#this is like the whole “sold out” thing in punk

[i-eat-mass-blog]

emo elitists who say emo-pop/third wave emo is valid while calling MCR "pop punk with an emo aesthetic" are crazyyyy

Like, tell me what's the difference between Deja Entendu by Brand New and Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge by My Chem besides the fact that MCR in general is more mainstream (ignoring how Emo-Pop in general is pretty mainstream compared to the other styles/waves of emo)

[moe-broey]

Going to the mall as I am now (kinda punky/extremely autistic) is kinda funny like. That's a nice shirt. However, it's not one of my thousand beloved black graphic t shirts and it is such a texture and kind of a weird shape to it and honestly I don't really wanna buy any sort of fast fashion type shit or brand shit. Don't care. Oh they have patches. Kinda cute but straight up I can just make those. In fact, I would prefer to. Don't care. Also I'm not buying that.

[earlycuntsets]

"DEATH COMES RIPPING" - SPOOKY ISSUE

'THE BLACK PARADE, THE TRIUMPHANT NEW ALBUM BY MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE MAY HAVE A TRAGIC STORYLINE, BUT IT'S NOTHING COMPARED WITH WHAT THE BANDMATES ENDURED TO BRING THE DISC TO LIGHT

PHOTOS BY JON WIEDERHORN PHOTOS BY JUSTIN BORUCKI

STANDING ON A BALCONY nine floors above the teeming streets of New York, Gerard Way overlooks the city in which My Chemical Romance began assembling their ambitious new album, The Black Parade. The newly peroxide- blond frontman takes a deep drag from a cigarette and exhales with a sigh. He knows he shouldn't smoke, but it's his only remaining vice.

"If I hadn't been sober, I think The Black Parade surely would have killed me," says Gerard, who climbed on the wagon in 2004. "We were going insane the whole time, and I had to cling to my sobriety to stay even a little lucid. The album became like this beast that was consuming us."

Following up a release as successful as 2004's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, which sold 1.4 million copies in the U.S. alone, is never an easy task. And the various scares the band experienced as they worked on the new record-drummer Bob Bryar had a near-fatal staph infection, Gerard seriously injured his foot, and some restless spirits at the studio where they recorded kept them all on edge-did not help matters. And neither

did MCR's decision to make The Black Parade (Reprise) a concept disc. Together, Gerard and his bandmates-Bryar, guitarists Frank lero and Ray Toro, and bassist Mikey Way (Gerard's younger brother)-decided to craft a record about a dying young man who is visited by a cast of strange characters that help him examine his short life.

But diving into the conceptual deep end proved well worth the hassle. The Black Parade is not only MCR's most realized offering; it's also one of the most eclectic, enjoyable rock records of the year. One listen to tracks

like "House of Wolves," "The Sharpest Lives," and "Dead!" makes it clear that My Chemical Romance can still rip a good metallic punk tune. But the bandmates are now equally influenced by epic albums like Pink Floyd's The Wall, David Bowie's The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, and Queen's A Night at the Opera.

"A lot of bands from the scene we came from try to strip down their music to 'keep it real," Gerard notes. "But the real you is what you've always had inside you and what you strive to be. So when we started compiling the material we had written, we were like, You know what? This has to be a huge, theatrical record."

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE started working on ideas for The Black Parade in the back of the bus while on 2005's Warped Tour, after which they flew to New York and rented a rehearsal space for two months. And that's when things started to get weird.

"I was living in Queens, and I had to commute on the subway every day," Gerard says. "I was suddenly very scared and paranoid. I felt more like an outsider than I ever had, and I had no confidence, which is bad when you're trying to work on a record. And I had no anonymity because there were a lot of teenagers on the train." In reaction to the young fans he encountered on the underground,

Gerard wrote "Teenagers," a T. Rex-style romp with the chorus line, "Teenagers scare the living shit out of me." "The song came directly from commuting when school let out and being so terrified of them," the singer says. "I was like, Wait a minute. These are the same people that listen to our band. Why am I scared? And I realized it was because they're scared, too. Teenagers are made to feel like they can only solve their problems with violence. They lash out at each other in a really volatile way." After several months experiencing the joys of mass transit, MCR had completed only a handful of songs and felt like a change of scenery (and climate) might do them some good. "I couldn't keep working in New York," says Gerard. "We wanted isolation."

id: Gerard leads the way to what will likely be the band's second platinum record

So the group relocated to Paramour Mansion, outside of L.A. Nestled high in the hills, the deluxe estate overlooks the trendy Silver Lake area and boasts spacious rooms, a gorgeous pool, lush gardens, a state-of-the-art recording facility-and a few special guests.

"The place is definitely haunted," Gerard says. "Doors would slam, and the faucets would turn on. You'd get a bath drawn for you of freezing-cold water in your room, and you wouldn't know why." As unnerving as its mischievous spirits could be, the Paramour was also inspiring, and contributed to the haunting vibe of songs like "The End" and "This Is How I Disappear." More important, it led Gerard to come up with the bleak, surreal concept for the record. "I would have these night terrors, where it would feel like someone was choking me, and my heart would stop and I would stop breathing," he says. "I would wake up in the middle of the night and write these notes to myself, and one of them read, 'We are all just a black parade.' So I started thinking about how this band is kind of a black parade, like a funeral-procession rock thing. And I used that idea to piece together this story about the idea that when you die, death comes for you however you want." Gerard molded his concept into a narrative about a character he dubbed the Patient, whose strongest memory from childhood is of his father taking him to the city to see a parade. Two songs into the album, he dies, and the black parade comes for him.

"During the rest of the story, he meets this entity of death and all these characters, like Mama, who represents anyone who's ever lost their son in a war," Gerard explains. "It's almost like these Canterbury Tales, where he goes along on this journey, and at the end he decides whether he wants to live or die." With the concept in place, My Chem made the songs as sweeping and theatrical as Gerard's lyrics. They accomplished this, in part, by combing through their own eclectic record collections and pulling choice elements that would set them even further apart from other melodic punk bands.

The first two minutes of "Welcome to the Black Parade" stemmed from Gerard's love for Broadway musicals, the horns in "Dead!" came from Mikey's interest in Blur and Britpop, and the jaunty feel of "Mama" was informed by Tom Waits and Nick Cave. But the most poignant moment on the record, "Cancer," was (unlike its morbid moniker) something of a pleasant surprise. "I was very upset about something in my personal life, and that's when that song came out," Gerard says. "It was really spontaneous, and it was recorded pretty much live with Rob [Cavallo, the record's producer] on the piano and me in the vocal booth. Then we added layers of drums, which gave it a certain urgency. It's the song I'm most proud of because it was the most pure emotion we've ever captured, and it gets such an immediate response. You can't shake what the song is about."

As the CD approached completion, some members of the band began to show signs of nervous exhaustion. The group was scheduled to fly to England to play the Reading Festival, and as the date grew near, Toro, who has a fear of flying, got noticeably agitated. Then, after the band tracked "Welcome to the Black Parade," which was originally called "The Five of Us Are Dying," the guitarist lost it.

"I thought I had this premonition," Toro explains. "I was flipping through the TV channels, and on the news. there would be something about a plane crash, and every time I woke up in the morning, the clock would say 9:11. I was playing Tomb Raider the night before the flight, and on the level I ended up at, there was this whole flashback to a plane crash. So right before the flight I was like, 'That's it. I'm not flying."

Despite his misgivings, Toro boarded the plane, and when My Chemical Romance returned to L.A. (all of them still very much alive, thank you very much), The Black Parade was completed without further incident. Listening back to the record, the band members were in awe of what they had achieved and eager to share it with their fans. "There was a real confidence that came to us," Gerard explains. "Having survived it, we felt like we were changed forever. I feel different as a performer now, and I think we really finally discovered who we were as a band." But just because MCR were done with the record didn't mean that it was done with them. About a month later, the band was shooting a video for "Famous Last Words" with director Samuel Bayer (Garbage, Smashing Pumpkins) on a set featuring walls of flame, when-seized by the moment-lero grabbed Gerard's throat from behind and wrestled him to the ground. The singer rolled one way; his foot went the other. "It bent completely backwards, and I heard a crack and felt this agonizing pain," Gerard recalls. "I tore all the ligaments in my foot, but I got up and continued to perform." "I didn't know what I was doing," says lero, shaking his head. "I wasn't trying to hurt him. I felt awful. I still do." Gerard's injury was serious, and he still walks with a cane, but it paled in comparison to what happened to Bryar. At the end of the shoot, the pyro was so intense, the drummer could feel his leg burning, but he stuck it out for the rest of the song. By then, he had a nasty third-degree burn. And the misfortune didn't stop there. Bryar didn't take his antibiotics regularly, and he failed to keep the wound clean. By the time the band got back from a brief tour of Japan, the burn was severely infected. Then Bryar's face swelled up and, after doing the MTV Video Music Awards preshow telecast and a special club show, stumbled into a hospital emergency room in intense pain. "I thought I'd be there for 10 minutes, but as soon as they saw me, they got all serious and gave me an IV and said they had to do a CAT scan," recalls Bryar."They did all these blood tests and kept me there for 14 hours." Doctors discovered that Bryar's leg infection had spread to his blood and caused an abscess in his face that was creeping dangerously close to his brain. If it had been left untreated for another two days, he could have died. "The whole thing was such a nightmare," Bryar says. "This doctor stuck my cheek with a needle about six inches long and the width of an IV tube. Then he went in and out of the inside of my mouth with the needle about 10 times. Fortunately, the treatment worked, and Bryar left the hospital three days later. With tragedy averted, My Chem are now focusing on touring for The Black Parade. They'll be in Europe for most of November, and when they get back at the end of year, they'll start rehearsing for a U.S. arena tour that starts in February. "We want to put on a full show with props and staging like The Wall," Gerard says. And MCR plan to keep the Patient alive long after they're done touring for the CD. "I would love to see the story turned into a play or a musical, and it could easily be a movie," enthuses Gerard. "Making this record, we cut ourselves open every day, pulled out every organ, and lay them on a table so it would be something we're completely happy with. We want The Black Parade to exist for a long time." "The whole hole thing nightmare. This doctor stuck my cheek with a needle about six inches long and the width of an IV tube." -BOB BRYAR

"I felt more like an outsider than I ever had, and I had no confidence, which is bad when you're trying work on a record."

-GERARD WAY

12/2006 revolver - mcrhollywood on flickr

[wilted3sunflowers]

Pink Pearl: SOLD

Always thought of as a simple minded pearl who honestly to many outsiders never thought she was that great at being a quiet and follow you from behind type. Yet never seemed to be reprimanded much from Zebra Agate whom she was entrusted to. Currently she's thriving in this new Era 3 and on earth in Empire City. She was the one among this group to actually start the whole animal pattern print...kind of. Though technically it could be argued the pattern started with Zebra Agate but Pink Pearl conciously chose leopard print from seeing them on models in store window advertismenet and could not be more interested. On Homeworld theres very little patterns, only really lattice work or stripes of any kind or diamond checkerboard. No one really thought out- no one thought to look to organic beasts for fashion. Humans are so fascinating. Maybe thats what that Rose Quartz truly saw in them. How creative and vibrant they are. Comes with a past form too on toyhouse

Design Notes on Grey and Pink Pearl: Inspired first by Pink pearl's interest in 'animal pattern' which Grey is a pearl who excelled at being 'a pearl' sure she was never the most emotive, sing song-y type of pearl for entertainment yet what Zebra Agate needed was a pearl more of a secretary of keeping things on schedule and taking calls and what not. I also decided for this story a conscious effort that Pearls don't wear patterns. They're not of importance they are here to be simple, more softer colors typically and just to show they're a pearl. not some combination of gem type wearing another gems pattern. Also decided the same of course for Pink pearl for them being simple, run of the mill pearls even if Grey has a bit more to her past design it was only for the more authoritative feel that a pearl might have being under an *Agate* that terrifies Design notes on Pink lace: Due to corruption she is a lot more faded- not just from corruption but because her gem was more like that of the sand gem. Embedded in an object and only ever facing the sun. bleaching her gem of colors with too much exposure. She's a lot more polished in her currently look- i had a design ready for her just out of corruption look but then that would leave Zebra agate without a past form and decided to let the two non pearls without past forms. She of course used to be much more vibrant.

Design Notes on Zebra Agate: purposefully the inverse of typical zebra pattern on her clothes. with white stripes on black you can see that her hair itself is a regular part of black stripes on white like a typical zebra. also her design on her bodysuit is specifically to mimic a ribcage with zebra stripes

Zebra Agate: [Sold] "An Agate Terrifies" That's what Agates do. That's who Agates are. Subjugate those out of line and whip them into shape. They're here to make everyone stay in their proper places and follow rules. However I took her to completely go into the other direction of dealing with rules. The Punk movement appealing to her- if this is Era 3 and there is no need for her job role. Why should she keep trying to force a terrifying agate lifestyle? She may not be the kindest or most sweet Zebra Agate is however sentimental and more thoughtful than many- even pink lace considered her much more cold and rigid to expectations of what used to be common of gem society. While shes not an anarchist she has been delving into punk fashion but also the subculture to help her adjust to her new world and its views. She had always needed to follow rules blind and enforce them but due to the new order change. How else was she to find something that even acknlowedges no structure is perfect and many are flawed- even so her diamonds were flawed. Nothings perfect and nothing is without work to adjust.

Grey Pearl: SOLD A muted personality. What do you do when you used to know everything you were supposed to do? Living not in just a new era but an entire new world where you're allowed a lot more freedom that you never actually craved before. She's known Pink Pearl for thousands upon thousands of years and while there are some feelings of envy she would consider Pink Pearl to be her only friend. It's a complex mix of emotions like anyone would have especially towards Zebra Agate and the peculiar softness she seems to have for Pink Pearl that she has with no one else. Whilst never treated harshless it always was more of a cold wall from Zebra Agate that Grey Pearl felt. That this was strictly business relationship. Agate never even asked her to sing or dance- two components that make a pearl a pearl in many's eyes. Yet she's asked Pink Pearl to sing for her, and never stopped her from dancing without being asked. Grey Pearl may not have much of a relationship with Faded Pink Lace however she almost projects a sense of kinship of feelings left behind with her. In fact it was after Pink Lace Agate came back with those curated corruption spots that she decided to have some own markings herself. Humans have tattoos and while she can't get a traditional tattoo from humans she herself worked to get those marks on herself. She was the last one in the group to reform to this new Human lifestyle. Comes with a past form too on toyhouse

(Faded) Pink Lace: SOLD During the gem war she of course fought for homeworld and even was was part of the last charge. Of course, while she is more of the carefree type even she could see the dangers. Zebra was part of the task to pull out more of the aristocrats and Pink Lace part of the ground troops. Anything could happen so just as a precaution she sent her pearl away to Zebra Agate. Honestly, she expected that terrifying Agate to reset Pink Pearl for herself. It was a peculiar feeling for Pink Lace recognizing her pearl- even if it took only a moment before her Pearl recognized her. All so unevenly spotted and with sharp spiked growths coming out of her. She was a mess...Just how Zebra Agate used to scold her about. Her pearl still so lively and a bit oblivious to others feelings but even now so creative- such unique spots on her dress...theyre not even diamond shaped. Pink Lace at least knows to go with the flow of things but a good deal perceptive.

[thefallennightmare]

Miracle-eight

(gif created by me, the fallen nightmare. feel free to use, simply give credit)

Pairings: Noah Sebastian x Reader

Warnings/Tropes: forced proximity, slight enemies to lovers, slow burn, smut, angst, fluff, mentions of death, and swearing.

Summary: Reader is the merch girl for Bad Omens. It wasn't what she wanted to do with her life but when her mother got sick with Alzheimer's, reader took a job where she could to help with the costs. She thought it would be a one-time gig but the longer she was on the road with them, the harder she fell for Noah Sebastian; even if he wanted nothing to do with her. She needed a miracle to save her mom and her future.

Author Note: things are about to get REAL intense so buckle up!

Tags: @ada-clarence @nonamessblog @thescarlettvvitch @malice-ov-mercy @crimson-calligraphyx @theoneandonlykymberlee @yumikitten @blackveilomens @cherrymedicine13 @thebadchic @notmaddihealy @jay02bo @beaker1636 @jakekiszkasguitarpick @punk-pr1ncessxoxo @er3nslovergirl @iamdesolate @lma1986 @jessitpwk @themodern-daywednesday @writethrough @bngurngheart @dreams-that-are-anwsered

Holy shit, I give Bryan so much damn credit. He does this almost every single night and I've only been hopping around back and forth in front of the stage to get random clips or videos of the guys set for one night. At first, I was nervous to tell Bryan about my promotion because I felt as if I was stepping in his territory with taking pictures but he was ecstatic. Even offered to show me how to work the camera that I'd bought for my other content. I remembered how red in the face I'd gotten when he asked if I'd always been interested in photography when he saw the type of camera I had. Obviously I didn't tell him the real reason I had to buy it.

"It was a gift from an aunt," I lied.

My eyes glanced away from my camera over to Noah as he finished the last line of Like a Villian and snapped a few photos of him from different angles. I wasn't great at editing pictures, something else Bryan offered to help me with, but I still could tell what was considered a good shot.

I stood in front of the barricade and the crowd behind me screamed for the guys, absolutely thrilled that they could see them live even when the festival was canceled. It was the last-minute show that I pulled together and the small venue we were in was packed full of fans.

After our early dinner, before the show and after Noah fingered me under the table, we played oblivious to what happened. I hated we didn't talk about it because all I thought about while I was getting ready for the show tonight was if Noah and I were dating or if we simply were messing around. Even though I didn't want a relationship right now because of everything going on with my mom, I also didn't want us to be a casual hook up whenever one of us were horny.

I knew I needed to talk to Noah about this; it wasn't good to keep everything bottled up because it would only fizzle over before exploding. But the part of my heart that has genuine feelings for him was afraid of getting hurt if I found out he only had sexual feelings for me.

"How are we feeling tonight, Cleveland?" Noah asked the crowd.

Their screams echoed loudly around me as I took a few pictures of Nick before walking over toward Jolly to get a few pictures of him. I made a mental note to get back on stage to get a video of Folio drumming when Noah's voice stopped me in my tracks right to the side of him. I was on the floor but still only a few feet away from him.

"Before we play our next song, I want to give a shout out to someone special. She was the one who set up the pop up event earlier today and put this whole show together," Noah waved a hand around, showcasing the sold-out crowd.

The crowd cheered again as I gulped, not knowing where he was going with this.

A smile graced his face as he pulled the microphone closer to his lips. "She's someone that's been with us for two tours now and she's become a great friend to us."

I narrowed my eyes at him as ours locked.

"What are you doing?" I mouthed.

Noah ignored me, only giving me a smile and a small wave, even under the dark stage lights his eyes burned bright.

"You might recognize her as our merch girl but recently she became our social media ambassador so whenever you guys send us weird D.M's, just know she's the one reading them."

The crowd laughed at that, and I couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"But in all seriousness, she deserves this. Lets give Y/N a huge scream of thanks for putting all of this together."

Now the screams were deafening, and I tried not to sink into myself as people in the first few rows noticed me standing there. I gave a tiny wave to the crowd before snapping back over to Noah.

"Fuck you," I yelled up at him, no hint of malice behind it.

Noah winked. "You know if I'm being honest. I didn't think she could pull it off, so we made a bet. If she was able to, she'd get to design my next tattoo."

Some people in the crowd hooted and hollered at that.

"So if you see me with a tattoo of her name or some shit like that; that's why."

Before I could crawl into myself even more for having the spotlight on me, they started up into the next song, and letting my camera hang from my neck; I walked up the back of the stage up to the platform where Folio's drums were and watched in awe as he let himself go, being the beat that everyone followed. It was a true experience being able to watch him. I took out my phone to record a video of him to post on the Bad Omens Instagram story and when he finally noticed I was there; he winked after I took a few pictures of him with my camera, I walked down the stairs of the platform thinking of what I could get for the final shot of the night. I had a lot of close-up shots of Nick, Folio, and Jolly but none of Noah.

Biting my lip, I snuck up being him not to get in his way of performing, and as he sang the last few lines of Just Pretend, the lights in the venue went dark. The only source of light was from the flashlights of the fan's phones and seeing how ethereal Noah looked, I snuck up beside him to take two quick pictures.

He peered at me with a sideway glance as the corner of his lip lifted in a sly smile and once I was satisfied with all the pictures I took tonight I walked off the stage to the back. Noah, however, hooked a finger in the belt loop of my jeans and yanked me back towards him.

"Would you say I'm worthy?" he sang the last line, the lights fading around us.

I couldn't see anything in front or around me but I could feel Noah's presence behind me. His warm breath fanned across the back of my neck as mouth pressed gentle kisses there.

"Angel," he mused. "Do you know how beautiful you look tonight?"

His hands gripped my hips, and I shivered with his touch as he led us to the side of the stage where the rest of the guys were waiting. They would hang out for two minutes before going back on for their two song encore; Concrete Jungle and Dethrone.

I was turned in his embrace and saw the huge grin spread over Noah's soft features. Sweat glistened his body all over and his hair clung to his forehead.

Fuck, he looked so good.

My fingers raised to brush the hair back, but I stopped myself. Noah noticed, and he gave me a confused look.

"Everything alright?"

As much as I wanted to talk to him about us, I didn't want to do it before he was about to go back on stage.

"Yeah, you just took me by surprise is all with what you said."

"It's true," he shrugged. "Before when you were at the merch table, I could barley see you but now that you're so close to me, I couldn't stop watching you all night."

A blush painted over my skin and I cast my gaze downward, not wanting Noah to see how much his words affected me; although, I had a feeling he already knew. This was becoming more of a problem than I liked. I was allowing him to inject himself in my bloodstream, infect me with his presence and it would hurt me in the end. Whether it was because I ended things or he realizes that the problems with my mom were too much to deal with. I need to focus on my mom and now this huge step in my career, I couldn't let myself get blinded or involved with someone I worked with.

Too late for that.

The crowd was cheering for one more song and I knew they would run back out on stage in less than ten seconds.

"Angel," his finger brushed along my jaw. "What's wrong?"

My lips parted, but no words came out, unsure what to say. This wasn't the time and Jolly could tell as he watched us so he adjusted his guitar before slapping Noah on his shoulder.

"We have to go."

I nodded behind Noah. "I'm fine."

His eyes searched mine, fingers still gripping my chin. "You're sure?"

"Yep," I lied while patting his chest. "Go fight God; I'll see you guys back on the bus."

With a chuckle, Noah's fingers slipped away from me and I watched the four of them run back out on stage for the encore part of their song. I could stay and watch but there was no need to hang back anymore. They gave me the choice if some nights I wanted to help the crew take everything down I could or I could head back to the bus early to rest or do whatever I wanted.

I know I should hang back to help tear everything down but right now, all I wanted was a bit of solace on the quiet bus away from everyone.

"Oh, god not that one," I muttered to myself as I browsed through the pictures of my phone.

I should look at the ones I took tonight, but I was looking at more risqué pictures. Tonight, Lana's second payment was due and as usual, I was short. Even with being promoted, I wouldn't get paid until the tour was over. So, the only thing I could do was ask Lana if she was fine getting the payment a few days later than normal and thank fuck she was.

Take your time, dear. We're all good over here.

Even though I was alone on the bus, I couldn't risk recoding something in case someone walked on so instead I took a handful of different pictures. These, though, were way more revealing than I usually take. One was in the bathroom on the bus; I was bare from the waist down with my pussy in full view but kept my Bad Omens t-shirt on, rolling it up from the bottom until it stopped over the middle of my breasts. You could see half of them, but the nipples were covered. My phone blocked my face, which was something I still wouldn't forget, and I took a few different angles.

The next set of pictures were of me laying in my bunk, now wearing a black thong but now the shirt was off, and I had my hand resting over one breast while the other was bare for the camera.

As I was still deciding, Folio came bounding up the stairs of the bus, his energy radiating off of him. When he saw me scrolling through my phone, he sat down and took my phone from my grasp.

"Are those the pictures from tonight?"

"Folio, no!" I bellowed while reaching for my phone.

I fell onto his lap, my chest pressing against his hips and he stiffened when he realized what he was staring at; the picture of me in the bathroom mirror.

"Woah," was all he said.

I groaned in embarrassment as rolled over in his lap now looking up at him and snatched my phone back.

"Please forget you saw those."

Folio stared ahead as he blinked a few times, almost processing what he saw before his gaze fell on me. Something twitched beneath me and when I realized what it was, I sat up with a start staring down at his dick, which was semi hard.

Oh God.

"This is so embarrassing," I covered my face with my hands.

Folio let out a low chuckle before slowly removing my hands.

"Who were you sending those to?" He wondered.

I quickly shook my head. "No one."

A small noise sounded from the back of his throat as he adjusted himself on the couch, still clearly affected by seeing my half nudes.

"If it makes you feel better, I like the one in our shirt the best," Folio grinned.

I smacked his chest. "You can't tell anyone about this, please. I already feel weird about taking them and now that you saw them, it's going to make things weird between us."

"You're the only one that thinks that, Y/N. And if you feel weird about taking them, then why did you? From what I saw, you have nothing to worry about."

My eyes narrowed at Folio in a playful glare; it was very clear that he indeed liked what he saw.

"If I wasn't mortified by you seeing my nudes, I'd take that as a compliment."

His brow raised in amusement. "Were they for Noah?"

"Hell no. He can never know about these or even see these, understood?" I pointed a finger to him.

"I won't tell him but I can't promise that I'll forget what I saw," Folio winked before get up from the couch and headed back to his bunk.

I was still burning up when Nick, Jolly, and Noah came onto the bus and when the latter's eyes fell on me, he reached for my hand.

"What?" I stared at it.

Noah lifted me from the couch and dragged me to the back area of the bus so we could have some privacy. He was still wearing his stage clothes, and I marveled at the tattoos that peaked through his blank tank top. Once alone, he let the door shut behind us as he fell to the larger couch in the room; me falling into his lap.

"What are you doing?" I asked while trying to sit next to him instead.

Noah's fingers dug into my hips to lock me in place. "I think we need to talk."

With a sigh, I nodded. He was right and as much as I didn't want too, this had to be done. Still in his lap, I positioned myself so I could look directly in his brown eyes.

"This," I pointed between us. "What is this?"

I could see with the look that flashed over his face that Noah was trying to figure out the best words to describe us.

"I'm not sure what to call it but I like what we have going. I don't want it to stop," he admitted.

"What changed, though? Last week it seemed like being around me was like pulling teeth," I said.

Noah sighed and wrapped his arms around me to pull me into his chest. "I tried to stay away from you because I thought it was a bad idea to get involved with someone on the crew and with what happened in Chicago, I took it as an opportunity. But the harder I tried to forget about you like that, the deeper you sunk your claws into me."

My heart shuddered in my chest.

"Can we maybe take things slow? Maybe see where this goes. I can't have a relationship right now. There are some things going on in my life that needs my attention, especially once I'm home," I explained.

I didn't miss the hurt look that shined in his eyes but Noah nodded. "I can wait, angel."

He was not making this easy.

This time, I extracted myself from his grasp and stood on my feet, giving us some distance.

"I can't ask you to do that," I said.

"You're not. Whatever you've got going on, I want to be here for you," Noah assured.

Tears brimmed in my eyes as I let out a long shaky breath. "It's a lot and I don't want to push you away again. If I'm being honest, I've wanted this from you for so long and now knowing you feel the same, I'm afraid."

He was on his feet fast to press me against the wall with his hips. Noah's large hands pinned mine above my head then he buried his face deep into the skin of where my shoulder met my neck. I let out a mix of a whine and moan when his rutted his hips into mine.

"Angel, I'm not going anywhere."

I gave a half nod, understanding, but I couldn't really focus with the way his cock pressed against my lower abdomen.

"This," I panted. "Isn't slow."

Noah hummed as he left a small mark on the skin behind my ear and I nearly melted into him.

"You're going to kill me," he breathed before pulling away from me, my hands falling to my sides. "But we can take things at your pace. If you want to hang out and watch a movie or something, I'm here. Or if you need help with other things, I'm here."

I linked my fingers with his and brought them to my lips to kiss the tattoos on the back of his hand.

"Thank you, Noah."

With a fond smile, he led me out of the room to the front of the bus where he motioned for me to sit at the table.

"Want some tea?" He asked.

I smiled. "Please."

I then sat at the table across from Jolly and Folio. Still embarrassed by him seeing my nudes, I refused to meet Folio's amused gaze and kept my own on my phone. I was turned away from everyone so no one could see me as I uploaded a few pictures to my Only Fan's page. I needed these pictures up as soon as possible to start making money.

"So are you excited to go back home for a few days?" Jolly asked.

"Oh shit. I almost forgot!" I beamed.

Bad Omens had a two-night show in Los Angeles, where we headed next. Then after those two nights, we would head up to Washington. With everything that had been going on lately, I forgot to mention to Lana that I could stay home those nights with my mom.

"We can book you a hotel for you if you want," Folio said.

"Or you could stay with someone," Noah piped up from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Slow, remember?"

He bent low to leave a kiss on my forehead and my eyes fluttered shut. "I'm only kidding."

"My mom's excited to see me so if it's alright, I'll stay at my place," I said.

Noah's lips twitched before he nodded. "Sure."

Seeing that the pictures uploaded to my site, I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and talked some more with Jolly, not realizing that Noah's phone went off with a notification or the way he adjusted himself in his pants when he looked at the screen.

[proqhetic]

can u do like a bodyguard nat x popstar fem reader? maybe readers on tour. like huge sold out eras tour level. and nat's in charge of her security. maybe reader gets mildly irritated bc nat's walkie interrupts her all the time?

bodyguard!nat x popstar!fem reader

nat initially applies for the job because the pay is really good!! and the responsibilities are manageable

howeverrr, she forgot to account for the fact that now she has to wait on you hand and foot, which shes obviously not very happy about. . .

upon first meeting, nat despises you. refers to you as ‘spoiled’ and ‘princess’ behind your back or under her breath allll the time knowing it pisses you off.

she loves music — “real” music — and the “bubblegum synth pop bullshit” you sing (in her words) doesn’t count >:(

and yes, she knows she’s being petty and isn’t really giving you a chance, but at this point she really couldnt care less. doing everything a so-called diva would ask of her sounds pretty fucking nightmarish

having to hear her voice in your ear at all times is reaaally starting to get on your nerves. you find that just hearing her voice from the walkie talkies makes you want to scream! and rip your hair out!! (i wonder why…)

but as the tour goes on, you two inevitably grow closer because . well she’s supposed to be glued to your side at all times. and if there’s one thing you can rely on nat to do, it’s her job

say what you want about that girl, but she always does her job and she does it well !!!!

bickering and endless eyerolls turn into more lighthearted banter and teasing jokes eeeeekk

going out to a cafe on your off day and she’s accompanying you, and she’s teasing you as you two occupy the small two-seater table with your cute little coffee cups.

( nat wears her hair tied up in a bun, sunglasses, cargo pants, and a leather jacket — the androgynous outfit would throw any passer-by off >◡< )

“i can see the headlines now: ‘has the princess found her dashingly handsome prince charming?!’,” she giggles, waving her hands up as she announces her tabloid headline. you almost spit out the coffee in your mouth in laughter. “oh please, you wish. you know, you’re the only person who actually calls me that,” you respond, setting your cup down. “am i? well then, consider me honoured, princess.”

she starts showing up to your dressing room much earlier than when she needs to, just to spend more time talking and laughing with you <3

grows VERYY protective of you. likes physical touch with you a lot, just to remind you that you’re safe with her

she’ll keep a hand on the small of your back, or when you guys are in more intimate settings she’ll even hold your hand the whole way WAAAHDJS

she’s your biggest fan!! while she can’t be present to watch any of your shows in entirety because she’s on the job, she always tries to catch as much as she can & cheers super super loud !! (perpetually losing her voice)

she’s secretly started streaming your music a lot just to hear your voice . . the rest of the yjs are like ?????? who is this and where did emo punk rock nat go……

(secretly has a folder of edits of you on tiktok that she just likes to scroll through sometimes 😵‍💫)

sometimes when the stress and pressure of being on tour — not to mention the influx of hate comments online — get to you, nat will always be there to comfort you and reassure you, showering you in compliments and praise

“they don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about, okay?” she says, her voice hushed. she found you sitting alone in your dressing room, doomscrolling under hate threads. she cups your face and continues, “they have nothing better to do with their— their sad lives, and are just aimlessly taking it out on a big name. because, you are so much more than that, okay? fuck, i’d be unemployed without you!” you can’t help but let out a soft laugh at that as nat laughs along, wiping your tears away with her thumbs.

admits to you that her impression of you has changed so much since you’ve both met. she thinks you’re one of the coolest people she’s ever met and admires you so much. this girl ADORES YOU!!!

she cant stop rambling really sweet confessions to you and you eventually cut her off with a kiss <33

the poor girl takes a second to process what’s happening, but the second she does she melts into the kiss, like she’s been waiting her whole life for this hhhjfjdhfjsh

dating her would just include lots more stolen kisses (and more🤭🤭) in between shows, as well as extra protective nat 25/8. they will have to pry you out of her cold dead hands!!!

and ofc, a shit ton of media coverage, speculation, and tabloids to deal with, aaand maybe a new lover-esque album from you coming soon? 🙈

a/n: HIHI i’m so sorry this one took so long😭😭 but i hope this is kinda what you were asking for!

[punksdontgetold]

So I just finished writing another chapter. This one takes place during the T2 timeline and aims to explore the characters' motivations and where they are emotionally (spoiler: all over the place).

It's funny how many things make sense when you watch the movie, and then you think about that, and the reasons behind characters' choices can be quite puzzling... And THEN you look at it through a romantic angle and you're like, wow, this makes so much sense now.

*adjust her tinfoil hat*.

There were choices made there. Writing choices, directing choices, acting choices. A whole team worked hard to bring this homoerotic sexual tension to life, so I'm just doing my part at expanding it.

~~~~~~~~~

Veronika overhears snippets of Mark and Simon's conversation: "Ye've got Combat Rock on vinyl?" "Wha dae ye tak me fur? Ah hae aw their albums..." "Even the ones efter they sold oot?" "Whit are ye talkin' aboot—"

She then watches Simon mechanically pick off the meat from several slices, piling it onto others. Without hesitation, Mark reaches over, grabs one of the meat-free slices, and stuffs it in his mouth. Simon takes a slice with double pepperoni, and they keep going back and forth about which punk bands sold out and which didn't without missing a beat.

Veronika can't contain her confusion. "What are you doing?" she asks.

[normansnt]

A book by its cover (Usopp x male!punk!reader)

This picture inspired me BIG time. Also I love that people are finally realizing how nice punks are🦦🧡 It may be a bit long but like not that long its aight I hope you like it

There are no warnings its just fluff🐥

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Black leather jacket with spikes, badges and whatnot. Spiky h/c hair piercings and tattoos all this with black ripped jeans with again different badges and other things on it and black combat boots. Usopp thought this looked quite scary. He looked quite scary. Well ok it looked badass not to mention the guy was handsome... but anyhow he looked like he was from a dark world which Usopp had no intention of entering

The strawhats docked on an island for supplies maybe a little rest and to reset the log pose they had about 1 maybe 1 and a half days. Robin, Nami and Sanji went shopping the girls for clothes Sanji to carry their bags and to buy food. Zoro went to drink beer and take a nap and Luffy went with him claiming he wants to eat (as always). Brook and Jinbe just wanted to look around town. That left Franky, Usopp and Chopper who wanted to go look for supplies for the ship or Usopps bombs and other things.

Thats where they saw him. The guy who sold every kind of parts for ships, to painting supplies, gases and more. He was a tall dude around 6'6 with h/l, h/c hair which was in spikes (or not you decide if it wasn't just ignore it), he had kind e/c eyes and greeted them with a friendly smile. Franky smiled back and got to business right away.

"Hey guys what can I help you with?" Asked the guy in a friendly tone. "We need some supplies for a ship" said Franky cautiously not to mention that they are pirates. "Oh you guys are the Pirates that just docked, ok what kind of parts do you need?" Said the s/c male. Franky, Usopp and Chopper stood there a bit baffled. Even after the guy knew they were pirates the kind smile didn't leave the strangers face.

While Franky was discussing the parts needed Usopp was quiet the whole time something was off with this guy, he looked scary (and handsome but Usopp did not admit that even to himself) but acted very kind and understanding. Not to mention based on what he heard from the conversation he knew what he was talking about. "HAHAHA" Frankies booming laugh got him out of his trance. The guy must have said something awfully funny since he was smiling as well a big smile, a very attractive smile. What? Usopp was very confused at this point. "I could really use someone like you on the ship to help with repairs wouldn't you say Usopp, Chopper?" Asked Franky smiling, the two were just standing there silently. "Sorry how rude of me" said the guy still smiling "I didn't even introduce myself Im Y/N". "Im Franky these two are Usopp and Chopper" smiled Franky while pointing at the two. Usopp and Chopper still didn't say anything. Teddy got down on one knee looked at chopper and reached in his pocket. The too scaredy cats were watching his every move when suddenly he pulled out candy from his pocket. "Do you want one little reindeer?" Asked Y/N with a smile Chopper immediately forgot his fear. Not only because the stranger had candy but because someone finally saw him as a reindeer at the first meeting and not a raccoon. He walked over to Y/N and took some candy. Y/N patted his head. Chopper looked up at him and a bit shyly but asked him: "what are those pointy things on your jacket?". The e/c eyed male laughed and answered: "They are spikes I wear them cuz I think it looks cool" smiled the man than put his tongue out in a rocker way to make the little reindeer laugh. Chopper did laugh and then asked: "Can I touch them?" Y/N smiled and motioned for him to come closer. Chopper liked his spikes very much he thought they are dangerous at first that they hurt, but they didn't. This way Chopper ended up sitting on Y/Ns shoulder. Usopp watched this whole scene with interest. You were THIS nice. Now he feels stupid for thinking you are mean or anything but the way you are dressed deceived him. Usopp was staring at you red faced. It was not only that you were really good looking you had the kindest personality as well and he really couldn't deny it any longer even to himself he liked you, a lot. Y/N looked at him next. "So you're Usopp?" He asked smiling maybe a bit red in the face...? Nah Usopps eyes were lying to him he surely just saw what he wanted to.

"I...uh...YES, I am the great captain Usopp indeed" he said while sweating trying to play it off full of pride. He was kind of embarrassed after a short silence and he was about to apologize when he heard the most pleasant laughter he had ever heard. Y/N laughed at his antics he thought it was hilarious. "Wow alright mighty and powerful captain Usopp" he said whit a mock bow, then they both started laughing Chopper didn't really get it he just sat on Y/Ns shoulder eating the Candy he got while Franky just looked at them with a knowing smile.

After they bought everything they needed (which took nearly the whole day since they had such a great time with Y/N) they had to go back to the ship. Usopp was not happy nor was Chopper and to be fair Franky also took a liking to Y/N so its safe to say none of them wanted to leave him on the island. Y/N was not happy either to see them go he had a great time and enjoyed Usopps funny antics to no end. How ever to recruit a new crew mate was not their job not to mention they had no idea if Y/N was any good in battle.

Usopp was sulking the whole way back. And on the ship as well. They planned to stay on the port of the island for the night then set sail in the morning.

Zoro was on night watch and all of a sudden he saw someone approaching the ship. He stood up to see if the person was actually coming to the ship, but there was no misunderstanding the person was coming to the ship with something on their shoulder and a small bag in their hand. Zoro reacted the moment he saw that that something on the strangers shoulders was an ax.

He jumped off the ship right on the stranger. However, to Zoros utter disbelief, they dodged it. Now that the street light helped him see he saw that it was a guy, wearing a leather jacket with spikes badges and what not. This did not interest him however the thing that bothered him was the ax on his shoulder and the fastness he dodged his attack with it was almost inhuman like.

"What do you want with this ship?" Asked Zoro accusingly. "Listen this is a misunderstanding-" but the stranger did not get to finish their sentence because Zoro attacked. To Zoros disappointed the stranger blocked all of his blows and dodged them with excellence and grace very much like he saw Mihawk do it. The only difference between this guy and Mihawk was that he didn't attack back he just kept defending and of course he used an axe. The rest of the strawhats woke up to this commission outside and watched the fight with shock. Someone holding their own against Zoro with one hand and a small axe without breaking a sweat or attacking back? This was crazy. The moment Usopp stepped on the front of the ship to see whats going on his eyes widened and he looked at Franky. "Isnt that-" "Yes he is" "shouldn't we-" "Yes we should" the two looked at each other then forward at the battle and started yelling "STOP STOP" very loudly Franky jumped off the ship to stop Zoro while Usopp ran over to Y/N to stop him as well.

"Huh?" Asked Zoro after Franky stood in front of him. "Why are you standing in the way?" He asked kind of upset, Franky didn't answer just looked at Y/N and asked "What are you doing here Y/N?".

"Im sorry to disturb your night but after I was going to close the shop I found Usopps bag, and I wanted to return it, so after I left the shop I tried to find your ship based on how you guys described it and well I got kinda lost thats why I only got here this late" explained the s/c male panting lightly due to dodging Zoros attacks. Usopp got red in the face, very red, he left his bag there and didn't even notice since he was busy thinking about Y/N all night. "Thanks Y/N so much somehow I didn't even notice" "Wait you know this punk?" Asked Zoro.

"Wow you're quick" laughed Y/N lightly this made others chuckle a bit as well. "We bought ship supplies from him he was the shop keeper we were telling you about during dinner" yelled Chopper excitedly while running to Y/N to sit on his shoulders. "I don't care what shop you own how did you dodge my attacks this effortlessly?" Asked Zoro still a bit pissed. "Oh thats all thanks to my dad he trained me all my childhood" answered Y/N truthfully. "Your dad? Who is your dad if I may ask the way you move reminds me of someone" asked Sanji. He took a liking to the punk the moment he made fun of Zoro. "Mihawk, Dracule Mihawk" Everyones jaw dropped with their eyes bulging out of their sockets. "MIHAWK HAS A KID???" Yelled Zoro shocked. "Yeah Im kind of used to these reactions however y'all are a bit extreme Im guessing you know him" said Y/N in a usual tone not very phased by their reactions."Join my crew" said Luffy all of a sudden. Nami screamed when she notice Luffy was standing next to her because when everyone came out he was still sleeping. "You look strong and I saw you fight then I heard you are Mihawks son you are joining my crew" said Luffy smiling big. "Oh... eh I really didn't plan on becoming a pirate..." started off Y/N. Then he looked at Usopp who was looking at him with hopeful eyes and then at Chopper who was looking with puppy eyes Franky also tried doing Puppy eyes but it looked rather creepy from a big man like him. It was still hard though Y/N liked this town not to mention his shop. "But you are joining" said Luffy still smiling then headed back to his bed like the discussion was ower "uh..." Y/N stood there confused, then Usopp started laughing, "Yeah Im afraid it isn't your decision " Usopp continued laughing then started to walk towards the ship. With everyone else "Come on Y/N you are our nakama now" smiled Usopp while grabbing his hand and walking to the Thousand sunny. Never judge a book by its cover I guess you could say that for any member of the Straw hat crew Y/N will fit right in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WELP

My second fanfic🥳

I wrote this for an embarrassingly long time even I don't know why lol💀

Anyway I LOVE Usopp he is so goofy and no mf in the world will tell me he isn't gay not yo mention Im a HUGE believer of trans Usopp so😗

SO I hope you liked this fic I will write more with time but I have things to do

Ladies, gentlemen and others I hope you enjoyed your reading, good afternoon good evening and goodnight🧡🦖

[statementlou]

Louis might not be chucking bricks at No. 10, but people are responding like he’s never displayed leftist politics or challenged a government position on anything. He supported demands to the government about a fix for UK touring musician post Brexit and Marcus Rashford’s petition about food insecurity. He fought the police about their social media use in 2018 and criticised the UK government position/support for factory workers in the pandemic. The things he speaks about are usually UK issues and meaningful to him or his family and friends. He’s also most likely to speak when he isn’t working. Also that specific anarchy has a punk anti authoritarian message as well. That statement fits Louis pretty well. He has been a poster boy for not sitting down and shutting up and doing what you’re told since 2012. If he was he probably wouldn’t have a solo career and he definitely wouldn’t have sold out the O2.

I like this point about him speaking out more when he's not working, I think that's a really great and useful observation and makes so much sense. I feel like it makes sense in two ways right now: like first, I don't blame him for not wanting to do things that would jeopardize how beautifully everything is going for him right now after the number of setbacks and troubles he's had to get here, it must feel so precarious. And knowing for a fact that any political statement you make will spawn a dozen tabloid stories and all kinds of outrage is bad enough, but add to that the fact that it's simply impossible to predict which thing will turn into a huge viral mess- it's a lot. And second, he's not just working, he's been on TOUR! I've been around musicians my whole life and one constant is that tour is time outside of normal time and life, it's a bubble, it's only paying attention to right where you are and what's in front of you and the people there with you and everything else is put off and neglected, is for when you get home (and have massive post tour letdown depression and fatigue). I'm not saying he can disconnect with the outside world entirely... but putting everything on pause? I would be surprised if it were any other way, and I would be surprised if he's been following the news and counter news and so forth closely enough to feel comfortable speaking out publicly about anything when it will be so scrutinized and picked apart. I would add to your list supporting the rail strike (something we wouldn't even know about if it hadn't been tossed in as an aside by an interviewer in the print only version of a piece, he didn't post about it or anything) and attending and posting about the BLM protests (not to mention telling people to pirate his stuff come on how punk is that), and I agree he is much more likely to speak out about UK issues which makes sense: most people are most moved by issues that are close to their lives in some way, and it's his brand. And I agree that even though as an anarchist I love talking about what anarchism as a political ideology actually is, the symbol does also have a common meaning in the world as just basically standing for anti-authoritarianism, and Louis as a guy who rejects authority and the status quo is nothing new at all and one of the reasons we love him, and in the last few years I feel like he's been going further in that direction both aesthetically and politically, and we love to see it! Plus he has pretty much always sported this slightly punky aesthetic to some degree, even when he was being dressed up like a little ken doll he snuck in skater looks and indie band tees and so forth (something something it's part of why his fanbase was so primed to love his new sound and it wasn't the risk he feared it was because people were always drawn to him who were already into that aesthetic even when his sound wasn't that yet) it's not like it's just a brand new out of nowhere side of him or something.

[cherrylng]

Foals interview - Yannis Philippakis [INROCK (April 2008)]

FOALS will be coming to Japan in May with their debut album “Antidotes”!!

"Looking back, I'm glad I caused the problems I caused, and I'm glad I didn't go to the classes I didn't go to."

Yannis Philippakis/Foals INTERVIEW: AI ANAZAWA

Foals are an Oxford band whose name means "Kouma (子馬)". Led by Yannis, who dropped out of Oxford University to concentrate on his band career, the five-piece sound like… If you try to categorise their sound, Yannis himself would probably say that he doesn't agree, but in reality, it's a sound that can't be categorised so easily. Dance, techno, Afrobeat, punk, and other elements are mixed together, and what's most noteworthy is Yannis's squeezed vocals between the deep bass and the fluttering high-pitched guitar sounds, creating an unbalanced and strange arrangement of sounds, but it's cool music that you can dance to, so it's understandable in a way that they're being called "the one to watch this year!" even if the band members don't like it. "Antidotes," produced by David Sitek of TV on the Radio, will be released on March 26th.

I understand you are in the USA at the moment. Yannis Philippakis (vo./g.): Yes, I'm in Seattle today, and I just got driven to this lake by the guys from Sub Pop (label), and it's beautiful here. There's a beach a little bit further out, and it's really nice and quiet.

Before Seattle, you played two concerts in New York, right? Yannis: Yeah, the Bowery Ballroom gig was a lot of fun. It was great to headline in that vein, and it was nice, or surprising, that it was almost sold out. The next day we played a show at a place in deep Brooklyn called the Silent Barn, which is like a house party. It's a place where normal kids live, and they put on their own shows, but it was pretty crazy and fun.

I heard Jimmy (Smith, guitar.) threw up on stage. Yannis: Yeah, at the Bowery Ballroom (laughs). It happens all the time. I go into a trance and I move around and I feel sick and I throw it up. Especially after a show. I don't know why… I don't have that kind of thing.

I see (laughs). Yannis: I bleed more often than I vomit.

It's a bit of a quandary as to whether it's better to throw up or to bleed. Yannis: I don't know. But bleeding is pretty annoying too. For me, I get injured all the time. I've broken my toe and recently I cut my eye during a show and it bled. Jimmy just had a tooth knocked out and he's just had it fixed.

It's rock ‘n’ roll. Yannis: I don't know about that. I'm sure it hurts.

"It's not like we're digging our brains out of our skulls and putting them on a table and putting glasses on them and making them write songs."

Your debut album, "Antidotes", is something different from any other band. Are you satisfied with the album yourself? Yannis: Yeah, we're happy with the album we wanted to make. Looking back, there are things we could have done a bit better, but we're happy with it.

I've been reading a lot of material and it's not clear whether you had David Sitek (TV on the Radio) produce it, or whether you didn't like what he did and had to redo it, but in fact David is ultimately credited as the producer of this album, right? Yannis: No, no, Dave (David) produced the album and he is definitely the producer. We did the whole album with him in New York. There's nothing we added, we just re-mixed it a bit, that's all. We just re-mixed it to sound more like what we did in New York. Dave did a lot of work on it at the mixing stage, so we reworked it so it was closer to the studio version that we were working on with him in New York.

So everyone was happy with the result? David was happy, the band was happy. Yannis: Yeah, well…… (whispering “tsk”).

Oh, why? Yannis: No, because people ask me about it all the time and I have to defend myself every time. He's a great producer, the mix he did was different from what we expected, it was like it wasn't our album anymore. The problem is psychological. We're a pretty sensitive bunch of people, and we made an album in New York with a lot of openness about ourselves, and we wanted to take the album back as our own… I mean, the album was so far from what we had in mind that we had to re-mix it.

I think it was good that you were able to re-mix it yourselves in the end. Yannis: Yeah, it was.

How was the recording in New York itself? Yannis: It was fun. We hardly left the studio. And Dave is a pretty intense guy… That's why I wanted to work with him in the first place. There were a lot of knives in the studio, and we all smoked weed, and yeah, it was good.

Haha… Did you have all the songs in place by the time of recording? Yannis: Yeah. We were going to record 14 songs, but we whittled it down to 11. So the extra ones were already written. The songs were already there, so Dave worked from that and he didn't mess with the structure of our songs. After we recorded it, we all added a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

In the process, you were able to adhere to the so-called Foals rules? Yannis: Which rules?

No chords, only notes above the twelfth fret on the guitar… That's what it says in the bio. Yannis: That's a bit of a joke. I mean, it's nothing serious at all.

But you don't actually use chords, do you? Yannis: Yes, we don't play chords, but it's not like it's an absolute rule against chords. It's not like we only play notes above the 12th fret, there are no rules. We just do what we want to do and if we think it sounds good, we use it. Then we didn't use chords. But that doesn't mean that if someone played a chord, we'd say, "No, no, that's not allowed!" (laughs).

So it's a myth that the rule was made in order to ease the members of the band from criticising each other too much in the beginning when they were making music? Yannis: We were never too critical of each other. It's just been the way of the band from the beginning, and we're comfortable with that way of doing things. And we're a lot more mature now. Also, the relationship between me and Jack (Bevan, drums.) has always been all about arguing. And when I say ‘argument’, I mean it in a positive way. That's why we're still friends. No one is complaining about the constant arguments or the criticism. It's just the way we function. We're just very self-critical.

David mentioned earlier that you never changed the structure of the songs, but that your song structures have a lot to do with your aesthetic, with your preference for methodical music. Yannis: It has something to do with that. I like to think about the structure and how the guitar should fit into it. It's like a craftsman's skill. But it doesn't mean that's the only way I like to do it or that's the only way I write songs. There seems to be a misconception out there that we only think about structure when we make music, but it's all about impulse. It's all intuitive. It's not like we're digging our brains out of our skulls and putting them on a desk and putting glasses on them and making them write songs. It's all instinctive intuition.

It's not like we're thinking about it. Yannis: Yeah, it seems like other people are trying to do that. But that's bullshit. Half the stuff they write about us is stuff we didn't even say. Even if we do say something, it's going to be misinterpreted… Anyway, what I'm saying is that musically, everything we do is instinctive.

"All my high school teachers said I'd never get into Oxford, so I got in just to piss them off."

So people misinterpret it and call you ‘math rock’ (experimental rock that incorporates odd time signatures, etc.) (laughs)? Yannis: There is no such thing. It's not real. We're a band that doesn't even know the scales, we don't know anything technical. We don't know the terminology, none of us have studied music properly. So it's kind of ironic, isn't it? We come from the same musical background as everyone else in Oxford. In Oxford, it's not normal to be in a pop band, and what's normal is to be in a band that's heavily influenced by post-hardcore bands. We grew up like that, as most of us did, because that's just the way it was. So no one really made an effort to learn to play a little bit differently on the guitar. It just came naturally.

What was your boyhood in Oxford like? What kind of kid were you? Yannis: I wonder what kind of kid I was… I was just a kid, I didn't have many friends, I was just a typical stoner kid who liked rock music. I didn't get on well with my parents, I was a problem child at school and didn't make many friends. Instead, the friends I made were like, "Let's go listen to Godspeed You Black Emperor instead of hanging out with the others," and we got high together. So I'm glad it turned out the way it did. Looking back, I'm glad I caused the problems I caused and I'm glad I didn't go to the classes I didn't go to.

I was just wondering, it's fine for you to talk about getting high with impunity, but in Japan, if you were caught in possession of such a thing, you'd be in big trouble. Yannis: No, I'm not taking it to Japan, so if that's what you're worried about, don't worry about it (laughs).

Hahaha. So, why did you bother to go to Oxford if you were going to drop out? Yannis: I went to Oxford to study and I dropped out for the band. I love reading books and there's no better university to do it at than there. I loved literature. It was my hometown and I like Oxford. And all my high school teachers said I'd never get in, so I got in just to piss them off.

When did you decide to put your life on the line for the band? Yannis: I mean, I still don't know that. We're doing this now, but I don't know when it's going to end. Next year we might be grilling hamburgers.

Maybe it won't happen next year, but I know what you mean. Yannis: Maybe not next year, but in years to come. It's not a sure thing to make a living from music unless you're George Michael or U2 or something like that. It's always been a precarious thing.

So it was a big decision to quit university to concentrate on your band, wasn't it? Yannis: Not really. I just wanted to play music all day, every day. There's nothing else I can do.

Now you're doing that, so that's good. Yannis: Yeah, it's going great so far and I'm happy with it. I like the album, and the whole reason I made the album was to communicate with all these people like you.

In the NME or something, you said that artists you admire put their backs into every single thing they create. I thought that was a romantic notion, do you yourself want that kind of life? Yannis: I never thought it was a particularly romantic way of thinking. I mean, it's a fact. I don't want to live that way, I just think it's a fact. Of course it depends on the process of creation. Because it's a process of devotion, isn't it? I'm in this band because I'm trying to get something out…

Who are the people you look up to, for example? Yannis: There are many. Charles Bukowski, Hemingway… Maybe that's why I feel so strongly about what I said earlier.

That's a typical example, surely. Yannis: Yeah. I don't know, but when I read books about these people, I sympathise with them and I get attached to them. I haven't read their proper biographies, but when you talk about who you admire from an artistic point of view, that's what happens.

Do you have any ambitions to write a book yourself? Yannis: I don't. When I read the writings of people like that, I think it's a talent given by God. I don't want to litter the world where such things exist with my dirty words.

As a book lover, can you recommend some books? Yannis: "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace. It's a bit long, but it's a story about alcoholics and ex-alcoholics set in a tennis academy, and there's a child prodigy. It deals with film, media culture, and tennis, and it's just an exciting book. The other one is, of course, "The Great Gatsby" by Scott Fitzgerald.

Recorded in Seattle on February 17th

Translator's Note: Every once in a while, I scan and translate other bands and artists that I never listened to before, but I do it because I have mutuals who love these bands/artists. It's also a way for me to sort of refresh myself before getting back into translating my favourite bands/artists.

That said, I love how Deepl keeps constantly mistaking Yannis' name as 'Janice' lmao

Please do support me with my ko-fi! ☕

[zombiepedia]

I keep thinking about your mcr tickets post

People willing to pay 700+ dollars for tickets for a supposedly punk band, that's just so much money, it's crazy

FORREAL, THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M POSTING OR TALKING ABOUT THIS, I'M NOT AN MCR BLOG AND I'VE BEEN SENT REALLY FUCKING NASTY ANONS ABOUT MY POST ALREADY. if you know you won't agree with me or my take will upset you just don't click on the readmore. Thanks 🙏

to the people you're referencing, i want to give a little bit of a point of reference. a couple months ago i spent my birthday money ($200 to be exact) on VIP tickets to see what i consider a very well known household name band (modest mouse) which played a sizeable venue. this $200 got me: a vip specific made poster, a tote bag, a bandana, a lanyard with custom art on it, early access to the venue, a pre-show with 6 songs played specifically for vips, and a q&a session where i was able to ask the lead singer what his favorite song to play off my favorite album was. this is what $200 is worth to me. goddamn for $700 gerard way better be dating me. that's basically my fucking rent. and the only other stadium concert i've been to (i generally stick to up close and personal venues) was $60 to get in. that was not all that long ago. again, that was to see a very well known household name band

it's just sad because the amount of bands i can think of who have grown to the amount mcr has and haven't sold out well. i can count that amount on one hand. maybe half a hand. and a lot of people are defending the band members by saying it's not malicious. which hey, i also don't think so. it's not like gerard way woke up and said "i'm going to fuck all my fans over." but it's still fucked up and it's ignorant. how people can deny that i have no clue. the band members have clearly grown to a point where they can't fathom money spent by classes lower than theirs anymore. and well, ignorance is malice in its own special way. i just don't want to fucking buy gerard way a new miniskirt, and if you want to ig negative power to you, i think you're strange (to put it nicely) because he can already afford one lmao. and he could still afford one if he advocated for charging people less. personally i want to be able to afford new pants for myself and christmas presents for my loved ones. and just make rent and bills which i struggle enough with, especially in the winter months

it just sucks because mcr is a band i never considered to only be for the upper class, hell ik the band members didn't grow up privileged themselves, but i also haven't really been paying attention because this was the first tour i was interested in actually seeing them because they're my gf's favorite band. i had a lot of comments on the post i made talking about how much of an ongoing issue this has been. which is also sad because it seems very normalized now. THE NORMALIZATION BLUES HAVE HIT THE MCR FANS HARD. and it shouldn't be normal to spend $700 on concert tickets. seems like this has been a problem with the band and amongst the chunk of rich "punk" art student kids that it's attracted for years now. and why would the majority of them care to change anything or want better for those who can't afford tickets? why wouldn't they make excuses for why things can't change and for why the band members aren't at least partially to blame? seen a lot of people say that it's all warner bro's fault and again, that is just a lot of excuse making to me. warner bros is undoubtedly a very large part of the problem, but i highly doubt they'd want to lose mcr, a very valuable asset to them, and would work with them if better prices and conditions were negotiated for fans

just really sucks because i historically have had a lot of respect for mcr fans as a whole (being one myself, i grew up with their music) but i can't say that's true anymore or will ever be true again if nothing gives

[basementdoll]

Wait And Bleed

Murderdolls were on a high with their 2002 debut album. Before Joey Jordison knew it, Wednesday 13 had 30 new songs written…but was going it alone.

Words: Dom Lawson

On July 12, 2003, the band that Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison had formed with his friend, vocalist Wednesday 13, as a bit of light relief from the relentless touring and ferocious intensity of his day job, performed to a sold-out Brixton Academy in London. Within a year of releasing their debut album, 2002’s brilliantly snotty Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls, this goofy, sleazy horror-punk side-project had evolved beyond all expectations, like some kind of many-headed Frankenstein, and won the hearts of thousands of fans. In the UK in particular, Murderdolls rocketed from nowhere to the brink of hugeness, accruing a hysterical army of red’n’black-clad admirers who had fallen wholesale for the band’s party-all-night-and-fuck-the-consequences philosophy. What started as a liberating side-project had mutated into something with the potential to conquer the world…all of which makes the fact that Murderdolls left Brixton, buggered off back across the Atlantic and then vanished for seven years somewhat confusing.

But now it’s the summer of 2010 and Murderdolls are back at last. And so, as Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13 settle down on a small leather sofa in the air-conditioned downstairs bar of a swanky Soho hotel to speak with Metal Hammer about their reunion, imminent comeback and brand new studio album, Women and Children Last, it’s finally time to ask the question: Gentleman, where the fuck have you been?

“We don’t bullshit and there’s no reason to lie.” says Joey, shades on and as serious as hell. “After we got done with the tour for Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls, we ended on a high note at Brixton Academy, but then of course I had to go back and start up Slipknot again. Me and Wednesday were still in contact and he had demoed like 30 songs and sent me a CD, but the next thing I know, he’s doing a solo record and he didn’t tell me! I didn’t understand it. I was like, ‘Don’t you wanna do another Murderdolls record?’, but I can’t tell him not to go and do what he wants to do, you know? So I had to go and do my stuff with [Slipknot album] Volume 3 (The Subliminal Verses) and we did the whole tour, and we met up again during that tour. We hadn’t talked in a while, so it was kinda weird, but once we talked and crossed paths…”

“We met in a trailer at Rock Im Park in Germany.” recalls Wednesday. “It was 100° and all the crew people were like, ‘Get in there and work it out!’ and they threw us in there and shut the door! That’s when we sorted everything out.”

Having patched things up after what sounds like a fairly minor falling out, Joey and Wednesday still didn’t exactly rush into a Murderdolls reunion. In fact, another five years have passed since the initial exchange of apologies and explanations. In terms of squandering momentum, this hiatus will take some beating, and yet Women and Children Last oozes a level of intensity that was never even hinted at by Murderdolls first time round. Apparently absence makes the fire blaze harder…

“To other people, eight years [between albums] must seem like a long time.” says Wednesday. “But if you think about fuckin’ everything that Joey’s done and everything that I’ve done in that period, that’s a lot of shit! Combined, we’ve done more than bands do in a 20-year period. Joey did two Slipknot records, a Ministry tour, played with Korn, did Roadrunner United, produced 3 Inches Of Blood and played with Satyricon and I did three solo records, an EP, two country records and started a whole new band…”

“We were never enemies at all.” adds Joey. “We just got confused. After we met up again, we were on speaking terms and having conversations by texting and we were thinking that maybe we’d just let Murderdolls be the band with the cult following that it was and let sleeping dogs lie. But then the moment of clarity came to me about two years ago. I was at home on a break and I was sleeping on my couch and Headbanger’s Ball was on and there was this spark that jolted me awake. The metal scene in America and also in Europe, it’s all the fucking same now. There are some great bands, trust me, but everyone’s the same now. Labels are trying to survive because they’re going down the tubes. It’s all about who can play double bass the fastest. There’s no rock stars anymore. I called Wednesday at that point and I’m still in a sleep haze and I said, ‘Wednesday, I want to make another Murderdolls record!’”

A world apart from the comic book kitsch and pun-filled sloppiness of their debut, the second Murderdolls album might as well be the work of an entirely different band. Although still imbued with the hook-packed sleaze metal sensibilities that made old songs like Dead In Hollywood and Grave Robbing USA so irresistible, the new songs seem to have been beamed in from somewhere much darker and more real than their predecessors. There is no shortage of macabre humour lurking amid the pounding riffs and roar-along rage of Chapel of Blood and My Dark Place Alone but while Beyond The Valley…was all about taking the listener into a grim but ludicrous fantasy world, this record sounds very much like the work of men on a sincere and heartfelt mission. Murderdolls 2.0 mean every last fucking word, and as a result they have become a hundred times more believable. 

“I said, ‘If we’re gonna do this, it has to be full bore and we have to make a real record.’” says Joey. “The first record is great for what it was and I love it, but I consider this to be the first Murderdolls record. This is the first time we actually sat down with a vision and wrote songs together, and it’s been one of the most gratifying records I’ve ever made.”

“We wrote all these songs from scratch, a few feet away from each other in the studio.” grins Wednesday. “The first song we did was Homicide Drive, and the drum take you hear on the record is the first take we did. It all happened that naturally. It was really easy and it was fun. We had a fuckin’ blast making this record.”

Just like their favourite band, Murderdolls fans may well be a little bit older and wiser eight years on from that first flush of anti-hero worship, but the goofy, light-hearted side of the band was always a major part of their appeal. As a result, there may be some who find the idea of a more serious Murderdolls a little alarming, but despite injecting their sound with a little more substance, Joey and Wednesday are still firmly committed to delivering the rock ‘n’ roll goods. It’s just that this time round the fire in their bellies is for real and not just cheap whiskey afterburn.

“It’s still fun but it’s more fun for me because I get to sing about personal stuff now.” explains Wednesday. “I’m not the same guy you saw before. This band has changed - this is a whole new Murderdolls, in terms of what we’re bringing to the table. When I sing My Dark Place Alone, that’s very personal to me. I’m going deep into the lyrics, and that’s something I’ve never been able to do before.”

“The first record, you could say we were a dumb horror punk band or something like that.” adds Joey. “The new one, this is like my other Slipknot, even though they’re like apples and oranges. On this record you go from a song like Chapel Of Blood to Drug Me To Hell, and then songs like Nowhere and Summertime Suicide and it starts getting poppier. It’s kinda like Slipknot, with all that diversity, even though we’re a rock ‘n’ roll band. That’s what’s gratifying to me, having a band that has its own style but is able to inject its own identity into each song. When I used to play in death metal and speed metal bands, it was easy to sit there and write a million riffs. The biggest challenge is to write an actual song, and only then do you know you’re a real songwriter.” 

If everything goes to plan, the new Murderdolls album should swiftly restore the band to the levels of popularity they were enjoying when they took their extended hiatus. But if anyone needs convincing that Women And Children Last is the real deal, they need only acknowledge the presence of no less a figure than Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars, who lends some hair-raising solos to Drug Me To Hell and Blood Stained Valentine, two of the album’s grittiest anthems. Mick doesn’t put on his top hat for any old rubbish, and Joey and Wednesday are visibly thrilled when they talk about his involvement in their new record.

“Mick’s one of the great underdogs and never got the respect he deserved.” says Wednesday. “We see him as one of the great rock ‘n’ roll villains, so what better guy to come out and play for us? It was so natural. He loved it!”

“We didn’t want any guests on this record whatsoever, but this was a little bit different.” smiles Joey. “It was definitely an honour to watch him play on our dumbass songs! I was just sitting there, almost blacking out, thinking about when I had Shout At The Devil on vinyl in my parent’s basement and I was thinking, ‘Man, this is fucked up!’”

Mick Mars aside, Murderdolls remain very much a two-man operation in the studio, but live performance is plainly a major part of what the band stands for and so, with that in mind, Joey and Wednesday have recruited a brand new lineup to assist them in their new crusade. Original members Acey Slade, Eric Griffin and Ben Graves have been usurped by new lead guitarist Roman Surman, bassist Jack Tankersley and drummer Racci Shay, who previously played in Wednesday 13’s solo band. Again, as with the songs themselves, fresh blood seems to have invigorated the whole Murderdolls enterprise. 

“The first lineup and the first everything that we did, it was really thrown together.” admits Wednesday. “We did our first video without ever having played together in a room before. Me and Joey did the record by ourselves and then we found these guys through friends of friends and, of course, it was complete chaos. So this time, we purposefully picked people we knew and that we were friends with, and it’s been great. When we finally got on stage, it was like ‘Holy shit!’”

“What we’ve done now and the people we have now, they’re great players and they’re there for the job.” continues Joey. “They’re not there to fuckin’ party. They believe in the songs and they believe in the project and this is a big chance for all of ‘em. They’re all amazing players. I wouldn’t do this if my heart wasn’t completely in it.”

With a new warcry of “We live, we breathe, we bleed rock ‘n’ roll!” the all-new Murderdolls can hardly be said to have altered the main thrust of their philosophy, but everything about the new lineup, the new album and the intense demeanor of the two men steering the ship suggests that they are in this for the long haul this time, ready to do whatever it takes to bully the world into joining in the fun. Serious men on a serious mission, perhaps, but surely there is still plenty of room for a little chaos, mayhem and debauchery? 

“Before, when we walked off stage, everything else was complete madness too.” Wednesday laughs. “It was a fuckin’ circus, but it was great. But we’ve moved on. We want to take the chaos from backstage and put it on the stage!”

“Now it’s just the most violent, fuckin’ sleazy, hideous, heaviest fuckin’ rock ‘n’ roll you can possibly imagine.” concludes Joey, with a snarl. “It’s a real band now.” 

Women and Children Last is out August 30 via Roadrunner Records. Murderdolls will play Ozzfest in September.

-

Six Stringer Joey Jordison’s Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Which albums inspired you to play the guitar?

“The first record that turned me on was the Stones’ Tattoo You. I remember my dad coming home with the album.”

What was the first guitar you owned?

“A harmony, which was like a Fender Stratocaster. I played it in my first metal band in fifth grade. I started playing drums aged seven and soon ditched the guitar.

How do you achieve your sound?

“I don’t normally tell people how I do it! Ha ha! I used a modified JCM 900 amplifier and a MXR distortion on top of that. I’m always involved with mixing and production and everything, so that has a lot to do with the sound on the record. My amp’s been modified.”

Who’s the most underrated guitarist?

“Probably Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls). He had something about him. Guitar is all about passion and playing with soul and style.”

How often do you practise?

“Right now, three hours a day! I’m going on tour with the Murderdolls so everything has to be up to par. It’s odd talking about guitar instead of drums. Drums always came natural to me. I still practise but I’m pretty much in the groove, but for the guitar I have to work real hard.”

What guitar do you play?

“I recorded with my custom BC Rich Bich. I’ve been using Gibson SGs and a BC Rich Warlock, plus I have my signature guitar coming out.”

[sharkface]

I feel like the post about punk not being anti-establishment leans a lot into punk that “got popular” and does a disservice to punk as a whole. Yes there was so much racist, bigoted bullshit that festered around punk communities, but focusing solely on that and punk that sold itself out to capitalism ignores the actual subculture that continues to fight to weed out discrimination and oppression; ignores smaller artists and activists that have built so much of what punk is to individuals actually involved in the subculture.

I mean, I really don't think it's unfair to use the most well known examples of punk music to illustrate an overarching point about punk, nor do I think the point was that it was punks as a group who "sold out," rather that mainstream culture intentionally consumes counterculture in order to strip it of its power as a counterculture, meaning it is no longer counterculture. With complete respect I think it's kind of just naive to imply that the modern iteration of punk is on the same level as its original wave, that just observably isn't true once you look into what punk culture used to be like. I don't think you're wrong for continuing to support punk musicians or self id as punk or whatever, if that's a community you love and think you can do good within I support that goal. But punk is not and has never been an exclusively socially progressive force, refusing that idea is inaccurate and unsafe, acknowledging it doesn't discredit people who have done and still do good through punk music and subculture. I don't think these ideas are at all incompatible and again respectfully I think people who will not hear this no matter what are afraid of being punk not necessarily implying they're Good People and Progressive Activists. I don't think you need to be afraid of that if you do good things outside of just identifying with them

[illarian-rambling]

(4) pick an alternate setting you would want to put either the main cast of HO in— zombie apocalypse, medieval fantasy, regency era, office hijinks, etc. describe what it would look like and/or write 100+ words in this universe.

I don’t remember the name of the ask game sorry :)

For this ask game :)

Ok, so my favorite HO au is a band au. Fully unashamed of that. They're an underground punk band looking to stay ahead of the cops while balancing college and gigs.

Izjik, in this au, is a rez kid who came to the city for college, but then immediately dropped out to become a welder because she hated it so much. She's their drummer and though she misses her family ever since they cut her off for dropping out, she treats this band as her new family. She's also wanted by the cops for a mysterious manslaughter charge only she and Sepo know the truth about.

Band au Sepo is still mute, so he's on lead guitar and is very clearly the best musician in the band. He grew up in a weird cult he doesn't like to talk about, has weird scars around his mouth he never brings up, and is also maybe wanted by the cops. No one knows what for, but given the way his eyes gleam around fire, it isn't hard to guess. He's going to college for music theory, probably his masters.

This version of Twenari is still 16, she's just a kid genius going to college for astrophysics or something crazy instead of a sorcerer. Her bandmates are her only friends, given how much her age makes her stick out. She doesn't talk much about her home life, though it's clear she comes from money. Her instrument is the keyboard bass and she insists they do at least one jazz number each show, for posterity.

Au Djek is their lead vocals, much to Sepo’s chagrin. He's a poor kid who fell in bad with a gang in his youth, but managed to take a plea deal and now goes to college for business. He just prays he never runs into anyone he knew from way back when. He's very much the personality force of their band and while the whole thing was Izjik’s idea, he's the one who really sold the show.

This idea started as a bit, but I do actually have a whole ass group sketch for it from a couple months ago!

(As an aside, just because I have to mention it, but my more extensive au is for MG. It's a modern sort of sci-fi thriller vibe and it exists solely because there needs to be some universe out there where Astra has a crazy modded car that looks like a piece of shit but can hit 120mph in seconds)

Thanks for the ask, as always!

[watcheraurora]

"Fire" by Barns Courtney (not Hellfire, just Fire) is such an Ice Walls!Impulse song, so here's a written-out version of the animatic/AMV in my head that I can't make because I can't draw that well, let alone animate

—

The opening drums and music actually start with teenage Impulse on the drums, before he ever was Impulse the villain, with his punk band. Interspersed with present-day Impulse as the well-known, long-serving villain

"Lonely shadows following me," shows him walking down a dark city street, alone, translucent, floating figures (his parents, Doc, and Gem and Pearl's mother) appearing behind him like memories

"Lonely ghosts come a-calling," cuts to a couple, both blond, holding an equally blond, green-eyed toddler (Richard Tek, his wife Faye Tek, and their son Tango)

"Lonely voices talkin' to me," shows Deepfrost and Impulse, soon after Deepfrost returned to the city after his year in the Perimeter, staying a cautious distance apart, just talking, but clearly tense

"Now I'm gone, now I'm gone, now I'm gone," is Impulse at three stages of his life walking away, centered in the frame with his clothes and the background showing what he's walking away from. The first is the punk band as a teenager, the next is sneaking out of his and his wife's bedroom to go be Impulse, the third is him walking away from Joel as Lore in full villain gear

"And my mother told me 'son let it be'," shows Impulse's childhood with the broken home and bad parents he grew up with shouting through an open doorway, child Impulse hiding out of their sight, listening and crying

"Sold my soul to the calling" is the first plume of fire young adult Impulse makes upon choosing to become Impulse. There's purpose and determination in his face, wearing a rudimentary first draft of a suit

"Sold my soul to a sweet melody" shows him as a civilian in a dark nursery leaning over a baby's crib, a curly redheaded baby girl (infant Gem) sleeping in it while clutching one of his fingers

"Now I'm gone, now I'm gone, now I'm gone" is him turning and walking out of the room, switching from civilian clothes to his Impulse suit as he crosses the threshold (this is meant as a visual metaphor)

The chorus of "Oh give me that fire!" three times and "Burn, burn, burn" are a neatly-spliced selection of his action setpieces of his years of being a villain. Fighting Lore/Joel, HoTGuY, and young Deepfrost. Each instance of "fire" and "burn" in the lyrics specifically is him calling on his pyrokinesis in various flame sizes

There's a quick fade-to-black that sharply returns to Impulse standing in the center of a city sports stadium as the lyrics begin, "A thousand faces staring at me."

"A thousand times I've fallen" is several quick cuts of him knocked down by heroes, standing back up again.

"A thousand voices dead at my feet" snaps back to the stadium, but this time the whole thing is on fire and people are fleeing, then jumps to a large private ballroom-like area with all the enforcers of an organized crime faction splayed out and charred on the floor

"Now I'm gone, now I'm gone, now I'm gone" is a longer shot of him running through said ballroom and pushing through the double doors to go after the crime boss

"And my mother told me 'son, let it be'," is him crouched in front of 12-year-old Tango at Tango's parents' funeral, hand on his shoulder. Tango's eyes are unfocused and don't actually see Impulse, obviously grieving

"Sold my soul to the calling" shows him putting on the modern Impulse disguise with a tongue of flame burning behind his head, his eyes glowing bright yellow and the frame tight on his face

"Sold my soul to a sweet melody" is a cut to him back in his civilian clothes many years back rocking baby Pearl (dark, straight hair in a blue blanket patterned with a moon and stars) in his arms and grinning softly down at her

"Now I'm gone, now I'm gone, now I'm gone," is quieter as a woman his age with curly red hair (Gem and Pearl's mother) says over the lyrics, "I can't take this. They're safer with you anyway." She spins around and storms out of the house

"Oh give me that fire!" (x3) returns with a blast of flame consuming the whole screen, this time showcasing some of Impulse's worst villain moments, intercut with him as an adult at his drumset, both of the shots showing him clearly venting his emotions into his actions

"Burn, burn, burn" merges the two, revealing his drumsticks are on fire in his hands when he stops

"Ghosts and devils come a-callin'." Impulse stands in the middle of a ring of fire higher than he is tall. On "Ghosts", Richard and Faye Tek and Gem and Pearl's mother fade in and out on either side of him. On "devils," Doc's face looms from the flame

"Calling my name out, lost in the fire." GeminiSlay and Blood Moon facing away from him in the flames but twisted back to look at him, each holding out a hand in invitation, both smiling

The image glitches and the girls are gone.

"Sweet virgin your blood is callin'..." shows a gentle, intimate-ish scene between Impulse and Gem and Pearl's mother, under the sheets sharing a romantic moment but the frame tastefully cut to avoid anything too explicit and any inappropriate nudity from either of them specifically because this is a PG-13 movie dammit

"Callin' my name out, lost in the fire," gets quiet once again, back to the scene when the girls' mother walked out on them and she's saying, "I wanted you, not Impulse. I can't handle both." She sounds both heartbroken and angry. The screen glitches back to the shot of her leaving the house, slamming the door, and the frame is consumed by fire once again

The slow build of the music in the next couple seconds is quick, tight shots of GeminiSlay and Blood Moon gearing up, putting on their armor, their masks, grabbing their weapons

The newly-formed Soup Group leaping slow-mo into battle in front of an explosion of fire as the lyrics turn back to "Oh give me that fire!"

The rest of the song is shots of the same fight. Poultry Man and Deepfrost are seen in the background, taking on HoTGuY and Sheriff respectively, but the focus of the fight scene is how smooth and seamless the Soup Group works together between the girls' combat prowess and Impulse's sheer firepower (pun intended)

The second repeat of the chorus is Impulse alone in the middle of the fight, in his element, eyes yellow and glowing, reflecting his flames. The shot pans around him and zooms in close to his face. He smiles in pleasure and self-satisfaction as the song hits its last note.

[piffany666]

Ok just one more punk progeny won't hurt~

Chapter 2: barging in

(Ftm Bright eyes - he/him)

Bright eyes thought about what he'd say to William as he ran down the hallway, up to his study.

He had never met him officially but its not as if he's worried about making a good first impression, I mean he's on his way to accuse him of the vampire equivalent of adopting him without consent.

He didn't exactly have long to think about this though as it only took him a couple of seconds to get to his study. He still wasn't exactly used to (or particularly good at) this whole super speed thing, anytime he'd train with Sam Bright would get upset that he wasn't as fast as Fred and that just made Sam mad at him.

Losing no momentum, Bright burst into William's study.

"Hey!-" he was about to begin but was shockingly taken aback by William and his appearance.

He didn't look up at him when Bright burst through the door, he just continued writing. He had long light blonde hair that elegantly flopped forward, covering his eyes slightly as his head leaned forward over his desk.

Bright wasn't sure what came over him, it was as if a wave of respect washed over him as soon as he opened the door.

Then he snapped out of it.

"Hey!" He repeated, he managed to finish his sentence this time only he was louder.

Either William didn't hear him the first time or he was ignoring him but his eyes looked up at Bright, however he kept his head down.

As mentioned before, Bright didn't have a lot of time to prepare a speech and he'd already lost his composure, so he just figured he'd say whatever came to mind.

But before he could start, William began, with a welcoming and soft tone that almost made Bright eyes completely at ease. Almost.

"Ah Bright, I've been meaning to talk with you~ actually we've never officially met have we? I'm William solaire and you're the one they call 'Bright eyes' ? I'd love to know where that name came from. Please sit."

Bright had to shake his head around just to convince himself not to comply.

"Cut the crap! I know what you and Sam plan on doing with me. That you're supposed to 'take me off Sam's hands' cos crist knows that southern bastard can't handle me on his own.

But before you seal the deal....

Could you at least give me a chance to think about it?"

You'd think William would be confused at this but he's smart enough to figure out what's happened here.

He looked to his antique clock on the wall beside him that looked like if you sold it you could buy a house with it.

He sighed and pinched the skin between his eyes.

"Damn it Vincent, its been less than 20 minutes and you're already gossiping about matters that barley concern you"

He took a deep breath and looked at Bright with his silver eyes that seemed to illuminate his face.

"I can understand why you'd think that is the case, however im sorry to inform you that there has been a slight miscommunication. Either Vincent misinterpreted what I told him in the meeting or you heard him wrong, in any case that is not what my intention with you was".

Bright gave a look of disbelief, then looked down.

"R-really?"

He had no idea what it was about this man that made him want to respect him almost instantly but William still smiled and answered him.

"No. The plan was that I'd ask for Vincent's council on the matter, then ask if you'd like to be transferred as my progeny and IF you agreed I'd go to Sam and ask for his consent to 'take you off his hands' as it where"

Brights eyes widened

"It was always going to be your decision, Bright, I apologise for any hardship this mistake may have caused you"

Bright looked to the floor for guidance. He felt so stupid now. He didn't know what to do.

But William did.

"So now that we have that out of the way, please sit."

Bright would be exaggerating if he said that William's tone was sturn but he had a feeling that he didn't want to know what would happen if he declined.

So he hastily sat down at one of William's chairs facing his desk.

"This meating is certainly happening faster then i has expected, but I suppose there's no point in sending you away now".

Bright stayed silent.

"Well you've already told me your decision on the matter so I suppose this could be a way for me to get to know you before you make your final decision".

"W-what?"....

"When you came in here you said you'd like to think about it, so while you 'think about it' I'd like to get to know you

For instance, your name".

Bright's brown thurowed "what about it?"

William smiled and closed his eyes in a way that reminded Bright of when he was alive, when the sun would wake him up by blinding him and he'd have to choose between a warm bed and eyesight. Eventually he'd always close the blinds....

Damn it why I this French f*k making me spit poetry?! Thought Bright eyes to himself.

"It's very interesting~ where dose it come from? I think its safe to say that you weren't born with it and it's not uncommon for young vampires to change their name upon being turned. So

Where did you come up with a name like that?"

Bright felt more at ease at this, maybe it was the fact that he was no longer being blinded by his piercing eyes.

He thought about this question for a second and was briefly brought back to a time befor he died, before he got top surgery and when there was literally no part of his body that he didn't hate.

Apart from his eyes. And the only reason for that......was Fred telling him basically every other week just how "bright his eyes where".

He stopped himself from smiling at this. Because that wasn't the reason why he called himself that.

He called himself "Bright eyes" to remind himself of what Fred had taken from him that night. When he first looked in the mirror after being turned he was met with the loss of the one thing he actually liked about himself, he also hated the irony of the one who made him love his eyes was the one who took the light from them away.

He then looked at William with his usual cocky smirk that had become like a resting face for him.

"You know when someone complements you and then you make that one complement your whole personality?"

Bright regretted this question immediately after asking it. How was he supposed to know if William understood what he was telling him? Dudes like a thousand years old!

But then William gave a short giggle, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Oh yes~ there's a woman from the house of Benit that was once told that she 'looked good in red' and I honestly can't recall a single time she's worn anything else In the last century".

They both laughed at this.

"So there was somone in your life that complimented your eyes?~ and now you call yourself Bright eyes?"

Bright gave a sturn "yes" hoping that he wouldn't ask anymore of him.

William was about to ask him about his realationship with Sam and why HE thinks William wants to take him in but then he got a sharp wiff of something that made his eyes go sharp.

It was blood. Vampiric blood.

Bright was bleeding.

William shot up from his desk, making Bright jump in the prosses. He didn't mean to scare him as much as he did but he had to know what was hurting him.

He went around his desk to where Bright was sitting and bent down. It was coming from his palms.

"What happened?" His voice didn't contain pity as much as it did concern, that combined with a sturn look made Bright feel weak. Like he was about to cry.

Not from the pain, he hadn't noticed he was bleeding until just now. No.

He was just surprised to hear somone caring about him again...

"O-oh i-i scrunched up my fist up kinda tight when I heard what Vincent said, i-i guess I squeezed a little to hard huh? Haha...." his voice was braking up.

He needed to get out of here before William noticed the state he was in.

But he already knew.

He grabbed him softly by the shoulders and said "stay here"

Upon turning Bright's hand over for inspection, he noticed that there wasn't just blood coming from his palms, there was marks on his knuckles that implied blunt force trauma.

Maybe now wasn't a good time to tell William that he punched his wall so hard he cracked it, thought Bright.

William pondered whether or not using healing magic was a good idea. Bright wasn't used to magic just yet, not only that but his bad realationship with Sam may have made him not exactly....partial to healing magic.

But then he looked up at Bright, he had THAT look.

The same look Vincent gave him that convinced him to save him.

The look he historically couldn't resist.

He took Bright's hand and it flinched as if he had electrocuted him.

But then Bright took a deep breath and gingerly placed his plam in William's hand.

William gave a look of reassurance and began working on his hand.

Bright winced and hissed and tried to pull away, but William didn't waver in his attempt to heal him. He squeezed his hand to keep him still in a way that didn't hurt him but so that he couldn't let go.

Afterwards, William let go and Bright's hand shot away from him,he began breathing heavily.

Now William DID have a look of pity on his face but he didn't let Bright see it.

Bright looked up at him and for a moment the two sat there in silence just looking at each other softly.

Bright was then the one to brake the silence.

"Right well...now that that mishap is all figured out I really should get going" he didn't exactly have an excuse but he didn't want to talk to William any longer.

Not because he had any problem with him, he actually felt better and more comfortable than he had been In ages after spending less than 10 minutes with him.

But William said that he wanted to "get to know Bright" and he liked William to much already to let him realise just how terrible he really was and the mistake he was making.

If William wanted him as a progeny now....better keep it that way.

So he left after making a motion with his body that resembled an awkward excuse for a bow, his face was bright red (ha!) After that.

William smiled to himself and finally opened his eyes.

"It seems I have my work cut out for me with this 'Bright eyes'"

He was disappointed that their time was so short but he shrugged it off.

He picked up his phone and began to make a call to Samuel.

"Hello Samuel, I like to request a meeting with you"

.............

"In a few days"

..........

"Alright~ alright~"

When he finished his call he made a new one directly afterwards.

"Hello, yes it's good to hear from you!~ do you have any free time to come by the house and fix a crack, presumably also a hole, in one of my walls?~"

..............

"Thank you, goodbye~".

(Credits go to @darlin-collins for the idea and thanks for proof reading and all the complements 💙🧡)