#i wanted to put the guys in the boxes on the side but the photographer didnt post any photos of frank

[omtai]

got too crazy last night & made a fake Gerard Fangoria cover... 🧛‍♀️

📸: Jess Gleeson

[01zfan]

first | j. sc

sungchan x fem!reader | 3.8k words

thank you for all the support on the first installment of the bases series, i really wasn’t expecting all the praise i’ve received on this account. i want to continue writing good things if you guys are willing to stick around!

also MERRY CHRISTMAS.

first base - the act of kissing, mainly with tongue (otherwise known as french kissing).

contains: kissing, pda

base series: first | second | third | homerun

you watched from the sidelines with a camera at your side. the weight of the equipment resting on the strap behind your neck would bring you stiffness later. as you watched the stationary camera recording the game you rubbed the back of your neck to relieve some pain. you couldn’t care less when it came to sports, you found it to be too boring. the irony of hating sports while being the person in charge of taking pictures on said sports was so ironic it made you laugh. of course at the end of the day, this was your job and the pictures sold well, so how could you really complain. plus, there were moments of pure exhilaration when your finger rested on the capture button, lifting up and down like a trigger. seeing the athletes leap in the air in celebration, embracing each other when a play was executed perfectly was amazing, but being able to capture it was otherworldly. you loved being a photographer being able to capture moments in time where emotion flowed through the picture. you also couldn’t complain too much because having any proximity to your boyfriend made your day. sungchan being on the hockey team was a plus.

when you signed up to be on the photography committee you didn’t know about the requirement to take photos of a select sport. there was a sign up sheet you weren’t aware of, until the president of the committee emailed you a link of a google sheet all filled up.

you looked through the document mad at all the sports you had found a little interesting. if you didn’t have any events, how would you be paid? then you saw that almost all hockey events were open. desperate for the money you bit your tongue and put your name, email, and phone number. after that it was history. the head coach got you in touch with the sports team staff since you became the de facto hockey photographer for the season. you got acquainted with the team, learning their names and numbers to yell out for a photo opportunity. you even reluctantly taught yourself about the sport, just in case you had to know something.

during the first practice for the season is when you first met sungchan. you had shook his hand at the first meeting looking up at the tall man who had way to pretty of hands to be playing sports. you imagined his soft hands in those comically large hockey gloves, pushing people down on the hard ice. his hands on his knees while he watched the game attentively from the penalty box. you were thinking about his hands when he went to the sidelines to the team manager, taking out his mouthguard to politely ask for his water bottle. he was just as kind as he was pretty, smiling and saying thank you after he was done taking a drink. before skating back to practice he turned towards you.

“you take really nice pictures by the way.” he said it simply a shy smile etched across his face.

the comment caught you by surprise. you very rarely received compliments for your work outside of the occasional “this turned out well” when you showed your clients the finished photos of an event. anything to you at all. very rarely would the subjects of your photos ever be able to thank you since it was shown by the organization anyway. most of the time there was an unspoken custom of treating the photographer like they’re invisible, an omniscient viewer of the event.

the team manager looked at you expectantly and brought you out of your reverie.

“oh, thank you.” you smiled back at him. sungchan looked at you intently and went to rest his hands on the railing of the rink.

“seriously. i looked at your portfolio not just your instagram. thanks for agreeing to take pictures of the team this season. you’re gonna make us look really cool.” sungchan continued his piece, complimenting you a little too much.

more often than not you had no idea what to say to compliments. most of the times you would just mumble an awkward thank you or try and give a compliment back. each exchange always ended making you feel awkward by the end. but sungchan just kept going. your face was burning not used to the praise of someone with such a pretty face and such pretty hands and such a soft voice. it was too much, entirely too much. all you could do was nod at him in the most sincere way.

“i’ll do my best.” the smile came naturally, giving your words a slightly flirty tone. you couldn’t help it, looking at someone so cute kind of made you giggly and bubbly for no reason. when sungchan smiled in response you couldn’t help but look down.

“okay. i’ll talk to you later,” sungchan looked to you and the team manager. “bye yunjin.” 

when he turned around to skate back to his team you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face. yunjin tried to be silent, to not bring up the tension with a girl she barely knew. but she couldn’t help it. only a beat passed before yunjin was smiling knowingly at you.

“he was on your instagram?” yunjin elbowed you teasingly. 

your cheeks were hurting from smiling to hard. you bashfully shook your head.

“he’s just being nice.“ you say shyly, but you hope he’s not just being nice. you hope he’s being flirty, and that he wants to hold your hand inside of his pretty ones.

“i’ve known sungchan for years and he’s probably the nicest on the team but that was not just nice. that was something just a little different.” yunjin held up her fingers inches from each other for emphasis.

“what do you mean?” you asked. 

“hopefully you get better at picking up hints when he talks to you later.” yunjin laughed at your aloofness. 

you actually didn’t pick up the hints. sungchan walked with you to your car after practice everyday without fail. you thought it was him being a gentleman. he would walk with you to class, holding your books. you thought it was because he was nice. when his teammates would coo at you and tease him when you walked by you thought it was them being silly. this went on for months. at first you had thought that he was flirting with you, but after a few weeks of him not even touching you, you began to condition yourself to only be his friend.

it wasn’t until you stayed late after practice one day learning how to skate on the ice with sungchan skating backwards facing you. he had that same smile on his face when you would get extra flustered around him. you skated on the ice with your arms stretched out, freaked out by the thought of falling and breaking something.

“sungchan!” you said his name after almost losing your balance “i’m gonna fall!” 

“i won’t let you fall. don’t be scared.” sungchan said teasingly. his smile only got wider.

“if i fall it’s your fault.” 

“bend your legs to stop.” sungchan demonstrated the proper form and you copied him. you bent your legs and you could feel your already slow speed get slower. when you finally came to a stop, sungchan skated forward closer to you. you tried not to freak out, being so close to him.

you guys were like that for a moment. him in front of you and you slightly wobbling on the ice. you couldn’t bring yourself to look up at him, because you knew he was already looking down at you. when he looked down at you a certain way, you forgot that you were only his friend. to keep your sanity you stared at his chest, usually covered in his hockey gear but now he wore his casual clothes. you couldn’t look at his puffer jacket too much, because you might start to think what’s underneath. you shift your focus to his hands that are picking at the seams of his jeans.

“are your hands cold?” you asked, still not making eye contact.

“what? oh no. i’m just kinda nervous.” sungchan said truthfully. his hands stopped picking at the seams and now rested at his side.

“am i that much of a hazard on the ice?” you laugh slightly trying not to take to much focus off of trying to balance. 

you look up at him now. sungchan looks at you the same way he would be on the ice, thinking about his next move. his brown eyes are still so piercing but so soft. he looks directly into your eyes as he places both of his hands on your shoulders.

“i don’t know how to make it anymore obvious that i like you.” sungchan says it simply. you can feel your legs wobbling on the ice. you try extremely hard to not collapse right in front of him. you grab onto him to find some stability.

“i like you too.” it comes out meek. you curse yourself for being such a coward.

“no i like really like you. like more than a friend. i don’t know if you feel the same way. you’re just so cute and talented and smart and funny and nice and—“ 

sungchan is running off at the mouth. you have never seen him so shy, rubbing your arms up and down in tandem with his words. 

“i really like you too. i was too nervous to i thought you were just being nice. i didn’t want to assume.” you smile at him, trying not to focus too much on his lips. you grab his hand, wondering why they were so soft and warm in yours. you partially hold his hand for stability from the ice.

“can i kiss you?” he asks.

you simply nod and lean forward. you see sungchan bend down to get closer to your lips. you close your eyes. months of pining and waiting were leading you to this, holding sungchan’s hand while he leans in to kiss you. you were too busy being on cloud nine that you forgot in reality you were on ice. when you got on your tippy toes to match his height, you lost your balance completely. you went face first into sungchan’s chest. he partially kept his promise to not let you fall, holding you up. you were so frantic and caught off guard by the change in your equilibrium that you put all your weight on him at the speed of light. this made sungchan lose his balance, and he fell on his ass, bringing you down with him.

you kept your head in his chest, mortified by how you managed to embarrass yourself so quickly. sungchan’s loud and boyish laughter pulled you from your embarrassment. you looked up and saw his big smile, head thrown back as he laughed. you joined him, giggling into his jacket. sungchan laughed the whole time he got up, and still laughed as he pulled you off the ground. 

“i haven’t fallen like that since i was first on the ice.” sungchan dusted snow off of you before he dusted it off himself. you knew sungchan started ice hockey at a very young age, so you didn’t dare to ask him when he first stepped on the ice.

when the ice resurfacer came into the rink sungchan carefully led you off the ice, instructing you to put your hands on his hips as he skated towards the exit. 

you two left the rink long after everyone else. sungchan walked you to your car, one of the three left in the parking lot. he opened the door for you as you climbed into the drivers seat. he closed the door for you too. after turning on your car sungchan folded his arms to lean on the open window of your car. he put his head in the palm of his hand, looking up to smile at you.

“thanks for trying to show me to skate.” you wanted to bring up the kiss you two almost had. the look in sungchan’s eyes was the same as when he went in the first time. you waited patiently. 

”thanks for making me laugh.” 

you two sat like that for three extremely fast heartbeats.

“are you going to wonbin’s christmas party?” sungchan asked quickly. you shook your head. 

you were friends with the goalie of the ice hockey team. wonbin was funny, quiet, and good at his sport. when he said that the annual christmas party he throws for his team and friends was always fun, you never stopped to consider this an invitation. when yunjin said she was going with anton as “friends”, you didn’t dare to impose on the relationship that was blossoming.

“it’s tonight, isn’t it?” you looked at the clock on your phone. it wasn’t late by any means. 8:30 PM on a saturday was prime party time. 

“i’m going there right now, actually.”

“i hope you have fun.”

“i would have more fun if you went with me.”

“i don’t know where wonbin lives.”

“i can text you his address. or you can follow my car. or i can drive you there and then drop you back off here. he lives only like five minutes from here.”

you thought about your options. sungchan gave you three, but there was definitely a fourth one floating around in your head. you could’ve said no and drove yourself home. you thought about all the regret you’d have if you didn’t go with him so you rolled up your window and took your keys out of the ignition. sungchan opened the car door for you with the biggest smile on his face. his car was only parked one space over, so he opened the passenger seat for you as well. sungchan smiled all the way to wonbin’s house. he was right about it being only five minutes away.

sungchan ran around his car before you could even take off your seatbelt. he opened your door for you, reaching in the back of his car for something. he was looking intensely, half his body in the passenger seat. it was unfair how even his backside was pretty, long and tranquil like a daydream. 

when sungchan came out of his car, he had a christmas sweater and a santa hat. sungchan was already decked in his gear, a simple christmas sweater underneath his puffer jacket. you quickly realized the apparel was for you.

“wow, you really thought ahead.” you pulled the sweater over the shirt you had. you didn’t want the hat, so sungchan put it on his head instead.

“didn’t want you to feel out of place or anything.” sungchan said. 

you two walked side by side to wonbin’s door. it was a large house, probably the largest one you’ll ever be in. you look at the hedges and the trees and the window. anything to get your mind off of how dangerously close your hand were to sungchan’s. just by walking side by side your knuckles were grazing his. he was so close, but so far away. half way up wonbin’s driveway, sungchan grabbed your hand.

you froze. you wanted to be cool, to take it all in stride and to try and seem as unaffected as possible. this was impossible. you were smiling uncontrollably when sungchan looked down at you.

“is this okay?” he asked. you nodded your head, squeezing his hand for emphasis. sungchan rang the doorbell, texted wonbin, and knocked on the door all with one hand.

wonbin came to the door pretty fast, swinging it open. it caught you a little off guard, but not as off guard as wonbin was when he looked down at you and sungchan holding hands. shotaro comes to the door and so does sohee. you feel a little shy seeing them all focus on your hands.

“i thought you guys would be doing your little dance forever.” sohee says.

you see anton’s phone before you see him, taking a picture of you two awkwardly standing at wonbin’s door holding hands. 

it was less awkward when you got into wonbin’s house. his house was still packed. you recognized the people on the ice hockey team, but other than that and a few familiar faces you had no idea who any of these people were. you hold onto sungchan’s hand tightly as he navigates you through the crowds of people to the drink table. 

“do you want anything?” sungchan asks, opening a bottle of sparkling grape juice. you grab a glass and point at the bottle. sungchan pours you both a glass. it doesn’t go unnoticed that he poured you more after hearing you exclaim it’s your favorite thing to drink. 

you both mingle and walk around the party together. sungchan is nice enough to tell you how he knows the people he knows, telling you something about them that would help you keep a conversation going naturally if needed. you mostly trailed behind him and you guys talked in various places of wonbin’s house. 

by the drink bar you talked about how wonbin stalked your social media when he first heard your name. he was intrigued by your pictures and wondered how his team managed to snag someone so talented to be their photographer for the semester. sungchan holds back using the word “fate” when you tell him how you ended up in your current situation. he even showed you his favorite photo of yours, the one where the man sat in front of two children hugging, sketching their picture on paper for them to have forever.

in wonbin’s kitchen you told sungchan how you thought he only saw you as a friend. you talk about moments where you thought he was going to make a move, and sungchan tells you he thought he was making a move. you shake your head as you two have two completely different perceptions of the same moment. sungchan saw moments of brushing your hand, holding your books, and walking to your car as trying to make you his girlfriend. you saw those moments as sweet things to remember, to keep a mental checklist of the type of person you want your boyfriend to be.

you two were on a lazy boy when you start talking about how you got into photography. you sit in the seat while sungchan is perched on the arm rest. you were in the middle of talking about your first camera when you are approached by yunjin, holding something behind her back.

“heyyyy you two.” yunjin is a little louder than usual. she is so obviously trying to hide something.

“hey yunjin,” you look at the big smile on her face. she has a little bit of her lipstick rubbed off and you make a mental note to corner anton later. “what’s behind your back?”

“oh this?” yunjin coyly says bringing out a full branch of mistletoe. she dangles the end of the mistletoe in between you and sungchan. sungchan laughs out loud, bringing a hand to cover his face. you smile, your face getting hot. 

the attention from the rest of the party is on you two in a second. people come from the kitchen and the living room to huddle around you and sungchan. your cheeks heat up and sungchan holds your hand while laughing.

“you are insane.” you say to yunjin.

“i am being a good wingwoman. now please kiss your man, my arm is getting tired.” yunjin smiles and the faces of the ice hockey team light up realizing you and sungchan are finally about to put an end to the months of pining. 

the party was two seconds away from chanting “kiss” when you feel sungchan staring at you. you turn to look at his smiling face. you smile too, and smile even harder when his hand slides against your cheek. he takes your other cheek is his hand and you put yours on his forearms. he bends down from his perch on the armrest to press his lips to yours. the kiss is feathery and light, his lips soft and smooth. just as quickly as he goes in he pulls away, but you felt like you were held in that moment for millennia. when sungchan pulls away, the entire room erupts in cheers and claps. you feel awkward only for a moment until sungchan stands and pulls you from the lazy boy. he bows like he just gave a show and you do too. this makes you feel less awkward for some reason, making light of a situation that could’ve been mortifying. you are almost amazed your mind didn’t immediately go to the worst case scenario, playing out the situation with a level head.

after the crowd disperses, sungchan grabs your hand and leads you upstairs, away from people.

sungchan opens the door to a dark room, and turns on the light. you know it’s wonbin’s room by the medals and framed jersey on the wall. when he closes the door, he looks at you worried.

“i should’ve told you they do that. i completely forgot i’m sorry.” sungchan looks at you, sad for putting you in that situation.

“sungchan it’s okay. it’s all lighthearted and fun,” you grab sungchan’s two hands and move them back and forth. “plus i liked it. i want to keep doing it.”

sungchan freezes the same way you did when he grabbed your hand. he looks at you with wide eyes and then smirks.

you and sungchan spend the next half hour in the others arms. the kisses start light, the sound of you two breaking apart bouncing off the walls. you both take turns caressing cheeks and feeling exposed skin. sungchan takes his time kissing you, only breaking apart to breathe or to tell you how pretty you are. he kisses you all over your face, a flurry of pecks that doesnt leave a single part of your face unkissed. when sungchan’s says he can’t believe he finally gets to kiss you, you smile and nod in agreement. you can’t stop yourself from telling him about his soft hands and soft demeanor, how gentle he is towards you. but you have to remind him that you are not glass and you will not break if he pulls you in a little harder and kisses you a little rougher. months of pining and thinking about kissing him could not be sated with gentle pecks and hand holding.

he pulls you in again desperately others, and you bunch up his christmas sweater to show him how pent up you are. you both take turns tilting your heads and deepening kisses. he places a kiss to your neck feeling butterflies spring from the imprint of his lips. sungchan grips your shoulders when you do the same to him. his saliva is sweet like sparkling grape soda and his tongue is as soft and gentle as his hands.

[thelampisaflashlight]

Shutterbug: Point and Shoot

[Dew and Aeon go to the lake to take pictures of the sunrise. Angst comes and goes in a blink. Baphomet persists.] Below the cut.

"Why do we have to get up so early for this?" Aeon whines, dragging his feet through the tall grass, slumped forward dramatically with an almost comical pout on his face as he follows Dew towards the lake.

"If you want to photograph the sunrise, you need to get up before the sun rises." the older man says, unbothered by the younger's antics, "Simple as that."

Aeon gives a little huff before a yawn slips from his lips, causing Dew to yawn as well, "It's so early though... There's a whole hour before the sun rises, and it only takes ten minutes to walk here from the dorms!"

Dew rolls his eyes and sets down the large backpack slung over his shoulder, gesturing for Aeon to do the same.

"If I let you sleep in any longer, you wouldn't be awake enough to help me set up, let alone take the pictures. You said you wanted to learn how to use an actual camera, and here we are."

The quintessence ghoul hums, "Here we are..."

With a sigh, Aeon casts his gaze over the lake, still lit by the stars that are only now starting to fade from view.

The ground is cool under his feet, and the toes of his sneakers are lightly soaked by the morning dew.

He inhales slow and deep and feels himself slowly beginning to wake.

"At least it's nice out here..." he says, turning towards Dew, who is rummaging through his bag, taking out a tripod and another, compact bag from within that looks worn in a well loved kind of way, "So... I never got to ask, since the others recommended that I go to you to learn about this stuff, but, uh, how long have you been into photography?"

"Aw, geez, it's been a long time..." Dew picks up a flat rock from the dirt, sliding it under one of the legs of the tripod, making it more level, "Couple decades now, I guess?"

"A couple... A couple what?? A couple decades??" Aeon balks, "But you've only been on the surface since..."

He counts on his fingers, but gets stuck.

"H-How is that even possible??"

Dew stands up, bracing against his knees as he does so, "Huh, guess that story slipped through the cracks... I mean, yeah, I..."

He places a hand on his chest.

"I don't mean me." he says, "I mean this guy."

He sweeps his hand up to his face and then downwards.

"My vessel."

Aeon blinks.

"Your vessel...?"

"Ough... they really don't tell you new summons anything..." Dew stretches and then grabs one of the folding chairs he made Aeon carry with them, "Pop a squat, Sparkles, we have some time to kill anyway."

Aeon tilts his head sideways, but does as he's told. Once he's settled, Dew sits down, looking out over the horizon.

"It's all kind of complicated, but the long and short of it is; My body, this face you're looking at, this isn't a glamour. It's not an approximation of what I would look like if I were human... it is human."

"I... Okay." Aeon looks at Dew sideways, "So... You're human then?"

"Was." Dew says, stretching his legs out, "I was, but I also wasn't. Sometimes... Sometimes, when the church needs a ghoul... No, that's... Let's just go with that, yeah?"

Aeon nods.

"The best way I can put it, is that this body belonged to someone else, and then another person -a demon- laid claim to it, but instead of forcing the other soul out... they kind of, I dunno, melded together?" Dew emphasizes his point by making a squishing motion with his hands, "So I'm, like, some kind of weird soul baby of those two people."

"Hehe... Soul baby..."

"Shut up, I said it was complicated."

"Sorry."

"...You are forgiven, for now." Dew snorts, "Anyway."

Dew taps the side of his head.

"Basically means I have memories from two different lives mushed together in the old brain box, and to get to the point already, the first guy was a photographer."

"Ohhh... So you retained all of his memories of how to do this then?" Aeon asks, looking at the bags again, "That's pretty-"

Aeon pauses, brow furrowing.

"...What happened?"

Dew raises a brow, turning his head towards him, "Mn?"

"What happened to the photographer guy? Like, if you're..." he bites the inside of his cheek, "Am I not supposed to ask-"

"I never said you couldn't, and do I look bothered?" Dew questions, his posture too casual, too relaxed for him to be annoyed, "Do you really wanna know?"

Another pause.

"...Yes, please."

Dew closes his eyes for a moment and sits up slightly.

"Here, I'll show you how to set up the camera first so we don't forget why we're out here..."

And they do.

Dew makes Aeon do most of the set-up and adjustments to the equipment himself, "So you can get a feel for it."

When all is said and done, Dew lets him tweak camera's settings a bit more before motioning for him to sit back down.

"I've been into photography since I was a kid, couldn't tell you how old I was when I first held a camera, but I do know what my first clear picture was of." he says, leaning back in his chair, "We had this little terrier, Wilma, when I was little, and the thing couldn't sit still for the life of her, but I somehow managed to get her to stay put for a photo... Probably bribed her with an entire bag of biscuits, but I was really proud of how it came out."

"I don't really remember many of my early, early memories, especially not the ones from this guy, but I remember that." he utters softly, a hint of warmth blossoming on his cheeks and the tips of his ears, subtle embarrassment, "Being proud..."

"I can also remember being fucking miserable."

A cool breeze rolls across the grass, and Aeon uses it to hide the shiver that runs up his spine at Dew's words.

"...Before I go any further, do you still want to hear about this?"

Aeon swallows, then thinks.

"Do you really want to talk about it?" he counters, and Dew gives a little puff through his nose, "Really, though."

He shrugs.

"It was a long time ago, Sparkles."

"Doesn't mean it can't still hurt." Aeon whispers a bit too knowingly for Dew's liking, if the little noise in the back of his throat is any indication of that.

"...I died." he says after a moment of silence, "I died, Aeon."

"You... You died?"

"I don't know the full details, and I don't want to know, but yeah." he nods, "Yeah."

Aeon watches the cattails wave in the wind, processing what his packmate just said.

"I guess I got lost out in the woods nearby, and some siblings found me and brought my body back here." Dew continues, "There's a lot of... little details that flicker around in my head from time to time, fragments of memories, or maybe dreams I'm misremembering, but I mostly just remember, ya know, stuff like this."

He points at the camera.

"I didn't forget how to do things like read or write, and I knew things I liked and didn't like, but I forgot most of what made me this guy."

"Did he have a name?" Aeon asks, taking in Dew's features anew, from the sharpness of his nose, to the gentleness of his brow.

"Probably." Dew laughs, "Actually, yes, but that's also something I've decided I don't want to know. The files are all there, if I decide to deep dive into my past, but I already promised myself I wouldn't do that."

"...But you died."

"You're wondering how I'm here now, right?"

Aeon nods.

"Well, there was this goat-"

.

.

.

"Well, hello, Moonlight, how'd your little photography lesson with Dew go?" Swiss asks, legs kicked up over the armrest the couch in the common room as he half watches the morning news, eyeing a harrowed looking Aeon.

The ghoul stares blankly at the wall for a solid minute before he replies.

"...Have you hear the Bapho-tits story before or is Dew full-on fucking with me?"

Swiss almost pulls a muscle from the involuntary sit-up he does from wheezing too hard.

[zilabee]

Derek Burrell-Davis - memo to BBC (May 67): “I had a satisfactory two-hour meeting with all four members of the Beatles Group this evening…..I don’t think it is over-stating it to say that they are enthusiastic about their participation in the ‘Our World’ programme and fully aware of the responsibilities they carry. Their approach is extremely professional and they are in complete agreement with the basic idea, which is that they are undertaking a recording session in the Number One Studio at E.M.I., Abbey Road. They cannot yet forecast what they will be doing in any great detail, but they propose writing a new number. Since this number will be heard in 30 countries, they are going to write the lyric in basic English. They suggest that they should use such words as “Hello, love, you, me, us, them, together, we”. They are wondering if it might be possible to use some of those words in different languages and are receptive to the idea that words such as “love”, “together”, etc. might be shown on large cards at appropriate moments in several languages”.

The BBC/broadcasters briefing meeting on 4 June 1967 to co-ordinate the international co-operation for the Our World Broadcast

The lyrics sheet given to the cameramen before broadcast. They were not impressed. On being told the Beatles wrote the music, they only asked "did they write the words as well?"

“...the day before, the doors were thrown open for a free-for-all picture session, at which I managed to have a quick word with — PAUL: Someone’s just asked if I’m leaving the group. And there seems to be another rumour I’m moving. Both are very wrong. I’ve just finished my house and like it a lot. No, I haven’t bought a kilt yet. GEORGE: We will do a TV show before we do a film. Nothing new to tell you about the film project. No script yet. RINGO: My garden is looking great now. Got some of my building men to help the gardening contractor and everything’s okay. JOHN: This song will be our next single. This TV show will give it a nice send-off.

Indeed, with some 6,500 TV workers and 1,000,000 miles of telephone wire working for the disc, it couldn’t be bad!” - - Andy Gray, NME

“When the musicians and TV crew took a meal break the Beatles tried out the musical instruments left lying around [...] Ringo and George try the trumpets, whilst Paul has a go at the trombone and John plays Jack Emblow’s accordion. In the background, in the left side far corner, the large weight box on the back of the Mole Crane is visible, with one of the white painted Murphy TV monitors on its trolley over on the right of the picture.” - - David Taylor, Postfade

“The BBC want a live trail”, Derek told me suddenly over my intercom. No one knew this had been planned, in fact to this day few people seem to know that such a promotion ever took place. [...]

“I had a few words with each of them in turn. What was the song called? Whose idea had it been? (“His”, they said, pointing to each other). And then I put the question to John that was intriguing me. Ninety-five percent of all popular music is in 4-time, but there was more than a hint of unfamiliar 7-time in “All You Need ls Love“.

“Did you know your song was in 7-time?” I asked. I still remember the cool, serious look he gave me as he replied, “Yes, I know”. Then he indicated Paul, adding “- but blame him”.

“Paul himself, alert as ever, noticed how, against my own instincts, I was trying to inject some breezy gaiety into the proceedings. He spoke encouragingly in my ear. “Yock it up, Steve ! ” he said. He knew that it was my preference to be in the narrator’s box doing a technical job, rather than “yocking it up”. I duly yocked.”

“This was the biggest group in the world, but when they went to the canteen, it was just four guys having a cup of tea. Underneath it all, these were ordinary guys who were in a band.” - - David Magnus (photographer)

“There was a real party atmosphere, similar to what we had witnessed during previous real ‘happenings’, but Richard and I were struck by how visibly nervous John was, which was quite unusual for him: we’d never seen him wound up so tightly.” - - Geoff Emerick

“I did sense that John in particular felt rather apprehensive the nearer to transmission we got. However George seemed to be enjoying the moment, while Ringo and Paul showed no apprehension whatsoever.” - - David Magnus

______________________________

Almost this entire post is stolen from postfade.co.uk, written by David Taylor. It's a wonderful write up because it's only actually interested in the cameras used and the technical setup, but it's so interested in those that it covers every moment in glorious detail and pulls together lots of quotes. If you're interested in the ins and outs of outside broadcasting, oh my. There's a cut out diagram of the OB scanner van, and they've taken the video of the entire broadcast and marked up up to show the different camera shots and cuts and equipment used. There's a bit where they read in a book that some of the broadcast wasn't live, and so the author tracks down who wrote that and he says he copied it from Mark Lewisohn, so they track down ML and ask him why he wrote that and ML can't remember but says 'I wouldn't have written it down if there wasn't evidence for it', which they think is a bit weak, so they decide not to believe it. It's nice to see them belittling ML's lifework because they want to believe in the magic of live outside broadcasting, the same way we do when we want to believe in love.

[dont-f-with-moogles]

Hi Terra Darling ❤️

Festive fic request with prompt number 6 "family invited an old crush/first love to a dinner party" for Levihan

My headcanons for this prompt:

Hange or Hange's family invites Zeke to a dinner party & Levi is far from happy OR fed up by Levi being single for a long time, Kuchel invites Hange to a dinner party OR Levi or Hange or their family invites an old crush (Zeke/Erwin/Petra, pick one) & it turns out they both used to date him/her lol OR you come up with your own because it will be amazing whatever you decide!!

Happy holidays 🎄❄️

Now or Never (Part 2) Characters: Levi x Petra; Levi x Hange; Mike x Nanaba Word Count: 2188 words

The dining room lay almost bare. No photographs adorned the walls; their ornaments were still wrapped in paper, stored in boxes upstairs. Even the low, wooden dining table didn’t quite suit this new room.  As he sipped his wine Levi considered how it had once sat in Mike and Nanaba’s old flat, centrally occupying the square-shaped space. The table still proudly displayed the tiny tree which Hange had bought for the couple as a flat-warming present over a year ago. Of course, they had never planned to live there forever. This new dining room was longer and in want of furniture to fit it. Its walls were a pale, non offensive shade of magnolia - the exact choice of homeowners intending to cover over the marks - the mistakes - they had once made before moving on. Mike was pouring refills into their glasses. Levi placed a hand over his whilst, beside him, Petra quietly accepted.

“Come on…” Mike urged, “you’re getting the train back right?”

“I’ll take a tea instead.”

“We’ll put the kettle on after dinner.”

Reluctantly, he removed his hand.

“This it then?” Levi’s eyes shifted to the empty seat beside Mike. Of course, if they had been expecting more than two guests, then there would be a fifth floor cushion set out. Despite his uncertainty, Levi’s shoulders relaxed a little. He had experienced the same gnawing sensation when he and Petra had arrived at their house. Removing their shoes at the door, Levi had glanced down to see several discarded pairs beside theirs. He had assumed that someone had arrived before them, only to discover that they were the first.

“Yeah,” Mike replied, “Hange got caught up with an assignment as usual. Something about a deadline.” 

Levi exhaled through his nose. He doubted that very much.

His hand brushed Petra’s shoulder with renewed reassurance as Nanaba appeared in the doorway. The fragrant scent of spices seemed to waft after her.

“The rice will be done in five minutes,” she announced. “Hope you guys are hungry!” “Can’t wait,” Levi commented, “... and nice place you’ve got here. What’s it like living somewhere with two floors?”

“Ah you know, it’s better than being cooped up in the flat.” Nanaba shared a sentimental glance with Mike. “We’ll miss it… but this is better. Even if we’ve got some decorating to do!”

She smiled over at Petra, who was nodding along politely despite not having been part of this previous era… an era of small apartments, of Mike and Nanaba as university graduates… of Levi and… Hange.

“So, how was your holiday? Where did you say you-” Nanaba frowned, reaching over to grab her phone from the side table. “Sorry - hold that thought. Hello?” 

“It was so beautiful…. and just nice to spend time with family you know?” Petra continued to address Mike in Nanaba’s absence. “I’m sorry that I missed out on your New Year’s party though! I heard it was a fun night…”

Levi took a long sip of his wine.

“I don’t know if you’d call it much of a party,” Mike chuckled, “Nana and I were asleep just after midnight so we missed the excitement… guess you’ll have to ask Levi.”

“Hange’s outside!” Nanaba reappeared just as Levi knocked his glass sharply against the table. “Apparently they made their deadline after all.”

There came the sound of a door closing, followed by footsteps in the hall. Petra gave Levi’s arm a little squeeze. He smiled at her in response, though with a warmth which did not quite reach his eyes.

Voices echoed outside; Hange fawning over the staircase and laughing with Nanaba about the previous owner’s choice of carpet. Levi’s jaw set. Then, both of them emerged in the doorway.

“Evening!” Hange beamed around at them. Briefly, their eyes met Levi’s before they glanced away. “Sorry for almost flaking!”

“Why quit the habit of a lifetime?” Mike teased. Levi reached for his wine again. His mouth felt parched; his tongue lay heavy and useless. He craved water - something hydrating - rather than more alcohol.

“Nice to see you again Petra.” Hange gave a little bow of their head as Nanaba dragged another floor seat over to the table. “Heard you’ve just come back from your travels! Was it a good trip?”

“Oh yes, it was so beautiful and relaxing. The new year is the best time to go…”

Levi listened intently to Petra’s story for a second time, refusing to allow his eyes to stray from her face. 

“...but it’s a shame I couldn’t spend New Year’s with you guys.”

Casually, Hange picked up the glass of wine which Mike had just poured. 

“Oh you know, it was a quiet one in the end. Nothing much happened.”

Levi stared at them, utterly astounded by their nonchalance on the subject. 

“Mike said you were all asleep just after midnight!”

“Well, Levi and Hange were up, weren’t you? Mike said he heard you both-” Nanaba walked in with a pot of steaming rice, just as Levi’s floor seat lurched out.

“Whoa!” Petra turned to her left. “Levi, what’s the hurry?”

“Seat got caught on the rug,” he lied. His eyes flew to Hange’s face who appeared quite composed by comparison. They blew out a little sigh as they lifted their glass again.

Nanaba set down the pot of rice. “No jogging the table. I’ve slaved away at this!”

Mike raised his eyebrows as Nanaba began serving heaped spoons onto plates. Petra received hers gratefully. Levi was just thankful to have something to occupy his hands.

“This smells amazing…” Hange praised her. “I love curry rice!”

“So… you had a late night, huh Levi?” Not to be deterred, Petra had rerouted from Hange’s interjection to their earlier conversation. She grinned at Levi expectantly over her plate of food. As he opened his mouth to explain, Mike cut in with a rumble of low laughter.

“Oh yeah… took him years but he finally got Hange where he’d always wanted them.”

Levi dropped his plate on the table, spilling rice onto its wooden surface

“Yeah…” Mike continued as Petra’s head whipped round, “...never thought we’d see the day, but there the two of them were, getting busy-”

Horrified, Levi willed Petra to look away from him as he frantically tried to scrape up rice grains from the wooden tabletop. He could feel her eyes on him; the more she stared, the more the tips of his ears burned. 

“- at the sink.” Mike took a large spoonful of rice and curry, savouring its flavour alongside his own unendurable comedy. “Who would have thought you’d finally get Hange to wash a plate?”

Hange’s forced laugh was lost in the more genuine giggles from Nanaba and Petra. Although the threat which had been silently hanging over Levi had not fallen yet, he could still feel it swaying over his head. He set his spoon down on the side of his plate and let his trembling hand fall into his lap. 

“...yeah, I heard you doing the dishes,” Mike explained as the laughter around the table died away, “...at like, four in the morning.”

“Well, a little cleaning up is the least you guys could do, seeing as you all insisted on staying at my place,” Levi muttered bitterly.

“You know we appreciated you sharing your floor with us!” Nanaba sighed, widening her eyes.

“...and some of us even got to share your bed,” Mike teased Levi again with a hearty wink.

“Gunther,” Levi told Petra automatically.  He reached for his wine again. By this point, he was going to need several refills to endure the rest of the evening.

“...I’m guessing he wasn’t who you really wanted sleeping next to you that night… huh, Levi?” Nanaba joined in, much to Petra’s delighted ‘shh-ing!’

Levi waved away their jokes again, his mouth twisted as though he was being forced to chew on tiny white grubs rather than rice. As he lifted his head he caught Hange’s eye again… and held their look. 

This was dangerous. 

That same rising dread intensified; remained suspended over Levi as he continued doggedly through one of the most excruciating dinners of his life. And yet, there was something which threatened to consume him whole; a feeling caught halfway between fear and fascination. Like oil and water, his conflicted emotions lay beside one another; equal parts danger and desire. They could never be reconciled, but only hold firmer in the presence of one another. Ever since New Year’s, something had started to take form… something that any and all other distractions hadn’t managed to douse…

Levi felt the brush of gentle fingers on his wrist. Petra was smiling at him. He closed his hand over hers, watching as their fingers lay entwined upon his knee. He couldn’t look at Hange again.

“What was it you said that night, Levi?” Nanaba continued, “just this once, then then never again?”

Levi’s thumb stroked over Petra’s knuckles as his mind drifted back to that night. He didn’t want to remember the warmth of the blanket enclosed around his body and Hange’s. He didn’t want to breathe in their scent; to feel the heat lifting from their cheeks; to have his throat run dry as they drew towards him…

“Levi, we can sleep here and never talk about this again. Or…”

Back in the present, Levi squeezed Petra’s hand.

“And I meant it…” he managed huskily, “...you guys can stay at a hotel next time.”

In part it was due to his own habit, but also out of a desire to extract himself from the table, as Levi took up their empty plates. He carried the dishes out to the kitchen and set them beside the sink. For a moment he gazed through their kitchen window at the view of Mike and Nanaba’s new neighbourhood. Rows of detached, two-storey houses stood adorned with gleaming windows and wooden balconies. The pair of them had taken the next step of their journey… their wedding was to follow in a few months…

Behind him there came the tinkling of glass and the sound of a door closing. Levi glanced over his shoulder.

“Um… just getting more wine.” Hange lifted the bottle they had taken from the fridge. Levi uttered a throaty sound halfway between a cough and a derisive snort.

“Sure as fuck you weren’t coming to wash these up…” Levi glowered at them until Hange took a step closer. They set their glass down beside Levi’s stack of plates. Through the open door and across the hall they could both hear the chatter of the other guests.

Levi turned away and began to run the water. Behind, Hange poured a little more wine into their glass. He couldn’t help but turn his head again. Hange was checking the label as they set the bottle down. With a sigh Levi lifted a plate and sank it into the dishwater, missing Hange’s eyes as they moved over him.

“Levi… do you want…”

He shifted around again to look at them. His mouth dried up before he could speak. He took in Hange’s broad shoulders beneath their white shirt; the deep, rich brown of their imploring eyes… There was always something so earnest, so fearless in their expression.

Levi’s eyes remained upon their face.

“...I’ll leave the bottle here.” They turned to leave the room, but stopped after taking a step. When they spoke again, their tone was low, conspiratorial.

“You know I won’t say anything, right…?” 

Levi felt a ripple of tension travel down his arms. His hand seized up; the brush he was holding clattered onto the kitchen floor.

“Anyway, nothing happened that night…” Hange gave a little laugh without a trace of humour in it, “...after all, you made it pretty clear what you wanted.”

Slowly, they began to approach him.

“Just like I have to… right now.” Hange was smiling at him, a gentle blush dusting their cheeks. “You know when it’s your shot right? Now or never…”

The air itself lay thick and heavy. Levi was rooted to the spot, his mind clouded with them as they took another step. Oil and water. They couldn’t-  Petra was seated in the next room, laughing with their friends.

Again, he remembered the blanket that had embraced them as they lay together on his couch. Levi could feel their warm breath on his mouth. It was just the two of them under night’s black canopy, threaded with the lights of a million stars. Whilst the rest of the world had slept, they had lain so closely together… they had almost…

“So Levi…” 

Hange’s lip trembled before their jaw set. Behind their glasses, their eyes were glazed with a love so profound that it took Levi’s breath away. 

“If I told you now that… despite it all… bad timing, lack of communication, people and work and life getting in the way… despite my initial hypothesis and all the test runs in my head… my findings are still the same.”

Hange took a shuddering breath.

“You are all I ever wanted. That’s… what I’ve decided.”

He felt their fingers trace his shirt sleeve.

“...what about you, Levi?”

Part 1: Now or Never (NSFW)

[midnightstay-blog]

6+9 with svt dokyeom he/him please?

Sure ! 😊 I hope you like it. It's my first time writing for he/ him pronouns.

💫Muse💫 (Requested)

Au 🌕| Fluff 🌙 | Male Reader 💙 | Request💫 | Scenario ✨

TW: Mentions of Alcohol

Genre: Dokyeom x male reader

Theme: Friends x lovers, Photographer x muse, A little bit of jealousy.

Rating Pg13

Word count: 2,482

Summary: after being invited to Dk's showing at a gallery the night takes an unexpected turn for the better.

Click, Click, Click the camera went as you posed for what seemed like the 13th time that day. You were currently in the middle of a photoshoot for a prominent magazine. Though you loved being a model you’d be lying if you said that you weren’t tired. The only thing that made this time worth it though is that you were being photographed by Dokyeom. You guys had been friends since college, and he was an amazing talent to say the lease.

“Can you please hold still I swear I have one more shot then you can go change and we’ll be done for the day.” He said.

He smiled at you the same as when you first met, and your heart began to flutter a little. See you had always had a little crush on Dk since orientation when he walked into your school’s auditorium and accidentally tripped on the last two steps. You wanted to go and help him up, but some girl had already beat you two it. The two of them seemed pretty chummy so you shrugged and found a seat next to your friend. You didn’t see him again after that until you became roommates during your second semester. You grew close pretty quickly and had been friends ever since. Soon he was done and you thanked him along with the other staff members as you went to your dressing room and changed.  Moments later as you reemerge you notice dk putting away the last of his equipment. Place your duffle bag on a near by stool you help him as he begins to disassemble the last soft box light.

“Thanks.” He said while rubbing his hands together.

“No problem be sides it looked kind of heavy.” You pointed out. You go to your bag and pull out a pack of fruit snacks offering him one. Accepting it he opens it and begins to consume its contents. “Hey, you know Josh is gonna be in town today if you want to have dinner with us.” He offered.

“Really that’s great I didn’t know he was back already I figured he was still in Korea working with that one company.”

“He was but I guess they wrapped up early, so he booked an earlier flight back to see family.” Dk stated.

“He gets in later tonight, so I won’t see him until after my exhibition at the gallery.

You nod at his statement before popping the last fruit snack in your mouth.

“Oh, that reminds me.” He states while reaching into his bag and pulling out a flyer.

“I’m having an exhibit of some of my work later and I wanted to know if you could come?” He asks sheepishly.

You take the flyer from his hand and examine its contents as happiness begins to fill you.

“Dude I’m so proud of you.” You state hugging him.

“Thanks, but it’s no big deal.” He says waving his hand dismissively.

“No big deal dude your work is going to be shown at one of the biggest galleries in the city it’s a huge deal.” You speak.

Dokyeom begins to feel sheepish as you continue to praise him. Though he was used to being praised strangers it always felt different when it came from the people, he was closest too.

“And to answer your question I would be honored to come support you on your big night.”  You declared.

The two of you exchange a bit more details before saying your goodbyes.

Later on, that evening you arrive to the gallery dressed in your best suit. The building is full of different people from the industry from other models to ceo’s and even a few producers. Life just seemed to pour from the building as you made your way inside. Soon you were met by a member of the wait staff who offered you a glass of champagne along with one of the many assorted cheeses that they had in rotation for the night. Accepting you thank them and make your way over to the first photograph that hanged in the corner of the gallery. You recognized it as the coffee shop that the two of you used to frequent while in college. However, instead of it’s warmth interior being present it seemed colder. Maybe because it was in black and white or possible because the shadow that is present in the center seemed to all but stand still as the people around it moved back and forth in the form of blurs. Either way you found yourself emersed in the piece.

“Enjoying the show?” a voice states pulling you from your trance.

Turning you notice the presents of a young man no more than maybe 28 years old standing next to you. “Oh yes very much how about you?” you inquire.

“I think the works are gorgeous Just like you.” He states wrapping his hand around his silver wristwatch.

He was gorgeous to say the least probably one of those nepo babies that you hear about all of the time. His outfit certainly seemed like it cost a lot. For a moment he catches you staring at him, and he turns away blushing a bit. Not wanting him to get the wrong idea you clear your throat before continuing trying to cut through the awkwardness.

“You know he’s a personal friend of mine the artist. We’ve been friends since college.” You mention trying your best to make small talk. The woman grins as she takes a step forward. “Well then maybe you could introduce us sometime.” she inquires.  “I mean besides if he must be a pretty great to have a friend as handsome as you.” She states before lightly placing a hand on your chest. You begin to feel a bit uncomfortable with the way the conversation is going so you decide to let her down as gently as possible. However, before you can Dk makes his way over to the two of you and takes your hand.

“Babe there you are I’ve been looking for you all night where have you been.” He questions. You are taken off guard by the name but welcome it along with the warm feeling that has formed in your chest. Briefly you look between the two before adjusting your tie a little and speaking up. “Sorry Kyeomie I just really wanted to see this picture that you took it so captivatingly beautiful.” You tell him.  He gives mutters a small thanks before placing a small peck on your cheek and turning back to the woman.

“Who is this?” He inquires. Blinking a few times, you bring yourself back to reality before continuing.  “Oh, this is...” you trail off before remembering that you never got her name.”

“I’m Mason … Mason Evington” he says shaking dk’s hand.

“Oh, that’s right your dad owns two of the biggest art galleries in the world.” He nods in agreement.

“I didn’t know you two were together. “He states as red creeps onto her face showcasing her embarrassment.

“it’s relatively new “dk states grabbing your hand and interlacing your fingers.  “Apologies I didn’t introduce myself I’m Dokyeom but everyone calls me Dk.” He states smiling wide. Realization sets in as He begins to recognize him as the artist. Noticing her error, the redness in her face darkens slightly.

 “I love your work. I think you have a great eye for details.” he tells him. Dk nods understandingly before he mutters a small thank you.

“Well, it was lovely to meet you but if you don’t mind, I’d like to barrow him from you show him some more of my work.” Dk proposes before leading you towards the back of the gallery.  Mason nods before biding you both goodbye and making her way to a different section of the gallery. For a moment the two of you walk around and look at the different photographs as you continue to mingle with all kinds of people. After a while you get used to having his hand in yours and for a moment you even allow yourself to dream of what life would be like if this moment were a bit more permanent. However, after a while you let go of Dk’s hand as he is talking to another photographer about a job that he did in Paris last spring. You find yourself wandering for a bit until you stumble upon a particular photograph. It was a picture of you that he took once when you were at the beach. You, however, were too busy helping baby turtles into the water for to notice him taking it.

“Here you are.” He stated placing his hands into his pockets. “You must really like this one.” He inquires.

“I didn’t even know you took it.” you stated. “it’s beautiful.”

“It’s you” he stated.  You both sat there for a moment drinking in the sight before you. After a while you speak up breaking the silence. “Thanks for earlier by the way.” You state turning towards him.

 “Yeah, no problem.” “You just looked kind of uncomfortable so I figured you could use some saving.” He shrugs. “Plus, I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

Silence hangs there a little longer as dk’s words began to play over and over in your head.  However, your thoughts are interrupted as dk breaks the silence this time. “We should get going Joshua is supposed to be meeting us for dinner soon.” Nodding in agreement Dk thanks everyone for coming before the two of you make your way towards the exit.

For a while the two of you walk towards the restaurant as you recount many memories from college. After some time, the two of you make it to the restaurant just in time to be seated.  Through you had never been to this restaurant you found it quite fancy for a couple of friends just catching up.  The tables were draped in white floor length cloths while lights hanged from the ceiling.  On the table was a small tea light and a basket of bread. After being seated your waitress came back to take your drink orders. Deciding to wait for Joshua to order you both just end up ordering drinks from the bar before going back to your original topic of conversation. After while about 30 minutes had passed before Dk’s phone dinged.  Retrieving it from his pocket he unlocks it before examining the text message. Disappointment dresses his features briefly before he speaks.

“Looks like Josh’s plane got delayed by an hour, so he won’t make dinner, but he said that he’d call us tomorrow once he got settled.”  

Giving a small okay he puts his phone back in his pocket before calling the waitress back over and the two of you order. Sometime later you finish your meal and by this point you both are feeling a bit buzzed from your drinks. At this point You try to pay the check but dk objects stating that he should pay since dinner was initially his idea. However, you turn him down and take out your card stating that it’s his big night and to consider it a gift. Once the check is paid you both leave, and he begins to walk you home. As you are walking you somehow make it onto the topic of dating. He tells you how he only really had two serious relationships since college. Though you look at him in disbelief.

“You’re kidding right only two… Seriously?” you state in disbelief.

“Seriously.” he tells you as a rat makes its way through one of the many rain puddles on the ground.

“What about that girl from orientation or the one from that time we went to the beach?” You inquired.

“Okay first off that girl from orientation was gay and two the one from the beach wasn’t even my type.” He stated walking through another puddle.

“Oh, so mister man has a type I see.” You tease.

“What like you don’t?” he inquires.

“Oh, I have a type.” You state as the two of you make your way to your building.

Silence falls upon you for what seemed like the millionth time that evening.

“Well, this is me.” You state before making your way towards the door. However, before you make your way inside Dk mutters a small “Wait” Turing around you look at him while standing in your doorway. A frustrated sigh leaves his lips before he speaks again. “I haven’t been completely honest with you tonight.” He states shoving his hands in his pockets.

“What do you mean?” you questioned.

He takes a moment to compose his thoughts before taking a deep breath and continuing.

“I genuinely don’t know why my brain just goes blank when I look at you. I think I’m going a little crazy.” He admits.

You stare at him in confusion waiting for him to continue.

“Earlier tonight when we were at my showing, and I came over to you and that guy.”  You nod in response remembering the awkward interaction. “Well, I didn’t do it as a concerned friend I was actually kind of well… jealous a little.” He said truthfully.

You go to speak but he cuts you off.

“Admittedly if I’m being honest with myself, I’ve had feelings for you since that day at the beach.”

You take a moment letting his words soak in as you heart begins to pick up speed. Though this moment is all that you wanted for the past couple of years you never imagined it would happen like this.

“Why didn’t you say something then?”

“I figured you didn’t feel the same.” He shrugged.  “Plus, you were spending so much time with Mingyu I just assumed that-.”

“That I was into him.” You finished. He nods as his eyes become doughy.

For a moment you tilt your head toward the ground before a light chuckle escapes your lips.

“Mingyu was my partner but not in that way.” You tell him while meeting his gaze.

“He was assigned to be a model for my figure drawing class that’s why we spent so much time together that semester.”

Feeling a little embarrassed at his assumption Dk places his hand on his neck rubbing it slightly.

Placing your hand on his face his eyes meet yours. “And for the record I had feelings for you ever since I saw you trip at orientation.” You mention. A smile makes its way to Dokyeoms face as his hand met yours.

 “I only tripped because I was trying to capture a picture of you.”  He sheepishly admits.

The both of you chuckle a little before closing the gap between you. Shortly after you pull apart before dk takes the chance to speak up once again.

“I guess you could say you’ve always been my muse.”

Request are open

[lesbianlotties]

Ronancetober Day 4: Horror Movie AU - The Conjuring AU

Note: It is NOT important if you haven't watched the movies before.

But, for a little bit of context: There are 3 Conjuring movies (+ 3 Annabelle movies + The Nun movie (and The Curse of La Llorona counts too, okay?!)) They are about Ed and Lorraine Warren (they were real people but we're only focusing on the movies) paranormal investigators aka fighting demons, performing exorcisms, loving each other, being a girlboss/malewife couple. Lorraine has spooky visions and Ed loves her very much.

This is based on the third movie, set in 1981, Ed and Lorraine Robin and Nancy are certified ghostbusters milfs. Let's go!

read all 11k words of it on AO3: although I was burning, you're the only light

By 1981, Robin and Nancy had worked as paranormal investigators for over ten years, and they had been in love for much longer than that. Their house was a notoriously comfortable and warm place. Neither of them was the best at staying particularly tidy. Robin, because it wasn’t in her nature. Nancy, because she always had something more important to do. But, somehow, the mismatched furniture, the books strewn on every surface, the decorations that were a result of many years of gifts from their closest friends and people they had helped, it worked for them. It felt like a second home to everyone that was invited inside. That was one of the reasons why Steve felt so uneasy at the sight of the extremely uninviting basement door. It was a notoriously robust door, with a concerning amount of locks on the side, and a handful of warning signs on it.

While Robin worked methodically on unlocking the door, Nancy turned toward Steve and said, “Steve Harrington, welcome to the Buckley-Wheeler museum.”

“Thank you,” Steve chuckled, and followed his two best friends inside, “That’s a little overdramatic. I mean, I helped build the shelves and- holy shit, okay, yeah, I hadn’t been here in a while. It’s fucking creepy guys, what’s wrong with you?”

“You don’t like it?” Robin pouted, but her act was sabotaged by her own laughter. “It’s not meant to be pretty, dingus. This is a carefully arranged collection of mementos from each and every one of our cases. Every object has been blessed before and after joining the museum. A priest visits us every month to bless the entire house and especially the basement. We remember everything about every case and every trinket and okay, we might forget some details and no, I don’t particularly like everything we keep here, but it’s the safest place and-”

“Don’t touch that,” Nancy hissed. Her hand flew with shocking speed to grab Steve’s wrist before his fingertips could even graze the glass of the box where they kept locked a terrifying and hideous little doll. “A single touch could wake up any sort of evil force that we put to sleep years ago. And trust me, you don’t want to deal with her.”

Steve froze until Nancy let go of his wrist. He lowered his hand slowly and stared at the lifeless eyes and malicious red smile of that broken porcelain face for a second longer. “Okay, sorry. No touching, I got it. It’s just- damn is that a samurai suit?!“

“Steve,” Robin said, snapping her fingers and bringing him back to the tour of the museum. “Focus, buddy. We brought you here for one very specific reason. Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready,” Steve said with a grin as the three of them slowly approached the back of the room, glancing at all kinds of random cursed objects. The pair of coins, the broken piano, the pictures, the television, the children's toys, the plastic monkeys, the foggy mirrors, and the music box. “We’ve been working together for years,” Steve added proudly, “You guys are the reason I have cameraman, photographer, kicking down doors and screaming for my life in my resume.”

Robin chuckled, “As if you had a resume.”

“Guys,” Nancy interrupted them with a pointed look and tilted her head to the wall. “Steve, remember your first case with us?”

Steve’s breath hitched. He stared at the letters on the wall and the Christmas lights organized on top of them. Part of him expected the lights to start blinking again as a helpless little boy begged for help from someplace that Steve still didn’t understand. “The Byers,” he sighed.

“The Byers, 1971, right here in Hawkins,” Nancy nodded.

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

Drabbles of how I would handle Evil Mickey in a universe like the Chip and Dale Universe

Authors Notes: Cameos of OC kiddos are also here, but they add a bit of a kick needed to spice things up, Goofy may be OOC due to how he's treating Max. But I figure if he can be the nice guy, he'd also be the ass kisser who does everything Mickey says, even when it comes to his own kid,

Again these are drabbles of me messing around with the idea,

.

.

He eyed Donald, taking a drag of his cigarette, this was a challenge, fine if the duck wanted to play he'd do the same,

“I mean, I was the one to first show you love.” He said slowly, the duck looking down, bingo the achilles heel”You're just not my type. That's the unfortunate nature of Love, besides you have Jose and Panchito now, and I have Minerva. So we both don't want this to end up....messy. Behave or else I will make this very messy,

Donald nodded straightening, as Mickey sighed taking another drag before letting smoke roll out as he questioned,

“You said you had something important to tell me?”

“ Goofy's son-”

An eyebrow raised as the toon tapped the cigarette on the ashtray,

"Oh that one? The one that has been snooping around Yakko Warner, getting cozy with him and his siblings,” he tossed down a folder full of photographs and notes,”They aren't subtle, my private mice investigators sniffed them out almost immediately... you know how we feel about crossing”

The duck toon swallowed, as the mouse shrugged,

“He can keep his little tryst if he wants, but he is no longer a Disney if he wants anything further if he wants to be a Warner he'll be a Warner. Isn't that right Goofy?”

The mouse looked over his shoulder to the said Dog toon who was working the accounting books. He nodded, averting his eyes as he answered,

“I only apologize that I did not teach him better. You know I've taught him that Crossing is forbidden,”

Donald rolled his eyes muttering,

"But you may want to hurry. He's already crossed a line that you would infuriate you.”

The mouse's eyes gleamed, a simmering malice hidden behind a false smile, Goofy also rumbled out in a dangerously low voice,

“What did he do?”

The duck produced a sheet of paper, setting it down and sliding it over,

“I snagged this off of his phone sir,”

The mouse scooped it up, reading the messenges,his hand slowly fisting crumpling the paper before he shoved it at Goofy,

“Get Iger now. Max is no longer welcome at our company. Stupid brat," he side eyed the dog toon," I told you and Marcy that you should have kept trying. There's always been something wrong about that boy, unfortunately,”

Goof looked disappointed at the paper, as Donald left the room to grab the human CEO, as Mickey growled,

“Disney must stay pure, Disney Toons with Disney toons. I don't care if your LGBTQ or not, it must be Disney though. I am happy for Donald and his family. He may have not chose Daisy but at least he chose Panchito and Jose who are Disney's, Max has stepped out of line.”

Goofy again nodded as Bob and Donald walked in,

“Donald says we have a Mainstay out of line?”

The father handed the human the paper as Mickey slid the photos across his desk, Iger sighing as he looked through it in annoyance, saying

“I'll get a hold of the Warner CEOs,”

Mickey only eyed him as the human left his office,

“I do believe, though, your son has a question for me, however. Maybe he will have good news,” he pressed a button as he lit another cigarette, putting it in his mouth as he pulled the folder towards himself. He stood up, going to a filing cabinet tucking it away. As Camilo walked in, he smiled,

“Ah Camilo my boy, please do tell me you bring this Mouse good news,”

The rooster hybrid bowed his head as the Mouse walked to his desk and sat down,

“Depending on how you react to my question. I knew I must ask your permission Tio Mickey,” he pulled out a box it was a beautiful blue velvet, Mickey eyed it”I would love to ask your Daughter for her hand sir,”

Donald swallowed, but a bright smile crossed the mouses face

“Of course I give my blessing Camilo! You are the jewel of my Princesses eye, thank you Donald for raising him properly. May I see the ring?”

Camilo nodded returning the smile and opened it,

“Only the best for Marian, a Fire Opal from a Mexican Mine surrounded by 2 5 carat blue diamonds,”

Mickey eyed it with a smile, oh it would do very nicely for his princess,

“Stunning, it must have cost you.”

“Money's nothing when it comes to your baby girl,”

Mickey grinned, tossing him a cigar,

“And that's why I welcome you to our Family, those were imported from Cuba.”

Donald's eyes reflected relief, that was practically a your my son now from the mouse, Camilo smoothly caught the cigar and tucked it into his coat pocket,

“May I request sir, I need the assistance of the Parks for the idea of the proposal.”

“Tell me son, what is your plan.”

Marian grinned as she waved to her adoring crowd as she slipped between them heading for the backstage area where Camilo met her, they shared a kiss joining hands as they headed for the break room,

“ are you doing okay sweetheart, is your leg bothering you?” He questioned seeing her limp a bit as they walked,

“Yeah, it's bugging me. But I'm not the only one that deals with it,” She answered as they entered she chose a seat against the back wall” especially our wonderful cast members,”They all gave her smiles which she returned,

The mouse reached down and popped off her leg carefully rolling off the liner and rubbing the stump, Camilo handing her a towel, reaching into her bag grabbing a salve she used and then the powder,

“So you ready for the kick off of the Holidays tonight?”

Marian had a smile and nodded,

“Absolutely! Are my coworkers also excited?”

They cheered. Some had smiles she knew were forced, but she really didn't care. They signed up for this job, and they could deal with it, she thought as she powdered her leg and put the liner on

“Let me my princess” Camilo purred as he guided the prosthetic back on and into place,

“Thank you my dear Prince,” She smiled as he stood up and stole a kiss from her,

“Of course, now back to your adoring crowd.”

Walter Mouse leaned over the control console,

“2,4,2” he said"Lights!”

The stage illuminated as his Dad walked on with Minnie beside with Marian and Eleanor following,

“ Donald and Daisy is go,”

The duo followed putting on smiles as they stood behind the Family

“Goofy,”

Then the dog toon appeared also with a bright smile as they did the choreography, his Parents meeting at the front Minnie holding up mistletoe and they shared a kiss to the cheers of the family's especially as his Dad played it up putting on a surprised expression. Now, for Marian and Camilo, as the two skipped up, he spun her before he got on one knee, producing the box

The cheering escalated, as she turned and gasped hands flying to her mouth,

Mike and Cameras , Marian, Camilo

He called, the speakers picking up,

“Our Princess of Wonder Marian Mouse, will you do me the honor of being my fairytale, will you marry me?”

“Yes! Of course my Prince!” She cried out for everyone to hear,

The cheers were outlandish as he stood up and slid the ring onto her finger and they shared a kiss, Mickey could be spotted wrapping an arm around Donald, the pair held up their intertwined hands

Camera on hand then on them,

He watched the team do so before Marian and Camilo stepped back, Mickey stepped forwards

Camera on Boss, track track Mike now

“What a wonderful year at our parks! And now my baby girl is getting married, I've already seen Camilo as my son but now it's official he will be my Son in Law and I look forward to seeing the beautiful life they build!” He crowed

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

A little Yax for those fans

.

.

Max froze as he felt arms grip him and he was practically drug to Mickey's office and tossed in,

“Maximilian,” the low voice greeted him,

“Oh joy, I was wondering how long it'd take your rats to find out,” he rumbled, dusting himself off glaring at his father in the corner. His father met the look in equal

“How dare you Maximilian” he finally snarled dangerously ”Crossbreeding with a Warner? Have I not taught you the Rules?”

Mickey merely held up a hand, instantly Goofy tucked himself back into his work,

“Sometimes kids disobey, but you know the consequences.” He pressed a button,”Bring them in,”

Max turned, he hoped Yakko understood if he disappeared it wasn't him. He prayed to Tex that he wouldn't meet the same fate as his mother by the Dip, but as 2 Human CEOs stepped in he realized as they said,

“ You say you have a Toon for sale.”

And saw the mouse motion towards him, sweetly saying,

“This one has started a family with one of yours a Yakko Warner, he said he'd prefer being a Warner then a Disney,”

What they were here for as the pair circled him, like vultures. Max side eyed them, as the more slender of the 2 purred

“Son of one of the Disney Mainstay, oh yes we will take this opportunity. We can throw you to your partner and his siblings, maybe you can help keep them under control.” before giving a feral grin that made Maxes fur bristle,

Goofy stood up, meeting his child's eyes,

“If I may speak sir” Mickey motioned that he could, as the other spoke clearly,

“You understand that he can't go under the Goof name, that's a trademark. You can keep Max but Goof that can no longer be your last name,”

He carefully stepped forwards with paperwork stamped with Denied over it, Maxes last name crossed out the humans shrugged,

“That's perfectly understandable, we will just have it be Warner. So he can blend in better,” They looked him up and down,”He better expect a redesign as well,”

“Oh he knows” Mickey said with that sickly smile as Goofy stood by his side,”Now if that's all,”

The pair nodded taking the offered packet and handing it to a guard who tucked it in a briefcase,

“Pleasure doing business,”

“And Max” Goofy tossed a key at him,”This is to the storage place, you know the one. Your stuffs there,”

He scoffed,

“The only good thing you've ever done. I will never be ashamed of loving who I do,” he flipped them off before walking out the humans scrambling to follow him,

As they got out of the building into the car parked out front one of the humans sighed and removed a mask revealing they weren't, the toon shook her hair carefully removing the eyes, blinking as she put the glasses back on,

“My name is Nora Rita, I work with Warner as the CEO of Animation, forgive us for that show,” She held a hand out stunning Max who looked around as the car drove off, ”No tricks, this is what we have to do when extracting Toons out of the Mouses Burrow,”

He finally accepted the handshake, as she looked to the other supposed human, a puff of smoke and the toon rabbit put his glasses on,

“I'm Rodney and yes I'm the Nesquik rabbit but I work for Warner on behalf of Bugs, my best friend. I work under Nora as Co-Ceo of Warner Animation. Bugs called me as soon as they contacted Nora,”

Maxes eyes widened, this was fully thought out and planned,

“As toons we can't show ourselves around him. We know he has power over us, we aren't stupid we know he keeps a barrel hidden,”

Max shrugged,

“But money talks, I honestly thought I was a goner like my mother,”

They looked sympathetic,

“Everyone knows that story. Nobody buys that it was an accident, but now you've completed her mission….you escaped,” Nora murmured as they pulled up to a familiar house,

Bugs and Daffy stood on the porch as Max and them stepped out, Yakko instantly running out of the house, checking him over with concern, he instantly responded

“I'm alright Yakko, I'm okay,”

“Thank Tex for that,” Yakko embraced him, Max bringing his arms around to hold him

“Let's go inside,” Bugs said smiling “Heya Rodney thanks for makin sure the kid was safe,”

Rodney side hugged him as they walked in

“Of course my brother! It's what us Warners do,”

Warner, that's what Max realized he was known as now as he sat in front of his new bosses now in the living room as Yakko cringed onto him, as he explained the inside secrets of Disney,

“He's a master Manipulator with a penchant for emotional abuse, he will never be caught doing anything illegal. And if he does” he tossed his old dismantled phone onto the table,”He's good at hiding the paw prints,”

Daffy whistled, as Bugs blanched

“Well kid we don't run things like that over here. Any reason you're going by Warner and not Goof?”

“They won't allow it”Nora sighed

Max pulled out the packet, stamped with denied on the front

“Crossing the tracks is the biggest no over there, so they even took the Goof last name in kicking me out,”

The duo stared,

“They found out about Yakko and thus here I am,"

[dokojuice]

six photos

A/N: I am a big big big fan of the theory that all vinsmoke boys were born with the genetic potential to be what judge envisioned them to be, but it was only activated later on in their respective lives. before that, they were real brothers

It was no more than a few days after they had gotten Niji and Yonji back from Big Mom did the news of the emperor’s defeat in Wano arrive at Germa. Holding the newspaper gingerly, the princess reads about the battle in Onigashima, along with interesting new bounties for the entire Straw Hat crew. Feeling proud of her little brother and his latest 1billion berry bounty, Reiju wanders the halls of her castle in Germa.

Judge had heard of the news of Sanji’s feats after leaving them once more with Niji’s ‘gift’ of his raid suit, resulting in his pride being ever so wounded over the prospect of his “failure son” possibly being his greatest creation, gone out of his hands - which means his attitude is insufferable, like that of a toddler throwing a fit.

As soon as they had landed on Germa with Ceasar, Reiju was happy that the gas-man had provided enough distraction for her to sneak away to her corner of the kingdom.

“Reiju-sama! Would you like me to prepare a bath for you?” One of her handmaids asked her, opening the large set of doors to her bedroom.

“No, thank you.” She says curtly, walking inside and giving the handmaid enough of a hint to close the door behind her without another word.

Stalking towards her window, she gazes out into the far courtyard, where scorch marks and broken concrete litter the ground. No doubt from Ceasar and Judge’s fight, but God knows where they are now.

She catches a glimpse of a large book sitting on her vanity, next to the box of inflammatory masks. She smiles, recollecting the first night Sanji was back.

He had stayed next to her for hours, clearly uncomfortable but he didn’t feel safer anywhere else. Reiju took it as a compliment.

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t bother me much so I doubt he’ll come looking for you here.” Reiju tells Sanji, walking over with a box in her hands.

“Don’t bother. I don’t want any shitty bachelor gifts. Especially from the likes of you guys.” Sanji grunts, eyeing the box wearily.

“Wow, don’t you remember what I did for you? I was the closest thing you had to an ally, and technically, I still am.” Reiju retorts with a smile, putting the box down and opening it, lifting a large leather-covered book.

“After Father imprisoned you, they cleared out Mother’s room.” She starts, and Sanji’s eyes widen. Any mention of his mother made his heart sink in sadness. He hadn’t even built up the courage to visit her grave since returning to Germa.

“Eponi gave me this in secret. It could have gotten her killed but she said it was Mother’s most prized possession.”

Handing it over to Sanji, he opens the book and sees it’s a photo album. The first page sporting a photograph of Sora and her five children in front of her. The same photo that was framed above her bed.

Eyes brimming, he begins to flip the pages.

“Remember when we were all friends?” Reiju says as Sanji looks at the second page.

Six photos, side by side in twos along the length of the page, showed Sanji and his siblings, back when he was proud enough to call them so.

They were no older than 5, toddlers, and smiling.

The first picture had Niji atop Ichiji’s shoulders, and Yonji atop Sanji’s. They two youngers were charging at each other with sticks as they were mounted atop their elders, like a makeshift jousting fight. They all had giant smiles on their faces, and Sanji distinctly remembers Yonji slapping the glasses off of Niji’s face while Niji’s stick flew up Yonji’s nose shortly after the camera flash. What the photo also didn’t capture was Ichiji and Sanji falling over backwards with their brothers’ weights, and Yonji’s piercing scream that echoed off the walls.

The next picture is taken from his mother’s point of view, a picture of him and Yonji next to her and smiling up at the camera from under her bedsheets, where they were hiding during a game of ‘hide and seek’. Niji was always the sorest loser so whenever he was the seeker, he told the guards around the castle to keep an eye out with him, ever the sour-sport. Sanji remembers how a guard came in and asked where the two were, and his mother replying with a coy smile that she hasn’t seen them.

Sanji remembers the guard. The thought crosses his mind that he may be dead now. Perhaps under the order of Niji.

“Fuck..” Sanji mutters heartbrokenly. A small whimper grows in the back of his throat as he continues.

The next photo was a shot of the boys playing with Nyasha, the cat still a baby. Due to it’s altered genetics, however, Nyasha was much larger than a normal cat, standing at about what Sanji’s height is now when they were children. He buries the thought of Judge using animals before using his sons for his testing into the deepest corner of his mind.

Sanji was sprawled atop Nyasha’s head with a smile, buried in her fur, while Niji was at his side and grappling one her ears, as if wrestling it. Ichiji was sitting cross-legged in front of her, patting her nose, and Yonji was holding on to her tail as she wagged it, sliding back and forth along the ground. His heinous giggles were practically sounding through the photo, ever the hyper.

“We had fun.” Reiju says with a fond smile. Sanji, absentmindedly, nods.

The next photo had Reiju in it. Part of her, at least.

It was another perspective shot from their mother, with the back of Reiju’s pink head shallowing at the bottom of the frame. Her hands were up in front of her in claws and the four brothers were side by side, under a blanket at the foot of their mother’s bed. Ichiji, on the farthest left end, was fast asleep on his crossed arms and drooling. Next to him was Sanji, Niji, and Yonji, eyes wide with fear over whatever ghost story Reiju was portraying. Sanji and Yonji respectively had their arms clinging to their older brother in fear, with tears brimming in Sanji’s eyes and Yonji’s mouth open in mid-scream while in the middle, Niji had a stiff upper lip, trying horribly to conceal his fear. He remembers him, Yonji, and Niji later sneaking out of their respective bedrooms to meet up and sleep in Ichiji’s room, who was still softly snoring having been carried by one of the handmaids. Niji made a retort about how Ichiji’s snores would scare the ghosts away and he remembered completely agreeing with his older brother’s logic. Having pulled their blankets together to make a makeshift futon on the floor, the trio fell asleep with surefire hearts that they were safe from monsters, thanks to their unbeknownst eldest brother’s skills.

The next was when Germa had sailed into winter-island territories. They were outside, bundled up from head-to-toe in puffy winterwear in the midst of a snow-covered courtyard. Sanji remembers this day clearly as well, having been woken up by Niji and Yonji kicking his bedroom doors open with excited overlapping shouts of snow being outside. He raced with them down the steps of the castle to find Reiju and Ichiji being dressed into winter clothes by handmaids and their mother, who was well enough at the time to sometimes be out of bed. When outside, he, Niji, and Yonji decided to form an alliance and attack Ichiji with snowballs. “A revolution of the younger brothers”, he remembers Yonji screaming at the top of his lungs as Ichiji had ran and hid behind a flagpole, building a snowball cache of his own to fire back. The picture portrayed the trio mid-attack on one side of the field while Ichiji was mid-charge on the other, a pile of snowballs in one arm and the other extended mid-throw. They had spent hours in the snow that day, finally being coaxed back inside with promises of hot chocolate when their throats were sore from the dry air and their fingers were red with the cold.

The last photo on the page was the four of them in the castle bath, bubbles piled up to their chins. Yonji was leaning over the edge of the tub, posing for the camera with a wide smile and peace signs, while Niji and Sanji were mid-giggle at Ichiji, who was staring dead at the camera with a bubble beard and pointed ‘hat’ on his head. Their mother was sitting on the edge of the tub, arms heartbreakingly frail as she was mid-scrubbing Niji’s hair. Sanji didn’t understand how he missed the severity of his mother’s condition as a child, and his heart breaks at the thought of what she had to endure. Her fond smile towards her sons made him even more devastated.

He’s so selfish for reminiscing about a past he ran away from, while his mother was trapped in a nightmare she could not escape. A small part of him believes her early death to be a mercy of sorts. She wouldn’t have had to deal with the agony of witnessing what her sons had become.

Reiju stills in her seat, arms and legs crossed as she watches Sanji hunch over. Her eyes follow silver tears plopping down on the marble floor.

Sanji’s fingers ached with tension, shaking in their place as they held the book open in his lap. 

He has never allowed himself to reflect on his brothers before they were altered, their new personalities taking a drastic turn against him and their brotherhood as a whole. When they turned 8, Sanji simply transitioned into a point in his life where he suddenly had no brothers.

“I imagine Mother looked through it often.” Reiju says, leaving the statement hanging in the air.

Sanji refuses to look up from his lap and closes the book shut. There were many more pages but he couldn’t bring himself to look through any more of it.

“Screw you.” Sanji spits, clenching the book with tensioned hands. “Why would you bother showing this to me? This... This is nothing. Just a book with pictures full of people I don’t know.”

Feeling overwhelmed enough to think his lungs are concaving, he stands from his seat and stalks out of Reiju’s room. Refusing to break down in the middle of the hallway, he leaves Germa entirely and rushes towards Whole Cake Chateau, from one prison to the next.

Watching his feet patter against the marble, taking lefts and rights to his room, as he buries himself in his mind. Dissociating is a terrifying thing.

Slamming the doors behind him, he exhales loudly and collapses onto the floor, shaking with the depths and weight of his strangled sobs.

It’s a horrible tragedy that had no other blame but Judge. Even what the horrid man called his sons had nothing to do with it.

With blurred vision, Sanji remembers the day Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji’s eyes went blank towards him. There was never even pure hatred behind them. Hate was an emotion. A human emotion that Sanji oh so desperately wanted to feel towards them. It would have made it all so much easier if they hated him, so he could hate them back.

But they were wiped into clean, mindless slates, not aware of anything they feel or do. They’re nothing more than drones with short leashes under Judge’s hand.

Do they still have their conscience?

Are they aware of what’s happened?

or did the boys Sanji grow up with die and are currently buried deep under a wall of bulletproof skin and mutated genetics?

Sanji never allowed himself to reminisce about what he had lost.

 He hates that he was reminded of it.

how do yall feel :D

shameless self promo, follow me bc i write a lot more hc under the tag “juice writes”

and I also have updates to my AO3 coming up, starting with my 13K zosan filth fic 

[phxntomsdusk]

7 summers - Softball!Wilma

note: let’s all thank Lilly for giving me this song to write about 🙏

summary: even after all these years, she still finds herself thinking about you

warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, fluff at the end <3

tags: @ax-y10 , @joviepog , @pheliiaa , @idontreallyexistyet , @haunted-headset , @vibestillaxxx , @rqvii , @lillylvjy , @ivvees-blog , @average-vibe , @toastyliltoasts41 (ask to be added!)

word count: 769

It had felt like forever since Wilma saw you, she was now 25 and living by herself, down south where summer practically lasted all year round. She remembered constantly how you always wanted to move to a warmer place with her, but the more she thought about it, she questioned where you were right now.

You were probably married, with a kid or two. Living in one of those big white houses with a long ass driveway.

She wondered if when you drank you ever thought about her. Yeah, you both knew better not to think of one another. But she couldn’t help it! You guys always said you’d be together forever. Back then you loved the river, sharing drinks with her. The two of you were the definition of teenage romance.

She questioned if it ever made you sad to know; that was 7 summers ago.

She was shuffling through an old box in her crawl space, finding a picture album from highschool, finding a picture of you when you first learned to drive her truck.

“Bet your daddy’s proud about how you turned out..” She chuckled softly, running her thumb over your face in the photograph.

She remembered how your father was so protective of you when the two of you first started dating, but the second he saw you coming out of your shell and acting like the kids around you, he was over the moon.

He’d constantly thank Wilma for turning you into a ‘normal’ teenager, making you more sociable, getting you out of the house. He loved you two together.

She could feel herself getting emotion, quickly putting the pictures away and stuffing them back up into the attic.

That Friday she was back in her hometown, drinking at her favorite bar and catching up with some old friends she had met there.

“Oh, wait Wilma, did you know that they moved back?” Her friend, Crystal, spoke up and snatched her attention quickly. She immediately knew she was talking about you.

“No shit.. they move back into that beat up double wide their mom owned?” She raised a brow, taking a sip from her glass as she leaned into her chair. “Yeah, I think so. I was surprised to see they were all alone, I expected them to get married by now.” Crystal shrugged before standing up, going to get herself another drink.

This was news to Wilma. You were single and you were back. She just had to find you.

“Hey, guys, I’m gonna head out. It’s late and I gotta see my mom before I start the drive back home.” She watched as her friends tried to protest, giving them all quick hugs and waving them off as she left the bar.

Of course, she wasn’t going to get mom’s house. As she pulled up to the very familiar red light, she had made a left instead of a right, heading straight to your old house.

She could see the porch light on, and a figure out in the small yard taking down old rundown Christmas lights. She knew it was you.

Her truck startled you as it pulled into the gravel driveway, honking her horn before she got out and looked over at you, a smile forming on her lips.

“Hey, sweetheart.” She chuckled softly, stepping up onto your porch so she could match your height on the ladder. “Oh my God, Wilma?” You smiled widely, instantly getting off the ladder to greet her.

“It’s been, what, seven years?” You hesitantly pulled her into a hug, instantly melting in her arms as she wrapped them around you, swaying your bodies from side to side.

“Seven summers, get it right.” She chuckled softly, running a hand up and down your back as she admired you. Oh, how she missed you.

You had invited her inside for a drink, putting on your favorite show on the TV as you caught up with each other's life. You found out she moved down south, adopted a dog and couched softball for a bit.

While you on the other hand had mostly been helping your mom at home, before moving back so you could be closer.

“You know, you’re still as beautiful as I remember.” She smiled slightly at you, not-so-sneakily wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “I’m pretty sure I still have something for you.” She nudged your side slightly, earning a light laugh from you.

“Is that so? What makes you think that?” You quirked a brow up at her, a smirk toying at your lips.

“Didn’t stop thinking about you for seven summers.”

[segredosjogados]

Green Room

Story: Y/N goes to Jimmy Fallon to talk about her new movie premiering on Tuesday and she meets n.1 on the charts Jack Harlow backstage. 

Warnings: none. 

It wasn't Y/N's first time on a late night TV show. But in any way, she was super nervous to talk about her upcoming movie Pyres. She had this weight on her shoulders to out prove herself after the success of her last movie from two years ago. 

On the Green Room, where celebrities stay, chat up and talk to the host prior to their appearance on the show, Y/N met a charming tall man with curly hair called Jack Harlow. He was sitting down with a phone on his hand scrolling endlessly on what seemed to be Twitter. A guy that looked like him but with longer wavier hair was sitting by his side managing a camera. 

"Hi! I'm Y/F/N, how are you guys?" you asked approaching the room. Jack immediately looked up at Y/N, fitting you from head to toe. His face lighted up a little. He's got a tough expression on before that. 

"I'm great, thanks. I'm Jack Harlow. How are you doing?" he replied politely, then looked back at his phone. You felt like he didn't want to talk so you didn't. You tossed your head to the side reading his expression and his friend's. They looked very young - maybe early twenties - and nervous. 

"I'm fine, I'm good. You're the guy from the first class song?" Y/N asked trying to start a conversation. 

"Yeah" Jack's face lighted up again. He locked his phone and put on his pocket. Looking at her again, he felt mesmerized by the beauty with a natural look in front of him. "I'm glad you listened to it" he charmed her. She laughed. 

"Not that I actually listened to it, but it's all what the internet has been talking about." she said. Jack felt a challenge situation growing up. 

"Oh. That hurt" he played. He was clearly nervous on that space. Or maybe just tired. His blue eyes seemed to want to shut down any minute. 

"I didn't mean to!" she played with a wide smile. "I mean, my younger cousin is all about socials and she was listening to it. I asked her who was it and she said exactly your name. The Fergie sample is timeless, though. Reminds me of my late childhood, dancing to it in front of the TV and my mom going crazy. She used to say it wasn't for good girls like me. But I loved it. It's good to see this new generation paying attention to what calls to them from their childhood too, I suppose." she came with a full analysis. Being a writer, she had always been wordy and very analytical. In her opinion, the song was mid actually. She was more into lyrical rap from the 90's, what she grew up to listen to thanks to her older cousins and brother.

"Damn, that's an analysis" he replied. You nodded, sipped some water from your cup and looked back at him. "Where do I know you from?" Jack asked. 

"I don't know." she played it safe. Jack snapped. 

"Of course! You're the girl from A letter from Germany. I watched this movie a million times! That was pretty much a masterpiece. The setting, the plot... that fucking plot twist! I had some nightmares thinking about it, and it wasn't even a horror movie! Man, congrats, that was dope!" he said as she tried to hols her shock with such an intense comment. 

"Never knew you were cinephile." Y/N replied. Jack smiled wide. 

"I'm gonna be on a movie soon, too" he said charming side to her. 

"Are you serious? And it's not Pyres? No way! You wanna know something? Give me a call some day. I gotta a role that you could fit actually. You're tall, curly hair, seems friendly... I want you to do something out of the box, I'd like to see how far you'd go with this acting thing."Y/N challenged. Jack accepted right away but he's got one question. 

"And how will call you, Miss?" he asked. She scoffed. He was right. 

"Let's get it like this: after the show tonight, let's have dinner and discuss business. I'll let my assistant know where to find me. Bring your lil friend too. His camera is good for some 90's inspired snaps. Yo" she turned to his friend, Urban, also his photographer*, "you got some originals films from Kodak? I've got some with me but your camera would make 11x35 better" she said. Urban looked at her in shock and just nodded. "Cool. I'll see you guys later on, then" she said and left the room because her assistant called her to enter the show. 

"Did she call you for business or a date?" Urban asked Jack, way too confused. Jack stretched back to the couch with a wide smile. "I don't know man, whatever she's down for, I'm too." he answered still with his wide smile. 

That was the beginning of something very special for those two.

[herstoriies]

Big brain idea with the “not long before the wedding Uncle Kimby gets ‘napped by Priscilla’s ex Guy Thibault ransom note drama” plot after someone was telling me about a scene from the TV show ‘You’ …

(Also courtesy of some boss OST “Brand X Music: Boundless Drama, & Cruel Errors!)

At some point, perhaps clues, or a threat…

Priscilla (& the gang) walk into a room and there’s wall or desk is covered with playbills and newspaper clippings and photographs of Priscilla. From highlights of her career to gossip columns. And what’s worse is not all of them are from her golden era in Paris, but also some of the concerts when she was in Milan, Vienna, London. Possibly any additional concerning personal info and her scandals too. Like this was maliciously done by someone truly deranged and wanting to do damage knowing where it would hurt. And toying with the theme of the dark side of stardom.

Dun Dunn dunnnn.

Also ironic how intention can change a gesture, and interpret it as seriously creepy vs touchingly thoughtful. I say that because this ‘collection’ is based on a thing wayyy back I had the headcanon that when Priscilla & Uncle Kimby finally do reconcile, Thomas takes out a box or scrapbook of sorts he put together of all the highlights of Priscilla’s career as an actress. As a way of showing he was still proud of his niece’s accomplishments, and was an anonymous spectator or patron and did his best to try and support her from afar. Who knows perhaps these papers were confiscated by Thibault? Or Grimsby. Yeah maybe he cameos there’s a lot to do here asdfghjkl.

[elenavampire21]

Warning: full of smut, description of sex

Summary: Tom and you are both actors and one event Tom gets jealous of guy’s flirting with you. Tom then takes you somewhere and reminds you that he’s your husband and also a surprise anniversary

@worldofheroes @love2write2626 @helloitstsyu @elenavampire21

The candle that has never gone out

You and Tom were busy posing for photos and hearing the vast screams from the fans and photographers.

You headed over to speak to a few fans and sign autographs and have pictures.

One guy hands a photo and a ring box. “y/n can you sign this please and I want you to have this marry me you’d definitely do better than Tom.”

Tom was doing little interviews and glanced over at his wife and noticed she received a

Ring box and only hear the last bit of the conversation just his name.

Once you and Tom had finished doing interviews and chats both walked inside and to the bar he orders their drinks “can I have a beer and a large glass of red wine.” He passes your wine over and you both find a table.

Tom sits there in a mood and huffs when ever man walks past and flirts.

You politely smile and sip on your wine and glance over to a very moody Tom. You quietly laugh. “Oh my god Mr Cruise seriously you’re jealous of me being flirted on excuse me but how do you think I feel watching all those girls flirting over you.”

You shuffle to sit next to him and puts a hand on his thigh and squeezes it. “Why would I want anyone else when I’ve got a real life action packed right here.

Tom raises a brow and glares at you.

“Baby I know what you’re doing and this will not beat my argument I’m not breaking and letting you win this petty argument with sex just so you can say after I told you so”.

You look at Tom playfully hurt places a hand on her heart. “Ouch Mr Cruise how low do you actually think I’d be I’m not trying to make you break any argument.” You actually start crying.

Tom groans and rolls his eyes “y/n really I’m so not gonna fall for your fake crying seriously stop it” he turns to face you and notices it’s not fake crying but real he gently wraps you into a tight cuddle.

“Aww baby look I’m sorry really didn’t mean to make you cry please boo-boo I hate fighting”.

You face Tom and cheekily grin “haha got you bubba seriously you’re forgetting I’m an actress too I really did cry that hurt, listen please can we go back to our hotel room.

I actually really do want and need you”.

Tom looked around and noticed everyone was busy and distracted chatting and drinking. Tom gently grabs your arm and opens the door to a spare room with a couch .

you two get inside and Tom instantly locks it and gently pushes you down onto the couch and hitches your dress up pulls your panties off and shoved them into his trousers and he then unbuckles his trousers and boxers.

he rubs his cock against your pussy walls and then pushes it into you and thrusts his hips all that could be heard was skin on skin and you and Tom’s moans.

You grip hold of Tom’s shoulders and wraps your leg round his ass pulling him deeper in

You scream and moan “ugh ugh ahh ahh oh shit Tom I’m gonna cum baby I love you now fuck me fast I wanna cum together.”

Tom gives you his signature smirk and suddenly roughly jackhammers into your soaking wet folds and instantly both you and Tom release you warm liquid cum.

Tom pulls out of you and pulls you into his

Side and kisses your forehead. “Seriously sweetheart you are a very very naughty girl forcing sex out of my just wait until we’re back in the privacy of our hotel room I’m gonna eat you out so good you’ll be begging me for more might fuck you so hard you’ll struggle to walk at tomorrow’s tv interview.”

After your little quicky with Tom. The pair of you leave the spare room smirking and both arrive back at the room. Tom takes the key card and opens the door to reveal lots of tea light candles rose petals in the shape of a heart on the bed. Champagne on ice and your most favourite treat of all chocolate coated strawberries.

You walk in and stand looking at everything and is tearing up. “Tom did you do all of this wow you’re an amazing husband”.

Tom walked up and wraps arms around you and whispers “happy anniversary sweetheart you honestly thought I’d forget the amazing day I married a princess.”

You look up still in Tom’s cuddle “yeah because for the past month you’ve been busy filming or away doing some hair brain stunt that I became aware you’d literally forgotten you had a wife, but happy anniversary too my hottie”

Tom takes your hand and walks you over to the bed and brushes the rose petals off the bed sits with his back to the headboard and you snuggle into him and he feeds you a chocolate covered strawberry and then kisses you after.

You smile and lays your head on his shoulder and imagines their wedding day and the frisky wild and interesting sex giggles. Tom looks down and twirls a strand of hair. “Ehm excuse me darling what got you all giggling.”

“Oh it’s nothing inappropriate just thinking back about our wedding and the amazing and interesting honeymoon we had remember the balcony that was naughty.” You look up at tom blushing

Tom stays quiet and instantly chuckles “oh god that was one of the best honeymoon’s ever and our wedding was perfect and yes naught girl I definitely do remember the balcony if I am reminded you were the one who wanted to ride me out in the open and you didn’t care about the other residents or guests you literally screamed TOM CRUISE YOU BETTER FUCK ME NOW”.

[fourseasonsfigs]

The Moonlight on the Roof is Beautiful Tonight

But not as beautiful as A-Xu!

The lounging inspiration for this handsome fig set. Surely nothing could ruin the mood on such a beautiful night on the roof above (rechecks the ep) Cheng Liquor Store.

I missed this incredible set twice - first in the initial sales, and then was too slow to snap up the very few remainders when the fig maker released them. I consoled myself that I didn't really want it that bad (dear figthusiast, I sure did), and decided I would simply find a well priced set on Xianyu at my leisure.

I haunted Xianyu for months. Any time I saw a set, I'd have my agent inquire if it came with the roof, which had been an add-on purchase during original sales, and which in my mind was kind of the whole point of the set. Most did not. The few ones that did, I purchased and they were cancelled for various reasons. Finally, there was one set that showed up, and it came with the roof. Sounds great, right? Yeah, except for the price. 300 yuan. 300 yuan!! The original price, mind you, was 94.56 yuan plus a 9 yuan supplement for the roof, so basically 3x. Plus all the fees and stuff. I swore I'd never buy it at that kind of crazy pricing. It doesn't do to encourage scalpers, right?

And apparently I wasn't the only one who swore off of buying it, because every time I searched, there it was. The only one. Over and over and over. So yeah, more months went by.

The good news here, delightful figthusiasts, is that technically I did not buy it from that enterprising profiteer. I got it as a Christmas gift. And if I may note, the listing was marked as sold and then another set immediately went up from the same seller, for the exact same price. I mean, kudos to them I guess?

But, what is Christmas for but for people you love to buy you things you love the holiday spirit, and I did feel pretty joyous as I unwrapped these little guys, and the much-longed-for roof.

You can see why. The roof is just too good for posing figs of all kinds on! (speaking of Christmas, if you don't think I'm going to put Santa Han lounging on this roof next year, I'm sad you think I'm going to pass up such a golden opportunity!)

The underside - it's pretty light since it's hollowed out. It sits sturdily - not uneven or off balance at all.

Our two moon watching, wine-drinking cuties. The only thing I'd have preferred with this set is if Lao Wen's hair was a little more wispy-hair forward - you can see the wisps at either side, but he ends up more with a slicked back look overall. But it's a very minor thing.

Their little legs sticking out is SUPER cute.

A better view of their hair styles.

Lao Wen's hair looks a bit glossier than A-Xu's, but that's just due to the lighting in my little fig photographing area. It would certainly make sense if A-Xu's hair was a bit duller - if I had that much iron blocking my meridians, my hair would be looking a little less sleek too.

As you might imagine from the supporting robes all around them, these figs sit well and have no problem sitting on the roof. No concerns about them tumbling off, thankfully!

The roof ridge is a nice wide base.

There we go! Home at last.

The quote on the card / box is this beautiful line from the theme song Tianyake:

将平生霜雪 与君煮酒烹茶 jiāng píng shēng shuāng xuě yǔ jūn zhǔ jiǔ pēng chá A life of snow and frost melts away as I brew wine and make tea with you (translation Cee)

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 160

Diorama Count: 9

Snowglobe Count: 1

Rating: Appreciate the moon with great wine!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[crushculture03]

Chapter 8

About mid-way though the concert, things had finally slowed down at the merch stand, and jules finally had the chance to step away to watch some of the set. Before she left she turned to the other volunteers and asked "Everything ok here with you guys, would it be ok if I stepped out for a bit?". They smile and nodded their heads, she quickly makes her way from the lobby to the main theater.

She walked over to mark who walked her past the barricade and off to the right, where the bands photographer and Jaime were standing, "You may want these" mark said, handling her a pair of earplugs, "Thank you" she responded and put them in.

Matty was currently talking about the record and some of the memories he had while working on it, so it had quieted down to just him and a few fans screaming 'I love yous' occasionally.

As matty was walking up and down the stage he spotted jules in the corner, they pair made eye contact and she sent him a small wave. He smiled widely in her direction and winked , "Ok everyone this next song is one of my personal favorites and its a dancing song so I better see everyone up on their feet dancing"' he speaks into the mic, then george starts the song. The familiar intro to If you're too shy (let me know) begins, Jules screams in delight and moves a bit closer to the stage.

When it gets to the chorus, jules jumps up and down dancing and singing along to the song. Matty looked over at the girl and smiled, he knew she would be happy they played this song, as he knew it was one of her favorites.

Eventually the song ended and the familiar tune of 'Fallingforyou' starts, Matty made his way over to the side she was standing at and looked to her as he sang. Jules's heart beat spead up, 'does this mean he's falling for me, what a way to be told getting serenaded by him' she thought, not breaking eye contact with him . And when the iconic line came up he bent down closer, trying to get even closer to her 'I dont wanna be your friend I wanna kiss your neck' he sang and sent a wink in her direction, before standing back up and walking away. 'When he said he have me on my knees tonight, he wasn't joking, god the things I'm going to do to him when we're alone" Jules thought, as she watched him finish the song.

Jules was able to watch the rest of the show, but as soon as they announced their last song, she unfortunately had to make her way back to the lobby. She walked slowly out of the theater, trying to catch every second of the song, 'Sex', she was bummed she couldn't stay for the whole song, but knew she'd have a chance in the future to see it. She took one last look at the stage, and quickly slipped out the door, and back to the merch table.

Soon the music came to an end and the theater doors burst open revealing the hoards of fans walking in her direction. The merch stand was busy for the next hour, then finally around 9:30 the crowd had died down and jules and the volunteers started packing up. It took them a little under an hour to put everything back in the boxes and haul it to the truck that was parked out back.

Jules grabbed the last of her stuff and made her way backstage, hoping that the band hadn't left yet. As she was walking to the green room, a hand quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a small dressing room. "Hello there" Matty said, a large grinn plastered on his face, he had been waiting patiently for her to be done, so he could get her alone.

Jules chuckled when she heard his voice, "You nearly gave me a heart attack, let alone could've broke my wrist healy" she responded, Matty frowned "I'm sorry darling, here will this help" he said, then kissed her. Jules smiled "Yeah, I forgive you now" she giggles. "Where are we by the way" she asked, looking around the small room, "It's an old dressing room I found when i was exploring, I knew I couldn't wait till the hotel, so I wanted to find somewhere private to take you" he said, squeezing her hips softly and pulling her even closer. "Oh is that so, well glad we are on the same page then healy" she said, wrapping her hands around his neck and connecting their lips.

Jules P.O.V ( sorry i can only write smut in first person POV 😭)

The kiss was hot, his hands roamed up and down my back, I could feel him growing harder againset my thigh. He said he'd have me on my knees tonight and i fully intended on fulfilling that.

I unhooked my arms from around his neck and ran my hands down his chest until I got to his belt, my hands slowly undoing it and throwing it somewhere in the room. I gave him on last kiss and slowly sunk to my knees. I could see his eyes go wide, "You know  you don't have to do this" matty said, cupping my cheek. I leaned into his touch and looked back up at him " you said you'd have me on my knees and well here I am, I want to matty" I said, slowly unbuttoning his slacks and pulling them down to his ankles.

"You're a sight to see julie, on your knees for me I could cum just looking at you” he said running a hand through my hair.

To say I was nervous was an understatement, i had never done this before and I wanted to make sure he felt good, he made me feel good last night and took care of me, so this is my thank you to him.

I give him one last look as I slowly pull down his boxers freeing him, i take him into my hand and squeeze gently. He throws his head back, emitting a low moan "Fuck" he mumbles, " I slowly move my hand up and down, before I wrapped my mouth around the tip, sucking lightly. Matty ran his hand through my hair holding it back, and with that I slowly start moving my mouth lower and lower until he hit the back of my throat.

Matty moaned at my new action, which caused me to slowly bob my head back and forth, getting into a steady rythm, i found myself getting more turned on everytime he let out a soft moan. I kept moving my head making sure to pay attention to the tip, as my friend had told me that that was the way to give the best head, I hadn't believed her until now when everytime I would move my mouth there he would let  out a louder moan.

I could feel his stare on me, so I looked up, making eye contact with him as I continued to take him in my mouth, "God you're so beautiful " he whispered. I could feel him starting to twitch in my mouth, which i could tell was a sign he was about to finish. He thrusted his hips forward as he came into my mouth, I quickly swallowed and pulled away from him.

I slowly stood back up, after I had put his boxers and slacks back on. He leaned forward pulling me into a passionate kiss, "You're amazing, that was one of the best blowjobs I've ever had" he said, smirking at me. " I'm glad" I grinned, giving him one last kiss. "How about you darling? I want to give you something in return" he said, placing his hands on my hips. "You can repay me at the hotel matty" I smiled.

End of Jules POV

After a few more stolen kiss, the two made their way out of the dressing room hand in hand. "By the way matty I'm falling for you too" she said, referring to earlier when he had sung that song to her during the concert.

" I added that song just for you, I meant it jules I really like you, these past couple months have been amazing getting to know eachother" he said, kissing her on the cheek.

Ever since that fateful day in the elevator the two had felt a connetion, when Jules would stop by the rehearsal room she would always make sure to say hi and wave to him, all that had led them to where they are now, they knew the feelings came on fast, but they felt an undeniable bond, almost like the universe was telling them something.

" you're sweet matty, I feel the same way, and I can't wait to see what the rest of tour has store for us" she said, as they approached the doors to the outside. They knew the rest of the band had headed back to the bus, as george had texted matty that they were waiting for him.

" Now I'm gonna let you know there's going to be fans out there, so i may have to break off to say hi to a few of them, is that ok?" matty asked, "Of course! I think it's sweet that you do that, I should probably head to back to the bus, I got a text from jaime asking to talk to me" jules responded and placed one last kiss on his lips, then made her way outside, where she was greeted by mark who escorted her to the bus.

[sounwise]

“Segregation’s ‘Daft’ – Says Paul” (in the Tribune [Sydney, NSW], November 4, 1964)

From an interview with Tom Spence of the Daily Worker

[Full transcript beneath the cut:]

-

THE Beatles want very much to help the fight against apartheid, but their problem is fitting in a free show.

“I may be putting my foot in it,” said Paul McCartney, “but it would be an idea to give them the proceeds from the premiere of our new film. We’re starting shooting next February. But, then, it might be booked already.”

Said John Lennon: “We’d do it because we agree with them.” (Those opposed to apartheid.)

It’s hard to think at a Beatles Press conference. A discussion on apartheid and segregation in the U.S. is virtually impossible.

Anti-apartheid

But, if you are lucky enough to get near them, all you can do is persevere. It’s not that they don’t want to talk, they just don’t have the time.

“We are willing to do a concert,” said Paul between camera clicks.

“What’s that?” queried George Harrison, by his side.

“Anti-apartheid. A concert for anti-apartheid.”

“Oh yes. A good thing.” Their attention was whisked away by other questions and ogling camera lenses.

They made their first public appearance since their American tour at the Bradford Odeon last week. It was the opening night of a series of one-night stands which will take them around the country.

Chaos. Flash bulbs popping, cameramen jockeying for position and jostling journalists poking each other black and blue in the ribs.

It is John’s 24th birthday. My five-year-old daughter, Karen, presented him with a birthday card. A horde of cameras clicking. “Smile,” and “Look this way.”

Stage fright. She forgets to sing “Happy Birthday” and clings, instead, to John’s neck.

“Stand her on the table,” suggests the photographer, somebody else shouts. “Hold her hand.” Back on his knee. The boys sing the song for her.

More camera work. American singer Mary Wells is with them now. A voice shouts above the din: “The last pictures. If you have any more questions, ask them now.”

This takes place backstage, in a cramped yellow and pink room. I squeeze through to Paul McCartney.

Any chance of an interview on their American tour? “Come with me,” he says.

A dark flight of stairs. People on either side, asking for autographs, passing comments. Everyone is talking. Now an occasional scream from outside.

Sound of music as we pass the stage. The show has started. A packed and appreciative audience drowns the now-distant babble of the dying Press Reception upstairs.

In the dressing room, Paul pulls out a packet of cigarettes and we sit and smoke. Someone offers him a cup of tea.

He seems distracted by the excitement from outside. I take in the room in a hurried glance before asking questions.

Two unopened bottles of scotch stand on a table to my right. There is another table with teapot and cups.

We are in a corner, the most orderly place in the room. Cardboard boxes are piled against a far wall, pieces of equipment lie on the floor.

Other people are in the room, more are outside, protesting that they can’t get in.

The other Beatles come in. John, George and Ringo. They sit down and Ringo has a cup of tea.

I ask Paul why they insisted on a no-segregation clause being included in their American contract.

Segregation, he says, is “daft.” He enlarges on the statement: “It’s daft looking upon coloured people as some sort of freaks.

“Before we went to the U.S. someone told us they might try to segregate the audiences. We stuck in the clause just in case.”

The clause led to the cancellation of concerts in the Southern States.

Paul drags at his cigarette and thinks a bit.

“We had coloured people with us in America. There was no discrimination there. The audience loved them.

“I think the kids over there aren’t half as bigoted as their parents. They are a new generation.”

John talks about the tour[.] “The most tiring we’ve made. I wouldn’t like to do it again in a hurry.”

A quick observation about a guy called Goldwater—“Pretty silly,” says John—some small talk to Karen.

Again, why the “no segregation” clause, and why the refusal to tour apartheid South Africa? “I just think they are bad things,” says John.

“In America they accept the Negro as an entertainer. On that there is no prejudice. We didn’t see any prejudice on the five weeks of our tour.

“We had Frogman Henry with us. He was born in the Deep South. We asked him where he’d rather live, he said in the South. You see he’s an entertainer.

“But segregation. They put them behind wire or something. Why should they? They all pay the same money. We are all the same.”

John is not so sure that segregation is dying in the States. “They are born into it, and it will take long time for them to grow out of it,” he says.

Apartheid and segregation are one and the same to the Beatles. They just don’t want to know.