Within.  

She could feel the nerves coiling in her belly, breathing deeply to centre herself. Sunni’s mention of her darling friend Dimebag the week before brought his words back to her in that moment, knowing that if he could be there, he’d likely speak them again. On that tour where she’d first met him, he’d often offer a little rough-cut wisdom to help with her anxiousness.  

“All those people out there, darlin’, one day that’ll be your kingdom. One day, you’re gonna be queen of it all, so go do what queens do. Fuckin’ rule, baby. Fuckin’ rule.” 

Looking up, she thumbed a tear from her eye, holding a clasped fist to her chest. “I will, mate.” And no rumour mills or stalkers could take that away from her, walking out onto the stage to the thunder of guitars, the bounding beat backed by Jen and Jess, the curtain falling to reveal a crowd in complete and utter frenzy. They blew the roof off the O2 that night, the show going down a storm, Serena the furthest thing from anyone’s mind as the girls took a bow at the end, even if physically, she wasn’t far away at all.  

“You have to let me around there,” she spoke, attempting to gain access to the large compound at the rear of the arena, the security guys shaking their heads. “My boyfriend is back there, for heaven’s sake!” 

“We’ve been made aware of ya, love. Give it a rest, eh?” One spoke, shaking his head. 

“D’ya mean Mrs. Brody’s husband? Nah, love. He ain’t your boyfriend, fucking nutty cow,” the other laughed. “Go on, hop it. Before I call the ole’ bill.”  

“How dare you speak to me like that, how dare you! Just you wait until I tell Adrien, he asked me to meet him here! Let me in!” 

“Darlin’, you’ve got ten seconds to get the fuck out of my face, clear?” Oh no. They had no time for her shenanigans. Serena made noises of agitation, storming away, pulling out her phone to call for a taxi so she could get herself back to the small B&B she was staying in, all ready to fly to Germany the following morning and continue her pursuit.  

After securing her ride, she began to scroll through her phone, through the hundreds of images of the man her damaged mind had made her believe she was in a relationship with. “I know you want to see me, but it’s her whose getting in our way. I know. I love you. I know you want me just as much as I want you.”  

The man himself would have severely disagreed, as he lifted his wife up to clutch on around him, telling her how proud he was before they fell into kisses. In the madness of the backstage area, time stood still for them, just as it always did. Whatever craziness whirled around them, when it was the two of them together, it always stood still.  

[nausicaamusiclover20]

The cat, the record, and a kiss❤

Your cat break your record and you go to your favorite store to buy another. But you find someone who remind you someone you know....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to my dearest cat, I had to buy a new record by Black Sabbath. I was so furious with her , but I forgave her because she's my baby. So, I went in my favourite record store. When I entered a bell up the door, report my entry. My little paradise. I could live here, maybe bringing my cat would be perfect. "Good morning!" "Good morning" The employee said, giving me a smile. Then I roll up my sleeves and begin my battle to find the record. I was so focused on my research that I didn't notice a boy standing next to me, rummaging through the records too.

Then our hands touched and I looked at him. "Sorry" I said going back a little. "It's okay" he said with a smile. My heart skipped a beat. My god he was so cute! But I think I saw him somewhere.I was in my world when I saw him picking up the record that I was finding. "Finally I found it" I heard him whispering and he moves away. I tried to search if there was another, but nothing. There weren't anymore. "Ahhhhh, I can't believe it!" I murmered to myself. Then I saw the guy from earlier coming closer to me. 

"Excuse me, were you looking for this too?" He asked and I nodded. "Yeah, but there aren't any more" I said with a little laugh, even though I wanted to cry. "Here, take mine" He offered but I shook my head. "No, don't worry. I will buy it when there are more. Thank you " I said. "I'm sure, then I'll give it to you gladly because we listen to the same kind of music." "Yeah, I love black Sabbath so much, but I listen to other band." "Interesting, what do you listen to?'" "You know, when I say that everyone looks at me with a strange look because they think it's strange that a woman listen to this band. So, I listen to slayer, Motörhead, Guns N' Roses, Pantera, Judas Priest, and Metall-" I said but I stopped.

That's why he looked like someone to me, it's Jason Newsted from Metallica!" I didn't know what to say. "Are you okay?" He asked me and I nodded. "Yeah, it's just that I recognized you" I said, rubbing the back of my neck. Then I saw him bursting in laughing. His laughter, god, is the cutest thing in this world.

 

"Sorry, It's just that no fan has ever had this reaction before. You know, they would have screamed, hugged and nothing else. Instead, you stood still and it made me die laughing" He said counting laughing. "Well, at least I stood out" I said and I laughed too. "Can I know your name?" "Oh yes, my name is Y/n" I said and we shook our hands. "Nice to meet you, Y/n. I give you this record. And you have to accept it" He said and gave it to me. "Thank you, Jason. But at least, can I offer you a coffee?" I offered and he nodded. "With pleasure" He said and I went to pay the record.

I was paying but I saw Jason paying for that. "Hey, why did you do that?" I asked and he laughed. "My god, you are really different from everyone" he said continuing laughing. "I don't know if it's an insult or a compliment. But I'll take it as a compliment" I said laughing. "Well, I have to offer you a big coffee then" I said and we walked to a cafè. "Order what you want. And If you only get a coffee, I'll get angry" "Is this a threat?" "Yes it is, now order whatever you want" "Okay, I got it" he said with a smile on his face.

Then I called a waiter to take our order. "Hello, what I can get you?" "For me an americano" I said. "For me" he looked into my eyes with a smile on his face. "for me a black coffee and a chocolate muffin, please" "Your orders will arrive soon" The waiter said and walks away from our table. "So, how's playing with Metallica?" "It's cool, then for me the music is everything, so I'm glad to play with them" he said and I nodded. Then our orders arrived and I started drinking my coffee. I saw him eating the muffin and a little chocolate was on his cheek. I tried not to laugh, but he noticed.

"What?" "No, nothing you have a little of chocolate on your cheek" I said and he took he napkin to clean his cheek. "Am I clean now?" "No, can I do it for you?" I asked and he nodded. I leaned closer to his cheek and we were close. I could feel his hot breath, and my heart started racing. "You know, you have such gorgeous eyes" he said and my cheek turned red. "T-thank you" I whispered and I sat down. We started talking so much that we didn't realize the bar was about to close. So we got up and I payed.

We went out and the cold air hit me. "It was a pleasure meeting you Jason, I had so much fun today" "The pleasure was mine, You made me have a lot of fun today. You know, I haven't had this much fun in a long time" "I'm glad to hear that, maybe we can meet again another time" "I'd like that" he said and leaned closer to me. To my surprise, he kissed my cheek. I became red. "You're cute when you become red" he laughed and I softly slapped him. "Hey, don't say that!" I wanted to sound mad, but I couldn't do it and I laugh too. "See you, Jason" "See you Y/n" I turned around and I started walking. But then I heard someone screaming my name.

I turned around and I saw Jason running towards me. "What happened?" "Sorry, If we want to contact each other, could I have your number?" "Yeah, of course" I laughed and I wrote on a little piece of paper my number. "Thank you, see ya!" He said and I turned back to walk home. I arrived home and I saw the house upside down. "SADIEEEEEEEE, first the record and then the house? I love you so much but you can't do this to me!" I yelled.

 Then I heard the phone rang. "Hello?" "Hey, do you recognize me?" "Ehmmmm, no?" I said but in reality I understood who he was. "Come on Y/n, it's me Jason" "Ahhh, Sorry Jason who?" I said but I couldn't contain my laugh. "Were you making fun of me? He asked and I heard laughing behind the phone. "Yeah a little" then I saw Sadie trying to make fall a vase. "Sadie, don't you dare to make it fal- but it was useless. "Sadie, tonight you won't sleep with me" I said and I heard laughing from the phone.

"Hey, who's Sadie?" "My cat, she broke the record of the black Sabbath and then my home" "Poor you" he said but continued laughing. "You like to laugh, right? Next time I'll make you laugh well ""Sorry, if you want I can help you ""Yeah, it could be fantastic. I will tell you my address and you can come ""Alright, I'm coming" he said and I hung up the phone.

After five minutes I hear the doorbell ring and I went to open it and saw Jason. "Long time no see" "Yeah you're right" I laughed. "So, I'll help you fix the house" he said and we started. We started tidying up but I didn't notice the carpet. "Careful! I almost fell but luckily Jason caught me. He hugs my waist tightly and I look at him deeply in his eyes. "Thank you, Jason" I said but he leaned closer to my face. "Do you mind if I kiss you?" "No, not really," I said with a smile and we kissed. His lips were salty and soft and I couldn't get enough of kissing him.

But then I heard Sadie meowing. We pulled apart and I saw her watching. "Here's who's behind it all" "but she's cute" "Eyes of angel, but she has a temper. But I have to thank her because she introduced me to you ""Thank you Sadie" Jason said and Sadie meowed. "I think she thanked us" "Yes, she did."

[thanamoriarty]

Let’s face it - the moment I showed him my favorite live performance of my favorite song and his response was sorta “meh. THIS is what all the fuzz was about?” I knew I should have left (actually, kicked him out, because we were at my house). But it’s ok that I didn’t. I thought “Ok, so we don’t always see eye to eye”. Except “seeing eye to eye” was the exception. It was never the rule. Unless I would compromise.

He always went out of his way to belittle me. To make me think I didn’t know enough about music - the one thing I’ve loved all my life. From “uh this band you like is just AWFUL”, “no way you’re choosing the playlist” to laughing at my face for calling an instrumental outro a solo and leaving me drunk alone without a phone in the middle of the night to go babysit his grown up drunk friend, or making me wait for hours at a random bar completely alone because he was drinking with his buddies (and then showing up to our date with said buddies), the red flags were so much that if I’d collected them, I could have built my own golf course. ⛳️

And I still didn’t leave, because at the end of the day, he always acted like he needed me. Or his bff (who used to be in love with him) would write me a “secret letter” and slip it inside my pocket, written “I think he really likes you. He’s just bad at showing it. Don’t give up on him”.

We both loved metal. I guess that and alcohol were the only things that we had in common. He was obsessed with Pantera, so of course I had to pretend to like Pantera, how am I a fan of metal if don’t like Pantera, right? I really tried liking Pantera.

I hate Pantera.

Maybe someday I’ll like Pantera. It is most likely than me ever liking him again.

Because today I have friends that don’t think I’m basic because I love Metallica and they’re “practically mainstream”, or because Arctic Monkeys is on my top 5 favorite bands. I don’t have to prove I’m a sexy metalhead because I touched myself for the first time in my life to Rammstein’s “Pu**y” music video. I don’t have to lie about not liking pop or pop punk.

I’ve learned I don’t have to be a fucking stereotype just because you were one. I don’t need to cut out parts of my personality to make myself “worthy” of you. If anything, I realize now I was too much for you. I’m chimerical, whimsical, creative, funny. I am a multitude of personalities inhabiting a single body. I feel like for the first time in my life, I know my worth. And it’s not in the backseat of your reckless drunk buddy’s car. It never was.

Gotta thank you for the guitar model recommendation when I started playing though. It was really on point.

Oh, that day you left me waiting for hours at a weird bar? I met a guy there. Told him I was with someone, and he waited with me until you arrived. There was a jukebox there and we bonded over The Doors. Up until very recently he was still after me. We went on one date, but I immediately realized he was just as emotionally unavailable as you (for different reasons) — he just happened to be a lot nicer. I’m really done with emotionally unavailable men. There were others after you two. I’m just tired. I don’t like playing games I know I’m gonna lose, not anymore.

You did leave a lot of boxers here. I hope you don’t mind I’ve used one of them to paint a wall. I guess underwear is disposable anyway.

Like I was to you, and you were to me.

Strangers to lovers, and strangers again.

(Here’s a song I love, and I love telling people that I love it. You would definitely HATE IT HAHA. But I think this sums up what I felt at the time:

“I don't wanna call it off,

But you don't wanna call it love.

You only wanna be the one that I call ‘baby’”

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Most-Listened of March 2024

[last month]

This was such an exciting month of releases--Purplekiss, Day6, BLEACHERS?? Chung Ha gave us a couple of songs, Nina Suárez came back out of nowhere, Lucy dropped a single, OLIVIA RODRIGO IS BACK?? I've been super excited for the J-Hope album, too, but I haven't been emotionally ready to check it out, yet, since I want to have the energy to really love it! Not to mention the Seori EP-- PLUS Bol4 and StayC both dropped some covers of huge 2019 k-pop hits.

And that isn't all. The highlights of my month were seeing Bruce Springsteen (only my favorite artist ever.) and Gregory Alan Isakov in concert(s)! So honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed by just how exciting music is right now. (It doesn't help that this month gave me my first album of the year candidate, too!!) This post will be my opportunity to go a little wild, then :)

1. Leopardos -- Ine Güemes

I should not enjoy this listening experience as much as I do. That whistling noise should annoy me by now, after all these listens, right? ... Right? Nope. I love it. This song is so soothing, it's literally the musical equivalent of a deep breath.

2. Appaloosa Bones -- Gregory Alan Isakov

Concert prep + THE sulking song this month. Look, I'm a guy who needs my daily floor time (floor time. perhaps you require it.), and it always involves considerable sulking. (At this rate, you're gonna see a sulking song on this list every single month. It's a tradition now!) I've been losing it about "Was I that gone? / Man, I hope not / Glad you found me when you did" and "The pages slow / in the room I called your name" and "They haven't made no pill / To get us across the winter time" ...

3. All Things End -- Hozier

You know what ended? My eight-week class. *sigh of relief* All things end, truly! Now I just need the reminder that this semester will end, too...

4. Death To My Hometown -- Bruce Springsteen

I'd never heard this one before, but I ASCENDED when I heard it live (the horns section was. fantastic.) and I left it on repeat all month post-concert.

5. The Ledge -- Fleetwood Mac

This song makes me proud of my music taste, honestly--see, I can like weird experimental stuff, too! It sounds wonderfully, comfortingly crowded--like the ambient noise from a nearby café, or like falling asleep with the TV on. I don't know, it's just a feeling I find myself really enjoying. I'm also SO deeply in love with the round-style singing (see: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" rounds in middle school choir) Fleetwood Mac sometimes does (see: my obsession with "Paper Doll"), and they do it in this song !!

6. I Don't Want to Know -- Fleetwood Mac

I like this one for the same reason I like "Second Hand News"--that cheerful self-deprecation just never fails to draw me in. ("Second Hand News" is still better, though!)

7. Smart -- Le Sserafim

Does anyone NOT like this song? I missed the Eve Psyche hype train last year, so this one's hitting me doubly hard. I think the sweeter tone of "Smart" suits Le Sserafim's vocals much better, and the production is just plain adorable! This has been my go-to song during classes, when I need something to cheer me up without making me too overwhelmed.

8. Luz -- Ine Güemes

That vocal processing is SUCH a standout--so soft and hazy and fluffy, just a fascinating texture when you really focus on it, but endlessly pleasant when you leave it on loop and zone out, too. (Look, I REALLY loved this album this month.)

9. Nota de Voz -- Los Hermanos Laser

Classic indie boy music! I like "Azul Plateado" from this album, too, and I have a feeling the whole album will hit for me during the summer--I tend to like that exhausted-sounding alt-rock stuff a whole lot around July & August :)

10. Light Sprite -- Baby Pantera, Isabella Lovestory

Thanks for the rec, @pocima !!

11. I Am Right On Time -- Bleachers

This is a weirdly muted album for Bleachers (especially on the heels of "Stop Making This Hurt" and "How Dare You Want More" from their last album), and this is the most weirdly muted of them all--I really feel like it should be... more, somehow? But it's still quite a cathartic listening experience, and I keep coming back to it!

12. Really Like You -- Gyubin

I've started giving myself 30 minutes of reading time in the mornings, to help me wake up and not be completely miserable about it, so I've been reading a whole bunch of webtoons. (Hell, maybe I'll read a book one day!) This one's the perfect cutesy webtoon soundtrack, and I think it might be here because I left it on repeat while reading Blooming Season?? (I just finished catching up with Jackson's Diary, and I think I'm gonna start Death of a Pop Star next!) Anyway, Gyubin sounds lovely here, can't wait for a comeback!

13. Self Respect -- Bleachers

The production on this song is just SO exciting overall!! But I'm mostly here for the saxophone. God, it's not even that much of the song but it's gorgeous !!!

14. Nieve Sin Fin -- Ine Güemes

Nice aesthetic piano :)

15. Rush -- Twice

I love how dizzying this song is--it's chaotic and overwhelming in the most wonderful way! I was a little disappointed by it when I first listened to the album, I think because their vocals here are much softer than usual. When I let myself get swept away in the production, though, I totally get the appeal.

Five-Star Songs (& Albums!) This Month

BBB -- Purplekiss (the tiktok-music trend finally got me last year--against my will, admittedly. unfortunately for me, "bbb" is a fantastic example of that easy-listening, viral-tiktok sound from a group i'm already obsessed with, so of course i'm a huge fan. great vocal performances and silky songwriting? yeah, it's great--the muted aesthetic doesn't bug me at all--and i actually kind of love the super-short horn sections in the chorus. they're surprisingly full-sounding!)

Beam Beam -- Jeon Soyeon (i didn't get this one at all when it first came out, but i've warmed up to it over the years--and this month it just HIT. it's the perfect showcase of soyeon's energy, and it's such a rush!!)

Death To My Hometown -- Bruce Springsteen (five stars bc it has the words "robber barons" in it!!)

Girl I've Always Been -- Olivia Rodrigo (i keep underestimating olivia rodrigo's power as a performer. of course she could make this country-sounding track work. of course she could make it my favorite from the album in an instant. who am i to question??)

Hey Joe -- Bleachers (a sing-along for the politically disillusioned. happy 2024, fellow usamericans. well, at least the harmonies here are delightful!)

Jesus is Dead -- Bleachers (i mentioned that this album is unusually muted for bleachers--not dull as in 'boring in terms of production or songwriting', but dull as in dead-eyed and zombie-like. the vocal delivery, especially, is unusually bland and flat. "jesus is dead" is definitely the best use of this half-asleep, grayscale aesthetic on the album--a song as hopeless and monotone as its delivery. it's strange and stylish and messy, too, AND there's also a sax solo ?? and it works great ?? i admire it so so so much--i'm very surprised this didn't make the most-listened list, i've been looping it a whole bunch.)

The Ledge -- Fleetwood Mac

Self Respect -- Bleachers (re: saxophone.)

White Rabbit -- Jefferson Airplane (i don't think it's much of a hot take at all to say this one is fantastic. i heard it for the first time in february, and i've been completely obsessed since!!)

Heráldica -- Saramalacara (okay, i've had like. a week. with this album, but it was love at first listen--and "humo" already had my heart, anyway. the atmospherics are breathtaking, the production crisp and intense, and saramalacara's voice // the vocal production here fits SO well!! there's a song called ".tumblr" that's definitely worth checking out, though i enjoy every song on here !! except "_cuervos". i admire that one but god it disturbs me i never want to hear it again.)

Qué Nos Mantiene Despiertos -- Ine Güemes (first album of the year candidate of 2024 !!! not much of a surprise, i'm sure, given my top 15. more breathtaking atmospherics, but in the exact opposite direction of heráldica! this album is full of really unique textures, but all that chaos doesn't make it any less soothing. each song is distinct, but they all come together into this sweet, fluffy youtube-lofi-mix type of experience--and look, i'm a college student. could i ask for anything more in an album?)

[kingdomforapony]

"I'm sometimes asked what my favorite memory of Elvis is, and usually I answer by describing one of the times where Elvis and I were alone, talking through a night and into the morning. [...]

But the more I thought about this question, it's really the fun memories that keep springing up. Being at the Fairgrounds and getting hit by Elvis' dodgem car, or being with the guys at the Rainbow, barely under control as we skated around the roller rink. Walking into Fred Segal's with an Elvis Presley credit card to pick out clothes for him to check out. Driving his car through the Graceland gates--even if it was just to go to the car wash. Being anywhere with Elvis, seeing people's head turn and knowing that everyone around would love to be in the position I was in. No other way to say it--it was just so damn cool and so much damn fun. Elvis loved being Elvis Presley, and I loved Elvis being Elvis Presley, too.

I remember one time at Graceland, when Elvis was excited about his newest sports car--a bright yellow 1972 De Tomaso Pantera. He asked me to go for a ride with him, and off we headed. We got on the long, straight, flat backroads to Mississippi, and Elvis just started driving faster and faster. He kept shooting looks over at me, and as he saw my eyes getting wider and wider he started laughing. We got up to about 130mph, and suddenly I was sure that we were just one bump in the road away from being the next big celebrity car crash. But it was an interesting moment: Physically, I was locked up in in a complete, reflexive fear response. But somewhere in the back of my mind there was no fear at all. In fact, I was thinking that if you had to go, you couldn't have a much better exit than in a speeding Pantera driven by a laughing Elvis Presley. A friend who can talk to you about the mysteries of life, and then just about scare the life out of you driving 130 miles an hour.

I miss it all."

Jerry Schilling

[lowsodiumscifi]

Call of Duty headcanons - 141's favorite metal bands/metal genres

This headcanon was personal for me, so I didn't rush this one.

This is pure fluff!

Includes Phillip Graves

Comment what headcanons you guys wanna see, because I'm running out of ideas fast lol. It can be anything, any pairing, any headcanon, any character. You ask, I'll do it.

Enjoy my self indulging headcanons about heavy metal.

John "Soap" MacTavish - Hair/thrash metal

If you ever asked Soap what his favorite kind of rock music was, he would say "party rock by lmfao" He's an airhead, be patient with him lol

In all seriousness, hair/thrash metal is more his style.

If you couldn't tell by the way Soap takes care of his mohawk, homeboy loves the crazy hairstyles. Goes feral over it.

Soap wears tight jeans that extenuate his thighs all the time on missions, so he loves to just dress in the tightest of pants and pretend to be in an 80s music video.

Leather, animal print, spandex, even studded or spiky chaps. You name it, Soap will do it.

Will definitely put on some sensual 80s metal song during sex. Kingdom comes's "what Love Can Be" Sounds about right.

Soap once brought the 141 to a Pantera concert, and ended up brawling some punks in the moshpit for bullying Gaz.

They ended up getting kicked out by security and Ghost ended up dragging his sorry ass through the parking lot.

Price was definitely a disappointed dad that night. Mostly disappointed at himself for letting his children get too rowdy on his watch... and joining in on the brawl.

Simon "Ghost" Riley - Melodic/doom metal

When the cold weather begins to come around later in the year, and bands like Katatonia, Opeth and Swallow the Sun put out more music, Ghost is always there.

Ghost is from Britain, so he appreciates any music that comes from Europe.

There are two types of moshpits when it comes to melodic/doom metal - The ones with viking chanting and feral animal noises - and the ones with the tear jerkers, the ones that go just to feel things.

Ghost once took a trip to Sweden with Soap for work, catching a Katatonia concert while there.

By the time the fith or sixth song starts playing, Soap is baffled and emotionally drained by how heavy Katatonia's riffs and lyrics are.

Standing in a sea of swaying, rowdy and possibly drunk crowd of thousands of Swedes, Ghost takes the opportunity to hold Soap's hand.

In Ghost's defense, it's an outdoor event, and it's so cold outside, hell could've froze over. Soap knows the real reason, though.

By the end of the night, everyone is headbanging and swaying.

They both plan to go again next year.

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick - Alt/nu/rap metal

Gaz is that "I listen to everything" kind of friend.

Is definitely open to new groups, genres and sounds.

Leans more into the early 2000s rock/metal a little more.

Gaz is more "cultured" like the younger generation is, and loves the memes that came with the generation too.

Some of the rookies will catch Gaz singing along to a Rammstein song, and fail... miserably. His German sucks.

Soap and Gaz got so drunk one night that both men started belting "bring me to life" by Evanescence every time Ghost would walk into a room, and laughed so hard they almost threw up.

Some 90s rap metal is cheesy, but Gaz tolerates it. Since he mostly grew up with hip hop, Gaz feels obligated to like some rap metal.

Loves any kind of metal song with movie references or influences.

Gaz doesn't go to a lot of concerts, no matter how much of an extrovert he is. It's just not his thing, especially when it comes to heavy metal.

HUGE fan of Linkin Park.

Gaz definitely cried after Chester Bennington's death. Has a whole Playlist dedicated to the singer. 💙

John Price - Alt/classic/grunge metal

Price is a man who loves the classics.

Just because something is "classic", doesn't necessarily mean it's "old".

Yes, Price is older than all of them (probably), and grew up with a lot of 70s and 80s music, but surprisingly, Price loves bands who are with the modern times.

The cure, Deftones, Bush, Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM. You name it.

Tried to get into punk metal once, definitely wasn't for him.

Like Gaz, he's the "I listen to everything" friend.

Price goes into bars once in a while while off duty, with the boys and Laswell and will hear a Soundgarden song playing. He likes it. A lot.

Cigars, whiskey, company of friends and some metal is what makes his nights better. It lifts his spirits tremendously.

Definitely doesn't go to concerts anymore. Will flat out say no if you asked, end of conversation.

Why go to concerts when you can watch them at home on YouTube? Lol

Will cook breakfast to the sound of Alice in Chains playing in the background.

Phillip Graves - Metalcore/post-hardcore

Like the all American he is, Graves likes to fucking party. The best kind of parties? Metalcore concerts.

Graves' journey through his metal listening experience started tame enough. It soon turned into being fascinated with groups like Lorna Shore, the Dillinger Escape Plan and Atreyu.

Tried to once attempt a fry scream. Ended up blowing his vocal cords out.

He'll put Lorna Shore full blast on his headphones and let Will Ramos' voice numb his brain until his head is buzzing and his ears are ringing.

Likes to test people's ability to point out vocals. "Is this an animal? Or a human being making this sound?" LOL

Will throw shit with every breakdown in a song.

Comes up behind someone and will yell a "BLEGH!" just to scare the shit out of you. Lol

[tyforthevnm]

My Chemical Romance | punknews.org

Contributed by katie4213  Posted by Scott Heisel April 13, 2003

"My Chemical Romance has hopped on the Taking Back Sunday tour, and when they stopped in Seattle, I had a chance to speak to these guys. Let me say, I don't think I have met a group of more funny guys in a long time. They were all hilarious, extremely kind, and open to all the questions I asked, often elaborating into some pretty funny and outrageous stories." Click READ MORE for the full interview, in all it's crashing-into-parked-cars glory. 

 How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard MCR before?

Gerard: I would describe it as rock n roll played by a bunch of guys that listen to Iron Maiden, Black Flag, The Misfits, Classical music, Fantasy Metal, and Brit-pop. Mikey: It’s rock n roll played by a munch of man boys. We’re hard core R&B.

Who are your influences?

Gerard: Iron Maiden, Misfits, Black Flag, Classical music, Brit-pop, At The Gates, The Descendants, umm, fuck who else, Pantera, …

Do you have a favorite city or venue to play at? Why?

All : Chicago, the Metro in Chicago. It’s the shit. Boston and Jersey too. Gerard: We’ve played at the fireside two times, and I think if we had played there more that would be out favorite venue, but we have only had like two really brief experiences there.

How do you set your music apart from all the other emo/hardcore bands out in the industry today?

Gerard: Well what’s different about us is that we are not really an emo band, we get booked on a lot of the same tours and shows with what people are calling emo bands. Everyone will obviously say that emo is a really loaded term, it is pretty much just what people are calling music that kids are playing now a days. Um it’s punk, it’s rock, it’s hardcore, and we are not really part of that whole emo thing, but we are booked with a lot of bands that are emo, so it’s really interesting for us. What makes us different is that we kinda have an attitude about it, like a rock band, like a rock and roll band and uh, we kinda bring something like that to the table.

Do you see MCR ever moving to a major label in the future, or sticking to the smaller Indy labels?

Gerard: Major Labels are something that . . . well it depends. When you start a band you want to get you message out to as many people as possible. And major labels are a way to do that, and um, we see a lot of bands using that method like Thursday and stuff like that and it never, well shouldn’t change the band. I know it hasn’t changed Thursday, I can speak for them for sure. But sometimes it does change people, but, it doesn’t really change the band. A major label is just a way for them to get better distribution, you know, they get to make records they really want to make. Even a band like Radiohead can spend millions of dollars on a record, now you know? But we defiantly see ourselves always, well we will always consider ourselves and Eyeball band no matter what. We will always consider ourselves Indy, we come from that, no matter what happens in the future we are always going to be involved with the Indy labels, doing splits, doing seven inches, whatever.

What would be the lineup for your ideal tour?

Ray: Wait! We decided this a couple of days ago. It would be us, Recover and The Iron Maidens- an all female Iron Maiden cover band. And they are ugly. In the background – “No they’re not dude! Not all of them” Ray: Yea, well one of them is. And it will be incredible.

When you are on the road what do you listen to/what do you do to pass time?

Matt: We got Nintendo to pass time. Ray: We got the Zelda game that this kid’s been playing all the time. We have an X-Box buried somewhere in here too. Gerard: We’re like game Nerds. I got the new Cradle of Filth too, so that is what I have been listening to now. Everybody always picks up cd’s. All: The Exit. We have been listening to them a lot. And The Ghost.

Have you had any really horrible experiences or really great experiences on the road so far that have impacted the band?

Matt: Mikey got into a fight and broke his foot. Ray: Ha-ha, he got into a fight with a wall. The wall was mouthing off to him. Mikey: I got to hobble around with a cane for a while. Matt: Ray ripped the fender off the van. Ray: That was pretty funny though, it gives it attitude, don’t you think? Gerard: My dad keeps asking about the fender too. He goes, “Did you guys put the fender on yet.” And I was like, well we have it. Ray: It was also a crazy time when I ripped my head apart. Gerard: Yeah he got a really bad gash in his head in Columbus. And his face was like a mask of blood. We were terrified. Ray: And then this girl sent a picture to me. She sent this email because we put on our website that we wanted a picture of us playing live. And she sent this email saying “oh, we say you guys in Columbus, um, Gerard is so cute. I wonder if you guys remember me, I hugged Gerard after the show.” And the picture that she attached was called Gerard, and it was me and Gerard standing nest to each other, You can hardly see his face, but my face was completely covered in blood.

After you finish a set, and you leave the stage, what message or impact do you want to leave on your audience?

Ray: “I just got fucked” Gerard: Well the main theme is the whole anti-suicide thing. You know we really want to get that across to people that there is always someone to talk to even us, especially us if you are at a show and you are feeling upset. I mean I have had tons of people come up and talk to me about it and that’s the best. When we can talk about that, rather than my hair or some shit like that. Well, that is one main message, and the other message is like just fuckin’ be who you want to be, be yourself, and live out everything you absolutely want to live, cause were up there, and we are like five, probably most self conscious dudes in the world, and we get up there and we try to act like in Queen, you know what I mean. It’s not very characteristic for people who have self esteem issues, you know. And we have gotten over that and so many other problems involving our mental health with this band. This band is our therapy, and we try to get that across to people.

What were your inspirations during the beginning guitar in “Headfirst for Halos?”

ALL: Van Halen, Queen. Ray: Queen was a big one. Background: (there were certain other influences too. . . ha-ha) Ray: Ohhh well that influence was for the rest of the music in this song. We were fuckin’ zoinked out of our heads when we wrote that song. It seems like it is really against what everything sounds like on the record. It’s really major. Gerard: We wrote it literally on the spot. I mean that song wrote itself. In like 10 minutes, lyrics, everything. We were just joking’ around and I was like this is the catchiest, popiest, stupidest shit I have ever heard, and I was like how can I make lyrics make it not. And then I figured a way to do that. At first we were like no, this in not a My Chemical Romance song, but we just kept fighting it until it was.

What is with all the vampire/hospital allusions?

Gerard: Um, the vampire stuff is actually only in one song. The hospital stuff is in a lot of them. The hospital theme is like; I mean with me personally I am in and out of freakin’ hospitals, constantly and emergency rooms epically, for God knows what. So many different things, and all of us are in the hospital or sick, or so many things, and the hospital is just a good metaphor for a lot of stuff. It’s kinda a safe place but yet scare place so I kinda put it in the songs as a metaphor so people always have something to go to. Like in Vampires I say “take me to the doctor” obviously another hospital type reference. But I don’t know, it is just like the last safe place. And the vampire this was only once, but, we get a bad rep for it. Mikey: And we’re not even talking about vampires. Gerard: I think a lot of that came from how we were in the beginning. A little gothic, ya know. Now I got that leather jacket and it is all cool.

What Jersey bands are you into right now? Any we should look out for?

Matt: Up and coming you should look out for Senses Fail. We’re going out with them soon. Gerard: The only problem with us answering this question is that we haven’t been in Jersey since October so. . . Matt: Well every band that we like from Jersey is already huge. Mikey: Yeah ha-ha, check out this band called Thursday, they are pretty good. Matt: Yeah check out Midtown and Saves the Day. Ray: I miss “Little Buddy” dude . . . (someone in back) Little buddy?? Ray: “Little Buddy” you know, from Senses Fail, the singer. He’s a good kid.

Do you feel you have ever done your fans a disservice by not performing to you full potential because you were intoxicated? (I told the band that this was a question submitted on line before I read it to them)

Ray: Hahahaha. Wait did someone actually ask that?? All: Wow . . . . I wonder what show was at. Gerard: I think maybe he’s asking because he fuckin’ plays live and gets wasted. Ray: Wait can I read the question? Gerard: You what the weird thing is. I think people think we are intoxicated, I think that the thing. A lot of people think we are wasted up there and we are not at all. An I think that people have this impression that I am loaded off my ass on booze, and most of the time I am completely sober. (Background: ha-ha completely sober?) No, seriously most of the time I have had at most one or two beers. Matt: I think the biggest drinker would be Mikey. You know you can never tell if he is drunk or not. Ha-ha. Ray: Wait, real quick though, I will say that I have felt that I haven’t played as good because I have had like one or two beers and it slows me down. Gerard: Yea, in the beginning we defiantly had a couple of shows, I mean in the very beginning, because we played a lot bar shows. Matt: That was also because some people were really scared to get in front of a crowd. So they may have needed to get fuckin’ loaded to do it.

At this moment the door van opened and Ross and Dan from Recover stopped by to say hi. They also asked My Chemical Romance to back their van up a little. So Ray jumped into the front seat to move the van, and as he backed up, Ross didn’t do too good of a job directing him, and we backed the trailer into a car parked behind us. The laughing took a while to calm down. And the band decided that this incident belonged under my question of memorable experiences on the road. Ray: Well we just backed into a random car with our trailer. Ha-ha.

How much technical guitar lesions have you had, you music seems very sophisticated and impressive?

Gerard: Well, it’s just that we are very sophisticated gentlemen, and out music is very sophisticated. No no, we just listen to a lot of metal, and Ray is a fucking genius on guitar. That’s it. That is what you are hearing. Ray: Ha ha genius? Do you want to hear about my years of technical guitar lessons? I had no life in high school. No fucking friends, nothing. After I got out of class I would just sit at home and play guitar all fucking day. And play street fighter too. Oh, and I also took typing lessons. Typing lessons help with your fingers. Gerard: Well we basically have four punk rock dudes, backed up by a really great guitarist, and it sounds really technical.

Can you give your feelings on your album “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love”

Gerard: We love it, um, I think the experience itself in making the recorded and getting to hang out with Jeff and Alex and John and Tucker, it was just a great experience for us all and we’re always going to look at that record as being special. We only did it in like nine days ten days something like that. But it was such a great experience and we love everything about the record, we love every song and we love the way the cover looks. Ray: it was defiantly an incredible experience. It was the first time I think any of us had gone in to record fucking for real, and it sounded so fucking good. We were blown away. We were like whoa, that’s us. It was awesome.

What expectations do you have for MCR in the future?

Ray: To be the biggest fuckin’ rock n roll band in the world. Gerard: To open up for iron maiden- direct support. We actually almost did in Germany, but we can’t go over there now, so it stinks. But to directly support Iron Maiden that is my personal goal. And to just be a rock band. And to reach as many people as possible. And not so much to leave a legacy, because that kinda stuff is bullshit, but to make a difference, you know what I mean, and then people will remember that as opposed to like “ah they were the biggest rock band ever” which is cool too.

As far as new records or videos go is there anything coming up?

Ray: Well we hired a group of writers to write the second album, because we didn’t feel like doing it, ha-ha, so they are the guys who worked on the last “NSYC record. Gerard: The same guys that worked on the Good Charlotte record. Ha-ha that was for you Frank because I know you want to talk shit. Ray: Yeah the new shit is going to be a lot more commercial and radio friendly, all over TRL. We are trying to keep all the songs under two minutes and twelve seconds, song titles really short. It is going to be amazing. I can’t wait to hear what it sounds like. Matt: I can’t wait to learn it. We have to learn to play that stuff live you know. Ray: Honestly, we’re writing all the time. Well actually that’s a lie, we haven’t written in a couple days. But we are always experimenting with shit. We just need some time off, but at the same time we don’t want time off because we just want to fucking tour forever. Gerard: It’s really hard to find the medium in that you know. Ray: I am fucking psyched about recording the new shit because it is going to be sick. All: It will be out when it’s ready.

At this time, we had finished with the interview, but the guys wanted to show me what some of their fans in Chicago had made for them. Gerard pulled out this huge scrap book that covered every show they had played in Chicago with full picture detail. It was extremely impressive, and the guys were so honored, proud, and appreciative to have fans make it for them. I was extremely impressed as well. There was a lot of work put into this scrapbook, and I could tell that My Chemical Romance loved it and is going to treasure it forever.

All: It’s the best thing we have ever gotten. It is amazing. It’s incredible. This is every show we have ever played in Chicago. Pictures of us playing at all the shows. This is taken by Teresa, Amanda, Lil Motherfucker, Sarah, Ashley. It took them two months to make. It goes from playing the Fireside to Metro. And in the back it gets even better because they all wrote us notes each. It’s amazing. The best thing we will probably ever get and we love it. It’s saying what the bands means to them, and how they found out about us and all their experiences at our shows in Chicago. We love it. When you see something like this, it’s just . . . . I don’t know. That’s Chicago for you. We are very lucky. We have the best fans.

Although these guys are lucky to have fans like that, the totally deserve it. They are all extremely friendly, funny, and humble, and deserve all the success in the world. They are a great group of guys, and if you get the chance you should support them when they come to your town.

[daidonzo]

Chapter 22 - My lucky day [Chishiya x Reader]

"I wonder how long this will last." A guy with bangs covering half his face said. You were all back in the central guardroom, most of you in complete silence except for a few people trying to make small talk.

"Either the Jack will start killing people or someone who's afraid they'll be killed will start killing others." His mate had said. He had made your skin crawl ever since he entered, and you had a strong suspicion that he was the Jack of Hearts. But that would be too easy. "Until one of those two things happens, this will never end."

"That's exactly right." Chishiya said, observing the pair.

Ippei smiled, confidently. "As long as we're all telling each other, we'll be fine!"

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"I am sure!" You intervened, matching your new friend's cheerful tone. "I think it will be alright, don't worry." You patted his back, and he looked at you, thankful. You gave Chishiya a dirty look, saw he was chuckling, and were about to say something else (that probably would have given away that you two actually knew each other) when you heard someone screaming.

"Hurry up and tell me, you idiot!" A dangerous-looking man had pushed a young boy wearing a striped shirt to the floor, and was screaming at him, demanding to know his suit.

The young, creepy guy that was your number one option for the Jack of Hearts stood up, and helped him stand up. Maybe he was not such a bad guy after all, and it was not his fault his demeanor was so… Suspicious. Until you noticed something. From where you were standing, it seemed, for a second, that his lips were moving.

He could still be saying something like "Hey! Don't worry, it will pass." but somehow you didn't think so. You looked at Chishiya discreetly, and he nodded in a way that could almost not be perceived. He had seen it too, then.

"Do you want to die, then?" The man, who would have fit perfectly with the militants at The Beach, lifted his fist, coming back to hit the poor guy some more. "Tell me NOW!"

"Club!" The young man said, eyes closed, pained expression. He was already waiting for the punch to land.

"Tell me sooner next time."

What was on the back of his collar was not a club, but a diamond.

Ippei opened his mouth to say something, but you grabbed his arm and moved your head from side to side. "Don't get involved."

The game was starting, this time for real.

"Why don't we grab something to snack on?" You suggested, trying to smile.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "ROUND 2 is over. It is time to make your guess."

"See you soon!" You said to Ippei. The poor guy had been pretty shaken after what happened at the guardroom.

But, in all honesty, you couldn't help everybody. And if you could only assist a limited number of people, a person who beat the shit out of others just because would likely not make the cut.

He could also be the Jack of Hearts, but you didn't deem it likely.

"The white knight of the games." A voice whispered behind you, Chishiya's hand suddenly on your hip. He moved your hair away from your neck, pretending to check your suit again, as if you had forgotten it.

"What? It's not like we can't help him. We actually can."

"What if he was the Jack of Hearts?" Chishiya asked, so close it was starting to make you nervous. You could feel the warmth of his breath on your ear.

"He is not." You declared, fully convinced.

The blonde man chuckled. "Diamond. See you in a bit."

You got into your cell, legs almost shaking and croaked your suit.

You heard a loud explosion, and for a second thought your brains had been blown out. But you were still alive.

It was from someone else.

You were not surprised to see that, on the main room's screen, the picture of the threatening bully was now gone.

He had died, just as you knew he would.

"He's probably the Jack." Urumi said, hands behind her, an adorable smile on her face, looking to the guy who was beaten. He was sitting on the floor, arms around his legs. He almost look as if he was cradling himself, like a baby. "He lied, and killed the guy. Let's kill him on this round."

"What?" Ippei was the first one to react. You honestly, were quite shocked as well. Either he was a fantastic actor, or there was no way he could be the Jack. You felt Chishiya's finger caress the side of your hand, just for one second. You looked at him, meeting his eyes.

"You cannot save them all." He seemed to be saying.

"Should we grab some snacks, again?" You asked, a feeble smile on your face.

Chishiya got closer to you when you were choosing what cookies you wanted to play with until the next round was over. Because your stomach was closed and honestly, the last thing you were thinking about was eating.

"Do you want any recommendations?" The blonde man asked, since you had been staring at the same part of the shelf for the last five minutes, or so. "These are the best." He pointed to a particular brand.

"Are they? I like those other ones." You drew his attention to some chocolate cookies whose package had Pikachu and Eevee on the cover. "My roommate and I buy them… bought them, all the time." You corrected yourself.

"Did you buy them just because you like Pokémon?"

"You know I did."

"I wouldn't know. I know nothing about you." He smiled. It's true, you had forgotten for a second you were playing your little game.

"Ah, yes. Sorry. Time passes differently here…" You pressed your lips together, holding a laugh in. "I feel as if we were already pretty close. Crazy, right?"

"We could become closer." He moved, so that the distance between the both of you got reduced to nearly nothing. The way he looked at you was so intense.

You found it hard to think, his smell numbing your senses. How did he smell so good? You thought in a post-apocalyptic world everyone would smell fetid. Chishiya didn't.

"I'd want that." You heard yourself say.

"Guess today is my lucky day, then."

You couldn't stand his charm anymore. You picked the Pokémon cookies and took a step back, murmuring something. You didn't even know what you said, but you reached the table where your group was all red and flustered.

You saw Chishiya's shoulders lifting up and down. He was laughing. Mean.

"Come on!" Urumi said to the young man in the striped shirt. "It's your turn!"

He stood up, waiting.

"Spade!"

"Yes, spade…"

"Spade? Oh, spade…"

What was on the back of his collar was a heart.

You could have said something. You should have said something. But one look at Chishiya's eyes, now serious, told you that you shouldn't.

And so, the next time you all went to say your suits, another explosion was heard.

The boy with the striped shirt didn't come out of his cell.

He was dead.

[sanctus-ingenium]

I'm curious - all the mechs are animals. Is it because of a particular symbolism and associated character with the types of animal? (Like bulls being strong, and the Romans seeing griffins as the kings of beasts because they're part lion and part eagle). Or is it just an educated guess based on the skeletons they find? Also, are there any humanoid ones or is that too blasphemous?

i can't really answer this one from an in-universe perspective given The Lore. so i'm just going to give the actual truthful answer instead, which is that i as the author think mech animals are cool as shit and wanted ones which were well represented in medieval bestiary art. pantera is a panther because in bestiaries and early zoology the panther was a christ allegory whose only enemy was the dragon etc etc like i was for sure making deliberate choices for what animals they were. except for crocodile. crocodile is there because i saw that one adorable illustration and had to incorporate it.. like cmon this guy is cute

(from this post)

so my choices were made for the sake of the narrative. i wanted there to be some easter eggs in there. from an in-universe perspective.. u figure it out