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sixthwater · 1 year

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Content Creation & Consumption

Disclaimer: since it's hard to read tone over text, this should read pretty neutral. I'm passionate about the idea in general, but I want this to be seen as an informative piece? Or a thought piece. Comfort or Reassurance? It's not supposed to seem aggressive, that's the point. Anyway, I hope it's helpful in some way.

Once again, I've been sitting on these thoughts for a while and they haven't left, so I have to spit them out somewhere (and actually I did! but they're still around-), so here I am. I've seen some weird takes in regard to content creators lately, in a lot of places not just here. So I want to talk about platforms, creator-consumer relations, and the like while courage the cowardly dog plays in the background.

Creator & Consumer

One of the main issues that will be reoccurring is: seeing content creators as non-human. What I mean by that is they're sometimes viewed as content farms which is insulting and frustrating honestly. Before I continue, creators absolutely should have something to deliver for the consumer. They kinda can't just expect people to always support or donate to them without anything in return (that would be ~exploitation~). It reminds me of an artist (who I forgot please if you know who I'm talking about let me know so I can source it) who explained the process behind their album making: "Let's say the album has ten songs. I make eight for them, two for me." So it's like a present for them and self-serving for the artist. It's also a bit of knowing what the public wants and being able to balance doing what you want and "performing". However expecting them to perform and do all of their services and beyond? For free? All the time? Is kind of pushing it. They have every right to charge for their service or ask for support/donations of some kind to keep their 'business' going. They always say two things: never make your passion a full time job, or make sure you truly love what you do for your job so you don't begin to hate it. Both are true. Recent times have made this issue so grey and blurry but turning your hobby into your work is a risk because what do you turn to when you need a destresser now? It's possible to achieve a new balance but it takes a while to figure that out, which is why support and kind words are so important in the beginning.

I grew up on the internet, I have been here for a long time. I have also made loads of different stuff under different aliases while being here. I will never forget what it feels like to hear people's reaction to my creations in a viewing room. Hearing hushed reactions to my stuff. Knowing that people come back to my pieces as a source of comfort. I still remember the usernames of people who left feedback on my old content and the way they talked -- it made my day seeing a notification from them since they became 'regulars' in a way. Support does not need to be money. Knowing that I wasn't merely throwing my stuff into the void, but people were consuming it and enjoying it, someone was actively waiting for new stuff from me -- it made me motivated and excited to make more stuff on top of how much I enjoyed my hobbies. Creators aren't joking when they say it matters and they remember you.

Lately thank you's have become pretty rare and it's just become a request without a please even, barely an acknowledgment to the previous work, which is a whole other issue but I digress. Please show support to your favorite creator if you like their work, I assure you it makes their day a little better lol.

Platforms

Not to be negative but every platform sucks for creators. That's just the truth. Some have more benefits, but at the end of the day it's a business so they still have to put themselves before the creator so the website can stay up for the creator to profit off of it. Which is why it's so important for the consumer to carry some sort of weight (support) for the creator to keep shining. I shouldn't have to explain much about how Youtube has slowly gone down the drain in reference to creator preference. Most of it's creators are now relying on Patreon which is actually pathetic considering how Youtube started out. However, it's not like Patreon is a golden website for creators either. There's a reason why there are so many Ko-fi VS Patreon articles, but those two just come down to which one you prefer. I assure you they're hell of a lot better than Etsy, at least currently (it's pretty bad if the original creator makes a tweet against you). I know a lot of people usually speak to Tumblr's shitty system, but a good amount of well known artists on Twitter started off here. During the 'Twitter meltdown', a good lot of them mentioned going back to Tumblr, remember. Before the weird 'no reblogging' phase that started in 2017/2018?? Getting eyes on your stuff here was pretty easy. The only thing these sites have in common is that they're unreliable for artists or content creators, and consumers are so helpful for them. If you pay attention to intros/outros for youtubers, they've become more extensive over the years right? It's because of their algorithm. It used to just be if you liked it, subscribe. Oh likes help, give it a like. Comments now help: okay give it a like and a comment to help maybe throw me a boost into landing in their good graces? Oh you guys suddenly aren't getting notifs that's fine: Give A Like, Comment, Hit the Notif Bell, and subscribe if you like :). Literally none of the platforms are actually supportive of creators. Consumers are though, they are always the ones we're thankful for because like, you're the one reading/watching our stuff. If you didn't spread or interact with our stuff it's kind of game over for us since there's really no clear answer with these sites. However I guess if anyone ever cared about people pursuing the path that was fairly walked then the starving artist trope wouldn't be a trope then would it.

That's it. A little quick thought that's been sitting with me and if you want to add something then feel free? I like talking. Obviously lol.

#astrology #tarot #okay back to pretending like im stupid #i dont like people knowing i think they like to bother me afterwards #i found a new song and i've had it on repeat and one of my cats is pissed actually #waterthoughts

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1ddiscourseoftheday · 5 years

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Tues 17 Sept

Louis took questions on YouTube, and once everyone eventually figured out how to find his answers, it was very exciting! In one tiny little sentence he told us more about his songwriting process than maybe ever before which was extremely exciting and (clickbait voice) the answer may surprise you! He said he will "talk about what I want to write about first then work through melody and then on to the specific lyrics." Other answers included that the next single was written two years ago, which fits with the speculation that it might be Habit which he tweeted lyrics from a year and a half ago (as opposed to being part of the 70% of the new album that he tells us was written within the last year) among other interesting things, and then everyone got so sidetracked arguing about whether his preference for jacket potatoes with tuna was good or gross (and learning what a jacket potato was) that his last few answers almost got lost in the shuffle. Much like Louis himself, louies can get a little, uh, worked up about food choices. Anyway that was lovely and there's lots more Louis ahead; BuzzFeed announced a segment coming soon today, as did Indonesian radio, another UK outlet, and, drumroll, US promo is beginning! The first US radio spot was announced for tomorrow afternoon! Looks like the US-promo-after-Madrid predictions were right on target.

Already well into US promo: Liam. He's all over New York today, posting pics from the street and out skyscraper windows, getting papped more than once, playing at Sirius FM (the performance will air tomorrow morning) and some clips are already out but that's nothing on tomorrow, when what seems like every one of those prerecorded UK spots will air: eight have been announced so far. We've gotten some standard patter about the song, and he said that SIU "is like Strip That Down's little brother" which, I know he's sort of talking about having Ed Sheeran as a writer again but clearly there are similarities in sound and direction as well and boy. Does it raise some questions and concerns what with his big talking point this whole spring being about how Strip That Down wasn't really him or what he wanted to be doing and he'd realized that he was just lost and that was a sign of it and things were going to be different going forward. A lot of things about Liam's current trajectory are concerning. The song sounds good and I really think it can be the hit he clearly wants and I look forward to supporting it but like many, I feel, well, concerned.

Niall, who Liam tells us was "ready for a One Direction comeback before the hiatus had even properly begun," isn't quite to the press tour stage yet for his new music but he is out here being exciting: he's filming a video in London! Seen with him in the video: at least two dancers (dancing not seen) and a female model, Australian Georgia Mae Gibbs. She is, do I even need to say it, a tall thin brunette. Niall was unhappy about pap pics of the shoot and asked people not to pay attention to them and miraculously didn't end up snapping at someone who brought up the old you only get papped when you mean to quote (maybe he was just too busy) though I imagine he would have pointed out that this is a very different circumstance then he was talking about then. 1D and NH1 songwriter Ruth Anne Cunningham talked about writing with Niall on NTMY, and in the past. She says when she went to write with 1D the first time Louis didn't show up that day so her and Niall ended up just working together and getting along great. Louis clearly did show up eventually as she wrote on No Control among others, but it seems her and Niall had bonded well by then and we all win as a result, they're a great writing team. And in I'll believe it when I see it and also whaat is happening news, Disney has apparently STILL not cast for Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid and on the current maybe list? It's Niall! Amazing.

The 1883 mag photoshoot outtakes of Louis that surfaced a couple days ago were revealed to have been hacked prior to being sold and the photographer was not pleased to see them out in the world, and Zayn's youngest sister Safaa got married yesterday; it's assumed Zayn was present in the UK for the event.

#Liam Payne #Louis Tomlinson #Niall Horan #Zayn #sort of #Louis #Liam #Niall #stack it up #Georgia Mae Gibbs #ruth anne cunningham #little mermaid #can't believe I'm bringing this tag back but here we are #1883 magazine #Safaa #17 Sept 19

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just-jordie-things · 5 years

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Plus One - Peter Parker (part two)

word count: 3426 warnings: swearing summary: (y/n) and Peter are on their way to The Bronx as a fake couple. On the bus ride down, cuddling proves to be something they’re good at. song: Shallow - Lady Gaga + part one

PART TWO: Car Trips and Cuddling

[ do you need more? Is there something else you’re searching for? // i’m falling in all the good times // i find myself longing for change ]

“We’re not going to pull this off,” (y/n) was mumbling to herself as she packed her suitcase. “This is crazy, I’m crazy. Why did I think this is a good idea? What the hell is wrong with me to make me think that this is-”

“Okay, deep breaths” Peter said, and threw himself onto her bed. He’d packed his things the night they’d planned on him going with her to the city. Mostly because he couldn’t sleep and was too busy thinking about this whole ‘fake dating’ scenario.

(y/n), however, decided not to pack her things until the morning they had to leave.

“It’s gonna be fine, and it’s a wedding, (y/n/n), it’ll be fun, remember?” He told her. She nodded, and stopped her frantic movements as she took a few deep breaths.

“Right,” She nodded. “Right. Alina’s getting married, it’s about her, not me” She thought aloud, and slowly began to finish packing her things.

The last thing to go into the suitcase was her dress, still in the plastic sheet. She carefully folded it to fit safely, before closing her suitcase, and zipping it up.

“You packed your suit?” (y/n) asked Peter anxiously as she put on her travel backpack and rolled her suitcase behind her. They walked out of the room, and Peter collected his things before they went downstairs to say goodbye to the few resident Avengers.

“Of course,” Peter answered. “More deep breaths” He said calmly, and squeezed her shoulder briefly. She took his advice, and had calmed herself down by the time they were in the common room.

“Wow, wedding day already?” Tony asked with a smirk at the two.

“It’s actually on Sunday,” (y/n) told him. “It’s a full day of bussing today”

“You’re gonna sit with Peter on a bus for a whole day?” Happy teased. “Make sure he knocks out and sleeps most of the way there. He’s not a good travel buddy”

Peter rolled his eyes and scoffed. Ever since Happy had taken a romantic interest in his Aunt May, everything the man did made him annoyed.

“He talks a lot, kid doesn’t know how to read a room and shut up” Happy continued, and (y/n) shrugged.

“That’s alright, I’ll need something to keep me busy,” She said. “I thought it’d be reading the book I bought specifically for today’s trip, but… I guess I’ll entertain Peter” She smiled over at him fondly, and he rolled his eyes again, this time much more affectionately than when it’d been directed towards Happy.

“Look at you two!” Scott cheered as he walked into the room to say his goodbyes. He hooked an arm around both of the teens, and kissed both of their temples before pulling away. “Already the cutest couple at the wedding!”

“I think the bride and groom will be the cutest couple at the wedding, Mr Lang” Peter corrected, but Scott waved a hand and shook his head.

“No chance. I’m just glad you took my advice!”

“You’re going as a couple?” Tony asked, trying to hide his smile and laughter as best as he could.

“Uh, well-” (y/n) started to explain, but Pepper shook her head, setting a hand on her husbands arm.

“Leave them be, Tony”

“What? I was just asking” He argued quietly with her.

“I got you this,” Natasha stepped forward to diffuse the awkward situation that was starting to brew. She handed (y/n) a miniature bottle of pepper spray. “Just to be safe, you never know”

The girl chuckled and put it in a small pocket in her backpack, thanking Romanoff for the… gift.

“Alright lovebirds, have a safe trip,” Thor winked enthusiastically, causing both Peter and (y/n) to blush. “See what I did? Because everyone hooks up at weddings-?”

“It’s time for us to get going” Peter said quickly, placing a hand on (y/n’s) back and nudging her slightly to walk to the door with him.

“Bye everyone!” (y/n) called, waving a hand as they made a beeline for the door, sharing a look before bursting into giggles. ___

An hour into the bus ride, Peter had bored himself with the games on his phone, and settled on just listening to music in his earbuds while (y/n) was quietly reading next to him. She seemed completely emerged in her book, flipping each page quicker than the last. He figured she’d finish it within the next hour if she continued at this pace.

Despite having all of her focus on the book in her face, she could tell that Peter was watching her, and when she reached the end of the page, she looked up at him curiously.

“You okay?” She asked softly, making him pull his earbud out, and she repeated herself.

“Oh, yeah, I’m good” He answered.

(y/n) reached into her bag for a paperclip, and marked her spot in her book, before going in her bag again. She held up a dual headphone adaptor, and her own earbuds to Peter, silently asking if she could listen to his music with him.

Peter nodded, and plugged them both in, and playing their playlist. They’d started it two years ago as an attempt to have both of their music play when they were working in the lab. But over the years they both kept on adding songs they wanted the other to listen to, ending in a massive album of songs they both enjoyed to listen to together.

(y/n) smiled contently as she went back to her book.

It was little moments like these that made Peter realize how much he truly enjoyed her presence. They weren’t talking, they weren’t even looking at each other. Just sitting side by side and sharing music. He hoped it would always be this easy when it came to their relationship, that they would always be balanced like this.

When (y/n) had first moved into the compound, she had been so nervous that she barely spoke a word to anyone other than Tony and Happy. She brought her boxes and bags in, one by one, carrying them up to the elevator, to her room on the eighth floor, and then back again to bring another. It was a long and tiring process, and although she knew there were plenty of people around who were likely to lend a hand if she asked, she didn’t want to bother them. They were Avengers, they had better things to do than to help a high schooler carry her things.

On her fifth trip was when she saw him. The cute boy with curly brown hair and puppy dog brown eyes. He was the only person she’d actually seen all day, and he looked just as surprised to see her.

“You must be (y/n)!” He greeted, about to reach his hand out before he realized that she was holding a large cardboard box in her hands.

“Y-yeah, yeah that’s me” She answered awkwardly.

“I’m Peter Parker,” He introduced, and she nodded her head. “Do you want help with your things?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay you don’t have-”

“What floor is yours?” Peter asked, already deciding he was going to help her anyways. (y/n’s) cheeks went pink as she answered.

“Eight” She said in the softest voice.

“Got it” Peter nodded, and was heading off to the moving truck outside without another word.

The process went by a lot quicker with Peter’s help, and within ten minutes they were done, and sitting on the floor with their backs against her bed frame. (y/n) was taking a break, and drinking as much water as she could, while Peter just hung around to keep her company.

“Mr Stark told me about you,” He told her. “He said that you’re a master at engineering, and that you have an IQ of-”

“How much about me did he tell you?” (y/n) giggled quietly as Peter had started to ramble on. He shrugged, thinking it over.

“I guess that’s about it. Just that you’re more than qualified to be here,” He answered. “Where in the city did you live?”

“The Bronx,” She said with a nervous chuckle. “I grew up there and it’s home and all, but it’s too much for me. I think being up here is truly everything I’ve ever wanted”

“No way, I’m from Queens!” Peter said excitedly, and she laughed at how he grinned from ear to ear. “And you know Steve? Like ‘Captain America’ Steve? He’s from Brooklyn- well he was way back when he lives here now- but still!”

“Neat,” (y/n) replied, unsure of what else to say. She just thought it was cute that Peter thought this was such a cool coincidence. “So, Peter Parker, what do you do here?”

“Not too much I guess, when I’m not out as Spider-Man I’m in the lab just kinda messing around. Mr Stark has so many tools down there you’re gonna love it”

(y/n’s) eyes had noticeably widened at how casually he’d dropped his alias, and now she was suddenly looking him up and down, as though assessing if it even made sense.

“What?” Peter asked, brows furrowing as he watched her watch him.

“You’re Spider-Man?” She asked, almost disbelievingly, but the smile on her face told him that she was giddy.

“Oh… uh, well yeah” Peter shrugged, and rubbed at the back of his neck nervously.

“That’s so cool! I’ve been watching your stuff on YouTube for years!” (y/n) gushed. “The suit change makes sense now, that was-?”

“Stark” They said at the same time, and laughed quietly.

“That’s why you were able to carry all my stuff so easily,” She mumbled to herself. Peter smiled shyly and bopped his head. “You have to tell me everything”

“Everything?”

“Yeah! I gotta know your backstory!” (y/n) turned her body to face him, watching him excitedly. “Don’t spare a single detail!”

“Really?” Peter asked, kind of taken off guard. When he’d moved here last year, no one had been interested in that sort of thing. All that mattered was that he could go on missions and had abilities that helped execute them swiftly.

“Of course!” (y/n) gushed, and waited impatiently for him to tell her everything.

And he didn’t spare any details, he told her everything he could remember, and the entire time she was listening with nothing short of woah on her face.

And for the next three years, anytime he had anything he wanted to share with her, she gave him that same look.

(y/n) shifted in her seat next to him, leaning over the armrest and resting her head against his shoulder, still reading her book. The action snapped him out of his thoughts, and he smiled down at the girl as she got comfortable.

He set his hand on the armrest between them, palm up, and (y/n) looked up at him with a quirked brow.

“You might as well get used to cuddling me” Peter teased, and she smiled at him before laying her hand in his and intertwining their fingers.

“Okay” She said softly, peering up at him with a shy sort of look, and then leaning against his shoulder again.

The rest of the ride was long, and Peter was having a hard time falling asleep on the bus. (y/n) had fallen asleep two hours ago, and Peter had been quick to grab her book and mark it’s spot so that she wouldn’t be upset when she woke up.

Her hand was still in his, and her face was pressed into the crook of his neck, stealing his warmth. Her other arm had strewn over his lap awkwardly at some point in her slumber, and they were still listening to their playlist. Not a single song had repeated yet, and they’d been listening to it for over an hour.

They weren’t even at the wedding yet, and it was already easy enough to be close to ne another. He figured this was going to be easy. ___

When the trip came to an end, (y/n) was barely conscious enough to have the strength to pull her luggage. Peter was laughing as he looped her arms through the straps of her backpack.

“You good?” He asked her, and took her suitcase from her hand so that she’d be able to walk at the same pace as him.

“‘M fine,” She mumbled sleepily, before a yawn broke through her lips. “My parents are out front, they’re picking us up”

They walked side by side through the station, (y/n) blinking slowly and trying her best to keep her eyes open just long enough to get to the car.

“You should hold my hand,” She said to Peter, before taking his hand in hers again. “I’m about to get lost”

He chuckled and squeezed her hand, before pulling her to walk a bit closer to him so that she wouldn’t be hit by the passing bodies.

“I’m so tired, please carry me” (y/n) whined, and Peter chuckled, squeezing her hand again reassuringly.

“We’re almost there,” He told her. You can sleep on me in the car”

“You’re the best fake boyfriend ever” She sighed delightedly, and Peter laughed.

They walked out the doors, and it was clear to Peter who her parents were right away. The middle aged couple standing in front of their car, eagerly clapping and cheering when they saw their daughter.

“There she is (y/d/n)!” Your mother nudged her husband’s ribs and raced up to Peter and (y/n). “My Avenger daughter!”

“Mom,” (y/n) giggled bashfully, shaking her head and trying to ignore the looks from surrounding pedestrians. “Cut it out, I’m not an Avenger”

“We’ll you’re my genius superhero baby!” She said, pulling (y/n) away from Peter so she could embrace her tightly. “Oh I missed you so much sweetheart, Christmas seems ages ago”

“Missed you too mom” You said softly, tiredly, before hugging her father right after.

“She tells everyone you’re an Avenger,” He said with a playful chuckle. “Anyone with ears that is. Always working it into the conversation somehow”

(y/n) rolled her eyes good naturedly, and then stepped back to Peter, tugging on his wrist before grasping his hand tightly. This is it. She took a deep breath.

“Mom, Dad, this is Peter,” She introduced. “My boyfriend”

“Him?” (y/d/n) stared at the boy who had too much muscle on his arms for having such a sweet boyish face.

“What a handsome young man,” (y/m/n) gushed and stepped forward to kiss Peter’s cheek and hug him. “I’m (y/m/n), and this is my husband, (y/d/n)”

Peter shook both of their hands politely, while still holding (y/n’s) hand, which she was thankful for. He was literally grounding her in this moment.

“It’s very nice to finally meet you both” Peter said kindly.

“You work out, Peter?” (y/d/n) asked, giving Peter a firmer handshake than usual.

“Uh- yeah, yeah I do” Peter chuckled nervously, his eyes glancing to (y/n), who gave him a comforting smile and a nod of her head.

“There’s an amazing gym and training center at the compound, Dad,” (y/n) spoke up. “Peter gets to work out with Captain America sometimes” She added excitedly, wanting to show off just a little bit.

Peter’s face flushed pink, and he ducked his head down, not knowing what to say.

“(y/d/n), why don’t you be a gentleman and help them get their things in the trunk?” (y/n’s) mother suggested. Her father obliged, taking a suitcase from Peter.

“I’ll help” The boy said quickly, releasing (y/n’s) hand to take her backpack, and carry it with her suitcase to put it away. She smiled appreciatively and watched him and her father figure out how it would all fit.

“Where’s Alina?” (y/n) asked her mother, who laughed and waved a dismissive hand.

“She’s still out with her girlfriends for her bachelorette party,” She said. “Probably won’t be home for hours, I’ll bet you don’t see her until morning”

“That’s tonight?” (y/n) asked sadly. “If I’d known then I would’ve tried to come sooner to be there for her. I’m her maid of honor after all”

“I’m not sure your boyfriend would like that,” (y/m/n) said. “Alina’s friend Emma, you remember her, right? Well, she told me they were going to-” She lowered her voice and put her hand up to be more private- “a club”

“Mom-”

“A strip club” She added with a pointed look. (y/n) just giggled and shook her head at her mother’s antics.

“That’s very normal, Mom,” She told her, making the woman’s eyes widen with surprise. “I’m tired, let’s go home” (y/n) said before anything weird could be said.

(y/d/n) closed up the trunk and got back in the driver’s seat, while Peter and (y/n) sat in the backseat.

“Come ‘ere” Peter mumbled, wrapping his arm around (y/n’s) shoulders to pull her in close, and she comfortably laid her head on his shoulder.

“This is much better than on the bus” She whispered, making him smile.

“How sweet,” (y/m/n) cooed from the passenger's seat. “How long has it been now? Couple months”

“Seven and a half” Peter spoke up before (y/n) could, and she blushed a bit from how quickly and accurately he’d come up with the answer.

(y/m/n) smiled over to (y/n).

“Alina is going to be very excited to meet him”

It was almost one in the morning when they’d gotten to the house. Normally (y/n) would offer a tour before suggesting going straight to bed, but she was asleep when they arrived at the house.

“(y/n), we’re here-”

“It’s alright, don’t wake her,” Peter said in a hushed whisper before (y/n’s) father could disturb (y/n’s) sleep. “I’ll take her in”

Peter opened the car door and carefully slid out from under her, cradling her head in one hand and pulling her body towards him with the other, and then one one swift movement he wrapped his arm under her legs, and the other around her back, holding her close to his chest.

Just cause he knew her parents were watching, her pressed a kiss into her hair, and she nuzzled into his warm body.

“Could you just show me to our room?” Peter asked, and (y/n’s) mother had happily obliged, leading Peter inside and up the stairs.

The room was nice, a queen sized bed, a dresser, a desk, it made Peter wonder if this was (y/n’s) room before she moved out. He was glad to see there was an attached bathroom.

“Thank you” Peter said quietly, and (y/m/n) nodded.

“Let me know if you need anything honey,” She said sweetly. “I’ll leave you two be for the night, goodnight”

She shut the door on her way out, and Peter laid the sleeping girl in his arms down on the bed.

It wasn’t until that moment that he realized they’d be sharing a bed. They hadn’t talked about it, or mentioned it, an he felt stupid for not having thougth about it before.

(y/n) stirred in her sleep, reaching out and grabbing the pillow under her head, tucking her arms underneath it as she pressed her face further into it.

Peter tried his best to be silent as he brought their bags up to the room, and got ready for bed himself.

“(y/n/n)?” He nudged her shoulder gently once he’d brushed his teeth and put on pajamas.

She groaned, and hid her face in the pillow.

“Do you want to change out of your clothes?” Peter asked. It couldn’t be comfortable to sleep in jeans and a tee shirt.

“No” She mumbled, and he smiled at her. She was pretty cute when she’s this tired.

Peter ruffled her hair affectionately before laying on the other side of the bed, turning to face away from her as he pulled the blankets up to cover both of them.

“Goodnight” He told her, drifting off already. The long day had finally caught up to him, and he had never more eager to pass out.

“G’night Pete” (y/n) murmured, almost inaudibly.

___

taglist: @writings-and-stuff @rofromtheashes @tomshufflepuff @steve-avengers-rogers @vibhati123 @dark-night-sky-99 @hollandhours @drakonwild @imofficiallyobsessed @fussy-and-a-writer-sometimes @stiles-o-dylan24 @snufflesashley

xoxo ~ jordie

#spider-man #spider-man x reader #Peter parker #Peter Parker x reader #Peter Parker imagine #Peter Parker fanfiction #Peter Parker scenario #tom holland #tom holland x reader

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aniallstory-blog · 7 years

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Chapter Eight

It only took another two weeks for things to go south again. It was almost the end of April, a week before Niall's next single came out and the day before he was off to America for about six weeks. We'd been home for a few weeks and hadn't discussed anything else about the wedding. I wanted to ask about dates so I could contact the venue since we'd both agreed it seemed like the perfect fit, but I resisted, still scared about what his reaction may be.

However, maybe due to the fact that we'd both had a long day or just the tension and stress that always came when we knew we'd be apart for a long period of time, I finally reached my breaking point.

Niall had left early and been out all day doing radio interviews to promote his new single and I'd worked all day then been dragged to a yoga class by Charlotte. We were both finished around the same time though so he picked me up from the yoga studio and we headed home, both ready for a quiet evening curled up on the couch with some take away. The plan for the night changed drastically though as soon as we stepped in the door.

I'd grabbed the mail from the mailbox on my way and was absentmindedly flipping through all the bills and junk until my eyes settled on the magazine at the bottom. It was a bridal one I'd order just before we went to Ireland and I'd completely forgotten about it. It was supposed to be the best guide for building your dream wedding and I felt the excitement bubble in my stomach.

“Niall!” I squealed. “Look what arrived!”

I waved it in his face and he looked at me with an amused smile until he realized what it was.

“Oh, nice,” He shrugged. “I'm sure that'll come in handy.”

His lack of enthusiasm once again got my back up.

“It will,” I said firmly. “Maybe we can flip through it tonight?”

“I guess so,” He said flatly as he walked over to the fridge to grab a beer.

I sighed in frustration and decided not to let him get out of discussing things this time.

“Have you picked your groomsmen yet?” I asked, setting the magazine on the counter between us.

“Not really,” He shrugged. “I guess Greg will be my best man since I was his, but I haven't thought about it much.”

The way he was acting so indifferent was quickly making my temper rise.

“Well you should probably start,” I informed him. “It's the easiest part of the wedding really.”

“Yeah, I'll decide soon.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “And what about a date?”

Niall froze mid sip before shrugging again.

“Don't know.”

His simple answer was the last straw, our conversation was getting no where and I was done with his passive attitude,

“Well we have to know, Niall!” I snapped at him. “We need to contact the venue and see if they're available at the time we want, if we want any guests to show up then we need to let them know so they can start planning things and we need to book a honeymoon. There's a lot to do!”

Niall seemed shocked when I first raised my voice at him, but by the time I was done, he looked just as annoyed as I was.

“I know there's a lot to do, m'not an idiot,” He argued. “But I don't know when will be a good time, Ava. I'm busy with this new album for the foreseeable future!”

My stomach twisted with worry. I knew he was busy and I had a feeling his hectic schedule would interfere a little bit with our plans, but we always said we didn't want to be one of those couples who were engaged for years.

“I know you're busy,” I said, my voice much quieter than before as I fought to control my rising sense of dread. “But can you give me a ballpark figure? Just so I know what to plan for.”

Niall sighed and my stomach turned again, knowing I wouldn't like his answer just from the look on his face.

“I honestly don't know, love. Could be a year, maybe even two. It depends how things go with the album and the tours that we'll have to do after.” I felt tears fill my eyes, but I blinked them back, hoping he hadn't seen. “I don't see why it matters so much though, Ava. We're so young! Yer only twenty-two! If we get married in two years, you'll still be younger than most people are when they get married!”

“I don't care about most people, I care about us!” I snapped, feeling my sadness bubble back into anger. “We agreed not to have a long engagement and if we're 'so young' then why did you even propose?”

Niall shrugged.

“It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

“And it doesn't anymore?”

The look on his face gave me the answer before he even spoke, but I waited to hear what he had to say anyway.

“S'just different now,” He admitted after a tense moment of silence. “Ya know I love ya, but I didn't think I'd be releasing an album so soon when I proposed. I didn't think I'd have anything else to do this year than plan a wedding.”

“Wow, Niall,” I sniffled as a tear rolled down my cheek. “You sure know how to make a girl feel special. Everyone wants to hear that the reason they were proposed to was because their fiance had nothing better to do that year than get married.”

Niall cringed when he realized how his words had come across.

“Hey, don't cry,” He started as he stepped towards me, but I backed away before turning and walking out of the room. “Avery, wait! C'mon, I didn't mean it like that!”

I ignored his protests and stormed up the stairs, knowing he was following close behind. Once I reached our room, I grabbed the first bag I found and started tossing some clothes in.

“What're ya doin'?” He asked, his accent getting stronger as it always did when he was upset.

“I'm packing. I'm going to stay at Gemma's or Charlotte's or whoever will have me for the night. I'd hate to interrupt your creative process since apparently I'm not needed when you have other things to occupy your time.”

“Ava, stop this,” Niall demanded, grabbing at the bag as I tried to zip it shut. I pulled it out of his grip and continued what I was doing as Niall's worry quickly turned to annoyance. “Yer being unfair. I've always supported you in yer career.”

“And I've always, always supported yours!” I snapped back. “I've arranged my entire life around your schedule for the last four fucking years, Niall. I organize everything around when I'll have to visit you on tour or when you'll be home, you've never once had to change any of your plans for me. This is the first time I've ever wanted you to put me first for something as important as our wedding and you can't even contemplate the idea. It’s just another thing that will have to be slotted in whenever you have a free day!”

I could see Niall's eyes flash with anger, his temper obviously flaring up, but I didn't care. He'd hurt my feelings and all of my points so far had been perfectly valid.

“You're complaining about my career now, but when it's paying for this fancy fuckin' wedding ya won't hate it so much,” He argued. “Ya can't have everything, I have to fund all yer plans somehow!”

“You wouldn't even know my plans because you never listen to them! Whenever I bring it up, you change the subject!” I pointed out. “Besides, I think you know me well enough to know I don't want anything fancy! I'd marry you at city hall tomorrow if that's what you want, but oh, wait. You'll be in the studio tomorrow even though I took the day off work to spend with you before you leave for over a month!”

“Oh, so that's what this is about, huh? Yer mad that m'spending so much time in the studio!”

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to once again change the subject off of our wedding.

“No, Niall,” I said firmly as I slung the bag over my shoulder. “This is about our wedding and how I'm the only one showing any enthusiasm because you have more important things to do than marry me while marrying you is the absolute most important thing I will probably ever do in my whole life.”

Niall opened his mouth to argue, but hesitated and I took that chance to turn and walk away as the tears started to spill down my cheeks. He called after me, his voice breaking as the emotions of the fight and the fact that I was walking out in the middle of an argument, something I only did when I really couldn’t handle being near him, finally caught up with him, but I kept going. I needed to clear my head and us screaming at each other for the rest of the night wasn't going to do that for me.

I drove around for about twenty minutes before Gemma finally answered her phone. She assured me it was absolutely fine that I stayed with her and promised me several bottles of wine would be waiting. True to her word, she handed me a glass the second I walked through the door and even waited until I'd finished it before she asked questions. Once she started, I poured my heart out. I told her about how worried I'd been the last few months and how he'd confirmed all my fears, how angry I was that he couldn't have just told me when he knew we wouldn't be getting married for a long time and I cried from the disappointment that the wedding I'd been looking forward to wouldn't be happening any time soon.

We were just finishing off the second bottle when the door opened and Gemma's boyfriend Michal walked in. Coincidentally, my phone lit up as Niall called for what felt like the hundredth time that night. I practically growled as I hit ignore once again.

“You have to talk to him sometime,” Gemma said gently as I shook my head and blinked back more tears.

“I'll talk to him in two years when he might actually be able to squeeze in five minutes to marry me.”

“Uh, oh...trouble in paradise?” Michal asked as he leaned down to kiss his girlfriend.

“Niall doesn't want to marry me,” I choked out through my tears. “He only proposed so he'd have something to do during his time off, but now he has a new album he doesn't care!”

Michal raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced.

“Did he actually say that?” I nodded. “Those exact words?”

“Well, no,” I admitted before explaining our whole argument. By the end of my tale Michal was smiling and shaking his head.

“Sounds to me like he didn't explain himself very well and you over reacted,” He said simply. “He just meant he didn't expect to be as busy as he is, not that he'd rather be making music and only wanted to get married to kill time.”

“Well if he wouldn't rather be making music why can't he just stop? That was supposed to be the point of this hiatus anyway, not to just stay busy making music on his own.”

Michal shrugged.

“Music's a complicated industry. If he'd left it too long then his fans might not have been as interested and his solo career might not have been a success.”

“Have you met his fans?” I scoffed. “He could wait until he was fifty and they'd still lose their shit if he put out a recording of him singing twinkle twinkle little star.” Gemma laughed knowing it was true. “But I don't mind that he wanted to keep his career going. I know how much his music means to him, but I'm supposed to mean just as much. I don't see why he can't just say 'look, I need these two or three weeks empty so I can get married'.”

“Maybe he doesn't have that much control.”

I frowned knowing he could be right, but also knowing that if Niall put his foot down, the label would eventually bend to his wishes. He just didn't want to rock the boat.

“Then why wouldn't he have said that then? He said he couldn't make any promises to me because he was too busy with this album and tour. He made his priorities clear.”

Michal shook his head again, the amused look on his face making me feel rather patronized.

“We can talk this out for hours, love. And I can do my best to tell you how Niall may be feeling, but the only way you'll actually work through this is by talking with him.”

“I know,” I sniffled. “But I'm never going to get what I want. Even if he caves to my bullying and picks a date, it won't be the same as if he'd just done it because he wanted to.”

“And what if he doesn't cave?” Gemma asked. “Would it be a deal breaker if you had to wait a couple years?”

I frantically shook my head, horrified by the thought.

“No, I'd rather marry him on his terms than not at all,” I admitted. “I think that's why I'm so upset. I have no leverage here. Either I do it his way and wait to get what I want or I don't get it at all. It's not fair.”

“Sometimes love and life just really aren't fair, hun,” Gemma said sympathetically.

“I know. I just need to sulk for a while.”

“And you can do that here for as long as you'd like.”

“Thanks,” I nodded. “I think I just want to be by myself. Mind if I go to bed?”

“'Course not,” Gemma smiled. “You know the way.”

I nodded again and stood up to go to the guest room. Gemma grabbed my hand as I walked by and squeezed it gently. I shot her what I hoped was a reassuring look that conveyed the gratitude I had for her always being there for me before going to my room.

Once I'd changed into the pyjamas I'd luckily thrown into my bag, I snuggled down in the bed and grabbed my phone. Niall had called my seventeen times since I'd left and texted me almost twice that. I sighed as his face popped up once again almost like he knew I was finally alone. I ignored the call, but not wanting to be too cruel, I sent him a text.

“Going to bed. We can talk in the morning. Please stop calling. Goodnight.”

His response was instant.

“Alright. I love you, Ava. Don't forget that.”

My eyes welled up with tears at his message.

“I love you too.”

There was no reply after that and I quickly set to my bedtime routine of going through social media. Ten minutes later I logged into twitter and Niall's latest tweet was the first thing I saw.

Me too, Niall. Me too.

#niall horan #niall horan fanfiction #niall fic #niall horan fic #niall horan fan fiction #years&years

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rockrevoltmagazine · 5 years

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INTERVIEW: KELVIN SWABY OF THE HEAVY

Hailing from the Southwest town of Bath in England the Heavy have put out five albums since forming in 2007. Consisting of Kelvin Swaby (vocals), Daniel Taylor (guitar), Spencer Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) they have been featured in countless movies, television shows and commercials highlighted by their ultra hit “How You Like Me Now?”. RockRevolt Magazine had the opportunity to speak with Swaby on the cusp of their latest release Sons .

Many people out there might not know who The Heavy are but there’s a good chance that they’ve heard your music. It’s been featured in quite a few movies such as The Hateful Eight and Dallas Buyers Club as well as many TV Shows including a couple of my favorites, Strike Back and Entourage and even Super bowl commercials. How is it that The Heavy ended up on so many soundtracks and is that by you guys being proactive or do they come to you? In the end, has it been profitable or more advertising for the band?

It’s definitely allowed us to — it’s given us the luxury of time a little to kind of concentrate on producing great sounding music you know. So I think that’s a luxury you know for any band. It’s like, you know how the music business is now. There’s so much illegal downloading going on so it’s really hard to change the industry somewhat. So for us to kind of be involved with TV and ADs and films is pretty cool for us. And how it happens is people seem to kind of gravitate towards our sounds. I hope it continues.

So it’s been more them coming to you.

Yeah absolutely. We just make the music that we make you know. I think right from the off, myself and Daniel when we kind of set up the band, we kind of started the band, we were so influenced by film soundtrack and our vision for the band. So it wasn’t just going to be about being just like music. Music say for just the songs. We always think about how — we always kind of have like a vision for an album. Like our album The Glorious Dead we kind of thought was like a voodoo zombie that was kind of set in the south. So we always kind of have a vision for our songs. So we try — we go all out and we try and make them cinematic. We don’t just kind of get our base guitar down, we kind of process this stuff a little further you know.

Well it’s certainly paid off. I don’t think I can recall a band that I talked to that has had so much of their music in so many different outlets. Obviously that formula seems to work really well for you.

Thank you.

Let’s go back in time and give us a brief overview of the band, how it came together and how you all arrived at this point.

Well myself and Daniel became really good friends when we were working for the Gap. He was in a band, I was pretty much just kind of writing the songs for the band and I was never kind of a — I wasn’t the frontman you know. I was always kind of in the back. I was writing the melodies and I was singing the guide lyrics so that the girls could sing the songs. Then he was in another band as well and just like the whole thing just started cooking up. I started chopping up like ol Bo Didley brakes and Chuck Berry and ol kind of Muddy Waters and I was just like oh, then I would go out to Daniel’s or Danny would come around to mine and bring his guitar. Then we’d kind of start to work on a track and it was like wow this music sounds pretty ridiculous and not like anything that’s out there at the moment so let’s see what we can do. So it just kind of started that way and then before we knew it, we were building some songs and then we started playing out just the two of us. We started playing out at open mic nights and we became pretty popular at the open mic night. So what we started doing then was started advertising that we were actually going to be playing at the mic nights. So then the open mic nights became crazy. It was just like the two of us. It was Daniel on his acoustic guitar. We had Yamaha, tiny little kind of sampler. So it was the sampler, acoustic guitar and both of us singing and yeah we seemed to kind of develop a following. As it was getting bigger and bigger, it was like we need a band. Spencer had met Daniel independently of me because I was DJing in the club and Spence used to be running the bar and we became really good friends. And I knew that he was in a band. And then Daniel met Spencer like independently and we both loved him and it was kind of like yo. And he was the star yeah, you know, he played on a few recordings and then we just kind of started taking it out. Trying to find a drummer at that time was absolutely crazy. Because if you hear our music, we keep it super simple. It’s not flamboyant. We don’t have fills all over the place. We don’t have tons and tons of guitar. So as much as there are few guitar solos on this last record, but we keep it pretty straight. That was always what we wanted to do is that we were going to take the 7 minute solos from our favorite bands that we love. We were just going to take those or concentrate on those four bars of groove and see what we could work with from there. When we actually got signed it was crazy. We kind of turned like a room of 20 people into like 500 people and it just so happens that Peter Quick was there from Ninja Tune and the rest is history pretty much because we absolutely killed it in London. We are from the South-west and we were like you know, London is kind of tempting and then people from the southwest are just like farmers you know. So when you got like three guys come into a room and absolutely smash it up in London, that definitely changed for us that night.

So we’ll fast forward to your fifth album that was just released – Sons. What are you most excited about with the new record and what can listeners expect from it?

You know just such songs. I believe as we kind of grow older and we become more socially aware and we become and we try to become better fathers. It’s like myself, Daniel and Chris, we have children and it’s kind of like a way that — Sons represents us becoming families. We got signed in 2007 and we have been on the road and the studio for these past 12 years. And the last record was about turning poison into medicine because we had all been kind of going through tough times. And this album was the acknowledgement that we are family. This beast called The Heavy has created these Sons you know that are always there for each other you know what I mean. So I think there’s a maturity in this where we’ve kind of just acknowledged where we’re at right now and its in a really good place. As tough as it gets, we’ve always got each other.

Is there a track or two for you that might stand out on the new record?

There are a few tracks that I absolutely love. Obviously I love — I kind of pen because I’m super proud of them. I love “Heavy For You,” I love “Better as One.” I love The Thief that Daniel pens and I think that’s a brilliant record of having your heart stolen and you don’t necessarily want it to be stolen. So I love “The Thief.” I love “Put the Hurt On Me.” I love “Simple Things” because I wrote that with my daughter which was so much fun kind of doing that. Where you kind of have your kids around you in the studio and you’re like (Kevlin humming). There are a few kind of high points. As a body of work, we’re super proud of it. We’re super proud of it. There are curve balls in there but nothing that kind of defers from the sound. I think if anything it’s gotten bigger and better.

Absolutely. Well that’s great. I mean that’s asking you questions like hey who’s your favorite child.

Yeah exactly.

I know it’s a tough one. But sometimes maybe something stands out. What are the plans for touring and what can fans expect from The Heavy’s live show?

We’re always known for having quite an energetic show. We’ve kind of just elevated it somewhat now. Because the new songs kind of seamlessly — we just played Europe and we did pretty well every single venue that we went to. And the crowds were just crazy. On tour we start in New York next week and then we go on to Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco and then finish in LA and they’re all sold out. I think there’s a couple of tickets left for Vancouver so what they can expect is these new productions, they’re like family. They just like seamlessly work themselves into the set. I’m suggesting anybody that’s coming to see the show to take the next couple of days off work because you won’t be able to talk. Your voice is going to be gone. You’re going to be of no use to anybody so take a few days off work.

Some words of advice; take a few days off. That’s great. Well over the years, you guys have obviously played a number of festivals, is there a show that really kind of sticks out? Can you give me one that you like, it was just an amazing moment? I’m sure you have plenty of them but is there one that sticks out?

I mean we’ve played some incredible shows between America and Europe and Canada, they’ve been some insane festival shows. I’m going to take the show that really stands out for me was, I remember we had “Same Ol,” from the Glorious Dead. It was used for an ad in Japan and so when we were asked to play, it was our first time in Japan and we were playing at a festival at 1 O’clock in the afternoon. And generally that time, that’s like when people are still coming into the festival. You never know what’s going to happen. I don’t even know if people are actually going to like go for what we’re doing you know. And they were so energetic. They were so incredibly energetic and then we kind of realized that with our set, we always finish with “How You Like Me Now?” anyway. And we decided to put “Same Ol” for “How You Like Me?” Now on that particular show and by the time we got to “Same Ol,” it would have been probably like 11 songs in or something and everyone is super hyped. They were so responsive to what we were asking them to do. Then as soon as I started singing “Same Ol,” it was rapturous. It was 60,000 people singing “Same Ol” word for word. I was just like, what is going on you know. It was insane. So “How you Like Me Now?” was eclipsed that day by “Same Ol.” So when you have that many people singing word for word and it’s not their native tongue — it was pretty ridiculous.

That’s great. And I’m going to go the other direction here real quick. What’s the worst experience you had live? Ever had anything you just like oh man?

Man, I remember we were playing this show. It’s so funny, as you were kind of saying that, I was taken back to our early years, probably like about two or three years into touring. Where we would tour everywhere around France, everywhere around Germany, everywhere in England because you have to do this. In a tiny little van, you do it. And I remember we were playing in France. And we were kind of thinking, why are we playing in this tiny little place like a social club. There were tons of pretty old people that didn’t really kind of get what we were doing. So the thing is with The Heavy, regardless of whether they’re five people there or five thousand people there, we still kick it out. So we were kicking it out and you have to bear in mind, this stage could just about get us on. And this is before we were taking girls with us. It was a tiny stage. We all were on top of each other. And Spencer had eaten something. He’d eaten something that day and it was rotten. Like he let it go while we were playing and it was so bad I had to stop. And even Daniel stopped and Chris stopped because that smell was so bad. I would love to have had a photo of that. I’m sure someone must have taken a photo where you’ve got me Dan and Chris, we all ended up at one side of the stage until that smell was gone. And Spencer was on one side of the stage as if looking to say what. It’s like dude your ass-hole dude is out of order. You’re having that kind of gig and it’s like you can get away with doing that. You probably wouldn’t do that on Letterman or something.

I would say, that’s got to be the first time I’ve heard that.

Oh yeah literally, his fart stopped the show.

Oh that’s funny. Is there a musician around today that you would really love to meet and why?

Is there a musician around today? There are tons of great musicians around today. I got to meet Dan Auerbach actually and he was absolutely lovely. We’ve actually met Dan like two or three times but the one time that we played in Kamona and we were playing and his other band, The Arcs were playing. We kind of discussed how cool this could be at some point in the future to actually try and do something. So I don’t know, watch that space, that could be quite cool. I think Dan is a wicked dude. A super down to earth and yeah to kind of work with him at some point could be quite cool.

Excellent. Did you ever come across an experience where you met someone and kind of went jeez, I wish I didn’t meet that person. I love their music but the person themselves, not so much.

Not really. I remember we went on tour with some dude and it’s so funny when you’re playing all of the gigs that you can play because you want the exposure for the band because you want the work you know. I remember we played with Mayer Hawthorne. He turned out to be somebody that I really would not like to ever tour with again. You know when people kind of have egos for no reason. Kind of like we’re super humble in our band. You can have that where you kind of like I don’t know why you’re actually being this way. It’s like everyone is trying to get somewhere. So on one hand, you can have that and on the other hand, when we were playing with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, all of those guys were great. And even at one of the Sharon Jones shows, Tom Waits turned up with Cathleen and his son because his son was like a big fan of ours and I met Tom, a guy who should have an ego and didn’t at all. I was like Tom, dude, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. And he just pointed at the stage, Sharon was playing at the time. He pointed at the stage and he just said you, you know, and I’m just like yeah dude I’ll take that. So it’s like dudes that should have egos and don’t have egos are incredible. Dudes that shouldn’t have egos but have them are like a 100 times bigger than you could ever imagine. I kind of don’t understand it.

Exactly. There’s no use for it either way right?

No exactly. Just get on and do what you’ve got to do.

Absolutely. Well I’ll try to fire off a couple of quick more questions, I’m sure you’ve got a busy day.

I’m just in my studio. We’re going to go to Secret Life of Pets with my little 2 year old later.

Oh fantastic, a little family time, that’s always nice.

Yeah a little family time.

If you could pick a song that you wish you wrote what would it be?

I wish I wrote “Simply Beautiful” by Al Green. Because it is simply beautiful, it is super simple and yeah I wish I’d written that because I sing it pretty well. Al if you could just you know, you want to give that to me?

Is there a song that you’ve put out during your career that you wish you didn’t?

That’s a fun one. I know that the guys, when we were doing “Just My Luck” and they were kind of like okay but we should go half speed. We’re going to drop from that speed to this speed. I was just like no dude it can’t be that. It has to be what feels right so let’s not be typical and go half speed. So for the recording, we managed to work it out but live, it was a nightmare trying to do it. It was always such a nightmare. In retrospect, I should have just listened to the rest of the guys and gone half speed.

Sounds like a tough one live. Do you happen to have — I don’t know if you can fire off your top five records?

Ann Peebles – I Can’t Stand The Rain album. I absolutely love that and pretty much base all of our records on how that record feels you know because it’s short, it’s concise, it’s 10 tracks, you get to the end of the record and you just want to play it again. So I love Ann Peebles I Can’t Stand The Rain. I also love I’m Still in Love With You by Al Green. I was playing that the other day. That’s a fucking ridiculous record. Boom by the Sonics because my son absolutely loves that song as well. We have like a little record player and we have like a stack of 45s and he just loves to kind of go through and just play and he always plays “Shot Down” by the Sonics. Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones. If I have to put one more in, I would put 36 Chambers – Wu-Tang Clan as well. That’s what I’d put.

That’s a nice little mix you got going there I like it.

Cool dude.

Tell you what, let me finish up real quick here and I’m going to kind of go off topic here a little bit but it seems to be a very big topic nowadays. Of course you’re over in the UK. Any feelings on the whole Brexit thing?

I mean I live in the States now. I live in Florida. I go back to England like every four to six weeks and we all kind of get together and do — but my thoughts towards it is the country is super divided at the moment. But the majority of the country obviously don’t want to go through with the Brexit thing because they would have had it sorted by now. So I don’t think it’s going to change everything too much. They just need to work out a deal that kind of works and how the visas are going to work. But nothing actually seems to be set in stone at the moment. At the moment, it kind of seems that everything is up in the air and you’re depended on this government who are idiots at the moment and you’re depended on them to get a job done. For the sake of the country, they need to get it done, be concise and work it out and make it so it’s like seamless change basically.

I guess you’re here in the United States where everything political is just kind of nice and smooth right.

Yeah everything is super smooth here isn’t it.

Oh that could take us another hour to discuss. I won’t even go there.

Yeah let’s not go there. Not right now please.

We’ll revisit it sometime in the future.

I am with you.

I appreciate the time Kelvin and any final words for the fans or anything?

Kelvin: The bystands enjoy Sons part of the family.

Well best of the luck with the new record, the tour and hopefully you’ll get back in the States and maybe get a little closer to where I’m at in the Boston area, I’d love to see you guys.

Well hopefully. I’ve seen dates kind of penciled in for early fall. So let’s hope that we can get that soon.

Fantastic. I’ll keep an eye out and we’ll get to catch you on the road. Good luck with everything Kelvin, pleasure talking to you. Enjoy the movie today.

Yeah that’s been a lot of fun. Thank you for that interview, it’s amazing.

Absolutely, thank you.

Connect with The Heavy(click icons):

INTERVIEW: KELVIN SWABY OF THE HEAVY was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

#Chris Ellul #Daniel Taylor #How You Like Me Know #Kevin Swaby #RockRevolt Magazine #Sons #Spencer Page #The Heavy

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barce-fabu-lona · 7 years

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Neymessi Drabble 5

And here we go again. Another lovely anon requested another drabble of my OTP and of course I was v happy to do follow her/his request. This drabble is called “I Miss You, Come Home”. I hope you all love this as much as I love Neymessi and Geri trying to be a good friend. Lol, enjoy <3

Leo and Neymar break up. Gerard takes Leo out for a ride and gets them back together through the power of Adele’s voice. (The song used in this story is “I Miss You” by Adele).

“Will you please stop that godforsaken tapping?” Geri hisses when they come to a stop in front of a red light.

Leo glances over to the tall man sitting beside him and ruefully takes his hand away from the window. He folds them in his lap instead, holds on tight and stares straight ahead windshield.

“I’m sorry.” He says and doesn’t move to look at Geri when he hears him sigh.

The light turns back to green and Leo stares at the speck of color until it starts to become blurry.

“Are you crying?” Gerard asks, his voice giving away that he is slightly panicking. “Oh nonononono, Leo don’t cry. Fuck! Stop, you’re not as small as Sasha, I can’t just take you in my arms and cradle you like a baby.”

Leo forces himself to take deep breath through his mouth and then exhale again through his nose. It calms his fluttering heart a bit and he goes to rub at his eyes, preventing those embarrassing tears from falling.

He’s so emotionally unstable lately.

“I’m not crying.” The Argentinian remains stubborn.

“Yes, you were. I am sitting next to you and I am sure as hell not blind yet.” Gerard counters.

His voice is loud, way too loud for the small room they find themselves in currently. Leo winces and digs his fingers into his thighs until they start to hurt.

“Stop screaming.” He says, marveling at how white his knuckles look when he squeezes his hands just a little bit harder.

“I’m not.” Geri protests just as loud.

Leo knows, that Geri knows he’s screaming. He always does when he gets nervous or overwhelmed with a certain situations and Leo being emotionally depressed definitely counts as one of those situations.

“Maybe I should have taken Milan along.” Gerard muses beside him. “He’s always good with cheering people up.”

“I don’t need any cheering up.” Leo says and finally solves his hands from the sleek leather seat of Geri’s Audi. “I just need sleep.”

The Spaniard snorts beside him.

“You’ve been walking around looking like somebody fucking died, Leo. And it’s been weeks. It’s affecting your skills as well and I really don’t want to see Cristiano-longing-to-fuck-himself-Ronaldo win another Ballon D’or. Are we clear on that?”

Leo smiles a little but when he catches his reflection in the review mirror, he notices it not being a real smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes and he keeps on looking like he has just made his return from the afterlife. Geri is right.

“Well, maybe I need some more sleep.” Leo mumbles. “Maybe I have to sleep for the rest of my life.”

“Stop.” Geri groans, he’s really annoyed by now, Leo can tell by the way his hands keep clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel. “You’re a grown man Leo. You’re a fucking football god and you need to get your shit together and call.”

“What?”

“Call. C-A-L-L. It’s when you pick up the phone and talk to people.”

“Who do you want me to call then?”

Leo is aware of the fact he is behaving like a child, but if Geri wants to play this game, he sure as hell is not going down easy.

“Neymar.” Gerard is saying incisively. “Want me to spell that out for you as well? N-E-Y-M-A-R.”

“I hate you so much.”

Geri laughs at him until Leo makes him pull over. They’re standing on the side of some isolated road in the outskirts of Barcelona now. It’s dark outside and the headlights of Geri’s car are the only light source for miles around. Leo takes a moment to appreciate the privacy that he didn’t know he could find in the busy streets of Barcelona and then loses his seatbelt.

“I can’t call him.” He says simply.

Gerard turns of the car engine and kills the lights as well in the process. They are sitting in complete darkness now but Leo doesn’t mind, knowing that Gerard can’t track every sign of pain showing on his face makes it a little more bearable altogether.

“Why not?” The Spaniard asks into the night.

“He said he doesn’t want me to call me, said that he doesn’t want to even see me ever again.”

“Ney says a lot of stupid shit when he’s drunk.”

“But he wasn’t drunk.”

“Still.”

Leo feels his eyes getting wet again and this time he leans back and lets it happen. His head is resting against the cool glass of the window and he can hear the salty droplets hit the leather of Geri’s seats. He knows that Gerard hears them as well and he’s thankful the Spaniard doesn’t comment further.

“Rafa called me a couple days ago and said that Ney is hurting as well. He regrets what he said and he wants to talk to you.” The taller man tries again.

“But I can’t talk Geri, I can’t express what I feel and Neymar, he’s so sensitive. I don’t want to say the wrong thing.” Leo answers, desperately combing his hands through his already greasy hair.

He looks like a mess and suddenly he’s even more thankful for the pitch black night shielding him from prying eyes.

“Then let someone else talk for you.” Gerard suggests carefully.

“Someone else? Like who? You?”

“Nah, man.” Geri denies quickly. “I was thinking of someone better. Someone who can bring across her emotions quiet well.”

“Shakira?”

“Good guess but still no. Adele.”

Leo laughs breathlessly and starts rubbing at his eyes again. He doesn’t want to cry, he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t want to. He does anyways.

“I’m sorry to let you down Geri but I’m not that rich. I can’t just ship her over and get her to sing to Neymar.” He tells him, hoping the Spaniard will let it go.

“No need to ship her over, I have her album. It’s great. Shak bought it for me.” Geri says instead and Leo can literally hear him grinning.

He sees Geri’s fingers starting to work the sound system of the Audi until it lights up and Adele’s soft, melancholic voice fills the silence of the car. Leo shivers.

“Come on, call him. I have the perfect song ready.” Geri says and leans in to shuffle through the track.

Leo can see him now, the light from the sound system reflection onto his face. It has a weird blue color, kind of like the one of his eyes. But it’s still Geri and Leo trusts him. He trusts him with his life.

So the Argentinian pulls out his phone and searches for Neymar’s contact with trembling fingers. His name still has a little smiley face behind it and it makes a fresh tear roll down Leo’s cheek and drip onto the display.

“Stop crying.” Geri exhorts him. “Call him now. I’ve got it all set up.”

Leo does and puts the phone on speaker once it starts dialing. His hand is shaking so hard Gerard has to reach over to steady it and keep the phone from slipping through Leo’s sweaty fingers. They wait, the tension so thick Leo has trouble breathing evenly. With every passing second his heart speeds up and when there is finally a rustling sound on the other end of the line, he’s sure it will rip right through his chest. He’s sure of it.

“Leo?” Neymar’s voice sounds tired but before the Argentinian has time to answer, Geri hits play and music starts floating through the car.

He squeezes his eye shut tightly, not wanting to look at his phone and see how Neymar hangs up on him. Gerard’s hand is still there and the Spaniard keeps it there through the whole song. Leo is fucking grateful because he knows he would have pulled away otherwise.

I want every single piece of you I want your heaven and your oceans too Treat me soft but touch me cruel I wanna teach you things you never knew Bring the floor up to my knees Let me fall into your gravity And kiss me back to life to see Your body standing over me

Baby don't let the lights go down Baby don't let the lights go down Baby don't let the lights go down Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I miss you when the lights go out It illuminates all of my doubts Pull me in, hold me tight Don't let go, baby give me light I miss you when the lights go out It illuminates all of my doubts Pull me in, hold me tight Don't let go, baby give me light

I love the way your body moves Towards me from across the room Brushing past my every groove No one has me like you do Baby you bring your heart, I'll bring my soul But be delicate with my ego I wanna step into your great unknown With you and me setting the tone

Baby don't let the lights go down Baby don't let the lights go down Baby don't let the lights go down Lights go down, lights go down Lights go down

We play so dirty in the dark Cause we are living worlds apart It only makes it harder baby It only makes it harder baby Harder baby, harder baby

I miss you, I miss you I miss you, I miss you I miss you, I miss you I miss you, I miss you

When the music slowly starts to fade away, Geri hits stops and nudges the phone back towards Leo. He is still shaking when he slowly, carefully lifts the device back to his ear and prays to hear Neymar’s voice.

“That was so cheesy.” His lover breathes and the sound of his voice make Leo’s stomach do weird things.

Weird but awesome things.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbles back. “I just- I can’t talk, you know that.”

“I know.”

Silence. Leo starts counting.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

“Leo?”

“Yes?”

“Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m not going anywhere.”

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

“Then come home. I miss you as well.”

#neymar #lionel messi #neymessi #neymessi imagine #gerard piqué #fc barcelona #fc barcelona imagine #football imagine #angst with happy ending #of course with happy ending #my work

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alexbandfan · 6 years

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Alex Band of The Calling

2017, Features, Interviews — November 15, 2017 at 8:07 am

by Troy Culpan

“…so for me I’m still here and I’m still writing and creating the music that everybody fell in love with from the beginning. It might sound more up to date, it might sound different a little bit but for the most part they’re big songs you would hear in stadiums, they’re anthemic, lots of big songs and just a lot of emotion, a LOT of emotion.”

From Release: The Calling saw massive international success with the debut album release of Camino Palmero in July 2001, which has now sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Their debut single Wherever You Will Go remains their most renowned and successful hit, topping the Billboard Adult charts for 23 weeks, making it the second longest running number one in the chart’s history.

In his studio rehearsing Alex gave us a call to talk about The Calling’s return to Australia, new music, the absolutely amazing journey he’s had to get here, and much more.

You’re heading back to Australia to see us, what can people expect at a Calling show circa 2017? You can expect us to look older *laughs* no I’m joking, we actually still look young. I would say for me the biggest difference is even though we’ll be playing mostly on this tour old songs and only a couple of new songs, you’re gonna hear a huge evolution in the sound of everybody, even me and my voice, just the amount of time I’ve spent honing my own craft. Whether it be playing instruments or just singing I’ve really found my voice and how to use it better and how to reach even higher notes and lower notes. We really rock live *laughs* it brings the songs which people know from recordings that were made sixteen years ago on two inch analogue tape to a grandiose scale. So it’s exciting, it puts excitement in each song I’ll sum it up like that.

You were last here in 2002, what do you remember about that tour some fifteen years ago? I remember it was gorgeous obviously, I had been to New Zealand but I’d never been to Australia at that point and it was extremely exciting to see what a lot of people said is the combination of England and America in a way, I hope that’s a good thing *laughs* and throw in just the beauty of the country, just the land too. We did have one day off too to explore it was too short that was the only thing, but the people were great and oddly even though I toured for many years later to over a hundred countries we never went back so we’re really overdue.

I was at that show in Sydney, it was amazing. *laughs* Thank you! Well this will be a hundred times better.

A song of course like ‘Wherever You Will Go’ is still played to this day, what do you think it was about that song that resonated with people so much? Man, there’s so many different things, not just the song and what it says and the feeling that everyone can relate to, but the multiple meaning that people got out of the song’s lyrics, not even what I had written it about when I was fifteen. That kind of made it a song for a wedding and a song for a funeral you know? A song for a graduation but a song for a love story movie and then I think it was the timing of the world at the moment and the world needed the song maybe, I don’t know. Certainly in America it coincided directly with September 11th as the release of the song and that had a very heavy impact at that moment in America especially needing a song of hope and stuff like that.

In terms of new music you mentioned a couple of new songs and it’s been a while since a Calling album or a solo album from you for that matter, are there any plans for new material any time soon? Oh yeah, absolutely! There has been a number of reasons all completely out of my hands of why The Calling has not put out new music in ten years. The first thing was being stuck in a legal label dispute drama for four years until 2008 or 2009, I wasn’t allowed to tour, I wasn’t allowed to put out music, I wasn’t allowed to do anything, it sucked. So I was able to of course write music and those songs evolved into some of this new record but what really made this new album which has been five years in the making and it will be coming out next year, what made it really special was actually some really, really, really hard stuff that I had to go through personally which always makes for great songs *laughs* but being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, losing all my mobility, being in hospitals for years and now the divorce, I was kidnapped *laughs* and held at gunpoint, I had my first child, it was awesome and so many things that have been both unbelievably difficult and also amazing and I’m missing a lot of other things but you get the picture. I can say hands down that this new album coming out and it’s not just my biased opinion but it’s an album full of songs that are at ‘Wherever You Will Go’ lever or higher. So I’m insanely excited for people to hear.

How if in any way has the creative process changed for you throughout the years? Well hugely, I’ve been on all sides of the dice and anyway, I’ve been in whether it being in the past forced to write songs with the big writers that were hot at that time and then those songs would get trashed always which was weird and it was always the songs that I wrote that ended up coming through, I mean for instance I wrote the theme song for the World Cup in 2011 and I actually did put out a solo record with EMI out of Germany and it was a big hit there and I was doing all the soccer events, the football events and it started to hit all over Europe and then EMI went bankrupt before it went international and the whole record was put to rest, so that whole solo record I actually own now and will put that out some other day *laughs*. Anyway, going back to your question the music business changed so much and my life changed so much that I was able to retain and gain all ownership of my music and all my records and write whatever I wanted to write and that is a big difference, also feeling free to go places I hadn’t gone musically I would definitely say that this new record has more contemporary electronic elements incorporated with The Calling’s kind of roots, heart and soul rock and pop you know. The new Calling record is way less lush and extravagant, that solo record was still under the guise of a label and a certain someone I won’t mention who was very powerful in the business at the time and he wanted every song to sound like a symphony and that’s what he did, so that solo record is great, I love it, some of the songs on it are incredible and should probably be re-recorded.

Is there one piece of advice you were given when you started playing music that you’ve maintained and has stuck with you throughout the years that you still go back to to this day? No. I could give plenty of advice, but no I didn’t need it I’m born and raised in Hollywood and my Dad is a well-known Horror film director complete crazy dude so I was raised in that business and knew at such an early age what I was doing, got my record deal at fifteen with RCA, left school, did home schooling and so on and so forth, I was given a million of pieces of advice and they were all wrong actually *laughs* and had to learn over a decade learn from a lot of mistakes and a lot of things.

So obviously things change over time, but what would you say is the one thing that’s stayed the same over your time making music? Me. I mean The Calling was always me and everybody knows that I simply hired musicians to play with me in the studio, I hired guys to go on tour and there was always band people in and out. Early on I wrote all the songs with my writing partner Aaron Kamin who then left The Calling before the second record really, so for me I’m still here and I’m still writing and creating the music that everybody fell in love with from the beginning. It might sound more up to date, it might sound different a little bit but for the most part they’re big songs you would hear in stadiums, they’re anthemic, lots of big songs and just a lot of emotion, a LOT of emotion. There’s a couple of songs that are even hard for me to listen to because of the struggles I have gone through with my health and with the music business and with my love life and my personal life and money and everything, as we all do but I really got handed a shit sandwich *laughs* in the last five years in getting kidnapped, Parkinson’s, and a number of other things so I’m happy to be on the other side of that though.

Well I can’t wait to hear it, it sounds like you’re so passionate about it. Yeah I really am, and I can’t wait to show it to people, it’s been so hard for so long to be creating a record and mind you I’ve written four albums worth of material and taken the best of it, but there’s also another cool thing that I did which is I have an album slated to come out next year first potentially which is my eight number one songs that I had around the world as The Calling and ‘Tonight’ actually that’s on there, but I recorded them as a symphonic album so it’s all those songs but with a symphony and acoustic guitars and it’s just stripped down and gorgeous and it gives kind of new life to songs like ‘Wherever You Will Go.’

Lastly let’s look ahead to the future, finish this sentence for me, in 2018 The Calling will… Put out at least one if not two new records, tour the world and take over again in the music scene in a bigger way than they ever did in the beginning.

TOUR DATES:

LIVE With Special Guests Lifehouse & The Calling

November 15: The Riverstage, Brisbane QLD

November 17: Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC

November 18: Roche Estate, Hunter Valley NSW

Tickets: www.liveaustraliantour.com.au

Essential Information

From: Los Angeles, CA, USA

http://thecallingofficial.com/

#alexnews #alex band #the calling #alexnews2017 #california

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hendricks94 · 7 years

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2017: New Beginnings

Eight hours into my shift and I’m ready to just quit. Nothing bad happened just done with this nine to five bullshit. I’m tired of working in general. I’m trying to explore the damn world, but ain’t no one got money for that. Lot of stuff has been going on but to sum everything up: I’m going back to college for Computer Science, I’m in the process of saving for a house and slowly losing my old friends. What happened? Life happened.

Audio was my life and something I was super passionate about. Music was what ran through my veins and I took every measure to get into the industry. More on the studio side, but it didn’t end up that way. The live industry is much more interactive than anything, but it’s not what I wanted to do. I live in Las Vegas and there is a couple major studios out here and it’s hard to find an open position. Then I had many different thoughts about my career path. At the beginning of this year I have come to realize that I am not happy in what I am doing. I realized that even if I were to try and move into the studio industry, I would be disappointed. No one is making real albums anymore. Everyone is making music at home and on their own computers and it’s just not attractive. I want to be able to go into the studio, recall the patchbay, setup a drum kit with 12-20 microphones, get DIs for keyboards, I want a full band to come in and vibe like it used to be. Yes, that is still happening now but rarely. Everyone is too busy trying to live their lives as well. There’s rarely any dedication to music anymore and it’s sad. Maybe someone will read this and be like “we have that come to our studio and we can talk about employment.” I think my last opportunity was apply for Sony as a sound designer, I didn’t get it. So, I’m over audio. I will probably still make music as a hobby. Don’t want to do anything big with it but to entertain people. I don’t want to be famous or for anyone to care really.

I’ve always been interested in computers and want to try a different pathway. I’m going to begin my study at UNLV. The only shit that sucks is that I have to start all over. Since I went to a technical school my credits don’t count for transfer. Whatever though. I start in fall and have my classes picked out and tuition is $4,000! Hopefully Nicki Minaj will help me pay for my first semester. I’m excited to go back to school and learn something new. Maybe meet some new people.

I do dislike my job, but I have been getting some serious hours, getting paid somewhat well and about to get a raise. I’ve been drooling over houses lately, oh my gosh.

I saw this place and almost went bonkers. It’s $6,250,000, so if any rich sugar mommas are reading this I will suck your tit milk for a nice luxurious home. Just kidding. Maybe. I’ll consider if you ask. Anyway I got turned on by the fact that I could own my own house. Within the past year I’ve picked up a new hobby. Investing. It’s one of my new place to put money, otherwise I’d spend it on some alcohol, going out with friends and other activities that inquire money. I picked up a Investing For Dummies book and got familiar with many different investing options. I now own over 1000 stocks from two different sites and basically have an extra $2,000 just waiting to shoot up or just my accounts to build up enough money to buy a home. I also have my own savings account and a joint saving with my girl. I’m really anxious about buying my first home and get excited every time I come across a site full of listings of houses on sale or that I can build. Like huge boner when I see some shit like the place above which my ignorant ass will probably never own. I am paying attention to places that are worth about $250,000 to $300,000 at this moment. My whole aspect of my paychecks has changed and I’m going to do everything I can to get into my own house by next year.

As for my friends, they all just dipped dawg. Sort of. Everyone is just busy and have their own thing going on which is cool. I guess I’ve been asked a few times to hang out and couldn’t because I was working or tired from working and they stopped asking. I’ve been trying to keep in touch but it seems like no one wants to make an effort to keep in touch. It’s cool though I see y’all. I’m making some new acquaintances and may turn into friends, maybe. My girlfriend wants me to hang out with her friends and then they talk some shit about some bullshit and really don’t want to be around that drama. My friend Tiffany has been keeping in touch since she moved, but mostly because she has some things she going through which isn’t going to be disclosed but she’s always been near whenever I needed someone to talk to. Now I have to be a friend and return the favor and make her feel like this world is not against her. I miss her dearly. My other friend Mabel lives in Washington and keeps in touch regularly, but she isn’t physically here with me so it’s hard. She been around for 7 to 8 years. One of my longest friendships ever. She bought us tickets for Tech N9ne (or at least I think she did) a couple of years back for the Hard Rock Live. We got kicked out because she was a lightweight on tequila. It was funny until I almost got arrested because the cops thought I slipped her a pill but thankfully she remembered my name. That night I took care of her and nursed her back to health with some In N Out. I always bring up that story when she’s telling me how she went out and drank so much, she gets mad. I miss her so so so much. I really want to make the trip out to see her but it’s super expensive.

Life has been a little rough, but I have been taking it one day at a time. Whenever I feel discouraged I immediately focus on my goal and get right back on my feet. One thing I want people to know is that nothing is going to get better until you make it better. If you’re going to lay around in your tears nothing is going to get better, for anyone. I just made it past another fork in the road (I went right if you were wondering) and ready to see what is down this path. This is 2017: New Beginnings

P.S. Sugar Momma applications will be available.

#UNLV #nicki minaj #9to5life #audio #Investing #friends #Tech N9ne #sugar momma

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