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copias-thrall · 4 years ago

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Cause I'm Young and I'm Here and So Beautiful

A look into the rise and fall of Mary Goore's flash-in-the-pan modeling career.

~12.5K Mary Goore/Reader *drug/alcohol use; mentions of past child abuse; brief homelessness; plot no porn; POV shift*

This fic was inspired by and is very loosely based on Aurelio Voltaire's early days in NYC in the 90s, though I have set it in Boston in the early aughts. 😊

Many thanks to the artists who did commissions for this! 🥰

One Way Streets

Mary stepped off the regional rail and gripped his backpack. He had $72.57 in cash rolled into his socks and a give-em-hell attitude.

When he’d packed his bag the night before, he wasn’t even sure if he’d go through with it, but he couldn’t stand being home anymore. Some of his friends had told him he was crazy.

"Three more months, dude. You got this. Just finish high school, then bounce."

But they didn’t have to live with his dad and the step-monster. Every day was a new indignity. Having them bitch about his music and his style was one thing—that he could have dealt with—but everything else had just kind of…escalated.

Now that the kiddies were older, they’d turned into gremlins. They’d somehow sensed that Mary wasn’t their beloved older brother—he was some sort of half other. They’d stopped questioning why "mom was so mean" to him and had accepted that she was because there was something wrong with Mary. They realized they could be little shits and blame everything on him.

And dad just didn’t care. He’d throw up his hands and say, "I have to live with her"—as if Mary wasn’t in the same boat.

Dad hadn’t stopped her when—in a rage—she’d smashed every single vinyl album Mary had owned because the twins ruined her nice tablecloth. He’d shrugged when she cut all Mary's guitar strings so he couldn’t play "the devil’s music." He’d held Mary back when she took a match and burned all his secret stuff that Mary kept under his bed—action figures, books, guitar mags, journals—in the backyard because he got detention for smoking. He hadn’t said a word when the police showed up after she came at Mary with scissors because he’d dyed his hair black and he’d pushed her away before she could scalp him.

Mary thought for sure he was going to get carted off to jail as she screamed about him terrorizing the family and being afraid he was going to kill her sons in their sleep, but the officers had just looked at her bored and told her being a teenager wasn’t a crime.

So, no: Mary couldn’t wait 3 more months.

He’d scraped together what money he had left from his secret shifts working as a busboy under the table at a local dive downtown, packed his backpack with the essentials, and walked the 5 miles to the train station instead of going to school.

Eighteen was 10 weeks away. He could fudge it for a few months, especially since he could already get away without using his fake ID to get into shows most of the time.

So, to the big city it was.

He shifted his weight and tried to pretend that he belonged here in Boston, but actually facing the busy streets was a lot different from looking at a bird’s-eye view map. He had a printout in his pocket, but he didn’t want to look like a doe-eyed tourist. So he set off down the seemingly labyrinthine streets in the direction he could have sworn was the correct one.

It wasn't.

When he came out a side alley into Faneuil Hall, he almost wondered if he'd gone through a fairy portal, since he was clear on the other side of town. Begrudgingly, he checked his creased map, and set out once more.

And ended up spit out by the State building.

Finding the hostel turned into a fraught adventure, and he got turned around several times more. When he tried to ask for directions, most people pushed past him while one lady shoved $5 at him. He used the cash to buy a hotdog, and it was the vendor who ultimately gave him directions in his thick, Southie accent.

Of course, making it to the hostel ended up being just part one. The rates were almost double what it stated online ("Sorry, honey—that site hasn’t been upgraded since the 90s."), and two nights were practically all his savings. Mary had thought he’d at least have a couple of days to find a job, not 36hrs.

He left the hostel, wondering for the first time if maybe he shouldn’t go back home…but he decided it was a nice day out. Surely there was some place he could hunker down. Just for the night.

What he hadn’t anticipated was the cops at every fucking turn telling him to move along. And any place out of line-of-sight seemed to already be inhabited.

He finally found a place behind some rocks in the Seaport where he didn’t think he’d be murdered in his sleep, curled around his backpack, and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Mary woke up damp from the dew and the morning sun streaming into his eyes. The birds were creating an awful racket, but Mary guessed it was as good an alarm clock as any.

He ran his fingers through his bird's nest of hair, and he made his way back to the South Station. The men’s room may have smelled like a sewage treatment plant, but at least it was free. He had expected it to be mostly empty at the crack of dawn, but it was full of commuters making that last run to the head before they had to take the train 2hrs out of the city for work.

And it was a sight: a bunch of suits with their fancy lattes washing their hands, and Mary in the corner trying to surreptitiously wipe down with paper towels under his Misfits t-shirt and his shredded jeans. At school, he’d have probably gotten into several altercations by now—no one would have let him just turn into Mary Goore without a fight—but this was Boston, and no one gave him more than a cursory glance.

Just another college kid.

It emboldened Mary to go full-out in the kind of way he had only done when going out to the punk shows downtown at night: kohl all the way around his eyes, and some on his cheekbones; mascara because his lashes are long and thick, and he knows it (his dad had said it made him look hard, and Mary had sneered that maybe that was what he’d been going for. But maybe it had been because he’d liked the way it had made his green eyes pop.); a smear of the step-monster’s fanciest matte lipstick on his full lips; and airplane glue in his hair to give it that lift.

He made a kissy face at himself in the mirror, and headed back out.

It was a nice Spring day—almost boiling in the direct sun—and it tempted Mary to wear only his battle vest, but even he kind of figured applying to jobs half dressed was a mistake.

He walked all over the city, trying not to get lost, looking for any kind of work—dishwasher, busboy, barback—but all he had to show for it was blistered feet and a raging appetite. The only good part of the day was that he noted any restaurant or bakery that looked like it might toss perfectly good food at the end of the day.

He and his friends had become experts at dumpster diving in his podunk town, and he felt confident that he had a good feel for a jackpot. Mary staked out a bakery and was rewarded with a find of "old" bagels. He shoved as many as he could into the nooks and crannies of his backpack before slinking off to the Commons to inhale at least two of them.

Cold, stale dough never tasted so good.

He watched the tourists and the professionals walk by in ones and in groups while he ran his bare feet through the grass. Some laughed with each other as they sauntered down the path while others seemed singularly intent on their ultimate destination. A pack of dogs ran and played with each other as their owners looked on fondly, and nearby the baseball diamond hosted a casual game.

Mary counted his lucky stars that his first week in Boston was April at its kindest—always mild during the day, even when it turned cloudy, and a few times even downright warm. The nights turned chilly, though, and it had Mary in more layers than an onion. If the birds or damp didn't wake him, his butt cramps from being curled in a tight ball all night did.

He spent those days walking around the city proper looking for work. He wasn't adventurous enough to make the leap across the bridges to Cambridge just yet, but his travels gave him a good sense on how the different sections of Boston connected—and showed him potential places to crash at night. He didn't even mind living off day-old garbage food and drinking from bubblers (he'd bought a water for the express purpose of reusing the bottle), but the barren wasteland that seemed to be the job market was beginning to weigh on him.

At home, he could always find a shit job if he was willing to put up with shit hours and ridiculous requests. Here, though, Mary was just one of many desperate people willing to do desperate work.

And he didn’t look particularly trustworthy or reliable.

@dipendancesld

Hashtag WTF

I’m scrolling through Insta on the T, and I’m way down the rabbit hole of hashtags. New content was at a minimum this morning (how can I follow accounts in triple digits and only see the same 4 posts?!), so I’d started with some art tags and ended up where I usually end up—trolling social media for blurry pictures of my boy.

His band has been a local staple for years—or at least that’s what he told me on our first date. I had just moved from New York after a nasty breakup, ready to start fresh, and I’d seen him at a coffee shop hanging posters for his next show in his leather jacket, asymmetrical Metallica crop top, and stomping boots.

Fresh had never looked so good.

Then, a few months back, an online publication had featured his band in the year’s 50 best bands "you’ve never heard of," and now the band's starting to gain traction.

He’s starting to gain traction.

Finding the new online content of him first has become a game the two of us play. We had to stop counting images posted from the popular fan accounts because Mary's now acquaintances with most of them, and I said it was hardly fair to snipe me that way. Mary had pouted—but it was to cover up his grin. So now we troll for the pictures of his latest gig or at his favorite haunts from either his casual fans or one of his new ones. I even have a whole range of hashtag typos saved if I really want to triumph, since Mary just doesn't have the attention span.

I usually win, though, by virtue of not keeping Rockstar Hours—and because Mary doesn’t have a smartphone. Mary delights in spending the wee hours while I'm sleeping finding new content, and I'll often wake to one he's pulled up on my laptop and a "suck it" sticky note stuck to my monitor.

(But I’m reigning supreme.)

There’s a thirst tag I sometimes comb through (for reasons), and today I’m desperate for that morning serotonin to keep me from dozing off, which is why I stumble across a particularly convincing cosplayer in some…risqué poses and outfits.

The dude is really good, and I have to admit he really does have Mary’s mannerisms down pat. He’s younger and a little skinnier than Mary is now, but his facial expressions are on point. I zoom in to see the contouring technique because he's using one of those filters to make it look old…and that’s when I sense something off. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but usually there’s an uncanny valley to his serious cosplayers, and this dude looks so real. He’s even 100% accurate with the mole placement, which is something I never see.

My heart does a flip-flop.

Is that…actually Mary?

Foundling

Mary's sixth night in the city, it rained. It was more of a brief Spring shower, but it was still enough to soak him and his backpack through. He shivered through the early morning hours until the sun came up, then he made his way to the Commons to lay his belongings—and himself—out into the sun to dry.

By midday, he had a slight sunburn across his nose, but most of his things were dryish—though the food was a soggy lost cause. He cut his losses and decided to buy a sausage from the hotdog vendor, even if that meant he was down to $52.37 in his sock bank.

It was the most amazing thing he'd ever eaten in his entire life (sometimes he still dreams of it), and he gobbled it down as he sat in the grass and watched the show of people pass by.

He could take today off from his job search.

Just another Groundhog Day of rejections.

A gaggle of kids about his age walked past, and he lit up when he saw them: studs and bright hair and cuffs and combat boots. They ran and shrieked and shoved at each other, and Mary had never felt such longing to be a part of something.

Not that nebulous feeling of "my world is out there somewhere," but "my world is right there if I can just get to it."

And he realized maybe he could.

These were his people.

Mary hopped off the bench and approached the boisterous group.

"Uh, hey…guys."

The pack stopped and looked him over, confused but not hostile.

"Oh hey, man" said a girl with green fins and a studded, leather jacket.

"Hey."

I have nowhere to go. Can I go with you?

"Sorry, I forgot your name."

"Oh, you don’t—"

A guy in a tight striped shirt, snake bites, and blue hair interrupted him.

"Shit, were you in my intro into film class last year?"

Mary was a high school dropout.

"Nah, dude. I’m new and shit."

…But he wasn’t stupid.

A curvy white goth with bleached blonde hair and a cream princess dress smiled at him.

"Aww, that’s rough, honey. If you think about it, they really ought to give transfers on-campus housing. It sucks to be so new and away from the action."

Mary nodded. "Yeah. Sucks."

"Well, we’re going to The Pit, wanna come?"

"If you guys don’t mind…"

"Fuck, the more the merrier!"

Mary smiled as they assimilated him into the group. He found out the goth’s name was Vanessa ("But call me Vanity."), green fins was Alexa ("Or Alex. I’m trying it out."), striped shirt was Billy, and the two other punks were Mandi (Manic Panic red) and Aaron (band tee, spiked collar).

No one laughed at him when he introduced himself as Mary or asked him why he had a girl’s name.

They took him onto the T at Charles MGH, and Mary marveled at the setting sun over the Charles River before the train ducked underground to barrel in Cambridge. At Harvard, they ushered him off the train and directly into The Pit, and Mary almost cried when he saw the pit rats there playing hacky sack, strumming guitars, and smoking cloves. Mary watched as his group high-fived, bumped chests, and hugged nearly everyone there before introducing him as if they’d known him for years.

He was shit at hacky sack, but he accepted a round on the guitar and shared a clove with a white girl who had a rat's nest of hair.

"Fuck their beauty stands," she said when she caught Mary staring.

Mary smiled and pointed to his own mess of hair. "Fuck ‘em," he repeated.

She cackled and handed him a brown bag with what he expected to be whiskey, but tasted like turpentine.

She laughed harder at his face as he coughed, and she pounded him on the back.

"Moonshine, dude. Lenny makes it in his bathtub."

"Which one is Lenny," Mary asked as he wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Oh, he’s not here. He goes to MIT. We have a strict trade agreement—booze for pot. I’m Katie."

Head fuzzy, Mary had made out with her until Aaron tugged on his arm.

"Shit dude, we gotta go before the T closes. You live close to here?"

"Uh…"

"Aww, I think he got into Lenny’s moonshine," said Vanity. "If he’s a transfer, I bet he’s at some shithole in Allston. You in Allston, honey?"

Mary just nodded.

"All right then," said Alex, taking charge. "We’ll put him up tonight. There’s no way he’s gonna make it back to Allston by himself, and I’ll be fucked if I’m trekking out there without a BU party to crash."

Mary wobbled slightly as Alex took his arm in his and led him to the T.

"Ok, we gotta go now or we’ll all be hoofing it."

They took Mary back to their dorm by the Hatch Shell and signed him in as a guest.

"Is this ok?" Mary asked warily—he didn't want to get kicked out in the middle of the night.

Mandi patted him on the back.

"We do it all time. No one really gives a shit. Vegan Mick dropped out 2 semesters ago and they don’t even check for his ID."

That night, Mary slept in the common room on a lumpy couch that was half as long as he was.

It was heaven.

The next morning seemed like the end, and Mary slumped as Vanity to sign him out. For one brief day he'd been a part of something, and now it was back to Mary, party of one. But Vanity took one look at his face and asked if he wanted to get breakfast at the dining hall.

Of course, he wanted to…but he thought of the dwindling cash in sock bank and hesitated. Vanity, bless her, misread his trepidation.

"It's on me, sweetie. I know most transfers don’t opt in. Too expensive when it’s not bundled. No worries, I got a ton of points I don’t use."

Alex and Aaron were already half done with their food when Vanity and he joined them, and they looked on in amusement as Mary ate half the breakfast buffet.

When the subject of classes came up, he shrugged off questions.

"None this morning."

Alex narrowed her eyes at him.

"What year did you say you were?"

"Sophomore."

"Not a freshman?"

Mary shook his head. "I’m not a freshman."

She seemed about to ask another question, so Mary quickly changed the subject.

"I thought I’d spend the day applying for jobs. You guys know of any place that’s hiring?"

"No work study?"

"No."

"What kind of work you looking for?"

"Shit, anything. I’ll sweep the fucking floors."

They bandied about ideas, places for Mary to try, but no one had any leads. Too soon, some unknown gong had them scurrying to get to class.

Mary suddenly panicked.

"Hey, do you guys mind if I spend the night again? I mean…"

"Yeah, sure," said Vanity. "Aaron?"

"Yeah, man. Meet me after class and I'll swipe you in."

It apparently was a time-honored tradition, passed down from upperclassmen to underclassmen, on gaming the guest system. Most kids used it to essentially move their significant others into their dorm rooms, but a handful every year used it to give haven to others who had questionable housing situations.

So, just like that, Mary had a place to rest his bones.

@dilfpassing

A Deeper Look

I’m so intent on scrolling through the comments on the grainy pics—which I'm sure now are actual scans—that I completely miss my stop, and I have to put my phone away so I can wheeze lightly jog my way to where I work as a receptionist at an alternative hair salon.

It’s really important that I start a good hour before we open so I can return any calls left on our voicemail first thing in case I can fit anyone in today. Which means I have to shelve my find for now, much to my irritation.

Mornings are super-busy because apparently there are some people in the world that like getting up with the sun and want everything done by noon. (June Cleaver’s salon lets me get away with a lot—like coming to work in denim short-shorts and ripped tights, free hair colors, and a snarky attitude—but late start times aren’t one of them.) I honestly don’t have room in my brain to obsess about the pictures because I’m too busy answering calls, making coffee, settling accounts, and giving the new customer spiel for the 57th time to a walk-in.

It’s just after midday, when Penny, the shampoo girl, collects my cash for the salon-wide sandwich run, and I finally have a moment to breathe. And obsess.

I take out my phone again, and I have to retrace my steps because of course the app has refreshed, which is why Sonia has the time to look over my shoulder.

"Missing dream boy’s dick so much you gotta spend your lunch hour ogling pics of him on the internet?"

I zoom in on the one of maybe!Mary in his underwear.

"Who does that look like to you?"

Sonia makes a guh sound in her throat and backs away.

"I don’t need to see your intimates!"

"That’s the thing! It’s not mine!"

"Your boy’s nudes get leaked??"

I wave my arms around.

"I don’t freakin’ know! They may not even be him. Fucking. C’mere and help me out!"

Sonia warily creeps back over, and so does Ryan, since all the yelling has attracted him.

The three of us peer over the phone as I scroll through the images again.

By the time Penny comes back with lunch, we’ve gone back and forth on who’s in the images—Mary or a fake—and I haven’t been able to do any actual research. The afternoon rush starts, and I have to table the whole thing again, having made no progress at all.

It isn’t until near-closing, when most of the other stylists have gone home—and it’s only June who does the post-work crowd—that I can really dig into the matter.

A deep dive and a couple of defunct, decade-old forums later, I find that what I took as an aspirational hashtag was actually the name of a zine called "Heroes."

There’s like, zero online trail about it—except for a few other grainy scans of other pages of articles, poetry, concert pictures, and art—but it seemed to be an early aughts missive for local underground culture and color.

It still doesn’t explain why Mary’s in there in various states of undress and poses.

Or why Mary has never said a word about it to me.

Stripped Bare

Mary settled into a sort of routine. He spent most days looking for a job—any job—with his backpack full of food from their dining hall. Most nights he rotated couches on different floors so the RAs didn’t notice that he basically lived there.

He made friends with Vegan Mick for about 5 seconds until Mary had eaten an entire Rotisserie chicken from 7-11 in front of him. Mick had launched into a whole spiel, and Mary had pointed out that Mick's jacket and Docs were made of leather. He’d only meant it as a joke—a callout in answer to a callout, like he'd do with his friends back home—but Vegan Mick had turned purple, then iced Mary out every time he saw him after that.

Oops.

The brief friendship had lasted long enough, however, for Mick to give Mary some tips and tricks of being homeless.

Homeless.

That had been a tough pill to swallow. Until Vegan Mick had put Mary’s situation like that, Mary had just thought of himself between places.

But it was true: he didn’t live anywhere. He skated by on the kindness of his new friends, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep up the ruse of "transfer student who didn’t like his shithole apartment and was too busy job searching to concentrate on classes."

He still spent a few nights a week finding an out-of-the-way place outside to hunker down in or huddling in with Katie and a few of the other gutter punks under their boxes in the corners of the T stations. He knew they would have been more than happy to make room, anyway, but Mary always emptied his backpack of all the pilfered dining hall food for distribution amongst them.

It honestly wasn't so terrible now that he had friends and a warm place to go on cold or rainy nights, but.

He needed an actual place to live. To afford an actual place to live, he needed a job. To get a job, he needed a place to live.

It seemed like a catch-22, and he began to despair that he’d never get ahead…until Mandi offered him a leg up.

Mary was sitting on the grass in the Commons in the shade, thinking that with summer coming up, maybe he could fudge it until the gang came back in September. There was always Katie and The Pit, and Mary was sure he could chip in somehow.

Mandi sat down next to him.

"I thought that mess of hair was you, Mare."

"Hey, Mandi. What’s kicks?"

"You still looking for a job?"

Mary put his head in his hands and sighed.

"Don’t remind me."

"You over 18?"

Just last week. But Mary hadn’t said, since they thought he was a Sophomore.

"Yeah."

"Wanna be at least 21?"

Mary grinned at her.

"That’s what my fake ID says."

She laughed, a tinkling thing.

"You got anything against strip clubs?"

Mary furrowed his brows at her.

"Uh…what’s the right answer here?"

She shoved him playfully.

"Do you want a job?"

"Yeah?"

"Then say no."

"No. No problems with strip clubs." He squinted at her. "Are they looking for male strippers?"

She laughed again.

"Definitely not." She canted her head at Mary. "I mean, you're very pretty, Mare. I could probably put you on as one of the girls…even with these triple As," she flicked playfully at his nipple, which had him grunting and batting at her, "but I was thinking more behind the scenes."

Mary held up his arm and made a weak muscle.

"I don’t think I’d be much of a bouncer, Mands."

"You said you’d wash dishes, sweep floors and shit, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, the club I work at—"

"The club at you what now?"

Mandi gave him a strange look.

"Yeah. The strip club I work at."

Mary’s eyes bugged out.

"As a…waitress?"

"As a stripper, Mary. Duh." At his dumbfounded look she shook her head. "It’s kind of extra credit, as a dance major. I’m going to turn it into my thesis. Plus, I make hella bank."

She swept her arm across the park that made up her college "campus."

"How else do you think I can afford this rock-and-roll lifestyle? Not all of us are here on scholarship or mom and dad’s dime."

She tilted her head at him.

"I thought you’d get it."

When Mary didn't respond, she touched his shoulder.

"Mare. I know you don't go here."

"W-what…? I…"

He looked at her, wide-eyed as the blood drained from his face.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm not gonna tell anybody. Not if you don't want me to."

Mary looked down. "Thanks." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You know that means I've got no address."

Mandi bumped his shoulder and waved his words away.

"A lot of the girls dance. Paddy is used to dorm rooms as addresses. You can use mine."

Mary looked at her, hoping he could convey every ounce of gratitude he was feeling.

She grinned and punched him in the shoulder.

"So, you up for it? Sweeping floors and bussing tables?" She leveled a look at him. "Cleaning up puke?"

Anything.

"Fuck, I’m desperate, Mands. I’ll hold their hair back if it means a paycheck."

"That’s the spirit!"

***

Mary was sure Patrick was part of the mob—or at least in cahoots. The guy had taken one look at Mary’s ID and had said, "But how old are you really?" and Mary had said, "Nineteen."

Patrick had thrown up his hands. "Well, you ain’t gonna be serving alcohol anyway, kid. Your job is to do whatever I tell you. Some asshole breaks a bottle, you clean up the glass so the girls don’t hurt themselves. Some idiot ralphs all over the toilet seat, you scrub the shit out of that fucker. A bachelor party leaves a table a hot mess, you better be out there clearing off the table for the next one, got it?"

Mary had nodded.

"You show up at 5 to help the girls set up the bar. You stay til whenever it takes to close down—but you only get paid 'til 2am—and you get an hour to eat, unpaid. You don’t bother the girls, and," Patrick had leaned in, "you don’t steal from me."

Mary had gulped and nodded emphatically.

Patrick had jabbed a finger at him. "That includes the booze. If I get fucked because some snot-nosed, underage kid is drinking with my good friends Jim and Johnnie, I’m gonna be very put out."

"Got it, sir."

"Don’t call me sir. I’m Paddy to my friends, so you can call me Patrick."

"Yes, Patrick."

Patrick had looked him over.

"You get paid as an independent contractor just like the girls, so you gotta deal with your own taxes, you got that? I’ll start you at $10 an hour."

Mary’s eyes had gone wide. Back home he was lucky to get 5.

"Ten…?"

Patrick had tilted his head again.

"No, you’re right, 12. Do a good job, and I’ll think about raising it to 15."

Mary had to physically stop his jaw from dropping.

"You do weeknights for now so if you fuck up it’s not that much of a problem. If you don’t fuck up and the girls don’t hate you, you can get weekends. Deal?"

Mary had sat up straighter. "Deal." He’d held his hand out, but Patrick had just looked at it until Mary pulled it back into his side.

"Ariel vouched for you, so I’m giving you a shot. Don’t make her regret it."

Mary had shaken his head as Patrick had handed him some forms to fill out.

"Come back at 4 tomorrow with these and we’ll get you started. Now, get out, I got shit to do."

Mary had taken the forms and skedaddled.

Mandi was outside waiting for him, all smiles.

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah, but fuck—your boss is scary."

"Nah, he’s a teddy bear."

***

The job was awful.

The puke was an almost nightly occurrence, and by the end of the first week, little cuts covered Mary’s hands from the broken glass. The customers were loud, rowdy, and acted as if their mother was going to clean up after them.

Mary swore he would never get the beer smell out. It now lived in his soul.

One dude punched Mary and broke his nose for no reason Mary could tell before the bouncers dragged the guy away. The girls gave him some tampons to stop the bleeding, and Mary finished his shift.

Patrick paid Mary in cash at the end of every week with a "It’s your job to report that, not mine," and at the end of the month, Patrick bumped Mary up to $15/hr. He worked 5 days a week because, according to Patrick, "The Lord gave us a day of rest, and you get one day off per week."

Mary never reported a single cent to the IRS.

The girls loved him, and joked that Patrick had gotten them a pet. They showed him winged eyeliner and smokey eyes and how to contour. They guffawed when they watched him try out their shoes like a newborn deer. On slow nights, they tried to show him pole techniques.

He saw the gang less and less because by the time they were getting out of class, he was going into work, and when he was done work, they were crawling into bed. Fortunately, the desk sitters seemed to forget that he wasn’t an on-campus "student" and didn’t even bother signing him in anymore. There were a few sticklers, but Mary found that—while back home he was less than scum—here, he attracted all the right kinds of attention…and a smirk with the right compliment went a long way.

By the time their school year ended, Mary had saved up $1,000 (and he needed to transfer his money out of sock bank and into the ripped lining of his jacket).

Even though they didn't know just how much they'd saved him, Mary showed up on the last day as thanks to help them all move their stuff into family cars or rented trucks. They hugged him goodbye and said to ring them next semester.

Mandi bopped him on the nose and told him to keep his nose clean.

Mary took a sublet in Allston with 2 BU kids and a Berkley grad student. The "room" was a closed-in porch with a sleeping bag left by the last resident—but it was $400 a month until September, utilities included.

At first, Mary didn't know why the gang was so snobby about Allston, but the summer seemed to be one continual party. It didn't matter what day Mary got up, there were always broken beer bottles and stale beer on their front stoop, and the apartment had a designated watering can for washing away the vomit that dripped down from the top porches to their own.

But he took it in stride, and when he wasn’t at the strip club or sleeping, he was partying with the BU kids, or letting the Berkley grad show him better string fingering techniques.

Mary still tried to get out to The Pit with what groceries he could spare, but Katie had moved on with some of the others to do a protest tour with an activist street band that had come through town, and without her or the gang, it made Mary feel lonely.

By the end of the summer, Mary had saved up enough money for first, last, and security. He even had some left over to buy more than ramen and some new clothes. To Mary, it felt like a million dollars. He rented a garden-level apartment in the cheap part of Jamaica Plain for September 1st and spent that entire day with the BU dudes driving around in their rented truck for Allston Christmas’s best furniture finds.

Mary ended up with a mattress that he hoped on a wish and a prayer didn’t have bedbugs, a mismatched set of dishes, plastic drawers that were slightly warped, and a broken futon frame he swore he would fix. Throw in a few sets of slightly used string lights, and Mary’s cave felt downright homey.

When the gang got back, he simply told them he’d dropped out.

"Yeah, I just don’t think college is for me. Music’s my real passion, you know?"

Alex had groaned.

"I knew that Berkley kid was gonna be a bad influence on you."

Mary shrugged.

"My grades were shit anyway. But I’m still around, you know. The strip club’s only a block from campus."

"Because we saw you so much then," deadpanned Billy.

"Hey! Stop piling on Mary," said Vanity. "He’s following his path."

Mary shot her a wide smile.

"Thanks, Vanity."

Patrick finally gave him a little more leeway with his days off, and Mary started taking Saturday night to join the gang in Harvard Square for the shadow cast of Rocky Horror. One of Aaron’s classmates, Amber, was in it, and they all wanted to support her.

Mary felt that something again. That thing that told that this was his place and his people. This eclectic group who got up in front of strangers every week in their underwear for free enthralled Mary.

He and Amber bonded immediately, and Mary began going even without the gang. The cast welcomed him in as an honorary groupie, and Mary's friendship with the gang waned. There was still Mandi to cavort with at the strip club, but now when Mary wasn't there, he was at any one of the Rocky crew's apartments getting high and playing dress up.

"You’ve got such a Look, Mare," sighed Amber. "I’d kill for your cheekbones."

"I’d kill for your tits."

She slapped him playfully. "Don’t be gross."

"No, I’m serious. Someone once put it in my head that I'd be a hot chick."

The girls had giggled and proceeded to dress him up in bras and corsets with cutlets. They added a wig, and the glo-up surprised even Mary.

Still buzzed, they went out for girl’s night and hit up all the bars in Fenway and flirted their way to free shots from the dude bros before batting their falsies at bouncers to let them into the clubs ahead of the line and without the cover.

The cutlets eventually became a nuisance—and soon they were all flapping them about above their heads as they danced—but Mary had loved the feel of the lace and satin corsets against his skin.

When they’d all collapsed in a pile at the end of the night, Mary wondered if they’d tell him where to get some lingerie for himself.

***

By August, Mary was ready to quit the strip club.

He was tired of cut fingers (they were making it hard to play the guitar he’d bought), the drunks, and the sick everywhere. Now that he had a little cushion, he thought maybe he could at least find something with better hours.

Mandi had graduated and was well into a summer internship at Disney in hopes they’d bring her on as a dancer.

Alex had also graduated and moved out to LA to make it as a film editor.

Vanity and Aaron had started dating after finals, and they had moved in together in Cambridgeport for their last year.

Billy had stopped going to classes before dropping out altogether. No one seemed to know what happened, and when they called his home, his mother just said he was unavailable.

There didn’t seem to be much reason to stick around the Grid anymore, and it was a bitch of a commute back to his place if he wasn’t going to hang out with the Rocky crew. He landed a job at a record store that was walking distance to his apartment.

Patrick seemed surprisingly sad to see him go, saying, "Ah, the good ones smart up," and gave him a $500 bonus for not "fucking up."

Tim, one of the older Rocky people, turned out to not live too far from him, and when Mary started hanging out there, so did the party.

Now that Mary was no longer shackled by the strip club’s hours, his world opened a few more degrees. He spent his nights dressing up while he watched the cast rehearse. (When he showed them a move or two he learned from the women at the club, they tried to get him to do a guest star as Frank. But Mary had shaken his head and said that wasn’t the kind of performing he wanted to do.)

When they weren't rehearsing, they dragged Mary to TT The Bear’s, The Middle East, and The Milky Way Lounge for underground shows. They took him to fetish night at ManRay after a trip to Hubba Hubba for pleather and lingerie, and Mary made a lot of new friends.

Sometimes, Mary would show up to work straight off a night out in his club clothes, eyeliner smudged and lipstick smeared. It should have got him fired, but his boss just shrugged.

"I used to keep rockstar hours too."

Mary still wore all his old vestiges—his battle vest and his ripped jeans—it was just that now he sometimes added a corset and heels.

Wherever Katie was now, he hoped she knew he was still fucking their beauty standards.

ry.omen Insta

Answer Me This

I practically vibrate the entire way back to our place. I'm still trying to wring information out of the internet like it's too-wet clothes, but the only thing I accomplish is making myself motion sick on the bus, so I put my phone back in my pocket and breath through my nose.

When I get home, Mary is sprawled across the couch in his pjs with various limbs hanging over sides and edges as he watches some extreme sport show on my laptop.

I wonder if he just got up, but I see the start of dinner on the stove, so I decide not to snark at him.

"Hey," he says without looking up.

I am, however, gonna need some answers on "Heroes."

I gently close the laptop, and he meets my eyes.

"What?"

I climb onto the couch, and Mary’s limbs recede like vines to make room for me as I scroll through my phone to my photo app where I’ve saved screenshots.

"Lucy," I say in a terrible accent, "you have some ‘splaining to do!"

Mary squints at me and takes my phone, his expression morphing into one of surprise.

"Shit, babe. Where’d ya find these??"

"So they are you!"

He chuckles.

"Christ…I haven't thought about these in fucking years."

"Mind telling me what the fuck?" I ask, my hands on my hips.

I'm only half joking.

Mary grimaces at me.

"Ah."

"I'm gonna need more than that, mister."

He rubs the back of his neck.

"Fuck, you know those were hard times for me."

I know about his family, the homelessness. I know he tried out a lot until he found a life that fit. He'd given me the overviews with occasional anecdotes filled with names I never remembered.

But none of them included naughty pictures.

I worm my way under his arm.

"Yeah, I know, Mare."

His hand strokes down my arm.

"I mean, shit. I was kinda an asshole, you know?"

I wrap an arm around his chest.

"You're still kind of an asshole, Goore."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

When he doesn't say more, I poke him hard in the side.

"I’m literally dying here."

He laughs a little.

"Fine. But you gotta remember you asked."

Model Behavior

One day, Mary was walking down the street on his way to drinks with the new friends he'd made the weekend before. It was a good day. He wasn’t hungover as fuck, his makeup was only smudged artfully, and he was pretty sure he was going to get laid.

A guy in a leather jacket and tight jeans maybe a few years older than Mary stopped him on the street.

"Hey, man! I love your style."

Mary batted his eyelashes at him. "Thanks, dude."

"You ever think of dark modeling?"

Mary squinted his eyes at him.

"Dark what now?"

"You know—modeling but like," he gestured up and down Mary’s form, "for dark beauties. Show the world beauty isn’t cookie cutter."

"For like what? A website or some shit?"

The guy dug into his pocket, pulled out a card case, and handed one to Mary.

Heroes Greg Karson, Photographer/Web Design Butera School of Art

Actually, Mary had heard of this. It was a zine about the local happenings around town—concerts, art shows, parties, etc. There was a stack of them next to "Rrriot!" in the record shop. He’d flipped through one occasionally, mostly interested in the band reviews.

"We’re really on the lookout for anyone with the right look. You know, wear stuff you already own."

"So like a street fashion spread?"

"Well, we might do a little more with it, but—you know how it is. Most of the budget goes toward printing costs."

Mary perked up.

"Would I be paid?"

Greg laughed.

"Peanuts, my dude. But yeah. Even if it’s a T token. You interested, then?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Mind if I take a few test shots."

Mary smirked at Greg.

"How do you want me?"

"Just natural."

Putting his hands in his pockets, Mary arched his back and gave Greg his best snotty hipster face.

Greg dug out a digital camera from his carrying case and took a dozen or so pictures of Mary from different angles while telling him to turn this way or that.

Afterwards, the two of them huddled over the camera and scrolled through the shots.

"Aw yeah, this one. I love the attitude. The guys are gonna love it. You have a number where we can reach you?"

Mary gave him the number of the record shop. (His apartment had a phone, but he’d never gotten around to wanting to pay for service.)

Later, he and Amber looked up the Angelfire website on the back of the card. It was one page that contained the mission statement, bios of the creators, and locations to pick up the zine.

"Omigod—you’re gonna become a famous model, Mare!"

"Yeah, right. You know most of it ends up in the trash, right?"

But when Ben called, Mary said he was game. He directed Mary to a co-op in a converted warehouse in Dorchester, and Mary brought his favorite clothes in a borrowed duffle.

A girl in cat pajamas opened the door and pointed at a set of metal stairs with her cereal spoon.

On the second floor, Mary found Greg setting up a makeshift studio. A girl with multiple piercings and yarn dreads leaned against the wall in her black babydoll dress.

Mary sidled up to her.

"You here to model, too?"

She gave him an unimpressed once-over.

"I’m the art director, asshole."

Mary flushed hard as she turned to Greg.

"Couldn’t find one with brains?"

She turned back to Mary.

"I don’t know if you thought this would be a good way to meet chicks or what, dude. But I’m letting you know right now that I’m here on my day off to make sure this adheres to our aesthetic, so if you're not serious, fuck off."

Mary rubbed the back of his neck.

"Shit, sorry. I was expecting a dude named Ben."

She waved her hand in the air as if dispelling Ben.

"The Bens are morons. Good idea, terrible execution. I’m here to make sure we remain true to the idea of 'Heroes,' so don’t fuck up my shoot." She gave him a once over. "Christ. You have any experience?"

Greg turned from where he was testing the white balance.

"Angelique, stop harassing the talent. We get it, you have a degree from RISD."

Angelique snorted.

"As if I don't hear you going on and on about being a professional photographer. 'Hey, lemme shoot your portfolio, baby.' Whatever. As if we're not your only professional credit."

"Hey—you wanted a photographer for peanuts? You got me. You wanted models for peanuts? You got him."

Mary gave her his full snaggle-toothed grin.

"I take T tokens."

Angelique sighed, then pasted on a smile.

"Hi! So happy you’re here!" Her smile drooped. "You got your wardrobe in there?"

"Yeah."

Mary handed her the duffle, and she handed him release forms.

"Here: sign these"

She pawed through his offerings.

"Not bad, not bad." She pulled out a corset and his heeled boots. "We'll keep you in your jeans and have you wear your jacket over your corset. Cool?"

Cool.

The shoot was as professional as a shoot in a warehouse in what Mary was taking to usually be a living room could be. Angelique directed Greg with what she wanted. Greg called out positions and expressions for Mary to pose in.

It was surprisingly hard work, and by the end of a solid hour, his smirking lip was getting tired. Angelique and Greg scrolled through the shots, murmuring to themselves and nodding.

Mary waited—greeting at the other inhabitants as they squeezed by on their way either up or down—until Angelique approached him.

"That’ll do. You mind if we post on our website?"

Mary preened.

"Yeah, that’s kosher."

She handed him a pen and pocket notebook.

"Write down a quick bio."

He scribbled down a quick elevator pitch

Into general skulking and metal \m/

and handed the notebook back to her.

"Great, thanks."

She handed him a $20 bill, her eyes skimming him up and down.

"Next time we should show off those hip bones. Just jeans, I think."

Mary perked up. "Next time?"

"We’ll call you."

***

"Omigod, omigod!"

Amber perched on the record store counter, flipping through "Heroes," as Jon peered over her shoulder.

"Mary…look at you!"

Mary tried to swallow his smug smile.

Failed.

"Yeah. I’m hot shit, ain’t I?"

She bopped him on the nose with the newsprint.

"Don’t be vain."

He showed her his toothy smile.

"I like to think of it as confidence."

"So did Icarus."

Mary snorted and went back to putting prices on the new CDs.

"The camera loves you," said Jon, who was always quiet and reserved as you please…until he put on Frank’s corset and heels.

Mary had tried flirting with him, but Jon always ducked his head and played it off.

"Thanks, man," said Mary, giving him a softer smile.

"So??"

"So what, Amber?"

"Are you gonna do it again?"

Mary shrugged.

"I mean, if they call me, sure."

But he was kind of hoping they would.

When the next issue came out weeks later, Mary stared at the cybergoth on the pages and felt himself deflate. Listlessly, he thumbed through the delicate print, barely skimming the section devoted to the World/Inferno Friendship Society’s set he’d been at the week before.

He set it down with a sigh before he picked up his guitar and plucked out a tune he was trying to coax into a riff.

By the time a Ben called again, Mary had given up the modeling thing as a one-off.

"Hey, dude—thought maybe you guys forgot about me," Mary said in a teasing tone.

The Ben on the other end chuckled.

"It’s like herding cats to get shit out. Nah, dude—we definitely want you to be one of our regulars. You in for next Saturday?"

He was.

***

Over the course of a year, "Heroes" had Mary come out multiple times for shoots. Mainly, Mary wore his own clothes and did his own makeup, but occasionally, Angelique wanted something specific.

"How comfortable are you with boudoir shots?"

"With what?"

"Like a pinup, but more…saucy than sexy."

I'd pose nude if you paid me enough.

(Sure, he was a noodle boy, but he knew he had the goods.)

"Yeah, I’m cool with that."

Angelique brightened at him.

"Great!"

She picked up a set of complicated leather garters and thrust them at him.

"Put these on."

Mary had only ever worn lace garters—mostly out to clubs, but occasionally under his ripped jeans for an extra pop—but he found he liked these even more, liked the way they emphasized his thighs.

"Hey—where’d you get these…?"

(He was already thinking of what he could pair them with for goth night.)

"Local leatherworker. He mostly does pieces for Renn Fairs, but he'll also do custom. I can give you his info."

She led Mary into what was clearly someone's bedroom.

"Don't fuck anything up, or Joye will never let us use this again."

Mary shot her his best shark smile.

"Hey, I only mess up the sheets if someone asks."

Angelique gave him a flat look and called for Greg.

(But when he draped himself over the bed and told Greg to "Paint me like one of your French girls," Mary could have sworn she almost smiled.)

On one memorable occasion, she brought in a guy whose rope bondage demo she watched at a sex convention.

"Put on some of that lingerie and we'll truss you up. You ok with that, Goore?"

Mary ran his fingers over the coils and gave her a wolfish smile.

"You know I'm game for anything."

She gave him a vulpine smile of her own then, and she looked down at him from the height of her platformed boots.

"Good. I thought you should be submissive for once."

Mary had no witty rejoinder for that.

He listened with interest as the guy carefully explained what he was going to do, complete with pictures, and he relaxed easily into the process. (They put bunny ears on him, and it would be much, much later that he got that particular joke. Well played, Angelique.)

The ropes hadn’t let him do much posing, but Mary had kind of liked the constriction, and his thoughts were already on asking Amber to help him create a more versatile version for fetish night.

He’d left that day with a new kink…and the guy’s number.

"Why not just do one big shoot?" he asked another time. "Get it all done in one big bang!"

Angelique held up his garments to eyeball over him.

"Honey, we never even know if there's gonna be a next issue. The Bens spend most of the time arguing. My god you should hear them—Ben bankrolls the whole thing, so he says he should get final say on shit, and Benji wants total artistic control because it was his idea, because 'he's the graphic designer', and because it's his Kinko's employee discount they use."

She gave Mary a curled-lip smile as she tossed a few items at him.

"In the end it's this bitch you're looking at who gets shit done."

Mary began to change (they were long past modesty).

"How'd you get involved?"

"Went to school with Benji."

"Ben too?"

"Neg. The Bens are childhood friends. Ben works some cushy start-up job, so Benji lets him bankroll them both. Rent, utilities—everything. I love Benji to death, but he's a giant mooch."

"Shit, that must be nice."

Angelique shrugged. She stood back to appraise Mary's look.

"It's fucking lame. But it least it gets us fucking paid."

Mary didn't say I'd do this for free. Instead, he struck a pose and said, "I'm just happy for the exposure."

Angelique rolled her eyes and went to fetch Greg.

***

That year and a half would become a nonstop party with Mary as one of the VIPs; he wouldn't say no to anything—be it casual sex, club appearances, or whatever drug the current pretty thing was offering him in the bathroom.

But recognition started slow.

At first, it was customers who would leaf through the zine and recognize Mary.

Then, it was the occasional scenester who’d stop him on the street in JP as he walked about, and Mary would pose for grainy cell phone pics.

Soon, he was being approached at shows and clubs. The first time it happened, Mary was high off his new infamy and ready to please. A woman in a black bandage bra and pleated skirt with bondage straps approached him, and Mary was already thinking of what he could do with those.

"You look like that guy in ‘Heroes’!" she'd shouted to him over the music.

Mary had flashed her a crooked smile and leaned in.

"Maybe I am the guy in ‘Heroes’."

She'd given him an exaggerated once over before sidling closer with hooded eyes.

"I dunno…you're wearing way more clothes."

Mary had pulled his mesh top down by the collar in a tease as he'd curled over her.

"Take me somewhere more private and I’ll let you do a comparison."

She'd compared him all night.

And that was before he and the other "Heroes" models formed their own posse.

The Bens had thrown a BBQ and had invited everyone they'd ever met. There were people packed into their little 2 bedroom in Brighton, spilling down the back stairs, and equally packed into the little square of shared backyard. Ben had taken the 12-pack of 'Gansett beers Mary had brought, then introduced him to the other dark models.

"Now you're all here!" said Ben. He slung his arm around Mary. "Guys, this is Mary. Mary this is Mayhem, Lesley, Lola, and Bryan."

Mayhem was a rivethead, and Mary took to him instantly, but he was wary of the others. Lesley was the cybergoth who'd been in the first issue after him, and Mary still felt a bit salty at them, even though Mary knew by now the Bens rotated the models. Lola, the romantic goth, reminded him enough of Vanity that he felt guilty for losing touch with her and had him projecting a little. Bryan was a metalhead, so: competition.

Mary had thought they'd get along like cats and water, but weed, booze, and "Never Have I Ever" went a long way to creating a shared bond.

And there it was again. That pull. The magnetic force telling him that he'd found the place he was supposed to be. They quickly coalesced into their own pack, calling themselves the "Deathbutantes" (because they always killed it when they debuted for the night).

It had been rare for Mary to miss Friday and Saturday night shenanigans with the Rocky crew, but now, every night was Friday night. There was always a show or a concert or club that one of them knew about—and if they couldn't get lucky with the local color, they'd just go home with each other.

Mayhem taught Mary what Lola jokingly called the "grab a bat" dance, and the two of them cut quite the picture on the dance floors.

Lesley took to Lola, and the two of them could always be counted on for scintillating conversation in dark corners when Mary's limbst needed a break from flailing about.

The clubs weren't really Bryan's scene—take him to a sticky hole in the wall with concrete floors and a stage close enough to feel the sweat from the bands, and he was in heaven—but he liked to come along to hang. He'd drink PBRs, rub Lola's feet when she invariably abandoned her heels for the evening, and argue with Mary about the purity of death metal.

Mayhem and Lola weren't really into live music of the screaming kind, so—while Lesley, Bryan, and Mary bounced off each other in the mosh pits—they'd save a "home" base at one the bartops.

Amber noticed Mary's diminishing presence and stopped by the record shop to call him out.

"So you're not dead! Could've fooled me."

Mary was organizing the albums into order, and he grunted at her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a cad. I'll make it up to you."

"You missed game night."

"Sorry. Jethro Tull played some tiny venue in nowhere Mass, and Bryan was salivating. I mean, Jethro Tull. Can you blame me?"

He looked at her, arms out wide in supplication. But she just blinked at him.

"You have no idea who Jethro Tull is, do you?"

"Sorry, dude. But christ, Mare. You should have invited me. I'd've gone. Maybe I would have even liked them. Now you'll never know."

"I could just lend you an album."

"Nope! The moment passed. Too late!"

Mary riffled through the stock and shoved a Jethro Tull CD into her hands.

She tapped it against her thigh.

"So, when do I get to hang?"

"I can get us into 80s night free."

"No, I mean, with your cooler friends. Your 'murder models', or whatever."

"You wanna hang out with the Deathbutantes?"

Amber scrunched her nose.

"That's so fucking pretentious."

Mary kind of liked it.

"Dunno if they're really your scene."

"Oh? And what's my scene?"

"Musical theater on crack."

She mock gasped at him, "Called out!" before smacking him with the CD. "Whatever. You love musical theater on crack."

Mary draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, I do. But I don't live it, you know? You guys have your niche—and fuck…I love to visit—but it's not mine."

Amber looked up at him, her expression serious.

"So the Dumbutantes are your niche?"

Mary shrugged and went back to shelving.

The Rocky crew had been good to him. They'd taken him under their wing, no questions asked, and helped him realize things about himself. Tim had taken him to the ER when Mary had come down with a serious case of the flu. Matty had taught him the basics of sewing. Gretchen had held him after a bad trip. Omar and he had had many drunken heart-to-hearts about their shitty home lives.

And Amber was his best friend. She'd been his #1 cheerleader for years and had never been afraid to call him out on his shit.

So yeah, he loved the Rocky crew…but they laughed at anyone who took anything too seriously. Mary would show up to game nights in his latest creation—with everyone else in pjs or jeans & hoodies—and they'd tease him about trying to impress the wrong people. He'd try to talk about the newest guitar god he'd been mainlining, and they'd make snoring noises at him.

How could he explain the kinship he felt with the Deathbutantes? That they were as serious about music as he was, that they just…got why he felt the need to dress the way he did to express the way he felt inside on his outside.

Instead, he said, "I'm just trying shit out, Ambs." He quirked his eyebrow at her. "I gotta do something while you guys do your real-person jobs."

(Amber had recently started as a junior marketing assistant at the American Repertory Theater. "Purely mercenary," she'd said. "Maybe it'll give me a leg up during auditions.")

She made a disgruntled scoffing noise in the back of her throat.

"Fuck, don't remind me. I actually gotta go to bed a reasonable hour now."

"Don't worry." Mary winked at her. "I'll keep ya honest."

"That sounds a lot like my head in a toilet, Mare."

"I'll hold your hair back."

She gave him a good-natured shove, and he pretended to cower.

If she wanted to cross pollinate, who was Mary to stand in her way? So, he invited her out the next time the Deathbutantes went to a show, and it went exactly like he thought it would.

They disliked her, and she was equally unimpressed. They thought she was too loud and frenetic, and she thought they had no sense of humor.

"I fucking told you," Mary had snorted as they sat on the curb sharing a clove.

"Shut the fuck up, Mare."

But she'd put her head on his shoulder.

"They make you happy, though. So I guess I approve. Just as long as I don't have to play nice."

Mary still hung out with the Rocky crew—there were still game nights and drug-fueled sex parties and theater games—but the Deathbutantes introduced him to the underground scene. They always seemed to have insider knowledge about the best up-in-coming bands and the secret shows. Theme nights at the goth clubs were always a must, and they rarely missed one. Sometimes, Angelique would crash, and they'd take the commuter rail to Providence to party at Club Hell before collapsing in a sweaty, smeary pile at a friend of a friend's hole in the wall.

As a bit player in the Rocky crew, Mary had been another made-up face in the crowd. As a certified member of the Deathbutantes, Mary became the face.

They all did.

The owners loved them because they bought round after round at the bar, and if word got out that the Deathbutantes were there, their admirers came to spend money as well. The employees loved them because they were fun and talked to them as equals. The clientele loved them because they were pretty young things.

Sometimes, though, Mary wasn't in the mood to party or get laid, so he talked to the DJs instead. He'd buy them rounds and stay past closing to help them pack up while they talked about the history of punk and 80s new wave and nu metal. There was one in particular, Dave, that Mary even considered a friend.

The two of them would sit in the club past closing, sharing a whiskey and talking about life while the bartenders closed down and cashed out. Occasionally, Dave's other friends would be around, and they'd all walk back to his place; he'd fool around spinning in his home studio, and they'd drink box wine as they danced and laughed before Mary would have to sit on the ground in an intoxicated exhaustion, good for only thumbing through Dave's vinyl collection.

Mary was just happy to talk shop with another music aficionado, but Angelique had pointed out that he should leverage his minor clout.

They'd been waiting for Greg to finish setting up, and Mary had been struggle city after a particularly hard night out. It was all he could manage to sit there quietly and hope some god would put him out of his misery.

"You need to get your shit together," Angelique had said out of nowhere.

Mary had cracked a puffy eye and had slowly (as to not bring the nothing in his stomach back up) turned his head to her.

"As if I haven't seen your melted ass on the floor wanting to die."

"Fuck, Mary. You've turned it into an art form."

He'd closed his eyes and given her the finger, but that hadn't stopped her.

"You wanna be a rockstar, boy? You can't just sit on your ass and hope the right person on the right night hears you. You're effervescent and charismatic—heads turn when you walk into a room and not just because of your skinny jeans—but you need more than air, Mary, which is all you are right now."

"Fuck you, Angela."

She'd clapped in front of his face, and she was lucky he didn't Exorcist bile all over her.

"You're a fucking pain in my ass, Goore. I'm doling out the good stuff, try not to bite my hand off, k?"

"All right, all right!"

"You wanna start that band? You wanna get play and amass fans? Well, make that demo you're always droning on about and give it to those DJs you're alway fanboying over. Fucking network, Goore."

At the time, Mary had been too hungover to care, but her advice would sink in…

Eventually.

For the time being, Mary was content. He loved the attention, and it made him feel invincible, made him feel like it was finally His Time. And he was going to make up for every slight, every unfair situation, and every beat down with sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.

With his newfound nightlife, Mary's day job had become an afterthought. He started sleeping through opening shifts, but with the extra foot traffic Mary brought to the store, his boss seemed resigned to let Mary slide (after a stern talking to and a pay docking).

The shadow cast had started using him as a mascot of sorts, and he was happy to show up on Saturday nights and hype up the waiting line with a pseudo striptease. (Even if it was sometimes to kick off his evening with the Deathbutantes and not hang with the cast after.)

Mary started a band ("auditioning" any and all of the many admirers who said they’d be more than happy to join it), and after a few false starts and a couple of lineup changes, they began working on an EP. (At least, when Mary showed up to rehearsal, they did.)

A Boston Phoenix reporter got wind of the Deathbutantes and called around about doing a story on them. The Bens were excited about the exposure that meant for their zine, and Angelique and Greg were excited about what it could mean for their careers. Mary did a brief interview over the phone where he answered questions about his style and talked about his dream of making his band a household name.

Mary saw his name up in lights, and he was reaching for it, full speed ahead.

But then things turned.

The story fell through at the last minute with no further explanation or contact by the reporter.

His boss finally fired him after Mary showed up too high to function too many times—or not at all.

The shadow cast had a turnover, and suddenly he was old news—a cringey hanger-on.

A trip to the clinic and a round of antibiotics for an STI had him way more wary of who he hooked up with.

"Heroes" lost momentum when imitators popped up and Ben cut off the gravy train.

Angelique moved to NYC for "better opportunities," and the Bens took their brand of counterculture to Portland, OR.

Greg took down the website when he got offered a legit job as an apprentice at a food magazine, and that was that.

The physical zines were cheap things, most ending up papering the sidewalk after trash day or lining the bottom of cages. Without the online presence, did Mary's "modeling career" even exist?

Mary was a little sad to see the era go, but when he woke up in Maine on the hood of some girl's car and only a hazy recollection of how they'd gotten there, he was beginning to see Angelique's point. He needed to get his shit together if he was ever going to become a rockstar. And frankly, he kind of felt like he needed to spend an entire month eating carrots and hydrating.

The 24/7 party had always been an ephemeral thing; it had been sand passing through his hands in a finite amount as he'd tried to hold onto it

He put himself on detox, and waking up sober for the first time in months felt like a revelation. And as it turned out, playing the guitar without badly shaking hands was way, way easier.

He found another job in another music store, and his starter!band was bringing butts into the smaller venues, like Toad.

He still had his old Rocky friends and the Deathbutantes. The club and venue owners still let him in for free, and Dave was always happy to give his demos a spin. By anyone's else's measure, he was steal one of the scene's darlings.

But Mary was beginning to realize that he needed to stop seeing himself as that scared kid who’d arrived in Boston 4 years ago with only a backpack, $72.57 to his name, and void where his family should be.

He needed to stop finding people to please into loving him.

Instead, he needed to live for himself and let them love him for who he was—fuck ups and all.

@slimylayne

Epilogue

"Honestly, that’s probably the reason I even got a band together," he says. "I was still kind of shit at guitar, but people came to see ‘Model Mary’ perform in his underwear."

He shoots me a smirk.

"I’m sure there’re pictures out there of me looking more glam than metal. I kind of played up the whole pinup thing for a while."

"Fuck, I would kill, literally kill to see that."

He pulls me into his lap until I’m straddling him.

"I could open up my underwear drawer and show you right now."

"Goore, you temptress."

I lean down to kiss him, and his hands sneak under my shirt, but I pull away again.

"I kinda thought I knew all your torrid secrets by now. Shit, how come Dave's never needled you about it?"

After 2 years with him, I’m surprised I hadn't even heard a peep from his oldest friend.

Mary snorts.

"Dave would miss shit hanging off his nose. Great dude, amiable as fuck, but he's always had fucking tunnel vision for his music."

I smirk at him.

"Sounds like someone else I know."

Mary pulls a face at me, and I apply kisses to every line until he laughs and bats me away.

"But really, Mare—how come you never told me about your brief career in blue steel?"

He blows out a breath, his hands smoothing up my thighs.

"Fuck. Cuz maybe I was a little embarrassed at how off the rails I was then, ok? Didn't want you to know what I fuck up I was." He takes my hand and kisses my palm. "And even I know it's a shit move to pitch woo at someone by telling them about banging half of Boston."

I make a face at him, and he laughs.

"Yeah, that’s what I thought."

His hands rest on my waist.

"Christ, everything about that year's a bit fuzzy, and it was like 10 years ago. Sometimes it feels like it happened to someone else, honestly. And shit—most of those people aren’t even around anymore. College kids who moved on and 20-somethings that grew up and moved who knows where. I used to watch Amber have—what is it when it’s four people?—and now she lives in bumblefuck Pennsylvania with 3 kids. After she left, I just kinda drifted away from all that."

He shrugs, his eyes downcast.

"I’m sorry, Mare," I say as I smooth his eyebrows.

He shrugs again.

"I mean, we all kinda keep in touch. It's like the only reason I have Facebook."

"When was the last time you even signed into that?"

Mary grins at me.

"Lola's birthday."

"One of the models? What happened with them?"

Mary bites his lip and thinks.

"Mayhem found religion after an OD and kinda ghosted everyone. Lesley followed a girl to New Hampshire. Uh…Lola pursued a PhD for something sciencey involving renewable energy with sugar beets in Idaho, and Bryan moved back to Florida to care for his grandma, who raised him."

Mary leans his head back on the couch and rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"I mean, shit. We were fucking babies back then. Head empty except for a good time and unlimited potential."

I run my fingers through his hair.

"You miss it?"

His eyes pop open to look at me.

"Fuck no. Not for a million dollars. Too many question marks." His eyes glint as he runs his hands down me. "I like what I got going on right here."

I wrap my arms around his shoulders and kiss his forehead. The fucking sap.

Mary picks up my phone and scrolls through the pictures again.

"Fuck. I used to be goddamn adorable, though. Half this shit wouldn’t even fit me anymore."

I squish his little potbelly, and he grunts at me indignantly.

"Do you still have any originals?" I ask.

He shakes his head, his eyes wistful and his smile sad.

"Nah. Got destroyed when my roof collapsed and leaked everywhere. Fuck, landlords are useless. Glad we fucking own now, babe."

He scrolls up, scrolls back down.

"Just these four?"

I nod.

"Yeah. They were the only ones I found—and I did a lot of searching."

"Christ, I think there were at least 10."

I smile ruefully at him. "It’s not gonna be long anyway before they make their way into the popular tags and shit starts coming out of the woodwork."

He tosses my phone onto the table.

"Whatever. Just shows that I’ve always been cool."

And then he’s kissing me again, his hand tangling in my hair.

"You know, I’m your family now, Mare. Just for you."

He brings my hand up and kisses it.

"Fuck, I know that. Why’dja think I put a ring on it?"

#mary goore #longfic #gender neutral insert #aurelio voltaire

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lethal-liability · 5 years ago

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Info Dump Time!

So it has come to my attention that the slasher fandom has recently been introduced to Ice Nine Kills, my favorite band (aside from Rammstein, of course). So if you are really wanting to get into them but have no clue where to start, look no further! As I am about to impart my knowledge onto all of you lovely people!

So Ice Nine Kills is an American Rock band from Boston, Massachusetts (but they like to say they’re from Salem). The band was formed in 2002 by high school friends Spencer Charnas and Jeremy Schwartz, though today the only surviving member of the original band is Spencer.

(more under the cut)

The current members are:

Spencer Charnas - lead vocals (main stage character: Freddy Kruger, Jason Vorhees)

Ricky Armellino - rhythm guitar, co-vocals (the extra screaming voice in most songs lol) (main stage character: Georgie)

Patrick Galante - drums (main stage character: Jigsaw)

Joe Occhiuti - bass, keyboard (Main stage character: Eric Draven)

Dan Sugarman - lead guitar, backing vocals (Main stage character: Leatherface)

Justin “JD” DeBlieck is also technically a current member but he's been on hiatus from the band since Warped Tour 2018. His role in the band has been filled in by Ricky since then.

Their original sound was more ska-punk but have, since their first official album, have changed their sound to metalcore, or as Spencer calls it, theatricore.

Their discography is as follows:

Last Chance To Make Amends - 2006 (not currently on spotify and the only one I haven’t heard)

The Burning - 2007

2 Song Acoustic - 2009

Safe Is Just A Shadow - 2010

The Predator - 2013

The Predator Becomes The Prey - 2014

Every Trick In The Book - 2015

The Silver Scream - 2018

Other notable releases:

They’ve been featured on Punk Goes Pop three times and Punk Goes 90s once. They covered Adele’s Someone Like You on Vol. 5, Maroon 5’s Animals on Vol. 6, Taylor Swift’s I Don’t Want To Live Forever on Vol. 7, and Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) on Punk Goes 90’s Vol. 2 (also, side note, Motionless In White covered Rammstein’s Du Hast on that record and it is *chef kiss* horrible. Awful. Listen to it if you wanna ruin your ears. Chris Motionless does not know a lick of German and it shows)

In 2017 they released a re-recorded version of Safe Is Just A Shadow which I personally prefer over the original because it is a much cleaner record. I also like that it only features Spencer’s vocals which I find sounds much better than the mix of his and former bassist Shane Bisnett’s vocals.

Last year, they released a deluxe version of The Silver Scream which includes the new track Your Number’s Up, a cover of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and acoustic versions of A Grave Mistake, Stabbing In The Dark, SAVAGES, and Thank God It’s Friday (personally I only really like the acoustic of A Grave Mistake)

Their two most recent albums, Every Trick In The Book and The Silver Scream follow a similar format where every song on them follows a similar theme, ETITB being all based on classic novels and TSS being all based on slasher movies (with the exception of Thriller).

The songs and what they’re based on are as follows:

The Nature Of The Beast - Animal Farm by George Orwell

Communion Of The Cursed - The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Bloodbath & Beyond - Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Plot Sickens - Alive: The Story of The Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read

Star-Crossed Enemies - Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare (the analyst in me really loves this song because it implies that Romeo and Juliet knew that they were only characters in a play but died together anyway because they knew they couldn’t escape their fate)

Me, Myself, & Hyde - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Alice - Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks

The People In The Attic - The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank (this song features Spencer doing a very unconvincing German accent which, outside of the context of the song, is very funny)

Tess-Timony - Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Hell In The Hallways - Carrie by Stephen King

The American Nightmare - A Nightmare On Elm Street

Thank God It’s Friday - Friday The 13th

Stabbing In The Dark - Halloween

SAVAGES - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Jig Is Up - Saw

A Grave Mistake - The Crow

Rocking The Boat - Jaws (fun fact! This song features Jeremy Schwartz, the other founding member of the band and the lyrics contain the names of 5 of their 6 albums, excluding The Silver Scream)

Enjoy Your Slay - The Shining (another fun fact! In 2016 they put a vote to their fans to pick what piece of media the song they were working on would be based on, either The Shining or Psycho, I voted for Psycho because they already had a song based on a Stephen King story)

Freak Flag - The Devil’s Rejects

The World In My Hands - Edward Scissor-Hands

Merry Axe-Mas - Silent Night, Deadly Night

Love Bites - An American Werewolf In London

IT Is The End - It (including this one they have 3 songs based on Stephen King stories! His influence, ugh)

Your Number’s Up - Scream

More fun facts!

Aside from INK, Spencer also has a clothing company, Kleaver Klothing, which if they haven’t moved sites again, is at salem666.com

Last Year on their Summer tour they were supposed to play a show at a venue in Orlando, Florida that is on the grounds of Disney World. At the last minute Disney canceled their show because they’re performance was deemed “too violent” for a family park, despite the show already being 18+. In retaliation, the band released a series of limited edition merchandise featuring classic Disney characters as slasher villains, most notably Mickey Mouse as Freddy Kruger. They literally all sold out. I really should have got one when I had the chance

I own more pieces of Ice Nine Kills merch than literally any other piece of media I have ever consumed, including:

3 t shirts

2 tank tops

1 Letterman jacket

1 CD

2 vinyls

1 Kleaver t shirt (that I’m wearing right now)

1 poster

And a red balloon and paper boat from the IT Is The End music video promotion, (the boat is currently serving as a jewelry dish on my vanity)

I’ve seen them twice, Warped Tour 2016 and Warped Tour 2018, both times I met Spencer after the set and despite the whole scary act the band puts on during the shows, he’s very genuine and always really sweet to his fans. Enjoy these fetus pictures of me meeting him at 14 and 16 y/o

The lyric sheet for The Silver Scream is formatted like a spec script with action lines, scene headings, and inter-scene cuts, which screenwriting student me really, really enjoys

I got distracted while writing this because Patrick went live on Instagram, oops. He was setting up his new kit for the show tonight, it looks really cool, they’re painted to look like popcorn buckets

So that’s about it! Thank you for reading and enjoy the music!

#ice nine kills #slasher #slasher flicks #music #metalcore #ari screams into the void

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sagehaleyofficial · 5 years ago

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HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (1.1-1.7.20):

NEW MUSIC:

· Angels & Airwaves teased a new song, while providing some information about the new documentary about them. According to frontman Tom DeLonge, the sing is titled “Time Bomb.”

· Travis Barker of Blink-182 fame and his son Landon Barker took to Instagram to briefly tease the idea of them working together. On Instagram, the drummer classically banged away on his kit and Landon appeared to be nodding his head.

· Vic Mensa dropped a new video for his song “It’s a Bad Dream.” The song comes from the project 93PUNX and features Good Charlotte, as well as notable names such as Travis Barker of Blink-182 and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.

· All Time Low’s social media, as well as all the members including Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat, posted a cryptic video to their respective accounts. We see the iconic panda from the “Birthday” video as he lights a barrel on fire that contains a Last Young Renegade jacket.

· Green Day‘s newest album track listing might have been leaked online. A fan of the group claims he was sent the Father of All… vinyl sleeve in the mail from someone in California, which is where the band is based.

· After a surprise track released earlier in December, Set It Off dropped another new song called “So Predictable”. The band previously dropped another song, “Catch Me If You Can,” in mid-December after teasing a new release on Twitter.

· Post Malone is reportedly going to be a featured performer on Justin Bieber‘s new album, due out later this year. In addition to Posty, Coachella headliner Travis Scott is rumored to feature on the album as well.

· The 1975’s label Dirty Hit sent out a tweet requesting people to submit some information and a picture of themselves and their partner. The label says they’re shooting in London on January 18th and are searching for couples to star in a new music video.

· Paramore’s Hayley Williams posted three mysterious black squares on Instagram, sparking theories that the music will soon be here. Fans spotted a poster of Williams and the phrase “Petals for Armor” around the U.S. including New York and her Nashville hometown.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

· Motion City Soundtrack made their triumphant return to the stage last Tuesday on New Year’s Eve in Chicago, rocking the House of Blues. Before the return, the band posted a hype image, reminding fans to get tickets while they could.

· Green Day began 2020 with a performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. At the event, the band performed their hit “When I Come Around” in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Dookie.

· The Academy Is… posted a photo that is strikingly similar to the cover of their debut album Almost Here‘s cover art. The band’s debut record is coming up on its 15-year anniversary in February, leading to speculation about either another run of tour dates.

· 5 Seconds of Summer Ashton Irwin teamed up with Palaye Royale at NYE 2020: A Rock + Roll Carnival at the Taix Champagne Room. The night featured a host of covers of classic hits such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen to “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin.

· After countless rumors regarding who will be playing this year’s Coachella, several of the speculated artists have now been confirmed after the full lineup announcement. Weekend one is sold out, but weekend two presale begins today at noon PST.

· My Chemical Romance’s latest post spawned speculation they will announce a show in the UK. The band posted across their social media accounts a cryptic photo of a cloaked skeletal face person with a simple caption containing the UK flag.

· Halsey recently came under fire for some comments she made while performing at Bay Dreams Festival in New Zealand. She then relayed that it was just crowd banter to get them really going and she would say the same to anyone about their rival of sorts.

· The surviving members of Nirvana reunited on Saturday in Los Angeles for a show with Beck, St. Vincent and more. The concert was for a charity gala hosted by charity organization the Art of Elysium.

· Post Malone recently showed off his screaming skills while screaming along to Pantera‘s “Walk.” Recently, videos of Posty were posted by New York-based, indie-rock band Beach Fossils.

OTHER NEWS:

· Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons took to social media to address concerns about the band recently taking the top three spots on Billboard’s Hottest Rock Songs of the Decade chart. Reynolds laughed off the negative comments.

· Post Malone showed off his newest face tattoo, an armored hand holding a medieval flail. It takes a sizable spot on his face and was created by Kyle Hediger, who has tattooed Posty previously.

· Pierce the Veil revealed that their collaboration with Sleeping with Sirens’ Kellin Quinn, “King for a Day,” went platinum. In November 2014, the song went gold and held its own in the Top 40 Rock chart.

· A very dedicated My Chemical Romance fan compiled all the high-quality footage that everyone posted throughout the band’s return show. They edited them all together and made a one hour and forty-minute video of the entire gig.

· Jeffree Star posted his first video of the New Year, in which he takes us on a 36-minute tour of his new multi-million-dollar mansion. Star also talks about how he had a dream and made it come true with less than $500 in his pocket after quitting music.

· In anticipation of the release of Birds of Prey, merchandise for the film has officially dropped via Hot Topic. Among the items is also an impressive jacket from Her Universe resembling the one Harley Quinn is seen wearing in the film’s trailers.

· New Years Day vocalist Ash Costello made a post on Instagram explaining the ups and downs of 2019 for her personally and professionally while confirming she is now engaged. Costello and her fiancé Jered Boeving made the move together at Disneyland.

· Lil Peep’s management and label, First Access Entertainment, is disputing claims filed by his mother in documents filed on December 23rd in Los Angeles Superior Court. Liza Womack filed suit against the company over claims they overworked him and encouraged drug use.

· Billie Eilish launched a sustainable merchandise line with H&M. The line features everything from oversized t-shirts and sweaters to joggers, which are all made from sustainably-sourced materials.

· We the Kings drummer Danny Duncan announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend Valentina Guerrero. The couple have one son, Carter, who adorably posed with the newly engaged duo after the proposal.

· All Time Low is teaming up with Full Tilt Brewery to create a new beverage called “Beer Maria Count Me In.” Full Tilt founders Nick Fertig and Dan Baumiller originally opened the brewery using Peabody Heights Brewery’s facilities in Baltimore six years ago.

· Benji Madden of Good Charlotte and his wife, actress Cameron Diaz, welcomed the birth of a baby girl. The couple kept it a secret to protect the privacy of their little one, who is named Raddix Madden.

· Twenty One Pilots frontman Tyler Joseph and wife Jenna continued to invite fans into their world as they prepare for the birth of their first child. The mother-to-be shared a photo with a caption revealing approximately their daughter is due in approximately one month.

· The Panic! at the Disco track “High Hopes” was used for an epic same-sex skate routine in the UK show Dancing on Ice. During the premiere of the program’s latest season, pro ice-skater Matt Evers and Welsh actor/singer Ian H. Watkins had their first routine together.

· The iconic venue Koko in the Camden district of London last night. Firefighters worked hard to put the flames out as smoke and flames blow out from the roof scaffolding of the venue, which is currently undergoing renovations.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

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darkheartedprince · 5 years ago

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VERSE ADDITION: BLUE EYES AND BLACK JEANS

Primarily exists for promisedsanctum, waywardhearts, and lightheartedwarrior but anyone can interact with him in this verse.

In a world without far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells and princes in disguise, Riku continued to grow up in his normal life. Now in his last year of high school, Riku is arguably the coolest kid in school -- not that he sees it that way. He’s dating Sora, who’s brother Roxas couldn’t be less excited about but Riku doesn’t care because he loves Sora to the end of the universe and back. His blue eyes shine against his black leather jacket, black jeans, and classic converse sneakers as he patiently waits to graduate high school.

Riku drives a black and silver Harley Davidson motorcycle as well as a red and blue pan chopper motorcycle to and from school. He loves both of them more than life itself. He doesn’t let anyone ride them unless he really likes you or he really trusts you. Don’t worry, he practices safety with fingerless leather gloves, a helmet, and a black leather jacket. Motorcycles are pictured HERE.

His entire left arm is a sleeve of tattoos that tell the story of daring adventures into the unknown complete with stars, planets, and oceans and new horizons. His Dream Eater tattoo is on his back, but he just thinks it’s a cool symbol he saw in a book once. His right bicep has a band of crossing lines that look like they form loose hearts.

Riku has facial piercings. He has a lip piercing on the left side of his bottom lip, an eyebrow piercing on his left eyebrow, both of his ears pierced in the lobes and his right ear also has an industrial piercing.

Riku is always seen with over-the-ear headphones around his neck. He’s never without his music, it’s how he drowns out the world. He also does this because any time he has a song he wants to show someone {usually Sora or Kairi} Riku can just put his headphones on them and make them listen.

Black skinny jeans, black leather jackets, and converse high tops that are black and white or all black are Riku’s entire fashion aesthetic. V-neck t-shirts or long sleeves with the sleeves rolled, a chain always hangs attached to his back belt loop and latches onto the front belt loop on his right hip, beanies, the black leather cuffs and bracelets on either of his wrists, chokers and necklaces, band t-shirts, etc. All of those things and more create Riku’s day to day style.

TW:SMOKING. A lighter can always be found on Riku because he smokes cigarettes, but he never does it around people in case they have a problem with it. He will always walk away to smoke or distance himself from people until he is done before returning to them.

Sora is one hundred percent the strawberry to Riku’s cigarette and the candy to his lighter. They are opposites, and while he knows that people talk about them because they don’t seem like a likely pair Riku doesn’t care because he absolutely loves Sora inside and out.

On the opposite, Riku hates Sora’s brother Roxas because he and Roxas constantly fight one another. It’s argument after argument that never stop. Passive-aggressive dinners, jabs at one another at school, the whole nine yards. It is rare that these two are never fighting.

Speaking of fighting, Riku gets into fights at school. Often. Whether it’s because people are ragging on Sora, people are being terrible, people are making fun of him, or all of the above, Riku has a reputation for beating up people who say anything bad against the things in his life.

Despite how it might appear, however, Riku is at the top of his class for his grades. He takes his academics very seriously. Every assignment is done with precision and very thoroughly so that he can have the best marks amongst his peers.

In the good old war of Playstation versus Xbox, Riku prefers the Playstation. He has a PS4 and, when it comes out, he plans to save up to get a PS5.

Riku definitely picks out the colour of Sora’s braces rubber bands every time that Sora asks. Without fail, Riku always chooses bright aquamarine blue so that they match his eyes and so that every time Sora looks in a mirror and smiles he thinks of him.

He’s known as the strong, silent, mysterious crown prince of his school, but this holds true no matter what verse he is in.

His hobbies include drawing, listening to music, reading, writing poetry, taking walks along the beach, and playing video games. He likes hobbies that allow him to drown out the world and go other places for a short while.

Some of Riku’s favourite bands and music artists include {but are not limited to}: Disturbed, The Beatles, Lewis Capaldi, All Time Low, 5 Seconds of Summer, My Chemical Romance, Counting Crows, Bowling for Soup, Neon Trees, Cinema Bizarre, Tycho, Chris Young, Never Shout Never, Augustana, Queen, Bullet For My Valentine, Framing Hanley, Elvis Presley, Landon Pigg, The Higher, Keane, The Killers, AFI, Troye Sivan, Simon Curtis, Point North, Halsey, Gabbie Hanna, Breaking Benjamin, Secondhand Serenade, Marilyn Manson, and Hollywood Undead.

Because Riku loves music so much, he always sends people songs to listen to. These songs don’t always have to relate to their relationship {whatever that may be}. Sometimes, he just sends them songs because he thinks that they’ll like them but other times he’ll send songs because they fit a certain situation or feeling. After all, music speaks when words fail.

Nail polish? Definitely. Riku’s nails are always painted solid black or dark blue to match the night sky. He paints them himself.

Riku doesn’t care for junk food much, but sometimes he helps himself to Oreos, cookies and cream ice cream, cheese and pineapple pizza, or some cool ranch Doritos. He prefers savoury to sweet, as a whole when it comes to his snacking habits.

All of the furniture in his room is black. The walls that are painted white are covered from top to bottom in vintage movie posters, album artwork from vinyl records, video game posters, band posters, you name it. His bedding is dark indigo blue with black, grey and white plaid accents. He has a bookshelf filled from top to bottom with his favourite vintage cds, video games, books, and a picture of him, his mom, and his dad from when he was five. His window has indigo blue curtains that have plaid details just like his bedding. His backpack resides on a hook near his bedroom door.

Riku has a beta fish that is black and blue that he has named Ansem because he reminds him of a ghostly spirit. Ansem sits in a fishbowl on Riku’s desk.

He absolutely loves movies, especially older movies. He loves classic things as a whole. His favourite movies include {but are not limited to by any means}: Jaws, Titanic, The Ring, Grease, West Side Story, The Breakfast Club, and {though it’s not completely vintage} Star Wars. He also likes movies that take places from vintage eras even if they aren’t filmed in that era like, Call Me By Your Name, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Love Simon, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and Across the Universe. He doesn’t have one specific movie type that he goes to more than others, but he is always drawn to movies based on books.

**Headcanons can be found HERE. As always, they will constantly be added to.

#x. s h a d o w s f l y | o o c #x. w h e r e t h e r e i s l i g h t t h e r e i s d a r k n e s s | h e a d c a n o n s

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writeyourownlifestory · 5 years ago

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L-I-G-H-T-S U-P

Chapters: 2/20 Fandom: IT Rating: M Warnings: No warnings at this time Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Beverly Marsh/Ben Hanscom Additional Tags: PunkRocker!Eddie, Writer!Richie, Beveddie!Friendship, No Clown Written by: myself & @ahardlife Tag list: @richietoaster, @beproudtozier, @that-weird-girls-blog, @s-onora, @s-s-georgie, @bellarosewrites, @iamcupcakefrosting, @reddieonwheels, @ghostnebula, @madidraw @madi-main, @gazebobullshit, @thoughtfullyyoungduck

Puff piece writer Richie Tozier is given the chance of a lifetime to interview his celebrity crush: Dr. K, the lead singer of punk rock band, Trashmouth. Dr. K is about to release his first solo album and Richie wants to get all the dirty details. But all is not what it appears to be and the two realize they know each other from a different time, in a different place, when they were both very different people.

Chapter one can be found here

So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek

I get a little lonely Get a little more close to me You're the only one who knows me, babe So hot, you're hurtin' my feelings (woo) Can't deal

Richie had very little idea what he was supposed to be doing.

Okay, correction, he had a decent idea. It was a simple interview. Ask a couple of questions, hopefully, get a couple of answers. It wasn’t being filmed nor were they doing something dumb to pass the time. Just a simple sit down with a punk rock legend in the making.

Richie had written down almost a hundred questions, half of which he wanted to scrape because they just seemed so generic and boring. This might have been just a stereotypical interview but the person of interest was anything but typical.

Dr. K had changed things for the better in the music industry. He didn’t stick to social norms, but he also didn’t jam his uniqueness down your throat. If you wanted to see him, you would see him. If you didn’t want to pay him any mind, that was fine too. Dr. K had said on more than one occasion that he wasn’t there to entertain the small minds of the world. The people who would see him would see him and those who heard him would listen.

Richie listened very clearly. Almost nightly. He wasn’t lying when he told Bill he had seen them sixteen times in the past eight years. From small dingy bars deep in the city to the biggest venues the state had to offer. Richie had been there for it all, cheering on this amazing band and buying up their merch to boot.

Richie thought about wearing one of their shirts, but he didn’t want to come on too strong. He stuck with his regular business attire, making sure that nothing was too wrinkled or had a strange mess to it.

He thought about doing something with his hair until he finally snapped himself out of this little fantasy he had going on inside his head. This wasn’t a blind date; wasn’t some matchmaking at the hands of Bill. This was a serious business and Richie had to take it seriously.

Richie was gangly, with wavy hair and thick glasses. Sure, some guys found him to be cute, but he gave credit to his charming personality. He put on a mask to get by but in reality, he was just a lonely guy who didn’t know where he belonged.

So when the day came, he told himself just to relax because nothing would come from this. There wasn’t going to be a magical spark between the two. He wasn’t going to let go of his career and start touring with Dr. K as his personal assistant slash roadie slash groupie.

He was just a guy interviewing for his place of work and Richie reminded himself that repeatedly as he arrived at the location Bill gave him. Red Balloon records were serious business that only took on the best of the best. Richie gave his name and flashed the pass that he always kept on him from Paper Boats just to show he was legit.

He was sent up automatically and was practically buzzing in the elevator up. When he arrived at the top, a red-headed woman greeted him, offering a polite smile as they walked through the hall. She was dressed smartly in a suit of her own, high up against her neck and tight at the waist. She offered a quick handshake before they got moving.

“Beverly Marsh. You’re a little early, but that’s all right. K likes punctual people.” She revealed.

“Figured it would be better to be early than late.”

“Better late than never as they say,” Beverly commented with a knowing smile. “I hope you have something good to ask him.”

“Way to put the pressure on,” Richie muttered, following close behind her. “I tried to choose questions he hadn’t already been asked before, but there are only so many non-generic questions out there. I’m sure he’ll be asked the same bullshit by the other magazines.”

“Dr. K isn’t doing any other magazine interviews. He’s agreed to only speak to a Paper Boat representative. You, specifically.”

“What? You’re kidding.” It wasn’t unheard of for a celeb to only speak to one news outlet, but for him to choose to only speak to PB when he had so much to release seemed a bit out there. Richie wondered if Bill had worked his magic on Dr. K’s people and convinced them to sell the story to Paper Boat and only Paper Boat.

“You’ll be the only so I certainly hope you make it worth his while.”

“No pressure there,” Richie muttered, adjusting his glasses nervously.

“Don’t be worried. Dr. K is very easy going. Just don’t make this into a big deal.”

Richie snorted, giving the redhead a quick side look. “Right. Speaking to a premature rock God. It's no big deal.”

Beverly chuckled, stopping outside one of the doors. “He isn’t a God. He’s just a guy with a lot of talent.”

“Here I thought the lead singer of a punk rock band would want to surround himself with people who stroke his ego.”

Beverly shrugged, reaching for the doorknob. “He’s not the lead singer of a band anymore. And K doesn’t surround himself with anybody he doesn’t want around. Constantly hearing how wonderful you are can be pretty boring, don’t you think?” Opening the door, Beverly gesturing inside. “He’ll be with you in just a moment.”

The room was empty but set up comfortably. There was a small bar with drinks and a table of snacks set up. Caramel popcorn and peanut M&Ms filled up the bowls. Richie grabbed a couple of candies, tossing them in the air and catching them. He walked around, admiring the room. It had that vintage rock and roll vibe to it. Vinyl along the brick walls and posters of all the bands the record label signed over the year.

Sitting in a cooler were glass soda bottles and Richie lifted one, searching for a bottle opener only to come up empty. Shrugging, he brought the bottle to his mouth, hoping to open it with his teeth the way he used to in college, but that proved futile. He was older and his teeth weren’t as strong as they used to be.

“It’s a twist-off,” A voice from behind him said.

Richie turned and the bottle nearly slipped through his fingers as his eyes settled on the new person in the room.

It was him, his morning glory.

Dr. K.

He looked exactly like Richie hoped he would. Utterly gorgeous.

He wasn’t dolled up in eyeliner or hair gel the way he would if he was on stage or dressed in the best designers for a photoshoot, but he still looked too good to be true. Dark jeans with a dark jacket, a Ramones tee shirt hugging his toned body. His skin was pale, showing off every mark and freckle he had to offer.

His hair was shorter now; another shock vibing out through the music world. First Trashmouth loses their lead and then the lead loses his hair. Richie didn’t mind it though. The shorter cut framed Dr. K’s face ever so perfectly.

He was absolutely gorgeous and Richie felt like he was a six-foot tall garbage can on fire just standing in the same room with him.

Richie watched as Dr. K came forward, going to grab a bottle out of the cooler. He twisted it open with ease, offering it to Richie to switch out with the unopened one he was holding. Richie took it, still not saying a word as he watched the other man open a second bottle for himself and begin to drink it.

“What? Disappointed it’s not beer?” Dr. K asked him curiously.

“It’s ten in the morning,” Richie mentioned.

Dr. K shrugged off, sipping slowly at his drink. “As they say: it’s five o’clock somewhere.” He mentioned, taking another swig of the soda bottle. “So. You’re him, huh?” He asked, looking him up and down slowly.

A tickle of nerves ran along Richie’s back and after nearly spitting out his sip, he placed the bottle down beside him. “Yes. Hi. Richard Tozier; representative of Paper Boat magazine.” He stuck his hand out, offering a shake.

He wanted to be professional, but he wondered if that came off lame. Lame was the last thing he wanted because anything that wasn’t punk or rock and roll was incredibly lame.

And Richie was very sure if he looked lame in front of Dr. K he would throw himself in front of a moving train.

Luckily for him, Dr. K didn’t seem to mind. He offered a polite smile and reached out to shake his hand. His shake was tight and simple, though Dr. K did linger a bit longer than expected.

“So, shall the interview begin?” He offered, gesturing over to the couch across the way.

Richie scrambled to take his seat, wanting to make room for everything that was begging to come out of his mouth.

“First I just want to say thank you for allowing us to do this. I know you aren’t a very public person so to be able to do a one on one with you is truly an honor.”

“People are hungry. Might as well feed them.” Dr. K replied slowly.

“Right. Okay. So a solo album. Why now?”

“Why not now?”

“Right, okay. Great answer.” Richie cliched his pen and began writing that down. “So the album. Do you have a title for it yet?”

“We have a few things bouncing around but nothing has been decided yet.”

“And it’s all original work that you’ve written on your own?”

“Oh, the contrary; my first big solo album will be a complete list of some of my favorite songs already in creation.”

Richie pauses, looking up. “So a cover album?” He questioned, pushing his glasses up. “Why? I only ask because you’re an amazing songwriter! Surely you can make a whole album up on your own.”

“Your flattery is charming. And I have many ideas for songs but there are already so many songs out there and I want to lend my own voice and specific style to them.” Dr. K paused, smiling then. “And don’t call me Shirley.”

“Dr. K gets off with a zinger! Impressive.” Richie scribbled everything down, leaning back in the chair as he grew more comfortable. “Okay so. Cover album. Do I get to know any of the songs?”

“It will be between fifteen and twenty. We’re still narrowing it down.”

“That’s quite a lot. Any particular reason?”

“I’m greedy.” Dr. K shrugged, sipping slowly at his bottle.

Richie focused his eyes on the pad in his hands instead of on the bottle that Dr. K had his mouth wrapped around.

“I will say each song has been chosen by me personally. Little ditties that touched me in one way or another during my life; going all the way back to my childhood to now.”

“Do you have a favorite?”

“I do, though I can’t say without revealing anything.”

“What about in general?” Richie inquires. “Come on. Even a rockstar has to have a favorite song.”

Eddie smiled softly, almost dismissively. Richie thought he was going to ignore the question or request a skip, but instead, Richie would himself getting the answer.

“Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade. Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away. I've done alright up to now, it's the light of day that shows me how. And when the night falls, loneliness calls….”

Richie blinked, his mind desperately trying to get past the fact that Dr. K just sang to him to recognize the song.

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody?” He asked aloud, his eyes squinting behind his glasses. “Your favorite song is by Whitney Houston?”

“Are you not a fan?”

“What? No, it’s not that! Whitney was iconic. Rest In Peace Queen, but I just meant. It’s surprising! Especially for somebody with your record.”

“Even rockstars can have a soft spot for a good pop song,” Eddie told him with a small smile.

Richie, having found himself staring, scrambling to write everything down. He paused, collecting his thoughts so he could wrap this up. He didn’t want to leave yet but he didn’t want to take up any more of Dr. K’s time.

“Why now?” He asked suddenly. “Why go solo now?”

“My bandmates have lives of their own. Wives. Children. I have neither. Besides, I lived my life doing what people expected of me. Thought I’d have fun and throw a wrench in their plan for me.”

A knock on the door came. After a few seconds, Beverly opened, sticking her fiery redhead inside. “K, I’m sorry to interrupt but Stanley is on the phone. Legal mumbo-jumbo.”

“Duty calls.” Dr. K sighed, standing slowly from the couch. Realizing the interview was cover, Richie stood as well, shoving everything back into his bag. Dr. K didn’t move right away. He stood in front of Richie, that same damn smile across his lips.

“Thank you. Really. Having this chance had been a total career changer.” He mentioned to him, pausing just before they could separate.

Richie always took his job seriously but come on, how detailed could you get about something when the story you were writing was on giant chocolate chip cookies or watching celebs balance pies on their heads? This was the first legitimate of Richie’s career and he was incredibly grateful for the chance.

“Do you think I could bother you for a picture? I know it’s super unprofessional, but you’re like my idol.”

Dr. K laughed then. Not mockingly, but rather with surprise. There was a glimmer in his eyes Richie couldn’t recognize, though he didn’t get the chance to question it as Dr. K came to his side in moments.

Richie scrambled to grab his phone, holding it out so he could capture both of them. They smiled wide, standing beside one another closely as the picture was taken. Richie was definitely going to make that his lock screen the moment he got home.

He offered his hand, one final shake and Dr. K took it without question. “It was nice to see you again, Richie.” He said, giving the hand one last squeeze before Beverly ushered him out.

Richie stood there, offering a lame wave as he was left alone in the room. A solid minute passed before Dr. K’s words repeated in his head.

Nice to see you again? What the fuck?

#deleted the original post because i am a MORON #Reddie #Reddie!AU #Reddie fic #fanfic #it #it au #it fanfic #Richie Tozier #Eddie Kaspbrak #Beverly Marsh #Punk!au #rock star au #rock star!au #punk rocker

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alltheloveflowerh · 6 years ago

Text

Record Shop

Y/N’s been working at a record shop for the past two years on a not so busy street in London, but it’s yet crowded enough to have people come and go every hour to make the shop busy. Like every other shop, this one too had the one-time-buyers, as well as its regulars. From the first time he walked into the shop, he could have been sorted into the regulars, but the thing is, that it wasn’t like that. And Y/N didn’t particularly like him (or at least that’s what she kept telling herself). For some reason the tall boy - well, he was more like a man, but she still called him a boy in her head - was always cocky, wearing a smug smile on his face, radiating with confidence; almost as if he owned the world. On particular days it just annoyed her, and on some days she enjoyed his little game of flirtation, but (of course) she would never admit that.

Y/N didn’t mind the boy, whose name she was yet to learn, though she felt slight irritation whenever he walked into the shop. It wasn’t his charming self or his pine green eyes that always seemed to capture her mind, not paying attention to what he was speaking but rather to his eyes. It was the attitude which was seen in his walk; it was the way he would stand whenever he would speak, and it was the smile. His goddamn broad smile, showing his perfect teeth and his perfectly deep curved dimples. It was his stupid stupid smile.

The first time they met was on January the 9th, when Harry decided to listen to his best friend and go check the record shop out. He knew of the shop, because his best friend could never stop talking about it and its variety of records and CD’s and the diversity of biographies about a lot of different musicians, but has never come around to actually visiting it. And Harry liked music, some might even say he loved it. So that day he went there without much on his mind, not thinking that a certain girl would capture the short attention span of Harry Styles.

As soon as he walked in, he started to observe the shop, gently closing the door behind him. He took in each aspect, every concert poster hanging on the wooden wall, bookshelves standing against the walls and the collection of records and CD’s on display.

‘‘Hello, how are you doing?’’ He asked to what looked like an empty shop, not noticing the girl kneeling down and organising boxes with extra records.

‘‘Hi, I’m fine, thank you. Yourself?’’ Y/N answered looking for the source of the voice while standing up and going to the counter.

‘‘I-I’m good, yeah.. Er. w-would you mind if I take a look around?’’ He didn’t know why he asked that or why he stuttered but he just said the first thing on his mind considering how dumbfounded he was by the girl.

‘‘I mean, I’m almost positive that that’s what people do? But sure, if you need permission go ahead.’’ She did know that her answer was a bit snarky, but it didn’t bother her that much since she’s known for snarky responses but also hard work. The boy just nodded.

Y/N continued doing her work while Harry couldn’t help but glance at her every few minutes just to check where she was; as if she was going to disappear any second.

‘‘So, is there an order or anything? An alphabetical order or genre, perhaps?’’, he asked searching for ways to start a conversation.

‘‘Yeah, alphabetical order.’’

‘‘Any signs where’s from A to F is or any other letters?’’

‘‘Each record cabinet is an alphabetical order for itself. So all of them are ordered alphabetically, with all letters, just depends on which cabinet you’re in front of.’’

‘‘Ah, okay. Well, which one has Fleetwood Mac?’’

Y/N knew that it was clear, you could see each letter on the cabinets. She knew you could see them easily, she knew because she organised it all. Big wall-sized bookshelves on the north and south side of the room, a line of long bin styled vinyl cabinet storages on the east and the west side holding vinyls and CD’s, and long 6-drawer chest in between, with the extra records inside and on top a couple of record players going from vintage to modern.

She went off to his side and put her hand over the stack of records that said Fleetwood Mac on their cover, ‘‘Right here’’, she muttered out, giving him one of her best fake smiles - because she knew what he was doing, considering how hard he was trying not to smirk - obviously failing.

As she got back to the counter, a couple of more people came in, doing their own search and not asking for help as opposed to what the boy was doing. Speaking of him, he was still roaming through the records while a lot of customers already bought stuff and left. Precisely 23 minutes had passed before he finally came up to the counter with a stack of his own. As she started scanning each one of them, reading the names, the boy decided to speak.

‘‘So, you’re not wearing a name tag...?’’ which to Y/N it sounded more like question and not a statements.

‘‘Don’t need one.’’

‘‘Right.’’ He knew she was doing this on purpose - avoiding a conversation, ‘‘I like your shirt, do you have a favourite album of theirs?’’ He pointed at the black Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt she was wearing underneath an oversized denim jacket, which seemed to be Levi’s.

‘‘By The Way, do you?’’ Y/N said nodding towards his very young looking Britney Spears t-shit, trying not to sneer, ‘’Have a favourite album of the person on your shirt?’’

‘‘Oh yes, definitely. Oops!..I Did It Again, has to be.’’ Harry was smiling to himself, knowing she indeed was making fun of him, but glad she was even talking.

‘‘A classic.’’

Y/N scanned the vinyl and two CD’s (Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles), putting them all in a brown paper bag along with his receipt.

‘‘That will be £37. Your receipt is in the bag.’’ She held the bag in front of her, handing it to him.

‘‘Thank you, here you go,’’ he gave her £40, ‘‘keep the change.’’ he added grinning wildly at the not so interested girl in front of him.

‘‘Thanks, Pop Princess.’’ The nickname slipped from her lips faster than she could comprehend. Not that there was anything wrong with Britney because she definitely had lot of hits Y/N liked to jam out to; she carefully took the money and put it into the register when she heard a genuine laugh escape his lips.

‘‘It sure does fit me, eh, with the long hair, brown curls.’’ He said, referring to the nickname with a low chuckle, ‘‘Well, thank you for being so kind, and see you soon.’’ He offered her a one more of his famous smiles, before turning around and leaving Y/N in the shop with what seemed to be a hundred thoughts in her head.

---

What Y/N didn’t know was that every time he said soon, he meant the next day. So he came to this shop almost every day (except on weekends) for the next two weeks at the same time, which was usually around one in the afternoon. Whenever he came, he had a black washed-out backpack that matched his worn out converse shoes (they were occasionally replaced by red ones, in almost the same state). Sometimes he wore vintage looking band t-shirts with skinny jeans, and sometimes it was hoodies with slightly looser jeans, but he did have a good sense of style. As soon as he would walk into the shop, he would have a smile one his face, whether it was a smirk or a smug one, or just a simple smile, it was plastered all over his face. He didn’t purchase something every time he went there, so those times when he didn’t, he would linger around the shop, making sure to speak to her. And Harry was in no way embarrassed of anything, therefore he openly flirted with Y/N every time he got the chance; he made small talk, he would also compliment her which Y/N responded either with an eye-roll (trying really hard not to blush) or a look which said ‘You’re an idiot’. Y/N never flirted back, well not openly as Harry did, but in some ways she tried to appear just as much of a tease as Harry with comebacks and sarcastic comments. So the usual feeling of irritation that lingered in her body whenever Harry walked into the shop had disappeared after a few days of him showing up, and maybe.. Just maybe replaced by some kind of joy and excitement. But both of them were dealing with a slight problem, which was not knowing each others names.

On January the 23rd, exactly two weeks after they’ve met for the first time, Harry was casually walking into the shop the same way and around the same time he always did. But he didn’t know that today, was Y/N’s day off, which meant that she wouldn’t be in the shop but her co-worker whom Harry only knows as ‘the guy from the afternoon shift’, so when he saw him instead of Y/N at the counter confusion took over his face.

‘‘Hi, er, is the girl not working today?’’ He debated whether to ask or not, but he was curious.

‘‘Oh, Y/N? No, my dad gave her a day off today, and as a punishment, for what it seems like to the both of us, I’m taking over her shift.’’ The nameless boy explained.

‘‘Your dad?’’ he wondered, ignoring the fact that he just found out her name.

‘‘Yup, my dad owns this place, so Y/N and I work here. She doesn’t work over the weekend though, that’s when my dad comes in.’’

Harry was still confused; first because the guy that works here looks around the same age as he does and if him and Y/N have been- his thoughts were interrupted- her name was Y/N. A small smile grew on his face, saying the name in his head over and over, but was soon replaced with a frown when he remembered the previous though. If they’ve been working together for quite a long time, did they ever...? Has anything ever happened? As he was thinking he realised a few minutes flew passed since he last spoke and he was still standing in front of the guy.

‘‘Right, well, um, thanks for the explanation.’' He tried not to sound too awkward.

‘‘S’fine, no problem. But she will be back tomorrow in her usual shift.’’ The guy replied giving him a tight smile as if apologising that she’s not here now.

‘‘Hey Ian, do we have any spare chargers here? Because this one only fucking works when you bloody angle it properly.’’

Both Y/N’s co-worker Ian and Harry turned their attention to the person who just hurriedly walked into the shop with annoyance on their face and frustration in their voice. Since it took them by surprise, - both her appearance and her loud entry - they looked at her as if she was a ghost. She looks beautiful, Harry thought. She was wearing black knee-ripped mum jeans, a yellow knitted jumper that reached just above her mid-thighs and a denim jacket she always wore. She also had a backpack on, filled with some things Y/N never leaves the house without; such as her wallet, a couple of books, sunglasses, a camera and a Polaroid camera she got for her 20th birthday.

As Ian stopped responding, only then lifting her head did Y/N realise that the boy was there as well. After what seemed hours of silence, one of them spoke.

‘‘Well hello, Y/N’’, Harry said putting the emphasis on her name while a smirk was forming on his face.

‘‘Ian? Please tell me there is a spare one?’’ Y/N asked, without showing any acknowledgement of Harry.

‘‘Could it be in the back? I can get it for you. You stay here, the guy asked for you anyways.’’ Ian turned around and went to the back room to look for Y/N’s charger.

With that being said, Y/N felt some kind of a feeling in the pit her stomach, because Harry actually dared to ask about her or rather - her absence.

‘‘Asking about me when I’m not here, eh?’’, she was the one smirking now.

‘‘No,’’ he tried to deny, ‘‘I was just wondering, you know..’’

‘‘Sure thing, Pop Princess.’’ Harry rolled his eyes.

‘‘Y/N! I’ve found one!’’ Ian yelled as he walked back to join them, ‘‘It was in one of the drawers.’’ he added, putting the charger onto the counter.

‘‘Oh thank God. I would have gone nuts if I had to buy another one of these,’’ she walked towards them and took the charger off the counter, ‘‘Thanks, love.’’ She quickly added turning away and getting ready to leave. She plugged her phone into her power bank since it was on 6% of battery and zipped it in her backpack. Harry huffed, annoyed by Ian’s nickname. She thanked Ian for his help again and walked towards the door. As she left and started walking away from the shop someone grabbed her wrist and turned her around.

‘‘Have breakfast with me. Or lunch? Or brunch, just anything.’’ he pleaded.

‘‘I mean, I don’t even know your name. I can’t just grab breakfast, lunch, brunch or whatever with a stranger.’’ she replied smiling cheekily at him.

‘‘We have been talking for two weeks, I’m no stranger to you. But if you will, I’m Harry.’’

‘‘What if I already have plans?’’

‘‘Then I will wait until you’re free. But do you really?’’ He narrowed his eyes at her trying to figure out if she really did have plans.

‘‘Hi Harry, I’m Y/N, and no I don’t have any plans.’’ She stretched out her hand for him to shake.

‘‘Really? A handshake?’’ Harry shook his head in disbelief with a grin on his face, yet still took her hand in his and gently shook it. It was rather small compared to his, he thought, but felt very soft and warm against his cold ones.

‘‘You look very pretty, by the way.’’ He added.

‘‘Err, t-thank you.’’ She ducked her head down, hiding the blush creeping onto her face. Harry smiled at her response, because that’s the first time she didn’t roll her eyes at him or dismiss him. And he could definitely notice some redness on her cheek.

‘‘Is there anywhere you’d like to go to? Or should I choose the place?’’

‘‘If you know any good ones then lead the way, Princess.’’ she replied as they started walking to wherever Harry was taking her.

‘‘You’re really not gonna stop calling me that, are you?’’

‘‘No, probably not.’’ Y/N smiled up at him and slightly bumped him with her shoulder. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her more into him so badly, but he just pinched her side making her squirm away from him.

Y/N didn’t know how to feel. They have been talking for two weeks, but it was small talks; where you learn about their favourite movies, musicians, books, animals and sometimes they would get into more deeper discussions about a certain musician; like that time they spent two hours talking about Freddie Mercury before Harry had to leave as he was running late to meet up with his sister. But usually, their chats wouldn’t last too long, and now they’re going out for lunch where they will probably spend a lot of time talking. What if they don’t have any topics left to discuss? What if at the end he found her boring? And for some reason while her head was thinking hundred steps ahead, she had this feeling in her tummy; as if the whole zoo is going wild inside it, and they’re just walking next to each other.

‘‘So how come you weren’t working today?’’ He asked even if he already knew the answer, but Y/N smiled at his question before explaining.

‘‘Well, Boss said I could use an extended weekend, plus he said Ian’s fucked something up so he’s making him work all day.’’

‘‘Well then, have you been enjoying your extended weekend so far?’’

‘‘Oh I certainly am, slept the whole time. How about you, how was your weekend?’’ She looked up at him and noticed the height difference between them, she literally had to lift her head all the way up to meet his eyes. Looking up at him, she also noticed his sharp lower jaw bones that were sticking out as well as the short stubble on his chin. His curly brown hair falling down to his shoulders. There were so many small details about him she was yet to learn. He also didn’t have earlobes. She snapped back out of her thoughts once she heard him speak.

‘‘I would say it was good. I did sleep a lot of the time, listened to some records, stud-’’ He looked in her direction catching her stare, ‘‘Take a picture, love. It will last longer.’’

‘‘You’re annoying.’‘ she huffed as a small child, to which he laughed loudly.

‘‘You look cute when you’re annoyed.’‘

‘‘Oh for God’s sake, stop it!’‘

Y/N put her hands on his bicep in attempt to push him into the opposite direction away from her, but Harry only responded by quickly taking her hands and pulling her towards him; one hand sliding down her shoulders and the other on her waist, going over her stomach, trying to squish and tickle her. As much as Y/N pretended to want to wiggle out of his grip, she couldn’t lie and say she didn’t enjoy it. After tickling her, Harry pulled one arm to his side and put it into his pocket, while the other stayed still over her shoulders.

‘‘Since the weather is quite nice for a change, do you want to sit outside?’‘

‘‘Yes please. Are we there yet?’‘ Y/N asks, lifting her head and looking at the pretty boy holding her close.

‘‘We only have to cross that street and we’re there.’‘ He replied, pointing to a cafe in the distance with one hand, squeezing her shoulder gently with the other. They had been walking down the street, neither of them saying anything, but just smiling to themselves for the rest of the short walk they had.

Once they arrived at a cafe with a sign in the colour pink that said Cliffs just above the door, Y/N noticed that there was no outside area in front of the shop, but as Harry opened the door leading her inside, she was surprised by the vintage looking cafe with a big glass door at the end of the room, leading to what seemed like backyard garden. It looked gorgeous, Y/N thought, especially the outside area with wooden tables and stools, each with a small red cushion. Every table had a small plants on them, flowers hanging from the walls and colourful trees in big pots in each corner.

‘‘Oh wow...’‘ Y/N was in awe with the place, ‘‘This place is beautiful, Harry.’‘

‘‘So you like it?’‘ Harry asked nervously, even thought she just said it was beautiful he still felt a bit on edge trying to impress her and show her that he perhaps had a crush on her.

‘‘I do, it’s really pretty. Thank you..’‘ Her voice was soft and almost like a whisper, as she still looked around the garden area still not believing how beautiful it was. Harry couldn’t restrain himself from smiling widely. He just felt happy.

‘‘Let’s sit in that corner, yeah?’‘ He exclaimed while slowly removing his hands from around her shoulders and taking her hand in his leading her to the small table in the corner next to a tree called Cercis canadensis or the eastern redbud, an average height tree with branches of the colour purple, but since it was January it wasn’t in its full blossom. Y/N knew that because ever since she was little she loved the nature and loved spending her time outside. Harry pulled the chair for her to sit down and then took a seat to her left but still close to each other since the tables weren’t too big.

‘‘I’ve never been to this cafe before, and I mean you’re just taking me for lunch, but I’m just...’‘ she waited a few seconds, ‘‘in awe.’‘

‘‘Jesus, who knew something as small as a cafe would make you all nice, wow, I didn’t know you had it in you.’‘ He teased her.

‘‘Oh sod off.’‘ she fliped him off, putting her backpack on her lap trying to find something.

‘‘Ah yeah, now I know you.’‘ As Harry said that, the waitress came over taking their order quickly and leaving them all alone again. After they’ve placed their order, Y/N was still shuffling through her bag looking for her camera, taking it out when she finally found it.

‘‘You gonna take a picture of me now, love?’‘ he smirks at her, crossing his arms and leaning his elbows against the table, feeling all too cocky knowing that he caught her staring at him a couple of times.

‘‘You know what? I actually am. Smile, love.’’ She raised her camera up to her face and pulled herself back a little so she could take the perfect shot. Wanting to have a nice background as well, Y/N zoomed out a bit and captured the photo of Harry. He was leaning against the table with that stupid smile on his face, the light perfectly hitting his face, his green irises not looking in the lens but at her and with a mix of a brick wall and the purple tree in the background. She took a few of them in a row, just in case.

‘‘Aren’t you just gorgeous’‘ She said, quickly looking at the picture before turning the camera off and putting it down on the table. Harry only shakes his head chuckling and muttering to himself, ‘‘Unbelievable.’‘

The waitress brought them their drinks and apologised for the meals still not being ready since the cafe is almost full, to which Harry and Y/N say that it’s okay because neither of them are in a rush. Harry ordered a black coffee and a glass of juice while Y/N ordered an ice coffee, something she always drank.

‘‘How can you dri-’‘ before he can even ask, Y/N fiercely interrupts him

‘‘I swear to God, if you ask me how am I drinking a cold coffee on a cold day, I will hurt you’‘ Harry’s eyes widened because that was exactly his question, and well because she’s glaring at him. ‘‘I’m not even joking.’‘ she quickly adds taking a sip from her cup.

‘‘Okay then, well..’’ He snickered, amused. ‘’Can I ask you something? But I’m not trying to be an ass or anything’‘ Harry asked her, to which she only responds by nodding her head with a confused expression, ‘‘So you and that guy you work with... are you two, you know? Or have you ever..’‘ why was he asking that, he thought to himself, that’s none of his business!

‘‘Oh really? That’s what you wanna know, is it now?’‘ Y/N leaned herself against the table, just like he did only few minutes ago, moving a few inches closer to him.

‘‘What no, I was just thinking, wondering actually since you two have been working together for a while, and you know..’’ he huffed, annoyed at himself for even thinking to ask that, his cheeks getting more red with each passing second.

‘‘Of course, just wondering, right? But no, we didn’t. We never hooked up if that’s what your asking.’’ Y/N liked looking into his eyes, especially since he tried avoiding eye contact with her because of his questions. Also because she has a little crush on him, but not that she would admit.

‘‘Interesting how I don’t even know your full name or you birthday, or even your age. But you know if I’ve hooked up with someone or not..’‘ she said while raising her coffee cup and hiding a smile behind it. She noticed Harry shifting in his seat and taking a long sip of his coffee as well. They knew quite a lot about each other from those small chats they had, but still not the basic stuff.

‘‘I’m Harry Edward Styles and I will be twenty-two years old in a couple of days.’‘ He said with a serious face as if he was presenting himself on national television.

‘‘Harry Edward Styles, sounds nice’‘ she repeated his name, testing it for herself, ‘‘Wait, how many days is that before your birthday?’‘

‘‘Nine days to be exact, why? Gonna plan something special for me?’‘ He gave her a dimpled smile, leaning even closer so that their faces were only a few inches apart.

‘‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’’ Y/N’s original thought was actually to get him something, but she obviously wouldn’t tell him that. ‘’Anyways-’‘ she wanted to know more about him but was interrupted by the waitress bringing their meals, so both of them quickly pulled themselves back into the chairs. The waitress put their plates down one by one and placed the receipt under one of the glasses so it doesn’t get lost.

‘‘Is there anything else I can help you with?’‘ the waitress asked kindly looking at both of them.

‘‘No, thank you so much.’‘ Y/N smiled at her and thanked her politely; the waitress gave them one more smile before turning away and continuing with her work.

Both of them were blushing, so they just smiled at each other shyly before eating. The lunch went well, they kept chatting the whole time; sometimes making silly jokes and sometimes shamelessly flirting. It was obvious how into each other they were, yet no one said anything. As the got up to leave, Harry pulled out his walled going straight to the front of the cafe to pay.

‘‘Heyyyy!’‘ Y/N quickly followed after him. ‘‘You can’t do that!’‘ She added, pulling 20 quid out of her wallet and nudging it towards Harry.

‘‘Can’t do what? Pay for my date?’‘ He turned his head to look at Y/N, who was standing right next to him. There was a smile on his face, his green irises focusing only on the girl next to him.

‘‘A date, huh?’‘ She found it amusing, how he always blushed whenever she teased him. But she can not say she didn’t feel any butterflies in her stomach after calling that a date.

‘‘Shut up...’‘ Harry said before turning his attention to the cashier and giving him the money.

Y/N giggled at him, slowly slipping her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. Her other hand went around his bicep, leaning against him. After the cashier gave the change back, Harry put it into a little jar that was on the counter.

‘‘Thank you.’‘ Harry kindly thanked them for their service, before heading towards the exit. His mind was blank but his feelings were all over the places. He felt so happy. Neither of them spoke until they arrived at the closest bus stop, because Y/N was taking the bus home.

‘‘Well, thank you for the date, Princess.’‘ Y/N said, facing him with a grin on her face, tracing her thumb over Harry’s hand.

‘‘The pleasure was all mine, believe me.’‘ He chuckled, his head hanging lowly with a cheeky smile on his face. He wanted to kiss her so badly.

‘‘This is me, then.’‘ She nodded towards the bus that was about to stop in front of them. She started separating their fingers apart when Harry surprised her, making her stumble backwards.

Harry didn’t want her to leave, so he squeezed her hand pulling her towards him but at the same time leaning into her. He couldn’t help but crash his lips against her. But being his clumsy self, he had leaned a bit too much into her causing Y/N to hit her head against a street lamp.

‘‘Ouch.’‘ Y/N mumbled, giggling against his soft lips, before detaching them and running her palm over the stop she hit her head.

‘‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry.’‘ He quickly pulled her into a hug and started kissing her head over and over. ‘‘I’m so clumsy.. I’m sorry, baby.’‘ He whispered, redness in his cheeks, embarrassed of himself.

‘‘It’s okay, I’m fine.’‘ She looked up at him, before adding, ‘‘But now I missed my bus.’‘ She liked the feeling of his lips against her, even though it was short, she could taste the bitter taste of his black coffee. She loved it.

‘‘I’m sure there will be another one.’‘ Maintaining eye contact, he leaned his forehead against hers. Y/N was quite small, but to him it was cute how he had to duck his head to reach her forehead. His hands moved to her waist, bringing her even closer. ‘‘You’re so beautiful.’‘ He whispered again, closing his eyes.

‘‘Thank you.’‘ Y/N pushed herself a little on her tiptoes to reach his lips, connecting them. Her hands going up his chest, to his neck hold him gently while their lips moved against one another. One of his hand going over her lower back to hold her, while his other hand rested just below her ear and his thumb caressing her cheek softly. It was slow and soft, comforting, like nothing she ever felt before. Both of their hearts were beating so fast.

‘‘I’m pretty sure I’ll miss the next bus as well, huh?’‘ She teased as they pulled away, but still in the same position. Their cheeks were as red as a tomato, but neither of them minded it.

‘‘Go out on a date with me.’‘ Harry blurted out, desperate, for her, her touch, her kiss. ‘‘A proper one.’‘ He gently started placing kisses all over her face. ‘‘Please.’‘

‘‘You know my answer is gonna be yes. You didn’t have to ask.’‘ Her whole body felt so warm, her stomach was going wild, but she loved every second of it. She placed a small kiss on the corner of his lips. ‘‘Do you have a pen, maybe?’’ She added.

‘‘A pen? No..’‘ Confusion in his voice.

‘‘Wait.’‘ Y/N took her backpack off, searching for a pen inside it. After finding it, she took it out and started writing against his hand. ‘‘There you go.’‘ She smiled at him. She wrote her number down, a little heart and her name in it, with other small doodles.

‘‘I’ll make sure to text you.’‘ Harry laughed heartily at her small gesture. God, she’s so adorable, it was all he could think of.

‘‘But sadly, I have to go now...’‘ She really did. Harry kissed her one more time before letting go of her. ‘‘Bye, Harry. I’ll see you soon.’‘

Y/N turned away, walking towards the bus with a huge smile on her face. Before she hopped in, she waved at Harry, smiling. Harry waved back at her, blowing her a kiss as he chuckled at himself. He’s never felt so happy. The bus took off but shortly after Y/N’s phone buzzed. She quickly took it out of her backpack seeing that Harry had texted her and she immediately saved his contact. If it was possible, her smile grew bigger at his text.

Harry: ❤ H.x

#there is so much fluff omg imma throw up #let me know what you all think please #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry #styles #harry styles #harry styles fluff #harry styles writing #harry x reader #harry styles x reader #harry styles imagines #enjooooyyyy

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oliviapedigo · 4 years ago

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Pink Floyd’s album cover becomes synonymous with the band itself

In 1973, Pink Floyd released “The Dark Side of the Moon,” a mysterious album that explored themes of alienation, greed and loss. The captivating sounds on the record were the catalyst that thrusted them into the mainstream, and the album cover became synonymous with the band itself. The cover only featured a prism with a white light passing through and coming out as a spectrum of colors on top of a sleek, black background.

The imagery was created by Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson who were apart of Hipgnosis, a design group that specialized in making cover art for rock bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. However, this assignment was challenging because they were given “minimal creative direction” from the band (Deal). The only advice they received was from the keyboardist, Richard Wright, who said to “do something clean, elegant and graphic.”

Caption: Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” had a simple album cover that often reminded its listeners of outer space. "Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon White Vinyl" by vinylmeister is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

At a brainstorming session that lasted until 4 a.m., Thorgerson suggested to Powell that they use the image of a prism dispersing light (Wardle). Thorgerson had seen the diagram in a physics textbook before, and it had stuck with him ever since. Pink Floyd almost instantly approved of the prism concept.

The band even suggested to extend the spectrum of light to inside of the album cover and add a heart-blip, so it would resemble a heart monitor. With this addition, fans could trace the beam as the open the album and receive a complete visual experience.

Caption: Around the heart-blip, the lyrics to the songs on the album were printed, so fans could sing along. "Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon White Vinyl" by vinylmeister is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

After the album was released, Pink Floyd sold millions of records, and it remained on the Billboard chart for nearly 15 years (Fielder). Its phenomenal popularity led fans to develop theories on what the prism truly symbolized. Pink Floyd never offered an explanation for it and let listeners come up with their own conclusions.

Many speculators believe the white light represents “the start of life,” the rainbow represents “all the paths and influences one may take during their lifetime” and the continuation of the design represents “the cyclical nature of life.” These interesting interpretations fans came up with demonstrate how much the artwork resonated with listeners. In reality, Thorgerson said he was inspired by the light show Pink Floyd had during its concerts at the time, and he was not directly influenced by the music on the album itself (Huber). However, Thorgerson did mention that the triangle was symbolic of ambition.

Because the band members “remained reclusive” as their album rose to fame, “The Dark Side of the Moon” cover began to symbolize Pink Floyd as a whole (Deal). As Thorgerson put it, “the prism belonged to Floyd” and it still does to this day (Huber). The album cover can still be found on posters in college dorms, T-shirts at Urban Outfitters and even tattooed on the skin of diehard fans.

In my opinion, the contrast between the black background, white prism and entire spectrum is something that immediately catches a viewer’s eye. I also appreciate how well these colors work together to create a sense of place. The sleek black abyss reminds me of the entirety of outer space while the white beam and triangle represent a source of light, such as a star.

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songwriting-analysis · 7 years ago

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Meaningless opinions from 2017 that will change in 2018

1. Favourite Riff?

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath from the album Black Sabbath

2. Favourite Guitar Model?

Gibson SG

3. Favourite Musical Decade?

1960′s

4. Favourite 60s Band?

Jefferson Airplane since Beatles is a cliche answer

5. Favourite 70s Band?

Black Sabbath, a cliche answer

6. Favourite 80s Band?

Van Halen vs. Hall & Oates, a battle royale in my imagination

7. Favourite 90s Band?

Nirvana or Failure

8. Favourite 2000s Band?

The Thrills

9. Favourite Album?

Fantastic Planet or Abbey Road

10. What was the greatest year for music?

1825 or 1967

11. Fenders or Gibsons?

Why not both?

10. Favourite Guitarist?

Matt Pike

11. Which side of the Atlantic (Britain or America)?

Britain for music

12. Rosewood or Maple Fretboards?

Rosewood with humbuckers. Maple with single coil

13. Greatest “1 album” bands?

The Rockwells

14. Crosby, Stills or Nash?

Young

15. Favourite Rolling Stone?

Most of those songs were collaborations. There’s a lesson there, kid.

16. Favourite Guitar Solo?

“Dirty Blue Balloons” by Failure

17. Who have you seen live?

Less than I should have but more than some

18. Greatest modern blues/rock guitarist?

Who cares?

19. Favourite drummer?

Ringo Starr

20. Favourite Bass Player?

Dennis Dunaway and Gene Simmons are both underrated. The Jacos, Jamersons, and Chris Squires of the world don’t need any more praise.

21. Favourite Keys Player?

Thelonius Monk

22. Favourite Male Singer?

Freddy Mercury

23. Favourite Female Singer?

Carmen McRae for voice alone. Neko Case as a songwriter

24. If you could own one famous guitar?

How about you give me an unknown one that sounds better?

25. Favourite Beatle?

Paul

26. Favourite Singer Songwriter?

Elliott Smith or Hank Williams

27. Electric or Acoustic?

Until 2014, acoustic. After 2014, electric.

28. Dylan, Electric or Acoustic?

Acoustic

29. Band you wish would/could reform?

Time is.

30. Top 3 dead musicians you wish you’d seen?

Time is.

31. Most underrated guitarist?

Eddie Hazel

32. What would your first piece of advise be to new guitarists?

The guitar is an extension of your penis/clit. Don’t wank it, tickle it til it spews.

33. Big venues or small venues?

Medium sized venues. The space needs to be big enough for low frequencies but not so big that the venue exerts too much influence on the sound.

34. What posters are on your walls?

None anymore. :-(

35. Vinyl or Digital?

Vinyl for sound quality. Digital for everything else.

36. Most Overrated Guitarist?

SRV

37. Which song do you wish you’d written?

Footloose

38. Which concerts do you wish you’d seen?

I wish I saw the Thrills when they toured the US but I was still in high school.

39. If you met your hero what would you say to them?

Thanks for doing good work but I have better things to do than jerk you off right now.

40. Flatpicking or Fingerstyle?

Apple or Orange?

41. Open tunings, yay or nay?

Yay

42. Favourite classic blues song?

If rock & roll is dead, jazz and blues have long since turned to dust.

43. Pick a King, Freddie, BB or Albert?

Eric Clapton ripping them all off

44. Who’s the most influential guitarist?

Hendrix or Chuck Berry

45. If you could play any song?

Dopesmoker. It’s not too difficult, just a lot to learn.

46. Who’s music has taught you the most?

Beethoven. It’s ‘Whose” btw

47. Best cover of a song?

Too many to choose. Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” is a good choice.

48. If Clapton is God then who’s Jesus?

God doesn’t let his children fall out of windows.

49. Why did you start playing your instrument?

I thought it was cool.

50. Favourite Eagle?

Leave the Eagles in the 70′s where they belong.

51. Favourite Les Paul Player?

Matt Pike

52. Favourite Stratocaster Player?

Hendrix.

53. Hollow bodied guitars, yay or nay?

Not for me but if that’s your bag, go for it.

54. What youtube comment really bugs you?

What the fuck kind of question is that?

55. Best person you’ve seen live?

New York Philharmonic or the Melvins

56. Best musician’s autobiography you’ve read?

Songs are more informative.

57. Band you’d most like to see?

Right now, Monolord or Electric Wizard

58. Favourite Stones’ Album?

Let It Bleed.

59. Favourite Beatles’ Album?

Abbey Road

60. Favourite Eagles’ Album?

Again, why are you referencing the Eagles along with the Stones and the Beatles? Have some respect.

61. Favourite Led Zeppelin Album?

62. Favourite Led Zeppelin Member?

John Paul Jones for being a great musician without being a terrible human being.

63. What band do you not listen to enough of?

Yours

64. What band is your guilty pleasure?

I don’t feel guilty about any of my musical tastes but if I did Max Martin songs and a lot of 80′s stuff.

65. What is your opinion of (insert bandartist)?

Terrible.

66. What is your opinion of (insert guitarist)?

Wonderful.

67. Beatles or Stones?

Beatles

68. Clapton or Hendrix?

Hendrix

69. Favourite ex-yardbird?

Jimmy Page

70. Favourite driving song?

Dopesmoker

71. Favourite Cream Song?

Sunshine of Your Love

72. Jack White or Dan Auerbach?

They are to legitimacy what Stranger Things is to the 80′s

73. White Stripes or Black Keys?

Neither but White Stripes I guess

74. What bugs you the most about your favourite artists?

In any time period, people who excel at selling themselves tend to do best. In the 1960′s a lot of hypocrites did this with flower power. At least in the 80′s they were transparent about their motivations.

75. Is Blues dead?

Yes. Long Live the Blues

76. Who would be in your ultimate band?

Boring.

77. Who do you wish had collaborated on a whole album?

I want to hear Bitches Brew with Hendrix on it.

78. Favourite cheesy but brilliant song?

How Will I Evaaaaaaaaaaaaa Eva Surviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive?

79. Favourite love song?

Can’t Take My Eyes off You

80. Greatest solo career?

Michael Jackson

81. Which musician have you learnt the most from?

John Cage

82. Worst musician’s autobiography you’ve ever read?

83. Best greatest hits album?

Rick James

84. What song is stuck in your head?

“Tom’s Diner” has been stuck in my head since the 90′s

85. What song makes you cry every time?

None

86. Telecaster or Stratocaster?

Tele

87. SG or Les Paul?

88. Favourite Telecaster Guitarist?

Syd Barrett

89. Favourite SG Guitarist?

Toni Iommi

90. Favourite Firebird Player?

I don’t know who the fuck plays those.

91. What’s the most unusual guitar you’d buy?

One of the Electrical Guitar Company guitars made of metal. Ken Andrews and King Buzzo both have them and I’m that level of basic bitch.

92. What’s your earliest classic rock or blues memory?

My parents saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. I first saw them on the Muppet Show.

93. Best music documentary you’ve seen?

Show don’t tell

94. Best live concert video you’ve watched?

Not sure. The Sweeney Todd movie with George Hearn and Patti Lupone is up there.

95. What band t-shirts do you own?

I care less about that than the poor schlub who has to scroll past this cares about my opinion.

96. Own anything signed?

Sondheim vocal score to “Into the Woods”

97. Do your parents like this music?

I think so

98. Where would you most love to play a gig?

Somewhere “acoustically perfect”

99. If you could attend one festival?

I hate crowds. You can play in my living room though.

100. What’s the thing you last learnt on guitar?

“All I Want For Christmas Is You”. Speaking of, why wasn’t “Whitney or Mariah?” one of these questions? (My answer is Whitney btw.)

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johnpornjones · 7 years ago

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all questions you havnt answered yet

Alright ! Let’s go, then ! :D Thank you for asking :)

1. Favourite Riff? I have 3 : Achilles Last Stand by Led Zeppelin, Burn by Deep Purple, and Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream

2. Favourite Guitar Model? I replied already, and it’s here

3. Favourite Musical Decade? 1960-1970 & 1970-1980

4. Favourite 60s Band? The Beatles

5. Favourite 70s Band? Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who

6. Favourite 80s Band? The Cure, The Police

7. Favourite 90s Band? Nirvana, Scorpions

8. Favourite 2000s Band? Them Crooked Vultures

9. Favourite Album? Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin

10. What was the greatest year for music? Mid 60′s, all the 70s

11. Fenders or Gibsons? Fender

10. Favourite Guitarist? David Gilmour

11. Which side of the Atlantic (Britain or America)? Both

12. Rosewood or Maple Fretboards? Maple

13. Greatest “1 album” bands? Derek And The Dominos

14. Crosby, Stills or Nash? Crosby

15. Favourite Rolling Stone? Brian Jones

16. Favourite Guitar Solo? Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd) : I mean, this is insane. David Gilmour FTW

17. Who have you seen live? Robert Plant

18. Greatest modern blues/rock guitarist? Joe Bonamassa

19. Favourite drummer? John Bonham, Keith Moon, Nick Mason & Carmine Appice

20. Favourite Bass Player? John Paul Jones, John Entwistle & Paul McCartney

21. Favourite Keys Player? Keith Emerson & Rick Wright

22. Favourite Male Singer? Robert Plant

23. Favourite Female Singer? Stevie Nicks

24. If you could own one famous guitar? David Gilmour’s Fender Strat ♪♫

25. Favourite Beatle? George Harrison

26. Favourite Singer Songwriter? Neil Young

27. Electric or Acoustic? Both, but I’d say Electric

28. Dylan, Electric or Acoustic? Acoustic

29. Band you wish would/could reform? Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd

30. Top 3 dead musicians you wish you’d seen? John Lennon, Brian Jones, David Bowie

31. Most underrated guitarist? Reply here

32. What would your first piece of advise be to new guitarists? Never ever try to learn Stairway To Heaven before knowing how to play properly. I can tell you it’s a very hard song.

33. Big venues or small venues? Small

34. What posters are on your walls? One poster with all famous guitars, the other is my Led Zeppelin poster, from Earls Court

35. Vinyl or Digital? Vinyl

36. Most Overrated Guitarist? Sorry Jeff Beck. People will not love me after this.

37. Which song do you wish you’d written? Money by Pink Floyd

38. Which concerts do you wish you’d seen? Jonesy’s concerts (Of damn course),Neil Young concerts, Robert Plant’s SSS concerts (even tho I’ve seen one, in 2015), Eric Clapton’s concerts, Joe Bonamassa’s concerts

39. If you met your hero what would you say to them? I will blater a lot about how much I love this person I consider like a hero

40. Flatpicking or Fingerstyle? Fingerstyle

41. Open tunings, yay or nay? YAY, defintely YAY.

42. Favourite classic blues song? Boogie Chillen by John Lee Hooker

43. Pick a King, Freddie, BB or Albert? BB King !

44. Who’s the most influential guitarist? Rory Gallagher

45. If you could play any song? Hotel California by The Eagles

46. Who’s music has taught you the most? Led Zeppelin

47. Best cover of a song? Stairway To Heaven by Heart

48. If Clapton is God then who’s Jesus? David Gilmour

49. Why did you start playing your instrument? Because I wanted to learn Beatles songs, inspired by George Harrison (my debuts are totally forgottable and crappy)

50. Favourite Eagle? Joe Walsh

51. Favourite Les Paul Player? Jimmy Page

52. Favourite Stratocaster Player? Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour

53. Hollow bodied guitars, yay or nay? YAY

54. What youtube comment really bugs you? The one’s which says that John Paul Jones is gonna die on stage soon because he’s too old (really happened)

55. Best person you’ve seen live? My frend Geordie, who love Rory Gallagher and David Gilmour… Also, Robert Plant

56. Best musician’s autobiography you’ve read? I’ve read any… lol

57. Band you’d most like to see? Iron Maiden

58. Favourite Stones’ Album? Their Satanic Majesties Request

59. Favourite Beatles’ Album? Rubber Soul, Revolver, The White Album, Abbey Road

60. Favourite Eagles’ Album? Hotel California

61. Favourite Led Zeppelin Album? II, III & Houses Of The Holy,

62. Favourite Led Zeppelin Member? John Paul Jones ♥♥♥

63. What band do you not listen to enough of? Queen.

64. What band is your guilty pleasure? Them Crooked Vultures

65. What is your opinion of (insert bandartist)? Jimmy Page : I don’t like some things on him, I really adore his guitar playing, his riffs, but not his personality. Sorry Jimmy.

66. What is your opinion of (insert guitarist)? Brian May : I LOVE THIS GUY

67. Beatles or Stones? Beatles

68. Clapton or Hendrix? Oh shit… I’d say Hendrix

69. Favourite ex-yardbird? Eric Clapton

70. Favourite driving song? Band on The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings, Drive My Car by The Beatles, Highway 1 by Them Crooked Vultures, Turn It Up by Robert Plant, Ramble On by Led Zeppelin, Life In A Fast Lane by The Eagle

71. Favourite Cream Song? Crossroads

72. Jack White or Dan Auerbach? Jack White

73. White Stripes or Black Keys? White Stripes

74. What bugs you the most about your favourite artists? Roger Waters personality. Sorry Rog, but…

75. Is Blues dead? NO

76. Who would be in your ultimate band? I have two : Bass: John Paul Jones

Keyboard : Keith Emerson

Drums : John Bonham

Guitar : David Gilmour

Singer : Freddy Mercury

Or Bass : John Entwistle

Keyboards : Richard Wright

Drums : Ginger Baker

Guitar : Eric Clapton

Singer : Robert Plant

77. Who do you wish had collaborated on a whole album? John Paul Jones (him again, lmao)

78. Favourite cheesy but brilliant song? Royal Orleans by Led Zeppelin (lmao)

79. Favourite love song? My Love by Paul McCartney (go listening to this true wonder)

80. Greatest solo career? I think of Paul McCartney here.

81. Which musician have you learnt the most from? Jimmy Page

82. Worst musician’s autobiography you’ve ever read? I didn’t read any of them, sorry.

83. Best greatest hits album? Queen, Mothership (L.Z), Neil Young…

84. What song is stuck in your head? Spinning In Daffodils by Them Crooked Vultures (Them, again lol)

85. What song makes you cry every time? Wish You Were Here

86. Telecaster or Stratocaster? Stratocaster

87. SG or Les Paul? Les Paul.

88. Favourite Telecaster Guitarist? Jay… Whoops, no, no Just kidding ! Keith Richards.

89. Favourite SG Guitarist? Angus Young

90. Favourite Firebird Player? Joe Perry

91. What’s the most unusual guitar you’d buy? A gibson Flying V probably

92. What’s your earliest classic rock or blues memory? I started listening to The Beatles first, I was literally in love with George Harrison, and I started playing guitar at 14 (oh well, that was really shit) then Pink Floyd & Led Zeppelin just break through my life. At first I was in love ith Jimmy, but for some reasons, I just love how he sounds and his guitar playing, but that’s all. I don’t hate Jimmy, but I don’t love him either.

Jonesy and Robert are my baes from L.Z, just as David & Rick are my baes from Pink Floyd

93. Best music documentary you’ve seen? I’ve seen a lot, but it’s mainly Pink Floyd related.

94. Best live concert video you’ve watched? Pulse by Pink Floyd, also Them Crooked Vultures at Fuji Rock 2010

95. What band t-shirts do you own? I have a Pink Floyd shirt, a Jimmy Page shirt, a Beatles shirt and a Led Zeppelin shirt

96. Own anything signed? Uh, no…

97. Do your parents like this music? My mom, not really his thing, but she does respect and appreciate when I play. My Dad got the same music taste as me.

98. Where would you most love to play a gig? I’d prefer to play a gig in small venues first so, I don’t really know, but my favorite place is located in Germany, during Summer’s Sundays only, it’s called Sonntags ans Schloß.

99. If you could attend one festival? Woodstock

100. What’s the thing you last learnt on guitar? Un Autre Monde by Téléphone (French rock band)

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azulblue9 · 7 years ago

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PRINCE'S BIGGEST FAN WAS A 93-YEAR-OLD CLEVELAND WOMAN & SHE HAD THE MEMORABILIA TO PROVE IT

By ANNIE ZALESKI

Editor's note: After this story was filed, Mary Boyer passed away at the age of 93.

Mary Boyer can remember the exact moment she became a Prince fan. It was July 1984 -- weeks after the release of his groundbreaking LP, Purple Rain -- and a friend invited her to see Prince's ambitious movie of the same name. Incredibly, Boyer was the only person her friend could find to tag along to the theater.

"As soon as [Prince] came on [the screen], my heart just went [makes whooshing noise], and I said, 'I know this guy. I just know him,'" recalls Boyer today. "By the end of the film, that was my guy."

Boyer was no teenager experiencing her first taste of idol worship. At the time she saw Purple Rain, she was 60 years old.

"I DIDN'T INTEND TO BE A COLLECTOR, BUT IF I WENT TO A STORE AND THERE WAS SOMETHING THERE WITH PRINCE, I JUST COULDN'T LEAVE IT."

Buying that movie ticket unwittingly changed her life, transforming her into one of Prince's biggest fans. Over the next few decades, the mother of seven saw the Purple One 25 times, in far-flung locales such as New York, Detroit, Chicago, Canada, and his home base of Minneapolis. In her sprawling house in Cleveland, Boyer even had a dedicated Prince room -- with walls painted purple, of course -- crammed full of memorabilia related to the icon. Photos, magazines, vinyl, posters, CDs, pins, laminates, promo swag -- you name it, chances are Boyer had it. At the peak of her collecting, she had 300 different posters, 100 different T-shirts, and more than 1,200 unique albums in every format.

"I didn't intend to be a collector, but if I went to a store and there was something there with Prince, I just couldn't leave it there," she says. "I bought it, and pretty soon, I had quite a bit of stuff." After her kids moved out, all of that "stuff" found a home in one of their old bedrooms.

"We painted it a light purple, and I just started filling it up." She laughs. "I loved everything I put in there. I was very, very happy with it."

Now 93, Boyer is sitting in the living room of her apartment on the outskirts of Downtown Lakewood. The space is cozy, filled with cherished art, knickknacks, and photos she's picked up over the years. Boyer is fond of collecting things besides Prince-related items -- miniatures, as well as Egyptian and Oriental art, are interests of hers -- although she's downsized her belongings considerably. In the spring, she moved from that giant old house into this current, more compact space.

Scattered here and there, however, are references to her devotion to Prince. A coffee mug featuring variations of his visage is within arm's reach, near a photo book filled with Prince photos. A glossy, soft-glow snap of late-era Prince stares up from behind glass on the top of a nearby desk; a business card from the long-closed, Minneapolis-based New Power Generation, the Prince-owned retail store, is also tucked away. In a nearby hallway is a media rack with several shelves of Prince bootleg DVDs, while in her bedroom is a panoramic photo of the Prince room at its most impressive, along with some of the meaningful tokens she kept -- including a cardboard Purple Rain die-cut stand-up and a healthy selection of framed photos of all sizes, spanning the artist's entire career.

"Take a look around you, at least you got friends"

Also visiting this steamy Friday afternoon in August is Dennis Roszkowski, a photographer and long-time Prince fan from Westland, Michigan, who often visits Boyer and helps out at a local library's events. The pair met in 1989 because of their shared Prince fandom -- an organized, meticulous person, he once cataloged Boyer's memorabilia so she knew what she had -- and remain close friends.

Boyer amassed her Prince collection by visiting local record stores, where she would sometimes find promo vinyl dumped by radio DJs, or by attending record conventions. Employees came to recognize her and her obsession, and would sometimes save special items for her, such as a life-sized cardboard stand-up of Prince circa the 1991 LP Diamonds and Pearls.

In the mid- to late-'90s, Boyer and Roszkowski would also attend regional Prince Fests -- more or less gatherings of diehards to celebrate the artist -- and sell duplicate albums, as well as trade for things she didn't have.

THEY SAW PRINCE FOUR TIMES IN 75 HOURS.

Along with others from the fan community, the pair also attended many Prince concerts and special events: the week-long Prince Celebration at his studio/compound Paisley Park in 2000, appearances at his one-time Minneapolis nightclub, Glam Slam. At one point in 1993, they even saw Prince four times in 75 hours.

Boyer often expressed her admiration for Prince in more direct ways. "She would send letters to Paisley Park for years, and she would send little gifts to Prince," Roszkowski says. "And she would enclose a checklist with a self-addressed stamped envelope [that] said, 'Did Prince see this?' and 'Did he like it?' and they would check off 'Yes, he liked it,' and send it back. She had this connection with them."

Boyer and Roszkowski say that one-time Prince manager Gilbert Davidson and half-brother Duane Nelson (who handled security) were aware of her fandom, and always treated her kindly and with respect when they crossed paths. Although Boyer once had the chance to get a behind-the-scenes tour of Paisley Park and attended shows there, she never actually met and had one-on-one time with Prince. The closest personal experience she had was at an April 1993 after-show at Chicago's Metro, when the artist pulled her up onstage during the first encore.

"He was doing his show, and all of a sudden, towards the end, he said, 'Turn the lights on,'" Boyer recalls. "He said, 'Whose grandma is that down there? We gotta get her up here and have her shake her doodle!' or something like that." Boyer laughs. "And then he sang this song 'Johnny' -- it's a little risqué, shall we say. And I know he did it to see if it would embarrass me a little. Then during the song, I was supposed to sing this 'oh-oh-oh-oh' [part], and I didn't do it very good.

"And he gives me that look," Boyer continues, referencing the sassy, quasi-exasperated glance for which Prince was known. "I hit him on his arm, and he had me do it again, and I did it. And he just laughed and then gave me a big, big hug. And I was so happy. I just wanted him to know that I really liked him. It wasn't that I had to be seeing him all the time. But you know how you want somebody to know that…"

They mean a lot to you?

"Yeah," she says. "That was a high moment in my life."

"I only want to see you in the Purple Rain"

Born in Fargo, North Dakota, Boyer and her family moved to Lakewood when she was a toddler. She grew up there and went to Lakewood High School, which is where she met her late husband, Jim. She was a member of a sorority; he was a member of a fraternity. One afternoon, the pair happened to see each other at a local ice cream store.

"I was in there talking to some guy, and Jim came in," Boyer recalls. "And the guy said to him, 'Do you have a date for the Friday night dance?' And he goes, 'No.' [The other guy] says, 'Why don't you take Mary? She's a lot of fun.' And he says, 'Do you want to go?' And I said, 'Yeah.' Because he was real cute."

Music entered her life after the couple started having children. Her second-oldest son, Wink -- who "was a hippie, shall we say," Boyer says -- introduced her to Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow. That LP changed everything. From there, Boyer started embracing the then-new music of the day, such as Leon Russell and the Rolling Stones. She also started going to shows, among them, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Elton John, and David Bowie's first US concert.

"I was the cool house," Boyer says with a laugh. "That's probably why it was easy for me to get into Prince. It wasn't like it was strange, because I was used to going to concerts. We did go to a lot of concerts, and my kids, of course, thought I was a 'cool' mother."

Jim was also 100% supportive of Mary's Prince fandom, which may have surprised some. "[People would say], 'How come it doesn't bother you?'" Boyer says. "[And he said] 'I'd rather have her doing that than sitting around crocheting something.' He liked the idea that I had young friends, because he didn't like to do a lot, except play golf. He didn't have to entertain me, because I was doing my own entertaining."

Incredibly, however, in recent years, Boyer has sold off and otherwise given away a large portion of her Prince memorabilia. Even stranger, "it didn't bother me at all," she says. In part that's because she's been preoccupied dealing with health issues, and uses oxygen as she gets around. ("I hate it," she says vehemently about that.) But Boyer also has the remarkable personality trait where she's able to switch gears and hobbies on a dime -- and never look back.

"I have this kind of a life where every 10 years, I changed," she explains. "Until I was in my, say, 40s, I was a mother, and never went anywhere. In my 40s, my husband and I started to go out square dancing. We did what they call challenge, so that you had to go to workshops and stuff. When I hit my 50s, I went to [local community college] Tri-C and took classes in astrology, and I became an astrologer. I was that for 10 years -- doing readings. And then I went to a Prince movie -- that changed that, and then I gradually stopped doing official astrology things.

"Every time I changed, I dropped the other thing almost completely," Boyer says. "That must be why when I was ready, getting tired of everything I had -- why I was able to do it."

"And no regrets," adds Roszkowski. "You brought your favorite things here."

"Life is just a party, and parties weren't meant to last"

In an odd coincidence, Roszkowski was helping Boyer move out of her house and into her apartment on the same day news broke that Prince had passed away. He recalls that his hands were shaking as he set up his laptop to read more about the news. "Mary looked at me and said, 'What's wrong?'" Roszkowski says. "And I said, 'Mary, Prince just died.' And I just remember her saying, 'I always thought that I would be in heaven before Prince.'" In the background, Boyer chuckles slightly.

The mood in the apartment turns reflective, as Roszkowski ruminates on the reactions he and Boyer received from people they had met because of his music. "The amazing thing about that day, is that all Prince fans that we know, we just started hearing from people we hadn't heard from in years," he says. "Every Prince fan can tell the same story: they know where they were when they heard, and how they were feeling. Everybody's phone just blew up -- people started calling, sending text messages. 'Oh my god, have you heard the news?' It was such a surreal moment.

"We relied on phone calls that we were getting from friends," he adds. "And consoling each other, and trying to figure out, 'Wow. What's the world like without Prince?' Because you just can't believe it.'"

Roszkowski's thoughts summarize the unique impact of music fandom: people bond over their love of a certain artist or band -- seeing shows together, chatting online, sharing stories, maybe swapping bootlegs -- and seamlessly translate this connection into real-life, deep friendships. The Prince fandom is especially dedicated, however. In fact, Roszkowski says it was "meant to be" that he and Boyer happened to be in the same city on the day of Prince's death, as it was symbolic of the treasured connections facilitated by his art and music.

"WHAT'S THE WORLD LIKE WITHOUT PRINCE?"

"His concerts were unlike anything you saw," Roszkowski says. "You'd go there, and there was just a whole mixture of people -- ages and races -- and everybody just got together and had a wonderful time. It seemed like the Prince world was a great melting pot of people. You wished the whole world could be together having a good time, and peaceful.

"That's not what the world's like, in many respects. It is if you look for it; you can find it. And we found it with Prince. There was a connection with him that brought us all together, and we always talked about, 'Wow. Look at what we did -- together.' Just my friendship with Mary, between the two of us, what we've done, is fantastic. I'm grateful for it every day."

Boyer quietly chimes in. "I have to say, I've had a very happy life," she says. "When I was being the mom in my 30s, I loved it; when I was square dancing, I loved it. When I was in astrology, I loved it. When I [was into] Prince, I loved it."

And Boyer has her own take as to why there is such an intangible (but enduring) bond between Prince fans. It's not complicated -- but it's a theory that's as playful and laconic as the Purple One himself.

"We're all smart," she simply says, with a laugh. "As my daughter said, 'Mom, I’m glad you're smart enough to know [Prince] was a genius.'"

Mary Boyer ~ R.I.P.

Source:

https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/cleveland/mary-boyer-lakewood-prince-memorabilia-collection

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lonelypond · 8 years ago

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Rock Me Baby

Love Live, Love Live Sunshine, NicoMaki, 2K

Another Idol Protection Program Chapter. As always, your mileage may vary, characters are not mine, liberties taken are.

NicoMaki, parents of Dia and Ruby, run off to have a family and escape the paparazzi. These short, fluffy fics follow those adventures.

25 Years Ago

“Motorcycles would be sooooo coool!” Rin shouted as she, Hanayo and Maki made their way from the train station to the restaurant where they were meeting Nico.

“Yeah,” Maki grinned, flipping up the collar of her leather jacket, giddy at the thought of Nico after three months of her girlfriend touring. “Nico wouldn’t recognize me when I pick her up at the airport next time.”  

Rin air revved the throttle on an imaginary motorcycle and spun back to face Maki, high fiving when she raced by. Maki grabbed her hand and pulled her back, pointing to a Hanayo who was wandering ahead, humming to herself. Rin and Maki nodded at each other, crept up quietly behind a distracted Hanayo, linked their arms and threw her forward a little down the sidewalk, Rin jumping ahead to catch her girlfriend.

“Whatcha singing, Kayo-chin?” Rin wondered.

“Cherry Bomb.”

“Good one, Kayo-chin!” Rin cheered, throwing her hands up to the sky, “Hello Daddy, Hello Mom, I’m your ch…ch…ch…”

“CHERRY BOMB!” Maki and Hanayo joined in with a shout, “Hello, world, I’m your wild girl…”  

“Wild is right,” a laugh cut in from behind them, one that made Maki’s heart skip. “You haven’t been keeping up your vocal practice. Nico will win at karaoke easily.”

Maki was breathing as fast as her feet turned, “Nico-chan!”

The small, black haired woman smiled, elegant in a black lace sheath over a dark pink minidress. Nico posed for a moment, then ran toward Maki, leaping into the taller woman’s open arms. Maki whirled them both, only putting Nico down so she could kiss her without tilting over from hyperventilation and dizziness. Rin and Hanayo stood off to the side, arms around each other’s waist, happy to see their best friend so happy again.

Nico ran her fingers through Maki’s red hair, much shorter now. She took a step back, Maki seemed taller, and stranger too, in boots, torn, tight jeans, a t-shirt with a woman lashing into a guitar drawn out of a lip print and a…black leather jacket. Maki also had a single ruby ear stud and a couple of leather cuffs.

“Maki-chan…” Nico raised an eyebrow and spun Maki around, eyes widening at the Sakura Bomb spraypainted across the back, with an exploding cherry blossom in the center, “you look…”  

“So cool, right!” Rin grabbed Nico in a hug from the side. “We all got jackets after we saw The Runaways movie, Maki found an artist.”

Nico hugged Rin back, glad for a chance to change the subject. “Hey, Rin-chan! Nico missed you.”

Rin’s hair was curly and she was wearing a leather vest with Wild Girl and a snarling kitten painted on the back, over pretty patterned disco pants and a David Bowie t-shirt. Hanayo had opted for an all denim look, Nico was half afraid to ask what she’d had painted on the back of her jacket.

Nico found herself nodding her head several times, taking in the sight of three of her favorite people gleaming at her and looking so different from the last time she’d seen them. Teenagers, for another year, they were teenagers, this is what teenagers did, Nico reminded herself, suddenly feeling old at 21, looking down at her own outfit, which was yes, a little too formal for the Rock n’ Roll themed ramen restaurant Rin had found, but Nico had wanted to look good for Maki. Did Maki even like Nico’s style anymore? Should Nico have just borrowed a pair of Cotarou’s blue jeans and worn a concert t-shirt?

“Nico-chan?” Nico was startled by Maki’s voice and a hand reaching shyly to take hers. Maki’s eyes still had that gleam when they looked at Nico so maybe…

“Sorry, Maki!” Nico kissed her girlfriend quickly. “You look great. Nico is just tired. And hungry.”

LATER THAT NIGHT BUT STILL 25 YEARS AGO

Nico had never realized she hated the smell of leather until Maki had hung her jacket over Nico’s shoulders when Nico shivered as they were walking together in the park. Rin and Hanayo had headed back to their hotel room and left Nico and Maki to catch up. They were both a little nervous, between Nico’s touring schedule and Maki starting college and a hospital internship, they’d had very little time to talk. Nico was used to borrowing sweaters and shirts that smelled like Maki and this one didn’t. And that made her grumpy. Nico glanced over at the redhead too shy to look at her and wondered how to jumpstart a conversation.

“So you like Joan Jett?”

Maki shrugged, “She knows what she wants and goes for it.” There was a pause, “I envy that. You do that too. It’s impressive.”

There was a bench, Nico stopped. Cold as it was she slid the jacket off as she sat, glad to escape the hard feel scraping against her skin. Nico preferred silky and satiny fabrics that slid and shimmered. Maki sat next to her, very close, very warm. Nico leaned her head on Maki’s chest, finally able to get close enough to feel the connection they had. She wondered if Maki felt it too.

Maki frowned, Nico had ditched the jacket. Maybe she didn’t want anything of Maki’s anymore. Maybe she’d discovered she didn’t miss being with Maki. But here she was melting into Maki’s side, feeling so warm and close.

“Kiss me, Maki-chan.” Nico whispered, turning Maki around.

“Why you’d take off the jacket?” Maki asked, worried.  

Nico sighed. So like Maki to get caught on the least important detail when Nico had already skipped ahead to the fun part. So Nico ignored the question and pulled Maki into a deep kiss designed to knock everything else out of her genius brain. And because it was Maki and Nico, it worked, for awhile. Maki responding with eagerness and urgency, her hands roving everywhere as Nico kept running her fingers across Maki’s scalp and enjoying every shiver she induced.

“Nico-chan…” Maki gasped. Eventually. 

“Yeah,” Nico agreed, grabbed Maki’s hand and headed for the hotel, This had become a private conversation twenty minutes and one unzipped pair of jeans ago. Nico tried not to groan when Maki remembered to grab the jacket. Sakura Bomb it was.

NOW

Dia followed her grandmother into a room she’d never stayed in.

“Mama’s room?” Dia asked, looking at the walls, which had a framed μ’s poster and many framed records, mostly jazz, but Dia spotted all of Nico’s albums there. Dia moved to the wall, reaching out to touch Nico’s first single.

“Your Mom always had vinyl copies pressed because she knew your Mama collected them.”

Dia grinned as her grandmother glanced fondly around the room, “You can sleep here tonight since Maki isn’t using it.”

Ruby was still sleeping in her grandparents room when their parents were away. Even at 13, she was still very fearful.

Dia sat on the bed, not feeling sleepy and decided to explore the closet. Walk in. Her mom had a closet like that at home and Mama was allowed to keep a few clothes in it. Dia pushed through mostly dresses, some old μ’s costumes, a few button down shirts and suits. Some hat and shoe boxes were shoved back on a shelf and there was a large box Dia couldn’t help pulling down. Written on the outside was “Do Not Open This Nico-chan! I mean it!”

Dia hesitated for a brief moment, but it said “do not open this Nico-chan” not “do not open this Dia” so curiosity won and Dia opened it.

Inside was a picture and a single ruby ear stud lying on top of a carefully wrapped leather jacket, some t-shirts and a few leather cuffs. The picture was her mama smiling at the camera with Rin and Hanayo, the three of them dressed like a rock band, Rin playing air drums, Hanayo singing something into an invisible mic while Maki did what Dia assumed was play air guitar. Nico was dressed in a super girly, super pretty dress and looked like she’d stepped out of a different world, bemused, all her attention on Maki, and blowing a kiss in that direction.

Dia pullled out the jacket. Cool, crinkly, leather, Sakura Bomb spray painted across the back. She’d have to show Ruby in the morning. They could have fun playing dress up with everything in this closet until their parents showed up.

Maki had left the sedan at her parents and lured Nico into the convertible, damage to Nico’s careful hairstyle ignored for once as they drove out to the inn Maki had found for a night together without the girls. Nico was about to leave on a book signing tour and Maki wanted to be sure Nico had incentive to hurry home. Nico was yawning as they pulled up to the Nishikino mansion. There had not been much sleeping. But she could nap on the drive back to Uchiura.

Dia and Ruby ran out to greet them, Dia wearing a leather jacket that Maki hadn’t seen in years and Ruby in an old “Runaways Live From Japan” t-shirt that had been stuffed away in the back of the closet for the same number of years as the jacket. Dia was now tall enough to fit in Maki’s clothes and everyone was still getting used to it. Nico circled her oldest daughter, glancing suspiciously at her wife.

“Grandma let me sleep in your room. Ruby and I had fun playing dress up this morning. Isn’t this a great jacket.” Dia twirled and posed.

Maki hugged her daughter, winking at Nico, “One of my favorites. Your mother thought I looked so cool in it.”  

Nico hmmpphhed…Maki chuckled. Her mother held the door open so everyone could return inside, “I decided Dia was old enough to sleep in your room, now that she’s so tall.”  

Nico hmmmppphed again, to Maki’s amusement as she waited for the moment her wife would explode.

“Maki-chan?” Ah, the sweet voice, this was going to be fun.

“Yes, love?”  

“Didn’t we agree that Nico never had to see that jacket again?”

  Dia started to pick up the prickling energy between her parents and stared, while Ruby happily followed her grandmother into the house.

Maki shrugged, her arm around her daughter’s shoulders, “I wrote very clearly on the box “Do Not Look Inside Nico-chan” to save you from that.”

“She did.” Dia agreed brightly.

Nico shook her head and mumbled something about daughters, bad influences and taking after the wrong parent. Dia decided to duck inside. Maki decided to press her advantage, wrapping her arms around Nico’s waist.

“You could barely keep your hands off me when you saw me in it.”  

Nico flared up, “You know that’s not why.”

“Do I?” Maki leaned in for a kiss, but Nico dodged and grabbed the keys from Maki’s hand.

“I’m going to my mother’s, until that jacket disappears again.”   

Maki laughed, “You know she’s going to keep wearing it.”

Nico grimaced, “Ughhh…you could not encourage her.”

Maki laughed, “As a parent, I have no opinion. I support her interests. Like my mother did with me.”  

“Your mother didn’t have to date that jacket.” Nico still remembered the smell and the horrible crackling feel of the tanned leather. But she decided to try charm rather than complaint and moved closer to Maki, flicking her tongue over her own lips and running a hand through Maki’s hair, “I am glad you decided to keep your hair longer.” Nico pulled Maki down for a rough kiss. “And if you convince your daughter to leave that jacket here, Nico can hurry back from her tour.”

Maki laughed, “Nico will hurry back anyway.”

Nico frowned and stepped into the car, “I’ll be at my mother’s. Do not let Ruby watch that movie.”

Maki saluted as Nico pulled out. Movie. That was a great idea. Time to call Rin and Hanayo. Maybe they could bring Tora over. But after last night, first Maki needed a snack.

Maki was perched on the kitchen island, phone in one hand, chips in the other when her mother wandered in. Her mother frowned meaningfully, but Maki ignored it.

“Rin and Hanayo are bringing Tora over. We’re going to watch The Runaways and maybe have a sleepover.” Maki announced.

“Sounds fun. What about Nico?”

Maki’s grin was sly as the Nico-tone, which she hadn’t changed since high school, went off, “She’s been text lecturing me about setting a parental example.” She glanced down at Nico’s latest and laughed, “She’ll be back later with pizza. We’re staying another night.”

Maki’s mother rolled her eyes and pulled her daughter off the counter, amused at the thought of a household lively with teenagers, actual and otherwise, for another night.

#nicomaki #Idol Protection Program #yazawa nico #nishikino maki #etc #love live #fanfic #love live sunshine

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discographyofalifetime-blog · 8 years ago

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BAND: NIRVANA

COUNTRY: USA

EN: here it is, one of the bands that REALLY changed my lifetime. Today would be Kurt Cobain's 50th birthday so I decided to pay a little tribute to one of my teenage idols. I was 11 years old and I was starting my approach to heavy music. It didn't matter what sub-genre it was...punk,rock,metal, grunge were just the same to me..all I wanted was loud guitars, kick ass drums and shouts. One day, my sister AKA the girl who own the guilt for my obsession to this lifestyle, was constantly listening to this band NIRVANA..she came to me and gave me this cassette with a naked baby into a swimming pool. “what the hell is this?” and she said: “Nirvana, the band that I always listen to”. First, I have to admit that I always had a spiritual love for my sister and everything concerning her..she's always been a model for me to follow and in those years, everything she was passing to me was pure gold..no matter if I was really liking but if was coming from here, it was good for sure. Well, that time was different, that time was “WOOOOOW”. I put that cassette (obviously it was NEVERMIND) in my stereo and that fast guitar rif started, but when the drum kicked in...SHIT!! I had goose bumps, I felt like all of the lying energy was coming out of my body in a explosion. That was love at first listening. Then my spiral of addiction to them started to spin out of control, I was constantly listening to them, just Nirvana and nothing else for months. As the weeks were passing, my sister was teaching me everything about them..their stories, the death of Kurt ecc.. meanwhile she was passing me other releases and each of them was great for me. Bleach (my favourite Nirvana's record and I proudly own the first press on pink vinyl) is so damn raw and powerful, Nevermind is so well written and great from first to last, Incesticide was so deeply sad and obscure and then the Unplugged was so damn emotional. The shitty thing was that the band stopped existing almost a decade before I discovered them so obviously there was no hope for new music, but I'm always been ok with that cause I love every album from them. I was starting playing guitar so obviously I spent hours and hours playing thier riffs and after all these years, I understand how simply their music was I understand how talented was that guy that written some rock milestones with just 4 chords and those songs don't need anything more. I read a couple of books that talks about Nirvana, my first band t-shirt was a Nirvana t-shirt that I always wore so fucking proudly at school, My bedroom is full of posters and one of the very firsts is a poster of Cobain, bought in London when I was 14 and after other 14 years is still on my bedroom's door. The girl that I was dating on that period gave me their Best of as christmas gift and was the best thing ever. After a couple of years, as well as I was really going deeply into punk rock, i stopped listening to Nirvana for a while, they were not fast enough and I remember I was growing a sort of anger against Cobain because I always saw the heroin's addiction and suicide not as a cool rockstar lifestyle but such as idiot way of thinking so I was unconsciously denying all the good feelings I always felt for them. Fortunately, years later I re-discovered the pleasure of listening to them and they instantly returned in the middle of my heart. I am lucky enough to say that I had the chance to see almost every single band that I'd love to see live but I still have a little wishlist of dream concert that sadly could not become real, on the top if the list there is Nirvana for thousands of reasons. Nowadays I am fully conscious that without this band, my live would surely be different from what it is, and considering how much I like my life and my love for music, I don't think that it would be better so, thanks Kurt, Kris, Dave.

IT: ecco qui una delle band che ha davvero cambiato la mia vita. Oggi sarebbe stato il 50 ° compleanno di Kurt Cobain così ho deciso di pagare un piccolo tributo ad uno dei miei idoli adolescenziali. Avevo 11 anni e stavo iniziando il mio approccio alla musica pesante. Non importava cosa sottogenere fosse... punk, rock, metal, grunge era lo stesso per me..tutto ciò che volevo erano chitarre rumorose, batteria incazzata e grida. Mia sorella AKA la ragazza che possiedono il senso di colpa per la mia ossessione di questo stile di vita, ascoltava costantemente questa band NIRVANA..un giorno venne da me e mi diede questa cassetta con un bambino nudo in una piscina. "Che diavolo è questo?" e mi disse: "Nirvana, la band che ascolto sempre". Allora, prima di tutto, devo ammettere che ho sempre avuto un amore spirituale per mia sorella e tutto ciò che riguarda lei. E' sempre stata un modello per me da seguire e in quegli anni, tutto quello che passava da lei era oro puro..non importava se mi piacesse davvero.. ma se venisse da lei, era buono di sicuro. Beh, quella volta era diverso, quella volta è stato "wooooow". Ho messo quella cassetta (ovviamente era NEVERMIND) nel mio stereo e quel riff veloce di chitarra veloce è iniziato, quando poi entrò la batteria ... MERDA !! Ho avuto la pelle d'oca, mi sentivo come tutta l'energia che giaceva era venuta fuori dal mio corpo in un'esplosione. E 'stato amore a primo ascolto. Poi la mia spirale di dipendenza da loro ha iniziato a andare fuori controllo, ero costantemente l'ascolto di loro musica, solo i Nirvana e niente altro per mesi. Mentre le settimane passavano, mia sorella mi stava insegnando ogni cosa su di loro..Le loro storie, la morte di Kurt ecc .. nel frattempo mi passava altri album e ognuno di loro è stato grande per me. Bleach (mio disco dei Nirvana preferito e con orgoglio ho la prima stampa su vinile rosa) è così maledettamente crudo e potente, Nevermind è così ben scritto e figo dal primo all'ultimo, Incesticide era così profondamente triste e oscuro e poi Unplugged era così dannatamente emotivo. La cosa di merda è che la band smise di esistere quasi un decennio prima che la scoprissi, ovviamente, non c'era speranza per la nuova musica, ma io sono sempre stato ok con questo perchè amo ogni album loro. Stavo iniziando a suonare la chitarra in quel periodo quindi ovviamente ho passato ore e ore a suonare riff delle loro canzoni e dopo tutti questi anni, ho capito come semplicemente la loro musica era ed ho capito quanto talento aveva quel ragazzo che ha scritto alcune pietre miliari del rock con 4 accordi che però non avevano bisogno di nient'altro. Ho letto un paio di libri che parlano dei Nirvana, la mia prima t-shirt di band era dei Nirvana e l'ho sempre indossata così fottutamente orgogliosamente a scuola, la mia camera da letto è piena di poster e uno dei più primissimi è un poster di Cobain , comprato a Londra quando avevo 14 anni e dopo altri 14 anni è ancora alla porta della mia camera da letto. La ragazza con cui stavo in quel periodo mi ha dato il loro best of come regalo di Natale ed è stata la cosa migliore di sempre. Dopo un paio di anni, stavo davvero andando in profondità nel punk rock, ho smesso di ascoltare al Nirvana per un po ', non erano abbastanza veloci e mi ricordo stavo sviluppando una sorta di rabbia contro Cobain perché ho sempre visto la dipendenza da eroina e suicidio non come stile di vita da rockstar, ma come modo idiota di pensare così mi stavo inconsciamente negando tutti i buoni sentimenti che ho sempre provato per loro. Fortunatamente, anni dopo, ho ri-scoperto il piacere di ascoltarli e immediatamente sono tornati al centro del mio cuore. Ho la fortuna di dire che ho avuto la possibilità di vedere concerti di quasi tutte le band che avrei voluto vedere, ma ho ancora una wishlist di concerti da sogno che purtroppo non possono diventare reali, sulla parte superiore se la lista ci sono i Nirvana per migliaia di ragioni. Oggi sono pienamente cosciente che senza questa band, la mia vita sarebbe sicuramente diversa da quello che è, e considerando quanto mi piace la mia vita e il mio amore per la musica, non credo che sarebbe stato meglio così. Grazie Kurt, Kris, Dave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fdYjlAviT8

#NIRVANA #GRUNGE #SEATTLE #KURT COBAIN #DAVE GROHL #MUSIC

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lumbersquatch · 6 years ago

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Day 17 #decvinylworship via @simonxsludge - Merch and Record From The Same Band Life of Agony - A Place Where There’s No More Pain Back in the mid to late 90s this was the band for me. I had first heard of LOA via a hardcore comp called “East Coast Assault” that had the song “Plexiglass Gate” on it. It was love at first listen. Their first album, “River Runs Red”, was an awesome album that to this day still holds up and kills it more than a lot of albums released now. With that, it was their 2nd album “Ugly”, really hit me on a more emotional level. The music wasn’t near as hardcore as the first album but man, lyrically, chills. Chills right now as I think about it. Songs like “Let’s Pretend” and “How It Would Be” that got to me back then even hit harder since my mother has passed. Oh let’s not forget the song “Unstable”. Holy fuckballs. What did I do to deserve being a blubbery mess when I hear that song? Especially one of the last lines, “Baby, Baby I've only got one more year…” Go search the lyrics out and we’ll have a good cry together, ok? “Soul Searching Sun” was really a departure from earlier LOA but I still really enjoyed that album. It did seem at the time a lot of LOA fans turned on the band with the release of this album, but I think they’ve since, and hopefully, come around on it. “Broken Valley” I was myself not really a fan of other than the one song “Love To Let You Down”. I don’t think I’ve listened to it much at all. Sorry dudes. “A Place Where There’s No More Pain” is a true return to form for LOA. This album is wicked good top to bottom. It’s nice to see LOA back at it and crushing wherever they go. It seems like they are all in their happy place now and it shows. Good for them. Pretty sure I just read they are getting ready to record a new album for 2019 which I am totally looking forward to. Exclusive Napalm Records Mailorder Edition on gold vinyl, only available on Pre-order. Limited to 200 copies with t-shirt and autographed screen printed poster. @lifeofagonyofficial @napalmrecordsofficial #decvinylworship #nyhc #lifeofagony #metal #coloredvinylclub #vinylcollection #vinyljunkie #vinyladdict #vinylcollectionpost (at New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrgDdFJlX8F/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cto6z994jl4h

#decvinylworship #nyhc #lifeofagony #metal #coloredvinylclub #vinylcollection #vinyljunkie #vinyladdict #vinylcollectionpost

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rudielton-rowleyunit27 · 7 years ago

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Idea generation

To start thinking about the three posters I am going to make I came up with over 15 ideas that were under the topic of music and then tried to narrow those ideas down to 3. Here are my ideas.

.EP release poster

.Single release poster

.Album release poster

.Gig poster

.Posters with each individual band member on it

.Poster advertising a venue

.A poster advertising an istrument or a company selling an istrument

.A bands up and coming gigs displayed in a poster format.

.A band interview displayed on a poster

.The progression/evolution of an instrument

.music festival poster

.Top ten bands from a certain time on a poster

.top ten songs from a certain time/year on a poster

.Best venues from an area like Nottingham or London on a poster

.Each band member signature instrument on a poster.

I then narrowed it down to three ideas and they were

1. create a gig poster for a band

2. create a advertisement for an EP, single or album

3. create a poster advertising the top three venues from a company in Nottingham.

Because I want to create a gig poster and an EP/album/single advertisement poster I got in touch with a Nottingham band who have played many of the main venues and festivals in Nottingham like Rock city, Rescue rooms, Bodega, Rough Trade, The Maze, Splendorous festival, Beat the streets and more. This band is a band that consists of a drummer two guitarists and bassist with both guitarists singing and there a Nottingham based band called Super Furniture.

Because I wanted to do a poster of the main venues in Nottingham I decided to go with a company called DHP which own some very famous venues around the UK and in Nottingham. I would say the biggest venues in Nottingham are the

1 motor point arena

2 Rock City

3 Rescue Rooms

4 Bodega

5 Rough Trade.

The company DHP own Rock City, Rescue Rooms and Bodega so I decided to go with those venues for my poster. I did some research into DHP and these venues and made a mind map of things like the artists that have played at these venues and when they were built.

Here are the mind map bullet points:

DHP Family:

.35 years of music

.They do promoting and managing

.Rock city was there first venue

.Based in Nottingham and then branched out to London

.Clubs and live music venues

Rock City:

.35 years of live music

.first scheduled band was iron maiden but the Undertones took there place and performed the first ever rock city gig

.was built and opened in the 80s and became very popular

.All types of music pay at rock city.

Rescue Rooms:

.Over 100 gigs per year

.450 capacity

.Opened in 2003

.People like Calvin Harris and the Killers have played there

Bodega:

.Over 20 years of music history

.People like The XX ans Two Door Cinema Club

Next I went around Nottingham and took some photos of the three venues and the posters they had.

Bodega:

I really like the look of the venue with a bar at the bottom and then the music venue upstairs. If you look to the top right there is an old statue with the word bodega and I really like that the venue has kept that piece of history there and I think it looks nice. Just bellow that is The Bodega Sign, I really like neon signs and LED signs and I like how the text is layed out in lines a little bit like the Sega logo and at night the sign shines red.

On the wall there are posters to do with events that happen at the venue.

I really like how modern this one looks and the textures used. I think the text looks clean and enticing and I love the simple circular graphic which I assume is meant to be vinyl. I really like the simplicity of this but it doesn't scream music quiz to me as it is a poster for a music quiz.

I also like this one and the thick bubbly letters that look like they have been painted. I can tell that this poster is done in a 60s/70s theme and I really like the eye catching colors and the hand painted look it has to it.

Lastly one of the things that caught my eye was this lit up board with some artwork of a diver in a jar. I really like the art style and the use of negative space to create this black and white piece. I also think it fits the building well but I don’t understand what is has to do with DHP or the Bodega venue it could possibly just be some nice artwork. I Looked into the word bodega but couldn't find any relation as the definition for bodega is “ a cellar or shop selling wine and food.

Rescue Rooms:

I went to rescue rooms to have a look at the front of the venue and it has a bar to the left and a venue to the right inside, outside there is a large decking area leading towards the main entrance were you can see the building which has the rescue rooms logo painted on it. I then walked up to it to see if they had any posters to do with the venue or DHP.

These are the posters I could find which were on the wall of the venue.

I am amusing these posters are not made by dhp and the artist playing would have got someone different to make them. I like this poster, it once again has a little bit of a 60s/70s font to it and I like the white text which stands out with all the colors behind it.

I also looked at the rescue room logo. I like it and it feels a little bit more modern compared to the bodega. Its very simple and geometric with the circle and lines. They have used a bold sans serif font and even tho there is lines going through letters it is easy to read but I feel like there is a lot of open space in the logo which could possibly be filled with something.

As I was walking to Rock City I found a side entrance to Rescue rooms and there was a blue wall with lots of text and patterns on it.

This wall is advertising rescue rooms and you can clearly see its very water themed. I really like all the swirls and bubbles also I like the anchors and the bright blue. I also like that they have used a center piece on the wall which says Happy Hour and then to the right and left there is an anchor with more information on.

Rock City:

I really like the front of rock city With the large light up sign and the stairs going into the venue with posters on either side.

I went and looked at the posters inside that were made by DHP

I found two posters like this which looked like a music line up on a poster in different colors and then there was random pieces of coral around the poster.

I really like these little pieces of seaweed but i’m not to sure how they relate to the poster.

This poster caught my eye with the bright colors and old school looking text that says get lucky. I like the slogan and the bright colors and it looks very busy and atmospheric.

And finally I took a picture of this poster because I really liked the strong use of red and the wobbly text which looks hand drawn. There is also little red dots on the text which give it some texture and make it look a little bit more vintage or hand made. I like the illustration of the hand and the typography in this.

After going to each venue and looking at what the buildings looked like and what sort of posters DHP create I cant really see a strong common theme in there posters or brand identity. The only common themes I can see that came up were:

.Water/Nordic

.60s/70s/80s

.Music

.modernism

.illustrations

.textures

.strong colors

.patterns

I emailed DHP to see if there was any reasons for these themes and things like the diver in a jar outside bodega. Here is the reply I got to my questions.

On your posters and website, I have noticed a bit of a Nordic water theme and I want to know the reason behind the pieces of coral and sea life that is seen on your posters.

We commission a new illustrator each year to produce pattern elements to use on our promo, Previously it was Marina Munn, but currently we use Mikko Walamies. We give them some instruction as to the objects they should draw, but the artistic interpretation is their own. We research many different illustrators before deciding on one for each year.

We like to use a flat, chalky pastel feel, to create a DIY, low-fi look.

Another question is that I see a 60s/70s theme come up a lot in your posters and is there a reason behind that?

I’m not sure why this theme is coming though, as it isn’t intentional.

My last question is that outside the bodega venue on a sign there is a scuba diver in a jar, Is there any reason for that or is it all just nice artwork?

This illustration piece was created by local artist and illustrator Samuel Minton. He used to work for DHP, but is now a freelance illustrator. Concepts are sometimes discussed beforehand, but we mostly give him free reign to do what he wants.

We have a concerts designer who produces all of our gig posters and listings, a festivals and venues designer, who does flyers, menus etc and a Junior Designer who helps us with everything.

I sat down with superfurnitures front man Herbie and recorded a quick interview with him were I asked him some questions to help me create some art for his band. here is the interview in type.

What music genre does your band play?

I would say its sort of alternative indie, rock its kind of difficult to pin point it to one specific genre.

What age range is your audience?

I would say its probably around are age so around 15 to 25 but also we have some older people that come to our gigs and theirs one guy that’s around 50 so it varies but mainly young.

Is there anything you would like to see in the posters/artwork?

Its just got to stand out really, its got to capture peoples attention but its got to be simple but effective. Its got to get the message across and what were all about in a easy to understand way.

What are your ideas behind the Super Furniture Logo and color scheme?

We had another old logo that was a bit rubbish so we thought we would make a new logo. People have said it has a 70s vibe but we like it because it looks good on t shirts and looks great on a drum skin and we have had people give us complements on it, if we had some silly indie triangle it just wouldn't be as good I don’t think and we wanted something that with a bit well 70s not because it has anything to do with our music or our brand but it just looks nice so my girlfriend Beth Sprig drew that up for us and I think its nice.

Do you have a brand identity or a specific look your going for?

we really play all kinds of music so were not trying to fit a specific style, were ready to try out anything its just the current songs we have released are a little bit more towards the alternative indie rock side of things.

Do you have any new music coming out?

were going to be releasing and EP and one of the new singles is called body clock and we have already recorded that and will probably release that before the EP as a single.

Whats Body Clock about?

Well i’m not really sure, you will haft to look at the lyrics, its kind of about the passing of time and how nothing really means anything, theirs one lyric that shows this it is “two sliced toaster put the kettle on, no one will remember you when you are gone”.

Do you have any gigs coming up that you would like to see advertised?

we have lots of gigs coming up but are big headlining one which is very big for us is the 7th of July at rescue rooms which were really trying to push and get as much promotional materiel out there as possible

Poster Proposal:

What are your triptych of posters going to be of?

The first poster is going to be an advertisement of the top three venues in Nottingham. Because a company called DHP owns lots of the biggest venues I decided to make an advertisement for them and use there main three venues.

The second Poster is going to be a gig poster for the a band called Super Furniture.

The third poster is going to be an advertisement for a single release for the same band.

What style/genre are they going to be in?

I don’t want to stick to one specific style but I am going to try and do a mix of Retro and Vintage but also look at superfurnitures previous artwork that has bee created for them and maybe bass some things off that to get a bit more of an indie rock style and then I am also going to try and incorporate some of the styles dhp use which are more light pastel colors.

What are they about?

The First poster is of the three main dhp venues which are Bodega, Rescue Rooms and Rock City. I am going to create three different sets of scenery for each venue so bodega will be based in more of a water scene whilst Rescue rooms will be in more of a green woodland scene and then Rock city will be in a city scape scene.

The second poster will be a gig poster advertising a gig at rescue rooms which a band called super furniture are headlining. The gig is on Saturday the 7th of July and there will be other supporting bands playing which are currently Vega bay, autumn diet plans and hashtag obi. My current ideas for the poster is the venue rescue rooms with a large superfurniture sign placed on top of a large heap if furniture. The poster will also contain information about the gig.

The third poster is going to be an advertisement for superfurnitures single release of there song called body clock. After talking with super furniture they said the lyrics are about the passing of time and how everything is changing as you go through life. I will be creating artwork for the single as well as extra artwork for things like backdrops because the poster is going to be an advertisement of the song. Because the song is called Body clock A large part of it will be to do with the passing of time and I will be looking at the song lyrics and tacking elements out of it and putting it into the poster for example one of the lyrics is “picture frames and pencil boxes”

How will you design them?

I will go through the whole process of things like idea generation, research and experimentation and then create my posters mainly in adobe illustrator but then I will also use adobe Photoshop for things like text and textures and probably some other things too.

Are the posters going to communicate any messages?

for the first poster dhp venue poster i’m showing progression and growth because in the Nottingham music scene you would work your way up from bodega up to rock city because bodega mainly holds the smaller bands that could just be starting out and then the next step from there would be to play rescue rooms which is more medium growth artists and then the venue which is the biggest which is rock city would be a level up from rescue rooms as they hold big bands. Superfurniture have played all three of these venues but they have only headlined bodega so them headlining rescue rooms would be the next big step. I am showing this progression by having on my poster bodega at the bottom and then rescue rooms in the middle with rock city at the top and like I said rock city is going to be placed in more of a city scene because its like its the big city and you've made it as an artist in the Nottingham music scene.

For the second poster which is the gig poster i’m kind of tacking the bands name and using the words to represent elements of the poster so because there names Super Furniture theirs going to be a large pile of furniture and on top of the furniture will be the rescue rooms venue with a big super furniture sign on it so its showing that the event is super and that there on top so i’m taking the super out of there name and expressing it by putting the venue on this big pile of furniture.

For the last poster its going to be cover art and a advertisement for the song so because superfurniture said the song is about progression and how things change over time I am going to try and show that in my poster by looking at the song lyrics and then I will take elements out of it and put it into the poster to hopefully help show what the songs about and the message of the song.

How do you want the viewer to feel when they look at your work?

When people look at my work I want it to catch there eye and I want them to think its good and enjoy it, but also a very important thing that needs to happen when they look at the posters is that the viewer needs to quickly be able to understand what the poster is about and what its showing and advertising and then the viewer needs to be interested in the event or product.

What techniques are you going to use? why?

I’m going to spend lots of time on the layout and things like how the poster is going to capture there eyes and how are they going to read it and what will be read first, this is because layout is very important for something to look nice but also understand what the poster is about.

I will also be doing some tracing in illustrator to create vectors or items, I wont be straight copying but I will be using imagery to give me inspiration and help me create components in my poster this is so I am able to create things that people will recognize and understand.

I will also be using lots of techniques in Photoshop and illustrator like clipping masks and possibly some image manipulation but I will also use lots of typography techniques to help with layout like leading and kerning and then I will also use grid systems and think about composition and things like the rule of thirds and the golden ratio if I think its necessary for my poster.

What typefaces, imagery, colors, strokes and grid systems might you use and why?

I will be using mainly sans serif typefaces because I think they look the cleanest and are the easiest to understand and are the most eye pleasing. I will be using lots of imagery of furniture but I will also be looking at the three venues and tacking pictures of them to help me turn them into vector graphics. I will also look into general buildings and architecture to help me with the dhp poster but for all of the posters I will be using lots of imagery of things like walls and stones to create textures because I think textures are another great element to put into your work and they can make the work look a lot nicer with more depth. I am probably going to stay away from heavy strokes because I think strokes just don’t look very good on things except I may use some for text. I will defiantly be using grid systems to help me with layout I will probably use modular and manuscript and possibly column. I will be using nice bright colors but I will try and make them not as saturated and a little bit more pastel based to fit dhps brand identity and also to make things nice to look at.

What / who / where has inspired your ideas? Why ?

I have always been interested in music and have been to lots of gigs and played with bands so I am very familiar with the Nottingham music scene so I have seen lots of bands and there posters and advertisements. I really like lots of dhps work and the artists that work for them so in the research stages I looked at lots of band posters and dhp posters to help with my ideas.

I did some experimentation with some ideas and I sketched out my main ideas to give me a better visual representation of what my ideas look like on paper.

Group Feedback.

When we did the feedback I didn’t have a lot to show so I made a quick Photoshop mock just to get the idea across even though the final piece would be made as a illustrations in illustrator not out of photos. The feedback I got was for my DHP venues poster.

What is the most common thing that your peers like? Why do you think this is?

I think they liked the lay out and general idea behind the design, this might be because it looks very busy and possibly intriguing.

What is the most common suggestion to improve your posters? Why do you think this is?

Like I said I didn’t have a lot to show but most of the suggestions were for my Photoshop mock up which was just made to give the person a better idea of what I was creating. I don’t think it was clear that it would be made in illustrator and not Photoshop but elements looked unprofessional which is true but like I said it was just made to get the idea across so it was not really even a mock up.

Do you agree with your peer feedback? Why?

yes I think some of it is fair and good one of the ideas someone left which I thought could be good is to use the venue logos instead of the actual venue buildings.

Do you disagree with anything your peers have said in the feedback? Why?

Yes I disagree with most of it just because it was on the Photoshop mock that was showing just to get the idea across so I agree that it looks bad and unprofessional but the final will be an illustration not a photograph.

This is what people had to look at, This is the beginning of the creation of the poster

and this was just quickly made to get the idea across a little better but I think my sketches did a better job because the final will be made in illustrator mainly.

The next step was to turn my sketches and ideas into vector graphics so I used adobe illustrator to start creating each individual item for the poster and then I would construct the poster with all the parts. Here are my experimentation and idea generation boards with graphics for the final design and color experimentation.

Here are the boards for the dhp venue poster.

Here are the boards for Super furnitures single release advertisement.

Here are the boards for the gig advertisement

After I created all of the vectors I picked the things I liked and put together my posters in illustrator and then I put that artwork into Photoshop were I added textures and text.

How they were made:

The DHP poster

I began creating in adobe illustrator. First I started to create my waves for the ocean section. I did this by creating a long rectangle with the rectangle tool and then lots of circles all the same size with the ellipse tool.

I then dragged the line of circles down and made sure that half of all the circles were overlaying the rectangle. I then selected everything with the selection tool.

I then took the shape builder tool and clicked on all the circles whilst holding alt which then gave me this wave shape.

I then changed the color of the shape to a calm blue.

Next I duplicated the shape and layered them on top of each other and changed the shapes to different types of blue. I then added a light drop shadow on each wave shape giving everything more depth.

Next I moved onto the woodland section so I started to create some trees. The first thing I did was create a triangle by taking the star tool and using my down arrow key on my key board to get rid of the points until I got a triangle.

I then created 4 triangles which were slightly bigger than the other one and I layered the triangles out with the selection tool so it looked like a tree. I then turned to triangles green and added a tree stump by using the rectangle tool to create a thin rectangle which I then turned brown and made sure it was behind all of the triangle layers.

I wanted to add some shadow or shading to the tree so I took the pen tool and created a large shape that covered half of all the triangles and I made the color of this shape slightly darker than the light green triangles. I then selected everything.

Next I once again used the shape builder tool to make my dark green shape fit around the outline of the tree by holding alt and clicking on a section of the shape that was not inside the tree.

I then used the same technique with the shape builder tool to create some shadow for the tree stump. I then selected all of the tree, group everything together and duplicated the tree so I had three. After that I went and chose two other colors and turned the other trees into different shades of green to give me a variety of trees and then lastly I applied a very light drop shadow to each tree.

Next I needed to put the trees onto some land so I created 6 layers of land using the pen tool and changed the color so they ware all different types of green and then once again added a light drop shadow.

I then assembled all the parts for my forest section. First I put all of the hills in place and made sure each layer was behind the layer in front and I also made the trees get smaller with the move tool to make it look like they were further away.

I then moved onto the city section and started designing the houses. For every house I stated by making a base which I made with the pen tool and then changed the color of the shape.

I then added some shading and the base with the pen tool and I used the shape builder tool to once again make sure everything fit the outline of the base shape.

I then created a window by using the ellipse tool to create three circles, I had one smaller circle one mediam size circle and a larger circle and then I layered them all on top of each other. The smaller circle I made light blue for the windows glass then the circle shape behind that I made a light brown and then the circle behind that I made a darker brown. I then created four parallel lines with rounded edges with the rounded rectangle tool and made there color a slightly lighter blue than the blue of the circle for the window. Next I positioned the four lines inside the blue circle and but them at a angle with the selection tool which I used the rotate the shapes. Finally I added a brown cross in front of the glass for the window with the rectangle tool. I then grouped everything together to create a window for the building.

I then duplicated the window by holding alt on my keyboard and dragging the shape so I had four windows. I then placed the windows onto the rest of the house with the selection tool.

I then added a roof by using the pet tool and the shape builder tool.

Lastly I added a chimney by using the rectangle tool to create two thin vertical rectangles and once again used the pen tool and the shape builder tool to add some shadow. I then used the same tools and techniques that I used to create this house and created a variety of houses in different color variations.

Once I had created the buildings I went onto create the three venues. I made them once again using the same techniques I have just shown but I tried to add more detale because the venues are key parts of the posters. For the three venues first I started with a base shape then I added things like doors and then I went and put in shadows and then when I had most of the venue made I added text using the text to to create the signs from the venues.

For the rescue rooms logo that is on the front of the building I turned a Image/jpeg into vector graphic in illustrator.

First I dragged a black and white image of the logo into illustrator.

I then went into the tab at the top next to were is said image trace and in that drop down menu I clicked on Black and white logo.

I then clicked expand which gave me a selection of everything. Next I right clicked the image and un grouped everything.

I then clicked on all the white parts and deleted them leaving me with a black rescue rooms logo which was now a vector graphic.

Finally I turned the logo white.

I then wanted to create a gradient for the background of the poster and I wanted to put this gradient as the background for all three of my posters. I made the background by gradient by creating a rectangle the size of the A3 art board with the rectangle tool and then I clicked on the gradient box which was under were you would change the color of something or add a stroke. When I did this my rectangle was selected. This then brought up a box were I could customize my gradient. In here I changed the gradient so It was 90 degrees and then picked three colors. The top of the gradient was a dark purple, in the middle was a light purple and then towards the bottom was a slightly darker purple.

Now I had everything made I assembled it on my A3 art board and I used this grid to help me with composition. Here is everything assembled.

I then exported the art board as a PNG and opened it in Photoshop were I would add text and texture to the poster. When I exported the art board I made sure the grid system was not visible.

Once I had opened it in Photoshop I took the text tool and wrote my poster headline. I made the second line of text smaller by going control T on my keyboard and then I used the move tool to shrink it down and align all the text so It was in the middle of the image. For the text I used a nice sharp sans serif font that was bold because I think sans serif fonts look professional and they stand out and work with the rest of the artwork.

I then selected all the text with the text tool and held alt and used the arrow keys to kern my text and spread it out. I also added a transparent dhp logo and I shrunk it down and put it in the top left hand corner of the poster.

Lastly I added texture to my poster I did this by using three images, layering them on top of everything and turning there opacity down. Here are the three images and there opacity.

This image had an opacity of 4%

This image had an opacity of 2%

this Image had an opacity of 2%

And that then finished my poster. All three images were off unsplash.com

For all three posters I used the same tools and techniques that I have just shown for the creation of the dhp poster. Here are my final three posters.

To create this single release poster I talked to superfuniture about the songs meaning and I also analysed and looked at the songs lyrics to help me create the cover for the single. Here Is a copy of the songs lyrics to help show were my ideas have come from.

BODY CLOCK: Picture frames and Pencil boxes

Hide and seek and norts and crosses

I'm not gonna lie no lying is bad

But things would be different if maybe I had

Stepped back I saw it in a picture

Worth a thousand words the air is getting thicker

Close your eyes it tastes so bitter

Sunrise the light starts to flicker

Keep speaking if tho I've stopped

Body clock tick tock no where

Never stop breathing fresh air

I think a lot are you aware

This is not me a swear

Two slice toaster Put the kettle on

No one will remember you when you are gone

This lack of sleep all merges into one

It's hard to keep a track of time for long

Even tho I've stopped

Body clock tick tock no where

Never stop breathing fresh air

I think a lot are you aware

This is not me a swear

You help me breath

The colour of your eyes makes me realise

I can't see

Where to go from here it's filling me with fear

Leave me be

Body clock tick tock no where

Never stop breathing fresh air

I think a lot are you aware

This is not me a swear.

Because my posters are of 3 advertisements I put together some mocks to help give me a better idea of what they would look like if they were on things like signs and billboards.

Evaluation:

What were my final ideas:

Idea one: the first Idea was to create a advertisement for the company dhp advertising some of there most popular venues in the Nottingham music scene. I wanted to have three venues and put them in three different landscapes. The venues I picked were The Bodega, Rescue Rooms and Rock City, this is because I wanted to bring in this idea of almost leveling up and how musicians would progress in the Nottingham music scene, so if you were a band starting out you would play at the bodega were lots of artist perform but they allow lots of smaller up and coming artist to perform, then a step up from there would be to play rescue rooms which holds larger artists and then the next step from there would be to play rock city which holds mainly large artist so this is why on the poster I have bodega at the bottom, rescue rooms on the middle level and Rock city at the top. I placed each venue in a scene that I thought fit the venues image so for bodega I put it in a water themed area and I put rock city I a big city area to represent that its the top and that rock city holds the biggest gigs with the biggest artists out of the three. I also wanted to make the poster follow dhps image and style which I did lots of research into dhp to help give me a better idea of what there brand identity is.

Idea two: For the last two ideas I worked with a band called super furniture and this idea was to create a poster advertising there headline gig at the venue rescue rooms in Nottingham. For this poster the idea was to have a huge pile of furniture with the venue on top of it and then above that have superfurnitures logo and the list of support acts.

Idea three: For the third idea I wanted to create some cover art for the bands single release and then make an advertisement about it. The Idea was to use the songs meaning and to take parts of the lyrics and turn them into illustrations. The poster also needed to represent them which is why I wanted to use super furnitures main color from there logo which is yellow.

Because this poster was an advertisement I also wanted to have the release date name and bands logo on the poster.

How did you arrive at the ideas?

for the dhp one I looked at lots of posters from dhp and lots of them involve little graphics of coral or bushes or buildings which gave me the idea to do something that involved different parts of scenery. I then came to the idea that I wanted each venue to have its own world or own section of scenery that fits the venue. for the first basic ideas for all three posters I did some idea generation at the beginning were I brain stormed lots of ideas to do with music and then I narrowed those ideas down to three and that’s how I got the idea for the dhp advertisement, superfurniture gig advertisement and the single release advertisement

for the gig poster I wanted to take the bands name and then express it in a poster so this is why there is a pile of furniture with the venue on top of it. Because they are called super furniture I made a pile of furniture and then I put the venue on top to show that the gig will be super and to express that the event is going to be huge especially because it will be superfurnitures biggest headline gig so far.

for the third poster because it was a single release cover the cover had to represent that band and the song so I asked for a copy of the lyrics of the song from the band and analysed them and then got ideas for what I wanted the poster to look like.

What inspired me? I did lots of research into dhp and superfurniture and I looked at previous work that had been done for them but I was generally inspired by advertisements and gig posters for events but I really liked dhps brand identity and image with there textures and pastel colors so I think dhps general look inspired me the most.

what specific approaches did you practice?

I wanted my posters to have a normal poster design look and layout so you read it left to right and top to bottom this is why I had the title of the posters at the top and further information underneath or lower down. I wanted to use a sans serif font that was thick or bold because I think sans serif fonts look very neat and professional. For the single release cover I looked at other advertisements for music releases and they have the title at the top and then the cover photo in the middle with more information like the release date at the bottom so this is why I have one of my posters layered out like this.

I also used two layout techniques, the first was the rule of thirds which I think you can best see in my dhp poster and the second I made a simple grid system with two columns which was cut into 8 squares.

What went well during the final production stage?

I think most of the illustrations turned out very well and I think I picked some nice colors that were not to saturated to fit superfurniture and dhps image. I really like the dhp poster and all the different sections to it and I also think the superfurniture posters look nice and professional.

What issues did I encounter?

I didn't encounter lots of issues apart from the fact that because I chose to mainly use illustrator for this project it meant that all the illustrations took a really long time to create especially if I wanted to keep them at a highly detailed standard. also I think I spent to much time doing the research at the begging and maybe if I put more time into designing rather than writing I might have finished the posters quicker.

how did you overcome these ?

because I started by making everything to a high quality with detailed illustrations I had to keep it that way throughout the project so eventually the deadline closed in so I just had to put lots of extra hours in at home to complete the illustrations.

what have you lernt during this project:

I have learnt that I need to put more planning into my work so I can hit the deadlines easier so I should plan an amount of days for each section like the research, idea generation, experimentation and final development.

What would I do differently if I did it again ?

i would probably make something that does not involve as many illustrations and work with Photoshop more.

What do you like about your final tryptic of posters?

I really like all the detailed illustrations and colors. I also thought the textures that I added made the posters work better with the bands image and dhp.

What don’t I like about the final posters.

according to a few people in the dhp poster the bodega looks out of place and it looks like its floating so I could of changed that a bit also I wish I put more time into the text and its layout but generally there is not really anything that I dislike. Another thing that I wanted to do at the beginning was paint the texture for each item but that would have taken too long but I did it for one illustration and I liked how it looked I just didn't have the time to do it for everything. Here is the painted texture I did to one of my illustrations.

Peer Feedback.

We all went round and looked at each others final designs, we then picked five different peoples work and wrote about the work and gave feedback.

My Feedback: 7 people left feed back on my posters. The feedback was all positive and people said the “liked the colors”, they thought that I kept a high quality of work through out on each poster and that they looked “professional”. I did not get anyone giving suggestions of how I could improve or things to change, everything was nice and I agree with it for example people like the illustrations and they think the posters work well with the topic/theme.

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