Well, Then...
Mar. 10th, 2011 10:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedI've just spent the last three nights watching Take That videos on You Tube, poking about Hell Yeah Take That! on Tumblr, reading Take That RPS, and yes, buying the newest Take That album on iTunes.
Also, I've talked a friend into seeing The Eagle on Monday night at the very last theatre in the area still showing it. (Okay, it didn't take much talking into. I might have mentioned there was slash. And said friend might have enthusiastically agreed to go.)
I blame some of you.
And when I say some of you, I mostly mean![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
halotolerant and sineala. And Robbie Williams, of course.
And really, I should say "credit" rather than "blame."
Here, have the Take That vid that started all of this:
And a pic of Jamie Bell in The Eagle.
I now return to my regularly scheduled session of drabble writing. (Starsky & Hutch forloyseofverlaine!) Though is it really a drabble when it's edging ever closer to 1,000 words?
Also, I've talked a friend into seeing The Eagle on Monday night at the very last theatre in the area still showing it. (Okay, it didn't take much talking into. I might have mentioned there was slash. And said friend might have enthusiastically agreed to go.)
I blame some of you.
And when I say some of you, I mostly mean
halotolerant and sineala. And Robbie Williams, of course.And really, I should say "credit" rather than "blame."
Here, have the Take That vid that started all of this:
And a pic of Jamie Bell in The Eagle.
I now return to my regularly scheduled session of drabble writing. (Starsky & Hutch for
loyseofverlaine!) Though is it really a drabble when it's edging ever closer to 1,000 words?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-03-17 12:02 am (UTC)Have more stuff tiem! \o/
Here's a picspam I did with lots more in comments - you need these images in your life:
http://halotolerant.livejournal.com/38269.html#cutid1
GQ Interview from 2007 as jpeg:
http://bp0.blogger.com/_uvTUmSrlyb0/RqJGDCSUi9I/AAAAAAAABIs/QZZXHdodbw4/s1600-h/gq6.jpg
contains the following exchange:
'If you were a girl, [a japanese fan] asks through a translator, which one of the band would you marry?
"I think Jason's the best looking" says Howard, gamely, "but I'd marry Gary - he's all cuddly."
"I'd loved to be fucked off Howard," says Gary, to mild consternation from the international press officer (he apologises to her later).
"I think Gary," says Mark. "He's got loads of money. But I'd divorce him after two years and marry J."
"I think I'd go for a threesome," says Jason, diplomatically.'
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Date: 2011-03-17 01:05 am (UTC)I actually find the "whatcha lookin' at" lyric, as delivered by him, sort of adorable, but yeah, in the general run of things, he fails pretty spectacularly at being threatening.
I'm definitely going to pinch some of those pic spam shots. Yowza.
And that GQ interview was very interesting. The bit where Mark displays his vulnerability about his position in the bad at first ("I don't know what my role was...I was very, very fortunate to be honest") just makes me want to hug him and feed him cookies and tell him everything will be all right. And that right there is his role: to be adorable! (Actually, I'm falling for his voice as well. I'm fond of a number of singers with flawed voices, and his has some interesting flaws. Barlow's voice is objectively a lot better, but it does absolutely nothing for me.)
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Date: 2011-03-17 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-17 02:10 am (UTC)Catching up on nearly 20 years of a fandom has been sort of like psychic whiplash. There's the cute stuff, and then I'll run into an article about Mark ending up in rehab and it'll just pull me up short. And set off those protective instincts even more, of course.
Amazon has done a bang up job and shipped out the DVDs this afternoon. I'm hoping to have them in a day or two! Then I shall inflict more TT goodness on the unsuspecting Sweetie! (Not so unsuspecting, really. I told him at dinner they were on the way. *g*)
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Date: 2011-03-17 03:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-18 12:39 am (UTC)I like 'psychic whiplash' - describes it well! There was a lot less to catch up on with I first got into TT in 2008 but still a huge chunk of backstory. I'd definitely see 'For the Record' - it's not always easy viewing but I love watching it *knowing* that Gary and Robbie are going to be friends eventually! *iz soppy*
Described as the 'civil partnership duet' (yes, I know, no Markie *g*)
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Date: 2011-03-18 01:49 am (UTC)That is a lovely rendition of Shame. I am gradually overcoming my aversion to Gary and coming to appreciate the guy. (I've had this instinctive, serious dislike of Gary from the start, and couldn't put my finger on why. I finally realized he looks like the grown up version of the kid who beat me up all through grade school who's name was, wait for it, Jerry. I can't blame Barlow for that, I know. l figure a bit more OT4/OT5 goodness and I'll be over it.)
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Date: 2011-03-19 12:36 am (UTC)When I was in aforementioned formative years getting into pop, Gary Barlow was (in no small part thanks to Robbie's very vocal opinions about him) the least cool thing ever, his name was a joke. That he has got past that point still amazes me sometimes and I dare say amazes him. I felt a kind of natural sympathy for him at first, but also swiftly realised he's the natural leader/competent/slytherin-ish type that I do rather like *g* And he's had this personal journey which he discusses in his book basically realising that he was a prick to the others not a little bit in the past and that he helped make Jason, Mark and Robbie's lives in particular more traumatic than they needed to be - but he acknowledges this and apologises and moves on and I really like that *g*
When I got into TT back in 2008, the idea of Robbie and Gary ever appearing in public together still seemed impossible - I still can't quite believe it some days now!
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Date: 2011-03-19 02:02 am (UTC)Apart from personal association, I think I subconsciously pinged a bit to the formerly prickish side of Barlow, and that put me off him a bit. I like super-competent blokes, but have a natural aversion to anyone who abuses his position. It is good to know he's moved well beyond that now, because he really does seem to think about the others now, and works to make sure everyone is having a good time. And my natural affection for the underdog is glad he's overcome being a cultural joke. (His biography sounds fascinating. I will not order it. I will not order it. )
Given their personal history, it is astounding that Robbie and Gary not only are on stage together, but honestly seem to be getting along quite well.
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Date: 2011-03-19 02:03 pm (UTC)His autobiography is very interesting *is unhelpful with the not!ordering thing* and very self-aware and really quite slashy as well (lovely descriptions of when they first ever reformed and gave a press conference Howard falling to the floor weeping afterwards and Jason hugging him...) but respectful of the privacy of the others too. If you ever watch their old concerts etc you can see that he's taking himself very seriously and is oblivious to how the others look when he talks about how great their manager is etc and around the split time when he was about to go solo he is not very likeable but what I love is how he went through that and learnt and grew *g* And yes, if you watch 'Look Back Don't Stare' you will see that they all feel looked after by him now - he's massively more secure in himself than any of the others and they rely on that *g*
I genuinely think they are. I think a lot of what was between them had to do with other issues they both had and they've both grown up a lot since the various events that hurt each other. God, it hits my soppy happy ending kink so very hard *g*
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Date: 2011-03-19 06:09 pm (UTC)Okay, you're making Barlow's autobiography sound way too interesting. Also, he sounds like he's grown up a heck of a lot, and the fact that he's looking after the rest of them does rather endear him to me.
I definitely have to get me mitts on Look Back.
I'm finding this an interesting fandom, because usually I get involved in fandoms where I bitch if the boys/lads/men talk about their feelings and weep in each other's arms. But with TT, they actually act that way. For real! Extraordinary! It's sort of liberating.
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Date: 2011-03-21 02:23 am (UTC)It is rather fun to be able to make everyone in fic hug and kiss each other as a baseline! *g* It does make it seem like a feast after famine in some ways though I think because one gets used to going 'oh look, here's this incredibly slashy bit where character x and character y's eyes meet!' and in TT world it's like 'well, here's them topless in leather snogging, but that's not even the slashiest bit...' *g*
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Date: 2011-03-21 03:22 am (UTC)Having them all hug and kiss, not to mention talk about their feelings, is kind of brilliant actually. I like the stoic, manly sort, obvious, but sometimes having it all out in the open is rather fun. And my estimation of them all has risen sharply since I've watched some of the commentary on the BW concert disk. The fact that they're so deeply involved in both the technical aspects of the shows and in shaping the theatricality of them makes my theatre geek heart swell. They're a smart bunch of lads, as well as funny, attractive and slashy.
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Date: 2011-03-21 11:27 pm (UTC)*g* They're not bad at that. This is why I'm so excited about the 2011 live shows - that level of dedication plus Robbie's level of inspiration... *bounces*
And wow, I've just realised I forgot to tell you about the maybe bestest ever Mark/Robbie quote of all time, from the first of the two glossy photo books Take That put out in 2009, basically pictures with some few comments on each from some or all of them, including one early one of Rob licking Mark's nose and Gary's comment:
Mark will never say this. A girl has never broken his heart. But Robbie did, the day he left the band (in the Jan 5th entry below loads of other goodies here:http://robandmark-.tumblr.com/)
Just, you know, for inspiration and that *g*
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From:Free Gift Fic -1
Date: 2011-03-17 01:53 am (UTC)In the meantime, because it's clear by now that feeding you TT-related content is The Most Fun Ever *loves pimping so much* *that was probably obvious, huh?* - have a wee whumpers fic of mine in comments - it was for a 'partially finished fic' posting drive but it stands OK alone I think:
Working Title: Mud
Pairing: Jason/Mark with mention of Mark/Robbie
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: None of it really happened. In case you thought TT were actually medieval or something...
---
Jason carried him through the courtyard, into the castle, all the way up all of the stairs and along the narrow corridor to their chamber. Mark couldn’t help but allow his head to rest against his husband’s chest, seeking the warmth coming through the rough shirt of homespun; Jason had been hard at work all morning and his skin fairly glowed -‘uncouth, sweaty, stinking peasant labourer’, that was what Mark had called him, and to his face, but it was truly not so unpleasant a scent. And as for Mark’s body, it was exhausted, pliant in Jason’s arms and his throat was sore with angry weeping.
Though Jason’s arms never trembled and he made no sound, they moved at a gentle pace; the walls were thick in this, the oldest part of the castle and Mark couldn’t hear the rain any more, only Jason’s heartbeat and his own shivering.
From the first night he had come to it three months earlier, Mark had always seen their chamber as mean and meagre, always compared it to what he might have had, always looked askance at the simple furniture and unsophisticated decorations. And yet now, as he was brought in, and he saw the wide wooden bath sitting waiting, steaming, in the middle of the floor, he would not have exchanged it for a room of solid gold.
“Let go now,” Jason murmured, and Mark realised he’d slid his hands around the back of Jason’s neck, and that Jason was trying to let him down to the ground. Blushing, he unclasped them and attempted to stand up, only stumbling a little.
Jason was regarding him with an expression that was not entirely contemptuous, brows furrowed in thought – ‘monk, squint-eyed monk’ Sir Robert had named him, whispering with laughter into Mark’s ear, and Mark had giggled, squirming on his knee with glee and thinking how when Sir Robert married him they would sit just so, every night and be the envy of everyone.
“You have made an effort today, for which I thank you.” Jason’s speech was more refined than Mark was yet remembering to expect, and it confused him.
“I’ve ruined my jerkin,” he pointed out, gesturing at the mud caked all over his clothes, hands and face – dear heaven, even in his hair. Not the right thing to say, neither clever nor elegant, but he was unaccountably nervous. “My silk jerkin.”
Jason’s face broke in a smile and a laugh, and it was quite extraordinary, really, how different that made him look. “Peace! With the fruits of your efforts today perhaps we can visit the St Bartholomew Fair at Claister after all. I know it shall be no equal to your London finery, but if that will bring your happiness.”
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-17 01:53 am (UTC)“You should want a beautiful husband,” he observed, and then fell over.
Once more, he felt Jason’s arms raise him; “You need to warm up.” There was a twist of concern in his tone. “I should not have set you such a task when you are so untrained to work. I am sorry.”
“You told me to wear other and more suited clothes,” Mark replied, mouth dry, after a moment. He could scarcely believe he was admitting it but it felt easy and good to do so. “I could have obeyed, rather than gone my own way.” He coughed, and felt Jason’s arms begin to tighten around him only to loosen abruptly, Jason ducking his head and flushing.
“Get those things off and I’ll lift you into the bath.”
Mark tensed, uncertain what was meant or what he was feeling.
“I’m your husband,” Jason still would not look at him, though he kept his arms steady at his back. “It is not improper. Can you doubt that I understand your wishes in such matters?”
Mark shivered again, but it was not the same shiver that the cold had brought. It occurred to him that to demur now would be to suggest that he suspected Jason’s motives, when the man had forsaken his own bed at the orders of the new husband who refused to sleep with him in the biblical sense or any other.
- - -
“I cannot be married to a farmer!” Mark had shouted at him – the wedding night had begun with anger and ended in spite. “I am a noble and you are some penniless knight whose ancestor perhaps carried chainmail at the Conquest! You may not presume to touch me!”
“I know you loved him,” Jason had answered, hands held out, standing across the room in an ugly, rough nightshirt, amongst all his ugly, rough furniture. “I know you miss him. But he would not marry you and I have done, and I did not intend to punish you by it.” The edge of temper in his voice, a suppressed irritation.
“Leave me alone!” Mark had burrowed himself under the covers, already weeping. He could not bear to hear Sir Robert spoken of in such bald terms. “I shall let you do nothing to me.”
A hiss, a short let-out breath that Mark would learn later, much later was what Jason did where Robert would have cursed and sworn and lashed out at his surroundings. “I should not force you in any thing on this earth. Has it occurred to you that I did not chose this match either?”
- - -
Shakily, Mark began to peel off the sodden silk until he wore nothing besides his short hose, and then, biting his lip, them too, now laying completely naked before Jason’s gaze for the first time.
Looking ahead, at the wall, Jason lifted him – the heat of his skin striking all the nearer now that there was nothing but his clothes between them – and laid him gently into the hot water.
“Thank you...” he said, very quietly, after a moment.
Jason’s hair was dark with rain, and his clothes were also muddy. Mark realised for the first time that he had his own work to do, which Mark had taken him away from.
“Thank you,” Jason replied. “If we work together, this will be better, for both of us.”
- - -
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-17 02:16 am (UTC)I adore this! Mark being all petulant and Jason being all noble and self-sacrificing. (Boo to Sir Robert for not marrying Mark. What was he thinking?) The descriptions are lush and there's a nice amount of heat building between them at the end. (Oh, that there was just a bit more of the story. Not that I'm complaining.)
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-18 12:43 am (UTC)I wrote this last year when I had ideas but no energy to write long!fic, and like I say there was an unfinished fic amnesty so I thought I'd put the mental images out there *g* I wrote a longer Jason/Mark-with-bathing fic called 'On The Road' which is at AO3 if you want more of roughly similar genre, that's less whumpy though!
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-18 01:56 am (UTC)Oh, and I'm getting plot bunnies! I don't have nearly the knowledge of canon to actually write anything yet, but I've already got the start of one story. We'll see if I can actually get through it. (I'm struggling with the whole marriage thing. The last time I tumbled into a RPS fandom, the two blokes had the courtesy to both be divorced. *g*) I have a mad, half-formed scheme to do some crazy AUs. Your apocafic and Doctor stories have inspired me, though I won't do nearly as good a job as you.
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-19 12:40 am (UTC)And double yay for plot bunnies! Ooh, I look forward to fic! I tend to handwave marriage in my RPS stuff - in my sandpit, no one is married (mind you, my sandpit tends be an AU one so no problem at all!) - I am always keen for a crazy AU and I have every faith you'll do a great one ♥
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-19 02:08 am (UTC)As for the plot bunnies, I had a lull in work (every project I'm working on is sitting with someone else at the moment, so I've got nothing to do for a few days) so I spent far too much time on British tabloid sites looking up articles on both Mark and Robbie's stints in rehab. Yes, that's where my bunnies are taking me for the moment, down a very dark path. I may ask for your opinion at some point, if it gets beyond the plotting stage.
Also, a vid idea bit me while I was listening to Progress for the millionth time this afternoon. I have a notion I could do an interesting Mark/Robbie vid to What Do You Want From Me? if it hasn't been done before. And of course, I'll need more footage. (No, I'm not looking for an excuse to buy Look Back, Don't Stare. Why do you ask?)
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-19 02:15 pm (UTC)I had thought before that What Do You Want From Me could be directed at Robbie and I LOVE that idea! It has in no sense been done before. Hmmm, yes, you'll need LBDS and probably the various live performances of The Flood where they smooch? All of them are on YT somewhere, the M/R compilation 'Shine' video I linked to you a while back scoops in most of them and they're all mentioned in the takethatslash comm I think. The old first time concerts have a lot of them too (actually, any footage with Rob and Mark present has a lot of Rob and Mark moments, funny that *g*)
Rehab!fic sounds interesting. The dark side of what they've both gone through is fascinating, I'd be more than happy to chat over related stuff if it's useful - do bear in mind the tabloids do invent quite a lot of stuff though! But again, you need Look Back Don't Stare - there's a priceless scene with Rob, Mark and Gary talking about teetotalism there... *g*
I swear I'm not employed by the DVD production company to boost their sales, honest! *g*
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-19 06:15 pm (UTC)Seriously, I'm really determined to give it a shot. I've realized I'm in trouble with source. I bought the Blu-rays of the concerts, and I'm glad I did because they look fantastic!, but I can't rip those. I might poke around and see if I can find cheap or used DVD copies to order.
And I'll have to investigate the options for downloading YT vids on a Mac so I can get some of those performances and interviews and, ya know, smooching.
There's also the fact that I don't have as much time to vid anymore, with a wee one. I used to sit down at the computer for 5 and 6 hour stretches when working on a vid, and I just can't do that any more. But I am totally jonesing to give this a go, and since it'll be much less narrative based I may be able to manage it. We'll see. (I anticipate I'll be bugging you for advice on source if I do.)
Also, you like Better Tomorrow! That is awesome!
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-20 02:15 am (UTC)I can appreciate that you have other stuff to do - when I moved from Uni to actually working my priorities shifted about a bit (getting enough sleep to be awake during the day seemed like a more important plan!), but do certainly consider me volunteered to suggest/hunt down sources and clips if that helps a bit *g* (yes, you are correct, I am a bit eager)
Re: Free Gift Fic -2
Date: 2011-03-20 02:47 am (UTC)Have you seen any of the Johnnie To films? He's done some cracker HK action in recent years.
As for a TT vid, I must be serious about this, because I've compiled a spreadsheet of DVD prices. (When I'm serious about summat, I make a spreadsheet. You should see the one I've got for the Pros Big Bang. It has formulas and everything.) So consider this my first question about what to get.
I know I need Look Back and the For the Record doc, but can you tell me if I should get any of these:
The Ultimate Collection
From Zeroes to Heroes
On the Record
Those last two look potentially dodgy, but Amazon UK has them dead cheap, and I can easily rip PAL DVDs.
Once I've got the YT ripping thing sorted, I'll no doubt be asking you for those sorts of links, though I've got a chunk of things favourited already.
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