#warren rhodes one shot

[swiftgreatest]

Friends | Warren Rojas x Reader

request by two anon: "Hey could you do warren x fem reader with 2 and 4 please thx!!" & "Heyyy! Could u write 2 from the prompt list with Warren?"

a/n: hii guys!! I mixed up your requests because they were for the same person with the same prompt. I really hope u two like, tell me your opinion of this. thanks for ask. slightly inspired by the song "Friends" by Ed Sheeran

prompt: 2. “I’m dying.” “You’re not dying.” and 4. “Fuck being friends!”

words: 1.5k

You had returned from the movies with your friends Eddie and Warren, by Warren's request you saw the classic Rollerball. In the beginning you thought it would be just you and the drummer, he invited you last night, but when you told your bandmates that you two were going to the movies, Eddie decided to go with you and Warren. Eddie is a good friend of you so don't worry about it.

You didn't know but Warren was bothered by this, he cared a lot about it, he had invited you and not the bassist, he wanted to go to the movies only with you, he couldn't believe he lost an opportunity to be alone with you, it was as if the universe was fighting against him.

Every time he tried to be alone with you something happened and was in the way, he was so tired of it, it seemed like you guys couldn't be alone for too long. You were in the same band and couldn't be alone.

"What did you guys do while we were gone?" You asked Karen and Graham. They stared at each other before answering.

"W-We wrote some stuff for the album" Graham stammered a bit during the sentence and you didn't ask anything else.

Eddie starts talking about the album with Karen and Graham, meanwhile you went up to your room. You change your clothes for something more comfortable to sleep in and start tidy your hair when you hear a knock on the door.

You open and Warren was there "What's up?".

"Can I stay here with you? the conversation is fucking boring down there"

"There's not a lot of cool stuff going on around here, but you can stay." He came in, and you lay down on your bed while he stood there staring at you.

"Come here!" You tapped the space between your legs and the drummer got the message. He took off his jacket and lay down between your legs, his back was on your chest and you put your arms around him.

You have been in this same position many times, when he needed to talk or relax he would come to you and you would stay like that for hours, sometimes he would smoke a cigarette and share it with you, you would talk about everything or just sit quietly enjoying each other's company.

This looks a little too intimate, but you were friends and friends acted like this, isn't?

"So what do you think about the movie?"

"The same as the last three times we saw him" You touched his hair, you love his curls.

"Pufff, you are very boring. This movie is a work of art, it gets better every time you watch it."

I'll agree, just so we don't start an argument here"

"Boring, Boring, Boringgggggg"

"You came to my room and called me boring?" You pretend to be offended "You are banned from my room sir! Please leave immediately."

You put it aside and got up going to the door as you continued your performance.

"Nooooo, you can't kick me out. I can't live without you."

"Yes, You can, go now!"

"I'm dying. Do you want to carry the guilt of letting this poor man die?" He always did this drama with you

"You're not dying, you're perfectly well" You went to him and pulled him out of your bed, you tried because he was so much stronger than you, so it only took one tug from him for you to fall into bed with him. "Heyyy"

"If you weren't a guitar player, I'd say that you are a good actress" He turned to you. Now you were lying on your bed facing each other, staring at each other.

"Oh, thank you so much my fan! You're so kind and a good actor too!! If the band doesn't work out you know what to do"

"Yes, You and I we'll go to New York and starting some musical show on Broadway"

You started to laugh, you loved spending time with Warren, it was always so much fun, he always made you so happy, you could spend hours talking to him without losing interest.

The laughter stopped and you stared at each other, you got lost in each other's gaze, it was as if he had bewitched you, you couldn't stop looking, his eyes, his lips, everything about him was drawing you closer, the same happened to him and when you realized you were so close that your noses touched.

"Hey Y/n, I got some new mushrooms, me and the boys we are going to use so I thought you-" Karen said while entering the room.

You and Warren raised so fast in shock and the keyboard player lifted an eyebrow in confusion, she couldn't believe what she had seen. The drummer left the room leaving you alone with Karen.

"So..? You guys are…"

"No! Don't say anything more Karen, thank you but I don't want mushrooms now" You kick her out of the room, close the door and go to the bed. You couldn't believe what almost happened.

You and Warren almost kissed, came so close, looked so right, you can't lie, you wanted that to happen. But how can you think that? Warren was your bandmate! Your friend, you were just friends, he saw you as a friend and that was it and friends don't want one or the other right?

– – – –

The day before was so strange, you felt strange, when you saw Warren at breakfast you didn't know what to do, you looked away as soon as he looked at you. You didn't realize it, but he stared at you all through breakfast, he couldn't help himself.

You and the guys in the band got together in the living room to write some melodies and lines for the new album, you knew they might not make it on the album but it couldn't hurt to try and you loved writing.

It took a few hours of this, you and Warren were apart and didn't exchange a word which caught Karen's attention, she hadn't forgotten what she saw yesterday and she knew how close the two of you were, so to have the two of you ignore each other's existence was crazy.

After some many songs and ideas your friends start drink and use some things, so you said you were tired and went up to your room, after what happen with Billy

You wish you could control yourself that way about Warren too, because it was messing with your mind, you couldn't feel it, you couldn't want him, he was your friend.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't even hear when someone came into your room and closed the door. "Y/n?"

Even with your back turned you recognized the voice, it was Warren.

You didn't want to turn around, because that meant you would have to look at him and stare at him, and you didn't know if you could control yourself. You gathered up all your courage and looked at him.

"Can we talk?"

"About what?" The drummer frowned his eyebrows

"About what?? Maybe about what happen last night with us"

"Nothing happened"

"Nothing happened?? Don't fuck with me Y/n! Don't lie to me, you know what I'm talking about" He came close to you "You feel this too and if it weren't for Karen you would kiss me, you can't lie about it"

"Warren please, don't make it worse than it is"

"Worse? I can't understand, I don't see nothing worse happen here, you want me and I want you to, and and that's what this is"

"No Warren, this can't happen, we're in the same band and we're friends"

“Fuck being friends!" He held your hands and brought the two of you closer. "You can't say we're just friends, friends don't treat each other like we treat each other, friends don't look at each other like this, friends don't share the same bed, and friends don't love each other like I love you.

He was exposing himself to you, confessing all that feeling he had held in his heart for so long. "Don't pretend you don't feel it too S/n, I know you and I know it stirred you too. Give me a chance to show you that I can be much more than a friend to you".

He was right, it's hard to admit that, but he's all you want since the beginning but try to put it aside with a friendship. But you two couldn't be friends, because as Warren said, friends didn't look at each other like you did, friends didn't share in the same bed, friends didn't love each other like you did, and friends didn't kiss each other like you and him were doing now.

– – – –

thanks for reading!!

masterlist

[bloodynereid]

hey, i loved the fic u wrote for the request i sent, it was absolutely brilliant

i was hoping you could write another where the band finds that karen is dating a female reader and maybe what their reactions would be like?

lol that would be awesome 🫶😋

Radiance

pairing: karen sirko x fem! gf reader

a/n: hii! i absolutely love ur requests. I hope you enjoy this even if it isn't as long as the last fic u requested. karen sirko is the loml and she deserves more fics!!

tw: period typical homophobia mentions (fuck that but it needed to be added cause of ✨plot✨), swearing, kissing, billy being an asshole (as per usual lmao), drinking

description: the band reacts to finding out you're karen's girlfriend and it goes better than expected.

she's so pretty ahhhh... okay moving onto the main story now.

You were standing next to the bar as you listened to your girlfriend’s band with a smile on your face as you took a sip of water. You were here as a surprise since she had been recording for the past week and you had barely seen each other. You were mesmerized by how stunning she looked on that stage. So immersed with music that it seemed like it was her lifeblood.

After a few more of the band's songs, they retired off stage. And you carefully moved through the crowd towards the backstage doors, where already a large amount of groupies were huddled around.

“Hey Mark!

“Y/N I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”

“Just came to see an old friend.”

“Karen is going to be very happy to see you.” He sent you a little wink and a smile as he let you through the doors. The security guard had become a friend of yours after Karen introduced you to him after a show. He may look like a giant but he was truly a teddy bear and… a huge supporter of your relationship with Karen.

“Uh hi?” The frontman of the band, Billy greeted you as you walked through the doors. “Can I help you with something?”

“I was actually just-”

“Y/N!! Oh my god hi!” The familiar British voice echoed through the room making you turn towards your girlfriend as she enveloped you in a hug. “What are you doing here? I thought you had a planning session tonight.”

“They canceled last minute and I wanted to see you.” You let her out of the hug as she slung an arm around you.

“Aww aren’t you a big softie?”

“Well you have been pestering me to come to one of your shows.”

“That I have. Oh right, Y/N meet Billy. Billy meet Y/N, my best friend.” You offered your hand and widened your smile slightly, even as your heart clenched at the mention of ‘best friend’ but it was always better to be safe than sorry. 

“Nice to meet you.” He shook your hand and took a drag of his cigarette before walking off with a grunt.

“Wow he really is as much of an asshole as you said he was.”

“Don’t mind him. Are you ready to go?”

“You aren’t going to stay with the band for a little longer?”

“No, that's okay. How about we go to your house?”

“Sounds like a plan.” You both exited through the back doors and made your way to your red Camaro. Ready to finally spend some time alone with the woman you love.

“Hey where did Karen go off to?” Graham asked as he walked into the back room, only to find the rest of the band (minus Karen) drinking, smoking or writing.

“I don’t know man, she disappeared like 20 minutes ago with this really pretty girl.” Warren said as he took another drag from his cigarette.

“Right. She’s been doing this a lot lately, hasn’t she?”

“Huh?” Warren asked.

“Disappearing off to god knows where.”

“Maybe she got a boyfriend.”

Graham: At the time we had no idea Karen was into girls but there were obvious signs that we were just too stupid to miss.

Camila: Oh I knew of course, I mean I introduced Y/N and Karen in the first place.

Graham: I don’t think we found out until the night of Camila and Billy’s housewarming party.

“Are you sure she wants me to be here?”

“Yes, now shush and help me fix this bloody jacket.” You let out a chuckle as you repositioned the parcels on your arm and carefully lifted Karen’s hair before fixing the jacket.

“Are we the only ones here?”

“Karen! Y/N, you came!”

“That I did.”

“Actually you arriving early is perfect for me. Can you help put some tablecloths outside? You should add some rocks on them so they don’t fly off.”

“No problem, you coming?”

“Be there in a second, love.” Karen smiled and gave a quick peck on the lips before disappearing into the backyard.

“So you two seem to be doing well.” Camila said as she wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.

“Yeah we are. Oh right, I wanted to give you these.” You handed Camila the carefully packaged gifts. She tore through the tissue paper after undoing the ribbon and audibly gasped.

“You didn’t.”

“Well I know you were looking for a perfume and since everything is so expensive these days I called in a favor from a friend.”

“But this is like gold.”

“Yeah well I owe you.”

“Aww Y/N.” She enveloped you in a hug that you quickly reciprocated as Billy walked into the room.

“Hey I can’t find- oh hi.”

“Hi, good to see you again.”

“Yeah sorry about being a bit of an asshole last time.”

“You’re good. I understand how tiring that must have all been.”

“Yeah umm Cami do you know where I can find those streamers?”

“They should be in the kitchen cupboard.”

“Great thank you darling.”

“I can’t believe you got me a Dior perfume!”

“Wait there’s more. I ended up making a few extras of the children’s clothes from my client so I thought I could bring some for Julia. If they don’t fit her I’m sure-” That was before you were engulfed by yet another Camila hug.

“Thank you. God I’m so happy Karen found you.”

“I think that credit all goes to you.”

A few hours later the party was in full swing and you were sitting next to Karen sipping on a beer as you chatted with Warren about some of your favorite designers. The man had great taste in clothes. Sometime during that conversation Karen had slipped an arm around your waist making you lean your head on her shoulder.

Warren: Y/N and Karen? Yeah I don’t remember that party vividly. I don’t know… I think I kind of knew they were together by the way they acted and hey, I wasn’t one to judge. Plus Y/N was great to talk to, we became pretty good friends.

Throughout the course of the night, you both drank very little. So when time came to sit at the piano and sing you were more than happy to observe your incredibly talented girlfriend. You had come to stand next to Cami as she cradled Julia in her arms, trying to get her back to sleep.

“May I hold her for a moment?” She nodded and as the band continued singing you caught Karen’s twinkling eyes as you carefully cradled the little girl in your arms. She sent you a soft smile and scrunched up her nose slightly, which was your little non-verbal signal that meant ‘I love you’. You scrunched your nose back and sent her an air kiss.

As the rest of the guests trickled out you found yourself on the couch with the rest of the band trading stories and anecdotes. You cuddled up next to Karen and Eddie as you animatedly told the story of how you met Karen through Camila, with Karen chiming in at random parts.

“So yeah we kind of kept meeting up a few times after that and suddenly one of those times she kiss- oh fuck.” Even the small amount of alcohol that you had consumed had loosened your tongue to the point where you had just spilled the biggest secret of them all.

“You know we don’t care right? I mean I thought you guys were together ever since I saw you two.” Eddie said from beside you as you readjusted your position.

“Yeah look I have a few friends who also like women. People who care about that shit are idiots and assholes.”

“Here here.” Graham said as he clinked his glass with Daisy, whilst Camila and Billy both just sent you reassuring smiles.

“Plus you both are really hot.”

“Warren!” Everyone exclaimed and Karen sent a pillow to his head.

After a few more minutes of chatting, you and Karen decided to make your way to your car. You opened up the driver's seat and clutched the wheel in anxiousness.

“You’re not mad?” You asked as Karen got in and looked at you quizzically.

“How could I be mad? I have a wonderful girlfriend and now I know how good it feels to say that in the open. I could never be mad at you. I think I love you too much for that, darling.” She swiped away the tears that were starting to form on the corners of your eyes and gave you a reassuring smile.

“I love you so so much.” You answered before gently taking her face in your hands and softly pressing your lips together as the stars twinkled above you and the streetlight shined on your faces.

i really have to write more for Karen this was fun. as always requests are open and if anyone wants to chat feel free to send me a message or an ask ly <3

[xoxomelanie]

Favorites ☆ Masterlist

༺☆༻

Masterlists

Masterlist ༺☆༻ By @/cyberfreaky

Avatar Masterlist ༺☆༻ By @/ronwestbreeze

Avatar/ATWOW ༺☆༻ By@/persefolli

Daisy Jones and The Six ☆ By@/meropegaaunt

Beybaldes’s materpost ༺☆༻ By@/beybaldes

༺☆༻By @/ coneyislandbabey

Reasonsmandy Masterlist ☆By @/reasonsmandy

Angst Peter Parker fics ༺☆༻By @/sincericida

Marauders fic recs ༺☆༻By @/sparking-ariaria

Lanasblood Masterlist ༺☆༻By @/lanasblood

Teyamstan fic recs ༺☆༻By @/teyamstan

Stargirlrchive masterlist ༺☆༻By @/stargirlrchive

ddejavvu Masterlist ༺☆༻By @/ddejavvu

Avatar Masterlist ༺☆༻By @/randxmthxughts

Jake Sully

Yawnetu ༺☆༻ By @/sunandsstars

To you, worlds away ༺☆༻ By @/ronwestbreeze

Second to none ༺☆༻ By @/eywa-eveng

My chrysanthemum ༺☆༻ By @/mystar-girl57

Fool’s Gold ༺☆༻ By @/emissaire

Flaws N all ༺☆༻ By@/persefolli

Badlands ༺☆༻ By@/midnightsapphire

I don’t recognize you anymore ☆ By@/persefolli

Folklore ༺☆༻By @/stargirlrchive

Ocean eyes ༺☆༻By @/stargirlrchive

Shallow end ༺☆༻ By @/ronwestbreeze

Neteyam Sully

Don't be a skxawng, ask her

༺☆༻ By @/katherines-imagines

Chosen by Eywa ༺☆༻ By @/randxmthxughts

Action, reaction ༺☆༻ By @/draiochtwrites

I remember her hands and the way the mountains looked ༺☆༻ By @/vampsywrites

Tunutu ༺☆༻ By @/randxmthxughts

Remus Lupin

“Can we recreate this?” ༺☆༻ By @/ddejavvu

At arms length ༺☆༻ By @/astonishment

Sirius Black

Rockstar Sirius ༺☆༻ By @/ddejavvu

༺☆༻ By @/igncrantbliss

Part1 ☆ Part2 ☆ Part3

Cant lose when I’m with you ☆ By @/neytirisheaven

The engagement arrangement By @/wzrd-wheezes

James Potter

If I kiss you, I’m sorry ༺☆༻ By @/astonishment 

Eren Yeager

Cupid’s project  ༺☆༻ By @/hanuh

Collection of one shots ༺☆༻By @/bloompompom

I got two girlfriends ༺☆༻ By @/classyrbf

Daisy jones and The Six

Eddie RoundTree

The Chain ༺☆༻ By @/lavenderacademia

Part one ☆ Part two ☆ Part three ☆ Part four

Dreams ༺☆༻ By @/itsametaphorbriansblog

Songbird ༺☆༻ By @/parkerslatte

You’d never guess (I’ll never know)

༺☆༻ By @/viranellee

I know our mornings(were as good as it ever could be) ༺☆༻ By @/viranellee

How they all found out ☆ By @/ neptunes-curse

Lead singers are overrated ༺☆༻ By @/luvfae

Blind date ༺☆༻ By @/luvfae

Lullabies of life ༺☆༻ By @/reasonsmandy

Butterflies and zebras (and moonbeams and fairy tales) ༺☆༻By @/coneyislandbabey

Warren Rojas/Rhodes

Rhythm of our love ༺☆༻ By @/mlwriting5

Everywhere ༺☆༻By @/constantlywriting1

Big love ༺☆༻ By @/parkerslatte

You make my heart beat ☆ By @/reasonsmandy

Billie Dunne

West coast ☆ Eventually ☆ By @/meropegaaunt

Graham Dunne

I only have eyes for you ☆ By @/constantlywriting1

Jungkook

Mutual help ༺☆༻ By @/personasintro

Supernatural

Dean Winchester

4+1 ༺☆༻ By @/fictionalwh0ree

Transpostion ༺☆༻ By @/wildwestdean

This ain’t for the best ☆ By @/moonlightspencie

The reveries of my mind ☆ By @/alexsoenomel

Sam Winchester

Click ༺☆༻ By @/uncouth-the-fifth

Playing house ༺☆༻ By @/uncouth-the-fifth

Part 1 ☆ Part 2

Embarrassed༺☆༻ By @/nyxiswrites1200

Closer than friends༺☆༻ By @/stylesparker

༺☆༻

Last updated- March 2, 2024

[birdiewriteslit]

masterlist

prompts & scenarios

events masterlist

DAISY JONES & THE SIX

WARREN RHODES/ROJAS:

“the sunset strip” - warren’s band might actually have a shot at fame, but where does that leave you? a high conversation confronts the issue.

“morning” - an early morning with warren

“engagement” - warren proposes to you and life couldn’t be better

“summer wedding” - part 2 to “engagement”

EDDIE LOVING/ROUNDTREE:

“driving me crazy” - you and eddie have never gotten along. is it because you hate each other, or is it because you’re both to proud to admit something?

“morning after” - part 2 to “driving me crazy”

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

MULTI CHARACTER:

“summer of difference” - series masterlist (ON HIATUS)

HARRY POTTER

HARRY J. POTTER:

christmas eve drabble

“on the down low” - you and harry have been hiding your relationship from your family for four months, but when he stays over for the holidays, they start to uncover the truth, one by one.

CHARLIE WEASLEY:

he’s jealous

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS

LUKE CASTELLAN:

luke x daughter of poseidon!reader featuring persassy - you and luke sneak out but your brother percy finds you in a compromising position

luke x daughter of poseidon!reader feat. persassy - attempting to hide your relationship from percy backfired after you let some information slip

luke x daughter of poseidon!reader feat. persassy - percy sasses you and luke pretty consistently, especially in the morning

luke x daughter of zeus!reader - your reoccurring nightmares of your sister make you question your relationship

TRAVIS STOLL:

“evil genius” - series masterlist

“unexpected” - travis stoll was the last person you expected to like

NHL

LUKE HUGHES:

wildest dreams au - abigail abernathy series

JAMIE DRYSDALE:

jamie x actress!reader (1)

(2)

NICO HISCHIER:

“so american” - fluffy fic inspired by olivia rodrigo’s song of the same name

MATT REMPE

playoff blurb

[ironbearsky]

the low road

@sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins | closed starter

It was hot. He'd never been this far south before, and he was beginning to think he didn't like it. No—scratch that. He was certain he didn't like it. Already he'd sweat through at least a layer and a half of clothing, and he didn't even want to think about the insects bothering him and Basil, his sooty blood bay warmblood. Instead, Harris Talland did his best to ignore the air and what rode on it to focus on the task before him: locating his ass of a brother.

He'd heard about the ruckus Warren had made back at Emerald Ranch for a night before being thrown firmly out and heading south. Harris was between outrider jobs and relatively nearby, so, for the sake of their parents, he thought he'd try and track his twin down and knock some sense into him. Or, at least try. Warren had been an irritating attention-hoarder that grew up into a flat-out criminal, and it broke their mother's heart to think one of her boys had turned out in such a way. Every letter he got from her always asked if he'd seen his brother, and maybe if he sat down and had a conversation they could get Warren to come home for a bit. Harris didn't think it likely, but he was too sentimental for his own good, and so he found himself in the humid just of land that was Lemoyne.

Warren had been through Rhodes, that much was clear, as some folk accused Harris of starting a fight in the street the night prior. He and his brother didn't look exactly the same, but he supposed it was near enough that they might be confused for one another by those who didn't know them or see them side by side. He found out Warren had ridden southeast out of Rhodes, though where he could be headed, Harris didn't know. His brother also didn't typically come this far east close to truer civilization, so he imagined Warren had to be up to something worse than his usual repertoire. He wondered if it was some half-cocked job from that gang he ran with or some idiotic one he'd concocted himself.

Outside the town, however, there was little to indicate what direction his brother had gone in. Harris was stuck querying passersby if they'd seen a man of his own description in the recent past, and if so, which way he'd been going. It took him the better part of the afternoon, but he finally felt like he was on Warren's trail again. The trees felt sparse and almost scraggly around them, as if they, too, were suffering from the heat.

"Wonder if winter even makes it down here," he remarked to Basil as they rode over a set of train tracks. Ahead of him, the trees crept a little closer, with their reaching arms and long tendrils of grey-green moss hanging off them.

The crisscrossing trails leading through the wood were well defined, if overgrown, but he spied one that saw more use than the rest. If Warren was up to something, which he almost undoubtedly was, it'd have to be where there were more people. Maybe he thought folks living outside of the town proper would make easier marks. Harris nudged Basil to follow the better-worn path, and it wasn't long before a huge—but dilapidated—plantation came into view, with mounds of earthwork bracketing the dirt road leading toward the building. There'd been some kind of fight here, that was easy enough to tell, but Harris couldn't guess at how long ago it was without getting closer.

He pulled Basil up short to survey the area. There were tents and a wagon set up in a clear encampment in front of the building, and he could see a couple people walking around. They all seemed fairly normal from his distance, so he figured Warren wasn't here. But maybe they'd seen him. It was worth a shot anyway.

Harris tapped his heels to Basil's belly to set him into a walk toward the camp and was about to call out a greeting when an angry voice snarled and stopped him in his tracks.

"You!"

[meropegaaunt]

are you accepting requests? cause if so im begging for a warren rhodes x reader, it can be anything, i just need something cause omfg

yes, i’m accepting requests! please only send them through my ask box, though, because my dm notifications rarely work. if you send them in dms, i might not see them 😭

as for the warren x reader, dw i’m cooking up a one-shot for him. love my underrated drummer king ❤️

[plungermusic]

Même si ça change, c'est encore la même chose*

Plunger caught up with Connor Selby again at the Half Moon, Putney, more than five years since we last saw him and, not surprisingly, there have been a few changes since then: from profile-raising support slots for The Who and Pearl Jam to signing with Provogue/Mascot Records; and from collaboration with session men du jour Redtenbacher’s Funkestra; and a slick, don’t-frighten-the-horses makeover.

Those last two events left Plunger a little worried that Connor might have taken a different musical direction to that of the long-haired, Clapton-is-God-t-shirt-wearing artist we’d witnessed. But this show proved our fears were baseless: as evinced in the opening southern soul-influenced pairing of I Can’t Let You Go and Falling In Love Again, the former displaying rather Warren Haynesish guitar phrasing and the latter some lovely interplay between Connor and Joe Anderton in a brief but tasteful guitar-off.

After the slow but swinging blues of I Shouldn’t Care, a long and impressive organ solo from Stevie Watts introduced the soulful amble of If You’re Gonna Leave Me before a new song, Truth Comes Out Eventually provided a splash of snare-on-three Caribbean-spiced 60s blues-soul.

Connor’s deft touch with various shades of blues was shown in the echt, slow, slow-blues of Love Letter To The Blues featuring some highly Larry McCray-like tone and phrasing; a rather funky Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland-inspired version of Goin’ Down Slow with tight snare-and-bass underpinning, and era-correct Fender Rhodes-y electric piano; and a fabulously swinging The Deep End, drawing on one of Connor’s heroes Ray Charles, with rim-shots for that late-night smoky-dive vibe, and excellent jazzy piano throughout.

Much to Plunger’s delight there was plenty ‘southern soul’ in a 70s vein (of the kind that reeled us in on our first hearing of Connor): the melodic keys and guitar of a mellow Man I Ought To Be were reminiscent of solo Gregg Allman - not least in Connor’s fine-grained-sandpaper voice - topped off nicely by a delightful tremolo-laden chordal break from Joe; and Hear My Prayer’s Derek & The Dominos/Delaney & Bonnie brisker jangle included anthemic piano, ride cymbal-led drums, Joe and Stevie adding bvs, and a sweet southern-fried closing solo from Connor.

The closing pair of tracks reminded Plunger of the modern day torchbearers of that whole 70s southern soul thing, Tedeschi Trucks Band: the relaxed opening of That’s Alright with ticking rim-shots and swirly organ shifted up a gear with a full-band break-in with three part bvs, while the lithe TTB funk-soul of Show Me A Sign, with its Stax-y insistent-snare chorus and bustling bass lines, was the opportunity for solo spots from all, most notably a fiery British Invasion break from Joe, and a cracking keys outing featuring some surprisingly Jon Lordesque touches including a smattering of Bach! Connor’s own solo (perhaps the longest in a night where brevity and restraint were watchwords) ranged from clucking muted funkiness to soaring southern bends and all points in between.

An inevitable encore saw Connor switch from Les Paul to SG for an old Plunger favourite, Emily - a loping D&B southern soul-rocker with hints of the Louie Louie riff, a Wasted Words-style descending organ wash, and fabulous Billy Powell-style piano… a cracking finale to a cracking evening.

Some things may have changed but the accomplished songwriting, restrained non-grandstanding (but still highly fluid) playing and wonderfully soulful vocal are all still there, as good as they were, if not better.

* “Even if it changes it’s still the same thing” - with apologies to Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

[jacksonz18]

COM-321 Blog 2: The Conjuring

"The Conjuring" is a 2013 supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. The movie follows the story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are called upon to help a family experiencing disturbing supernatural events in their farmhouse."

The Conjuring" revolves around the Perron family, who move into a secluded farmhouse in Rhode Island. They soon start experiencing supernatural occurrences, including strange sounds, unexplained bruises, and the presence of an evil entity. Desperate for help, they seek the assistance of Ed and Lorraine Warren, renowned paranormal investigators. The Warrens discover that the farmhouse has a dark history, and they engage in a dangerous battle to save the family from the malevolent forces that haunt the house.

This movie relates to my topic of supernatural horror because of how multiple entities that had previously lived in the house, haunt the current family there.

One aspect I noticed in the movie to help create horror was the lighting. Horror films frequently use lighting to create suspense and tension. Dark or low lighting is often utilized to enhance a sense of unease and mystery. Shadows and contrast can be used to create a sense of foreboding or to hide potential scares, building anticipation in the audience. Below is one example of the eerie lighting that is used.

Another aspect I noticed that help create horror in this movie was the cinematography. Cinematography plays a crucial role in creating the atmosphere of horror. Techniques such as wide-angle shots, Dutch angles, and unconventional framing can disorient the viewer and create a sense of unease. The use of handheld cameras or shaky cam can also create a feeling of realism and immersion.

I also thought the sound (or lack of) was perfect for this movie. Sound design is a vital element in horror films. The use of eerie music, sudden loud noises, and silence can heighten tension and startle the audience. Well-crafted sound effects, including creaking doors, footsteps, and whispers, can enhance the feeling of unease and make the supernatural elements more palpable. They increased the sound when they needed to, and it felt silent for the majority of the movie.

After reading a review from the movie at the time of the movie itself, I believe it wasn't very accurate. It was stated that "The fact that so many pseudo-spooky scenes in "The Conjuring" involve jump scares is telling. Wan and the Hayes want their film to be judged as a theme park attraction. But they fail to deliver bargain-basement cheap thrills. Even if you ignored the parts of "The Conjuring" that require more than shock-deep emotional involvement, the film's scares are too monotonous and schematic to be really scary. Wan and the Hayes only plumbed their ids so much, and consequently only have to offer a creepy doll, a screaming old crone, and dead kids in period dress. These things aren't that much scarier when they're flying into your face. There's nothing holding "The Conjuring" together beyond its creators' desperate need to needle you"

I feel like this quote from the article was a bit of a generalization and inaccurate representation of how good the movie was itself. I do not think this was the type of movie that was going to throw jump scares every 15 seconds in your face, nor should it have been. I thought the director Wan did a great job of leading these scares up. Below is the article that I had used for the review of the movie.

A scolarly source that I found very interesting was the actual Lorrane Warren talking about this specific case and how it was one of the scarier ones that she had every experienced.

Going more Indepth on how this relates to supernatural movies, The Conjuring" is often categorized as a supernatural horror film due to its primary focus on paranormal elements and supernatural occurrences. One part that really sticks out is the supernatural entities themselves. The film introduces various supernatural entities that play a significant role in the plot. These entities include ghosts, demons, and malevolent spirits. The presence of these otherworldly beings heightens the sense of horror and creates an atmosphere of dread. Another one that I found interesting was the use of a haunted location. The Perron family's farmhouse serves as the central location in the film. The house is portrayed as haunted, with a dark history that contributes to the supernatural activity. The concept of a haunted location, filled with restless spirits or a malevolent force, is a common element in supernatural horror movies.

[vidmains]

Duran duran discography

#Duran duran discography movie

#Duran duran discography series

(None of the Taylors are related, and Roger Taylor is not to be confused with the Queen drummer of the same name.) The group has never disbanded, but the lineup has changed to include guitarist Warren Cuccurullo from 1986 to 2001 and drummer Sterling Campbell from 1989 to 1991. The group was formed by Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Stephen Duffy, with the later addition of Roger Taylor and, after numerous personnel changes, Andy Taylor and Simon Le Bon. In 1984, the band were early innovators with video technology in their live stadium shows.

#Duran duran discography movie

Duran Duran were among the first bands to have their videos shot by professional directors with 35 mm film movie cameras, which gave their videos a much more polished look. The band's controversial videos, which included partial nudity and suggestions of sexuality, became popular in the early 1980s on the then-new music video channel MTV. The band worked with fashion designers to build a sharp and elegant image that earned them the nickname "the prettiest boys in rock." While they were generally considered part of the New Romantic scene along with bands such as Spandau Ballet when they first emerged, they later shed this image. Since the 1980s, they have placed 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 and have, according to the Sunday Mercury, sold more than 100 million records. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States, where they were first seen the 1981 film Listen to London. Duran Duran ĭuran Duran are an English New Wave band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. This list of popular Duran Duran LPs has been voted on by music fans around the world, so the order of this list isn't just one person's opinion.Duran Duran If you want to know, "What is the Best Duran Duran album of all time?" or "What are the top Duran Duran albums?" then look no further! Rio and Notorious are likely list toppers, but that's up to you fans to determine. Make sure you don't just vote for critically acclaimed albums if you have a favorite album, then vote it up, even if it's not necessarily the most popular. If you think the greatest Duran Duran album isn't high enough on the list, then be sure to vote for it so it receives the credit it deserves. To make it easy for you, we haven't included Duran Duran singles or EPs - only studio albums. This Duran Duran discography is ranked from best to worst, so the top Duran Duran albums can be rightfully found at the top of the list.

#Duran duran discography series

With hits like "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio", the band released numerous hits throughout their career, along with a series of great albums. Here, you can find all of Duran Duran's albums, including pictures of the album covers when available. Duran Duran are considered to be one of the best pop artists of the 80s and best new wave bands as well.

[blackkudos]

Willie Mays

Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid", is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who spent almost all of his 22-season Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants, before finishing with the New York Mets. He is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.

Mays won two National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, ended his career with 660 home runs—third at the time of his retirement and currently fifth all-time—and won a record-tying 12 Gold Glove awards beginning in 1957, when the award was introduced.

Mays shares the record of most All-Star Games played with 24, with Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. In appreciation of his All-Star record, Ted Williams said "They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays."

Mays' career statistics and his longevity in the pre-performance-enhancing drugs era have drawn speculation that he may be the finest five-tool player ever, and many surveys and expert analyses, which have examined Mays' relative performance, have led to a growing opinion that Mays was possibly the greatest all-around offensive baseball player of all time. In 1999, Mays placed second on The Sporting News's "List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players", making him the highest-ranking living player. Later that year, he was also elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Mays is one of five National League players to have had eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons, along with Mel Ott, Sammy Sosa, Chipper Jones, and Albert Pujols. Mays hit over 50 home runs in 1955 and 1965, representing the longest time span between 50-plus home run seasons for any player in Major League Baseball history. His final Major League Baseball appearance came on October 16 during Game 3 of the 1973 World Series.

Early life

Mays was born in 1931 in Westfield, Alabama, a former primarily black company town near Fairfield. His father, Cat Mays, was a talented baseball player with the Negro team for the local iron plant. His mother, Annie Satterwhite, was a gifted basketball and track star in high school. His parents never married and separated when Mays was three. Mays was raised by his father growing up. His father worked as a railway porter when Mays was born, but he later got a job at the steel mills in Westfield so he could be closer to home. When two girls in Mays's neighborhood were orphaned, his father took them in. Sarah and Ernestine helped raise young Willie, who always saw these two as his aunts. His father exposed him to baseball at an early age, playing catch with his son by the time Willie was five. At age 10, Mays was allowed to sit on the bench of his father's games in the Birmingham Industrial League, which Mays remembered as attracting six thousand fans per game at times.

Mays played multiple sports at Fairfield Industrial High School, averaging a then-record 17 points a game in basketball and more than 40 yards a punt in football, while also playing quarterback. Since he started playing professional baseball while still in high school, he quit playing high school sports when he was 16. Mays graduated from Fairfield in 1950.

Professional baseball

Negro leagues

Mays' professional baseball career began in 1947, while he was still in high school; he played briefly with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos in Tennessee during the summer. Later that year, Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. He had first caught the eye of Barons' manager Piper Davis in tenth grade, when Davis had Mays try out for the team. Davis encouraged Mays to work on hitting the curveball, coached him periodically for a couple years, and gave Mays a chance to play for the Barons starting in 1947, when Mays was just 16. When E. T. Oliver, principal at Mays's high school, threatened to suspend Mays for playing professional ball, Davis and Mays's father convinced him that Mays would still be able to concentrate on his studies. Mays helped Birmingham win the pennant and advance to the 1948 Negro League World Series, which they lost 4-1 to the Homestead Grays. Mays hit a respectable .262 for the season, but it was also his excellent fielding and baserunning that made him a standout.

Over the next several years, a number of major league baseball franchises sent scouts to watch him play. The first was the Boston Braves. The scout who discovered him, Bud Maughn, had been following him for over a year and referred him to the Braves, who then packaged a deal that called for $7,500 down and $7,500 in 30 days. They also planned to give Mays $6,000. The obstacle in the deal was that Tom Hayes, owner of the Birmingham Black Barons, wanted to keep Mays for the balance of the season. Had the team been able to act more quickly, the Braves franchise might have had both Mays and Hank Aaron in their outfield from 1954 to 1973. The Brooklyn Dodgers also scouted him and wanted Ray Blades to negotiate a deal, but they were too late. The New York Giants had already signed Mays for $4,000 and assigned him to their Class-B affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey.

Minor leagues

According to Mays, Eddie Montague had been sent to Birmingham to scout Alonzo Perry as a potential first baseman for the Sioux City Soos of the Class-A Western League, but Montague became interested in Mays instead after watching a doubleheader. Due to a scandal in Sioux City concerning a Native American's burial in a whites-only cemetery at the time, Sioux City decided not to take Mays, and he was assigned to the Trenton Giants of the Interstate League instead.

After Mays batted .353 in Trenton, he began the 1951 season with the class AAA Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. During his short time span in Minneapolis, Mays played with two other future Hall of Famers: Hoyt Wilhelm and Ray Dandridge. Batting .477 in 35 games and playing excellent defense, Mays was called up to the Giants on May 24, 1951. Mays was at a movie theater in Sioux City, Iowa, when he found out he was being called up. A message flashed up on the screen that said: "WILLIE MAYS CALL YOUR HOTEL." He appeared in his first major league game the next day in Philadelphia. Mays moved to Harlem, New York, where his mentor was a New York State Boxing Commission official and former Harlem Rens basketball legend "Strangler" Frank Forbes.

Major leaguesNew York Giants (1951–1957)

Mays began his major league career on a sour note, with no hits in his first 12 at bats. On his 13th at-bat, however, he hit a towering home-run up and over the left field roof of the Polo Grounds off future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn. Spahn later joked, "I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out." Mays' batting average improved steadily throughout the rest of the season. Although his .274 average, 68 RBI and 20 homers (in 121 games) were among the lowest of his career, he still won the 1951 Rookie of the Year Award. During the Giants' comeback in August and September 1951 to tie the Dodgers in the pennant race, Mays' fielding and strong throwing arm were instrumental to several important Giants victories. Mays was in the on-deck circle when Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard 'Round the World against Ralph Branca and the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the three-game playoff 2-1 after the teams were tied at the end of the regular season.

The Giants went on to meet the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series. In Game 1, Mays, Hank Thompson and Hall of Famer Monte Irvin comprised the first all-African-American outfield in major league history four years after the color line was broken. Mays hit poorly while the Giants lost the series 4–2. The six-game set was the only time that Mays and retiring Yankee slugger Joe DiMaggio (Mays's boyhood hero) would compete against each other.

U.S. Army (1952–53)

The United States Army drafted Mays in 1952 during the Korean War (1950–53) and he subsequently missed most of that season and all of the 1953 season. Mays spent much of his time in the Army playing baseball at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It was at Fort Eustis that Mays learned the basket catch from a fellow Fort Eustis outfielder, Al Fortunato. Mays missed about 266 games due to military service.

1954-57

In 1954, Mays returned to the Giants and hit for a league-leading .345 batting average while slugging 41 home runs en route to his only World Series championship. Mays won the National League Most Valuable Player Award and the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. He also became the first player in history to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star Game and was selected as an All-Star for the first of 19 consecutive seasons (20 total). Mays had 38 through July 28, but around that time, manager Leo Durocher asked him to stop swinging for home runs, explaining that the team wanted him to reach base more so run producers like Monte Irvin, Dusty Rhodes, or Hank Thompson could try to drive him home. Mays only hit five home runs after July 8 but upped his batting average from .326 to .345 to win the batting title, becoming the first Giant to lead the league in average since Bill Terry hit .401 in 1930. The Giants won the National League pennant and the 1954 World Series, sweeping the Cleveland Indians in four games. The 1954 series is perhaps best remembered for "The Catch", an over-the-shoulder running grab by Mays in deep center field of the Polo Grounds of a long drive off the bat of Vic Wertz during the eighth inning of Game 1. Considered the iconic image of Mays' playing career and one of baseball's most memorable fielding plays, the catch prevented two Indian runners from scoring, preserving a tie game. Mays said he realized as he ran that he was going to have to make a running catch, which is why he did not turn to look at it until the ball was almost at the wall. The Giants won the game in the 10th inning on a three-run home run by Dusty Rhodes, with Mays scoring the winning run. The 1954 World Series was the team's last championship while based in New York. The next time the franchise won was 56 years later when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010.

Mays went on to perform at a high level each of the last three years the Giants were in New York. In the middle of May, 1955, Durocher asked him to try for more home runs. Mays led the league with 51. In 1956, he hit 36 homers and stole 40 bases, being only the second player, and first National League player, to join the "30–30 club". In 1957, the first season the Gold Glove award was presented, he won the first of 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards. At the same time, Mays continued to finish in the National League's top-five in a variety of offensive categories. Mays, Roberto Clemente (also with 12), Al Kaline, Andruw Jones, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki are the only outfielders to have ten or more career Gold Gloves. In 1957, Mays became the fourth player in major league history to join the 20–20–20 club (2B, 3B, HR), something no player had accomplished since 1941. Mays also stole 38 bases that year, making him the second player in baseball history (after Frank Schulte in 1911) to reach 20 in each of those four categories (doubles, triples, homers, steals) in the same season.

San Francisco Giants (1958–1972)

After the 1957 season, the Giants franchise relocated to San Francisco, California. Mays bought two homes in San Francisco, then lived in nearby Atherton. Manager Bill Rigney wanted him to challenge Babe Ruth's single-season home run record that year and did not play Mays much in spring training in hopes of using his best hitter every day in 1958. As he had in 1954, Mays vied for the National League batting title in 1958 until the final game of the season. Moved to the leadoff slot the last day to increase his at bats, Mays collected three hits in the game to finish with a career-high .347, but Philadelphia Phillies' Richie Ashburn won the title with a .350 batting average. Mays did manage to share the inaugural NL Player of the Month award with Stan Musial in May (no such award was given out in April until 1969), batting .405 with 12 HR and 29 RBI; he won a second such award in September (.434, 4 HR, 18 RBIs). He played all but two games for the Giants, but his 29 home runs were his lowest total since returning from the military.

Owner Horace Stoneham made Mays the highest-paid player in baseball with a $75,000 contract for 1959; Mays would be the highest-paid player through the 1972 season, with the exceptions of 1962 (when he and Mickey Mantle tied at $90,000) and 1966 (when Sandy Koufax received more in his final season). Mays had his first serious injury in 1959, a collision with Sammy White in spring training that resulted in 35 stitches in his leg and two weeks of exhibition ball missed; however, he was ready for the start of the season. During a series against the Reds in August, Mays also broke a finger but kept it a secret from other teams in order to keep opposing pitchers from throwing at it. In 1959, the Giants led by two games with only eight games to play, but won just two of their remaining games and finished fourth, as their pitching staff collapsed due to overwork of their top hurlers. The Dodgers won the pennant following a playoff with the Milwaukee Braves. As he did in New York, Mays would "play around" with kids playing sandlot ball in San Francisco. On three occasions in 1959 or 1960, he visited Julius Kahn Playground, five blocks from where he lived, including one time Giant players Jim Davenport and Tom Haller.

Alvin Dark was hired to manage the Giants before the start of the 1961 season and named Mays team captain. The improving Giants finished 1961 in third place and won 85 games, more than any of the previous six campaigns. Mays had one of his best games on April 30, 1961, hitting four home runs and driving in eight runs in a 14–4 win against the Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium. Mays went 4-for-5 at the plate and was on deck for a chance to hit a record fifth home run when the Giants' half of the ninth inning ended. Mays is the only Major Leaguer to have both three triples in a game and four home runs in a game. According to Mays, the four-homer game came after a night in which he got sick eating spareribs; Mays was not even sure he would play the next day until batting practice.

Mays led the team in eight offensive categories in 1962. He hit a game-winning home run in the eighth inning against Turk Farrell of the Houston Colt .45's in the Giants' final regularly-scheduled game of the year September 30, forcing the team into a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants went on to win a three-game playoff series against the Dodgers, advancing to play in the World Series. The Giants lost to the Yankees in seven games, and Mays batted .250 with two extra-base hits. It was his last World Series appearance as a member of the Giants.

Before the 1963 season, Mays signed a contract worth a record-setting $105,000 per season (equivalent to $876,864 in 2019) in the same offseason during which Mickey Mantle signed a deal for what would have been a record-tying $100,000 per season.

In the 1963 and 1964 seasons Mays batted in over 100 runs and hit 85 total home runs. On July 2, 1963, Mays played in a game when future Hall of Fame members Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal each threw 15 scoreless innings. In the bottom of the 16th inning, Mays hit a home run off Spahn for a 1–0 Giants victory. He won his third NL Player of the Month Award in August (.387, 8 HR, 27 RBI). Normally the third hitter in the lineup, Mays was moved to fourth in the lineup in 1964 before returning to third in subsequent years. Mays took part in another long game May 31, 1964, when, after playing all nine innings of the first Game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets, he played all 23 innings of the Giants' 8-6 victory in Game 2. He was moved to shortstop for three innings of the game and grew so tired over the course of it that he used a 31-ounce bat (four ounces smaller than his standard) for his final at bat, in the 23rd inning.

A torn shoulder muscle sustained in a game against Atlanta impaired Mays's ability to throw in 1965. He compensated for this by keeping the injury a secret from opposing players, making two or three practice throws before games to discourage players from running on him. Mays won his second MVP award in 1965 behind a career-high 52 home runs. On August 22, 1965, Mays and Sandy Koufax acted as peacemakers during a 14-minute brawl between the Giants and Dodgers after San Francisco pitcher Juan Marichal had bloodied Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat. Mays grabbed Roseboro by the waist and helped him off the field, then tackled Lou Johnson to keep him from attacking an umpire. Johnson kicked him in the head and nearly knocked him out. After the brawl, Mays hit a game-winning three-run home run against the Koufax, but he did not finish the game, feeling dizzy after the home run. Mays also won his fourth and final NL Player of the Month award in August (.363, 17 HR, 29 RBI), while setting the NL record for most home runs in the month of August (since tied by Sammy Sosa in 2001). On September 13, 1965, he hit his 500th career home run off Don Nottebart. Warren Spahn, off whom Mays hit his first career home run, was his teammate at the time. After the home run, Spahn greeted Mays in the dugout, asking "Was it anything like the same feeling?" Mays replied "It was exactly the same feeling. Same pitch, too." The next night, Mays hit one that he considered his most dramatic. With the Giants trailing the Astros by two runs with two outs in the ninth, Mays swung and missed at the first two pitches, took three balls to load the count, and fouled off three pitches before hitting the tying home run off Claude Raymond on the ninth pitch of the at bat. The Giants went on to win 6-5 in 10 innings.

Mays played in over 150 games for 13 consecutive years (a major-league record) from 1954 to 1966. Mays tied Mel Ott's NL record of 511 home runs on April 24 against the Astros. After that, he went nine days without a home run. "I started thinking home run every time I got up," Mays explained his slump. He finally set the record May 4 with his 512th against Claude Osteen of the Dodgers. In 1966, his last with 100 RBIs, Mays finished third in the National League MVP voting. It was the ninth and final time he finished in the top five in the voting for the award. In 1970, the Sporting News named Mays as the 1960s "Player of the Decade."

Mays had 12 home runs and 38 RBI through his first 60 games of 1967 but went into a slump after that. He came down with a fever July 14 and asked manager Herman Franks's permission for the night off but then had to play anyway after Ty Cline, his replacement, hurt himself in the first inning. Mays left the game after the sixth due to fatigue and spent the next five days in a hospital. "After I got back into the lineup, I never felt strong again for the rest of the season." In 141 games (his lowest total since returning from the war), Mays hit .263 with 83 runs scored, 128 hits, and 22 home runs. He had only 70 RBI for the year, the first time since 1958 he had failed to reach 100.

"Maybe if I played a little first base in 1968, I could keep from getting tired," Mays speculated in his autobiography, but he only played one game at the position all year. In Houston for a series against the Astros May 6, Mays was presented by Astro owner Roy Hofheinz with a 569-pound birthday cake for his 37th birthday—the pounds represented all the home runs Mays had hit in his career. After sharing some of it with his teammates, Mays sent the rest to the Texas Children's Hospital. He played 148 games and upped his batting average to .289, accumulating 84 runs scored, 144 hits, 23 home runs, and 79 RBI.

In 1969, new Giants' manager Clyde King moved Mays to the leadoff role. King explained to Mays that this was because he was not "hitting home runs like he used to." Mays did not complain about the move in public that year but privately chafed at it, saying in his 1988 autobiography it was like "O. J. Simpson blocking for the fullback." Mays hit his 600th home run off San Diego's Mike Corkins in September 1969. He said of the milestone, "Winning the game was more important to me than any individual achievements." Plagued by injuries that season, he managed only 13 home runs. Mays enjoyed a resurgence in 1970, hitting 28 homers, and got off to a fast start in 1971, the year he turned 40. He had 15 home runs and a .290 average at the All-Star break but faded down the stretch, only hitting three home runs and batting .241 for the rest of the year. One reason he hit so few home runs was that Mays walked 112 times, 30 more times than he had at any point in his career. This was partly because Willie McCovey, who often batted behind Mays in the lineup, missed several games with injuries, causing pitchers to pitch carefully to Mays so they could concentrate on getting less-skilled hitters out. Mays helped the Giants win the division title that year, but they lost the 1971 NLCS to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

During his time on the Giants, Mays and fellow player Bobby Bonds were friends. When Bobby's son, Barry Bonds, was born, Bobby asked Mays to be Barry's godfather. Mays and the younger Bonds have maintained a close relationship ever since.

New York Mets (1972–73)

In May 1972, 41-year-old Mays was traded to the Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000 ($310,000 today). At the time, the Giants franchise was losing money. Owner Horace Stoneham could not guarantee Mays a pension after retirement and the Mets offered Mays a coaching position upon his retirement.

Mays had remained popular in New York long after the Giants had left for San Francisco, and the trade was seen as a public relations coup for the Mets. Mets owner Joan Payson, who was a minority shareholder of the Giants when the team was in New York, had long desired to bring Mays back to his baseball roots and was instrumental in making the trade. In his Mets debut on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium on May 14, 1972, Mays put New York ahead to stay with a fifth-inning home run against Don Carrithers and his former team, the Giants. On August 16, 1973 of the following season, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds with Don Gullett on the mound, Mays hit a fourth inning solo home run over the right-center field fence. It was the 660th and final home run of his major league career.

Mays played a season and a half with the Mets before retiring; he appeared in 133 games. The Mets honored him on September 25, 1973 (Willie Mays Night), where he thanked the New York fans and said goodbye to baseball. He considered making that his final game, but Payson convinced him to finish out the season. He finished his career in the 1973 World Series, which the Mets lost to the Oakland Athletics in seven games. Mays got the first hit of the Series, but had only seven at-bats (with two hits). The final hit of his career came in Game 2, a key single to help the Mets win. He also fell down in the outfield during a play where he was hindered by the glare of the sun and by the hard outfield. Mays later said, "growing old is just a helpless hurt." His final at bat came on October 16, in Game 3 where he came in as a pinch hitter but grounded into a force play. Mays had made his 20th and last All-Star appearance (20 seasons) and 24th All-Star Game appearance on July 24, 1973 when he was used as a pinch hitter.

In 1972 and 1973, Mays was the oldest regular position player in baseball. At age 42, he became the oldest position player to appear in a World Series game.Mays retired after the 1973 season with a lifetime batting average of .302 and 660 home runs. His lifetime total of 7,095 outfield putouts remains the major league record. Mays is the only major league player to have hit a home run in every inning from the 1st through the 16th innings. He finished his career with a record 22 extra-inning home runs. He has the third-highest career power–speed number, behind Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson, at 447.1.

Legacy

Mays was a popular figure in Harlem. Magazine photographers were fond of chronicling his participation in local stickball games with kids. It was said that in the urban game of hitting a rubber ball with an adapted broomstick handle, Mays could hit a shot that measured "six sewers" (the distance of six consecutive New York City manhole covers, nearly 300 feet). Once he got married, Mays stopped playing stickball in order to devote more time to his family.

Sudden collapses plagued Mays sporadically throughout his career, which occasionally led to hospital stays. He attributed them to his style of play. "My style was always to go all out, whether I played four innings or nine. That's how I played all my life, and I think that's the reason I would suddenly collapse from exhaustion or nervous energy or whatever it was called."

During his career, Mays would charge a hundred dollars per on-air interview, more than the standard twenty-five dollars at the time. However, he would split the money four ways and give it to the last four players on the Giants' roster.

Post-MLB baseball

After Mays retired as a player, he remained an active personality. Just as he had during his playing days, Mays continued to appear on various TV shows, in films and in other forms of non-sports-related media. He remained in the New York Mets organization as their hitting instructor until the end of the 1979 season. It was there where he taught future Mets star Lee Mazzilli his famous basket catch.

On January 23, 1979, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He garnered 409 of the 432 ballots cast (94.68%); referring to the other 23 voters, acerbic New York Daily News columnist Dick Young wrote, "If Jesus Christ were to show up with his old baseball glove, some guys wouldn't vote for him. He dropped the cross three times, didn't he?" In his induction speech, Mays said, "What can I say? This country is made up of a great many things. You can grow up to be what you want. I chose baseball, and I loved every minute of it. I give you one word—love. It means dedication. You have to sacrifice many things to play baseball. I sacrificed a bad marriage and I sacrificed a good marriage. But I'm here today because baseball is my number one love."

Mays took up golf a few years after his promotion to the major leagues and quickly became an accomplished player, playing to a handicap of about nine. "I realized I could use a sport to keep me active once I hung up the glove," Mays said of golf. "I approach it the same way I did baseball. I want to win." He discovered during the 1960s "that people would pay tremendous amounts of money just to play a round of golf with me. And, what the heck, I loved golf." After he retired, he played golf frequently in the San Francisco area.

Shortly after his Hall of Fame election, Mays took a job at the Park Place Casino (now Bally's Atlantic City) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While there, he served as a Special Assistant to the Casino's President and as a greeter. After being told by Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn that he could not be a coach and baseball goodwill ambassador while at the same time working for Bally's, Mays chose to terminate his baseball relationships. In 1985 Peter Ueberroth, Kuhn's successor, decided to allow Mays and Mickey Mantle to return to baseball. Like Mays, Mantle had gone to work for an Atlantic City casino and had to give up any baseball positions he held.

At the Pittsburgh drug trials in 1985, former Mets teammate John Milner testified that Mays kept a bottle of liquid amphetamine in his locker at Shea Stadium. Milner admitted, however, that he had never seen Mays use amphetamines and Mays himself denied ever having taken any drugs during his career.

Since 1986, Mays has served as Special Assistant to the President of the San Francisco Giants. Mays' number 24 is retired by the San Francisco Giants. Oracle Park, the Giants stadium, is located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. In front of the main entrance to the stadium is a larger-than-life statue of Mays. He also serves on the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties.

Special honors and tributes

Following Mays's MVP season of 1965, Sargent Shriver, head of the United States Job Corps, and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey asked Mays to speak to kids in the Job Corps. "Willie, the kids will listen to you. All you have to do is talk to them. They look up to you," Humphrey told Mays. Set to go on a nationwide tour, Mays passed out for five to ten minutes just before a meeting in Salt Lake City. He returned to San Francisco to rest, and Lou Johnson (whom he'd battled in a brawl earlier that year) stepped in to take his place.

In 1975, Mays received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement

When Mays' godson Barry Bonds tied him for third on the all-time home run list, Mays greeted and presented him with a diamond-studded Olympic torch (given to Mays when he carried the torch during its tour through the United States). In 1992, when Bonds signed a free agent contract with the Giants, Mays personally offered Bonds his retired #24 (the number Bonds wore in Pittsburgh) but Bonds declined, electing to wear #25 instead, honoring his father, Bobby Bonds, who wore that number with the Giants.

Willie Mays Day was proclaimed by former mayor Willie Brown and reaffirmed by mayor Gavin Newsom to be every May 24 in San Francisco, paying tribute not only to his birth in the month (May 6), but also to his name (Mays) and jersey number (24). The date is also the anniversary of his call-up to the major leagues.

On May 24, 2004, during the 50-year anniversary of The Catch, Mays received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from Yale University.

On December 6, 2005, he received the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for his accomplishments on and off the field.

On July 30, 2006, he was the Tee Ball Commissioner at the 2006 White House Tee Ball Initiative.

On June 10, 2007, Mays received an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College.

At the 2007 All-Star Game in San Francisco, Mays received a special tribute for his legendary contributions to the game and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

On December 5, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Mays into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.

On June 4, 2008, Community Board 10 in Harlem voted unanimously to give the name "Willie Mays Drive" to an eight-block service road that connects to the Harlem River Drive from 155th Street to 163rd Street, running adjacent to the Polo Grounds.

On May 23, 2009, Mays gave the commencement address at San Francisco State University and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

On July 14, 2009, he accompanied U.S. President Barack Obama to St. Louis aboard Air Force One for the Major League All-Star Game.

On March 19, 2010, he was inducted into the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.

On May 6, 2010, on the occasion of his 79th birthday, Mays appeared on the floor of the California State Senate where they proclaimed it Willie Mays Day in the state.

On May 15, 2010, Mays was awarded the Major League Baseball Beacon of Life Award at the Civil Rights game at Great American Ball Park.

Mays has been mentioned or referenced in many popular songs. The Treniers recorded the song "Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)" in 1955. The band Widespread Panic makes reference to Mays in the song "One Arm Steve" from their album 'Til the Medicine Takes. Terry Cashman's song "Talkin' Baseball" has the refrain "Willie, Mickey and the Duke", which subsequently became the title of an award given by the New York Baseball Writers Association. John Fogerty mentioned Mays, Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio in his song "Centerfield". His name was also used on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in the song "I Shall Be Free", and in Gil Scott-Heron's song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Chuck Prophet and Kurt Lipschutz (pen name, klipschutz) co-wrote the song "Willie Mays is Up at Bat" for Prophet's 2012 Temple Beautiful album, a tribute to San Francisco. Mays is also mentioned in "Our Song" by singer-songwriter Joe Henry from the 2007 album Civilians. He is also the subject of the 1994 Americana music song "Homerun Willie" by John Dunnigan.

Mays was mentioned numerous times in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. One of the most famous of these strips was originally published on February 9, 1966. In it, Charlie Brown is competing in a class spelling bee and he is asked to spell the word, "Maze". He erroneously spells it M-A-Y-S and screams out his dismay when he is eliminated. When Charlie Brown is later sent to the principal's office for raising his voice at the teacher regarding the incident, he wonders if one day he will meet Willie Mays and will have a good laugh together about the incident.

Willie Mays Parkway and Willie Mays Park in Orlando, Florida were named after Mays.

Mays also appears on Calle 13's "Adentro" music video, where he gives to lead singer, René Pérez a bag containing a pair of sunglasses, a Roberto Clemente baseball uniform, and a baseball bat signed by him, which then was used by René to destroy his own luxury car, a Maserati, in an attempt to spread a message to youth about how irresponsible promoting of ostentatious luxury excesses in urban music as a status symbol, have them all killing each other.

In the movies Major League and Major League II, the center fielder for the Cleveland Indians is named Willie Mays Hayes. He was originally portrayed by a then-unknown Wesley Snipes, but Omar Epps replaced Snipes in the sequel.

1956 Willie Mays Major League Negro-American All-Stars Tour

In 1956, Mays persuaded many of Major League Baseball's biggest black stars to go on a tour around the country after the season had ended to play exhibition games. While much of the tour was undocumented, one venue was Andrews Field, located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on October 16. Among the players who played in that game were Mays, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Elston Howard, Monte Irvin, Gene Baker, Charlie Johnson, Sam Jones, Hank Thompson and Joe Black.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

In November 2015, Mays was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House. At the ceremony Obama credited Mays' baseball career with his own success, saying, "Willie also served our country: In his quiet example while excelling on one of America's biggest stages [he] helped carry forward the banner of civil rights", adding, "It's because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for president."

Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award

In September 2017, Major League Baseball announced their decision to rename the World Series Most Valuable Player Award after Mays, and it has since been referred to as the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award. The first recipient of the rechristened award was Houston Astros Outfielder, George Springer.

Television appearances

In addition to appearances in baseball documentaries and on talk shows, Mays has appeared in several sitcoms over the years, always as himself. He appeared as the mystery guest during different incarnations of the long-running game show What's My Line?. He was in three episodes of ABC's The Donna Reed Show: "Play Ball" and "My Son the Catcher" (both 1964) and "Calling Willie Mays" (1966). Also in 1966, he appeared in the "Twitch or Treat" episode of Bewitched, in which Darrin Stephens asks if Mays is a warlock, and Samantha Stephens replies, "The way he hits? What else?"

In 1989, Mays appeared in My Two Dads, in the episode "You Love Me, Right?", and in the episode "The Field" of Mr. Belvedere. Additionally, he performed "Say Hey: The Willie Mays Song" on episode 4.46 of the Colgate Comedy Hour in 1954. Years later, Mays made a cameo appearance on a 2004 episode of Wheel of Fortune, while the series was taping on location in San Francisco. On February 10, 2010, Mays appeared on The Daily Show, discussing his career and a new biography, Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend, by James S. Hirsch.

Mays also voiced himself in the 1972 animated film Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid.

Personal life

Mays married Marghuerite Wendell Chapman (1926–2010), a woman who had been married twice before, in 1956. Mays said, "We decided to get married so quickly, we had to go to Elkton, Maryland, where you didn't have to wait." They adopted a son Michael, five days after he was born in 1959. Mays remembered driving Michael around the block as an infant to put him to sleep. The couple separated in 1962, with Marghuerite taking Michael for the majority of the time. They formally divorced in 1963. The divorce hearings often took place the mornings of Giants games, once causing Mays to be late to one. Eight years later, Mays married Mae Louise Allen. Wilt Chamberlain gave Mays her number in 1961, and they had their first date in Pittsburgh when the Giants were in town for a Pirates game. They dated off and on the next several years before Mays finally proposed; they were married in Mexico City over Thanksgiving weekend in 1971. She died on April 19, 2013, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Following Mays's 3,000th hit in 1971, the Giants presented Michael with a four-year college scholarship.

When Mays first joined the Giants, Forbes made arrangements for him to stay with David and Anna Goosby, who lived on St. Nicholas Avenue and 151st Street. "Mrs. Goosby reminded me of my Aunt Sarah, the way she took care of me," Mays said. "Her husband was a kind man who had retired from the railroad. They made me feel at home." Just before his marriage in 1956, he bought a home near Columbia University in Upper Manhattan. When the Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays bought a house in the Sherwood Woods neighborhood adjacent to St. Francis Wood, San Francisco in 1957. However, the purchase was initially met with backlash from neighbors who urged developer Walter Gnesdiloff to reconsider the repercussions "if colored people moved in". According to Mays, when mayor George Christopher heard he had been denied housing, he offered to share his house with Mays and his wife until they could get one. Ultimately, Mays and his wife moved into the house in November of 1957, and Mays wrote that when a brick was thrown through the window, "Some neighbors actually called to ask if they could help. So I didn't feel concerned about racial tensions in my neighborhood once the [1958] season was about to start." They only lived there for two years before moving back to New York. As of 2000, Mays lived in Atherton, California, in a house he bought in 1969.

A frequent traveler, Mays is one of 66 holders of American Airlines' lifetime passes.

In 2020, Mays will publish his memoir, 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid (with John Shea; St. Martin's Press, 2020).

"Say Hey Kid" and other nicknames

It is not clear how Mays became known as the "Say Hey Kid." One story is that in 1951, Barney Kremenko, a writer for the New York Journal, began to refer to Mays as the 'Say Hey Kid' after he overheard Mays say, "'Say who,' 'Say what,' 'Say where,' 'Say hey'". Another story is that Jimmy Cannon created the nickname because Mays did not know everybody's names when he arrived in the minors. "You see a guy, you say, 'Hey, man. Say hey, man,'" Mays said. "Ted [Williams] was the 'Splinter'. Joe [DiMaggio] was 'Joltin' Joe'. Stan [Musial] was 'The Man'. I guess I hit a few home runs, and they said 'There goes the 'Say Hey Kid."

Years before he became the "Say Hey Kid", when he began his professional career with the Black Barons, Mays was called "Buck" by teammates and fans. Some Giants players referred to him, their team captain, as "Cap."

[bloodynereid]

maybe like one with karen and reader where its like the one you did for warren but like how karen and readers relationship was while living with the six. ohhh or like you could do the beach scene with karen and maybe its just karen and reader or like they also tag along with graham and the blondie. lmao im dying for more karen fics

Echoes of Pain & Love

pairings: karen sirko x fem! reader & karen sirko x graham dunne (for plot purposes)

a/n: hiii anon! hopefully this is up to standards cause i really enjoyed writing this fic - even if it is really sad (i'm sorry about that btw). i didn't add the second part of the request cause i didn't feel like it fit in naturally with the story if that makes sense. i love writing for karen (we are in desperate need of more karen fics) so i hope you enjoy this. used a different perspective with billy on this one cause i thought it would be interesting to look into that avenue of family ties. also i promise my next karen fic will be fluffy instead of the whirlwind that this is.

tw: drug addiction, mentions of cigarettes, swearing, religious trauma (slightly mentioned), abortion, pregnancy, period typical homophobia mentions, mafia mentions (? honestly it's like a comedy point so not really a tw), angst angst angst, kissing, drinking, rehab mentions, mental health problems kind of mentioned, overdose

description: the rise of the biggest band in the world and the cloud of pain and love that surrounds a particular member and the love of her life.

Y/N Dunne: Hi? Is this on? Okay yeah great. We ready to start?

You were born in a small town called Hazelwood, Pittsburgh. Around 2 minutes before your twin, Billy. From that moment on you two were inseparable so when he wanted to learn guitar, you also learned guitar. When you took up your strange art hobby, he also started bringing a sketchbook everywhere along with him. So when your little brother Graham convinced him to join his little band, Billy also dragged you along with him.

You took the band almost as seriously as Billy, even if you still had some aspirations for going to university (which you never told Billy). Over the years until little Graham graduated high school you guys didn’t practice as much as you practiced the year after graduation. After each session your fingers were stinging and calluses upon calluses started to form.

You guys were playing gigs upon gigs and it was going incredibly well. Until you had to play a wedding, a wedding where your father was in attendance.

“Billy, Y/N what the hell? Are you guys okay?” You had rushed after Billy when you noticed that the creep dancing with the girl ages younger than him was your father. Currently you were holding your twin in your arms as unbridled rage filled your very being. You could feel that same rage radiating off Billy.

“You noticed the creep with the combover?”

“Yeah…”

“He’s our dad.” You responded, that made Billy unwarp himself from your arms and go thundering back into the wedding. You quickly followed him in and stood by his side as he confronted your father before smashing his guitar and storming off.

“Do you remember me?” You asked your absentee father after Graham punched him and walked off.

“Of course, girl. You have grown into quite a beaut huh?” A grossed out look overtook your face before you kneed that stupid little man right in the balls. As he kneeled over in pain you took the opportunity to spit on him and walk off in the direction of your brothers.

Warren: Y/N was and still is a badass. Never and I mean never underestimate that woman.

After that incident, life calmed down a bit. Practice continued and Camila appeared in your life after somehow Billy miraculously whisked her off her feet at a laundromat. You were happy to have another girl around and you would constantly tease Billy about how in love he was with her.

“You are such a softie!”

“I am not!” Billy had just gotten back from the dinner with Camila’s parents and he had found you watching tv and painting your nails in the living room with Graham napping on the other side of the couch.

“You know when you find someone I’ll be reminding you of these moments.”

“Shut up!” You threw the pillow that Graham had his head on towards Billy’s face which caused Graham to violently wake up to find his grown up siblings having a pillow fight in the middle of the living room.

Y/N: The night we opened for the Winters… right. Fuck that was night we all met Karen. *strained laughter* Graham was so in love with her. Oh! And Chuck right yeah that’s how I became the bassist. Billy nearly gave it to Eddie.

Chuck had basically rushed back inside his house, probably intimidated by all the very judgemental looks you all were giving him. Who would leave the band just like that? And to go into fucking dentistry?

“Okay how the hell are we going to play next week?” You asked as you stamped out your cigarette harshly.

“Eddie, you're going to have to be on bass.” Billy said with his usual commanding tone.

“Like hell I will.” Eddie responded with a scoff.

“Look we need-”

“I can do it.” You piped up, Eddie and Billy’s fights never ended well; it was as if a cloud of tension just permanently lived between them.

“What?” Your twin turned to you with a confused look on his face.

“Well I worked on the bass lines with Chuck cause he’s a mediocre player anyways so I pretty much know them front to back. Plus we don’t really need another rhythm guitarist anyways.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. You guys want to come over to practice at our house? I’m pretty sure mom went out with some of her friends.”

“Yup.”

“Sounds good.”

Y/N: I was lying about those bass lines by the way but someone needed to diffuse that situation.

Eddie: Fucking hell Y/N was a saving grace that day. She always was when the band was still together. I think it’s cause she knew Billy the best. They had this way of communicating that was downright creepy. Twin telepathy and all that crap.

The day you opened for the Winters started with cramping fingers and a slight tickle in your throat. You had barely been sleeping. Billy always called you a perfectionist and it was probably the worst trait to have when you were trying to prepare for the biggest night of your life. Then you saw… her.

The venue for one was stunning and huge. But what really lit up the place was the blonde on the keyboard. She was like an angel. So deeply entranced in the music and so fucking confident.

Men never really interested you. Sure they were attractive in the objective sense but whenever you thought of who you wanted to walk down the aisle for it was always a woman you envisioned. It had been like that since childhood. What made it worse was the church. Your mother wasn’t particularly religious but you always went to church on Sundays and the priest always spoke about homosexuals being part of the devil’s work.

You thought you needed to be fixed. Which is why you had tried throughout high school to date men or rather boys. But it never worked out. Whenever they got too close to kissing you you ended it with them or got Billy to help.

After that you just stopped trying to pursue that idea and just decided to live for the rest of your life alone. Or… with a woman if you ever found her. But living in Hazelwood, Pittsburgh had its challenges in that department. You would become the town pariah if you told the wrong person. And… you had no idea how to even start to mention it to your brothers.

But she was like an angel. Radiant under the stage lighting.

“Ooo somebody’s in love.” Oh fuck. You quickly spun around trying to see if Warren’s voice was directed at you but thankfully it wasn’t. Instead it was to your little brother who was staring at… her. Your heart clenched and your grip on your bass case tightened. The sharp pain sent through your aching fingers brought you back down to Earth. Of course she would never go for a girl, hell she’s probably straight. You briskly walked away from the pair and through the backstage door.

If you had turned around you would have noticed the girl’s eyes staring at you as you disappeared behind the swinging doors.

Y/N: I think I played okay that night. I mean the atmosphere was electric and I guess you could say that it was the night that marked the beginning of everything.

Billy: Y/N was incredible that night. She always downgrades her playing skills but it was as if she was born to play guitar. And no I’m not just saying that because she’s my twin.

Karen: I was stunned by Y/N when I first saw her play. When she told me, years later, that she had learnt all those riffs in less than a week I was blown away.

Y/N: Anyways after that night we headed off to the city of angels. Fucking Rod Reyes somehow convinced us. And well Billy also miraculously got Cami to follow us. Still don’t know how my imbecilic twin did it.

You were all gathered at one of the numerous LA diners as Graham made the phone call. The phone to that stunning woman that your brother (and you) had a big crush on. Her name was Karen. Karen Sirko.

You passed the cigarette you were sharing with Warren back to him as you watched your youngest brother flounder on the phone as he tried to talk to the supposed woman of his your his dreams.

“Look, just pass me the phone.” You said as you got up and took the phone from his slightly sweaty hands. Ignoring his protests you spoke into the receiver.

“Hi Karen. This Y/N Dunne.”

“Hi… Y/N Dunne. The bass player right?” Her silky British voice filled the phone and a slight shiver ran down your back.

“That would be me. Anyways what my idiotic little brother was trying to say-”

“Hey!” You heard Graham protest in the background.

“How would you like to join the band?”

“Oh bloody hell it’s burning. Guys it’s burning.”

“Uhh…”

“Sorry about that. Minor kitchen emergency.”

“You’re all good. So… what do you say?”

“To what?”

“Joining the band.”

“In Pittsburgh?”

“We’re actually in LA now. Gigs are lined up and we have a house in Laurel Canyon.”

“Hmm what do you think?”

“What do I think about what?” You asked as you leaned against the phone booth as everyone stared at you with anticipation, Graham most of all.

“Do you think it’s worth it?”

“You’re asking the wrong person. My mother always called my brother and I dreamers.”

“Hmm… you know what, yes. Send me the address and I’ll see you then.” Karen hung up the phone and you replaced it in the phone booth before turning around.

“Well?”

“We have a new member of the band!”

Y/N: I remember during those months that I had the strangest assortment of jobs. I worked at a movie theater, a bakery, an ice cream parlor, in a record store and I even think that I might have accidentally been working at a front for a mafia business. That was the secretarial job and it was the one I kept the longest. Employers let just say didn’t particularly like me. At least the mafia did so you know. That definitely says something about me. I had the secretarial job when Karen finally arrived.

You had had a very long and grueling day at the office dealing with a strangely large amount of angry Italian men. But you got through it and you finally came home… bearing the gifts that Warren and your twin always loved. Two slices of apple tart from your boss's mother who always appreciated giving them to you since he had a specific dislike of apples but a fear of his mother.

“Honeys I’m home!” You walked into the living room to find Graham, Warren and Eddie battling each other with the random things, a daily occurrence.

“Ooo did you get the apple thing?”

“Of course.”

“You are truly an angel sent from heaven.” Warren gave you a forehead kiss before he whisked away the white box in your hands.

“Yeah yeah.” You moved to go to your room which was quite literally the size of a broom closet but at least you had a bed. Even if it was crammed on top of a bunk with a desk under it. After you had changed out of your formal wear and into a button down and shorts. You slid into the living room with your pair of fluffy socks and snatched the blunt out of Eddie’s hands.

“Hey!”

“Oh shush I had to deal with a mob of angry Italians, this is the least you can do.” You slumped down on one of the couches and took a long hit that instantly relaxed your tired muscles.

“I don’t know how you’ve even held this job down for so long.” Eddie said as you passed the blunt back to him.

“No idea. It’s a fucking miracle.” You grabbed a random magazine from the pile and started to flick through the photos of really attractive supermodels.

“How many jobs did you have before this, remind me?”

“Probably like 20.” Graham said as he took a seat next to you.

“Fuck off.” You answered back as you blindly tried to kick him. “At least I tried to go get a job while the rest of you just idle around here like lazy dogs.”

“She does have a point there.” That was a new voice, you perked up and took a peak over your magazine as Karen took a seat on the couch in front of you and held out a glass of wine.

“Thanks. So are we ordering in or…”

“Nope, Billy and Warren said they were going to cook something.” That made you spin around and look at her with a horrified look on your face.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“No? Cami went to process some of her film a bit ago and they just volunte-”

“Oh fuck.” You quickly handed her the wine and threw the magazine on the couch before basically flying into the kitchen. Trying to salvage whatever disaster the boys had decided to cook up. Some kind of alien monster most likely.

Y/N: *laughing* Those were some good months. I actually miss those days a lot. I guess everything changed after Billy met Teddy Price at a supermarket. Weird coincidence but I swear on my life that it happened. Well I’m actually trusting Billy’s word on this so who knows?

Graham: Y/N was really happy in those months. I mean she was always happy. Like a ball of fire and positivity.

Karen: I got to know everyone a lot more due to how close we were living together. Y/N and I bonded as well but she mostly avoided me. Probably because of work. She was really busy, even with gigs. Cami and Y/N were basically the ones getting the extra money we needed to pull through each month.

Y/N: Karen said I was avoiding her? I mean… maybe I was. It was a weird time for me. It was also the time I met Daisy. Oh she didn’t tell you? Yeah I met Daisy ages before she joined the band.

Daisy: Y/N told you we met earlier than expected? Well she’s only telling the truth. Y/N was a truly kind hearted soul, she actually was there the night I first played for a live audience.

The girl on stage, Daisy Jones, was absolutely dazzling. You almost felt like a kindred flame was lit up in your heart. So of course you decided to come up to her with a glass of whiskey and a smile.

“Hi sorry to bother you but I just have to say you have an incredible voice.”

“Aww thank you darling. I’m Daisy by the way.”

“Y/N.” The rest of the night was spent around a bottle of whiskey and you also got to meet Simone. The three of you created a comfortable atmosphere around you and so over the painful months of trying to get Teddy to produce the band you kept in touch with the duo. Going out for drinks when none of you were playing gigs or recording.

Y/N: Like I said those were some good months. But I guess every good thing has to come to an end. *A sad smile appears on your face and you turn your face from the camera to quickly wipe your eyes.*

Graham was obviously enamored with Karen. Everyone saw it, everyone knew except for her. Your heart stung every single time he sent her that puppy eyed look. How could you be jealous of your brother?! It’s not like someone as beautiful as her would ever go for someone like you.

You bitterly took another sip of your drink when you felt a presence next to you. Carefully turning your head you were surprised to see Billy. It was his night after all. The night of his wedding. Really you couldn’t believe it.

“Hey? You okay?”

“Yeah.” He most definitely wasn’t and you had an inkling as to why, so you just leaned your head on his shoulder and gave him a one armed hug.

“Just know I will always love you okay. Through thick and thin. I’m your twin so you sure as hell are never getting rid of me.” He let out a wet chuckle before burrowing his face in your hair and giving you a squeeze back.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be a father.”

“You’re going to be a good one, Billy. I’ll make sure of that and Cami will make sure of that.”

“I don’t deserve either of you.”

“Nope don’t you go on saying that Mr. Dunne.” He laughed before pulling away from you and taking a swig of his beer.

“Do you want to be the kid’s godmother?”

“What?!” You looked up at him with widened eyes and a surprised expression on your face.

“Well I kind of talked it over with Cami and well we want you to be the godmother.”

“I’m already going to be the aunt though.”

“So should I tell her you said no…”

“Oh shut up Billy of course I’m saying yes.” You both laughed and he hugged you again. Harder this time.

“It’s all going to be fine.” You said into his shirt, trying to reassure your anxious twin.

“I believe you.”

Y/N: *silence as you anxiously pick your nails* Umm the tour right. I think that was more of the tour from hell. I was basically watching my brother destroy himself and his family. And I was powerless to stop it. So when you feel powerless what do you think we did back then? I took up pills. A secret little habit no one ever knew about.

You carefully tucked Billy into his bed after throwing the groupies out of his room and throwing out all the empty beer bottles. The remnants of cocaine were also swept onto the floor, and just as you were about to close the door you heard a voice.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah Billy?”

“Uh… thanks.”

“Anytime.” You said with a sad smile as a tear ran down your face before closing the hotel door.

“Fuckkkk.” You slumped down against the door and buried your face in your hands. It was this exact same routine. Over and over and over again. What were you going to tell Cami? Would you ever tell her?

“Hey you okay?” You heard that British accent that never failed to make you feel butterflies in your stomach, even if you sat devastated in a random hotel.

“Fine. You?” Quickly wiping away the remnants of tears and standing up so you were at eye level with Karen.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, Karen. No need to worry about me. Have you settled in okay?”

“Right yeah everything is great. I was just about to go for a smoke on the roof care to join me?”

“Sure sounds good.” You dusted off your hands and followed Karen up onto the roof before lighting up one of your cigs.

“Okay now tell me the truth. How are you really feeling?” She asked after an awkward beat of silence.

“Conflicted I guess.”

“About the whole Billy thing?”

“Yeah he’s my brother but… I hate seeing him like this. I don’t know. Shit… this is such a messed up situation isn’t it?”

“It really is. Now just stop thinking about it and watch the stars. That always does the trick with me.”

“Thanks Karen.”

“Anytime.” She sent you a comforting smile and you laid your head in her lap. That constant weight on your shoulders already dissipating by just being around her.

Y/N: A few more shows in Cami came to visit. It was a surprise and honestly I’m pretty sure she knew something was up. I met up with her when I went to do my nightly check up on Billy since I had been at the record store all day.

Camila: I would never blame Y/N for what was going on with Billy. I think she was the one who at least didn’t let him slip off the deep end but I wish she had told me about it.

You didn’t know about Cami’s trip so when you went to check up on Billy suddenly the door swung open and a very pregnant Camila stormed out.

“Cami?” You asked in a strained voice.

“Y/N hey.”

“Look I’m so fucking sorry. I tried to get him to tell you or I would have called-”

“No no I get it. You’re his twin, you will always try to protect him. I gave him an ultimatum.”

“I’m assuming you’re letting him fuck around until the kid is born right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll try to make sure he gets better okay?”

“That isn’t-”

“No it is. Now come here. Let me hug my favorite sister in law.” You enveloped Cami in a hug and smoothed your hands across her back as she started sobbing into your shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay. Shhh, it’s all going to be fine. When is your flight?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“How about you come stay with me until then? That way you don’t have to see Billy or pay for another room.”

“Yeah that sounds good.”

Y/N: Those shows were a disaster. Billy was getting worse and I had no way to stop it. I didn’t try to take away his drugs or the fucking groupies. The one time I tried… no okay he doesn’t even know about that. So the day Julia was born, that wonderful little bundle of joy, Teddy got Billy into rehab. And I became Jules’ godmother. I thought everything was going to get better after that and it did for a while. For everyone else.

Billy: I came out of rehab and I quit the band. I think Graham and Y/N were the only ones who understood why. Y/N got the brunt of my addiction though. She was like a shining beacon but I never realized how much it had affected her…

Y/N: I wasn’t fine.

That stupid green monster called jealousy invaded your veins each time you saw him with her. You should be happy for your brother but it was the complete opposite. Warren was even questioning you as to why he never saw you with anyone, you only brushed off those questions by telling him to fuck off.

Pill numbers were multiplying by the day and as you sat in the recording studio waiting for whatever miracle Teddy thought would save your band you could almost feel the chemicals moving through your blood. You took another swing from the coffee cup in your hand to try and distract yourself from how big Karen’s smile was as she looked at Graham.

Falling for a straight girl. What an fucking cliche.

“Can I get a glass of milk and a whiskey? Or just a whiskey if you don’t have milk. Or just milk if you don’t have whiskey?” Now that was a familiar voice. You perked up from your little alcove in the recording room to see that chaotic ball of pure energy which belonged to one of your best friends. Daisy Jones was in the house.

“DAISY JONES? Do my eyes deceive me?” You rushed up and enveloped her in your arms. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming?”

“Well I didn’t know until last night.”

“You look incredible, I love this shirt.” She smiled and did a little twirl to show off the buttondown.

“Stop, now you look absolutely stunning. Where did you manage to find a coat like this?”

Karen: I remember feeling a strange kind of anger the day we met Daisy Jones. It wasn’t directed at her, it’s just… I don’t think it really clicked that Y/N had a life outside the one I saw her in.

Graham: It wasn’t really a surprise, Y/N was friends with everyone. Did she tell you about that mafia thing?

“You guys done with this little reunion cause we need to get on with it.”

“Stop being such an asshole Billy. But yeah we should probably get this show on the road.” You made your way into the soundbooth with the rest of the band after giving Daisy one more squeeze and a comforting smile.

“So how do you know Daisy?” Karen whispered in your ear, making you jump. She was way closer than you had anticipated.

“Oh I went to one of her shows. We got to know each other after, that’s how I met Simone as well. Where do you think I disappear off to all these nights?” That response elicited a slightly guilty look on Karen’s face.

“I always thought you were in your room. I guess I’ve just never seen you sneak out.” Wow, you hadn’t realized how good you had gotten at hiding your little bad habits.

“Hmm.” You hummed back and then turned to look at your brother and Daisy, nervously picking at your nails. Oh god why did you tell Karen that. She now thinks you’re some kind of crazy party girl.

The rest of the recording session was kind of a mess. You suddenly realized why you had been so entranced by Daisy when you first met her. She reminded you so much of your twin. You had felt that instant connection because you had the same connection with Billy. Their personalities bashed against each other because they fit so well together.

Y/N: I think we all noticed the Daisy and Billy thing. But I was just scared. I was scared for Billy and for Daisy. I care for them so so much but I don’t think I could have predicted what all came next. I had an inkling though. And that is what scared me.

You had joined Karen when she basically dragged you to go to the record store with her. Ever since your admission about your nights out it seemed as if she wanted to spend more and more time with you. Not that you minded.

You stood next to her as you sifted through the rows of different music selections. You weren’t particularly looking for anything but were looking out for some new stuff. It was always interesting to hear new sounds when suddenly you heard the girl at the till.

“Is this the one with ‘Look At Us Now’?” You exchanged glances with Karen with giddy smiles starting to paint your faces. No fucking way.

“Oh shoot I don’t think I have enough.” Karen was about to pull out some money but you stilled her hand by grabbing her wrist. Winking at her you grabbed a 5 dollar bill from your jacket pocket and put it on top of the record. Your record.

“Here.”

“Oh thanks.”

“No problem.” You linked arms with Karen before heading out of the store letting out giggles.

You took a seat next to Julia as you fed her little pieces of food whilst cooing at her. Billy was once again complaining about the song and Cami was trying to calm him down.

“Has anyone looked through the mail recently?”

“Oh fuck sorry I meant to sift through those last night. Mia culpa and all that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Karen sent you a soft smile before her face turned to shock as she stared at the envelopes. “Does anyone know what these are?”

“No way.” You quickly snatched the letter that was addressed to you from her hands and started dancing around the kitchen. “Look Jules, aunty has got some money now.”

Y/N: The first thing I bought… Karen tried to get me to buy stock. But no… I umm I bought a motorcycle.

Graham: Okay so one thing you need to know about my sister is that she has like zero self preservation.

Y/N: Graham said that?! Oh that little shit. That isn’t true. I got a helmet too. That bike basically became my baby.

You were sitting out on the balcony after Billy and Cami moved out. Which meant you could finally do drugs freely, well not that freely but that’s beside the point. You were lying on the floor staring at the stars as Warren went on and on about how he and the canyon were connected. It was strangely funny in your drugged out state that you burst out laughing. Pills and psychedelics might not have been the best combination.

In your defense you thought you were about to go to bed so you took a combination of sleeping and pain pills but then Karen dragged you upstairs to try out whatever this thing was. And all in all you were having a great time until it happened.

You peaked through your fingers to see Karen’s hand on Graham’s chest. It was just against his heart. Like she was metaphorically holding his heart in her hand but in that moment it felt like it was your heart that she had just crushed into a pulp.

So you just closed your eyes and let the drugs overtake your senses. Letting them all wash away that pain of heartbreak.

Y/N: Hawaii was incredible. Billy was an asshole. And Daisy shined. I think that’s about all I can remember from that time. *a tight smile appears on your face* People never notice things until they come to the surface. I hid things very well for a long time.

Cami had invited you to the housewarming party and when you were having a catch up with Daisy in her hotel’s pool you realized she was too. You hadn’t told her about the whole being a lesbian thing, not that you didn’t trust her but you didn’t want her to treat you differently. You were just scared of what she would see in you even if she had fully accepted Simone.

Simone had gone to New York because of a woman. Simone who was the only person who knew you liked women. Simone the glue that held Daisy together. You both missed her deeply and that is why you were hanging out with Daisy at the pool.

So on the night of the housewarming, Daisy’s arms were wrapped around your waist with a pineapple balancing in your lap as you sped through the streets of LA until you arrived at the house.

Daisy was the first to hop off before taking off her helmet and handing it to you. You did the same and took the keys out of the ignition before following Daisy inside. You weaved through the crowds with her arm around your shoulders when Cami spotted the two of you.

“Daisy you came! And with Y/N. Now this is a strange development.”

“You didn’t mention me before? I am offended.”

“Well it’s not my fault it’s so hard to describe someone so radiant. I’m going to go check up on Billy. It’s good to see you, Cami.”

“We need to see each other more often Y/N. Jules has been missing you.”

“Oh I bet.” You gave her a smile before bounding over and enveloping Billy in a bear hug. “How is my favorite twin doing?”

“Hi Y/N, it’s good to see you too. What’s got you so energetic today?”

“Wow I can’t just be excited to see my brother?” In reality, you had sneaked some of Daisy’s cocaine stash while she was in the bathroom. It was your first time on the drug and you suddenly realized how Billy got addicted to this stuff. You hadn’t felt this good in ages.

“No no that’s not at all what I’ve been saying. How have you been?”

“Good. I’ve missed having you and Cami around.”

“No you haven’t.” He said with a conspiratorial smile on his face.

“We haven’t been separated before Billy before I miss having my twin around.” That second the mask slipped, the mask that said I’m fine.

“Y/N?” 

“I umm I’m going to get myself a drink. See you later Billy.” You slipped out of his grasp and grabbed a glass of whiskey and made your way to the living room where you saw Graham flirting with some blonde. Okay now that is a strange development. You took a seat next to a confused looking Karen on one of the couches.

“You okay?”

“Oh hey you came.”

“That I did. So what’s going on?”

“Did you know that Graham was in love with me?” That made you spit out the remaining whiskey in your mouth.

“What?” You said after coughing for a solid minute.

“Graham told me he wanted to be with me.”

“And you said?”

“No obviously.”

“Oh okay.” That stupid sentence shouldn’t have made you fill up with hope but it did.

“So you don’t have any comments?”

“I mean what do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know.”

“Right I umm I’m going to leave you alone then.”

You spent the night at Cami and Billy’s house, they had already set out the spare room for you since Billy didn’t want you driving on that vehicle of death as he liked to call it in the middle of the night.

Y/N: The first day that we were officially Daisy Jones & The Six couldn’t have started anymore disastrously. I was finally starting to cut back on pills because after the cocaine inci-

Interviewer: Sorry to interrupt but uh what was the cocaine incident?

Y/N: *a pained look overcame your face* I don’t think you want to hear about this.

Interviewer: I want to know it all.

Y/N: Right so I guess you will be the second person to ever know the story about the cocaine incident. The first was the doctor who found me overdosing in a park. It had become a habit to swipe Daisy’s coke stash. So on that night I had been adventurous and took a little more than usual. That ended up with me on a park bench with foam coming out of my mouth. Mark found me after a shift, he basically revived me by throwing me in a lake and getting me to his house. There he was able to flush the drugs from my system. I made him promise the next morning to never tell anyone and that was that. I don’t remember much of the encounter but I stopped the majority of the drugs after that.

Interviewer: I’m sorr-

Y/N: *with tears rolling down your face* Don’t be sorry. I’m alive and yeah it was probably not a good idea to not have told anyone but I was one of those people who didn’t believe in weaknesses. Anyways, I was kind of going through a big withdrawal period during that first session. Teddy was a fucking saviour as always and got Daisy and Billy to go write a song. I spent my day cruising around the streets of LA on my bike trying to fight off a killer migraine.

You arrived home before Warren and Eddie did and what greeted you was the sounds of moaning. So you quickly slipped into the back and took a peek into the living room. The sight on the couch made your heart split in two. Karen and your brother…

You soundlessly turned and closed the backdoor before quickly wiping the tears that started to form at the sight of Warren and Eddie.

“Where have you two been all day?”

“We could ask you the same question.”

“Well I was at the garage for a bit and then I went to the hills and cruised around. And by the popcorn I’m guessing you went to see Rollerball again.”

“Damn right sister.” You laughed and followed them inside when you heard the phone ringing.

“Is anyone going to get that?” You asked as you walked into the living room, looking at Karen and Graham who looked very disheveled. 

“Uh yeah.”

Y/N: That was the first time we heard Let Me Down Easy. And it was incredible… but Daisy and Billy. They realized that connection. And that hug at the end of the session. Well it said it all.

Interviewer: So did you notice anything different about Y/N around the time you recorded Aurora?

Billy: Uh not really? I was kind of immersed in the writing process of it all. Why? Did she say something?

Graham: She was more reserved I guess. I barely saw her other than in recording sessions and at home. I was kind of busy too with uh I guess you could call it love.

Karen: Yeah she was avoiding me. I wanted to be around her a bunch but Graham was giving me something I always wanted. And she was more tired. Like almost lethargic.

Warren: Not really? She spent a lot more time with me though. We discussed movies a lot together.

Eddie: She looked exhausted a lot of the time. Wait, why are you asking this?

Y/N: I was mentally drained during that time. I was avoiding Karen and Graham because of obvious reasons. I tried to date a few guys. That was a bad time. Me and men don’t go well together but uh I was grieving a lot and on top of that I was heartbroken. I wasn’t in the greatest place and it kind of fucked with me.

Daisy: I wasn’t spending as much time with Y/N as I probably should have been.

Y/N: After the album was finished and everyone went their separate ways, I went to a rehab center in Switzerland. The only person who knew was Teddy. I was an insanely secretive person but I needed to have someone know where I was. Teddy was like a father to me and he helped with everything.

Billy: I kind of freaked when I realized that no one knew where either Daisy or my sister were. Teddy had no idea where Daisy was but he told me Y/N went on a trip. That she would be back in a month and she was. But she was different. I think that was when I realized how fucking miserable she must have been while I was trying to deal with all my shit.

Y/N: Rehab was the best thing I could have ever done. I went back home and I moved out to this little apartment which was next to this secret beach. I finally felt so much better. I remember that day when I came to collect all my shit from my old room. I had bought a mustang when I left the airport. My beloved car.

You took a deep breath before cutting the ignition of your car and stepping into the house that held so many memories. So much heartbreak.

“Y/N holy shit you’re back.” Warren grabbed you and pulled you into a bear hug which everyone quickly joined once they realized who had stepped through their front door.

“Where the hell have you been?” Karen asked as she looked at you with a deep worry in her eyes.

“I uh went to rehab.” Their shocked faces made you burst out laughing. “Oh god I needed that, it has been a somber few days.”

“Why did you even go to rehab?”

“I needed to go away and get shit straightened out. Now how have all of you been?” You spent the rest of the afternoon catching up and drinking ginger beer while everyone drank regular alcohol. When you broke the news that you were going to move out it didn’t really faze anyone since Warren had basically permanently moved into his houseboat. That crush you had for Karen was still there but you were happy for your little brother. Wow, you could finally say that truthfully in your head.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice.” Karen said as she helped you pack up some of your valuables.

“Notice what?”

“How much you were struggling.”

“Karen, it’s okay. Plus I know you were busy having a boyfriend.” You forced out a smile before placing another one of your numerous trinkets into your suitcase.

“How did you know?” Karen had an almost guilty look on her face that made you look at her with a confused expression.

“I’ve known for ages. I’m not as clueless as the other idiots.”

“And how do you feel about it?”

“Well I’m happy for you of course. Graham really likes you.”

“Is that it?”

“What else do you want me to say?”

“I… thanks.”

“No problem. Thanks for helping with packing.” After all that was finished you put everything in the trunk with the help of Warren.

“When the hell did you get a Mustang?”

“Well I needed an extra car since my bike wouldn’t hold all my stuff. I got her this morning.”

“I always did appreciate your taste in cars.” You both laughed and exchanged a hug.

“Take care of yourself Warren. I’ll see you at the meeting on Monday.”

“You too. You heading home?”

“Nah I’m going to check in with Billy first.”

“Okay. Bye Y/N.”

“Bye Warren.” You waved at the group who had collected at the front porch before speeding off in the direction of your twin’s house.

You stood in front of the door before finally having the courage to knock. The door was immediately swung open by Camila.

“Oh my god you’re here. Billy get down here!” Cami yelled into the house before grabbing you and squeezing you into a hug.

“Are you okay? Teddy said you were on a trip but we were worried.” All of a sudden Billy appeared at the door carrying Julia and having the most relieved smile on his face.

“Oh Y/N. Come here.”

“Yes, come in. I’ll get you some tea.” Billy put down Jules before he enveloped you in that familiar embrace. God you had missed him. Julia came over and hugged your leg, making you laugh as you picked her up.

“Hey there Jules. You’ve gotten so big.”

“Where were you?” Billy asked as you took a seat on the couch as Julia nestled into your chest.

“Switzerland. I wanted to tell you but I really didn’t want to disappoint you, Billy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had to go to rehab. I know I should have talked to you-”

“No no, I get it. I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t there for you. You deserve someone better than me as a brother. Cause I sure as hell don’t deserve you.”

“Shut up, Billy. You’re my twin and I’ll love you to the ends of the earth.”

The rest of the night was spent in tears and laughs. You finally spent some much needed time with your other half. Being a twin meant you had a companion for life but it hadn’t felt like that for a while.

Y/N: I spent most of the tour around Billy. We shared the separate bus with Graham but he usually ended up staying over at Daisy’s bus. And Nicky well Nicky was a horrible fucking person and I noticed how much of a hold he had over Daisy. I felt powerless all over again. I tried to talk to her about it but she wouldn’t listen to anyone. I understood that feeling. I was that person only a few months ago.

Daisy: Y/N and Billy tried. Y/N tried to help so much that now that I think back on it she might have been the only thing keeping me from really surrendering myself to Nicky.

Y/N: Billy found her overdosed in the bathroom one night. That kind of changed everything for Daisy. Oh and Karen and Graham became official.

You were snuggled up next to Billy as you watched a random movie. Ginger beer was sitting in front of you and popcorn littered the bus's couch. You had spent the past few nights crying yourself to sleep. As if that would change the fact that Karen was in love with your little brother.

Then the bus’s door unlocked and in walked Daisy Jones. You felt Billy instantly perk up and shut off the tv. Billy Dunne was in love with Daisy Jones and you were powerless to do anything. Billy couldn’t admit it to himself but you knew the truth. You had known the man since the second he was born. 

“Would it be okay if I slept here tonight?”

“Of course Daisy. I’ll leave you guys to it.” You gave your brother a quick nudge before disappearing into the bunk section. Snuggled under the covers you drifted off into dreamland with the sound of their intermingling voices in the background.

Y/N: When Teddy nearly died, it felt like the world stopped. I even went to a chapel. I couldn’t have him leave us just yet.

You were kneeling in one of the pews of the hospital chapel. Praying and just begging God to let him live. You would do anything if you could just have him back.

When you got the news that he was going to be fine, you went into the room before Billy did. He understood the importance of that to you.

“Hey old man. I’m glad you’re not dead yet.”

“You ain’t getting rid of me that easily.” That was when Teddy noticed your tear tracks. “ Oh sweetheart.”

“Can’t have you dying on me okay?”

“I won’t. I promise you.”

Y/N: Pittsburgh never felt like a home to me. LA had become that. At least I didn’t feel judged in every corner of the town. But I missed my mother.

The night before you were meant to leave for Pittsburgh you heard a soft knock on your hotel room door. Rising from your position on the bed, you threw your journal and pen back into the covers and padded over to the door. And there stood Karen. As beautiful as ever but with tears running down her face.

“Kare? What’s going on?” She looked into your eyes and suddenly you knew. Oh she was pregnant.

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” She visibly brightened a little before she delved into your arms and you held her through the night. Selfishly feeling happy that she was spending the night in your arms instead of your brother’s.

You awkwardly sat at the edge of your mother’s backyard. Taking sips of a glass of lemonade as you leaned your head on Karen’s shoulder.

“What’s going on?” You saw Cami walk up to the both of you with a concerned look on her face. You twisted your head to look up at Karen as she gave Cami a sad smile. Cami’s face morphed into something concerned before she gave you both a hug.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey I’ll leave you two to discuss for a bit, okay?”

“Yeah I’ll see you later honey.” Karen’s little nickname for you made your heart flutter as you gave them both a smile before making your way to where Billy was talking to Chuck. The fucking dentist. You put your hands over your twin’s eyes and leaned next to his head.

“Guess who?” You asked, trying to deepen your voice as much as possible.

“Hmm I don’t know. Who could it be? I’m thinking it’s Y/N.”

“Spoilsport. Hey Chuck.” You made your way to stand next to Billy as he let out a chuckle at your childish antics.

“Hey Y/N. You look good.”

“Why thank you. I’m wearing Dior.” You gave him a slightly cutting smile before taking another sip of lemonade.

Warren: Y/N could be incredibly cutthroat when she wanted to. One of the best things about her.

Y/N: The Pittsburgh show went well. It was weird being home again. But the crowd was insane and Daisy and Billy well… they were Daisy and Billy.

The next morning after the show you went to the clinic with Cami and Karen. You held her hand during the procedure and gave her a comforting smile throughout it. She didn’t want pity or sadness and you knew that. You were always going to be there for her. Even if it was only as a friend.

Y/N: In all honesty, I thought everything was going great. Obviously I could see the tension between Daisy and Billy, I was literally living with them. I felt like a third wheel a lot of the time.

You could feel the palpable tension in the air as you played through the set. Billy looked heartbroken but also fucking elated, Daisy looked like she was having the time of her life, Eddie had a black eye, Graham couldn’t even look at Karen, Karen looked devastated but she kept sneaking glances your way, Warren looked like well Warren looked normal and you just did what you normally did, you observed. You mostly observed Karen because she looked really fucking hot in that outfit.

Then the set ended. Billy ran off to chase Camila and Daisy kept on singing. You knew it was the end. So before you went backstage you looked out onto the crowd one last time and sent them a kiss with a sad smile.

You were packing up your guitar when you felt a warm hand on your shoulder. You turned around to see Karen. In all her glory with a bright smile on her face.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this. I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize it.” Then she pulled you into a kiss. A kiss that reminded you of all of the things you had gone through since the start of the band. A kiss that felt like that pulsating crowd. A kiss that felt like pure unadulterated love.

“Wow Karen Sirko I didn’t know you had that in you.”

“Well Y/N Dunne I can’t wait to live out life with you.” You laughed before grabbing her and pulling her into a deeper kiss than before.

Daisy watched on as one of her favorite people in the world finally got her happy ending. And she felt calm for the first time in a while.

Karen: I wasn’t being completely honest with Graham for our entire relationship. I was literally in love with his sister throughout most of it but I didn’t know that I was. Until that night she just held me while I cried about being pregnant.

Y/N: *entwining your hand with Karen’s as the camera pans to allow you into frame* Karen is the only person I could ever imagine a life with. We live out in the mountains and I became a writer. And this incredible woman right here makes some of the best music out there.

Karen: Now you’re exaggerating.

Y/N: Shh I’m having a moment. So yeah Jules that’s how this whole thing has come to pass. I wouldn’t have changed one bit, it all led me to being with this beautiful woman whom I love with my entire being.

Julia: You know I think you’re like one of the coolest people ever right?

Y/N: Aww I love you so much kid. You’re definitely one of my favorite nieces, don’t tell Graham’s kids. *the camera cuts as you and Karen let out loud laughs*

THE END.

taglist: @yesshewrites1

[tfc2211]

01 - Buddy Holly - Rock Around With Ollie Vee 02 - Darrell Rhodes - Lou Lou 03 - Art Adams - Rock Crazy Baby 04 - Jimmy Edwards - Love Bug Crawl 05 - Pat Ferguson - Fool I Am 06 - Bob Luman - Red Hot 07 - The Phantom - Love Me 08 - Kip Tyler - She's My Witch 09 - Tommy Blake - Lordy Hoody 10 - The String Kings - Bloodshot 11 - Jackie DeShannon - Trouble 12 - Ronnie Pearson - Hot Shot 13 - Pat Cupp - Long Gone Daddy 14 - Steve Carl - Curfew 15 - Carl Perkins - Put Your Cat Clothes On 16 - Sonny Fisher - Pink And Black 17 - Roy Orbison - Domino 18 - Hank Mizell - Jungle Rock 19 - Warren Smith - Ubangi Stomp 20 - Hasil Adkins - Chicken Walk 21 - Fat Daddy Holmes - Chicken Rock 22 - Bob And Lucille - Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe 23 - Bobby Lee Trammell - Shirley Lee 24 - Gene Vincent - Woman Love 25 - Elvis Presley - One Night Of Sin

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

In trying to build a forecast model of the Democratic primaries, we literally had to think about the entire process from start (Iowa) to finish (the Virgin Islands on June 6). Actually, we had to do more than that. Since the nomination process is sequential — states vote one at a time rather than all at once — we had to determine, empirically, how much the results of one state can affect the rest.

The answer in the case of Iowa is that it matters a lot. Despite its demographic non-representativeness, and the quirks of the caucuses process, the amount of media coverage the state gets makes it far more valuable a prize than you’d assume from the fact that it only accounts for 41 of the Democrats’ 3,990 pledged delegates.

More specifically, we estimate — based on testing how much the results in various states have historically changed the candidates’ position in national polls — that Iowa was the second most-important date on the calendar this year, trailing only Super Tuesday. It was worth the equivalent of almost 800 delegates, about 20 times its actual number.

Which states will produce the biggest bounces?

Expected bounce magnitude according to FiveThirtyEight’s primary model

Relative bounce magnitude Date States Based on delegates Early state bonus Combined Feb. 3 Iowa +3 +20 +23 Feb. 11 New Hampshire +2 +10 +12 Feb. 22 Nevada +3 +5 +8 Feb. 29 South Carolina +3 +5 +8 Mar. 3 Colorado, Alabama, Utah, Oklahoma, Vermont, Texas, Tennessee, Maine, Virginia, North Carolina, California, American Samoa, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Arkansas +30 +30 Mar. 10 Mississippi, Michigan, North Dakota, Washington, Missouri, Idaho, Democrats Abroad +12 +12 Mar. 14 Northern Marianas +1 +1 Mar. 17 Ohio, Arizona, Florida, Illinois +16 +16 Mar. 24 Georgia +5 +5 Mar. 29 Puerto Rico +3 +3 Apr. 4 Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming, Louisiana +5 +5 Apr. 7 Wisconsin +4 +4 Apr. 28 Rhode Island, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania +18 +18 May 2 Guam, Kansas +3 +3 May 5 Indiana +4 +4 May 12 Nebraska, West Virginia +3 +3 May 19 Kentucky, Oregon +5 +5 June 2 New Mexico, New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana, District of Columbia +8 +8 June 6 Virgin Islands +1 +1

Everything was a little weird in Iowa this year, however. And there were already some signs that the Iowa bounce — which essentially results from all the favorable media coverage that winning candidates get — might be smaller than normal. Iowa was bracketed by an extremely busy news calendar: President Trump’s impeachment trial both before and after the caucuses, the Super Bowl on Sunday, the State of the Union address on Tuesday. There was not the usual climactic uptick in media coverage around Iowa. From initial indications — to the extent any information at all is reliable at this point — Democratic turnout there wound up being fairly low.

But we weren’t prepared for what actually happened, which is that — as I’m writing this at 3:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning — the Iowa Democratic Party literally hasn’t released any results from its caucuses. I’m not going to predict what those numbers will eventually be, although early indications are that Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and perhaps Elizabeth Warren had good results. The point is that the lead story around the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses is now — and will forever be — the colossal shitshow around the failure to release results in a timely fashion.

Maybe there will eventually be a decent-sized Iowa bounce despite all of this. But there’s a good chance that the candidates who did well in Iowa get screwed, and the candidates who did poorly there get a mulligan. To repeat: There’s very little importance in a mathematical sense to who wins 41 delegates. Iowa is all about the media narrative it produces and all about momentum, and that momentum, whoever wins, is likely to have been blunted.

Who might this help? Let’s pretend for a moment we don’t have any hints about how the results might have turned out. In fact, let’s pretend that Iowa didn’t happen at all. I re-ran our forecast model as though the Iowa caucuses were canceled.1 Here’s how that changed each candidate’s chances of getting a delegate majority:

How Iowa’s presence affected Democrats’ odds

Chances of winning a majority of pledged delegates per FiveThirtyEight forecast model on Feb. 3 (pre-Iowa), compared with a version of the model that skips the Iowa caucuses

Candidate As of our final PRE-IOWA SIMULATIONS ON Monday night In A HYPOTHETICAL SIMULATION WHERE Iowa didn’t exist Biden 43% 50% Sanders 31 24 Warren 5 5 Buttigieg 4 <1 Other <1 <1 No one 17 20

The presence of Iowa was helpful to Bernie Sanders, whose chances of winning a national delegate majority would have been 24 percent without Iowa — as compared to the 31 percent chance that he had with Iowa, as of Monday afternoon. Iowa was hurtful to Joe Biden, however, whose chances of a delegate majority would have been 50 percent without it, rather than 43 percent with it.

And Iowa was extremely helpful to Buttigieg, whose chances of winning the delegate majority were fairly low even with Iowa — keep in mind that he had slipped to third in polls of Iowa and fifth in national polls — but would have been virtually nonexistent (less than one percent) without it.

By giving the winning candidates a boost, the presence of Iowa also reduced the chance of an unstructured race and a potential brokered convention. The chance of there being no delegate majority was 17 percent without Iowa, but would have been 20 percent with it.

Granted, none of those changes — say, 24 percent versus 31 percent — are necessarily that large. But that’s partly because, as of Monday afternoon, four or five candidates appeared to have a shot at winning Iowa. For the candidate who actually won Iowa, it would have been a much bigger deal. We estimate that Sanders’s chances of a majority would have shot up to from 31 percent to 58 percent with an Iowa win, Warren’s from 5 percent to 32 percent, and Buttigieg’s from 4 percent to 22 percent.

And in some ways that still discounts Iowa’s impact, because several of the campaigns — for better or worse — built their entire strategy around the state. Would Buttigieg have been a major player in the race without Iowa? Considering his lack of support among black voters, probably not. Would candidates such as Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Julian Castro have dropped out so soon? That’s a harder call, since Harris, Booker and Castro weren’t polling particularly well anywhere. But the Democratic field might have remained a little more diverse.

So we’ve arrived at a point of some ambivalence. On the one hand, candidates such as Buttigieg, who seemingly did well there, are liable to be injured by the muddled storylines in Iowa following the results-reporting disaster on Monday night. On the other hand, it’s not clear why Iowa was afforded so much importance in the first place, and Buttigieg possibly owed his entire presence in the campaign to this quirk in the nomination process. Nonetheless, these were the rules of the game, as every candidate understood them. So if Iowa turns out not to matter very much because of the results-reporting snafu, they have every right to be upset.

To be even more blunt: the Iowa Democratic Party’s colossal screw-up in reporting results will potentially have direct effects on the outcome of the nomination process. The failure to report results will almost certainly help Biden, assuming that indications that he performed poorly in Iowa are correct, as they won’t get nearly as much media coverage. And they’ll hurt whichever candidate wins the state — mostly likely Sanders or Buttigieg. (Although if Sanders winds up finishing in second place or lower, he also might not mind a reduction in the importance of Iowa, especially with one of his best states, New Hampshire, coming up next.)

Furthermore, Iowa is typically a state that winnows the field. But with every candidate either having performed well there, potentially having an excuse for a disappointing finish there, or somewhere in between, it might not do that. Delaying the winnowing process would tangibly increase the chance of a contested convention.

It’s not a good situation for the Democratic Party. And it’s already too late for the damage to be entirely undone, even if Iowa eventually gets its act together.

[teafortwo29]

BARACK OBAMA IS QUIETLY GETTING INTO THE 2020 RACE

The former president plots his return—as Democratic kingmaker.

BY TINA NGUYEN JUNE 11, 2018 

By Simon Watts/AFP/Getty Images.

Days after the 2016 election, Barack Obama was racked by self-doubt. “What if we were wrong?” he asked his aides, his longtime senior adviser Ben Rhodes recalls in his new memoir of the Obama presidency. Had the administration “pushed too far” in its promotion of cosmopolitan values, neglecting and underestimating the simmering anger of Rust Belt workers, white identitarians, and other culture warriors who worried their country was changing too much, too fast? “Maybe,” Obama said, “people just want to fall back into their tribe.” It’s been a mark of humility, perhaps, that Obama has remained mostly silent since then, issuing only occasional statements criticizing his successor. It may also reflect a degree of political cunning: with Democrats in disarray for much of Donald Trump’s first year in office, the party has needed time to right itself, to find a new message and new leaders.

Behind the scenes, however, Obama has been quietly re-entering Democratic politics, asserting his role as presidential kingmaker ahead of the 2020 election. While Obama has steered clear of the upcoming midterms, Politico reports that he has met with at least nine possible Democratic presidential candidates in recent months, including the nominal democratic-socialist Bernie Sanders, former Massachusetts governor and close friend Deval Patrick, and financial-reform crusader Elizabeth Warren, among others. The secret appointments, which Politico confirmed with multiple sources, represent a diverse prospective field: there is also former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, Los Angeles and South Bend Mayors Eric Garcetti and Pete Buttigeig, and, in a more long-shot bet, former Army National Guard captain Jason Kander, who was widely considered potential presidential material before losing a Missouri senatorial bid in 2016.

According to multiple people familiar with them, the meetings run long, often over an hour. Obama tends to give advice, guidance, talk about the future of the party, and everyone’s places in it. The conversations can be searching, get philosophical, then quickly veer back to brass tacks. He’ll give his thoughts on campaigns. He’ll offer to help make sure donors and party bigwigs are returning calls.

The former president’s advice, per people briefed on the meetings, is classic No-Drama Obama: stick to the issues that matter to people, don’t get distracted, and don’t define yourself in the negative.

Many of the conversations have circled around Obama holding forth about how much Democrats should be heading into the midterms talking about the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election versus focusing on kitchen-table issues. Don’t chase the shiny objects, he tells them. Don’t hyperventilate over the flash of any tweet. Think about what’s going to stick in the long term.

That roughly tracks with the conventional wisdom in Democratic circles as they campaign in 2018: allow Democrats to run local races without national interference, don’t rock the boat with too much progressivism, and don’t make it too much about that guy in the White House. Of course, what works in the midterms won’t necessarily work in 2020, when the stakes will be national and Trump will be unavoidable. “The way to disempower Trump is to ignore him, but it’s too hard even for his opponents to do it,” Columbia Law professor Tim Wu told my colleague Peter Hamby. “It has to be a pure attention battle.” That means Democrats ultimately have to create their own programming, characters, celebrities, and storylines that are just as captivating as Trump. It will require something more than the “‘I Hate Trump’ show,” as Wu called it—but it can’t entirely ignore Trump, either.

Beating Trump at the attention battle will be a tall order for Democrats—especially given how Trump has weaponized liberal discontent to solidify his support. (One recent poll found that after his handling of the economy and his general policies, nearly 8 out of 10 G.O.P. voters in battleground House races said the thing they liked most about Trump was his commitment to “upsetting the ‘elites’ and the establishment.”) While Trump remains historically unpopular overall, he has an incredibly high approval rating within his own party, with 87 percent of Republican voters saying they approve of his performance thus far. If the economy doesn’t weaken, the wind will be at Trump’s back in 2020, despite historic Democratic activism and engagement. Democrats may need Obama-level turnout to beat back Trump’s small but intensely committed voter base.

So far, polling suggests that a generic Democrat would beat Trump, with the latest putting their chances at 44 to 36 percent. But once real Democrats get into the 2020 race, the calculus changes. Trump and his Republican allies have already painted Sanders as a radical and Warren as an opportunist. Landrieu has been criticized as a self-promoter, Patrick’s name would become synonymous with Bain Capital, and Kander could be dismissed as untested. The key for each will be to define themselves, and their narrative, before Trump, can brand them himself.

Obama, who always maintained close control of his image and personal story, may be indispensable in that regard, especially at this early stage of the 2020 race. He will almost certainly emerge as a party kingmaker, whether he covets the role or not. According to Politico, Obama won’t get involved in midterm endorsements until this fall and is not expected to endorse anyone for president until after the party coalesces around a nominee. Still, it’s possible Obama has his favorites. He remains close with former vice president Joe Biden, who is reportedly leaning toward running, and the two talk on the phone frequently. “The 2020 race and what Biden’s going to do haven’t come up in those discussions,” people briefed on those conversations said, with Obama “waiting on his friend to make a decision.”

TINA NGUYEN

Tina Nguyen is a reporter for The Hive, covering politics and the media.

[laresearchette]

Monday, August 30, 2021 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT LAETITIA (TBD - HBO Canada)

US OPEN TENNIS (TSN/TSN5) 11:00am:  Early Round Coverage - Day #1 (TSN/TSN5) 7:00pm:  Early Round Primetime Coverage - Day #1

PARALYMPICS (CBC) 3:00pm: Daytime Coverage (CBC) 7:00pm: Primetime Coverage

IIHF WOMEN’S HOCKEY (TSN4) 3:00pm: Semifinal (TSN3/TSN4) 7:00pm: Semifinal

MLB BASEBALL (SN) 7:00pm: Orioles vs. Jays (TSN2) 7:00pm: Red Sox vs. Rays (SN1) 9:30pm: Yankees vs. Angels (TSN2) 10:00pm: Braves vs. Dodgers

CORNER GAS ANIMATED (CTV Comedy) 8:00pm: Hank is upset when Wanda replaces him as Corn Maze designer at the the Dog River Corn Festival; Emma and Oscar compete with Davis to see who can complete their volunteer task first; Brent and Lacey raise money by selling popcorn.

THE NEW AIR FORCE ONE: FLYING FORTRESS (Nat Geo Canada) 8:00pm:  An in-depth look at Air Force One; the overhaul of the two presidential planes; exploring the cutting-edge technology.

BEN & JERRY'S CLASH OF THE CONES (Food Network Canada) 9:00pm/10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Six ice cream masters must create flavors inspired by Kevin Bacon. In Episode Two, five ice cream masters create a flavor based on actor and rapper Ludacris' favorite desserts; they're also tasked with creating classic sandwich cookies from scratch and incorporating them into their ice cream.

MESSYNESS (MTV Canada) 9:00pm/9:30pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Nicole Snooki, Tori Spelling, Adam Rippon, and Teddy Ray celebrate some next level momming in "Mom Crush Monday," hit the water with "Ship Wrecks," and get extra shady in "Worst Besties."  In Episode Two, Nicole Snooki, Tori Spelling, Adam Rippon, and Teddy Ray get overserved in "Wide Open Bar," check out fun loving seniors in "Prime Time," and strike out in "Lame Game."

DEVIL'S ROAD: THE TRUE STORY OF ED AND LORRAINE WARREN (DTour) 9:00pm:  Over the course of their 50-year career, Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate thousands of hauntings; some of their most famous cases include the Amityville Horror house and the real-life Rhode Island home behind \"The Conjuring\" films.

LONG HOT SUMMERS - THE STORY OF THE STYLE COUNCIL (Crave) 9:00pm:  Members of The Style Council reflect on their time as 80s pop icons; featuring interviews with Paul Weller, Boy George and Martin Freeman.

FARMHOUSE FACELIFT (DIY Canada) 10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE):  Homeowners John and Kristine need help renovating a tired farmhouse that has been in the family for four generations.

MAN VS. HISTORY (History Canada) 10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE):  In search of the truth, Bil Lepp puts Billy the Kid's famous escape to the test and attempts Annie Oakley's most difficult shot while also investigating the validity of the Tombstone Thunderbird.

EX-RATED WITH ANDY COHEN (Slice) 10:00pm/10:30pm (SERIES PREMIERE):  Chris' sizable ego is shaken when multiple exes question his sexual skills; sexologist Shan Boodram takes a very unconventional approach to help Chris with his fear of a certain sexual activity and enlists the help of a sex doll. In Episode Two, Dominatrix Sophia is put through a relationship ringer, hearing from her male and female partners about her past issues while having to go through a lie detector test to help her deal with her resistance to being vulnerable.

THE STAND-UP SHOW WITH JON DORE (CTV Comedy) 10:30pm: Comics Matt Wright, Cassie Cao and Nour Hadidi.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Harlan

Every story you've heard about him is true, even the ones that aren't -- and some of those are truer than the ones that are. 

. . .

I met him in person at Filmation Studios back in 1978, but before then we had encountered each other on the pages of Dick Geis’ Science Fiction Review.

Let me backtrack and explain.

Harlan would approve.

. . .

I’ve posted elsewhere about the unique blend of circumstances that got me involved in science fiction fandom in the late 1960s:  Family constantly moving, friends only an address change away, etc., etc., and of course, etc.

What teenage Buzzy boy did not know at the time -- or let’s say, teenage Buzzy boy had a dim intellectual knowledge, but not the full breadth and depth needed at the time to fully appreciate it -- was that Geis’ SFR was ground zero for the epic new wave / old thing feud that was raging in sci-fi circles at the time.

But the glorious thing about sci-fi fandom is that age and experience are no bar to entry, that all ages are welcome, and that even though I wasn’t 100% appreciative of what was going on around me, I was there, at least as a heckler in the cheap seats, as a massive sea change swept through science fiction as a genre.

I had written some reviews for Dick Geis and one of them caught Harlan’s attention, and in a letter to SFR he said something nice about my opinion.

There are two times in my life when I was surprised and delighted to have a living legend spontaneously address me.

The second time was when Stan Lee called me by name in the halls of Marvel Studios.

The first was when Harlan Ellison said he agreed with something I wrote.

. . .

Gerry Boudreaux was a comics writer out of Rhode Island who did Harlan a solid by tipping him to James Warren’s attempted ripoff of “A Boy And His Dog” in 1984 / 1994 magazine.

Warren blackballed Harlan and Gerry, of course, and Harlan didn’t need Warren’s money, Gerry did so Harlan asked around and the next thing you knew, Gerry was slaving away in the animation pits at Filmation Studios.

Filmation producer Lou Scheimer was trying to float a movie to be called 7 Worlds, 7 Warriors and Gerry returned Harlan’s favor by securing a meeting between him and Lou over the project.

before the meeting with Lou, Harlan swung through the Filmation writers’ offices -- the writers’ block, as we called it -- to say hi to Gerry.

Gerry introduced us. Harlan recognized my name.  We chitted, we chatted, then he went off  to see Lou. 

Nothing ever came of 7 Worlds, 7 Warriors (on the other hand, nothing came of Filmation’s proposed Snow White And The 7 Jerry Lewises either, so don’t cry for me, Argentina) but like two eccentric asteroids, Harlan and my orbits kept intersecting at odd times and odd places after that.

. . .

If anybody is hagiography proof, it’s Harlan.

He wouldn’t put up with that bullshit while he was alive.

Right now, in the immediate shock and aftermath of his death -- not an unexpected demise, but certainly an undesired one – people are remembering all the golden moments.

And lordie, there are a lot of golden moments with Harlan.

A lot of brass, too.

And some tin.

And lead.

We’ll get to the agonizing reappraisal stage for Harlan soon enough, and it will be good that we do, but for right now, let a season of mourning pass.

The cold, cold light will come soon enough.

. . .

We had a schtick going at parties and cons.  He would recognize me, tell whomever he was holding court with what a fine writer I was, and I’d pull out my wallet and hand him a dollar.

He never turned it down.

. . .

He went from enfant terrible to angry young man to monstre sacré without ever passing through éminence grise.

That was one helluva trick, Harlan.  Bravo.

He was angry.  He was angry a lot and about much and very often.

But he knew he was angry, and he tried to focus his anger on injustices -- and not just those aimed at him.

“Do you think I want to be this way?” he asked more than once, and there’s one answer you can give to that when you’re sitting face to face over a cup of coffee, and another you give when you’re writing in memoriam about one of the greatest writers who ever lived and a valued friend.

So, no, he didn’t want to be like that, but if he was going to be like that, he was going to wield that anger in a righteous manner.

He wasn’t always right, but when he was wrong, he was usually wrong for the right reasons.

. . .

Orbits arc out elliptically, never circular, never wholly predictable.

Gravity pulls us in strange directions, and sometimes I’d be encountering Harlan on an almost monthly basis, others times only once a year.

We stayed in touch…vaguely…indirectly…but we’d wave as our orbits shot past.

He got sick.  He got tired.

He wouldn’t stop, couldn’t stop, but he couldn’t keep going, not at that pace.

We lost mutual friends, we commiserated.

He and Susan seemed to be happy, and I hope they were.

So many of my writer friends aren’t.

I'm glad he survived his last hospital stay a couple of years ago and that I got to talk to him both while he was in the hospital and later one last time at the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. 

To most people, if they recognize his name at all, he’s “that guy that wrote that Star Trek episode."

To me, personally, he was a great guy and a friend I cherished.

  ©  Buzz Dixon