#little drummer Italian boy

[sweeter0da]

OMFG THEY LET VINNY ON STAGE (I made this please I’m so proud of myself)

[mysticficti0n]

all my attention part 1

warnings- swearing, smoking, fights (mention of blood), gets a bit sad toward the end

words: 4.8k (im sorry)

If you'd like to read the previous parts → All my attention series

a/n- so I am British and cannot speak any German, I speak a little French, Spanish and Italian but German- no. I also do not trust Google translate so this is gonna be like an avatar thing (if you've seen the newest one Jake says that their language just became normal or something along those lines) so in reality this is all in German, you as a reader know German but, its wrote in English... make sense? no... well. anyways enjoy its my first Kaultiz fic so maybe a little everywhere but please read and enjoy 🤍

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backstory- you are the 5th member of Tokio Hotel and you always thought the love was equally platonic between you and a certain guitarist... but what if that all changed?

I sat backstage messing around with my mic waiting to do sound check, I love my job and I'm lucky to be doing this at 17 but I do miss laying in bed all morning and not having to worry about what I look like constantly "Y/n we need you now!" our stage directer called to me pulling me from my thoughts, I stood fixing my sweatpants around my hips and carried myself to stage were Gustav was sat taping away at his drums "okay just need to go through where you'll stand in schrei" I nodded waiting for the man to decide "go top left" I complied and made my way to the corner near to the blonde boy

"does my snare sound normal to you?" I herd Gustav ask then a loud hit on the skin of the drum, it was lower sounding then usual

"no.. maybe tighten it again" he nodded and began playing with the bolts at the side

"Y/n can you speak into your mic" he asked sitting on one of the plastic chairs in the pit

"hellllooooo" I spoke getting a laugh from the drummer

"perfect...okay your done can you send Georg out" I nodded walking back out wiping my eyes as I made my way into our backstage room, 'quickest sound check ever' I thought to myself

"Georg they need you" he huffed rolling his eyes and grabbing his bass

"its way to early for all this" I agreed "its half fucking six!" he grumbled leaving the room, my attention turned to the only other person in the room, Tom, he was slouched on the sofa with his dreads freely sat on his head, we near enough had the same outfit on except he was wearing no shirt, as usual

"how did it go?" he spoke looking up to me to which I shrugged "oh Bill wont be back till like 12 he has meetings and vocal shit to do"

"I thought, anyways how was yours?" I spoke referring to the soundcheck

"well my guitar wouldn't come through the speaker, then the mic cut and I tripped so, perfect" I laughed at his words "anyways wanna smoke?"

"yeah" I hummed seeing him stand and grab his cigarettes from my bag I brought with me, we pushed the exit doors open and walked into the warm morning air that was finally in Germany, it felt like it had been winter for ages but finally It was warming up "I don't know whether I feel like performing tonight" I sighed as he handed me a cigarette, I brought it to my lips and he lit it for me

"why not? you love it" he was right but today just felt like... not a good day to do anything "you'll be fine when we get out there, I know you will"

"I just.. I don't know" I hummed breathing white smoke from my lips

"is it because of Brian?" Tom spoke making my head snap to him

"Brian! no of course not, me and him were done weeks ago I don't fucking care about him" I defended

"because you know he's gonna be their tonight Y/n. look I'm not the one to usually say this but nobody else is saying it- you broke up only two weeks ago and you've ignored what your feeling"

"fuck Kaulitz you're going soft" he laughed taking a drag "and I don't have a 'feeling'"

"I don't give a shit.. wait no I give a shit about you, not him, but honestly are you okay?" he spoke placing an arm over my shoulder to which I sighed again resting my head on him

"i...no, but I don't wanna think of it uno, he made me believe he loved me and that he was the one but all I saw was him hitting it off with a stupid bimbo" Tom's grip tightened comforting me "am I that bad?" I asked laughing solemnly

"I mean.. I" Tom began with a sly smile

"fuck off" I laughed shoving the dreaded man

"hey! I'm joking" he rolled his eyes at my childishness

"but I am sexy as fuck, I have piercings, fuck I dye my hair and yet I'm not better than a skanky, badly blonde haired big lipped whore" Tom shook his head stamping out his cigarette to which I followed

"well tonight play like the git isn't there and if anything find a fan pull them up and kiss their god-damn lips" Tom was a bastard for revenge, when his last girlfriend broke up with him (many years ago) he slept with 5 girls and sent her a picture with the caption 'pussy4ever' I looked back to the boy as he began to speak again "or kiss me?" he smiled wriggling his eyebrows

"yeah sure I will Thomas" we both laughed, in fairness we always found ourselves subtly flirting with one another but never really meant it, the little jokes, touchiness, it was all good fun. We walked back inside and watched as Gustav came off stage swirling drum sticks around his fingers and Georg with a grumpy look across his face

"whats wrong with you sunshine?" Tom spoke holding the backstage room door open for me which I whispered a 'thank you' and sat onto the brown, cold, leather sofa

"fucking bass wouldn't link!" he groaned going to the fridge in the corner and pulled out a water "every time we kept trying and in the end it was the wrong line" Georg slammed against the wall and hit his head

"dude calm down its fixed now" Gustav spoke looking at the bassist who was in no need of being told to 'calm down' Tom sat himself next to me and rested an arm around the back of the sofa occasionally tapping my shoulder and laughing every time I looked to see who it was, we all sat in a comfortable silence all In our own worlds- I was worried for tonight, seeing Brian again is making feel like I need to be sick, I just hoped I wouldn't mess up my parts.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

we were all quickly pulled from our heads and turned to the door where Felix our stage director was stood "we need you all, don't bring your stuff" he spoke in a hurry and running back to who knows where, we all sighed internally and stood up. Being closest to the door I held it open for the other 3 but they all waited

"just go-"

"Y/n we have this argument all the time" Gustav pushed me through the door before I could even argue back and they followed out laughing as I shoved the drummer back with a yelp leaving his mouth. We made it to the stage and walked to the middle, the feeling in my stomach got considerably worse as for the first time I realised how big the show was going to be my eyes curled around the room I couldn't even see the end of the building

"what are we doing?" Tom asked coming to stand next to me and resting his arm on my shoulder as for him I was 'perfect arm height'

"well I need to explain lights to you-" we all gave a small look to one another, nobody want to stand and listen to how the lights will be during the set but we also all knew we had no choice "so when you-" I acted like I was listening but I faded away, I stared right threw Felix and I imagined Brian instead, those fucking dark blue eyes, curly brown hair and that emotionless face he pulled when he said 'we're over' it's been 2 weeks since it happened and Tom was right I didn't really show that I was upset in front of anyone or how the moment haunts me, but they don't see what happens behind closed doors...

"Y/n" I herd a whisper into my ear and I looked to the boy beside me, his eyes looked worried "we need a few minuets" Tom's voice cracked through what Felix was saying and before the older man could interject I was pulled away back behind the curtain "you need tissue" he spoke, my forearm still in his hand as he dragged me into the bathroom next to our backstage room

"Tom I'm fine" he shook his head pulling toilet roll off and folding Into a square

"so do please tell me why you're crying?" I sighed, I knew he wouldn't stop till he got an answer or something from me

"strobes make me emotional" I spoke looking to the floor but he wasn't playing around

"look at me" he commanded but my head wouldn't let me, and I just stared to my shoes "please" at that it was like a release button was pressed and my head snapped up, our eyes met straight away but vision became watery "talk to me-"

"what did I do Tom? I tried everything, he had everything he said he wanted, and he's the only fucking one who's ever wanted me for me, not because of you four guys, not because of my work or money, he wanted me!" I sobbed as for the first time I finally told someone how I really felt "I haven't said a thing but to know he'll be here tonight makes me feel like shit- I can't look at him Tom, after everything we did and for him... for him to say its over and the same night fuck a girl kills me every day! I loved him and this is what I got-" I called in an almost scream, I leant against the wall and slid down until I could feel the tile on my legs and I just held my head, crying into my palms

"I know, and I know its going to be hard babe I know" he spoke and I felt his hand stroke my head "and he wont be the only one to ever want you, so many people will, I promise, you can find someone so much better- fuck sake you're Y/n Y/l/n!. and tonight we'll play the best we ever have just to show him, and I swear to fuck he tries anything on you, he'll be dead" I nodded finally lifting my head and looking towards the boy who just opened his arms for me while crouching, quickly I jumped to him which for the first time in a while- I felt at peace

"yeah..yeah we will" I breathed hiding my face in his neck

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6:00pm (one hour before the show)

"HELLO!" a voice rung into the room followed by a spiky haired boy who walked through the door "fuck me its dull in here" he laughed coming over to sit on his make-up chair

"where the fuck were you!" Tom called to his twin In a angry tone

"meetings and voice stuff" the other brother came back with

"you said you'd be back by 12!" Tom shouted

"I got caught up alright get over it I'm here!" Bill rolled his eyes and slipped of his shirt and began changing for the show, I decided it'll be best if I did the same, the other 3 were ready anyways

"I'll be back" I spoke getting up and going to my bag pulling my outfit out and walking to the bathroom. I locked the door and stared at myself in the mirror, my hair really needed a re-dye, the Y/H/C was really starting to fade, moving on I took off my vest and bra and pulled a lacy black one out and slipped it over me so I didn't have to unclip it, I saw a glimmer of light in the bag and pulled it out seeing a matching thong 'Fucking Clair' I smiled to myself and quickly slipped it on, I did look good I couldn't lie, I posed in the mirror and fixed my hair around my head- I needed a photo "CAN SOMEONE GRAB MY PHONE!" I called waiting to hear a knock as I combed through my hair with my nails

"here- woah" I herd a voice behind me say and I quickly turned seeing Tom looking me up and down with a smirk appearing on his face "who's that for?" he asked leaning against the door frame, his eyes set on my body

"well first of all- how did you get in I locked it, secondly its not for you Kaulitz so don't get you're hopes up" I spoke facing him and his eyes only widened "get out Tom" I laughed seeing him raise his hands in defence

"hey! don't blame me" he smiled placing the phone on the side and walking out and shutting the door which I promptly locked smiling at the idiocy of the boy "dudes she is in a thong!" I herd Tom telling the rest to which they all 'ooo'ed at

"CREEPS" I shouted hearing an up roar of laughter, I rolled my eyes and carried on pulling the phone up and snapping a few pictures of myself, then I grabbed the skirt which just about covered anything and a white top which usually matched Tom's as we decided we'd being doing that for the next few shows. I left the bathroom holding my old clothes and phone and saw all their heads spin to the door "god you guys need to get some pussy or something" I grinned seeing them all blush

"do a twirl Y/n" Bill spoke re-directing the conversation and so I did and he clapped when I bowed

"don't do that on stage if you're facing the crowd" Gustav smirked "I just saw your ass and I don't think your mother would be impressed if that happened"

"good call, someone write- don't bend at audience!" Georg spoke settling in his seat, we all sat and could hear the faint chats of the audience that was arriving, I began pacing around the room humming my lyrics to myself over and over

"smoke?" Tom asked to which I passed him out the door and waited for him outside, the cool night air hitting my skin "here- you need to calm the fuck down" I nodded taking the cig out the box

"I just don't wanna mess up" he smiled at me, lighting the end of the tobacco and then his own "what if they boo me or leave?"

"babe they won't" his hand wrapped around my waist and held me gently "everyone loves you out there, I've seen at least 100 people in your shirts, you've got it" I looked up to him and our eyes connected instantly "if anything look to me I'll do something alright?"

"like trip up or was that only for soundcheck?" he fake laughed rolling his eyes again making me smile, the distance seemed to shorten, we do have our moments but those are funny- this felt real...? tension building around us, eyes locked and ash falling by our feet

"you know-" he began

"TOM Y/N COME ON!" Bill crashed threw the door, hair standing on end and dressed in black (new for him) we quickly broke apart and took one last drag from our smokes before kicking them out and walking inside, people crowded us giving us mics, drum sticks, picks, guitars, sprays, you name it we probably had it

"WELCOME.... TOKIO HOTEL" the speakers sounded and the twins swagged onto the stage followed by me and Georg and Gustav last going to his kit

"GOOD EVENING TRIER" Bill called and the crowd erupted "how we all doing?" and the screams made us smile, it was such a familiar feeling but seeing everyone happy helped, Bill looked to me and gestured for me to come over so I brought myself to the front of stage passing Tom who winked to me getting a 'ooo' from the people in the room who saw, the black haired boy placed his arm around my head and the sea of people snapped pictures and screamed my name

"I think I know what the people want" I spoke with a smile, jokingly the boy 'leaned in' and screams of anticipation filled the building "no not that" I called as we pulled away and the boys behind got the cue to start playing schrei and I ran back to my place hearing the cheer only get louder as Bill began to sing- we loved destroying the imaginations of our fans, its thrilling there was always rumours, usually around me and that I am 'fucking them all' but it's defiantly not the case.

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It was time, I saw the boys look towards me and with a breath I joined the lead singer up front, being a backing singer I wasn't needed much but I was showing something tonight "so you all see my gorgeous girl Y/n here?" Bill spoke pulling me to the front of the stage, hands spiked up everywhere scratching to touch just a thread of our clothing "she has some news!" with a toothy smile Bill past me his mic and backed away back to the group behind- I wasn't used to being centre stage but it was crazy, I could see everything (ish) smiles and tear stained faces

"so you all know we haven't had new music in a few months right?" they all shouted incoherent words "well- you seem like a crowd who'd wanna see some new material!?" I looked back to the boys who were all dopily smiling at me as the people infront blew up in shouts "okay okay so, I wrote this song when I was at not an amazing time in my life.. I felt like giving up but instead, with the help of these, I wrote my feeling into a song, usually this would be preformed by our lovely Bill but.. just got tonight, I'll be singing" I hyped and the band got into places to start playing don't jump

I began singing the words and walking around the tip of the stage holding the hands of as many as I could 'On top of the roof The air is so cold and so calm I say your name in silence' until my eyes landed on him- the words seemed to be pulled from my mouth, everything went silent and he knew what he'd done to me... the song was partially made because of what he did before we broke up, my mind switched as I herd the strum of Tom's guitar- remembering his words 'and tonight we'll play the best we ever have just to show him, and I swear to fuck he tries anything on you, he'll be dead' with a breath I carried on stomping my way back up stage to the rest of the band Bill was off the other side by Georg and I went to my place by Tom, a smile smothered his face as I stood facing him 'hi' he mouthed, I let my free hand reach for his face and held his jaw getting a roar from the fans, Tom placed a kiss to my palm and I soon let go trying to hide a very big blush from swamping my face and our next move came to play- we both turned back to back as his strummed his guitar, I leant against him spilling my lyrics until the beat jumped again 'I scream into the night for you Don't make it true Don't jump The lights will not guide you through They're deceiving you Don't jump' I walked back to mid stage being followed by Georg first who smiled at me and banged his head, then by Tom who only smirked sending me a wink. I got to the edge of the stage and hands reached to me and I tried to hold them all 'And if all that can't hold you back I'll jump for you' the song ended and the building blew up, cheers, screams, claps it was a rush, I blew kisses to them all, my mind forgot about what I was thinking before. Bill and Gustav joined us at the front and we all did a joint bow getting a laugh from us all, the others let go but Toms arm still stayed around my shoulder pulling me close

"see told you they'd love it" he whispered I smiled looking to him, he was sweaty and panting slightly as when he concentrates to much he forgets to breath, his arm pulled me even closer and he planted a kiss to my forehead before the lights turned off- our queue to get off stage the 5 of us were ushered off and as I stepped over to be in the backstage area someones arms scooped me into a hug though I couldn't see because the whole place was pitch black "Ugh you did so well" it was Tom's voice, calming me instantly "they loved the song!" he spoke settling me down but still had me close "told you they would" I looked back to the sweaty guitar player and he pulled my head to his as he pressed a kiss to my forehead again

"get room!" Gustav poked erring a laugh from he rest "nobody wants to see a softy Kaulitz!"

"eh what do ya mean- he aint soft" Tom quipped eyeing his friend up

"gross" Gustav laughed walking his way back to our room, me and the other boy followed and walked in to see Bill lay on the sofa with his makeup nearly rolling down his face due to being so hot

"Y/n I can't get over the audience" the black haired man spoke "god... that was one of my fave ever shows"

"I can't get over it" i went to my bag and pulled my cigarettes out and the boys all seemed to perk up again "coming?" I joked seeing them all get up as we went to the outside, it was dark with only the security lights illuminating the floor, I handed them all a ciggy and pulled my lighter out and burning the end "I saw Brian, he was just kinda stood there" they hummed "I'm over it- he can fuck who ever he fucking wants because none will ever be as good as me" I groaned feeling the hot smoke going out my mouth

"I saw him and he just looked sad, he misses you, I can tell" Bill spoke getting a shove from Gustav "what? I doesn't matter. All I was saying is that he looked sad probably because Y/n/n was happy unlike when he last saw her" I laughed, we stood in a silence finishing our cigs, stepping them out and walked into a runner calling all our names

"BILL!...GEORG!?" he looked out off breath "Finally- we need you all, meet n' greet" we all had the realisation and practically sprinted to our room and began to spray any aftershave or perfume we could find as after running round and singing you sweat, meaning we don't smell the best, me and Bill fixed our eyes and hair and then we all walked out like we hadn't just shit ourselves and made our way to the front of the building to see a line of (mostly) fan girls crying out

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"thank you so much I loved the show and the new song! holy shit it was amazing" a girl named Bethany spoke hugging us all one last time, we were told not many more people so we fixed ourselves up and waiting for the next person

"I love the flowers" I spoke looking at the roses a girl called Alicia brought me "is their anyone else-" as I spoke the door opened with Erik (our runner) holding it for the next fan, we all looked up and saw a brunette boy.... blue eyes "what the fuck do you think you're doing?... seriously!" Brians eyes were red and face tear stained, I felt myself tense up at the sight, all the boys stood scarily still

"I want to talk to you babe" his voice shook, those eyes staring into mine, its like he didn't realise he was in a room of people who really did not like him "please its me... baby please"

"don't call her baby" Tom grumbled " she doesn't have to do shit for you" I looked toward the boy, his hands in a ball already he moved quickly, towering over Brian

"Tom" Bill warned but no remorse went to his twin, we all watched as Tom stared down at Brian saying words to fast to even work out, Brain looked like he was about to break down nodding his head

"and I'm not fucking lying- you ever touch her, talk to her, anything... I wont fucking stop until you can't move and my hands are red- understand?" I looked toward the others, I wasn't scared for Brian but more worried that something would happen, Georg got the memo and walked to the guitarist placing a hand on his shoulder, I saw Tom relax and walk back to us leaving my ex standing with shock on his face, he looked back to me

"please" he pleaded 'shit' is all I thought as I saw Tom's face drop, his knuckles white he stormed back to Brian "...dude-" he squealed before the guitarist had him up the door slamming him back and forth, I watched as my ex's face became red trying to shove Tom back but him being a lot shorter- he had no chance, perfect "GET THE FUCK OFF ME DICK!" he shouted and Bill grabbed his brothers shoulder and pulled him off

"leave I-" the singer couldn't finish as a fist flew into his shoulder "WHAT THE FUCK" Bil'ls hand collided with Brians face sending him back quickly followed by Tom punching down at the boy, nobody touches the other twin without the other one getting involved. The fight continued until a scream cut the room, blood was on Toms arm and he stepped back, Gustav was keeping me back by our picture wall and Georg stood next to him and seized looking over

"damn-" Gustav hummed, I looked over to see Brian holding his nose and Tom proudly standing above

"this is your fucking fault Y/n... I should've dated you-" his words stung "this would have never bloody happened if I had just left you earlier!" my heart ached "fuck" he grumbled standing against the door, I looked to his eyes- black and blue. He took a step forward, stumbling slightly but he quickly found his feet again and came at me "YOU DID THIS!" I turned back waiting for my pain- a punch, a slap, a kick but I never felt it THUD I opened my eyes to see Georg on the floor slamming his fist into the boy again- he was really getting the works tonight

"BA-ST-ARD" he chanted before the door burst open to two runners with astonished faces who quickly grabbed their walkie-talkies and spoke some words I couldn't work out, within seconds security rammed in pulling Georg off of Brian who looked even worse and we were all taken back out "fucking dick what did he think he was doing!" and the five of us were pushed out the room

"arsehole" Tom stormed "hope he's in fucking pain for ages-"

"I can't believe he tried to punch me, ME!" Bill shook his head going through to our room I walked with Gustav giving him a 'look' to which he only nodded at "he's a dick" the boys all sat and I just stared into the mirror- those 5 minuets felt more like hours and I just didn't have any words

"this is your fucking fault Y/n... I should've dated you-"

"this would have never bloody happened if I had just left you earlier!"

"YOU DID THIS!"

those sentences flying around my head, I couldn't pull myself away from it, I just looked at myself, I just felt- wrong

"what the hell! why did I just have to see security drag a bloody nosed kid out that room!" Our stage manger burst in "you lot are a world famous band we don't need stunts like that being pulled! 16 people have had to miss a meet n greet because of it!" he shouted but I couldn't hear him really- I wasn't there "Y/n!" he shouted snapping me back

"I'm sorry" I spoke turning to face him

"it's not her fault" Gustav spoke "he was fucking deranged" I laughed slightly looking back at him with a smile

"I don't care! its not a funny matter, its disappointing" we all nodded as he walked out, I turned to the boys and looked to the twins, Tom had blood over him still and Bill just looked pissed off

"I think I'm going to go to the hotel..." I spoke grabbing my bag off the side and hanging it over my shoulder and pulling my skirt lower to feel more covered "bye-"

"wait-" someone spoke "I'll come lemme clean myself up first- five mins" it was Tom, I nodded and settled myself onto my make up chair watching him run to the bathroom

"we're not annoyed at you Y/n, its not your fault" Georg spoke coming over stroking my shoulder "he's a prick"

"I know- I just feel bad, you all basically got hurt because of him and the whole thing was so pathetic I doesn't even seem real like.."

"yeah I get it- its fine, just sleep it off alright" I agreed and watched through the mirror Tom come back in

"ready?"

[inexplicablymine]

The Fandom Feasts

There are so many updates on AO3 for this Friday I just wanted to let y’all know that the RWRB fandom feasts today

In no particular order todays updates (including the link to read them of course ;)

the one in which everything is the same, but Alex has piercings and Henry has no idea by @cheesecurdsgravyandfries (E/2K)

Technically last night and a second chapter update ~ but as a celebration fic for 200 subscribers it deserves a shout out, the title is exactly like it sounds and some may like it hot, but Poutini’s fics always are

under the tuscan sun by @stutteringpeach (E/5.4K)

One shot with a mistaken Airbnb double booking, one bed, and the Italian countryside. What more could you ask for (there’s not, let me tell ya)

Going Platinum by @cricketnationrise (E/12K)

A spicy chapter three update of Cricket’s Cam Boy AU (and fret not this story is being updated DAILY every day until it reaches its 5 chapter conclusion)

Little Matters by @pridepages (M/72k)

If you have not been tuning in every Friday to this absolute masterpiece you are missing out. This chapter 14 installment was just one update in a long line of updates that have had me on the edge of my seat. Found family, real family, AU and a whole lot of slow burn between our boys

But I love him, whether or no. by @leaves-of-laurelin (E/5.4K)

This first chapter installment of a FDNY/Firefighter AU is exactly what everyone in this fandom needs. So enjoy this piping hot piece of writing.

Under your influence by @clottedcreamfudge (T/2.2K)

A canon compliant one shot 5+1 of all the times Alex was a bad influence and one time Henry was. Y’all this one made me tear up in a good way.

Level-Headed and Even-Kneeled by @historicallysam (T/2.9K)

This one shot features Alex’s water going out, and just maybe his hot neighbor in 807 has a working shower? Honestly cuter than it had any right to be

Drummers Do It Better by @everwitch-magiks (M/1.4K)

Run don’t walk to this one shot that is punchy and on beat every line makes itself count. A game of F*ck Marry Kill featuring the positions in the band. And let me tell you, drummers do it better.

All The Broken Pieces by @ifigo (M/8.9K)

An epilogue months in the making this is a sweet conclusion to the previous chapters described as “three pieces of angst in a crack shaped trench coat”

Minor Holidays by AbsoluteAudacity (E/3.2K)

This is the 4th installment of a 5+1 where the boys celebrate a very sexy little month long “holiday” involving a whole lot of deliciously explicit experiences

In the Stars by @orchidscript (E/38.9K)

A chapter 10 update! This WWII au is a part of Orchid’s History Huh series that if you haven’t taken a peak down you are missing out immensely

In His Wildest Dreams by @myheartalivewrites (E/11.4K)

Listen I wasn’t expecting and 11K canon compliant one shot (spoilers for the bonus chapter) that was this horny today but I’ll take it gladly with no qualms. Truly y’all this one will get ya

we’re right here for a reason by @smc-27 (M/12.8K)

“How to loose a guy in ten days but make it FirstPrince need I say more” - I’ll say more. This is delectable and honestly a feast for all rom com lovers, let it tide you over until the movie comes out.

We don’t feast every Friday ~ but when we do? The grub is good.

[maneskingroupie]

Your Biggest Fan (Thomas Raggi x f!reader)

A/N: I wrote this over the course of two days lol

Warnings: none except the mention of the ESC 2021 drug scandal

Word count: 956

It all started in 2015. You were a teenage exchange student living in Rome, and you had a few classmates who were in a band. They were just beginning their careers, but you could tell that they were going to be better as time passed. 

Somehow, though, you managed to befriend them: Victoria, the bassist; Damiano, the lead singer; Thomas, the guitarist; and Ethan, the drummer. Together, they were known as Måneskin, a nod to Victoria’s half Danish heritage. You were among their first fans, and you were around their age. Even when it was time to return home, you kept in touch with them on social media through Instagram and WhatsApp. You learned Roman phrases with them over text while at the airport in your home country and you still supported them, albeit from a distance.

You found them all to be rather cute, but Thomas in particular caught your eye. With his awkward teenage boy appearance, his braces and the long blonde hair covering his face, your teenage brain found him irresistible. Almost every day, when there was time between both of your schoolwork and when the time difference would allow it, you would talk with Thomas through texting. Reading his texts made you giggle and blush, like every teenage girl getting a reply from their crush. Except that he was now becoming an Italian celebrity, thanks to the band’s appearance on the Italian version of X Factor.

A few years passed, you and your international musician friends all graduated school, and now you were all grown up and ready to head out into the world. Flash forward to 2020, you’re trying to apply for an Italian visa so you could finally get together with your friends after talking about it for what seemed like ages now. Then covid hit, and it hit Italy hard. So, your plans were halted. But you kept up with them through texts and social media, like you had before. No big deal. 

However, something changed drastically in your world as things were getting back to normal. Thomas had posted a photo of himself with a woman, who you figured out was his girlfriend. This wasn’t really a shock, considering the other band members had relationships of their own as well. But seeing him with someone after talking to him all these years stung a little. But you moved on after seeing him so happy with her. 

By the time your visa was approved, it was time for Festival di Sanremo in Italy, and your beloved band and friends were competing in the televised festival. The night before the final day of Sanremo, you met up with your friends and caught up in person at a small restaurant. Chatting and light drinking ensued, and you kept staring at Thomas to the point where he kept asking you what was wrong. Each time that he caught you looking, you turned away and mumbled that you were just staring off into space and not looking at him. But the truth was that you had fallen head over heels with him once again after seeing his face in person. He was definitely no longer the awkward boy you had a little crush on all those years ago, and he had grown into a rather attractive young man. 

The next day, you were glued to the tv set in your hotel room, at the edge of your seat. The winners were being announced, and you waited with baited breath while watching your friends embrace each other and be embraced by their former X Factor judge, a rapper known as Fedez. 

Måneskin won. They won Sanremo. They would go on to Eurovision now. 

You were ecstatic for your contest winning friends, and now you could watch them compete in the biggest international musical competition in the world. It seemed so crazy that these guys were once the kids you saw in school talent shows, performing mostly cover songs. Now they had a new album out, a rage filled hard rock album that you loved the absolute hell out of. And now they had won Sanremo. 

The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest came closer and closer, and with each day, you could feel the excitement between them, you, and what seemed like every person on Earth, especially after they won the contest. The excitement didn’t stop at the victory and the growing international fanbase however, a drug scandal emerged. Damiano had to pick up a broken glass that Thomas had dropped and it appeared to look as if he was snorting cocaine. 

The controversy died down after Damiano’s drug test came back negative of course. You knew that a drug test would come back negative anyway, nobody in the band did any drugs. With the exception of cigarettes and alcohol, if you consider those to be drugs. 

Flash forward once again to the present day, less than a few months after Eurovision. Your visa is about to expire, so you plan on bidding your friends farewell again tomorrow. Suddenly, your phone goes off. It’s Thomas blowing up your messages. He’s asking about learning English, interviews, and telling you about the planned tour. You answer his texts with short replies. You tell him that it’s because you're busy packing your belongings in a suitcase, but in reality, it's not just that. Paparazzi photos of him and his girlfriend out and about on a date were published the previous day, and when you saw them, that stinging bitter feeling of jealousy came back. You knew that Thomas didn’t know about your feelings and therefore wasn’t trying to hurt you. Nor was the woman he was dating.

You slid your phone into your pocket and left the hotel room.

[ravenadottir]

renaming characters: s1, s3 and s4

i just decided to compile all of them in one post since we all know these characters pretty well, and by that i mean i know SOME of the names from season 4.

season 2 / season 5 (i guessed/named them because i didn't play the season so... no stakes there!)

SEASON 1

allegra - she's very powerful, *clears throat* hot, and allegra as a name can be that...? i don't know, i feel like amber resumes this character so much, especially if you say it with her accent... amba... every amber in reality tv is a little too intense and we know she's the queen of cringey overreactions.

erikah - always thought laura would suit her better. i don't know why but i don't like erikah for her, but i think laura has a je ne sais quoi that she, the character, also has. she's very complicated and quite feeble at times, but her face tells me laura.

jen - she's clearly a fucking ashleigh. not for nothing, i know a lot of great ashleys', but the -eigh makes it so obnoxious and that's perfect for homegirl, because right off the bat she's claiming vanilla swirley hair romeo and ashleigh's tend to be like that... tell me you can't picture jen in a 2014 pinterest gear up in a pumpkin field wearing uggs and a fedora, i dare you to tell me she's not the type!

talia - is her full name natalia? 'cause it should be. in my humble opinion isla is a great name for her, (pronounced ay-lah) means island and it's spanish and scottish, perfectly beautiful for her, because let's be honest, if any of these girls is gonna have an interesting name, that's talia. hell, talia is already a great name!

jake - this is such a boring name for someone so full of flavor, i can't! he's not dabbed in caucasity nor adolescence, so why the fuck was he named jake???? mateo though... mateo is a fucking name, ok? it can be italian, spanish, portuguese, it doesn't matter. jake is such a 13-yo momma's boy name... ugh, no. if the guy has a collar popped like a fucking vampire and is walking around the villa with that hair, jake is not his name. PERIOD.

mason - i honestly like the name, just not for him. i always thought oliver would be a curveball because so is mason's lack of personality. let's face it they made a huge oopsie when interchanging levi's characteristics with his when coupled up with mc. mason is a drummer turned model, how the fuck did you manage to make him boring??? anyway, his face, to me, is giving oliver.

miles - he deserves a douche name because he has that chest piece, and any guy who displays such... awful tattoo deserves to be punished. fuck it, let's name him terry, short for terrible.

jasper - i mean, i HATE this name, and well, his face and hair is giving elité father tease, so i want to name santiago, because oh my god, every santiago i've met sucks ass and is a creep. the guy has a pet cobra, he HAS to be named santiago!

tim - this is the ONLY character who fits in the jake genre, because he looks 18 and clueless (affectionate). i feel like liam is somehow fitting for him, mostly because that's the go-to name in teen dramas... and usually the liam's are also clueless.

levi - why do his mates call him romeo is beyond me, homeboy has NO GAME. NONE. he's the personification (along with mason) of pretty privilege. if you stick a pin on his head it might deflate, because there's nothing going on behind those average eyes. fuck levi, his name is eric, basic and common.

rohan - since his name has multiple origins, and we don't know for sure his ethnicity (not that it matters, i know brazilian boys who are named tyler, so...) i'm naming him gael. he's a gael, argue with the wall.

cherry - have you ever seen a courtney??? because that's her! and she might be the type to say "although i have the same name as kourtney, khloe is my spirit animal" and you can't tell me she doesn't.

reese - tristan. fuck reese.

sammi - i would love to name her according to her ethnicity, because sammi apparently is hebrew. for instance, if she's korean: seong-min is perfect, because it's a genderless name and so it's sammi. also, i headcanon her as enby (she/them). if she's japanese, aya, because it can mean "brilliant fabric" and that's what she's fucking wearing. if chinese, yu ming, which means jade brightness, again... fitting! i like sammi, but i think it was a missed opportunity to name her in what could be her background culture, since lots of us don't know much, if anything about those countries. i for one didn't have any asian history classes in my school curriculum, which is weird because we had ajapanese immigration here, so like... MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. anyway, these are the names i would give her.

lucy - that's a rebecca that refuses being called becky, and will have a fit if you do. i don't have much to say about her, lucy can die in a hole.

~~

SEASON 3

elladine - she gives me "i have two L's in my name" but it's not elladine. it's something like danielle, which is really pretty and the first name that came to mind when i saw the teasers with her.

aj - this is a great name for her, i have to say! if anything i would've taken the same route and either use an acronym, like aj, or a "boy name" like robin. i honestly love that name for girls and enby's.

bill - honestly the caucasity is too much for me, and i have to say, the name has to fall into that category, so i'm naming him ryan! he's childish and you can tell nobody has told him to shut the fuck up ONCE in his life. his name is ryan and you can argue with the jar of mayo sitting next to him.

camilo - i don't like this for anybody, it's such an ugly name in my opinion. if they wanted to name him a latin name they could've gone with so many other prettier options, and to me he looks like a cauã (the last a is pronounced ahn). listen, cauã is indigenous from brazil, BUT it's so fitting for him, you'll have to trust me on this one! they're athletic and also very... um... let's say "active", and by that i mean they're all whores (affectionate). it's perfect for him.

harry - if zhong is his surname (and it's chinese), then i'm choosing my favorite boy name, which is jun hie. ((fun fact, zhong can also be a first name, and it can mean devotion, among other things that don't even slightly mean that, but i'm focusing on devotion)). harry looks like someone who deserves a cute name that has a deep meaning, and jun hie means outstanding.

nicky - what a bland ass name for someone so pretty! i like jamal for him, and i could stand here all day trying to come up with an excuse but truth be told, it's because of jamal sims (the coreographer), leave me alone he's hot ok!

seb - i actually think a cat name is perfect for him lol it's either seb or something stupid like axel or dash, which makes him INCREDIBLY EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT.

miki - i like it but i think something like sakura would be perfect. there's something about her that reminds me of the petals' colors... she's a pretty chill girl, and somewhat delicate, so i like sakura for her.

genevieve - i think it's perfect! it's dainty but has some strength to it. personally i think if i came up with a name for her it wouldn't be as good as genevieve. hate the nickname though, viv is really basic. call her vieve, man, what are you doing??

iona - i would never think of this name because i've never heard it before meeting her, but she gives me the vibe of a girl who has a big name but cool, short nickname, like andressa or andrea but the nick is andi. the choice is andi, you pick the original.

ciaran - this is a trent and you can argue with bill's mayo jar. he might be irish but his stance is the fucking white american who is a nice guy. i don't like his personality, or the lack of, and trent is a brainless guy, just like him.

tai - it's fucking perfect for him actually! when i saw him on the tease i thought of taika, tai or koa (joyful), but personally i think tai or koa are very fitting.

yasmin - whenever i see her i think of the exact color of iris, so that's the name. plus, she gives "hemp-skirt-wearing and having lesbian sex in an orange tent after lolapalooza" tease and that's why iris fits.

rafi - i don't like the name rafi for him, so... husani. it's pretty accurate, since it means 'handsome'. i also like how it sounds and i think it fits with his personality since that's... the only personality he has. "ah, but vena he talks about his brother-" i'm gonna stop you right there, because he does, but um... how many times did we get to see his depth? exactly.

lily (liliana) - she looks like a bruna to me. it is italian but we do have a lot of bruna's here, and honestly? THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME, and they look like that.

~~

SEASON 4

angie - she gives me strong vibes of alexandra, in a way that she hates her name and prefers a gender bent nickname, like alex. i don't like angie for her.

lexi - this absolute excuse of a person is a jessica to me, but the bad type. you know what i'm talking about, the type you have to call her out in the middle of a discussion because once again she's giving "THAT'S MY OPINION!!" tease. i hate this character so much, she's 46% of the reason why i stopped playing the season.

najuma - i love it but i would never think of this name since i've never heard it before. if someone suggested it, i would probably go with it, but if i had to pick one, it would be amani. i think najuma is better though.

thabi - honestly? pretty cool name for her, such a cute and short name, i would probably choose something like that. i'll keep it.

hazeem - not gonna lie i did NOT think he would have a muslim/arabic/urdu name when i saw him for the first time. and because i don't know NEARLY ENOUGH about the culture, i'm keeping it. he does look like a hazeem somehow.

james - it's such a common, bland, accessible name... then again, so is he. meh, james is fine. although he gives me benjamin... lol idk why, don't ask

kobi - this guy is such a... dynamic young man. there's a guy named calvin, from season 3 of the circle, and is the perfect summoning of what i think kobi is like. the type of guy that joins his fingers and gestures it to explain something, particularly to someone who hasn't asked anything. yeah, kobi's name is calvin.

will - ok, it would be EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN before will, especially knowing it's short for willem? LIKE, I FEEL SO BETRAYED- anyway, since he's japanese, and i wouldn't give him an engligh name, it's an opportunity to expand the character's culture a bit, so his name would be shigeru (lush), 'cause let's face it, the boy is pure lush... he has a fucking robe, it's perfect.

bruno - rafael vibes, and that's because here in brazil that usually goes to very annoying boys... (pronounced ha-fah-el). he just strikes me as a guy who doesn't know when to be quiet and well... he's a comedian, so you know that's fucking true.

youcef - if you told me he was french i would say pierre, because to be honest his face gives... absolutely nothing, so probably blanche? or blanc...? i don't know, he's just such a weird choice, all i think of is the "go back to party city where you belong" because of his hair. i'm definitely naming his blanche.

valentina - that's the most gabriela i've ever seen!! like... she's so fucking hot, i barely can think when i see her, and valentina is a beautiful name, just doesn't fit her vibe.

juliet - fuck this girl, i hate her design so much. and you know what, i also hate the name adrianna, so that's what i would name her. she has the vibe of someone who cuts you off to talk about herself and adrianna's love doing that shit.

cora - close but not quite, i would name her nova, because reasons. she just gives me nova vibes, maybe it's her style? maybe it's just how fresh she looks, idk, i just love the name nova for her.

tom - i'm not fucking with you, the first name that came to mind when i saw him was jerry, before knowing what he was called lol istg it's just jerry for me, the oldest most generic name for a guy that wears a goddamn suit on a summer trip.

kelly - i don't like the name kelly, it's really common in some regions here, i'm tired! plus, she breathes, walks and talks like a chloe, i can't imagine another name for her.

tiffany - hate this name, oh my god... if i had to moan tiffany at any given time, i would jump into an elevator shaft first. since they go by all pronouns, why not a gender neutral name? he gives me solid riley energy. i like it because of the girl in inside out and how there's male and female emotions in her head, so... riley.

dylan - he could be named rat for all i care. BUT i'm giving marcel, because that's what marcel's do, understimate women and are slightly misogynistic, and by slightly i mean a fuck ton. FUCK THIS GUY, FUCK HIS FACE, FUCK HIS BODY, FUCK HIS PERSONALITY. FUCK - THIS - CHARACTER.

oliver - at this point i don't even know, because he gives oliver, but he also gives mason, and also jason, basically names for guys that are ripped lol i think i would give him luke. don't ask, it's a luke thing!

[a-night-like--this]

‘Robert Smith isn’t people’s perceptions’: Stories behind classic photos of The Cure

As the Cure head out on tour across the UK, renowned photographer Tom Sheehan takes us on a trip through some classic pictures of the band.

LAURA KELLY

Tom Sheehan has been taking photos of The Cure since the ’80s. Snatching moments on tour in dressing rooms around the world. Persuading the band to pose in major European cities. Capturing that intense connection Robert Smith has with the camera, and acting as a conduit to the readers of Melody Maker, NME, Sounds and Record Mirror.

Sheehan’s new book The Cure: Pictures of You is a visual record of one of the UK’s most influential bands. As The Cure head out on tour across the UK, Sheehan looks back on his decades of working with the band to share his memories and the behind-the-scenes stories of some of his favourite shots.

The first time I met Robert [Smith] and Lol [Tolhurst, the Cure’s former drummer] was at the Shepherds Bush Hilton in 1982. The Cure were supporting the Banshees, and Robert was also playing in the Banshees so he was a tired boy, I guess.

We were under the cosh because they were about to head off to soundcheck. So, my journalist colleague got about 20 minutes on tape. I got a few frames of them going through a revolving door going out of the hotel. When I look at those pictures, I see there’s a lot of humour going on.

On that half roll of film, the majority of them they’re larking about and Robert was smiling. It was a very comfortable entry into the world of The Cure. There’s that kind of rolling humour that The Cure have, which, luckily for me, I seem to have tapped into from our very first encounter. The perception of Robert at that time wasn’t a very happy guy. He isn’t what people’s perceptions of him are.

Prior to a band recording or doing a gig or whatever, there’s always a little bit of camaraderie. You’re setting things up and there might be a little bit of joshing going on, but the minute you start rolling, you’re working. I’m performing as much as they are. They’ve got to respond to me.

Robert does have a reputation for being a control freak, but I think he hands over the baton to whoever is working with. He ain’t going to leap through hoops of fire, and it was never in my modus operandi to get pictures that made the turn look foolish. But I think he trusts people that he knows can do the job.

The Cure on tour: Robert Smith in Bologna. Photo: Tom Sheehan

Robert Smith enjoys the sculptures in Bologna: The Cure on tour in Italy, June 1984

This was on The Top tour. I joined them in Italy. They were quite a tight band. There’s always this thing when you join a band on tour, even if they know you a bit, you still feel like the outsider because you’re not part of the gang. Although you might be an honorary member for two or three days, you’re an outsider. It’s like you can’t argue with a married couple. It’s the same with any band, you know: they’ve got their own lingo, their own ways. You’re witnessing it, but you’re actually outside of it. And you’ll never be able to penetrate it.

That statue with a fountain is in Bologna, and it’s on a Sunday morning. The day before, the gig was great… but earlier on in the day, Robert had a dicky tummy. I think he’d eaten a dodgy prawn or something and he was laying on the on the dressing room floor, groaning in pain prior to soundcheck.

He recovered enough the next morning to go out. But it was a case of, let’s nail it. So that was just a quick once around the block and take some pictures. It was really fortuitous that there was some nice architecture around to utilise.

Lol Tolhurst and Robert Smith. Photo: Tom Sheehan

A cheeky moment with Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst: The Cure on tour in Italy, June 1984

I have a history of them doing stuff [for other photographers] and me walking in and taking over the studio. There was this really famous Italian photographer who was shooting them for a really high-end publication. This guy was set up and then he was done, and he was talking to his assistant. I just shifted the lights around a bit, and whacked off a couple of frames. That was on the hoof, you know? If something presents itself, you just go to go, there you go chaps. And bang, bang, bang. This picture is the one Lol used on the cover of the UK version of his biography, Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys.

A dressing room portrait. Photo: Tom Sheehan

Getting Robert out of bed: The Cure on tour in Brussels, November 1987

It was a Saturday night, they played some club in Brussels which I can’t recall. We’re in the dressing room and Robert’s sorting out his hair and all that stuff. I’ve just got a couple of plastic backgrounds on a wall and I’m just saying, “Robert, the blue one.” I’m getting them as they’re ready.

If they’re getting ready for a show, they don’t really want me in their in their hair as well. So I pinned up two backgrounds next to each other so I could switch, one to the other. Then the Melody Maker’s got a choice of colours.

Those pictures have quite clear lighting, they’re quite defined. Good for a cover, perhaps. But I was gagging for something in daylight. So, I said to Robert, can we meet tomorrow lunchtime? I get there at one or two o’clock, and the bugger’s still in bed. It was in November, and it was getting dark. So, I thought I better go from street level up to the roof. And then Robert turns up and it’s that classic kind of ‘Tommy, do I really have to be here?’ kinda look. This kind of weathered, aged, ‘is this totally necessary?’ look. I always remember it, because it doesn’t look as dark as it was getting… or maybe it was just my sheer panic.

Eye contact is vital to make a photo work on the newsstand. Photo: Tom Sheehan

‘Give us your eyes’: The Cure on tour in France, 1989

This was a swifty – dive in and dive out. You can’t take a photograph of The Cure in their fatigues. You can’t do it until he’s ready, in the sense of made up, ready to go. The eyes are on, the lips on, the hair’s done. If they if they’ve got a gig coming, I have to be quite economical with the time because they’re on stage in 30 minutes.

Robert is really good at connecting with the camera. He knows what’s required. It’s not like the [Melody] Maker was some sort of art magazine. You couldn’t have some enigmatic, looking-at-the-stars shot, because it’d be too dark and the ink would fuck up. A lot of time it had to be quite clean.

When Melody Maker, along with the NME and Sounds and Record Mirror, was sitting with a multitude of other magazines on the news stand at Tottenham Court Road when you come out of the tube station, you’ve got to be able to see those minces [mince pies, rhyming slang for eyes] on the other side of the road. Every time I’m working with a man, whoever I’m photographing, I say, give us your eyes. Unless you got eye contact, you can’t expect people to look at it the same way.

Sometimes when you look into the lens and look into their eyes, it is a bit of a staring competition. With Robert I think he’s always been confident. I mean, God knows what he thinks about in his own time, but when he’s working his confidence is great. He’s always appeared to be older than his years as well.

A big day out to Westbury White Horse with the Cure. Photo: Tom Sheehan

Robert’s side hustle as a National Trust guide: The Cure in southwest England, 1995

This was a great day out. The band were done in the southwest recording [the album Wild Mood Swings] in that actress’s house [Jane Seymour’s house, St Catherine’s Court in Somerset]. I came down when they’d been stuck in the studio for a couple of weeks, so I’m sure they wanted a distraction. In other words, taking the piss out of a mature lensman. So, off we went.

Robert was, and probably still is, a member of the National Trust. So he had it all worked out, where we’re were going. We got in a van and we just travelled around. We went to Cheddar Gorge and all round that area. Robert had made a few notes, so he’d be looking at the map, and saying, “Coming up is…”

The horse doesn’t have any hidden meaning. It’s just the British countryside. But I like to think it confused a lot of people overseas, in Japan or whatever.

The Cure at Westside Studios. Photo: Tom Sheehan

Music icons: The Cure in Westside Studios, London, 2005

It was 2005, and The Cure were in Westside Studios recording. I was taking a picture of Robert with a copy of Bowie’s …Ziggy Stardust… for series of portraits on music icons and the records that inspired them. I said to him, “let’s get a couple of other portraits while we’re here”. There was this spiral staircase outside, so we headed there. Robert said to me “you’ll do better getting me from above…” and he was right. I like taking photos from above, you get a better line on people’s jaw. Their faces look better.

I think Robert worked out his relationship between him and the camera. I mean, he got his whole thing together, didn’t he? With the hair and the lips and the clobber. If you’ve got all that stuff around, you could confuse the viewer. So I’d always say, I still want the eyes. I want that contact.

The Cure: Pictures of You by Tom Sheehan, with a foreword by Robert Smith, is published November 3, 2022.

[fics-not-tragedies]

January 2024 Music Prompts - Spotify Wrapped edition

♪ Hello again! Yes, I'm finally back, at last. Let's start new year with something great: music prompts ♪🎵🎶

♪ Since getting your Spotify Wrapped is such a huge event every year (at least for me, who listens to the same 5 artists and even tho I still get surprised, lol), I decided to surprise you with a little prompt event.

♪ I've chosen 15 songs from my 2023 Wrapped playlist and a lyric (or few) for each one of them that just has THE vibe (y'know):

1. Own My Mind ♫ Måneskin I'm prayin' at your altar if you know what I mean.

2. Dinner & Diatribes ♫ Hozier I’d suffer hell if you'd tell me/What you'd do to me tonight.

3. Kiwi ♫ Harry Styles She worked her way through a cheap pack of cigarettes/Hard liquor mixed with a bit of intellect.

4. Electricity ♫ Arctic Monkeys Tell me something I don’t already know/Like how'd you get your kisses to fill me with electricity?

5. Francesca ♫ Hozier Though I know my heart would break/I'd tell them, "Put me back in it".

6. Honey (Are You Coming?) ♫ Måneskin I'm gonna show you how this Italian amor/It's gonna love you harder than ever before/You will like it.

7. Don't Blame Me ♫ Taylor Swift I would fall from grace/Just to touch your face.

8. For Your Love ♫ Måneskin I wanna be the first man you look at tonight/I wanna be stuck in your head and make you go wild.

9. Stuck ♫ Thirty Seconds to Mars I've been lost in your eyes all afternoon/The more I drift, the closer I get to you.

10. Mammamia ♫ Måneskin They ask me why I'm so hot, 'cause I'm italiano.

11. Nobody ♫ Hozier I'd be appalled if I saw you ever try to be a saint/I wouldn't fall for someone I thought couldn't misbehave/But I want you to know that I've had no love like your love.

12. I Can See You ♫ Taylor Swift But what would you do if I went to touch you now?/What would you do if they never found us out?/What would you do if we never made a sound?

13. Baby Said ♫ Måneskin Baby said, "Let me taste your silhouette/You can talk between my legs"/Uh-uh, uh, uh, know you really want to.

14. Cuff It ♫ Beyonce I wanna go higher, can I sit on top of you?

15. I Wanna Be Your Dog ♫ John McCrea So messed up, I want you here/In my room, I want you here/Now we're gonna be face-to-face/And I'll lay right down in my favorite place.

♪ You can now start making request for the following list of characters:

1. Keanu Reeves along with his following characters/movies:

John Wick & the John Wick movies franchise,

Constantine & the movie,

Johnny Utah & Point Break,

Jonathan Harker & Bram Stoker’s Dracula,

Neo & The Matrix,

dr Julian Mercer,

Jack Traven & Speed;

2. Riccardo Scamarcio along with:

Santino D’Antonio;

3. Andrew Hozier Byrne;

4. Tom Hiddleston along with his following characters/movies:

Sir Thomas Sharpe & Crimson Peak,

Loki & Avengers/Thor,

Adam & Only Lovers Left Alive,

dr Robert Laing & High Rise,

Jonathan Pine & The Night Manager;

5. Henry Cavill along with his following characters/movies:

Geralt of Rivia & The Witcher,

Walter Marshall & Nomis,

Capt. Syverson & Sand Castle,

Napoleon Solo & The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,

August Walker & MI: Fallout,

6. Alexander Skarsgård along with his following characters/movies:

Eric Northman & True Blood,

Leo Beiler & Mute,

Gadi Becker & The Little Drummer Girl,

sergeant Brad “Iceman” Colbert & Generation Kill,

7. Peaky Blinders franchise along with the following characters:

Thomas ‘Tommy’ Shelby,

Alfie Solomons,

8. Supernatural franchise along with the following characters:

Dean Winchester,

Sam Winchester,

9. The X Files franchise along with the following characters:

Dana Scully,

Fox Mulder,

10. Kiefer Sutherland along with his following characters/movies:

Jack Bauer & 24,

president Tom Kirkman & Designated Survivor,

David & The Lost Boys.

Please send in a number with the song/lyric you fancy + a character from those listed above, first come - first serve, as always.

If there are any questions don’t be afraid to ask them, I’m always all ears for y’all!

♪ LET'S CELEBRATE THE BEGINNING OF 2024 ✨

[reaja]

When I was a kid my older brother was a drummer in a band. It was the late 90s, he was in high school, and their lead guitarist was this tall lanky dude that also worked at the only coffee stand in our tiny little town. I would get off the bus after middle school and loiter around the coffee shop because there was nothing else at all to do and he would make me free Italian sodas and humor me and we'd talk about Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins and Meat Puppets and blah blah blah. Anyway I was pretty smitten but it was innocent and he went off to college and I dated age appropriate people and my brother's band sucked and broke up when my brother got married, etc. but I kinda always had a tiny little spark of "aww coffee shop guitarist boy, my first crush, he was so cool". Anyway I just saw a Instagram reel by him of the Top 10 things for landlords to know going into the rental market now which included things like making sure to not rent out space for parking multiple vehicles because otherwise people might work on their cars and bring down property values so anyway that's how my youth died

[musicman5234]

William Edward Chiaiese was born on October 20, 1934 to John and Emily Chiaiese(key-ah-tze) in Dorchester , Massachusetts . The family later moved to Squantum , Mass. John changed the family name to Chase, understanding that the Italian name Chiaiese was both hard to spell and pronounce.

While Bill was growing up his parents felt that he needed to broaden his horizons and arranged for him to take violin lessons. Bill did not even touch the trumpet, until the middle of his high school years. A newspaper clipping dated 1956 pictures Bill listed as a Corporal in the 26th Yankee Infantry Division Band holding a bass drum. Bill's experience as a drummer changed his life and the lives of many others. During a St. Patrick's Day parade he had to lug his huge drum for five miles enduring the miserably cold pouring rain. It hurt so bad that he decided never to do it again, he asked his father to dig out his old trumpet for him.

Not long after switching to trumpet, Bill was playing first chair in the school orchestra and classical music was his main love. Early 1950's a neighbor coaxed Bill to attend a Stan Kenton concert with him. This was the band with Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Childers, Conte Condoli, etc. After that night, Bill was hooked on jazz and high note trumpet.

As you can tell, this time period in Bills life is hard to decipher. Bill was doing so much playing, and he became very good so quickly, that the dates are very confusing. Since Maynard left the Kenton Band and headed to Hollywood in 1953, Bill must have seen Kenton before then. I can only assume that he switched to the trumpet around 1951 at about the age of 16.

Boston Globe writer Ernie Santosuosso wrote about Bill in 1971, “Bill Chase has been experimenting with sounds all of his life. As a youngster in the Fields Corner community of Dorchester , he was intrigued by the drums. Since he didn’t own a set, he’d improvise with the aid of a couple of galvanized steel rubbish barrels.

Bill’s backyard became his bandstand as he beat out precocious rhythms atop the inverted barrels. The little Italian lady, who sat at her kitchen window, regarded Bill as a pet but voiced emphatic objections to his make-shift paraddidling on the barrels. So, when Bill’s father, who played trumpet, decided to retire his horn, the boy’s curiosity inevitably led him to the instrument and away from the barrel- house. The maturation process as a trumpeter had begun for Bill.

The ex-drummer put his horn to work for St. Ambrose’s Band, then for Boston English High, Berklee, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, and Woody Herman. The little old Italian lady was given special command performances in her kitchen and she almost lit a candle in thanksgiving for young Bill’s return to his barrels and rubbish deposits.”

He started playing his fathers old trumpet the summer before his junior year in high school and showed a natural aptitude for it. He soon joined a Drum and Bugle Corps, along with his school groups. This, was prior to his stint in the Boston National Guard where he said he wrote music and played trumpet in 1957. He served for six months in the guard band, which honed his talents as a trumpeter and arranger.

Chase played lead trumpet with Maynard Ferguson in 1958, Stan Kenton in 1959, and Woody Herman's Thundering Herd during the 1960s.

One of Chase's charts from this period, "Camel Walk", was published in the 1963 Downbeat magazine yearbook. From 1966 to 1970 he freelanced in Las Vegas, working with Vic Damone and Tommy Vig. In 1967 he led a six-piece band at the Dunes and Riviera Hotel where he was featured in the Frederick Apcar lounge production of Vive Les Girls, for which Chase arranged the music.

In 1971 he started a jazz rock band named "Chase" that mixed pop, rock, blues, and four trumpets.[5] The debut album Chase was released in April 1971. Chase was joined by Ted Piercefield, Alan Ware, and Jerry Van Blair, three jazz trumpeters who were adept at vocals and arranging. They were backed up by a rhythm section consisting of Phil Porter on keyboards, Angel South on guitar, Dennis Johnson on bass, and John "Jay Burrid" Mitthaur on percussion. Rounding out the group was Terry Richards, who was the lead vocalist on the first album. The album contains Chase's most popular song, "Get It On", released as a single that spent 13 weeks on the charts beginning in May 1971. The song features what Jim Szantor of Downbeat magazine called "the hallmark of the Chase brass—complex cascading lines; a literal waterfall of trumpet timbre and technique." The band received a Best New Artist Grammy nomination, but was edged out by rising star Carly Simon.

Chase released their second album, Ennea, in March 1972; the album's title is the Greek word for nine, a reference to the nine band members. The original lineup changed midway through the recording sessions, with Gary Smith taking over on drums and G. G. Shinn replacing Terry Richards on lead vocals. The third album, Pure Music, moved the band toward jazz. Two of the songs were written or co-written by Jim Peterik of the Ides of March, who also sings on the album, along with singer and bassist Dartanyan Brown.

Chase's work on a fourth studio album in mid-1974 came to an end on August 9, 1974. While en route to a scheduled performance at the Jackson County Fair, Chase died in the crash of a chartered twin-engine Piper Twin Comanche in Jackson, Minnesota, at the age of 39. The pilot and co-pilot were killed, as were keyboardist Wally Yohn, guitarist John Emma, and drummer Walter Clark.

Source: Kevin Seeley/Wikipedia

[en-la-casademiamor]

Christmas in the (inner) city

It was night in Bethlehem long ago, I thought, while shivering cold in front of a bustling Macy’s window display full of magical animatronics.  

It was not in the desert that I saw the newborn King, I pictured: as I held and walked with my father in front of the old depressing brick tenements the

Italians of ole had erected and etched names on buildings after saints or villages back home. An ephemeral golden ring shone over his tender head, I imagined;

while I sang the song, Little drummer boy.   His tiny hand had probably trembled upward toward darkness knowing The Holy Ghost would surely be there like

the sun. I heard the cooing of a dove in my ear and I believed in that moment that it carried laurel in its beak.  We came across carolers standing on the steps of

the cathedral and I felt the tension of His little fingers now spread open.  No one had really showed me: told me how to, but I dared to believe against all odds that he

needed me as I would need Him.  Little little me; little Him: and with all that said, I think that was the very day, a Christmas story eons in the making, stole my feeble

heart with intent on continually bursting it wide open like a too ripened orange, thus becoming and becoming, year after year; always by my choice; His.

[bvdsigns]

name : maximilian gilles boucher ferro nicknames : max, maxie, ferret gender & pronouns : cis man, he / him age & date of birth : 33 ( june 26, 1990 ) hometown : portofino, italy nationality : american, italian occupation :  record producer / songwriter / dj / club owner sexuality : bisexual language/s spoken : english, italian, french faceclaim :  richard madden career claims: mark ronson, dan nigro, charli xcx

trigger warnings: mention of a head injury & drug overdose.

FAMILY

mother : camila isabelle boucher ( inès de la fressange fc ). a french socialite, hails from a wealthy family who owns a chain of hotels and restaurants across europe. also a former supermodel in the the late 70s throughout the 80s. has since then ventured into fashion design and perfumery.

father : giovanni lorenzo ferro ( pierce brosnan fc ). an english-italian former formula 1 driver who raced with mclaren, ferrari, and williams. has four world championships under his belt and retired in 2001. currently the team principal of the mclaren f1 team.

stepfather : david gideon langdon ( tbd fc ). an english drummer for the rock band the kicks, which was popular in the 70s and 80s.

siblings : max has three biological older siblings from his father's marriage with his mother and a twin sister, older step siblings from his stepfather's prior marriages, and two younger paternal half-sisters, casey (24, gracie abrams fc ), a singer, and mia ( kaia gerber fc ), a model.

HISTORY

max was born in portofino, italy, to a french mother and an english-italian father. camila boucher is a socialite, businesswoman and one of the world's most in-demand supermodels in the 80s while giovanni ferro is a former four-time formula 1 world champion until his retirement in 2001.

with the twins being the youngest and both parents having been busy with their own careers (mom was always doing business stuff and dad was constantly traveling for his races), max and his twin sister were raised by nannies who max would constantly terrorize, so his mother would keep having to find replacements after they quit.

max's father made him get into karting at age 4, but giovanni was too intense all the time (think jos verstappen but not as successful lmao) and max just wasn't as serious about it as he was. it wasn't until after sustaining a head injury from a huge accident during a tournament when he was eight that his mother made him stop karting.

being such a hyperactive little boy, now he had all that energy and nowhere to put it, which posed a problem for the family, especially after he set the living room carpet on fire one christmas eve, his parents made the decision to ship him off to a boarding school in turin, italy, where his paternal grandfather lived, when he was just 9 years old.

he would stay in boarding school until he was thirteen, and it was only thanks to rather hefty donations from his family that he wasn't expelled almost immediately for the trouble he often caused.

however, boarding school wasn't an entirely futile endeavor — in fact, it was here that he discovered his love for music after curriculum-mandated music lessons had him learning how to play the trumpet and, later on, the drums.

by the time he returned to america, his parents were already divorced and his mother was just about to get remarried to dave langdon, the drummer for the kicks, a popular english rock band in the 70s and 80s.

dave was great, and he was very good to his mother in a way that his father often wasn't. it didn't take long for max to acclimate to dave as a father figure, and it helped that music was something that they got to bond over.

max recorded his first song when he was fourteen. he then burned his first EP in CDs he would submit to music producers and sell to people so he can buy new gear (his family had the means to buy it for him and dave does give him old gear and gifts him some for birthdays and christmases, but he wanted to feel like he was building something for himself, you know?). nobody ever bought anything, so he resorted to just giving the CDs away on the street.

started DJing when he was 17 in clubs in new york city, adapting the stage name BADSIGNS, which he's since then been using for all his musical ventures. still below the legal age of drinking, dave used to pay the club owners not to give max any alcohol, though it was easy to slip past that measure.

got into juilliard where he majored in composition while continuing to spin in clubs. here, he got really into the party scene, started drinking heavily, developed a pill dependence, did a lot of cocaine.

initially gained popularity for the remixes he would play in clubs and later post to this attracted the attention of local artists who wanted to collaborate with him, a lot of whom have actually made it big now.

he dropped out of juilliard on his third year after he got signed on to his first record label.

his sound has evolved from hip hop and jazz and funk to dance and pop throughout the years but claims to take inspiration from a variety of genres and eclectic influences.

started ghostwriting songs for big artists under the moniker g. gagne (his middle name and his mother's maiden name) since he was 21 but it wasn't until he was 25 that he started getting proper credit.

when he was 23, he was involved in a scandal when he entered a relationship with a married actress twenty-five years his senior. after the actress and her husband divorced, she and max lived together in new york city. they were together for an entire year, after which, the actress and her ex-husband got back together. just a few weeks later, max would land himself in the hospital after overdosing on oxy, which he claims to have been an accident.

can be quite a workaholic and always wants to be busy and stimulated. has been putting out record after record since he started his career, producing music for artists big and small, making remixes, and has even gotten into film scoring.

formed his own record label, futz records, in 2016 as an imprint of columbia records where he signed a newcomer (who would later be a frequent and favorite collaborator of his) and several other small artists.

in 2020, he bought a house in los angeles adjoined to his own personal studio where he prefers to work most of the time since everything, from the interior to the equipment, is pretty much customized and personally handpicked.

in 2021, he along with a childhood friend, opened their own nightclub in hollywood called terrazzo (known affectionately as the razz by celebrities and locals) which he says initially came to be because he wanted to give smaller artists a platform to introduce themselves, as there are performances every night. max spins only on the weekends.

HEADCANONS

was the drummer for a small band called the confectioners with two friends from LA when he was 13. it definitely started as a gag and the songs they would write are largely inspired by weird al yankovic but then they realized that they actually sounded good, got to play a couple of gigs in the city, but it wasn't anything they took seriously. the three are still good friends.

still very much into cars, hence why a lot of his records tend to be car-themed. he still enjoys karting in his free time and attends grands prix whenever he can, also to support his father.

the karting accident he had when he was 4 and the head injury he sustained from it had affected his fine motor skills, which makes tasks such as writing with a pen or pencil, doing or undoing his buttons, or tying his shoelaces difficult. it isn't so bad when he's playing musical instruments since he's normally very focused and the actions are continuous, but he does have some bad days.

also related to the head injury are the recurring headaches and migraines he's had since he was around 7 years old, which is how he managed to get prescriptions to painkillers he overdosed on.

max is an avid gamer and has a twitch account ( twitch.tv/mister.ferret ) where he sometimes streams himself and his friends playing games. he especially likes sim racing and sometimes even streams with f1 drivers from the current grid.

TIMELINE

1990 , max is born in portofino, italy.

1990 - 1999 (age 1-9) , lived in monte carlo, monaco.

1994 (age 4) , has a near-fatal karting accident.

1999 (age 9) , studies in a boarding school in turin, italy.

2003 (age 13) , moves back to america. mother got married to dave langdon. lives between new york city and los angeles. starts a small comedy band in his mother and stepfather's garage called the confectioners.

2004 (age 14) , records his first EP from his bedroom.

2007 (age 17) , starts his career as an amateur dj in new york city clubs.

2008 (age 18) , gets into juilliard.

2011 (age 21) , drops out of juilliard. gets signed on to his first record label.

2013 (age 22-23) , puts out his first EP version as a signed artist. also gets involved as the third party in an actress' extramarital affair.

2014 (age 24) , hospitalized for a pill overdose/suspected suicide attempt. releases his first studio album, version.

2015 (age 25) , releases his second studio album, record collection.

2016 (age 26) , forms his own record label, futz records.

2017 (age 27) , releases his third studio album, uptown special.

2019 (age 28) , wins an academy award for best original song for his writing credits in the song 'shallow' for the 2019 remake of the film a star is born.

2020 (age 30) , releases his fourth studio album, late night feelings.

2021 (age 31) , opens his nightclub terrazzo with his best friend.

DISCOGRAPHY

VERSION, 2014

RECORD COLLECTION, 2015

MORTDECAI (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK), 2015

UPTOWN SPECIAL, 2017

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (ORIGINAL SCORE), 2018

LATE NIGHT FEELINGS, 2020

BODIES BODIES BODIES (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK), 2022

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (ORIGINAL SCORE), 2023

BARBIE THE ALBUM, 2023

BARBIE (SCORE FROM THE ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE), 2023

AWARDS

tbd.

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Riven's Basic Info

Name: Riven Marcus Hewlett

Faceclaims for Riven came very easily, surprisingly. For the 60s, we have the amazing Frankie Avalon (almost any beach movie from the 60s). For the 80s, there’s Jason Bateman (Teen Wolf Too). For the 90s, I picked Brad Pitt (Fight Club). And, finally, we have Dacre Montgomery for the present (Stranger Things).

Nicknames: Riv, Rivet, and “you ass” (Vivien’s favorite way to greet him)

Age: 19

Date of Birth: October 27

Zodiac: Scorpio

Birthstone: Opal and Pink Tourmaline

Nationality: American and Italian

Sexuality: Straight (though even he questions it sometimes lol)

Birthplace: Salem Hospital, Salem, Massachusetts

Current Residence: Whipple Avenue, Laconia, New Hampshire

Occupation: Photographer/videographer for local businesses and the newspaper, junior tattoo artist at a piercing/tattoo shop in Laconia, Dungeon Master for a small D&D group, drummer in a band he made in high school, and he’s, obviously, a competitive skater. He wants to become a director someday, but he’s saving his money for now.

Talents/Skills: He somehow knows people's secrets without having them tell him, he draws things pretty realistically, he’s known for telling the truth all the time, but he’s a fairly convincing liar, and he’s great at filmmaking, which is useful for any short films Vivien and the boys want to make.

Birth order: Only child

Parents: Anthony Hewlett and Emmaline Russo

Signature:

Height: 6’2” or 189cm

Eye Color: Hazel

Hair Color: Auburn brown, but it looks golden brown in certain lighting

Glasses or contact lenses: He needed glasses as a child, but had surgery to correct his eyes once he turned 18.

Distinguishing features: His nose crinkles when he laughs and he has two tattoos - a snake on his collarbone and lightning on his ribcage - but he and Vivien both agreed to get matching space tattoos when she turns 18.

Mannerisms: Tapping his feet along to music whether it’s in his head or not, constantly checking the time when he’s nervous, picking at the skin around his fingernails, and he always stacks up plates and silverware for waitstaff when he eats out so it will be easier for them to take.

Health: Had terrible eyesight as a kid, is allergic to pollen, and has allergy-induced asthma.

Hobbies: Protecting those he cares about, contributing to chaos, taking in injured animals, playing drums (he’s the one who taught Vivien how to play), and exploring abandoned places (once again, if you think that’s how Vivien started, you’d be right).

Greatest flaw (in their opinion): How selfless he can be sometimes. Riven treats others’ lives as more important than his own and will do anything it takes, even sacrificing himself, to keep them safe. A prime example of this is his relationship with Vivien. She is like a little sister to him and has been for most of his life, so he would do anything for her. He’s almost gotten arrested to protect her once when they were in an abandoned school and someone called the cops on them. He puts himself at risk for those he loves and he knows that will be his downfall someday.

Best quality (in their opinion): His best quality and greatest flaw are pretty much the same things - his infinite loyalty to those he considers friends/family.

Biggest fear: Dying. He’s had a few close calls before - one including a skating accident and another coming home from a band session on wet roads - and the thought of dying genuinely terrifies him.

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

Favorite ice cream: Chocolate fudge brownie (or, as he calls it, Death By Chocolate)

Favorite color: Sage green

Favorite numbers: 33 and 74

Favorite songs: Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus, Perfume by Lovejoy, and In The End by Linkin Park

Favorite movies: White Chicks, The Karate Kid, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Free Guy, and Ratatouille

Favorite TV shows: Loki, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chernobyl, Game of Thrones, and Attack on Titan (he has watched both the English and Japanese versions, and is very proud of the fact that he knew enough Japanese to understand most of what they were saying without subtitles)

Favorite books: You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Six of Crows, and The Count of Monte Cristo

Favorite video games: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, The Walking Dead, and Baldur’s Gate 3

A musical they like: Starlight Express

A place they want to visit: Puerto Rico (mostly for the old cars that are very popular there)

[arlechinav-blog]

Tarantella Documentary Walkthrough

As usual, here is the link to what I will be talking about today. This documentary is in Italian. I could not find the version I have seen with the English subtitles (apologies) but I think the visuals and sounds of the rituals are what matters most. Besides, I'm going to walk you through it below anyway.

In the first 3 minutes of this documentary, the videography lays out the setting that forms the background for the cult. It is hot, the fields have just been harvested, and three women work in the shade of a crumbling church stacking tobacco leaves. The white façade of the church stands out amid the red and black soil. The air is dry. As the women work they sing in the high voice used for worldly matters like love and labor. Work songs themselves are trance inducing by design (same with lullabies and sea shanties) to help the work go by and free the mind from discomfort. Harvest time is when the Brides of the Saint are awakened. It is very much tied to the agricultural cycle and the handling of crops--whatever is being grown in the area, not anything specific. That is when women, who are the ones who do most of the harvesting in this area, are likely to be "pinched" (pizzica)--which is to say struck with a divine madness.

The video then goes on to introduce the musicians who will help the tarantate (the Brides) to reach a point of ecstasy. The music itself has the power to do this both by playing specific traditional melodies and rhythms and also because of the occupations of the musicians themselves and the sympathetic magic they contain. Hair dressing is a traditional form of innate sorcery in many Mediterranean cultures, specifically those who also have spirit traditions. The video then shows you a man drawing water from a well, another act that brings a person into close contact with the spirit world. And then a grave digger, which again... close contact with the spirit world. The video then cuts over to the three men playing possession music for a tarantata (Bride).

The tarantata is secluded behind a curtain where she will remain completely catatonic until the rhythm and melody of the specific spirit that "pinched" her is played. The musicians will not know which one it is the very first time they play for her but each year after they will be able to play it straight away. Either the video is skipping past the tarantata's motionless phase or this is not her first year. A little boy, presumably either her son or one of the musician's, holds an image of the saint that will induce the healing aspect of the ritual. The tarantata emerges, writhing on the ground on her back propelled by what we might call a "crab walk" in English but it is part of the vocabulary of possession for this cult. She wears all white. The rug is white. The cloth she grips is white. And if the musicians are smart they will also wear white because it is the only spiritually neutral color. The tarantata will often seek out and destroy other colors if she sees them, tearing them apart with her hands and teeth.

There is a close-up on the drummer's hand and I want to point out a couple of things about it.  

1. You will note that he has a handkerchief tied around it like a bandage. These are not dainty synthetic drum heads. That is probably goat hide and it will take your flesh off if you sit there and bang on it for hours and hours. There is a self-mortification aspect to this ritual. Not just for the drummer, for all of the musicians. To play past the point of exhaustion and bodily safety is part of the process.  

2. You will also note that he plays in a single-handed style, holding the drum with one hand and beating it with the other. This is significant to the iconographic connection of modern Tarantella and the Dionysian traditions. There are only so many ways to play with one hand.

Shortly after that you see the musicians are gathered very closely around her as she rolls on the rug. They were sitting on stools before she came out from behind the curtain so they have moved into a more active role during this part of the ritual. At this point they are driving the spirit to MOVE. The barber, who is dressed in all white, has the greatest spiritual power of the three--due to his occupation. And you can see him following the tarantata, kneeling down to play next to her ear, and then suddenly she gets up from the floor and starts to run/dance in a small circle in the confined space.

This is the desired outcome. They have to provoke the spirit to rise up so that it can be danced out. At the 7:53 mark she suddenly drops and they stop playing. The family watches from the doorway in concern. She starts speaking in an antagonistic voice to the portrait of the Saint, who is both the cause of her affliction and the (temporary) cure for her affliction. She strikes the portrait and tears it apart with her hands. They are not done!

The musicians get back to work and the spirit toys with them. It gives a little movement in her body just enough to show them they are on the right track but not enough to get the tarantata back up. The video cuts away from the dance and focuses on the journey to the shrine. The evocation is hard work and will go on and on for a very long time. We are skipping ahead a bit.

Now we come to the church of St. Paul in Galatina and you can see a tarantata is being led inside by her relatives who are caring for her at this time. It has become a house full of Brides. They rest, unresponsive under the watch of the icon. Buncha tourists gather around outside to gawk. Their family members light candles, desperately trying to get the Saint to drive the madness out of his Brides. You can hear the sounds of a tarantata in the background making exhausted sex noises. More Brides arrive.

The church will not allow them to play the music inside so some of the tarantate start singing and dancing on their own. A tarantata dressed in black (a very serious affliction) crawls on her hands and knees outside the church roaring like a giant cat. This is more self-mortification. The ones dressed in black are more likely to be violent so the crowd tries to give her enough room but they still want to see what is going on. Eventually she starts skipping to the music the other tarantate are making. Pausing briefly to get angry about the camera. Pretty sure she would have broken it if she could have reached it and that's why it is up there to begin with.

The Brides will scream and run and climb and swing and dance. Their families are in a hard situation because they care for Brides and have to prevent them from getting seriously hurt while all of this is happening. I love how this fancy marching band comes through and nobody gives one single eyeball towards them. Suddenly one of the Brides attacks someone in the crowd and she is pulled away and directed back towards the church. She then begins to convulse. A family member brings her the water from the well. Night falls and that is largely it.

[transmasc-totoro]

Went to the museum today on a whim and one of the rooms was set up like they were in the 1800s and also in parts of the louvre (paintings everywhere with little descriptions, visually overwhelming) and I learned that when museums were set up like that artists agonized over the frames of their works and it was a very important part of the process, because the right frame would help their art stand out, emphasize certain aspects of the image, and complement the depth of the image. Which was very interesting to them look at the respective frames and think about why they were chosen. I had my lil sketchbook with me and did brief sketches of the ones I really liked and then I checked the catalogue so I could write the names down and they were ALL by the same artist. I really like this William Morris Hunt guy, I guess. Anyway here are the paintings that caught my eye.

La Marguerite, 1857

Italian peasant boy, 1866

He would’ve been big in the LGBT community

The Belated Kid, 1854-57

The Gleaner, 1865

Wounded Drummer Boy, I forgot to write down the date. There’s another one I loved but the only image I can find online is in black and white so as a placeholder here is another painting by him in a different part of the museu

French Peasant Woman with Pig, 1853

[kmp78]

The next album will be a Best of Mars one because they can cut and paste from previous recordings. That'll satisfy the fanatics until they remember they're musicians and record something new.

🎄🎶 “Thirty Angels From Mars- A Christmas Anthology”, “Morbius Holiday Mood Music”, “Foreign Holiday Favorites:JL sings Christmas and Chanukah songs with an Italian and Hebrew Accent”, or some singles like”Jingle Balls”, “Deck the Halls With Babes and Models”, “The 12 Days of Christina”, “Oh Holy Guacamole”, “The Little Drummer Boy Gets Clean”, “Silent (about that) Night”, “Winter What?! on Wonderland Ave “, “White and Skinny Christmas”, “Angels We Have Heard When High”, “All I Want For Christmas Is My Russian Modelita”, “Baby It’s Old Outside”, “Away In A Manage a Trois”, “Joy exposes herself To The World -with secret guest appearances” and so many other possible hits…

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂👏

Deck the halls with babes and models... 😂

Falalalalaaaaaaa lalaaaaalaaaaaalaaaaaa... 🎶

[little-moonbeam-666]

Not Good With Words *Ethan Torchio*

*I do not speak Italian, so I apologize if anything is wrong.*

Warnings: None, A bit fluffy I guess

Translations Below:

“Cara mia” - My Dear

“Cucciolo” - Puppy

“Ti amo anch'io, principessa.” - I love you too, princess

“Y/N, I swear to god if you don’t tell Ethan that you like him, I’m gonna tell him for you!” Victoria scolded after catching you staring at Ethan from across the room. Thankfully he was too preoccupied with whatever Thomas was telling him to take notice of Victoria's outburst.

“Oh my god, shut up! Dammit, Vic! I can’t tell him. Every time he talks to me I can barely get a full sentence out. I’m just not good with words so how the hell am I supposed to tell him that I like him?” you whisper shouted at her. She laughed at your attempt to stay quiet.

“I’m not sure, Y/N. But you have to do something! I think you and Ethan would be perfect for each other.”

“You really think so?” you asked, hope lacing your voice.

“Yes! I can see it now, you and Ethan being so damn cute together that it makes me sick!” she said, a huge grin on her face as she tried to contain her laughter. You couldn’t help but laugh along with her. 

You spent the majority of the night being a wallflower, sipping on your wine until you were well beyond tipsy. Then an idea hit you. You had a way to tell Ethan you were in love with him… without actually saying anything.

You hurried to your room and opened your laptop, pulling up your itunes and creating a playlist. Pretty Boy by The Neighbourhood, I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys, Coming Down by Halsey, Follow You by Imagine Dragons, and a handful of other songs that all depicted your feelings towards the drummer.

After rummaging around your room, you’d managed to find your stash of blank CD’s and burned the playlist onto one of them before placing the CD back in it’s case. You found a lone sharpie in your desk drawer and wrote a note on the front of the case, signing your name at the bottom.

“Ethan, I love you. So much. I’m not good with words, so here you go. Love, Y/N.”

Grabbing the CD, you snuck back out to the party, maneuvering your way through the crowd of people and making your way outside. You managed to make it out to where everyone was parked and quickly found Ethan’s car.

Testing the handle, you found that he’d left it unlocked so you quickly opened the door and put the CD in his passenger seat where he’d be sure to see it. You closed the door as quietly as you could before turning around, only to come face to face with Damiano.

“Whatcha doin, Y/N?” he asked, a huge grin on his face.

“I was just… uh… giving something back to Ethan. I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t forget it when he left tonight so I thought I’d just put it in his car for him.” you rushed out. Damiano raised an eyebrow at you and you could tell that he didn’t believe your lie for a single second.

“Ya know, you’re a terrible liar, cara mia. Victoria told me about your little crush on our drummer boy. So how did you decide to tell him you like him?” he asked, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and leading you back towards the party. You sighed in defeat and decided to tell him.

“I burned him a CD with songs on it that kind of describe my feelings for him.” You mumbled.

“That’s… actually a brilliant idea.” he said, giving your shoulder a squeeze. By now the two of you had made it back to the party and were getting closer to where Victoria, Ethan, and Thomas were talking.

“Thanks, Damiano. Please don’t say anything.” you begged as you got closer.

“Don’t worry, cucciolo. I won’t.” he said, removing his arm from you and making his way over to the rest. You quietly followed and took the only open seat left, which was between Victoria and Ethan. Victoria gently nudged you and gave you a smile.

You stayed quiet the rest of the night as your friends continued to talk and party around you. The party had finally begun to dwindle down and everyone was beginning to bid their goodbyes. You’d moved yourself back to your spot against the wall, hoping to not be seen. Also hoping to avoid Ethan. But of course he’d managed to find you.

“Hey, Y/N. I’ve barely seen you all night! Only for a few minutes when you’d come over with Damiano.” he said, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. The butterflies erupted in your stomach and your heart practically jumped into your throat.

“Hey, Ethan.” you mumbled. You were so quiet you weren’t sure that he’d heard you. 

“I’m about to head out, but I wanted to say bye to you first.” he said, squeezing you a little tighter to his side. You cautiously let your arm wrap around his middle, giving him a half hug.

“I guess I’ll see you later then.”  you said, unsure of what else to say.

“Yeah, I’ll be back tomorrow though, so I’ll see you then.” he said before pulling you closer and wrapping both arms around you, giving you a proper hug.

You moved both hands up around his neck and hugged him back. You were relishing in the feeling of being in Ethans arms, even if only for a moment. You just prayed that he couldn’t feel your heart beating erratically in your chest. After a few more moments he pulled away.

“I’ll see you later, Y/N.” he said.

“Yeah, see ya later.” you answered quietly. He gave you one last smile before leaving.

You watched as he shut the door behind him before you made your way to your room. You’d had enough for the night and you were sure the rest of your friends wouldn’t miss you. You quickly stripped and changed into a comfy set of pajamas before looking out your window… which just happened to give you a clear view of where Ethan’s car was parked. 

You were confused as to why he wasn’t leaving yet. Then you saw it. The now empty CD case in his hands. He was sitting there listening to the CD you’d left for him.

You don’t know how long you stood there watching him, but he never showed any hint of emotion on his face so you couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Before you knew it, there was movement. He’d turned his car off and got out. He was headed back to the house. Oh shit.

You quickly switched your lights out and crawled in bed, hoping you could pretend to be asleep. You listened carefully, hearing the door open and Damiano greeting Ethan. There were some mumbled words that you couldn’t make out and then you heard it.

“I need to talk to Y/N.” came Ethan’s voice.

“I think she’s in her room.” Damiano answered.

There was no more talking to be heard, but you could hear footsteps coming down the hall. You squeezed your eyes shut and pretended to be asleep, hoping Ethan would just leave you be. There was a small knock on your door before your door gently creaked open. You kept your eyes shut, willing Ethan to walk away. But he didn’t.

“I know you’re not asleep, amore.” he said, moving in the darkness to sit on the edge of your bed. You opened your eyes and sat up slowly, avoiding his gaze.

“Hey.” you said, barely above a whisper.

“Cara mia, please look at me.” he coaxed gently. 

You slowly looked up, meeting his gaze. He smiled softly at you before continuing.

“Ti amo anch'io, principessa.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. He loved you. He leaned forward, capturing your lips with his. You immediately wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He shifted his position so he could lay down on the bed next to you, his lips never leaving yours and his hands wrapping around your waist.

You felt like you were on cloud nine. He loved you. Ethan loved you back. You were wrapped up in the arms of the man you loved. You couldn’t help but smile against his lips.

“Are you happy, amore?” he asked, barely separating from you.

“Very.” you said, giggling a bit. “I love you, Ethan.”

“And I love you, princess.”

“Will you stay tonight?” you asked, hopeful.

“Of course, amore.”

He tightened his grip on your waist, pulling you flush against his chest and kissing the top of your head.