#i literally do not remember the last time i saw myself in a photograph or in the mirror and not hated everything so much | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chrisevansluv · 3 years

Note

Here is the 2012 Detail Magazine interview with chris evans:

The Avengers' Chris Evans: Just Your Average Beer-Swilling, Babe-Loving Buddhist

The 30-year-old Bud Light-chugging, Beantown-bred star of The Avengers is widely perceived as the ultimate guy's guy. But beneath the bro persona lies a serious student of Buddhism, an unrepentant song-and-dance man, and a guy who talks to his mom about sex. And farts.

By Adam Sachs,

Photographs by Norman Jean Roy

May 2012 Issue

"Should we just kill him and bury his body?" Chris Evans is stage whispering into the impassive blinking light of my digital recorder.

"Chris!" shouts his mother, her tone a familiar-to-anyone-with-a-mother mix of coddling and concern. "Don't say that! What if something happened?"

We're at Evans' apartment, an expansive but not overly tricked-out bachelor-pad-ish loft in a semi-industrial nowheresville part of Boston, hard by Chinatown, near an area sometimes called the Combat Zone. Evans has a fuzzy, floppy, slept-in-his-clothes aspect that'd be nearly unrecognizable if you knew him only by the upright, spit-polished bearing of the onscreen hero. His dog, East, a sweet and slobbery American bulldog, is spread out on a couch in front of the TV. The shelves of his fridge are neatly stacked with much of the world's supply of Bud Light in cans and little else.

On the counter sit a few buckets of muscle-making whey-protein powder that belong to Evans' roommate, Zach Jarvis, an old pal who sometimes tags along on set as a paid "assistant" and a personal trainer who bulked Evans up for his role as the super-ripped patriot in last summer's blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger. A giant clock on the exposed-brick wall says it's early evening, but Evans operates on his own sense of time. Between gigs, his schedule's all his, which usually translates into long stretches of alone time during the day and longer social nights for the 30-year-old.

"I could just make this . . . disappear," says Josh Peck, another old pal and occasional on-set assistant, in a deadpan mumble, poking at the voice recorder I'd left on the table while I was in the bathroom.

Evans' mom, Lisa, now speaks directly into the microphone: "Don't listen to them—I'm trying to get them not to say these things!"

But not saying things isn't in the Evans DNA. They're an infectiously gregarious clan. Irish-Italians, proud Bostoners, close-knit, and innately theatrical. "We all act, we sing," Evans says. "It was like the fucking von Trapps." Mom was a dancer and now runs a children's theater. First-born Carly directed the family puppet shows and studied theater at NYU. Younger brother Scott has parts on One Life to Live and Law & Order under his belt and lives in Los Angeles full-time—something Evans stopped doing several years back. Rounding out the circle are baby sister Shanna and a pair of "strays" the family brought into their Sudbury, Massachusetts, home: Josh, who went from mowing the lawn to moving in when his folks relocated during his senior year in high school; and Demery, who was Evans' roommate until recently.

"Our house was like a hotel," Evans says. "It was a loony-tunes household. If you got arrested in high school, everyone knew: 'Call Mrs. Evans, she'll bail you out.'"

Growing up, they had a special floor put in the basement where all the kids practiced tap-dancing. The party-ready rec room also had a Ping-Pong table and a separate entrance. This was the house kids in the neighborhood wanted to hang at, and this was the kind of family you wanted to be adopted by. Spend an afternoon listening to them dish old dirt and talk over each other and it's easy to see why. Now they're worried they've said too much, laid bare the tender soul of the actor behind the star-spangled superhero outfit, so there's talk of offing the interviewer. I can hear all this from the bathroom, which, of course, is the point of a good stage whisper.

To be sure, no one's said too much, and the more you're brought into the embrace of this boisterous, funny, shit-slinging, demonstrably loving extended family, the more likable and enviable the whole dynamic is.

Sample exchange from today's lunch of baked ziti at a family-style Italian restaurant:

Mom: When he was a kid, he asked me, 'Mom, will I ever think farting isn't funny?'

Chris: You're throwing me under the bus, Ma! Thank you.

Mom: Well, if a dog farts you still find it funny.

Then, back at the apartment, where Mrs. Evans tries to give me good-natured dirt on her son without freaking him out:

Mom: You always tell me when you think a girl is attractive. You'll call me up so excited. Is that okay to say?

Chris: Nothing wrong with that.

Mom: And can I say all the girls you've brought to the house have been very sweet and wonderful? Of course, those are the ones that make it to the house. It's been a long time, hasn't it?

Chris: Looooong time.

Mom: The last one at our house? Was it six years ago?

Chris: No names, Ma!

Mom: But she knocked it out of the park.

Chris: She got drunk and puked at Auntie Pam's house! And she puked on the way home and she puked at our place.

Mom: And that's when I fell in love with her. Because she was real.

We're operating under a no-names rule, so I'm not asking if it's Jessica Biel who made this memorable first impression. She and Evans were serious for a couple of years. But I don't want to picture lovely Jessica Biel getting sick at Auntie Pam's or in the car or, really, anywhere.

East the bulldog ambles over to the table, begging for food.

"That dog is the love of his life," Mrs. Evans says. "Which tells me he'll be an unbelievable parent, but I don't want him to get married right now." She turns to Chris. "The way you are, I just don't think you're ready."

Some other things I learn about Evans from his mom: He hates going to the gym; he was so wound-up as a kid she'd let him stand during dinner, his legs shaking like caged greyhounds; he suffered weekly "Sunday-night meltdowns" over schoolwork and the angst of the sensitive middle-schooler; after she and his father split and he was making money from acting, he bought her the Sudbury family homestead rather than let her leave it.

Eventually his mom and Josh depart, and Evans and I go to work depleting his stash of Bud Light. It feels like we drink Bud Light and talk for days, because we basically do. I arrived early Friday evening; it's Saturday night now and it'll be sunup Sunday before I sleeplessly make my way to catch a train back to New York City. Somewhere in between we slip free of the gravitational pull of the bachelor pad and there's bottle service at a club and a long walk with entourage in tow back to Evans' apartment, where there is some earnest-yet-surreal group singing, piano playing, and chitchat. Evans is fun to talk to, partly because he's an open, self-mocking guy with an explosive laugh and no apparent need to sleep, and partly because when you cut just below the surface, it's clear he's not quite the dude's dude he sometimes plays onscreen and in TV appearances.

From a distance, Chris Evans the movie star seems a predictable, nearly inevitable piece of successful Hollywood packaging come to market. There's his major-release debut as the dorkily unaware jock Jake in the guilty pleasure Not Another Teen Movie (in one memorable scene, Evans has whipped cream on his chest and a banana up his ass). The female-friendly hunk appeal—his character in The Nanny Diaries is named simply Harvard Hottie—is balanced by a kind of casual-Friday, I'm-from-Boston regular-dudeness. Following the siren song of comic-book cash, he was the Human Torch in two Fantastic Four films. As with scrawny Steve Rogers, the Captain America suit beefed up his stature as a formidable screen presence, a bankable leading man, all of which leads us to The Avengers, this season's megabudget, megawatt ensemble in which he stars alongside Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Hemsworth.

It all feels inevitable—and yet it nearly didn't happen. Evans repeatedly turned down the Captain America role, fearing he'd be locked into what was originally a nine-picture deal. He was shooting Puncture, about a drug-addicted lawyer, at the time. Most actors doing small-budget legal dramas would jump at the chance to play the lead in a Marvel franchise, but Evans saw a decade of his life flash before his eyes.

What he remembers thinking is this: "What if the movie comes out and it's a success and I just reject all of this? What if I want to move to the fucking woods?"

By "the woods," he doesn't mean a quiet life away from the spotlight, some general metaphorical life escape route. He means the actual woods. "For a long time all I wanted for Christmas were books about outdoor survival," he says. "I was convinced that I was going to move to the woods. I camped a lot, I took classes. At 18, I told myself if I don't live in the woods by the time I'm 25, I have failed."

Evans has described his hesitation at signing on for Captain America. Usually he talks about the time commitment, the loss of what remained of his relative anonymity. On the junkets for the movie, he was open about needing therapy after the studio reduced the deal to six movies and he took the leap. What he doesn't usually mention is that he was racked with anxiety before the job came up.

"I get very nervous," Evans explains. "I shit the bed if I have to present something on stage or if I'm doing press. Because it's just you." He's been known to walk out of press conferences, to freeze up and go silent during the kind of relaxed-yet-high-stakes meetings an actor of his stature is expected to attend: "Do you know how badly I audition? Fifty percent of the time I have to walk out of the room. I'm naturally very pale, so I turn red and sweat. And I have to literally walk out. Sometimes mid-audition. You start having these conversations in your brain. 'Chris, don't do this. Chris, take it easy. You're just sitting in a room with a person saying some words, this isn't life. And you're letting this affect you? Shame on you.'"

Shades of "Sunday-night meltdowns." Luckily the nerves never follow him to the set. "You do your neuroses beforehand, so when they yell 'Action' you can be present," he says.

Okay, there was one on-set panic attack—while Evans was shooting Puncture. "We were getting ready to do a court scene in front of a bunch of people, and I don't know what happened," he says. "It's just your brain playing games with you. 'Hey, you know how we sometimes freak out? What if we did it right now?'"

One of the people who advised Evans to take the Captain America role was his eventual Avengers costar Robert Downey Jr. "I'd seen him around," Downey says. "We share an agent. I like to spend a lot of my free time talking to my agent about his other clients—I just had a feeling about him."

What he told Evans was: This puppy is going to be big, and when it is you're going to get to make the movies you want to make. "In the marathon obstacle course of a career," Downey says, "it's just good to have all the stats on paper for why you're not only a team player but also why it makes sense to support you in the projects you want to do—because you've made so much damned money for the studio."

There's also the fact that Evans had a chance to sign on for something likely to be a kind of watershed moment in the comic-book fascination of our time. "I do think The Avengers is the crescendo of this superhero phase in entertainment—except of course for Iron Man 3," Downey says. "It'll take a lot of innovation to keep it alive after this."

Captain America is the only person left who was truly close to Howard Stark, father of Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man), which meant that Evans' and Downey's story lines are closely linked, and in the course of doing a lot of scenes together, they got to be pals. Downey diagnoses his friend with what he terms "low-grade red-carpet anxiety disorder."

"He just hates the game-show aspect of doing PR," Downey says. "Obviously there's pressure for anyone in this transition he's in. But he will easily triple that pressure to make sure he's not being lazy. That's why I respect the guy. I wouldn't necessarily want to be in his skin. But his motives are pure. He just needs to drink some red-carpet chamomile."

"The majority of the world is empty space," Chris Evans says, watching me as if my brain might explode on hearing this news—or like he might have to fight me if I try to contradict him. We're back at his apartment after a cigarette run through the Combat Zone.

"Empty space!" he says again, slapping the table and sort of yelling. Then, in a slow, breathy whisper, he repeats: "Empty space, empty space. All that we see in the world, the life, the animals, plants, people, it's all empty space. That's amazing!" He slaps the table again. "You want another beer? Gotta be Bud Light. Get dirty—you're in Boston. Okay, organize your thoughts. I gotta take a piss . . ."

My thoughts are this: That this guy who is hugging his dog and talking to me about space and mortality and the trouble with Boston girls who believe crazy gossip about him—this is not the guy I expected to meet. I figured he'd be a meatball. Though, truthfully, I'd never called anyone a meatball until Evans turned me on to the put-down. As in: "My sister Shanna dates meatballs." And, more to the point: "When I do interviews, I'd rather just be the beer-drinking dude from Boston and not get into the complex shit, because I don't want every meatball saying, 'So hey, whaddyathink about Buddhism?'"

At 17, Evans came across a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and began his spiritual questing. It's a path of study and struggle that, he says, defines his true purpose in life. "I love acting. It's my playground, it lets me explore. But my happiness in this world, my level of peace, is never going to be dictated by acting," he says. "My goal in life is to detach from the egoic mind. Do you know anything about Eastern philosophy?"

I sip some Bud Light and shake my head sheepishly. "They talk about the egoic mind, the part of you that's self-aware, the watcher, the person you think is driving this machine," he says. "And that separation from self and mind is the root of suffering. There are ways of retraining the way you think. This isn't really supported in Western society, which is focused on 'Go get it, earn it, win it, marry it.'"

Scarlett Johansson says that one of the things she appreciates about Evans is how he steers clear of industry chat when they see each other. "Basically every actor," she says, "including myself, when we finish a job we're like, 'Well, that's it for me. Had a good run. Put me out to pasture.' But Chris doesn't strike me as someone who frets about the next job." The two met on the set of The Perfect Score when they were teenagers and have stayed close; The Avengers is their third movie together. "He has this obviously masculine presence—a dude's dude—and we're used to seeing him play heroic characters," Johansson says, "but he's also surprisingly sensitive. He has close female friends, and you can talk to him about anything. Plus there's that secret song-and-dance, jazz-hands side of Chris. I feel like he grew up with the Partridge Family. He'd be just as happy doing Guys and Dolls as he would Captain America 2."

East needs to do his business, so Evans and I take him up to the roof deck. Evans bought this apartment in 2010 when living in L.A. full-time no longer appealed to him. He came back to stay close to his extended family and the intimate circle of Boston pals he's maintained since high school. The move also seems like a pretty clear keep-it-real hedge against the manic ego-stroking distractions of Hollywood.

"I think my daytime person is different than my nighttime person," Evans says. "With my high-school buddies, we drink beer and talk sports and it's great. The kids in my Buddhism class in L.A., they're wildly intelligent, and I love being around them, but they're not talking about the Celtics. And that's part of me. It's a strange dichotomy. I don't mind being a certain way with some people and having this other piece of me that's just for me."

I asked Downey about Evans' outward regular-Joe persona. "It's complete horseshit," Downey says. "There's an inherent street-smart intelligence there. I don't think he tries to hide it. But he's much more evolved and much more culturally aware than he lets on."

Perhaps the meatball and the meditation can coexist. We argue about our egoic brains and the tao of Boston girls. "I love wet hair and sweatpants," he says in their defense. "I like sneakers and ponytails. I like girls who aren't so la-di-da. L.A. is so la-di-da. I like Boston girls who shit on me. Not literally. Girls who give me a hard time, bust my chops a little."

The chief buster of Evans' chops is, of course, Evans himself. "The problem is, the brain I'm using to dissect this world is a brain formed by it," he says. "We're born into confusion, and we get the blessing of letting go of it." Then he adds: "I think this shit by day. And then night comes and it's like, 'Fuck it, let's drink.'"

And so we do. It's getting late. Again. We should have eaten dinner, but Evans sometimes forgets to eat: "If I could just take a pill to make me full forever, I wouldn't think twice."

We talk about his dog and camping with his dog and why he loves being alone more than almost anything except maybe not being alone. "I swear to God, if you saw me when I am by myself in the woods, I'm a lunatic," he says. "I sing, I dance. I do crazy shit."

Evans' unflagging, all-encompassing enthusiasm is impressive, itself a kind of social intelligence. "If you want to have a good conversation with him, don't talk about the fact that he's famous" was the advice I got from Mark Kassen, who codirected Puncture. "He's a blast, a guy who can hang. For quite a long time. Many hours in a row."

I've stopped looking at the clock. We've stopped talking philosophy and moved into more emotional territory. He asks questions about my 9-month-old son, and then Captain America gets teary when I talk about the wonder of his birth. "I weep at everything," he says. "I emote. I love things so much—I just never want to dilute that."

He talks about how close he feels to his family, how open they all are with each other. About everything. All the time. "The first time I had sex," he says, "I raced home and was like, 'Mom, I just had sex! Where's the clit?'"

Wait, I ask—did she ever tell you?

"Still don't know where it is, man," he says, then breaks into a smile composed of equal parts shit-eating grin and inner peace. "I just don't know. Make some movies, you don't have to know…"

Here is the 2012 Detail Magazine interview with chris evans:

The Avengers' Chris Evans: Just Your Average Beer-Swilling, Babe-Loving Buddhist

By Adam Sachs,

Photographs by Norman Jean Roy

May 2012 Issue

"Should we just kill him and bury his body?" Chris Evans is stage whispering into the impassive blinking light of my digital recorder.

"Chris!" shouts his mother, her tone a familiar-to-anyone-with-a-mother mix of coddling and concern. "Don't say that! What if something happened?"

Evans' mom, Lisa, now speaks directly into the microphone: "Don't listen to them—I'm trying to get them not to say these things!"

"Our house was like a hotel," Evans says. "It was a loony-tunes household. If you got arrested in high school, everyone knew: 'Call Mrs. Evans, she'll bail you out.'"

Sample exchange from today's lunch of baked ziti at a family-style Italian restaurant:

Mom: When he was a kid, he asked me, 'Mom, will I ever think farting isn't funny?'

Chris: You're throwing me under the bus, Ma! Thank you.

Mom: Well, if a dog farts you still find it funny.

Then, back at the apartment, where Mrs. Evans tries to give me good-natured dirt on her son without freaking him out:

Mom: You always tell me when you think a girl is attractive. You'll call me up so excited. Is that okay to say?

Chris: Nothing wrong with that.

Mom: And can I say all the girls you've brought to the house have been very sweet and wonderful? Of course, those are the ones that make it to the house. It's been a long time, hasn't it?

Chris: Looooong time.

Mom: The last one at our house? Was it six years ago?

Chris: No names, Ma!

Mom: But she knocked it out of the park.

Chris: She got drunk and puked at Auntie Pam's house! And she puked on the way home and she puked at our place.

Mom: And that's when I fell in love with her. Because she was real.

East the bulldog ambles over to the table, begging for food.

What he remembers thinking is this: "What if the movie comes out and it's a success and I just reject all of this? What if I want to move to the fucking woods?"

Shades of "Sunday-night meltdowns." Luckily the nerves never follow him to the set. "You do your neuroses beforehand, so when they yell 'Action' you can be present," he says.

And so we do. It's getting late. Again. We should have eaten dinner, but Evans sometimes forgets to eat: "If I could just take a pill to make me full forever, I wouldn't think twice."

Wait, I ask—did she ever tell you?

"Still don't know where it is, man," he says, then breaks into a smile composed of equal parts shit-eating grin and inner peace. "I just don't know. Make some movies, you don't have to know…"

If someone doesn't want to check the link, the anon sent the full interview!

#chris evans #cevans #Details Magazine #2012 #interview

52 notes · View notes

eyssimont · 2 years

Note

i would just like to know the story about easton bullying you...

EASTON IS THIS YOU???? GET OUT OF HERE! 🥴

Ok so there's so much background this would need but I don't know if anyone cares about it. Essentially I've been into Easton for almost two years for many reasons.

I think he's super good looking, I like his voice, he's one of my absolute favorite players to watch (my actual favorite player on this team, St. Cloud state is Nolan Walker.) I adore and admire him very very much. I think he's the most talented of all the Brodzinski brothers. I feel he's so well rounded in the way he plays. I love when he runs his mouth during games, I love his coaches told him to stop taking dumb penalties and then he turns around and still takes dumb penalties. I have said one too many NSFW things about him over the past few years but also some SFW things too. Lol he's just one of those players who is hot and plays well and that's all I could ask for, but I also like him as a person and player. I was a mess when he got hurt last year in the game against Boston College like I cried about it for days. I loved watching the team rally around each other and win their frozen four game against Minnesota State for him. I cried for weeks knowing he had ended his career at 98 points. So I was thrilled to see him come back for a 5th year and learn about his injury and his recovery and see him reach 100 points opening night of the season and later pass his oldest brother Jonny's career points total some weeks later. (Jonny also played at St. Cloud.) Like I hope this was enough to empathize my love for him.

So I met Easton for the first time in November. I went to Minnesota for vacation and went to a couple games and one of them had a little skate with the huskies event which is just a meet and greet with the players. When I saw this on their schedule in the summer I made the joke to Kevin (@bostonsfinest88 ) that I was going to go "so I can make Easton hold my hand." 🥴 Ensuing nonsense and NSFW jokes followed. Well anyways I did make it and I was so nervous to talk to him bc it's like here he is and I'm supposed to not be like "hello, I worship the ground you walk on!" I managed to only embarrass myself a little. We talked about a few things but honestly I can barely remember. Something about watching him play, something about only knowing about Jonny (he played for the Kings) and none of the other brothers. I said something like "I didn't know you existed bc I just don't look into players personal lives" to which he replied "that's fair." (Which honestly isn't as true anymore now bc social media lol) the last thing we talked about was him being left handed which was super embarrassing lol I don't remember how I ended the conversation though but it must have been like the rest wishing him well and a great rest of the season. I wasn't planning on going back even though they were having this event again bc I was starting a new job.

For the past 3 months the highlight of that night had actually been Kyler Kupka bc his voice is heavenly and I have not recovered from him speaking in my ear. What an out of body experience to endure.

I decided on a whim Friday night to fly out to Minnesota bc I had the weekend off and skate with the huskies 2 was on Saturday. So I packed my shit and flew out and saw my friends. Kevin and I are having so much fun at the game. My ig story is just videos of Kyler, a video of Easton and a picture of David. Taylor (@kreiderrider ) couldn't make it and I was in the GC like literally this game is just every other sentence out of me being about Kyler, you're not missing much. I was on cloud nine, I was having fun, I manifested a Kyler goal, I was feeling it.

I do my rounds at skate with the huskies with Kevin in tow as my photographer. I embarrass myself with Brady Ziemer (Brady I'm so sorry) Luke Jaycox and I were so awkward around each other I wanted to die. I told David he played well and I didn't have to yell at him to which he responded "oh, thank you" with the biggest smile on his face. I finally got to talk to Seamus Donohue bc last time I got too shy bc he's so fucking hot. And then a bunch of other faves: Kyler (I could listen to him talk for hours, I could just swim in the depths of his voice) the Finns, Micah Miller, Nolan Walker etc

I left Easton for last bc he was busy, whatever I get it. The event was over but I was still able to catch him. Now I don't remember what I said or anything. I just remember having a poster of him and two others in my hands, him grabbing it out of my hands and signing it himself on his own knee ok? I know we talked, I know he remembered me bc when I went to ask him for a picture this mother fucker looks at me and goes "anything for my number 1 fan!" with a smile on his face.

This is what I looked like immediately after:

Still I was able to gather myself for the picture (we came out super fucking cute way better than the first one we ever took) and I said something to him that didn't help. I really don't remember. Kevin thinks this is funny and I am trying to wrap my head around this and tell Taylor about it

I walked out of The Herb just like trying not to cry bc I was mortified. (In Spanish is so much better: la pinche vergüenza que me dió. En seriamente estaba pensando tierra traga me. Like güey que fue eso. ¡Como se atreve!) I was read to filth by a player I love and admire. Like what the actual fuck? How could Easton do this to me after all I've done for him! WHO DO YOU THINK IS VOTING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN THE HOBEY BAKER FAN VOTE HUH? Like it's been days and I still feel myself mumbling "I'm going to kill him" under my breath randomly bc my mind goes back to that whole ordeal.

Now the thing is, I do not for the entire life of me know where he got that from. Again, I must reiterate, there is no way I said he was my fave or anything of that sort bc I've only told Nolan Walker that. I even told Nolan "it's not even David and he's the whole reason I started watching you guys play." I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THIS CAME FROM but the fucking confidence he had saying that shit to my face? I hate him. He's a little shit, I'm going to kill him, and I swear to God I've never loved anyone more than I do right now. Please note this was the last game I could go to, this is the last time I'll see him and the other guys who are leaving, this is the last time I'll see these guys together. I went on a whim bc I was just full of frustration and loneliness and boredom back home and I wanted to get away and this is how Easton chose to close this chapter of my St. Cloud fan experience with this team.

I'm gonna fucking marry him if it's the last thing I do.

So no Easton didn't actually bully me and this was a funny experience for him and everyone else but me (literally everyone finds this funny and/or cute) and of all the things that could've happened Easton teasing me would have never been one I thought of. I always consider myself to be a non memorable person. I just think I'm just no one spectacular so having not only almost all of the guys remember me (cough luke cough) but also having this whole silly thing happen was very sweet. I love this team a ton, I continuously say St. Cloud has given me so much for being a school I didn't even go to and I hope Easton knows I'm milking this for the rest of my life and I swear I'm following him wherever he goes, I'm liking whatever team he plays on, I'm always going to be all in on him. 1️⃣❤️

#long post #EASTON I HATE YOU!#how could you?!????!???#me on my death bed but how did he know?#elles life lb #when i go back to a wolf pack game im making a sign for jonny that says tell easton i said hi lol

8 notes · View notes

captaincoffeegirl515 · 3 years

Text

What the hell was that last act???

So first of all I want to say that I did enjoy most of the movie. It was okay. The sex scenes didn’t do anything for me though since I’m just not interested in sex at all. But while I more-or-less liked the movie, I felt that the big plot twists in the last act and the ending were badly done because… how the fuck did ANY of them manage to get away with ANY OF THAT??? Like from a legal standpoint it’s just ???

This got so much longer than I anticipated, so the rest is under the read more. And yes, there are so many spoilers. So if you haven't seen The Voyeurs yet and don't want spoilers, please avoid this.

Seb and Julia literally confess to selling their old apartment in order to spy on the people who live there and use them for their art show. Like, yes, they put that clause in the Terms of Agreement for the apartment (which literally no one ever reads) but there is still the matter of Informed Consent. Informed Consent is usually in the form of a contract Pippa and Thomas both need to read and sign, or via verbal questions and answers which is filmed so Seb and Julia would have physical proof of an agreement. This is basically telling them what footage was taken, how it will be used, and if Seb and Julia have permission to share the footage publicly. In Thomas’ case, since he’s dead, his next-of-kin will be asked. Only then are Seb and Julia legally allowed to publicly share and showcase the Pippa and Thomas’ pictures. And Seb is a professional photographer! He should know that!

Have you ever seen prank shows? Like even the ones on YouTube. Have you noticed at the end of some videos, there would be a part where the filmers would approach the person who was pranked and ask if they could use their footage in the video. That’s Informed Consent. They need to ask permission to use a person’s footage in a video or if they need to blur out the person’s face for privacy. Seb and Julia even showed a picture of a dead man for chrissakes! Remember the outcry when that YouTuber posted a video of a suicide victim in Japan???

The Japanese interviewer was right to disapprove of their methods because even though there was a clause in the Terms of Agreement, the prank (because isn’t that what that whole show they did was?) or experiment still resulted with someone killing themself (yes I know it was murder, but the world doesn't know it). They can possibly still be held liable for causing Thomas to kill himself the same way a prankster can be held liable if their victim dies from a prank because of this thing in Law called the Eggshell Rule or Eggshell Plaintiff.

What this means is that a defendant is liable for any injuries caused by the defendant’s actions, regardless of how unforeseeable or uncommon the plaintiff’s reactions to the defendant’s actions are. So for example, there is a scary prank where the prankster jumps out of the bushes and terrifies people. One of them turns out to have a heart condition, suffers a heart attack, and dies. Regardless of the victim’s frailty, the prankster can be held liable for exacerbating the condition and causing the victim’s death. Likewise in the movie, they can say that Seb and Julia, by orchestrating the whole thing and making Thomas see his girlfriend cheating on him, could have caused him to become broken-hearted and kill himself. Therefore, Seb and Julia can be liable for Thomas’ death.

And then here’s the kicker! The famous photographer and his wife, a famous model, both suddenly end up blind AFTER their big art show where they displayed Pippa’s scandal. And not by accident. No. This was obviously surgically done. And NOBODY suspected foul play?? Nobody thought about revenge?? Nobody thought it strange how their blindness was clearly done with a surgical/medical precision nor suspected the couple’s subject, Pippa, who they thoroughly humiliated, who also worked as an optometrist technician at a lab that has the machines that could cause that kind of blindness??? And they're both still alive! They can easily tell the police who did it!

It should have been way too easy for the police to know that it was foul play. Blood tests can tell that Seb and Julia had been drugged. How they were blinded can be traced to the optometry lab. Pippa would be the easiest main suspect due to her connection to them with revenge as the main motivation after they humiliated her in that art show.

And yes, I agree that what Seb and Julia did was wrong. They used Pippa and Thomas, and then murdered Thomas so they can have some juicy story to tell!

Even so, what happened to Ethical Codes in the medical field? What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? Non-maleficience rule? “Do No Harm”? Pippa should have been slammed with, idk, medical malpractice or something, after using her knowledge of the LASIK machine and using it to permanently blind people (which is an actual fear real people have about LASIK surgery), have her license revoked, be fired from her job, and possibly serve jail time. Why is she walking free all willy-nilly and still being allowed to continue stalking Seb and Julia?

I’ll admit though that maybe I’m being more harsh towards Pippa because I myself used to be a Board Certified medical professional (my license expired last year because I hadn't been working in that field for a while) and because of that, her actions angered and horrified me more.

Normally, we as an audience are made to root for the main character or hero, but I found it difficult to do so because Pippa herself is a terrible person. She's a pervert and a creep. She was obsessed with the lives of other people, stalked them, and even went as far as committing crimes in order to fuel her obsession - trespassing, breaking and entering, destruction of private property.

And my goodness this actually makes me think of a few Ben Hardy stans who are like this. Well, idk if going to Ben's school so that she can get a copy of a school film he was in can be considered a crime, but it's still fucking creepy.

Pippa’s got that Savior Complex where she tries to rescue this poor neglected wife from her horrible cheating husband (the same one she herself wants to fuck because she’s obsessed with him). And then when it all goes south, she immediately turns around and blames THOMAS of all people because “he started it”. Like, so what if he did?? He still had enough maturity to realize when they were taking it too far, and decided to stop with the stalking. He told her to stop multiple times but she was too blinded by her obsession and lust for a man that she doesn’t even know.

AND THEN!! She stalked a grieving husband (I know we know that was a lie but Pippa didn't know that) and proceeded to cheat on her boyfriend with said grieving husband. And frankly, I don’t understand why she’s so vengeful about Thomas’ death considering how easily she forgot him so that she could cheat on him. Like. Who knows, maybe he still would’ve killed himself regardless of the poisoned drink because the last thing he saw was his girlfriend cheating on him with the man she’d been obsessed with for the past idk how long. Even in the scene after Thomas died, there was a momentary grief where Pippa was all “it’s my fault Thomas died” but it was all too brief and immediately after she went back to obsessing and asking about Seb. And they want me to believe that she’d want to avenge Thomas’ death? No. I think she blinded Seb and Julia because she was angry at being called out for her obsession. For being told that she was wrong to go that far. It wasn’t about her “love” for Thomas. It was about how humiliated she was about being wrong.

Can you believe that Pippa gave this whole speech with the fable about being content with what you have and not to try to be greedy by wanting more and then she just immediately DOES THE OPPOSITE OF THE MORAL by cheating on her boyfriend because she wanted more aka Seb???

The more that I think about it, I feel like the true villain of the movie is Pippa herself. Her obsession with Seb is what started the whole thing. If she had been able to keep a healthy distance, none of that would’ve happened to begin with. There would be no fights over how far things were going. Seb would have no scandal to tell. She worsened Thomas’ insecurities of not being enough for her, making him go to great lengths just to try to please her. Poor Thomas. He truly deserved better.

Pippa also has awful friends. Instead of stamping down the creepy behavior, they’re giving tips on how to listen in on other people’s private conversations! And then later try to excuse her cheating on Thomas. And then help with her obsession AGAIN.

Acting-wise, I felt that Natasha, Ben, and Justice were incredible and I loved them. I love how conflicted Ben played Seb and how you can see it in his eyes. My favorite scene was the one where Seb and Julia had that confrontation over the wine where Seb asks if she ever felt guilty and Julia just stares right back and stares him down. Natasha was brilliant as Julie pretending to be all friendly and vulnerable with Pippa. Justice was very emotional and I love the scenes where he was horrified at how far Pippa was taking everything. For me, Sydney was the weakest one at acting. While there were some okay parts, her face can be really stiff at some points, like during the sex scenes.

Overall, I thought the movie to be quite thought-provoking especially in this day and age where people can find the most intimate details of another person’s life so easily, be that through Carrd, Instagram stories, Facebook feeds, and other social media sites. It makes you think about parasocial relationships, how people can be so obsessed about people that they’ve never even met, and how that obsession can easily grow into something dangerous that can ruin lives. Good movie, terrible last act. Too much sex for my taste, but then it wouldn’t be called an erotic movie.

Outside of the movie, I really love the chemistry between the four of them. I love watching their interviews and seeing how they interact with each other.

Last but not the least, I know this may be random but my brain likes to zoom in on the weirdest things. How on earth did Pippa manage to get Seb on top of that operating table?? No offense but Pippa is fucking tiny. Seb’s like twice her size and mostly muscle AND unconscious. Like ??? Sorry but that threw me off so much it’s ridiculous.

#ben hardy #natasha liu bordizzo #justice smith #sydney sweeney

21 notes · View notes

bomberqueen17 · 3 years

Text

vacaaaaay

ok i accidentally held down the a key there but i like it so i’m leaving it.

meandering travelogue behind the cut, nothing exciting has happened yet

so we set out yesterday, sister 4 (Farmsister), sister 3 (Middle-Little), Farmkid, and me, in #4′s minivan, with all kinds of stuff in it, crammed full. Dude had shared his location with me when he left Buffalo; he had a 5-hour drive so he left ahead of us, planning to arrive later than us. So I shared my location back, but IDK if he could see it.

(We started off well; I had to hide to let 4 and her husband pack the car, as I’m quite good at it but, as BIL said in his kind-but-intense way, too many cooks, so I went out and washed and packed eggs to be out of the way. But then 3 was supposed to show up at noon, and had said she’d probably really show up at 12:30, and at 12:47 she rolled in insisting she wasn’t late. Ha! And then she had like six huge boxes of booze we had to cram into the van but we managed perfectly well.)

I rode next to the kid, and had 3 doing navigation while 4 drove. It was only 3 hours, and I hadn’t realized until now how extremely used to driving 4.5 I am.

We left with just a little water sprinkling the windshield. 3 had already seen a convoy of National Grid trucks heading south as she’d made her way about on errands that morning. We saw another collection of them once we got on the highway toward New York City.

Soon it began to rain, and then to pour; we were driving along the leading edge of Hurricane Henri. It was slow going at times, but we kept making steady progress. 4 had intended to switch off driving with one of us others, but never got around to it. We crossed into Pennsylvania and lost cell service, having lost track of Dude somewhere around Binghamton.

But 3 hours passed faster than we thought. Kid demanded near-constant snacks, and drank a liter of water, but did not need a potty break. 4 needed the potty first but swore she could make it. We all contemplated that sense of urgency where you’re like ‘if I get in a traffic accident i will definitely have a separate little accident of my own oh no’, and the frisson of danger that adds.

The last bit of road was quite narrow and winding. “Don’t wreck,” 4 said. We made inquiring noises and she said “oh I’m just giving myself a pep talk.”

“I should check in with the others,” 3 said, and sent a message to the groupchat. Both my phone and 4′s eventually dinged, once we got a bar of cell reception back (and I found that Dude was nearly in Scranton, huzzah), and after a moment 3 looked at her phone again to see if there were any replies, and started laughing. “I just sent that to the groupchat of just us,” she said. “The only people who got that message are in this car.”

She re-sent it to the larger groupchat, and noticed on 4′s phone, which was in the dash holder with navigation on it, that she came up as Probable Spam. “Hey am I not in your phone?” she demanded, offended.

“Look closer,” 4 said, and 3 did, and realized the name Probable Spam was accompanied by a photograph of her holding a can of Spam, and remembered then that she’d done this herself, added herself to the contact list under that name because she’d thought it was funny. 4 has an Android phone anyway so actual suspected scam calls come through as Spam Likely. The only downside is when she’s searching for 3 in her phonebook 3 of course does not come up under her first or last name.

Somehow despite Mom having left Maryland (with Other Niece) on track to arrive before us, she had not arrived yet when we did. So it was up to us to figure out the gated community’s entrance.

The GPS was correct about how to get there, and we managed. It was pouring rain. We pulled up to the garage door and 4 sprinted up to the combination lock front door, intending to come down and let us into the garage, but there was no way out there. So we had to unload the car up the wooden front steps in the pouring rain. Farmkid fell twice but being seven, she bounced and was unhurt. The tile entryway was a bit of a nightmare in the wet and the rain, but again, Farmkid was the only one who slipped on it. She was-- she’d been so quiet in the car, she’s used to long car rides, but as soon as we got there she was YELLING and RUNNING and SO EXCITED and THIS IS GONNA BE MY BEDROOM and MOMMY AND [other niece] ARE GONNA SLEEP HERE WITH ME and LOOK HOW MANY ROOMS and all of it.

The first thing we unpacked was the cooler. The last thing I’d done before we left was run out to the picking garden and harvest huge handfuls of herbs; I put them all into drinking glasses and set them on the windowsill by the sink. We’d also brought last week’s leftover flowers, so I put them into glasses and pitchers and vases and set them around. It was extremely bougie but I’m rather delighted with the effect, and glad I did that first. I’ll take a photo later, I took no photos yesterday really.

We’d completely unloaded in the pouring rain and moved the van out of the way when we got a call from Mom, who’d made it in the gated community entrance but then her GPS wouldn’t tell her where to go. Fortunately the AirBnB rental had included step-by-step directions and 4 had printed them, so she read them off and talked Mom in. When she arrived, we unloaded her car in seconds flat, and then BOTH little girls could tear-ass around the house bossily informing all of us who was sleeping where.

“We are not making a decision on bedrooms,” 4 said, with great authority and patience, “until Sister 1 arrives, because she may have some conditions we don’t know about, so we have to let her look and cast her vote before we make any permanent arrangements.”

This did not deter the girls, who kept turboing around as we unloaded the coolers and set up the kitchen and tried to clear the foyer of all the luggage. Poor farmkid was a bit overstimulated, bright pink and agitated, but she did manage to calm herself down a little instead of having a meltdown. (She’d been so excited to see her cousin, who is just a year and a half older than her, but in the moment it was almost too much, as cousin was also QUITE wound up and slightly aggressive. Mom had accidentally given her free run of the snacks and there’d been chocolate covered espresso beans in there, but fortunately she’d stopped after three or four of them. Still, a mildly-caffeinated 9 year old who was just cooped up for three hours is not the most rational of actors.)

It was another half an hour until Sister 1 arrived with her sons. Her husband had just bought a big esoteric new piece of equipment he’d needed her help and the boys’ to set up, and had gotten it working *just* as they’d been planning to leave, so they’d had to delay their departure. That BIL is... not great at considering other people and their plans, but 1 seems contented enough to work around this tendency of his, and he is a decent dude apart from that. At any rate, they got their father squared away and then piled into their van and we all helped unload, and the boys joined in the No THIS will be MY room Discourse until 4 finally said “NO ONE IS MAKING A DECISION EXCEPT SISTER #1 SHE IS THE SOLE AUTHORITY”, so the very first thing that happened when 1 finally set foot in the house is that all the children presented themselves loudly to her.

“I,” she said, with great poise and grace, being a newly-minted colonel (just on Thursday! we haven’t drunk our champagne about it yet) and quite used to this sort of nonsense, “am taking a tour of the bathrooms first, and then I will hear your petitions, view the scene, and make my determination.”

So we left her to that, and I got the fridge stocked, and in the midst of that, my dude arrived, just in time to be told where to go and what to do, which delighted him (he loves a good decision already-made).

The house is.... well the development is lovely, they left it very very forested so the houses are crammed in but don’t seem to be. This house would benefit greatly from having someone live in it, because the rental is set up to look good in photos and be easy to clean. There’s a cathedral ceiling in the main room, and with no rugs or soft furnishings it is so echoey as to be unusable for conversation. As it was pouring rain on the skylights, we couldn’t hear one another at all, and then the children yelling made it absolutely unbearable.

We did get them calmed down, and had a pleasant dinner at the ridiculous table-- it’s four narrow IKEA tables pushed together, with capacity for 16. We removed several chairs.

All of 1′s kids, and 1 herself, are in the basement bedrooms. Me, 3, and Mom are in a small hallway on the main floor with three bedrooms and two baths, slightly isolated. And then there’s a master bedroom upstairs where 4 and Farmkid are, which 4 is slightly embarrassed at being the nicest room in the whole place, but like-- it’s only sensible to stick 1 and her kids together and she is not fussed at being in the basement. The boys wanted to each have their own rooms but then recognized it would be a bit much to stick 1, 4, and both girls in a single room together, even though the master bedroom is big enough that they could do that. The awkward bit there would be that the husbands each possibly might show up for a couple of days and it’d be weird to try to find places for them.

(Farm-BIL will be lucky to make it for one night. They just can’t leave the farm unattended with no staff. Other-BIL is also genuinely rather busy. So yes, my dude is the only adult male to show up, so far. He is utterly unfussed about this, as he’s quite used to my family. Though he is finding the noise distressing; we need to figure out how to muffle that cathedral ceiling. The kids are mostly old enough to be able effectively to be reminded to keep their voices somewhat down, but they’re also all old enough to be capable of making some serious noise; the teenaged boy’s voice hasn’t changed yet so he’s like full power but all of the shrill. Not an ideal acoustic situation.)

4 managed to cook dinner even though the electric range had all the markings worn off so there was no way to tell whether the burners were on or, if so, how high. THere was one incident with a very hot frying pan, but no one was injured. 3 found the vent fan on the range hood but that had the incidental effect of putting 4 into a cone of silence so she could not participate in any conversations while cooking, which was faintly hilarious.

There are several huge TVs in this house. We turned one on briefly, in the basement, after several (but not all) of our phones buzzed with tornado warnings and told us to seek shelter. The weather channel told us there were flash flood warnings but mentioned nothing about a tornado. So we waited in the basement briefly-- no hardship as the kids had already been down there playing pool and ping-pong-- and then went back up.

To make the living room usable we had stolen all the extra bedside lamps from the bedrooms and put them around in the room. The only lights are all in the ceiling, which is some 20 feet high or more; you can’t read by them. Obviously the room is designed for watching television, but that’s not something we as a family enjoy doing as a matter of course. I have a suspicion we wouldn’t have been able to hear it; the rain on the skylights was fierce by then. So really I’m not sure what that room is for, except looking great in photos. Probably good for reading by daylight because the roof’s all skylights, at least.

I of course have slept like shit, I’m writing this at 4am and I can tell you it only stopped raining a few minutes ago. But it’s supposed to be sunny the rest of the week. I am hoping that exhaustion will get me down for a nap later, and that there’ll be time, because I am in a fine state of not having slept really at all. Ugh. Oh well.

#rl #about the author #some whining #family stuff #me and my pile of sisters

21 notes · View notes

dreamescapeswriting · 4 years

Text

BTS Reaction | Boyfriend Tag [Request]

Seokjin:

You couldn't even remember how this all started but you were sitting across from Jin during a VLive eating noodles while he was asking you questions about himself to see how well you knew him. Army was going insane for it because you'd been together for so long they wanted to see if you really knew Jin,

"Which university did I go to?" He asked right as you took a mouthful of noodles into your mouth, you swallowed them and wiped your mouth staring at him,

"Easy, Konkuk University and then Hanyang Cyber University." You smirked at him as he ticked off that you'd gotten another one right that he had written down,

"Next one." You giggled looking at him as he frowned, you'd gotten everything right so far which was no surprise considering you'd been dating for a while.

"What do I tell people my favourites movies are but what are they really?" He always changed what he told people his favourites were so you were struggling,

"You've been telling people it's horror lately but we both know you hide behind me when we watch them and I know your favourites are anything with Disney princesses." He wrote down that you were right again making you laugh as you took a drink of coffee and watched him,

"Languages?"

"Chinese, English, a little Japanese and of course, Korean." You smirked over at the camera and saw that the comments were going faster as you were getting question after question,

"When did I join BigHit?"

"2010 and you trained for four years." You pushed noodles into your mouth and he threw the pen and pad down onto the table biting into his own food,

"Do I know you enough?" You giggled looking at him as he playfully glared at you,

"You know me too well." You poked your tongue out at him and he turned to look at Army to see if they knew the answers as well which most of them did but the rest of them were too busy laughing about how pouty Jin was being about everything.

Yoongi:

Though he would never admit it Yoongi was liking this a lot more than he was putting out to the camera, he loved the fact that you made Youtube videos and that he got to feature in them, he loved that you always asked him to do videos with you when he wasn't working because he got to spend more time with you. Right now was a fan suggested video and it was to do the Boyfriend Tag with him everyone knew that you were together since there was a release about it in the magazines and online about your relationships,

"Easy one, what else do I want to do besides produce and make music?" You looked at him and then smiled,

"Radio DJ, which is why you're always doing your little VLive Fm's." You smiled and he smirked at you, he adored how well you knew him.

"Okay next one, Why am I named Suga and Agust D?" You were thinking on it for a second, you'd had that conversation a couple of days ago.

"Okay, Suga is because the first syllables are from shooting guard which was your position and then Agust D is Suga backwards with DT Because of Daegu Town." He stared at you with a smile on his lips, he was just getting more and more impressed by how well you knew him.

"My ideal date night?"

"Either a night in together, movies, a walk and something to eat or taking a huge nap together." You said as you looked at him, remembering your most recent date which was literally both of you falling asleep on the sofa watching a movie,

"How many hours of sleep do I get?"

"Five, because you're fucking weird and can't sleep more than that." You grumbled looking at him and then over at the camera,

"He won't even lay there and just cuddle me either." You pouted causing him to lean over and kiss your cheek,

"Shut up." He mumbled against your skin making you giggle at him.

(yall dont understand the harships i go through when i see multiple gifs i wanna use)

Hoseok:

It was Jungkook's idea, you were all bored sitting inside of a hotel room since it was pouring it down with rain and none of you could go out. Now it was a test to see who knew Hobi better between you and Yoongi and you were currently winning which was surprising you since Yoongi and Hoseok had been hanging around together a lot longer than you had,

"What did I get a bronze medal for?" You looked at Yoongi who was still thinking on it,

"Tennis match," You said to Hoseok who smirked writing down a point for you on the whiteboard that they had,

"This is all fresh in your memory that's the only reason you know it." Yoongi chuckled looking at you as you pretended to be offended.

"What company did I originally audition for?"

"Jyp." You got out just before Yoongi did and the boys let out a chorus of 'Oh's' making Yoongi glare at them playfully, you giggled at them and then looked at Hobi.

"Make them harder baby." You whined looking at Yoongi who was already struggling enough he didn't need them to be harder.

"What school did I go to?" You and Yoongi fell into silence and stared at one another, you knew it it was right on the tip of your tongue.

"Collaborative point?" You questioned and Yoongi nodded as you tried to think of the answer together,

"Isn't it..." You leant over and whispered into his ear and he nodded,

"Academy for Rap and dance in Gwangju?" You both asked in sync looking at Hoseok who was laughing at you both,

"Yes, last one...Name of my old street dance team?"

"Neuron." You shouted out making the boys all laugh as you won the round and started dancing around the hotel room,

"They cheated!" Yoongi yelled at you looking at you and Hoseok as you started laughing together

Namjoon:

"Jin this is stupid, why do we have to see who knows him better it's clearly me." You laughed as Jin got ready for another round of questions from Namjoon who looked like he was getting bored of the game that Jin had arranged for all three of you.

"You're just saying that because you're losing." You stared at Jin and then at Namjoon who had a point sheet in his hands,

"She's winning actually...She's ahead by four points." Jin stared at Namjoon who was staring back at him,

"Next four questions are worth two points each." You agreed to the terms and got ready to answer,

"Where did I study?" You slapped your knee meaning it as your turn to answer first.

"New Zeland." You answered looking to your side to see Jin sighing and throwing his head back,

"I'll take one point for each one I get right, you take four if you get one right." You giggled and he pushed you softly,

"Deal."

"When did I release Mono?" You gave Jin a couple of seconds before you slapped your knees,

"October 23rd 2018."

"How do you remember the exact date?!" Jin yelled giving up and looking at you, you were giggling as he started to talk so fast he was rapping again.

"Last one!" Namjoon yelled making you both calm down,

"Ideal date?"

"No, new question. She'll know that easily." You nodded in agreement and Namjoon thought about another question,

"When did I change my stage name?"

"2017...November?" You said looking at him with a raised eyebrow he nodded, Jin threw down his pieces of paper and walked out of the dorm living room giving up and leaving you and Namjoon alone.

"You owe me ice cream!!" You screamed after him listening out as he slammed his bedroom door.

Jimin:

Jimin had been binge-watching couple videos all week and he decided that he wanted to do one like it on VLive with you and because Army loved you both together they decided to agree to watch it finding entertaining with how far Jimin had gotten into it, he'd made a banner for the backdrop, had a buzzer for you to push and even had helplines ready in case you needed them. He was treating it like a little gameshow but so far you were doing amazingly and hadn't used any lifeline, or needed help from Army because you knew him that well.

"Final four questions," He said to the phone looking back at you with a smile,

"What school did I transfer from and which one did I go to?" He questioned looking at you and glancing over at the phone to see Army already answering,

"You went to Busan High School of Arts and went to Korea Arts High School with Tae." He cheered and moved onto the next question,

"What are some of my hobbies outside of BTS?"

"Being with friends and family, reading comics and romance novels that you don't tell anyone about and staying on your phone for hours." He stared at you as you outted him about the secret romance book collection he was growing but moved on,

"What was my old motto?"

"Something like 'Let's keep trying till we can't do it anymore?" He nodded and moved onto the last question, all of them had been relatively easy...or for you at least they had but you had been together for a long time.

"What am I most confident about with myself?"

"Your eyes, but you should be confident about everything because you're perfect." He pushed a button on his phone which filled the room with fake clapping and cheering and you giggled as he brought you close to his chest and hugged you lovingly.

Taehyung:

It was all his idea, he'd been watching some videos online where he watched couples seeing if they knew each other well enough and now you were sitting on the sofa quizzing back and forth about one another,

"Who's my biggest role model?" He asked looking over at you with a smirk, he hadn't spoken about it much but you remembered him mentioning it once in front of the boys,

"Your dad, you said you wanted to be like him. Someone who listens and takes care of his children encourages them about their future and helps them." He smiled at you and nodded along with you telling you that you were right, he answered your question next and it was his turn again.

"Who are some of my closest friends besides the boys?"

"Park Bogum, Sungjae, Minjae, Baekhyun, Mark, and Minho....Tae you have too many friends for me to count." You grumbled looking at him while he laughed.

"Okay, okay...What would I do if I wasn't an Idol?"

"Photographer, or a painter...You've never said you wanted to be a painter but you should, you're really good at it." You complimented reaching across to the bowl of popcorn which was sitting on his lap, you put some in your mouth and he copied you.

"When did I get Yeontan?"

"2017 around December time." He stared at you as you fired off every question he gave you with a smile on your face.

"I just know you too well baby, now what's my reward?" You giggled looking at him, he slowly moved the bowl onto the table and kissed you roughly.

"Me. I'm the reward." You giggled at him as he continued to kiss you.

Jungkook:

Having a personal Twitter account to keep up with Army was fun, you spent a lot of time on there with Jungkook looking through accounts that you loved and showed him when you interacted with certain Army.

"What if Jungkook and Y/n did a twitter video asking questions about one another?" You read out looking at the phone and Jungkook stared up at you thinking it was a great idea,

"We should! It'll show how well we know one another." You stared at him thinking about it for a moment,

"Okay!" You got questions ready and he went first, sitting in front of you as you got the camera ready.

"Quickfire round, four questions each that's it." He told you as he took out the piece of paper he was holding with his questions already written down on.

"Okay, I'm ready." You told him looking at the phone and smiling,

"Favourite time of year?"

"When it's sunny but not too hot." He smiled and nodded moving onto the next one,

"What do I have a blackbelt in?"

"Taekwondo." He smirked and moved on,

"Do you know how many tattoos I have?" There were so many that kept appearing you were losing count,

"17?" You guessed looking at him and he nodded his head from side to side,

"About that yeah, okay why did I join BigHit?"

"You fell in love with Joonie and decided that was why you wanted to join." He chuckled moving over and kissing you on the lips, you'd edit it out later not wanting to get into trouble for having skinship online. Army loved it and started asking you to do more videos like that together, and it developed into a regular thing where you would film a video together every friday.

Tagline:

@yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @jooniesdarlingdimples @kpopfanfictionhoes @lyoongx @btsiguess-kpop @callingmyangel @fan-ati--c @mitzwinchester @rjsmochii

623 notes · View notes

staywritten · 4 years

Text

Hey, How you Doin’?│Bang Chan

Hey, How You Doin’?│Bang Chan

Just a little fluff to help fill in the blanks until I finish my other series. I’m sorry it’s so short

Synopsis: Chan has a crush and is practicing his pick up lines.

Genre: drabble?, fluff, one shot

Word Count: 827

You wiped down the bar top, trying to hide the smile tugging at your lips when you saw a very familiar face make his way over to you. His dark curly mop of hair, slightly disheveled from what you could only assume was a long night of producing. “Hey~ How you doing?” he clicked his teeth, giving you a little wink.

You bit back a chuckle before popping the cap off of his usual. “Here” you handed him the beer. “You come in here every night and that’s the best pick up line you can come up with?”

He leaned against the bar top giving you that beautiful dimpled smile, gazing into your eyes. “Well if you liked that one I got a couple more for you”

“Spare me Chan” you giggled before walking away to another patron that called for you.

Most of his nights were spent that way, just making eyes at you while you worked. When the rush calmed down you’d find yourself spending the down time in front of him making small talk about his day. “Were you able to finish your new song?”

“Almost, I still want to record one more version of it, but it should be done soon” he smiled, relaxing a bit more into his chair. “I really like the direction the song is going in”

“That’s good, Did you remember to at least eat dinner tonight?”

“No” he chuckled “I was kind of thinking that maybe we can get dinner together”

“Pretty presumptuous of you”

“I’m not hearing a no” he bit down on his lip.

You smirked before moving on to take another customer's order.

Just having him at the bar deterring your more rowdy or handsy customers from trying anything. Especially with how he watched over you. Chan looked at you like you were the only person in the room.

You absently wiped the same spotless part of the bar top in front of Chan again as he nursed his third beer of the night. “Oh I got one” he smugly leaned in closer to you, his ears turning a bright red as he giggled working up the courage to say the line at you.

You grinned leaning across the bar to him. “Alright Sunny boy, let’s hear it”

He threw on an air of confidence before leaning on his hand. “I’m not a photographer but I can picture you and I together” he wiggled his brows, gesturing between the two of you.

You snorted and shook your head “That’s a pretty good one, but you’re gonna have to try a little harder” you winked before going to refill on ice front he back.

After another hour or so the bar was emptying after last call. “Ok, I got another one” he chuckled and sat up straighter. You couldn’t help but love how his ears and cheeks flushed at his line. Even in the dimly lit bar, couldn't hide how embarrassed he was. “Can I borrow a kiss?” he giggled, struggling to keep a straight face. “I-I promise I’ll return it” he broke out into the brightest laugh, looking so proud of himself. “C’mon that was the best one!” he clapped.

You let out an airy laugh, feeling yourself get embarrassed. “That was the best one yet, you’re getting better.” As you finished cleaning the bar for the night, you took off your apron and grabbed your backpack. Chan waited for you by the door.

“You didn’t have to wait for me” you eyed him. “I’m a big girl, I could have walked home alone”

“I know but it’s dark out” he shrugged sheepishly. “And I have another pick up line, you’ll love this one it’s so smooth” he grinned. “Your hands look heavy, shall I hold them” he reached out his hand to you giggling like a school boy.

“You’re so lame, you know that Chan?” you placed your hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

“I know but you love it” he brought your hand to his lips, placing a kiss on top of your knuckles, and ring.

You sighed “I suppose I do, I mean why else would I marry you” you leaned against his shoulder as he walked you home, placing a kiss on the crown of your head.

End.

Hey Friends ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

I’ve been dealing with such a bad writers block lately. I’m literally like 75%-90% done with like nine stories and just can’t find the motivation to finish them or I end up disliking them and I’ve been feeling really guilty about my lack of posts.

I know I keep promising other stories but this little guilty pleasure piece was the only thing I could motivate myself to finish for the time being. Thank you for being patient with me. I promise I’ll get those One Week posts up, and my Felix mini series is almost done.

Boy that was a lot lol, but if you’d like to be added to my tag list just let me know :)

Here’s my Masterlist, and me Etsy sticker shop.

∘Tags List:

@skzsprinkles @tophuphu @hugs4chan @channieboyo@tonfilm @innivspearb @mini-meanhoe @poutychangbinnie

#stray kids scenario #stray kids oneshots #stray kids imagines #stray kids imagine #bang chan oneshots #bang chan #bang chan scenarios #bang chan fluff #fluff #kpop scenario #kpop imagines #skz scenarios

216 notes · View notes

melisa-may-taylor72 · 4 years

Photo

QUEEN BEFORE QUEEN

THE 1960s RECORDINGS

➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

PART 1:

BRIAN MAY, 1984 & THE LEFT HANDED MARRIAGE

JOHN S. STUART AND ANDY DAVIS DIG DEEP TO UNCOVER THE PREVIOUSLY UNDOCUMENTED AUDIO LEGACY OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST CHERISHED BANDS.

This month the beginning and end of Queen come together like the cosy ending of a contrived Hollywood drama. While fans wait with bated breath for the band’s final album, “Made In Heaven" — completed by Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor with the aid of Freddie Mercury’s last demos — author Mark Hodkinson launches a new book in which, in greater detail than has ever been attempted before, delves into the pre-fame histories of Queen’s musical antecedents.

With previously unpublished photographs of Roger Taylor's the Reaction, John Deacon’s the Opposítion and even more impressively, Freddie Mercury’s Sour Milk Sea, ‘Queen The Early Years’ is a treat fans have waited too long to read. Coincidentally, six months ago, we commissioned Queen historian, John S. Stuart, to research the definitive article on the band’s pre-fame recordings, and as you’ll see, the results complement Hodkinson’s broader picture with hitherto undocumented details of Queen's 60s recordings.

We've touched on Larry Lurex and Smile before, of course, but the vinyl output of those two acts barely scratches the surface, so to speak: literally hours and hours of privately- recorded material of Freddie, Brian, John and Roger survive to this day — as evidenced by the recent discovery of the Reaction’s ‘In The Midnight Hour’ acetate ( see RC 191). So, while the rest of the world comes to terms with the fact that Queen’s recording career is effectively at an end, we unravel the untold history of four individuals' first tentative steps in front of the microphone, beginning with the 1960′s exploits of Brian May. Next month, we’ll embrace Smile, and John, Roger and Freddie's hidden amateur recordings; but first, 1984 and the Left Handed Marriage.

1984

Around late August, or early September 1963, as the Beatles celebrated the birth of Beatlemania with sessions for their “With The Beatles” LP at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in North London, another rock legend was developing just around the geographical corner. In a semi-detached house in Feltham, Middlesex, electronics engineer Harold May began an 18-month task, helping his sixteen-year-...[ ]

[ ]...old son, Brian, to construct the world's most famous home-made guitar, the ‘Red Special'. In the mean time, Brian would have to be content with thrashing away at the small Spanish acoustic his parents had bought him for his seventh birthday. (Brian evidently mislaid this childhood guitar shortly afterwards; and didn't see it again until 1991, when at a ‘reunion’ of former members of 1984, his schoolfriend and first musical collaborator, Dave Dilloway, returned it to him. Brian was so thrilled, that he featured the guitar in the video for Queen’s “Headlong" single).

By 1964, Brian and Dave Dilloway were already recording amateur duets together, and by linking up their two reel-to-reel tape docks, they discovered that they could lay down guitars on one machine, and perhaps bass, percussion and sometimes vocals on the other. Although the technique was crude, and despite the occasional disaster, the effect was often surprisingly good. One of the earliest tapes from these primitive recording sessions survives to this day, and features Brian belting out Bo Diddley’s eponymous R&B standard, "Bo Diddley".

“This is a mono quarter-inch, reel-to-reel I found buried among various other oddments from the era”, recalls Dave Dilloway. “It certanly dates from before the formation of 1984. It was recorded in Brian’s back room in Feltham, with Brian on lead vocals and guitar, and myself on bass and drums. The track is basic, but Brian’s vocals are clear and recognisable. The guitar playing is fairly basic as well, but competent, without any real solos as such”.

“ This is the only tape in my collection of those double-track recordings. I’m unsure whether Brian himself has retained the tapes we made at the time, but I believe he usually ended up with the finished versions, so he may still heve them somewhere.”

The duo also recorded four-track instrumental cover versions of several Shadows tunes — “Apache”, “FBI”, "Wonderful Land” and "The Rise And Fall Of Fingel Blunt” — as well as “Rambunkshush”, which they learned from the Shadows’ American counterparts, The Ventures. Also on the same tape is their reading of Chet Atkins' “Windy And Warm".

Yet another reel reveals an attempt at Cliff Richard’s "Bachelor Boy", on which Brian, once again, takes the lead vocal. Dave Dilloway's theory is probably correctt; May is known to have a meticulously catalogued personal collection of Queen (and pre-Queen) recordings and memorabilia, which almost certanlly contains unfathomable reels of similar early material.

In the autumn of 1964, Brian and Dave formed a rapidly-evolving band, through which many schoolmates passed, but which eventually settled with a line-up of bassist John 'Jag' Garnham, drummer Richard Thompson, and harmonica-playing vocalist Tim Staffell. After rejecting names such as the Mind Boggles and Bob Chappy & the Beetles, the quintet named themselves after George Orwell’s futuristic novel ‘1984’. Their look was far from sci-fi, however, and they happily adopted the classic, clean-cut beat- group look of the day: jackets, or in Brian's case a cardigan, and narrow trousers; and beat boots. Tim Staffell even acquired that year’s fashion accessory, a pork-pie hat.

The band rehearsed regularly at Chase Bridge Primary School Hall in Twickenham (located next to the rugby ground), and on the 28th October 1964, gave their first public performance at the nearby St. Mary’s Church Hall. It is believed that either one of the rehearsals, or the gig itself, was recorded, but unfortunately, no tape of this debut, performance has survived the years. Although 1984 recorded almost all of their live concerts for their own critical appraisal, to save on the expense of new tape they often wiped over old reels once they’d listened to them. Nevertheless, evidence of Brian May playing live does survive from this period, and the earliest example dates from an unknown gig (Shepperton Rowing Club is the favoured consensus), recorded in late 1965. This wasn’t a 1984 performance, but rather an ad-hoc trio comprising Brian May on bass and vocals, Pete ‘Woolly’ Hammerton (a school friend of Brian’s) on guitar and vocals, and 1984's Richard Thompson on drums. The tape reveals the trio turning in versions of Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing In The Street", the Beatles' “Eight Days A Week”, “I’m Taking Her Home” — a song by the group Woolly later joined, the Others — and a brave attempt at the Who’s "My Generation".

The Others comprised older boys from Hampton School, who in October 1964 had issued a single of their abrasive reading of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah", backed by “I’m Taking Her Home", on Fontana (TF 501). “That was good!" claims singer, Tim Staffell. “I’ve still got that record buried somewhere deep in my mind — I remember the singer, Paul Stewart's voice and the quality of the guitar sound. The Others were a pretty significant influence. Maybe not in terms of the music, more in the sense that they were already doing it, which proved it was possible."

As evidenced by the photograph included in this feature, the Others clearly had attitude, something which 1984, or Tim Staffell at least, could only aspire to “If I had tried to push 1984 in any direction," reveals Tim, “then that would have been it. Without hearing any of these tapes of our band — and I didn't even know they existed! — l’d say we probably sounded a lot safer than the Others. Mind you, they were different to us. Their guitar style was very much inspired by American R&B, whereas Brian’s never was. Brian was a unique guitar player: he was able to extemporise a much more original way than most guitar players could. I hope he’ll forgive me for saying so, but I never perceived him as having the dangerous image which was necessary at the time — the cardigan says it all!.

LIGHTWEIGHT

“In retrospect, 1984 was lightweight, a bit fluffy” concedes Tim. “It was impossible not to be naively ambitious — that was part and parcel of it — and the primary motivation to do it was what we saw in the media as the end results of success. But I guess we were realistic about it — we were at school, after all. Also there was a good deal of pressure in the 60s from our parents, and the conservative generation, to conform."

Although a version of “I’m Taking Her Home” by 1984 was captured live on the Shepperton tape, and Brian occasionally guested with the Others on stage, it's worth stating once and for all that — despite the persistent rumours — he definitely doesn’t feature on "Oh Yeah". In fact, Pete ‘Woolly' Hammerton doesn't even play on the record — he only joined the band formally later on.

In the autumn of 1965, leaving Hampton Grammar with no fewer than four 'A' Levels and ten ‘O’ levels, Brian enrolled at Imperial College in Kensington, London, to read physics and infra-red astronomy. Before breaking up for the Christmas holidays that year, he played the first in a series of gigs with 1984 at the college, a tradition he continued later with Smile, and in their formative days with Queen. Although the exact date of the event has long since been forgotten, a very poor- quality tape still exists of 1984‘s college debut. The set was a typical one, comprising the group’s broad blend of pop, R&B and soul covers, and included the following songs: “Cool Jerk" (originally by the Capitols), ‘Respect" (Otis Redding), "My Girl" (the Temptations), “Shake" (Sam Cooke), “Stepping Stone" (the Monkees), “You Keep Me Hanging On" (the Supremes), “Whatcha Gonna Do Ahout it" ( Small Faces), “Substitute” (the Who), “How Can It Be” (the B-side of the Birds’ final single, “No Good Without You Baby”), “Dancing In The Street", “Dream" (Everly Brothers) and the Small Faces’ "Sha La La La Lee".

“Our repertoire was a little too eclectic to have developed into any particular style” reckons Tim Staffell. “But the Small Faces were quite influential. When we were at school, the songs were dredged from all sorts of areas. I’d always liked rhythm’n’blues. Brian’s input would have been Beatles-orientated, Dave’s as well. Richard Thompson would have been more into R&B, and Jag didn't really have an agenda as far as songs were concerned. Because of the nature of the material we covered, our approach to the gigs was almost schoollboy cabaret. 1984 was not a dangerous, moody rock band! Which may have something to do with the way Queen evolved."

1984 oponed 1966 with a couple of gigs at the Thames Rowing CIub in Putney; and once again, a tape recorder was set up to document the group’s progress. Two reels from January that year exist: the first is dated the 15th, and features “Im A Loser” (the Beatles), “I Wish You Would" ( the Yardbirds), “I Feel Fine" (the Beatles), “Little Egypt" (the Coasters), "Lucille” (Little Richard), “Too Much Monkey Business" (Chuck Berry), "I Got My Mojo Working” (Muddy Waters), "WalkingThe Dog” ( Rufus Thomas) and “Heart Full Of Soul" (the Yardbirds).

The second, dated two weeks later (29th January), demonstrates the great variety and confidence of a band which consistently renewed its repertoire. The show began with Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City", moving into the Cookies' “Chains" (popularised by the Beatles), “Walking The Dog", “Lucille", “Our Little Rendezvous" (Chuck Berry), “Jack O’ Diamonds" (Blind Lemon... (cont)

(cont) Jefferson, popularised by Lonnie Donegan), “I’ve Got My Mojo Working”, “Little Egypt" and Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man”. The band’s finale was a versión of Sonny Boy Williamson’s "Bye Bye Bird".

For an amateur band with little real pretension towards stardom, or even a serious attempt at securing a recording contract, a staggering amount of live 1984 material has been preserved on tape. Dave Dilloway, for instance, is the guardian of a seven-inch reel-to-reel, which he says reveals either a very long performance or a compilation of various unknown dates.

Either way, the tape is divided into five distinct sections, which might make tedious reading, but is an invaluable reference: 1) “Route 66", (unknown instrumental), “I’m Taking Her Home", “Too Much Monkey Business’, “Yesterday" (featuring Brian May on lead vocals), “Walking The Dog", and “ Lucille"; 2) “Little Rendezvous", "Keep On Running”, “I Feel Fine”, “Walking The Dog”, “Jack O’ Diamonds", “High Heeled Sneakers", “I Want To Hold Your Hand", “I Got My Mojo Working*, and “I Should Have Known Better”; 3) “Little Rendezvous", “Jump Back Baby Jump Back", “I Feel Fine”, “Bye Bye Bird", “Little Egypt", “Crazy House". “Lucille”, “Oh Yeah”, “Heatwave”, “Too Much Monkey Business", “I Should Have Known Better", and “I Got My Mojo Working"; 4) “My Generation", “Little Egypt", “Dancing In The Street", “Whatcha Gonna Do About It", “I’m A Man", “Heatwave", “Lucille", and “Bye Bye Bird"; and 5) “Heart Full Of Soul", “Too Much Monkey Business”, “Something’s Got A Hold On Me", “Keep On Running", “My Generation", "Tired Of Waiting", “Bright Lights. Big City" and “Happy Hendrick’s Polka".

“These are all domestic quality, single microphone recordings of early-era 1984", reveals Dave Dilloway. “It's mostly bluesy material, with some soul and Beatles songs. While the quality is basic, the sound is intelligible, although there isn’t a large amount of identifiable Brian guitarwork. That came later in the band's history, when we included covers of Crearn and Hendrix. Brian's solo vocals on 'Yesterday' (on the first segment) are quite clear, however."

For much of 1966, the band carried on in a similar vein — Brian's and the others' college work permitting, of course. For Brian May and his unsigned, Twickenham-based covers band, the highlight of the following year, 1967, was undoubtedly the gig he secured via through his contacts at the college — supporting Jimi Hendrix at Imperial. The date was 13th May, the day after the release of Hendrix's debut, “Are You Experienced". Brian May idolised Hendrix to such an extent that he'd been nicknamed “Brimi" — a combination of the two guitarists' names—so although 1984 had seen him perform before, it goes without saying they were thrilled when backstage, they actually bumped into the ascending star as they filed past his dressing-room. It’s a familar story, but it's one worth repeating: Jimi enquired memorably, “Which way’s the stage, man?*.

BLOSSOMED

1984's act had certainly blossomed by this point. Their attire was now obligatory Swinging London — or Swinging Middlesex — fare: frilly shirts, Regency jackets, striped hipsters secured with a white belt, and hairtyles extending inexorably over the ears, and indeed the eyes. “Somewhere along the line, there was an external influence there", says Tim Staffell. “There was someone calling the shots. I don’t think all that was self-motivated. It’s something I’ve never been comfortable with, which explains why I split away from it early on — certainly from Smile onwards — because it was going that way; as indeed it ended up with Queen. It's fair enough, but that sort of flamboyance is just not me. I look fairly uncomfortable in the picture of the band from that period. My idea of a rock musician is one with hair down his back, a dirty pair of Levi's on, looking at the floor, thoroughly unconcerned with the visual and external trappings, playing the most extraordinary virtuoso guitar. That was my attitude."

Back in February 1967, Brian’s local paper, the ‘Middlesex Chronicle’ caught up with the band, and captured Tim Staffell in an equally decisive mood; although here, he was more enthusiastic about the latest trend. "Psychodelic music is certainly here to stay”~he claimed. "It makes more of music than mere sound, it makes it a whole and complete art form." Dave Dilloway, who also handled the group's light show, added: “We use everything in our act, including things like shaving foam, and plastic bricks we throw around”.

The ‘Chronicle’ was obviously impressed, and its reporter had this to say about a performance by what it called “one of the most foward-looking groups today". “Standards, like ‘Heatwave' receive a very original treatment, mostly due to the sounds that Brian coaxes out of his guitar. Jazz chords and electronic sounds add feeling and nuance to numbers that are often churned out wholesale. Using two bass drums for a fuller sound, Richard's drumming, combined with the full bass riffs of Dave and the steady (rhythm guitar) work of John, provides a firm basis for experiments in sound — an opportunity which is not wasted."

“To be quite honest with you, there’s more substance in the literary content there, than in the musical," laughs Tim Staffell. "If someone genuinely thought that, then I'm surprised! Brian might have used a fuzz-box. but generally, it was au naturel. I remember in the Smile days, somebody wrote about ‘humming chords of wonder’, referring to my bass playing. The reality of it was that sometimes I did try and play chords on the bass guitar, which might have come out as a deep-throated roar, but actually sounded like a load of crap!"

“We did use to tickle about with a few lights, suggests Dave Dilloway, “but being a local band, money was tight and there wasn’t a fortune to spend on the band." As to 1984's psychodelic sound, Dave adds: “Brian did use a bit of fuzz, yes, and Pink Floyd influences and a bit of screaming guitar. He’d actually built a fuzz box into his guitar, which was fairly unique for the day, but typical Brian. If you look carefully at recent pictures of his “Red Special” you can see the fuzz switch taped over."

In September 1967, no doubt boosted by their praise — sincere or not — in the local press, the continuing evidence of their performance tapes and their recent Hendrix support slot, 1984 entered the local beats of a battle-of-the-bands competition at the Top...[ ]

...[ ] Rank Club in Croydon, just south of London. Effectively a promotion for Scotch tape, entrance to the contest could only be secured via a demo recorded on a Scotch reel. 1984’s effort duly arrived in the form of a two-track master, featuring covers of Marvin Gaye's “Ain’t That Peculiar?" and the Everly Brothers’ “Crying ln The Rain" (on stage, both tracks were usually enhanced by characteristic Brian May guitar solos, but conservatism prevailed, and they were absent in this instance). A copy of this recording still survives, carefully guarded by the custodian of the 1984 archive. “This tape is a quarter-inch, mono reel-to-reel," recalIs Dave Dilloway. “Tim took lead vocals on 'Ain't That Peculiar?’, and Tim and Brian duetted on ’Crying ln The Rain’. Brian's vocal style and tone can be clearly discerned, if one knows his voice. The songs were recorded in single takes, using a single microphone fed directly to the recorder. There was no mix facility so it has a ‘live' feel, a very good clean sound”.

The mix was achieved using the old fashioned technique of microphone position and relative volume levels of the amplified Instruments. “As far as I am aware, only the one (master) copy of this tape exists.”

As has been well-documented, after two sets at the competition (one of which saw Brian, Dave, John Garnham and drummer Richard Thompson acting as the back-up band for a singer called Lisa Perez), 1984 won the contest, and walked away with a reel of blank tape (Scotch, of course) and an album each on the CBS label. (Tim took the top prize, Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds Of Silence", Brian had to make do with a Barbra Streisand LP, and Dave Dilloway became the proud owner of an album by Irish bandleader Tommy Makem!). More importantly, their demo tape was forwarded to the CBS A&R department for the national showdown, although, clearly, they didn’t win.

True to form, 1984's performance that evening was committed to tape — for an unpublished review by ‘Melody’ Maker, no less — but was probably erased shortly afterwards. The twenty-minute set consisted of the Everlys’ "So Sad", Hendrix’s “Stone Free”, Buddy Knox’s “She’s Gone" and Eddie Floyd's “Knock On Wood". After the gig, the band were invited by a visiting promotor to participate in the all-night gala event which has since gone down as one of the key gigs of the London underground scene: Christmas On Earth Continued, at London's Olympia Theatre, on December 23rd 1967. 1984 was the lowest profile act at this decidedly high-profile event, and after Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Pink Floyd, the Herd, and Tyrannosaurus Rex had all taken to the stage, they only got to perform their humble set of covers at 5 o’clock in the morning. When Brian finally plugged in his ‘Red Special’, 1984 played a thirty-minute set to a very small, and less than enthusiastic, audience.

Also from 1967, and of far more interest, is 1984′s professionally-recorded Thames Television demo tape. During his first-year of study at Twickenham Technical College, Dave Dilloway had made friends with a number of technicians, or trainee technicians, at the Teddington-based ITV company which served the London area. The station had recently invested in new recording equipment, and rather than hire professional musicians at the usual union rate, in a set up similar to the first Queen sessions at the De Lane Lea studios, 1984 were let loose in the studio to record at their leisure. Dave Dilloway's carefully preserved tape still plays perfectly, and includes the following songs: "Hold On I’m Corning", “Knock On Wood“, “NSU", *How Can It Be”, two early run-throughs of the original May/ Staffell composition “Step On Me” (which eventually became the B- side to Smile's “Earth"), “Purple Haze", “Our Love Is Driftin* ”, and medleys of “Remember”/”Sweet Wine" and “Get Out My Life Woman”/ ”Satisfaction". The session ended with a run-through of "My Girl”.

AMALGAM

"What an extraordinary amalgam!" declares Tim Staffell today. “There’s Tamla, Cream, Hendrix, Lee Dorsey . . ‘Our Love Is Driftin' we’d have heard by Paul Butterfield. I’d forgotten there was such a large soul component in 1984!".

Dave Dilloway has the technical details: “This tape is the most recent, best and most representative of 1984 that I'm aware of. It is mono, but since it was made on good quality TV studio equipment and was carried out along the lines of a proper studio recording, with separately-mixed microphones for each source, it is remarkably good quality for its age. The material, except for ‘Step On Me', is aII cover versions, but as it dates from the late 1984 era, Brian’s playing is more prominent and effective, with his own style starting to show through. All the performances are competent — particularly Tim’s vocals and Brian's guitar; although the mix is a little heavy on John's rhythm guitar for some reason, probably the ‘ear’ of the recording engineer at the time. All tracks were laid down in one take, i.e., no overdubbing at all, so the sound is predominantly simple, as per our live versions."

And that was 1984′s swansong. In the spring of 1968, shortly afler the Thames recording, mainly due to the pressures of infrequent meetings and university studies — coupled with increasing musical differences — 1984 scaled down their operations drastically. Brian May left the band, and Tim Staffell took over on lead guitar for a while. A little later, Tim himself quit, leaving Dave Dilloway, John Garnham and Richard Thompson to rebuild the group, which soldiered on into the 70′s, content merely to play for fun. They all conceded that 1984 had been a good, solid, and popular local band, but that it didn’t have the necessary spark or originality to transform into a great one.

The Left Handed Marriage

ln the summer of 1965, in another corner of Hampton Grammar School, Brian May’s old friend Bill Richards (who had been a fleeting, early member of 1984 before it acquired its futuristic name), and his colleagues Jenny Hill (née Rusbridge), Henry Deval and Terry Goulds, formed a folk-rock band called the Left-Handed Marriage, named after an archaic form of marrying beneath oneself. By January 1967, the quartet had progressed to the point where they had issued their own privately-pressed album, “On The Right Side Of The Left Handed Marriage", which ran to just fifty copies (and, incidentally, has since acquired cult status among collectors, with a £600 price tag to match).

Although naturally familiar with the album, Brian May as yet had not been involved with the band. That changed in March 1967, after Bill signed a twelve-month contract with EMI's music publishing company Ardmore & Beechwood — a deal secured through the efforts of Brian Henderson, a former member of Edinburgh beat outfit the Mark Five, and more recently, the bassist in Patrick Campbell- Lyons' 60′s psychodelic band, Nirvana. Bill approached Brian to help him create a “fuller" sound for the Left Handed Marriage, with a request to provide guitar and backing vocals on some recording sessions.

On the understanding that the project wouldn’t interfere with his commitment to 1984, Brian agreed. On 4th April 1967, he joined Jenny, Henry, Terry and Bill in AMC Sound, an amateur studio in Manor Road, Twickenham, to record four songs: “Give Me Time” (later changed to “I Need Time"), "She Was Once My Friend", “Sugar Lump Girl” and “Yours Sincerely” (which was basically “Give Me Time" backwards, with new lyrics pinched from the Russian author Pushkin).

The songs were all cleanly-recorded, melodic atempts at 1967 pop (despite the Left Handed Marriage's later classification, there's little actual folk music in evidence). “She Was Once My Friend" is the pick of the bunch, thanks to its Kinks-like structure — complete with Bill Richard's/ Ray Davies-soundalike vocal and, albeit way down in the mix, flashes of that distinctive Brian May 'Red Special’ guitar sound. Acetates of the AMC EP were cut, and the idea had been to release the songs as a commercial EP. Instead, the set merely became the Left Handed Marriage’s first demo for their publishers, although it did lead to the offer to record at a more professional session — at EMI’s prestigious Abbey Road studios.

The Abbey Road session took place on 28th June 1967, when Left Handed Marriage were joined by Brian and 1984′s Dave Dilloway, who was drafted in to play bass. Two further tracks were cut: the reworked “I Need Time",...[ ]

...[ ] and a new song called “Appointment". At this stage, there was more talk of issuing a record, this time a single, and a release date of August was even discussed. This never materialised either, and again 7″ acetates are all that remain.

Although Ardmore & Beechwood were pleased with the results, they still thought the Left Handed Marriage could improve their sound even further, and on 31st July 1967, they booked the band into another studio, this time Regent Sound in central London. As Dave Dilloway was not available, another friend, John Frankel, was called upon to play bass and piano. The eight-track Regent Sound machine was something of a technological marvel, and the session was flawlessly recorded, resulting in new versions of “I Need Time”, “She Was Once My Friend" (which also remixed and edited for the abandoned single), and "Appointment".

Despite the studio quality of the tape, Ardmore & Beechwood failed to place the songs with a record label, and like so many groups before and since, the Left Handed Marriage quietly disappeared from view. It was left to frontman Bill Richards belatedly to issue the fruits of this last session, when in February 1993, he tagged the three Regent Sound recordings — the final mix of “I Need Time”, the abridged version of “She Was Once A Friend Of Mine” and the final mix of “Appointment” — onto the end of “Crazy Chain”, a CD recorded by the reformed Left Handed Marriage, which itself was prompted by collector's interest in the group’s original 1967 LP, “The Right Hand Side Of...” . Most of the master tapes for the LHM recordings featuring Brian May have Iong since disappeared along with the Regent Sound studio, and (with the exception of "She Was Once My Friend") the Richards/May collaborations on the CD were digitally remastered from acetates.

RECORD COLLECTOR Nº 195, NOVEMBER 1995

➡NEXT: ROGER TAYLOR’S REACTION

@natromanxoff, @mephisto92, @moviestorian, @39-brian, @an-abyss-called-life, @his-majesty-king-mercury, @x5vale @onegoldenglance @i-live-for-queen, @brian-39-may, @toomuchlove-willkillyou, @brimaymay, @sail-away-sweet-sister, @briianmaay, @inui-mycroft @brianmayislongaway, @balticlover, @astrophysicist-guitar-god, @miez-lakatz, @brianmayoucease, @jesus-in-a-life-boat, @drummerqueenrmt, @iminlovewithrogscar @roger-taylors-car, @crosmopolitan @silapril, @sherrifanciesfriskyfreddie @tenderbri, @brianmydear, @thosequeenboys, @millionairewaltz-carpediem, @painandpleasure86, @bribrifrenchfry, @xlucylennonx, @a-night-at-the-abbey-road, @inthedayswhenlandswerefew, @madformeddowstaylor, @drowseoftaylor @queenrogertaylorfan, @let-roger-get-a-lunch, @queen-for-life, @rethought, @mymakeupmaybeflaking, @old-but-still-a-child, @let-roger-get-a-lunch, @warriorteam1924, @funnydressesweirdhairanddance, @painkiller80, @thefanhuman13, @yourtieddownmother, @hgmercury39, @brimi-stardust, @thefairyfellermercury, @retroromantics, @sailawaysweetbrimi, @sophiaintheskywithdiamonds, @deacytits@rhysjoejoshtomfarisblog, @holybrianmaywritingbear, @lydiannode, @39-yellow-daffodils , @ure-gonna-loveme-when-u-seeme, @kaykaybeachgirl, @foxmonkey, @saik-ava, @deakysgurl, @redspecialandclogsandcurls, @briansrainbowsocks, @delilahmay39, @ohmybribri, @bless-the-queen, @infunitehearbeat, @sketchiesscketches, @everythingaboutfreddie, @doitforthevine67, @recordsoftheseventies, @tenementfunsterwithpurpleshoes, @drummah-in-a-rocknroll-band, @beatlegirl1968, @maylorsqueen, @shearrehartatacc, @gralto, @alittlepeoplemagic, @rainbowsockbrian, @frejudy, @drivenbybri, @yourlocalmusicalprostitute, @omb-xx, @sassymaylor, @somekindofroger, @starlightmay, @rhysjoejoshtomfarisblog, @freddiemercuryismylife, @sunshine112, @chrysochromulina @glitteryloveravenue, @deakyislife51, @0-primejive-0, @just-a-skinny-lad, @drivenbybrianmay

#Queen Before Queen #Pre-Queen Series #Brian May #Tim Staffell #1984 #The Left Handed Marriage #🎤🎵🎸👑⭐

178 notes · View notes

wlw-lovestruck-fiction · 3 years

Note

Can I request a Viv Tang fic or hc?

It's angst, where The Poppy leaves MC to take the blame on one of their heists, promising that they would break her out, but never did. Yet despite that she never sold them out.

Then Nadia was the one who broke her out, manipulating her and plotting lies in her head to make her join Flashpoint.

The Poppy did do their everything to break MC out but everytime Nadia intercepts them. So when they finally tracked down where MC and Nadia is, on the location of their latest operation, they tried to reason to her. But MC's loyalty was too deep for Nadia maybe because Nadia also made MC think that she loves her or something.

And maybe the last words could be:

"Next time I won't hesitate to tell them to pull the trigger, maybe I'll be the one to pull the trigger myself."

Make it as angsty as possible please and thank you in advance!

Warning: Mentions of murder.

...

Prison life was hell. Try as she might, MC couldn’t endure it as well as she thought she could. There was an enemy in every shadow, in every corner. There was no one to lean against, no support.

The days dragged on and on, virtually endless, no help in sight.

MC remembered the warmth of the Poppy, their joyous celebrations, the life in their eyes as they planned a heist that would ultimately unveil in failure. No one had known then that it would go wrong, and MC couldn’t help but wonder if they would have cared. If they would have changed anything in the plan.

There wasn’t a moment in this damn place where people didn’t shove it in her face—no doubt it was on purpose, why the heck would they want to drag a failure like you around? —and scoffed at her when they saw her, not believing for a second that this scared little kid could belong to such a famous group.

Two weeks in, MC had abandoned any hope that she would be rescued. She was stuck for fifteen years in this place. Investigators would come in periodically, their eyes stone cold as they probed her for answers, but MC kept her mouth shut and looked away. They would get physical sometimes, intent on getting answers, but MC say nothing.

The memory of a place she truly belonged in was still fresh in her mind. She had always been an emotional person… it was no surprise she had no desire to sell them out. At least not yet. Give her a couple of months, and maybe she’d be bitter enough to do it.

Three weeks in, a blast had knocked the whole prison into chaos. The sheer relief that flooded her was only slightly evaporated by the spark of anger and indignation in her chest, but she still hurried out, thirsty for freedom.

She expected to see Vivienne’s impish smirk, hand extended in her direction, no remorse in her eyes, but was surprised by golden hair and a tight, crisp suit that had once been white, now marred by dirt and smoke and blood.

“Oh good, I was wondering how much target practice I would have before you showed up,” the woman said, her grin as sharp as a knife’s edge even though she was standing so casually, as if they weren’t standing at the edge of a broken prison wall but in a café.

MC froze, caught off guard. Someone—another inmate—ran behind her, intent on reaching freedom, and the woman whipped a gun in his direction so fast he didn’t even have time to react. His body joined the pile of bodies by the side, momentum making it flop like a sad, broken doll. The woman hums to herself as she reloads the gun.

“Hurry up, MC, I don’t have all day.”

“Wha—? But you just shot—”

She shrugs, nonchalant. “Yeah, well, since they are no use to me… I might as well practice my aim, no?”

“…I—”

“Hurry up and come here, MC,” the woman says, impatience making her voice firmer and deadlier. Her arm snaps up, the sound of a gunshot making the air vibrate, and MC covers her ears and flinches. Someone lets out a pained gurgle and the thump right behind her makes MC shiver. A swift glance reveals it’s a guard. “The cavalry has arrived—next shot is at your feet if you don’t move. Right. Now.”

MC has never run so fast in her entire life. The woman’s grin returns, pleased, and after one last shot, she guides MC out into a waiting helicopter. They are out of the prison without much trouble. Still a bit anxious, MC takes one of the seats, stiffly. In contrast, the woman lets herself drop in the seat in front of her and all but beams at her.

“Sorry about that—I like to make things dramatic. Name’s Nadia.”

“That was… a tad more dramatic than I would have liked…”

“You’ll get used to it in no time,” she replies, waving her hand as if it’s no big deal. She smirks and lets the gun drop on MC’s lap, who goes very still, staring at the device in horror. “Safety’s on, chill. I’d never do anything to you, MC.”

“You literally threatened me like three seconds ago.”

“Because we were going to get caught otherwise! I wouldn’t have acted on it, promise.”

MC chances a look at her eyes—there’s a dangerous amusement dancing in them, like the light blue of a river that doesn’t seem to have a very strong current until you are swept off into a certain death. There are no second chances with this woman, no false appearances. MC doesn’t realize how reliving this raw honesty is until it washes over her, and she wonders if right now she’s at the edge of the river. One wrong move…

“Thank you for getting me out of there.”

“No big deal. I heard what happened with the Poppy—figures they aren’t as noble as they make everyone believe.”

Those words cut into MC like a frosty knife.

“I… I thought they sent you to break me out…”

Nadia scoffs. “Me, working with stuck-ups like them? Now that’s a good laugh.”

“Why did you bail me out, then?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” She leans forward. “The Poppy threw away some very valuable talent. As any proper thief would do, I claimed it for myself.”

“…threw away, huh?”

“They were quite satisfied with themselves, too. Imagine the fit they’ll have when they know you’re with Flashpoint now.”

It’s hard to believe her words. The image of a joyous Poppy is still fresh in MC’s mind, but Nadia’s words tint it a dull reddish-brown, just like a faded photograph. She thinks about Vivienne’s words, about her promise to break her out, and frowns.

“You speak as though I’ve already joined your little group.”

“There’s no other option, MC. I’m not letting a talent like you slip away… plus, don’t you want to get back at them? Show them what a horrible mistake they did?”

“…”

“Or just let them seethe silently in rage, sure. Can’t say I love your approach, but eh.”

Her fingers curl around the grip of the gun. “What happens if I don’t want to work for you?”

Nadia looks at her with keen interest, still with a lazy smirk. “Then you’d be volunteering for target practice.”

“I thought you say you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I don’t hurt my coworkers, no, but if you cross me—whoever you are—then you seal your fate.”

MC hums, looking at the firearm in her lap, moving her thumb over the safety. After a small pause, in which she glances over at the pilot, she moves her hand away.

“Fine. I’ll join.”

“Great!”

Flashpoint, true to its name, prefers more flashy heists.

MC wasn’t too comfortable with their modus operandi at first, but got used to it soon enough.

Nadia was a strict leader. Every conversation with her was intense and dangerous, especially when she was in a bad mood, but she was thorough.

She didn’t mince her words. She was as honest as could be, and after months caught in Vivienne’s game, Nadia was a breath of fresh air. MC couldn’t be really blamed for falling in love with her, right? In the end, Nadia was the only one willing to support her.

That’s why it had been such a surprise when, in the middle of their latest heist, the Poppy had intervened.

They had been as organized as always—Flashpoint was completely caught off guard, the communication lost. MC could deal with not knowing what happened to the rest, so long as she had Nadia with her.

Nadia had been strangely amused when the Poppy crashed their heist, not worried at all, gripping her knife without a care in the world. That was reassuring… at least during this forced encounter, MC would have her by her side.

And it was comforting to see that Nadia hadn’t taken out her gun yet.

Vivienne is the one who speaks, voice as demanding as firewood smoke, and MC goes deadly still when the seductress goes straight to the point instead of dancing around the subject as she usually does. “Nadia prevented us from breaking you out.”

Her words ring hollow. Now that MC has been out of her influence long enough, it’s easy to ignore her words. They are fake, anyway. They must be.

Nadia scoffs, wolfish grin still in place. “Blaming me now, huh? That’s low. I thought you would have come up with a better excuse.”

Remy instantly starts to explain the foiled attempts, and their most recent efforts to find Flashpoint now that MC was with them, but MC can’t look at him without remembering her time in prison—dark, dark, not an ally in sight, contempt in every corner—and it’s enough to make her bristle.

How dare they? How dare they spill these lies after leaving her to rot in jail? After lying to her for months, making her believe she was one of them?

The fact that they had left her to take the fall was insulting. If it had been Nadia, she would have stayed with her. They would have gone down together, guns blazing. Nadia was the type of person that gave everything or nothing at all.

Vivienne tries to speak again, a desperation in her eyes MC had never seen before, but the sight is oddly satisfying.

Nadia catches it, because of course she does, her smirk softening as she reaches for her gun and aims casually. “Better beg for your lives now.”

And Nadia’s also a very dramatic person, that’s for sure. MC almost wants to laugh at their faces, eyes trained on the gun, expression tainted with disbelief, but MC sees no point in killing them. Not like this, at least.

“What? You still don’t want to get back at them?” But even then, even with how much she’s itching to pull the trigger, Nadia lowers the weapon and scowls. “Fine.”

“Don’t come back to me with this bullshit. Next time I won’t hesitate to tell Nadia to pull the trigger. Maybe I’ll even pull the trigger myself.”

Vivienne sets her jaw and stands still, and MC gives her a small, triumphant smile before she follows Nadia out of the museum.

#Anonymous #answered #lovestruck #lovestruck fanfiction #qot #queen of thieves #qot nadia #lovestruck nadia #queen of thieves nadia #nadia pshenichnikova #nadia x mc #angst

28 notes · View notes

superherotiger · 3 years

Text

Irondad Analysis: The Endgame Hug

OOOH BOY you picked some good ones @lbigreyhound13! I’m going to do two separate posts so we have the proper time to explore each one, so let’s start by diving into one of the most iconic Irondad scenes in all of canon!

The really important thing to remember about this scene is that even though it is short, it is overwhelmingly emotional thanks to the context surrounding it. Firstly, the last time Tony saw Peter was when he died on Titan. This is his last memory of the bright, heroic Peter Parker:

This is absolutely devastating for Tony because not only is it the one thing he always feared would happen, but as I explained in my Ferry Scene analysis, it’s also the one thing that he couldn’t live with.

When Tony returns to earth, one of the first things he says is “I lost the kid...”, and you can see the pure agony on his face as he explains this to Steve who is unaware of the importance Peter had to Tony.

Years later when Endgame rolls around, we can see that Tony has a picture of he and Peter in their family kitchen, and it is that photo that spurs him into action to create the time machine. Even now we can see how much of an impact Peter’s death has had on Tony in those past five years, and how Tony tries to keeps him alive through photographs and memories in the safety of his home and family.

So Tony has kept Peter in his thoughts for almost five years now, and the guilt he has over failing to save him back on Titan is surely still embedded deep inside his heart. This is why it’s so important to their reunion in Endgame, because all the emotions are portrayed entirely through their body language and facial expressions.

So firstly, Peter comes to save Tony:

Though Peter is aware that 5 years have passed, he hasn’t truly had the time to comprehend it, so he approaches and converses with Mr Stark as if nothing had changed. On the other hand, it takes Tony a few moments to get his bearings after getting knocked to the ground, so he doesn’t realise that Peter is the one that pulls him up at first.

There is an immediate shift when Tony recognises Peter though, and you can see it in the sharpening of his gaze as Peter continues to ramble. This is his kid. His kid which he hasn’t seen in 5 years, alive before his very eyes and talking at a thousand words a minute just like he remembers.

This look of pure disbelief and unfiltered hope on Tony’s face is so powerful. You can tell he’s trying to decide if this is real or not, as I’m sure it’s a scenario he’s imagined more than once only to face bitter disappointment when it didn’t come true.

Peter continues to ramble though, solidifying to Tony that this is real and also causing a bit of exasperation which you can see in the second image because Peter doesn’t understand how important this moment is. How much time was lost between them. This is the first time they’ve seen each other in five years, and Peter is chattering away as if it were the latest Star Wars news hah!

Instead of cutting him off though, Tony begins to approach for a hug, and you can see the gears turning in Peter’s mind as he tries to understand this. Peter asks “What are you doing?” and Tony mumbles something that I don’t believe has been officially confirmed yet, but what many (including myself) believe to be “Hold me kid, hold me.”

Sensing the weight of this moment, Peter closes his eyes and returns the hug, relaxing into his mentor’s hold. You can tell there’s still a bit of confusion there from the pinch in his eyebrows, but he accepts the affection none-the-less and waits for Tony’s next move. He trusts him after all, so he doesn’t question why they are hugging in the middle of a battlefield.

Then we cut to this shot, and damn, this moment. It’s so raw with emotions, and you can see Tony’s expression literally shift from awe, to gratefulness, and finally, relief. This is the moment he’s been waiting five years for. To hold Peter again in his arms, solid and secure, and know that he won’t fall away into dust again. As he closes his eyes he readjusted his hold to be a little bit tighter, and if you watch closely you can even see his shoulders jumping a little in muffled cries.

Peter melts further into the hug, his expression at ease now instead of confused as he holds Tony a little closer himself. Maybe he doesn’t understand the full gravity of the situation yet, but he can tell that this means a lot to his mentor, so he returns the embrace with just as much strength and says “Oh,,, this is nice.”

Yes Peter, it is pretty damn nice.

...

Alright, I’ve rambled enough about this one thirty second scene hah! It is iconic though, and I’m so glad you let me pick it apart! Hope you have a great day!

-Superherotiger

Irondad Analysis Requests!

#irondad #spiderson #tony stark #peter parker #endgame #irondad analysis #irondad hug #one of the best moments ever I swear

97 notes · View notes

supersonic-womanofyou · 4 years

Photo

My first attempt at an interview fic! Read this on Ao3, or under the cut.

Spotlight on Eric Bittle

Interview by Elizabeth Chu

Photographs by Jack Zimmermann

The internet personality, author, and baker talks about his childhood, his relationship with Providence Falconers captain Jack Zimmermann, being a LGBTQ role model, why he struggled with his overnight success, and his upcoming cookbook.

I meet Eric Bittle in person for the first time on a Saturday afternoon, in a trendy coffee shop in downtown Providence. Even though I’ve heard of it in passing, I’ve never been inside. Eric obviously has, since when I approach the table where he’s chosen to sit, Eric is already chatting familiarly with one of the waitresses.

But after a couple minutes talking to Eric, I mentally revisit that assumption. Eric Bittle has a way of putting people at ease, of making even the most distant strangers feel like long-lost friends-- through his warm personality, but also through his seemingly-never ending supply of homemade baked goods. By the time I sit down across from him, I’m already in possession of a whole pie and two jars of jam.

Most of the celebrities I’ve met have on screen personalities that are vastly different in person, but the Eric Bittle I meet that Saturday could have been pulled directly out of his Netflix series or one of the episodes from his vastly popular vlog. He’s perennially bright and cheery, with a Southern drawl that’s been blunted by years in New England, but is still very present. When I mention it, Eric laughs. “I used to hate my accent, but I think it’s become as part of my brand as pies are. I’d probably lose all of my followers if I started talking like a Yankee,” he jokes.

The source of Bittle’s accent is his hometown-- Madison, Georgia, a town of barely four thousand people. When I ask what drove him to move up north, he gestures to himself as a whole. “Not too many opportunities for a baking, skating, Beyonce-loving gay boy in Morgan County.” He turns more serious, though, when he continues: “I was bullied a lot as a child. When I think back to my childhood, to living in Georgia-- for people who looked or acted different, it could be suffocating. I remember feeling like my future was just so starkly outlined for me-- going to a state school, settling down with a nice girl, spending the rest of my life just pretending. It sounds like overdramatic teenage angst now, I know, but I always knew if I wanted to live honestly, I needed to get out.”

And so Eric applied-- and was accepted to--Samwell University in Massachusetts, which touts itself as one of the most LGBTQ friendly schools in America, under the motto “one in four, maybe more.” According to Eric, it’s where he began to come to terms with himself and his identity, where he finally said the words “I’m gay” out loud, where he continued to bake and vlog and began to think seriously about a career in both, and where, perhaps most famously, he met his now-husband, Providence Falconers captain Jack Zimmermann.

“We both played on the hockey team, but we weren’t exactly friends at first,” Bittle says about his relationship with Zimmermann.

So, of course, I have to ask him-- what is it like, being a baker married to a hockey player? Eric and his husband seem like almost comical counterpoints in every aspect of their careers and personalities. Eric makes his living through baking and cooking, Jack plays in the notoriously-macho NHL. Eric has built a brand and a food empire off of cheeriness and Southern hospitality, Jack has a reputation of being a “hockey robot,” with his cold, generally disagreeable demeanor during interviews.

“Well, with it all laid out like that, it really does sound like we’re night and day,” Eric laughs. “But honestly? We just work. We both love skating-- that’s what we bonded over in college, actually. We also both technically majored in history, even though we have very different specialities and did so for pretty different reasons. But even our differences are compatible. Like, I love talking, he doesn’t, so we’re never talking over each other or silent. Also, pro hockey players have to eat an insane number of calories, so Jack’s always there to eat my cooking, and that’s really all I can ask for.”

Eric and Jack, who played on a line together briefly at Samwell, took the sports world by storm seven years ago when they kissed on the ice after the Falconers won the Stanley Cup, making Jack the first openly LGBTQ player in the NHL. The pair broke yet another barrier for LGBTQ people in hockey soon after, when Eric became the first openly gay NCAA Division I hockey captain.

When I ask Eric if he ever thought about following in his partner’s footsteps and pursuing a career in professional hockey, he just laughs. “Oh, definitely not. I love being on the ice, but I don’t think I would have made it very far in the NHL or AHL.”

His fame may have started out in the (relatively niche) world of professional hockey, but since graduating from Samwell, Eric has found incredible success beyond the legacy of that historic kiss. His first book, published five years ago, spent several weeks on the New York Times Food and Diet bestseller list, and was applauded as a fresh, vibrant take on Southern cuisine and desserts. Check, Please reads as seventy percent cookbook, thirty percent memoir, with every page infused with Bittle’s indomitable, ubiquitous personality. His vlog, which he started in high school and has updated continuously ever since, has millions of subscribers, who tune in every week to hear Bittle talk about everything from pies and cookies to relationships and family. Finally, and perhaps most famously, Bittle hosted his own Netflix series last year, applauded as a combination of Marie Kondo and Queer Eye, in which he taught baking with his usual brand of positivity and universal appeal, interspersed with feel-good moments and life lessons.

It strikes me that while Bittle’s career may have been jump-started by his relationship with Jack Zimmermann, he’s certainly managed to make a name for himself in the years since. To the hockey world, he may still be an afterthought to Jack Zimmermann, but to the baking world (and a good portion of Netflix’s viewership), the name Jack Zimmermann is an afterthought to that of Eric Bittle.

“Jack definitely gets a kick out of it when we’re in public together and I get recognized, and he doesn’t,” Eric says. “It’s kind of crazy, actually-- I definitely couldn’t have imagined all this ten years ago, back in college or in high school.”

And what did Eric imagine himself doing? “To be honest, I don’t think I had any idea. When I decided to go to Samwell, I didn’t even have a major in mind or anything. I just wanted to get out of Georgia. And at Samwell-- I mean, I majored in American History, of all things. Talk about a useless degree! I literally just chose the major that let me take the most baking or baking-adjacent classes.” He pauses, and laughs. “It drives Jack crazy, actually-- I never have a plan for anything, really, big or small. I’m the kind of person who just crosses my fingers and hope it all shakes out for the best.”

His husband’s opinion aside, this tactic seems to have worked out pretty well for Eric. His next, eagerly anticipated cookbook, which follows much in the vein of his Netflix show, is due to come out in two months this August. “It’s going to be focused on easy, cheap cooking and baking that’s still healthy and fulfilling. I think there’s a mindset that to make tasty, healthy food you need to have expensive ingredients and tools, or a lot of time on your hands, or have a lot of experience. But like-- I made food for an entire hockey team in a frat house on a college student’s allowance for four years, so I know something about cooking healthy on a budget,” he jokes. “I really just want to make good, healthy food accessible for everyone.”

Well, he’s managed to do that, and more. Eric Bittle’s career so far has certainly been a whirlwind. He’s gone from publishing his first cookbook to hosting his own show in what’s only been a matter of years.

“I do have to pinch myself sometimes, “ Eric says about his dizzyingly quick ascent to fame. “Like, Carrie Underwood tagged me in a tweet about hockey husbands the other day. Carrie Underwood!” The disbelief is clear in his voice. “I mean, Jack’s always been the bigger fan of country music, but the Georgia boy in me had to lie down for a moment when I saw the notification. So I think-- I still can’t really believe all of it, you know? It feels like yesterday I was still about to graduate college, with barely any plan and procrastinating on my thesis. And I guess sometimes-- sometimes I do feel a bit guilty, you know? Like-- there’s so many people fighting for this, fighting for what I’ve got-- getting books published, getting a show, everything else. I definitely had a leg up in name recognition because of Jack and hockey, and even when Jack and weren’t married yet, I never had to worry about having a roof over my head if the vlog wasn’t bringing in enough money or the cookbook wasn’t selling well enough.” He pauses, pensive, and it’s not the first time in this conversation that I mentally reassess my first assumptions about Eric Bittle. Behind the nationally famous smile and welcoming accent is a thoughtful young man still grappling with becoming a public figure and a role model, with a sprinkling of imposter syndrome, who doesn’t understand exactly what millions of people across the country see in him.

But perhaps that as well is an unfair assessment. It’s clear that Eric has a refreshing genuiness that few public figures possess, and that this is part of what has managed to speak to so many people from all backgrounds. That on some level, his modesty about his own fame is part of what constitutes his appeal.

When I mention this, Eric flushes a bright shade of pink. “Oh, aren’t you a flatterer. Well, I suppose so.”

So after this cookbook, what’s next? Is fatherhood on the horizon?

“I did mention that I never have a plan, didn’t I?” he quips. But he does confide that he and Jack have been talking about having a family. “We’ve always wanted kids, but there’s always been something going on. Jack’s job and being on roadies all the time, me trying to get my career started. We don’t want our kids to be raised by babysitters and nannies, you know? We want to be there for them, so while it’s definitely something we’re considering, we’re trying to balance timing. But it has been a couple years, so.” He blushes. “We’re revisiting the idea.”

“But other than that-- I have been approached about the possibility of some other projects and shows in the future, but I probably can’t talk about those,” he says. “And though it’s always been a dream of mine to own a bakery, that would be a pretty huge commitment. So I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m not really sure exactly what comes next.” Nevertheless, he grins, as if to say, and isn’t that exciting ?

Fatherhood or his own bakery-- I’m sure that no matter what comes next for Eric Bittle, he’ll forge ahead with his characteristic positivity and Southern grace, with plenty of baked goods along the way. *

#omgcp #eric bittle #jack zimmermann #interview #multimedia fic #art #magazine #fic #omgcp fic #zimbits #pov outsider #omgcheckplease

534 notes · View notes