#very least you may not entirely get rockstar without the guitar but she does have the drum

[pcktknife]

On a Genshin Poll from a while ago, you said that you could talk about Xinyan way more and it would be nice hear those thoughts! Xinyan is one of favorite Genshin characters (her design is so cool) so if you don't mind talking about her more, I'd love to hear it!

oh i didnt mean xinyan specifically in general i like talking about design (critiquing.nitpicking.praising.etc) so it really extends to most any of the characters. but you asked about xinyan so ill talk about xinyan. design wise shes very nice to look at for. her colors are all so warm with one of my favorite palettes (black/red/white). shes on the simple side compared to alot of other characters and i think its nice makes her alot easier to draw. pretty easy design to remember. for me anyway (big sleeves/braids.big collar. big hair.spikes) i dont really need to give specific reasons tbh her design is just really good. one of the pyro characters ever

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

TROPED: JATP MASTER LIST

And for our encore, the Master List of all 53 (fifty-three!?) fanfics written for our FIRST Julie and the Phantoms TROPED event!! It was such a treat for us to see how a new fandom took on our prompts! We, here at TROPED, love it when our authors push the limits of what a trope can be, and this fandom kept us on our toes, and we loved every word! We hope you enjoy these trope bending, phantastic fics as much as we did!

New rockstar writers joined us for the first time for this event, which is the coolest thing for us! We love getting to see how different fandoms interpret our prompts and how you see these stories through the lens of different characters. We learned a lot about how to run an event this round, with new voices helping us to make TROPED better, which was so exciting. We came out of this event with new ideas, and we’re pumped for what’s next! We hope you’ll join us again soon ;)!

*Some summaries have been edited for length. Tumblr has a max post length. Who knew!

ROUND 1: ANGST FICS

The Tropes:

Character discovers they’re not human

Coffee Shop AU

Poorly Timed Confession

Character A catches Character B crying

————

the sky was gray and white and (cloudy) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by @screamin-amuseum

Summary: “I’ve got you,” Willie’s whispering over and over, panic creeping into his voice. “Alex, I’ve got you, okay? Come on, baby, come on, it’s okay, I’ve got you, you’re gonna be okay, I love you–”

Alex spits out what feels like a clot of blood and gives Willie a tired grin, probably looking completely insane.

“That’s pretty gay of you,” he says, just as his vision clouds over and he passes out.

Honey, You’re Familiar (Like My Mirror Years Ago) (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by nik_knows_nothing

Summary: Luke works at a coffee shop, which is normal, quietly pines after his coworker, which is normal, and also occasionally steals people’s faces without really meaning to.

It’s probably that last part that moves him pretty solidly out of the “normal” territory.

But that’s fine, that’s totally cool.

He’s handling it super well.

You Can’t Value People Less Than a Good, Hot Cup of Bean Juice (It Just Seems Rude) (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by nik_knows_nothing

Summary: Julie gets a job at a coffee stand in the middle of nowhere.

It’ll help to pass the time, if nothing else.

And if there’s a cute guy who works the shift after her and sometimes leaves her ridiculously endearing messages on an ancient tape recorder?

Well, that’s just a bonus.

honest to god I’ll break your heart, tear you to pieces and rip you apart (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by @tonightthestarsalign

Summary: the siren!Julie AU no one asked for

new instincts (Rated T) [Luke x Reggie] by @comeonpeters

Summary: Reggie is fine with being the only human member of his band, Julie and the Phantoms (tell your friends!), just like he’s fine with being the only single member. It doesn’t make him feel lonely, and he’s only picking up more shifts at the coffee shop because he needs more money, not because he’s avoiding being alone. And picking up more shifts at the coffee shop is making the work easier! He’s only a little confused by the fact that he can now touch the espresso machine mid shift without burning himself… must be all of the experience.

you look like you’ve just seen a monster (is that what i look like to you?) (Rated T) [Bobby x Alex x Luke x Reggie] by @aroacethetic-shitpost

Summary: it’s angsty tiefling bobby time, folks!

We Are Monsters, We Are Proud (Rated G) [Flynn x Carrie, Julie x Luke] by @americanhoney913

Summary: Carrie finds herself at a college like no other in search of her dad and some answers. Julie’s not feeling good and maybe staring at roses wasn’t the best idea.

Monster College/Coffeeshop AU

sending forth their beautiful voice, and my heart was fain to listen (Rated G) [Julie x Carrie] by @madeline-kahn

Summary: Months after the death of her mom, Julie prepares to sing again and makes an upsetting discovery.

rise from the ashes (Rated M) [Alex x Willie] by @willexxmercer

Summary: At a time when everything was going wrong for Alex, the one bright spot in his life was the charming barista at the coffee shop he frequented. At least, it was the bright spot until everything went up in flames. All he could do was hope that they could rise from the ashes and figure things out together.

Siren’s Song (Rated T) [Ray x Rose] by hufflebibin

Summary: The Scopuli was never meant to be a permanent arrangement. Rose had taken the job straight out of school just looking to make a little extra money before the tour kicked off.

That was four years ago.

After a string of bad luck befalls Rose and the Petal Pushers, she can’t help but wonder if she is the problem. Or is there something more sinister at play?

Yellow (Rated T) [Julie & Reggie] by @tmp-jatp

Summary: Reggie just wanted to get some new guitar strings. A shapeshifter!Reggie au

Angels Like You (Rated T) [Luke x Reggie] by @sunsetcurveofficial

Summary: Reggie is having a bit of a weird day. It gets worse when he figures out that it’s because he died in his sleep and has somehow been walking around as a ghost without realising it. Meeting Luke helps. Luke says he’s a fellow ghost, and there is something about him that Reggie just feels drawn to. Falling for him is the easiest thing Reggie has ever done, but Luke is a little more than he lets on, and it turns out that their story actually started long before Reggie thought it did.

look into my eyes (it’s where my demons hide) (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie] by @fanfics-she-wrote

Summary: Hiding out from demons was never a desirable nightmare. Of course, Carrie would much prefer a run-for-my-life nightmare than actually running for her life. Having Flynn around is a very welcome soothing balm, though.

Bring All The Monsters Out To Play, Let All The Red Erase The Grey (Rated T) [Bobby & Reggie] by @kennysbirthday

Summary: Mythologicals, Reggie realised, were kind of like queer people. Sometimes your Token Human friend turns around one day and admits that actually, there was something they were suppressing all along, and they hadn’t realised.

–

Reggie’s final exam has been pushed forward at the most inconvenient time. Bobby is sick, Alex is missing, and now he needs to help a selkie get their ‘Happily-Ever-After’ in order to scrape a passing grade. Oh, and if his boss catches him handing out more free coffee, he’s gonna get fired.

————

ROUND 2: FLUFF FICS

The Tropes:

Exes

Time Loop AU

Camp Counselors

Prank Wars

————

Okay, Campers, Rise and Shine! (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by nik_knows_nothing

Summary: The Groundhog Day meets Gravity Falls meets Summer Camp meets The Author’s Own Distaste For Prank Wars AU that no one asked for. Ever. At all.

Starting To Forget (Just What Summer Ever Meant To You) (Not Rated) [Flynn x Carrie] by bi_magic

Summary: Last summer didn’t end on a positive note for Carrie Wilson - she and her girlfriend broke up on the last night of camp, and she’s been miserable since. But it seems that the universe is intent on having her fix that this summer. Even if that means she has to live through the same day over and over and over again until she does.

Creative B.S. Was No More, Was No Less (Look Around, You’re Gonna Miss What You Found) (Rated T) [Alex x Luke, Flynn x Reggie] by @americanhoney913

Summary: Alex and Luke go undercover on a mission to a summer camp in order to find a talisman that could endanger the camp and all the kids. While there, they bond with the kids and make peace with the fact that they broke up.

While Alex and Luke are away, Flynn accidentally fucks with time.

bitch but like romantically (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie] by @screamin-amuseum

Summary: or: flynn gets stuck in a time loop. {for troped jatp round 2}

down by the bay (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by @sunsetcurbed

Summary: Over time, Camp Phantom has simply become known as a selective summer camp: one that took only the kids that Caleb saw promise in. And Caleb wasn’t exactly lying. He really did take only the ones he saw promise in, he simply looked for different traits than others might.

For example, say, hypothetically, a boy who could see the future. Or, hypothetically, a girl who could interact with ghosts. Or, hypothetically, a boy who could summon objects to him with a simple thought. Or, and this is completely hypothetical mind you, a boy who could manipulate time.

Those might be some traits that Caleb saw promise in. Just, like, as examples.

Time will tell (But only if you do it right) (Rated T) [Flynn x Carrie] by @malecacidd

Summary: Carrie had been acting a little off for a week or so, but Flynn was pretty much known for seeing something in nothing, and that was probably what they were doing then. If something was going on, Carrie would tell her eventually.

OR

Who knew all it took was a little bit of miscommunication to mess up time itself?

and so it begins (Rated T) [Bobby x Reggie] by @comeonpeters

Summary: It’s the first day of their second week at Camp Carolling (they’re spending an entire month, and they’re getting paid to be there!) when Reggie gets a little lost in the woods. During this misadventure into the woods, he finds an egg shaped rock, an inhabited cabin that may or may not be riddled with signs, and something that might be magic. He probably doesn’t get paid enough to discover magic.

or, when they were thirteen years old, four boys met at camp carolling and eventually became a band that almost became something legendary. now, all four boys are coming back as counselors, three boys in one band and one boy in his own solo act.

so begins the reunion, though it doesn’t go how any of them imagine.

Porcupine Day (Rated T) [Bobby x Ray x Rose] by @wr0temyway0ut

Summary: It’s been fifteen years since Trevor broke up with Ray and Rose and they’re… not fine, but managing. But when Trevor to adds insult to injury and buys the camp across the lake from the one they once owned together, the two camps become locked in a bitter rivalry. With neither side willing to set aside their pride and work out their issues, the universe decides to settle their fates itself.

Day After Day (After Day After Day) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by hufflebibin

Summary: When Alex met Willie just after their senior year of high school, they spent a wonderful three months dating before their relationship ended in a blaze of glory. Now, four years later, they meet again as counselors at a summer camp. The only problem? Alex keeps reliving their first day together. The day that Luke had declared “Prank Day.”

This is not how Alex pictured his summer going.

clocks move faster (it’s all we’re after) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke] by @willexxmercer

Summary: Julie likes it when her friends are happy, so when she realizes she’s stuck in a time loop, she uses her knowledge to make sure everything works out for everyone… except she conveniently forgets to factor herself (and Luke) into the mix.

Touch of Magic (Not Rated) [Alex x Luke] by @williexmercer

Summary: When everything stands in Luke and Alex’s way of getting to be with the people they love, they have to repeat the day over and over until they can get the happily ever after that they want.

the play’s the thing (that goes wrong) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by @madeline-kahn

Summary: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day for Macbeth, but not so for Alex and the production of Hamlet that he is directing and starring in. And while he’s stuck repeating the day of the performance over and over, mishaps of all kinds befall the cast.

anything, anything (for another run with you) (Rated T) [Alex x Willie] by @aroacethetic-shitpost

Summary: the camp counselor/exes/prank war/time loop fic of your dreams (unless you read all of the other troped round 2 fics lmao)

there’s a glorious sunrise, dappled with the flickers of light (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by @tonightthestarsalign

Summary: ex-best friends Luke and Julie, working as camp counselors at rivaling camps, find themselves stuck in a time loop

the daughter of apollo (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by @the-most-beautiful-broom

Summary: the JATP x Camp Half Blood AU that nobody asked for

maybe the world isn’t ending (maybe it’s been postponed) (Rated G) [Julie x Luke] by @tmp-jatp

Summary: It’s the last day of camp and Julie has one more prank planned for Luke. He just doesn’t know what it is.

Here We Go Again (Rated T) [Julie x Luke] by @kybee1497

Summary: Julie blinked as she stared at the place Euterpe had disappeared. What did that even mean? What journey? Old places and lost faces? What was she talking about? But before she could dwell on the questions swirling around in her mind, the sky full of stars began to move, shifting in place and descending until they were all around her. Julie felt her feet leave the ground as she rose up and up. One star in particular was burning brighter than the others, growing bigger in front of her.

It grew and grew, until the light was blinding and Julie had to throw a hand up against the harsh light. She closed her eyes as the light surrounded her and then she was falling. Falling down, down, down.

————

ROUND 3: CANONVERSE FICS

The Tropes:

Secret Places

Neighbors

First Kiss

Time Jump

————

Just say you won’t let go (Rated G) [Julie/Luke] by @fanfics-she-wrote

Summary: Hey, Julie

You're the heart and soul 'round here, it's plain to see

in which Julie has a second chance with her boys, and then a third

we will fight to shine together (bright forever) (Rated G) [Bright Lighting Guy/Rob from the Orpheum] by @screamin-amuseum

Summary: the rob/bright lighting guy fic literally nobody asked for but i wrote anyways. enjoy gays, bring ur tissues

what happened when (Rated G) [Alex/Luke] by @janaikam

Summary: Before Julie and the Phantoms, before the guys became ghosts, before Sunset Curve – they were Luke and Alex. Not 5 feet apart cause they’re totally gay.

who cares if one more light goes out? (in a sky of a million stars) (Rated T) [Ray/Rose] by @tonightthestarsalign

Summary: The first and the last time Ray ever kissed Rose.

we can forget the world (just you and me) (Rated T) [Alex/Willie] by @sunsetcurbed

Summary: “This was the first place I ever came out to someone,” Alex says, spinning around and taking in the tree house.

together we can take on the world (Rated G) [Alex/Reggie] by @comeonpeters

Summary: Alex Mercer meets Reggie Peters on October 8, 1983, which means that two days have passed since Reggie’s sixth birthday, because Reggie is a Libra according to the magazines that his mom reads when she gets Reggie to paint her toenails. He’s also just moved to Los Angeles, California from his hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a small town in the mountains, and he’s told Alex Mercer about all of this in the three minutes that they’ve known each other, and he might be the loudest, most obnoxious boy that Alex has ever met, and he absolutely has to be Alex’s new best friend.

The Peters family moves in down the street from the Mercers in 1983, and so begins the rest of their lives.

Long Live (Can I start another life with you?) (Rated T) [Julie/Luke] by @smolfangirl

Summary: It’s all too much for one day: first a muffin, then more heartbeats. Julie just needs some time to think. If Luke runs after her to sit by her side so she doesn’t lose it, she won’t complain.

Except afterwards, he starts acting weird. Very weird. And months later, she’s tired of letting him keep his distance.

She can’t do this. Not right now. Not today.

She jumps back on her feet.

The excited grin falls from Luke’s face. She doesn’t try to catch it.

“I – I think this is too much. I need some time. Alone. Sorry.”

Then she runs. She runs past the calloused fingers reaching out to her. Past Reggie and the door, past carved pumpkins on porches and Cornelia Street.

She just runs.

Roses (Rated G) [Emily & Luke, Alex/Luke] by @americanhoney913

Summary: It becomes a sacred place she shares with her son. Mitch is usually off at work from dawn until six o’clock, but Emily’s working from home for now. She works as a florist’s shop right outside the neighborhood. So she brings home seeds and little flowers and other cuts from the store; she and Luke will spend hours out in the dirt, planting seeds and making mud pies and Luke will babble about whatever happened in daycare and make up stories about the different flowers.

Somewhere Only We Know (Rated T) [Nick/Carrie] by hufflebibin

Summary: A journey through Nick Danforth-Evan’s life as experienced in the safety of his backyard hide away.

The Itty Bitty Details (Rated T) [Alex/Willie] by @williexmercer & @futurearchaeologyprof

Summary: 5 times Willie knew Alex and one where Alex knew Willie

you’re the only one who makes me (my wildflower) (Rated T) [Bobby/Reggie] by @willexxmercer

Summary: The tree was Reggie’s safe space, and Bobby was his safe person. He could escape all his troubles there, except for one nagging thought - did he have feelings for his best friend?

Dying complicated things.

because i’ve known you so long, i know every cadence and what they mean (Rated G) [Alex & Julie, Julie/Luke] by @tmp-jatp

Summary: the Juke 5+1 fic from Alex’s POV.

Someday (I’ll See You Again) (Rated T) [Alex/Willie] by @kybee1497

Summary: They’re wrong. Alex, you are not a failure. You’re incredible. You’re smart. You’re funny, and the best friend I could ask for. You’re a wicked talented drummer and you have a beautiful voice. And more important than all of that, is that you’re you, Alex. And the you you are is wonderful, and lovable and perfect. If your parents can’t see that, that’s their own fault. But I swear, Alex. If you’re afraid of them, I need you to tell me. You have to be safe.” Willie’s voice had gone desperate by the end. Alex deserved to know how freaking amazing he was and the fact that his parents didn’t bother to tell him, and actively worked to tear him down instead, was infuriating.

But Willie also worried about him. He’d worried about Alex since the first time he heard Mr. Mercer shouting through the window, a worry that never really went away. Not with the way Alex automatically straightened up when his parents were mentioned, as if he could hear his dad lecturing him about appearances from miles away. Not with the way Alex looked when he was with them, perfectly pieced together and falling apart at the seams, eyes distant and shoulders tense. Willie was pretty sure he had worrying about Alex etched in his bones by this point.

The Energy Never Dies (Rated T) [Gen Fic] by @americanhoney913

Summary: Four moments across time in the loft of the Molina’s garage.

————

ROUND 4: FINAL!

Theme: Author’s Choice

Tropes:

Royalty AU

Soulmate AU

“Long Story Short…”

Author’s Choice

———

Look, Steal From the Rich. Do It. (Rated T) [Julie/Luke] by nik_knows_nothing

Summary: A Julie and the Phantoms Star Wars AU that kind of looks into the ramifications of soul marks in a turbulent society, but mostly just focuses on the gang infiltrating a fancy Core World party.

take my heart (and take my hand) (Rated T) [Alex/Willie] by @sunsetcurbed

Summary: The stranger smiles. “I’m Willie,” he greets.

“Alex,” Alex nods back.

“Sir,” Willie says pointedly, and smirks up at him as he bows exaggeratedly.

“The word sir is coming out of your mouth directed at me, but I don’t feel like you just addressed me as a sir at all. And please, call me Alex.”

“My apologies,” Willie hums, straightening back up. And then, pointedly, he lowers himself back into the same bow and makes deliberate eye contact with Alex. “Sir.”

Alex blinks. “You’re not going to call me Alex, are you?”

“Absolutely not, Sir.”

the princess and the lord (Rated T) [Julie/Luke] by @the-most-beautiful-broom

Summary: a JATP x Princess Diaries 2 AU

Diamond in the Rough (Rated G) [Julie/Luke] by @tmp-jatp

Summary: The JATP Aladdin AU

Okay, So You’re Interrupting the Political Guy Again, So Think About That (Rated T) [Julie/Luke] by nik_knows_nothing

Summary: Julie and the Phantoms meets The Goblin Emperor meets a soulmate AU meets the author’s stunning lack of what I assume is basic knowledge on how monarchies work.

i had the time of my life, fighting dragons with you (Rated T) [Julie/Luke] by @tonightthestarsalign

Summary: luke gets hired by some noble to bring back the princess that was kidnapped by a dragon

born to be yours (Rated G) [Alex/Willie] by @willexxmercer

Summary: “Hello. It feels strange, resorting to notes like this, but I couldn’t think of any other way. I know you’re here, somewhere. At the ball. I’ve tried to find you for the past few nights. My parents always told me never to believe in looped days and soulmates, but I think this just proves that they were wrong.

My name is Willie. I don’t know how to find you, but sometimes I feel like I’m drawn to you. Like I can just sense you nearby. I don’t know if you’ll find this, but if you do, I’ll try to wait for you on the balcony.

Until we meet.”

our best days are yet unknown (Rated T) [Alex/Reggie/Willie] by @aroacethetic-shitpost

Summary: When Prince Alexander of Sacuria meets his fiance, Prince William of Coterra, he’s astonished to discover that he recognizes his daemon. He recognizes it as one of the other shapes that his own daemon is able to take… as his soulmate. The only problem? Alex already has a soulmate: Reggie Peters, his childhood best friend. What should he do about finally meeting his second soulmate?

Panic and run away? Yeah, sure.

Little does he know he’s about to have a bigger problem than that…

————

Please take the time to read of all these incredible fics! Leave the authors some kudos/comments! They worked so hard this whole event. Thanks so much!

Just as a reminder, our non-anon collection is always open and we are always so excited to receive any submissions! The TROPED: JATP official collection has been CLOSED but if any of our prompts inspire you, please share your fics with us in our non-anon collection! Simple put ‘TROPED_Non_Anonymous’ where it asks for the collection name, and be sure to put what round you are writing for in your notes so we can be sure to tag it appropriately when we share! Also, just as a note, fics submitted to the non-anon collection do not have to follow the word limit and do not require the same strict adherence to the tropes, though we do ask that you comply with our other rules regarding no rape, incest, negativity, and things like that! Happy writing!

TROPED JATP AO3 Collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TROPED_JATP_1

TROPED Non-Anon AO3 Collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TROPED_Non_Anonymous

[ficsandcatsandficsandcats]

Hey! Could you write the first genuine fight as a married couple between Punk!Jaskier + The Reader (and the makeup of course) please? Thanks so much?

Fandom: The Witcher Pairing: Punk!Jaskier and Reader Word Count: 1,928 Rating: T Taglist: @heroics-and-heartbreak​ @whatevermonkey​ @mycat-is-mylove @mynamesoundslikesherlock​ @kemmastan​ @magic-multicolored-miracle​ @writingstudent​ @mlleecrivaine​ @coffee-and-stories​ @amirahiddleston​ @ultracolorfulnerdcollection​ @astouract​ @your-not-invisible-to-me @daydreamer-in-training @morelikebyesexual a/n: Writing fights is hard because you have to make sure both people have a perspective that’s somewhat valid but the way they communicate it or some part of it is flawed and then you have to figure out how they can make it right. I’m not sure how well this went but I sure did do the thing.

The only sound that broke the tense silence in the car was the swipe of the windshield wipers and the din of rain beating against the roof. You stared out the window, the words and laughter from earlier in the night still swirling in your mind.

‘Oh well Jask knows a lot about forbidden fruit, eh? Used to be your steady diet.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Oh fuck, you don’t know? Jaskier used to pull all the married ladies looking for a quick romp with a Rockstar. It became a bit of a running joke.’

You could feel Jaskier’s eyes on you and the wash of humiliation ran over you again. You’d just sat there, slack-jawed and stunned while your husband, the man you’d been with for four years, the father of your child, laughed as if this wasn’t a revelation. And as if your friends weren’t glancing at you a big nervously as the laughter died down and they realized you really hadn’t known.

As soon as the car came to a stop you tore off the seatbelt and booked it into the house. You’d just thrown your jacket on the coat hanger and were turning into the stairs when Jaskier entered.

“Y/N, talk to me,” he pleaded. Oh, now he’d be serious. Now he wanted to talk. How convenient. You continued to climb the stairs wordlessly, cursing your pregnant body for slowing you down as he caught up with you before you could the slam the door behind you.

“Y/N come on, it’s not that big a deal,” he argued. You spun on him, wide-eyed and angrier than he’d ever seen you.

“Not that big a deal?” you echoed incredulously. Jaskier balked a bit under your expression but shrugged helplessly.

“I mean, it’s in the past,” he said.

“I don’t… I don’t even know where to begin with that,” you said with a harsh, humorless laugh.

“Why are you angry?”

“Because I sat in a room with all of our friends who all knew you had this fun little secret and then I got to look like the fucking idiot who didn’t know that her husband appanrently really gets off on adultery,” you snapped. Jaskier’s eyes darkened with hurt and anger.

“That’s not fair,” he argued, “That’s all in the past.”

“That’s what all cheaters say.”

“I am not and will not be a cheater, Y/N. Gods, this is why I didn’t tell you! This is why! Because I knew you’d overreact,” he said.

“Oh yes please tell me how I should be reacting to this, Jaskier, I love it when a man tells me how I should react to things,” you snarled.

“I also didn’t tell you because I’m not proud of the way I acted.”

“Well you could have fooled me with the way you laughed and joked with them! Until they seemed to remember I was there and it killed the mood.”

“Of course I pretended it was fine, I didn’t know what else to do! What did you want me to do? Rend my shirt? Throw a drink in Aev’s face? She was drunk, I hoped we’d just move past it and then we could talk it through,” he explained, exasperation in his voice that only made you angrier and more defensive.

“Ok, sure, let’s talk,” you said, crossing your arms over your chest and fixing him with a dark look. He ran his fingers through his chestnut hair and took a deep breath before leaning against the bureau that sat across from the bed where you’d sat.

“I’m not proud of the choices I made. And I think I have a right to keep those choices in my past. Have you told me everything you’ve done? Every bad choice? Every mistake you wish you could take back?” he charged. You felt the truth in his words but you didn’t care about that, didn’t want to acknowledge it, you just wanted to be angry and make him feel the hurt you felt.

“So, what does this mean, Y/N? Is this going to change how you see me? Am I going to be defined by this forever now?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” you admitted, tears filling your eyes, “I don’t want to say yes but I don’t know how to just… be ok with this. Jaskier, I should have known. Or at the very least I shouldn’t have found out like that. Gods, just, having all of them know and sitting there like that I just felt like an idiot or like I didn’t really know my husband and I’m scared.”

“You’re not an idiot. What are you scared of?” he asked, crossing the room to sit by you on the bed.

“Look at me, Jaskier. I’m bloated and tired and have acne like I’m going through puberty again. You’ve seen more of my vomit in the last month than I think my parents saw my entire life. I’ve already been worried about how you can find me attractive and knowing that you’ve… well… I don’t know, Jask. On some level I know it’s not fair to judge you or not trust you because you’ve never given me reason but it’s just… finding out, you know? It would have been one thing if you’d told me but just finding out like that… it feels like it was a secret. And that’s scary.”

Your anger abated into something much more painful. A fear and an uncertainty you’d never felt before in your relationship, not even once. Jaskier wanted to tell you that you didn’t have to worry. That he loved you, fell more in love with you every day, that he’d stopped chasing married women long before you met. But they all sounded like excuses and all he could see was that these choices he’d made, these stupid, selfish choices, were going to haunt him forever. And he silently left the room.

-----

“First, I need to apologize.”

Aevryn sat across from you on the patio, an apology basket of baked goods between you and a pair of sunglasses on to try and quell her headache. Jaskier hadn’t come to bed last night and when you woke up he was gone and Aevryn had texted to ask if she could come over to make amends. You weren’t angry with her but you wanted the company so you’d accepted.

“It’s not your fault, you didn’t know,” you said.

“I did, though,” Aevryn sighed, “Or I could’ve guessed. Jask doesn’t talk about that time in his life for a reason and it was shitty of me to bring it up. Being drunk is no excuse.”

You quietly chewed a bagel, not sure what to say, and she seemed satisfied with the quiet acceptance of her apology.

“Was it bad?” she asked, wincing slightly.

“It… yeah, it was pretty bad,” you admitted, “Aev I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Hey,” Aev reached over and put a hand on yours, lowering her sunglasses so the seriousness in her sea green eyes could be seen, “Jaskier loves you more than anything. He has never and will never do that to you. And for what it’s worth, he’s never done it to anyone he’s with. I know being the Other Person isn’t great but I wouldn’t fuck around and lie for him if I thought he’d hurt you. I know how badly that betrayal can wound. And I know that people can change.”

You glanced at the ring on Aevryn’s left hand and knew she spoke of her own complicated history with her husband. You sighed and nodded.

“I may have said some things that weren’t great,” you said.

“Everyone does in a fight,” Aevryn said simply.

“He didn’t come to bed. And I don’t know where he is. Aev, what if he doesn’t come back?”

The sliding door opened and Jaskier stood in the threshold, a bouquet of daisies in one hand and his guitar in the other. Aevryn quickly stood up, walking over to you to press a quick kiss on your cheek and to snack a bagel before walking up to Jaskier.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he echoed.

They shared a meaningful silence and you watched them exchange some pointed looks, a silent conversation that can only be had between close friends who’ve known each other for half a lifetime. At some point some resolution must have been met because he gave her a small smile and she slid between the flowers and guitar to give him a quick hug before heading out, leaving the pair of you behind to talk. He looked at you a little sheepishly, feeling like a cliché.

“I’ve never had this before,” he explained, “Fights that didn’t lead to a breakup. I watched my parents do it a lot and he always brought flowers after. So, I did that. But he also never apologized. And I don’t want to do that.”

“Jaskier, a lot was said,” you began. He gently pressed the flowers into your arms and you smiled as the memory of watching your favorite movie with him came to mind. You’d spoken the line aloud with the actress, “I love daisies, they’re so friendly. Don’t you think they are the friendliest flower?” Jaskier had been charmed and ever since, on Valentine’s or your birthday or sometimes just because you were having a hard time while he was away, he would send you daisies. He was always thinking of those little things.

“I should have told you,” he said, taking the seat across from you, “Even if it was in my past, that’s the kind of thing someone should know before they agree to be with them.”

“It doesn’t change anything,” you said quickly, “I’m not going anywhere, Jask.”

A relieved look came over his face but he quickly picked up the apology, determined not to follow in the footsteps of his parents who just said enough to quell a fight without actually making amends. He wanted different for his family and he would do what it took, even if it was hard.

“I want you to know, I need you to know that I love you. You’re the person for me, Y/N. And I don’t need to chase the validation or attention or whatever I chased when I did that. And even if I did, even if someday I struggle with those insecurities, I’m going to have you by my side to talk through them with and I would rather have the hard talks with you than have an easy distraction with someone else. Any day. Vomit notwithstanding,” he said emphatically. You laughed and sniffed, a tear rolling down your face that he reached across to brush away.

“I wrote a song, because of course I did,” he said with a wry smile, “Not for the band, just for you. And if you’d like to hear it, I’d love to play it for you.”

“Yes,” you said and then, “Oh! Wait! No! Not until I say this! I called you a cheater and that wasn’t fair. And I should have told you I was feeling insecure and weird about my body and our relationship being impacted by the pregnancy, I can’t expect you to read my mind. So, yeah, I just needed to say that. Now you can play.”

He smiled, standing to cross over and give you a soft kiss before moving back to his seat to play the song he’d written that would be heard by no one but you and Jaskier and your unborn child.

[prettyboyroger]

Fame Chapter 3- Unfinished Business

gif: @/borhapmovie

gif: @/lewissimon

Part 1 Part 2

Characters: BoRhap! Roger Taylor, Katherine Teague (OC), BoRhap! Freddie Mercury, BoRhap! Mary Austin, BoRhap! Brian May, BoRhap! Chrissy Mullen, BoRhap! John Deacon

Pairing(s): BoRhap! Roger Taylor/OC, slight BoRhap! Mary Austin/Freddie Mercury in the background, slight BoRhap! Brian May/Chrissy Mullen in the background, past BoRhap! Brian May/Mary Austin in the background

Summary: A former child star making a new image for herself becomes involved with Roger Taylor as they both rise to fame, dealing with all that brings with it and that life brings along the way.

Rating/Warnings: PG-13, some reference to sex, smoking, references to alcohol

Disclaimer: These portrayals are based off of the characters in Bohemian Rhapsody, as such their personalities are based on the movie. This story is a work of fiction and the character of Katherine as well as many of the events in this series are fictional. I do not own Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, or Roger Taylor.

Word Count:  1914

A/N: So, so sorry this took so long to write guys!!! This chapter was a bitch to write!!! It’s not my favorite chapter, but in the next chapter things really start to heat up so we got almost the entire set-up out of the way so yay!! 

19 January 1970

“You’re really not going to talk about this, are you?” Kathy drew Mary’s pillow closer to her chest. Mary and Kathy were sitting on Kathy’s bed in their flat. Biba didn’t pay well enough for individual flats. Kathy was wearing a short blue romper and had her hair tied back with a little white ribbon while Mary was in a floor length yellow nightgown  “At least tell me how it went! Did he ask you out? Did you shag him in the dressing room?”

“Yes, Kathy, I shagged him in the dressing room.”

“Come on Mary, you have to tell me something! I helped make this happen!”

“You did nothing!”

“Nonsense, I told him that you were working today, that counts for something!”

Mary bit her lip, smiling at the floor, “He asked me to come watch his band audition new bass players.”

Kathy smiled and nudged her friend, “See I am the greatest wing-woman there ever was!” Kathy reached over into her nightstand and pulled out her lighter and a cigarette. She stuck the cigarette in her mouth, flipped open the lighter and drew it closer to her mouth as she turned back to her friend.

Mary looked back over at her as Kathy lit her cigarette and said “I need you to come with me.”

Kathy looked back at her friend, surprised at this development, “You want me to come with you on your date?”

“It’s not a date, the whole band’s going to be there.”

Kathy took a drag, “Is it Brian then? Are you worried about being there with your ex? Because if that’s why you want me there, well, his hair’s a little poofy, he need to stop trying to straighten it, but he certainly has a nice face and he is taller than me which most men can’t say and you know how I feel about guitarists and their hands-”

“No! No, that’s not what I meant! He’s bring his new girlfriend-what’s her name-Chrissy!” Mary’s face flushed in a way that made Kathy giggle. Mary’s face then suddenly turned guilty, “I may have already told them that you would come.”

“What, why would you, wait them? I thought you only talked to Freddie?”

“Well I did- I mean I meant to! It’s just that Freddie was so nervous to talk to me that he brought some- uh- support.”

Kathy raised her eyebrow, “Support?”

Mary quickly nodded, “Yeah, support. HewastoonervoussohebroughtRogerandItoldhimIwouldbringyoutotheaudition.”

“What?”

Mary took a deep breath “He was too nervous to go alone, so he brought Roger along with him and he was there and he was flirting and then he asked me if I had any friends that I could bring along to the auditions for him since Brian would have Chrissy and I would be going with Freddie- and I panicked okay? I told him that I did and that he had already met you and then he remembered you and now you have to come, you just have to come!” Mary collapsed like a folding chair, head on her knees now and her arms wrapped around her legs.

Kathy laughed at her friend’s distress, “I thought you said that I shouldn’t get involved with him, that he was a bad idea, and here you are setting us up!”

“I am not setting you guys up and he is still a bad idea! I just really, really need you to do this for me, please I really like this guy and I don’t want to mess it up by looking like a liar the first time I meet him!” Mary’s big blue eyes were were pleading with Kathy and Kathy always had a weakness for blue eyes.

“Alright, fine, I’ll go,” Kathy smiled at her friend as Mary hugged her.

Kathy looked down at the little pug that was asleep at the foot of the bed, “Can I bring Lady with me?”

“No, you cannot bring your dog to this audition!” Mary said looking incredulously at her friend.

“Why not? She’ll get lonely!” Kathy pouted and pulled the pug up to her face, waking the little dog up in the process.

“Lady’s a dog. She will be fine for a few hours on her own. I promise.” Mary watched as Kathy stuck her lower lip out and the pug started licking Kathy’s face.

Kathy sighed dramatically, “Well I suppose if I must leave her for a few hours, I will, but I don’t have to like it. Where is this thing anyway and when is it?”

“It’s in a room at Roger’s university at the end of the month. So you’ll go then? Even though you can’t bring Lady?” Mary actually looked nervous.

“Yes, I already told you, I’ll go even if I can’t bring Lady,” Mary’s face brightened at that, “But in the meantime we need to figure out what you’re going to wear to this!”

31 January 1970

The university campus was strange after dark when Mary and Kathy arrived. The hustle and bustle of classes was gone leaving only a few students in large groups walking around the campus at night. It was almost eerily quiet until Mary and Kathy reached the room where the audition was going to be held. Brian was sitting on a sofa with his arm around a pretty brunette, that must be Chrissy, and Freddie and Roger were excitedly talking about something and smoking when Freddie noticed the girls come in.

He leapt up from the couch and rushed over to Mary, kissing her on the cheek, “How beautiful you are. Guys, this is Mary-”

“We’ve met!” Roger chimed in wearing a huge shit-eating grin and looking directly at Brian who was the colour of a tomato now. Chrissy was looking between Brian and Mary confused.

“And this is her lovely friend Kathy who Mary has so generously brought for Roger.”

“Poor thing, no one deserve to have Roger foisted upon them,” Brian smirked at Roger, who glared back at him.

“Mary, Kathy, the two who are bickering like little schoolboys are Brian, brown hair, plays the guitar, and Roger, the blonde, plays the drums, and the lovely lady over there is Miss Christine Mullen, also known as Chrissy.” Mary and Kathy waved over to the group who waved back.

Kathy smiled over at Roger who was wearing sunglasses indoors like a real rockstar. Roger grinned back at Kathy, looking her up and down, before saying, “Well, you’re a pretty one, aren’t you?” Brian rolled his eyes at Roger.

Kathy looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, “Don’t you recognize me?” Roger’s eyebrows furrowed as Chrissy burst into laughter.

“This has never happened to me before!” Roger snapped at the laughing girl behind him.

Brian was laughing as well as he rose from his spot on the sofa and clapped a hand on Roger’s shoulder. “As much as I’m enjoying this Rog, it’s not as bad as you think. We just talked to her after our last show.”

“Well at least someone remembers me, I’d hate to think that I’m forgettable.”

“I remember-”

“It’s not you, doll, it’s that he can’t see.”

“What?”

“Brian, I swear-”

“Rog is as blind as a bat without his glasses,” Brian smirked at the fuming blond, “that’s why he wears his sunglasses inside, he thinks regular glasses aren’t very ‘rock ‘n roll’.”

“But he was flirting with the crowd during your show?” “He does that during every show, I think he figures that there must be at least one pretty bird in the crowd thinking that he’s flirting with them and he’s usually right,” Roger’s face was beet red now. The whole group of was laughing now, much to Roger’s dismay, when they were interrupted.

A man, more a boy really, entered the room. He looked very much like a cocker spaniel, with long brown hair and soft brown eyes and was dragging along a bass and an amp. “Excuse me, is this the room where Smile’s auditioning bass players?” His voice was soft and sweet, if a little timid.

Roger jumped at the opportunity to change the subject, “Yes! Yes it is!”

The cocker spaniel looking young man smiled sweetly and walked into the center of the room and set up his amp and plugged in his bass, “Hello, my name is John Richard Deacon and I was born on the 19th of August 1951.” The young man, John Deacon, then started to play his bass. It surprised Kathy just how good he was. Despite his cocker spaniel like appearance, he could play the bass parts of Smile’s rock tracks incredibly well. His timid demeanor faded away as he lost himself in the music and began to sway a little bit to the music. As he finished up a song that Kathy hadn’t heard before, Great King Rat, he stopped to look back at the group which had just been staring at him silently. “Well was I okay?” John’s timid demeanor had returned as he stopped playing the music, smiling back nervously at them.

“It was better than okay, darling, it was bloody great!” Freddie exclaimed and the younger man’s nerves seemed to calm a bit as his smile widened. “Brian, Rog, don’t you two think he was amazing?”

“Yeah, it was really good,” Roger added.

Whatever Brian was thinking, he didn’t reveal it on his face, “Your amp. Do you know how to fix it if it breaks?”

“I actually built the amp myself,” John smiled, “I’m studying electrical engineering.”

Brian’s eyes seemed to actually light up with that, “Well there is room for improvement in your bass playing,” Roger and Freddie groaned and look incredulously at Brian, “but the fact that you built your own amp is impressive. And useful. Can you meet us here a week from now so we can rehearse?”

John nodded and thanked them for their time, still looking a little deflated from Brian’s comment as he left.

“That was harsh. He was the best damn bass player we’ve had audition for us,” Roger commented taking a drag from his cigarette.

“He was, but there was still room for improvement. But I do think he may work out,” Brian said.

“Always the critic, dear, you must stop being such a perfectionist,” Freddie added putting out his own cigarette, “I’d love to stay, but I really must go or I’ll miss my shift.”

Freddie said something to Mary that Kathy couldn’t hear and kissed her on the cheek before leaving. Chrissy whispered something to Brian and Brian stood up, holding Chrissy’s hand, “We’re going to go, we’ll see you guys later.” The pair left hand in hand, leaving only Mary, Roger, and Kathy in the room.

“I’m going back to the flat do you want to come with me?” Mary asked.

“No, no, you go ahead, I’ll see you later,” Kathy replied glancing at Roger before smiling back at Mary. Mary hugged Kathy and left leaving only Kathy and Roger.

Roger walked up to Kathy with the cockiest smile she had ever seen on his face, “Not going with your friend?”

Kathy matched his smile with one of her own as his arm wrapped around her, hand resting on her back, creeping lower and lower, “I had unfinished business here. We never got to finish our conversation from the other night.”

“Do you want to finish that conversation over drinks?” Roger asked, hand dangerously low on her back.

“I’d love to,” Kathy replied.

A/N: And this you can see the exact moment Deaky started writing Back Chat in this chapter! Really excited for the next chapter, I’ve already started on it! Things really get exciting then! Sorry again for the wait!! Send me an ask or a DM to be added to the tag list!

Tag List:

@mhftrs

@radioblahblahh

@z---apocalypse

@fatbottomedbitch

@x1975sos

[nathanorenstein-blog]

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Review

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Review

By Nathan Orenstein

Release Date - May 11, 2018

Genres - Lounge Pop, Alternative Rock, Space Pop

It’s hard to believe that the last we’ve seen of Arctic Monkeys was in 2013, with their hugely successful fifth album AM. It marked a massive change of pace for the band, but it’s lasting appeal to fans and newcomers alike is far from debatable. Arctic Monkeys’ new sound was met with universal acclaim, and half of the album ended up being released as singles over the course of two years. Five years later, in 2018, Arctic Monkeys are finally back, and they bring with them an even greater shift in sound than AM brought. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino abandons the psychedelic rock and roll of AM, and instead constructs its songs around Alex Turner’s piano and lounge like production. The result is jarring on the first listen, but the initial shock wears off after a few listens. However, the change in sound is still inescapable, even after getting used to more mellow sound of the album. The big question is whether or not Arctic Monkeys’ new direction pays off, and the answer is, well, kind of.

Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino will likely go down as Arctic Monkeys’ first concept album. Set only one year in the future, Alex Turner plays a washed up rock star, who is now confined to a residency at the Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, a new resort on the moon. In this alternate future, many people have left their lives on Earth to move to the moon, and the trip to get there is fairly easy. Life on the moon is filled with shiny new technology that distracts even more from the physical world, akin to the way technology is slowly sucking away our lives today. The world that Turner has created sounds almost ridiculous, but his songwriting fleshes out the detailed setting easily and unawkwardly. He uses it to reflect on modern life, much in the way a science fiction film would. And Alex Turner makes it very clear how much of an influence science fiction was on the album; there’s even a song named after it. Turner’s smart songwriting has always been a staple of Arctic Monkeys’ music, but here it is at its most diverse and important. Gone are the love songs that made up almost the entirety of every Arctic Monkeys album. Instead, Turner has decided to focus his attention to commentate on fame, technology, social media, and even stranger topics such as advertising. Opening track “Star Treatment” introduces us to his rockstar character, and begins the album with an almost painful lament on the fame that he once had. Turner’s wit has been replaced with a biting cynicism for the modern world on many of the tracks, and the moments of positivity always have some sort of sharp edge to them. As is typical with Turner’s songwriting, most of the tracks here are told through metaphors, some of which can get lost on the listener if they aren’t listening deeply. This has always been a problem with Arctic Monkeys’ music, and Turner even recognizes it on the song “Science Fiction”. Sadly, tracks like “Golden Trunks” are almost impossible to decode, and the verses don’t seem to have any correlation with the chorus. Despite a few snags like this, Turner has successfully managed to create a world that mirrors ours, and his bitter commentary hits home without being overwhelmingly negative.

Though Turner did change up his songwriting approach and themes, it is truly the sound of the band that has evolved the most. It’s hard to describe the genre that Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino would fall into. At its heart, this is still a rock and roll album. There is an obvious influence from Abbey Road era Beatles throughout the album in melody and instrumentation, and some psychedelic elements from AM remain. However, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino can’t be confined to its influences. The production across the album sounds like it was recorded in a haze of cigarette smoke, but at the classiest casino you could imagine. It’s smooth, yet cloudy, and the album has an almost sleazy vibe to it, like you would expect at a casino. The music mirrors the story perfectly, and that’s probably the album’s greatest strength. You really feel like you’re listening to this washed up musician perform with his band in a casino. The piano, and other various synthesizers, are more than often the stars of the songs here. Electric guitars weave in and out, but they are not nearly as prevalent as they have been on previous Arctic Monkeys albums. Pulling from AM, Nick O’Malley’s bass is once again front and center, giving the piano a darker juxtaposition in sound. The drumming can feel awkward at times, as characterized by the out of place drum fills that can be heard numerous times on “Star Treatment”. However, the almost jazz-like drumming often provides an appropriate back bone to the songs. Individually, the artists all perform their instruments relatively well. However, the sum of their parts doesn’t fare as well. As can be expected from an album labeled as lounge pop, some of the songs are just not very entertaining. Turner’s crooning over lounge music instrumentation can be as boring as it sounds like it would be, and this is evident on songs like “Batphone” and “Golden Trunks”. Other songs just don’t really know what they’re doing, like “Four Out Of Five”, which seems to wander aimlessly through different soundscapes across it’s over five minute runtime. The band was able to perfect this new sound at times, especially on the first half of the album, but other attempts sound amateur and flat out boring. The experimentation in sound does payoff occasionally, but I wouldn’t say it justifies an entire album.

Overall, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino will likely be one of the most divisive rock albums of the year, and certainly the most divisive in Arctic Monkeys’ discography. Alex Turner’s songwriting allows him to create a futuristic, yet modern, world in space, but the lounge-like sound of the album isn’t always enough to support that. Instruments occasionally pop up awkwardly in songs, and some songs are just too awkward in general. Arguably the best moments on the album are those that find a groove and stick with it, rather than trying to change things mid-song or trying to introduce a new instrument randomly. But the biggest complaint I have with this album is that it just comes off as boring at times, unable to be supported by Alex Turner’s lyricism alone. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino certainly isn’t bad, and I probably wouldn’t even label it as a misstep for Arctic Monkeys, but it’s almost too experimental for its own good.

My final score: 6.5/10

Favorite Songs: “Star Treatment”, “One Point Perspective”, “American Sports”, “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino”, “Science Fiction”

Least Favorite Songs: “Golden Trunks”, “Four Out Of Five”, “She Looks Like Fun”

[preydriveband]

My motivations….. Steve (Guitar & Backing Vocals)

I’ve played guitar for over 20 years and I got into the recording side of things about 16 years ago. I loved being able to turn ideas and concepts into songs and sounds for anyone to hear, and I still do. I studied audio engineering at the School of Audio Engineering (SAE) in London from 2008-2009, had some work experience at Metropolis Studios and briefly with Jason Perry, however I never pursued it as a career. It was always something I enjoyed doing, however I didn’t want to live in London anymore and felt being away from the capital may effect my chances of work. I also couldn’t bare the thought of working with sub-standard musicians who expected an engineer to make them sound good, despite the fact they couldn’t even play their own songs. Maybe thats snobbish? I don’t know - but I’d never expect anyone to wave a magic wand and turn my steaming pile of sh*t song into a number 1 hit. Norfolk doesn’t have many big studios, but in-between working 9-5 jobs and studying for my BSc in Environmental Science, I’ve still managed to record a few local bands (I Said Goodbye, Joiners, Adventure By Post) as well as Prey Drive, to satisfy my audio engineering needs!

Now I’m 35 years old, it feels different being in a band. I used to be full of hope and desire when it came to releasing songs, playing shows etc, however the more and more experience I gain, the more my motivation diminishes. I have peaks and troughs though, however on the whole; I would say i’m far less optimistic about music now than I was 20 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I still love playing in a band and writing music, however sometimes I just enjoy the process of making a song far more than I do having to play it live and promoting it. Getting other people to hear your band can be exhausting and sole-destroying. Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself and the band to get stuff heard, as I guess i truly believe in the songs etc and think people would enjoy them. But without hoards of money to pay for PR, radio pluggers and show buy-ons, it just doesn’t seem a very fair system anymore. Getting a local band as a support act for a big touring act is super tough, whereas previously it used to be a rite of passage. I remember ALWAYS seeing local bands open for touring acts. But if you do get that opening slot, music fans just turn up for the headline act now instead of opening themselves up to the fact that they may actually discover a new band they like, who are local!? 

It feels like unless you’re signed to a major and constantly in press/radio, not many people are going to give you the time of day. This isn’t entirely true i’m sure, but sometimes that’s how it feels. And we’ve had some amazing opportunities too - like supporting Busted at a sold out UEA show. To play in front maybe 1,000 people was immense, and we gave it our all. But the crowd weren’t there for us, and didn’t know who we were or what we did. We had to work hard to win them over as we’re a completely different band to Busted, however we did sell a lot of merch that night! There are also all too many ‘management’ and ‘booking’ agents too, who will happily take a retainer from bands each month, often of at least £500, and they’ll send out a bunch of e-mails on your behalf with no promises….. We’ve never done that, but had many offers however it just felt wrong to us to spend that much money with no guarantees coming our way. 

Nowadays, as I said earlier, my motivations are just in producing new music and getting it recorded. I’d love for people to hear the songs we do, despite how difficult it is to get them heard, however I keep trying. I enjoy the process of hanging with the guys in PD and just making music. Demoing everything in my little home studio and then taking it to a studio to progress it, is a real fun experience. Making videos too is amazing. I feel we’ve churned out some cool videos in the past and I really hope we can do some more again soon. If I dwell on the fact that not many people will see them, it does bum me out. But I try to enjoy the process of making them and that usually outweighs the negatives.

I’m also inspired and motivated by my wife (cheesy, I know!). She came to the UK 5 years ago from Colombia to do a PhD at the University of East Anglia. She bossed that within 3 years (instead of the usual 4) and now works on a project with her home country from Norwich in what seems to be the perfect job. We got married 2 years ago and are working towards getting her a UK citizenship, which is difficult, but she’s never given up and just takes each challenge on the chin and rolls with the punches. She came from an extremely different background to me, had to struggle with racism and bullying at school and always feared she wouldn’t amount to anything. But she’s now a Doctor in Microbial Ecology and married to a rockstar……