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Take That Adorableness, and a Short Howard/Jason Pic Spam
Last week, I ended up devouring Gary Barlow's autobiography in record time. (Yes, I've gone completely overboard on the Take That thing. Let's just accept that and move on.) Gary's story is a fascinating one - ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
halotolerant has pointed out it's a perfect classical narrative, going from success and hubris to nemesis to redemption,- but what's even better for my money is the glimpses it offers of the emotional life of the band.
The moment in the book I keep coming back to, over and over, is one that takes place after their reunion press conference, and focuses on Howard and Jason, who seem to have become my fave Take That RPS pairing:
Wow. I mean… just wow.
Three sentences, but there's so much there. Howard losing it, and Jay protecting him. Mark and Gary worrying over them. And the security guys, who've mostly been with them all from the start, since they were kids, instinctively acting to protect them all. Can I hear a big Awwwww.
Pretty much all of my slash pairings up until now have been stoic secret agent types. If I read, let alone wrote, a story with one of 'em weeping in his partner's arms, I'd consider it way over the top. But with these guys, it's actually happened. And it's incredibly sweet.
I don't think I'm going to lose my taste for the stoic ones, but I have to say, having guys be this out in the open about their emotions, and about looking after each other, is actually kind of refreshing.
In celebration of my discovery of Howard/Jason, here are a few pics of their awesomeness, roughly in order of increasing slashiness.
During the Beautiful World tour, clearly having a ball and enjoying being close to each other.
They just look like they're having too much fun here. And they're wonderfully scruffy, which is always a good thing, IMO. *g*
Jason hugging Howard backstage during the Beautiful World tour. This is during the period where Howard couldn't perform because he'd broken a rib on stage and given himself a pneumothorax, so he spends each concert making notes for the other blokes, and being all proud of Jason doing a solo song. (Real life h/c! How can I resist!)
I can't entirely explain why, but I just love this pic. I think it's the ease they clearly have around each other.
I'm trying to explain this without the slash. Trying, and failing I might add. Oh, boys. *g*
This is the pic I took my icon from, because it's just adorable. And as a bonus, it puts me in mind of Halo's utterly awesome story, The Insomnia Decades, where Jay falling asleep on Howard's shoulder is a key plot point.
halotolerant has pointed out it's a perfect classical narrative, going from success and hubris to nemesis to redemption,- but what's even better for my money is the glimpses it offers of the emotional life of the band.The moment in the book I keep coming back to, over and over, is one that takes place after their reunion press conference, and focuses on Howard and Jason, who seem to have become my fave Take That RPS pairing:
We came off stage, did a few one-to-one interviews and then went backstage to our room. Suddenly the security guys began clearing everyone out of our room – Howard was on his knees, crying, he was overwhelmed by it all. Jay sat hugging him, looking white as a ghost, and Mark, who had seemed the least fazed by the press, looked as worried as I felt.
Wow. I mean… just wow.
Three sentences, but there's so much there. Howard losing it, and Jay protecting him. Mark and Gary worrying over them. And the security guys, who've mostly been with them all from the start, since they were kids, instinctively acting to protect them all. Can I hear a big Awwwww.
Pretty much all of my slash pairings up until now have been stoic secret agent types. If I read, let alone wrote, a story with one of 'em weeping in his partner's arms, I'd consider it way over the top. But with these guys, it's actually happened. And it's incredibly sweet.
I don't think I'm going to lose my taste for the stoic ones, but I have to say, having guys be this out in the open about their emotions, and about looking after each other, is actually kind of refreshing.
In celebration of my discovery of Howard/Jason, here are a few pics of their awesomeness, roughly in order of increasing slashiness.
During the Beautiful World tour, clearly having a ball and enjoying being close to each other.
They just look like they're having too much fun here. And they're wonderfully scruffy, which is always a good thing, IMO. *g*
Jason hugging Howard backstage during the Beautiful World tour. This is during the period where Howard couldn't perform because he'd broken a rib on stage and given himself a pneumothorax, so he spends each concert making notes for the other blokes, and being all proud of Jason doing a solo song. (Real life h/c! How can I resist!)
I can't entirely explain why, but I just love this pic. I think it's the ease they clearly have around each other.
I'm trying to explain this without the slash. Trying, and failing I might add. Oh, boys. *g*
This is the pic I took my icon from, because it's just adorable. And as a bonus, it puts me in mind of Halo's utterly awesome story, The Insomnia Decades, where Jay falling asleep on Howard's shoulder is a key plot point.
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BTW, your Our Lives Would Have Meaning is another story I come back to again and again, so bravo!
Like seriously?? You've got no idea, how happy that makes me! *does happy dance and shakes hips sillily*
which even as a teenager was full of odd bands and enthusiasms
Hehe! I have three older sisters, so my muscial influences were a veeeeeery strange mix of Bruce Springsteen and Queen (sis #1), Duran Duran, Wham! and Spandau Ballett (sis #3) and The Police, Fischer Z, The Smiths, Adam Ant, Madness and Leonard Cohen from sis #3. I added Chicago (Peter Cetera was my first celebrity crush, would you believe?) to that when I was 12 and a-ha when I was 13 or 14. If you add all that - Take That are not a choice I've taken but the sum of all the weirdness in my musical education! I can't be blamed! *g*
no subject
Like seriously?? You've got no idea, how happy that makes me!
Seriously! And my next project, after the convention I'm going to next week, is to collect all the parts and turn it into a file my iPod will like so I can read it whenever I like.
Clearly, I would have got on fine with your sisters. I loved a lot of those bands, especially The Police. Add in The Who and Yes, and you've got my high school years. And yes, add all that lovely stuff together, and an affection for Take That was inevitable. For both of us! *g*