there's only so much you can miss / before we both collide

[hardparade]

I JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY?

Or, a really ridiculous idea.

Either way, it was brought about by this interview with The Kills. They're asked how they can be so sexual even though they split up. (I love it when they're asked if they're a couple and stuff, it's so interesting to analyse their reactions.) Anyway, Jamie's like "We were never lovers" and the interviewer is like "Never?" and they're both like "Mm-mm, never" and then there's a pause, and Jamie goes "So...that's why." And then Alison cracks up and there's awkward laughter all round. (If you just want to watch that bit, there are little markers you can hover over to see which question is asked at each timestamp.)

This kind of reveals something about how Jamie sees the two of them and their sexuality, right? ...Right?


Because, like, okay. Jamie is stating that they can be sexual together because they have never been lovers. WHICH IS AN ODD THING TO SAY. Because if they had, at one point, been lovers, they could have been sexual together back then, surely? It's like he believes that if they DID become lovers, they wouldn't be able to be sexual onstage anymore—and like, maybe not even just if they became lovers and then split up, but full stop. Like he believes the only reason he's able to behave that way with Alison is because they've never been sexual irl. Which goes a little extra way towards explaining his resistance to being with her—like, he loves the onstage sexuality so much, he's afraid of losing that. It might not work in real life, so he's not going to risk throwing what they DO have away, if that makes sense?

So anyway I was thinking through all of that for a little while and trying to make sense of Jamie's weird, denial-addled brain, and I knew I was missing something else that the quote implies, and then it just HIT ME and I was like....woaaaah hold up.

BECAUSE THEY ARE NO LONGER SEXUAL ONSTAGE. And if my ridiculous dissection of Jamie's words is correct—doesn't that sort of imply that they are or have been lovers?

It's sort of like—man, this is a dumb example but it's all I can think of, you know in Friends when Chandler's dating Kathy? Who I still can't believe was played by Paget Brewster, but anyway—she's an actress, and she has a sex scene in this play she's doing, and Chandler's all freaked out, but Joey says it's fine because as long as there's passion onstage, they're not doing it in real life. And he warns him that as soon as the spark disappears onstage, that means it's transferred over and they're probably doing it for real. Which does make legitimate sense as a theory. (Although I might have bits of it wrong, it's been a long time since I saw the episode because STUPID E4 STOPPED SHOWING FRIENDS.)

Idk, idk, it doesn't make sense 100% for The Kills because that's actually a fairly recent interview, so the sexual tension onstage had already disappeared, and obviously Jamie's been with Kate all this time—but I just literally NEVER CONSIDERED this side of things. I always figured that the lack of sexual tension onstage meant something NEGATIVE about their real life relationship, but how fascinating would it be if it actually meant they were having sex for real now? Or, at the very least, that they did it ONCE and then decided it was a mistake, and the only thing it ruined was their dynamic onstage?

I guess it would be like—all the stuff onstage came from the fact that there was tension between them and all this desperate desire to be sexual with each other and that was the only way they could be, and if they started actually having sex there wouldn't be any mystery to it anymore and they wouldn't NEED the stage stuff. OR, suddenly they're much more aware of the stage dynamic than they used to be—like before, it didn't matter if people thought they were fucking because they weren't, but now they ARE and it has to be kept a secret.

Does this make sense to anyone but me? I am probably just grasping at straws because I'm just so heartbroken about the way they act onstage now. I mean, a lot of the time Jamie even angles his microphone so he's singing away from Alison in a way that just seems so deliberate. It's not like they never ever look at each other or touch each other, but it's SO much less than it used to be, and I don't understand why no one else seems to be noticing this stuff. Even though it would probably be HORRIBLY awkward, I just wish one interviewer would be like "yo guys, what happened to all that pseudo-sex you used to have?"

And I mean, it goes without saying that I want fic. It's ridiculous how many Kills/Dead Weather related ideas I have right now, but this is definitely being added to a list.

I got really excited when I saw that they'd started playing 'Last Day of Magic' again, because that's one of the main ones they always used to get intense about, but I mean, compare this performance from yesterday with this one from 2008. At 2:18 Alison approaches Jamie and he literally like, darts away from her. IT MAKES ME WANT TO CRY. AND THAT'S JUST ONE TINY EXAMPLE.

The rest of the interview I linked to up top is pretty cute/interesting by the way—they joke around a bit and are adorable, but I also get a vibe like they're not quite on the same wavelength with the questions. Plus there's the bit where Jamie goes on and on about things crumbling and decaying, and how good it is when things come to an end and rot (wtf, Jamie?), and then there's a long pause and the interviewer wants Alison's opinion and she's like *over-the-top smile* "...I think he answered it pretty well."

:'(

Anyway, I'll leave you with a picture, for your time:


I can't even really go 'aww' at this kind of thing anymore, it just makes me want to hit things.


They really do drive me crazy sometimes. MAKE SENSE.

Comments

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND YOUR FREAKING OUT.

Your theory is INTERESTING. Jamie definitely split up with Valentine during the making of Midnight Boom, and I thiiink Jamie and Kate started dating in 2008. So it COULD have happened that Jamie and Alison slept together during the tour, and then the guitar-sex stopped, but they were still friction-y on stage because they knew they might fuck at the end of the show, etc. Until something happened, maybe Jamie meeting Kate, that caused the sex to stop? And then Jamie and Kate split up and got back together in like September/October supposedly, which is interesting actually because it was around then that Alison went off with Jack for the first time. And THEN, omg - did you hear about this mysterious song (http://likecharity.tumblr.com/post/11629787673/rare-untitled-track-by-the-kills-recorded-by) that they played at one of their very first gigs in 2009 after the break? Because the lyrics of that are SO interesting and seeing as it was played shortly after Alison went off to form The Dead Weather...

And then it makes sense for things between them to get increasingly messed up due to Jamie and Kate's relationship getting more serious, and The Dead Weather becoming a bigger deal, and so it all just kind of got harder and harder until Blood Pressures and THIS tour when all of the tension/looking at each other is just GONE.

I like that a lot. I was imagining that it was something that happened recently, just because it seems like this tour that it's been REALLY obvious, and while they didn't do the guitar-sex much (or at all?) during the Midnight Boom tour, they were still pretty electric during those gigs. But I guess that could make sense if either nothing had happened just yet, or it was HAPPENING and therefore the electricity was partly anticipation for what might happen after the show. I was thinking maybe things got really strained between them with all the Kate/TDW stuff, and then something happened between them while they were making the album because they were forced to admit their feelings for each other, and maybe it happened once (or a few times) and then they (probably Jamie) decided to put a stop to it. Leading to all the awfulness onstage now.

Of course, the nicest theory is that something happened, and then it continued to happen, and is still happening, and they're now HYPERaware of the sexuality between them and are afraid of giving anything away. So they feel like they can't even look at each other properly onstage anymore or it'll give it all away. I still feel like there's a very obvious imbalance between them though, and a sadness to it - that it's always Alison making the effort and Jamie shutting her out. But that could still work, because she doesn't have as much to lose - his turning away etc might just be more because he doesn't trust himself not to get super sexual like they used to and ~expose the truth. And she's sad because she wants 100% of his attention like she used to have. WHATEVER I CAN CLING TO THIS THEORY BECAUSE IT IS THE HAPPIEST.

Do you think they've been asked why they're not doing the guitar-sex anymore? Or that they were asked what it meant back when they DID do it? Because as far as I know it's only been mentioned in ONE interview ever, which I quoted in this post (http://likecharity.livejournal.com/135529.html). And they're predictably evasive. I really want someone to pick up on the fact that it's stopped, and ask about that, but people probably assume it's because of Kate and leave it at that.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Auuuuugh all of this makes so much sense and I HATE that it makes so much sense because it is the SADDEST THING IN THE WORLD. To find that sort of connection TWICE and have it end up this way...it puts a lot of weight behind that "I need to find a Jack or a Jamie but single" comment of hers. :( I really don't want to believe any of it but it does add up.

They never recorded that song at all! Someone in the crowd did, so they weren't even intending for it to be heard by anyone but those people. That's reeeally interesting to me because it's not something they'd usually do. You're right about it being so OBVIOUSLY a love song when they've said they try not to be like that, too. Actually, that's interesting because most of Blood Pressures reads like "had my love and now it's gone" even though it SHOULDN'T because half of it was written by Jamie who was engaged at the time of writing.

I can definitely imagine the sex stopping when Kate came into the picture - like maybe it wasn't that Jamie was just SO taken with her from the beginning, but they started seeing each other and he felt that being with her would be a less intense/scary option than staying with Alison, and basically he was just in denial about the strength of his Alison feelings and probably trying to be like "okay, that happened and it was a mistake, now I'm going to have a real relationship".

Your idea of the Jack scenario is basically what I think sometimes too...like I said, I still don't WANT to believe any of it, but...yeah. That's actually how I wrote things going down in my really long Kills fic, basically, without giving it too much thought - it just happened, as if I sort of always knew that's how would've gone. It absolutely breaks my heart to think of it being a repeat of something that happened with Jamie though. It is so believable because she IS that masochistic, and she's been pretty in denial about her feelings for Jamie too, so it would make sense that she wouldn't even make the connection and just project like you said. (That parallel would work so well in the comparison fic you mentioned!)

It's very strange to me, though, the idea that Jamie and Alison could sleep together and NOT stay together. I guess I had this idealistic view that it would solve everything, because the main thing standing in the way is their denial (...okay, Jamie's) and I figured that sleeping together would break that denial down. But I guess it's so ridiculously strong that he might still fight against the idea even if something DID happen?

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

It's true that if they became an actual couple their relationship would be RIDICULOUSLY intense, it seems like they're genuinely just SCARED of it. It is understandable because it would be such a huge risk to take, if it ended up not working out or messing with the way they make art, but - ughhh I feel like if they just got over the fear and the denial, it could be amazing.

I am sort of fascinated by Jamie's songs on the album and the way they seem very focused on loss, when you'd think...I don't know, that being in a secure relationship while writing the album, it might be different. He has said that he's usually autobiographical with his songs and it was hard this time because of his relationship being in the public eye etc. But he's clearly not singing as a character, particularly not in Wild Charms. Wild Charms and DNA are the most interesting ones imo because they sort of complement each other, and they've said that they're like two sides of the same story, but Jamie wrote them both, so I think that means that Wild Charms is the pessimistic side and DNA is the side saying it's gonna be okay ('we will not be moved by it').

I heard that at one gig, before DNA, Jamie said it was a 'song for his wife' which HAS to be bullshit unless he's calling Alison his wife, because that is NOT A SONG FOR SOMEONE YOU'RE MARRIED TO? Singing about having had 'wild charms' for someone in the past and your fire burning them out and fate custard-pieing you? :|

I agree that the fire metaphor is interesting, and that he seems to be taking the blame. Like he's saying that his feelings were once strong and that through his denial he forced them away to the extent that they literally disappeared. Or that the passion they had was so powerful that it self-destructed because it sort of HAD to.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOD THAT VIDEO, I'M GOING TO CRY. I never saw that before. My God. See, that song has always been weird to me. I was initially leaning towards it being about Jamie because I didn't like to think of her having such genuine feelings for Jack, the kind that would lead to a song like that, but it still didn't quite add up because that would involve her basically telling Jamie her true feelings in a really obvious/final way. So. Probably about Jack. I don't know why I don't like that, I have such weird issues with that pairing. I guess it's just very clear to me that his feelings were never as strong as hers, whereas I believe Jamie's ARE and he's just in denial of them.

Didn't Jamie write Baby Says? Which...actually, adds a whole extra level of INTERESTING to the lyrics that I never thought about before. I never thought of the 'she' being Alison, and it didn't make sense for it to be Kate, and suddenly they make a whole load of sense. HOW INTERESTING IS THE IDEA OF JAMIE WRITING A SONG ABOUT ALISON AND JACK. I wonder who has the 'silver curls' though, that's always bugged me.

Oooh, I never really analysed You Don't Own The Road either, and that totally makes sense. Especially that line. It is like the whole song is her saying she's gonna recover from this, and almost like she's saying he's so conceited that he probably thinks everything she does is for him or because of him, and it's NOT, you know?

I actually have a document on my computer with the tracklisting of Blood Pressures and who wrote what, because I wanted to keep track of it, and the only songs I don't know about are Heart Is A Beating Drum, Nail In My Coffin, and Damned If She Do. Two of those are Alison's and one is Jamie's (Jamie wrote six altogether and she wrote five, so it works out that way). I think Nail In My Coffin is probably an Alison one because it sounds like she's saying she can't go through what she went through with Jamie all over again with Jack.

Man, now I'm just feverishly reading all the lyrics with a new perspective, sorry. I was leaning towards Jamie for Heart Is A Beating Drum and it totally sounds like another song directed at Alison and Jack now - I always thought the 'all the noise and hot crossed fangs you, you got in you' sounded like a reference to the changes in her voice since TDW which he's talked about before. And then 'send your love on a rampage/give her everything you've got/and when you come to hate her/show her more than just a spark' could be directed at Jack? And then references to feeling like she's been there so many times before - like he recognises the pattern. And Damned If She Do reads like Alison analyzing herself in the third person again, I think.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

OH GOD I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT. I'M DOING THE TEARS-IN-MY-EYES HEART-CLUTCHING AGAIN. Just that moment of realisation that that's what they're singing about...and then the fact that Alison ends up singing the same lyrics Jamie wrote about her. Oddly enough, I'm rewatching some interviews right now and just as I got your comment, they were talking about their psychic songwriting abilities and Jamie was saying it's good because you don't have to talk about it. And he's talking about music rather than lyrics, but even so. I imagine they didn't ever sit down and go "is this about-?" They just knew.

OMG THE DRUM THING. IT'S ALL FALLING INTO PLACE. That's not silly, that totally makes sense. And yesss, I was going to quote that line too, because it totally sounds like he's referencing the fact that something has happened AGAIN and that she shouldn't blame love in general, she's just falling for the wrong people. I also thought that the refrain at the end of DNA sounds like it's from Jamie to Alison, the 'love love love til you've got no love around you', like she wears herself out loving the wrong people and doesn't get anything in return, and then 'dance dance dance til there's no one left you hound you' sounds like...don't let anyone get on your case about it, just keep going, you know?

What do you make of Satellite and Pots And Pans? Jamie said Satellite was inspired by a phone call from Kate when the signal kept going, but I've never been convinced because he said he was on tour at the time, which means he would've written it waaay before they technically started writing the album. It sounds to me like it's about Alison being away from him - he also said it was sort of a nightmare about losing someone physically, and there's all the 'don't take her' stuff, and obviously they were been talking on the phone a lot too while she was on tour.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

I wonder if she would've told him outright about the Jack thing, or if it was just this unspoken knowledge. I really don't know, 'cause I can't imagine her just TELLING him what was going on. I can imagine him figuring it out from the performances though. And, that's another thing - if he did that, then surely that would make him realise the way he and Alison come across onstage as well? He did say that watching her share the mic with Jack was like an 'out of body experience' and I always wondered if it shocked him into accepting that there was something more to his (Jamie's) relationship with her than he thought. (Assuming nothing had happened between them in the past.) Like, if he saw the way Alison looked at Jack onstage and recognised that it was the same as the way she looks at HIM onstage, and then he found out that Alison did indeed have feelings for Jack...he kinda wouldn't be able to ignore it.

They must've meant Satellite because otherwise it just makes NO sense to me. Oh, I'd forgotten that bit in the documentary! That does make sense then. I feel like it must still have something of a connection to Alison just because of the time she was away from him - like, even if it wasn't written with that in mind, he might still think of it when he sings it. Or it still seemed relevant around Blood Pressures time because of Alison being away.

Pots And Pans sounds like it's about Jack to me too. There's something almost threatening about it, but it's more like threatening to give up on something rather than to take action. Like, "I literally don't have the energy to do this anymore." And I never thought it was about Jamie for the same reason as you - that it seems too final. That's why it never felt right for The Last Goodbye to be about Jamie, either. Because I believe she still has hope that one day it might work out for them, and with Jack I think it's clear that she's given up. It makes me wonder if TDW will make any more music now, actually.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

It makes sense that they'd take a break, though, seeing as they were churning out music like CRAZY PEOPLE. I don't know. It is interesting the way that everything seemed to happen at the end of the tour though. I hadn't watched the iTunes festival video! Idk why. It does seem pretty genial, which is interesting, but...idk, it's been a while and they've probably sort of come to terms with everything. I mean, maybe they won't make music together again, but maybe they've decided to try and move past it because the music is more important than past mistakes or whatever. I'm sure that if they perform as TDW again it won't be quite the same though, in terms of sexual tension. Which is so SAD to me because that is like my favourite thing, god dammit, WHY DOES IT HAVE TO DISAPPEAR FROM BOTH BANDS? STUPID JAMIE. STUPID JACK.

*cough* Anyway. Yeah, you're right, they probably did talk about it. In my fic, I just have Jamie sort of figure it out and there's some silent acknowledgement, and he comforts her without really saying anything, you know? I can imagine that irl she might want to actually talk it through and angst over it to him, though, and he would just have to deal with it - I mean, he would want to comfort her, but he would hate the fact that he HAD to, like the reason for it, if that makes sense? Now I want fic where he goes and yells at Jack for breaking her heart or something, which is such a cliché, but unf.

Maybe THAT could be an interesting start to a threesome fic...

ALSO I just posted the ridiculous incestuous AU, so you might want to check that out. UGH I'm worried it's just really stupid, but I thought I would post it and get it over with.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

OMFG HOLD UP I JUST HAD A REVELATION - you know we were talking about Baby Says being about Alison and Jack? THE CLUE IS IN THE TITLE AGAIN. BABY. LIKE BABY RUTHLESS. GAH I CANNOT HANDLE THIS. !!!

Right. *attempts to contain self* You're so lucky you got to see The Dead Weather! Especially if they don't tour again or the sexual tension disappears completely.

SRSLY WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM. I mean, okay, we've analysed what their problems are, but STILL. She is so incredible and it's not like they don't see that, so I just don't understand. Especially with Jack, to be honest. Obviously it was an issue when he was married, but otherwise? GAH it's so weird. (Although I do not know how I'd feel if they started dating, that would probably be too much for me, like - the actual confirmation of it, I can't see it. I guess I like them angstier.) And yeah, it does seem like this is what Alison wants, which is weird, but then, she is a masochist. XD

Yeah, the whole thing with her offloading to him a little bit but being careful because she knows it's hard for him - that's what I imagine too. And it's so interesting that it's coming out in the songs.

I definitely think Jack could've played a big part in the way their stage dynamic has changed. I think Jamie's jealousy is a much bigger deal than he'll ever admit and just seeing the way Alison behaved with Jack onstage was hard for him, so for him to know that something came of it...it's so much worse, too, because it's not like Jack is just some random guy - Jack is in SUCH a similar position to Jamie, and was performing beside Alison every night and getting all sexual tension-y like Jamie did, and fighting against it (for different reasons, but still). So for Jamie to know that Jack gave in, it's almost like Jack got there first, and it would feel like...I don't want to say that Alison would be like, tainted, but he would feel like Alison was already fulfilling a very similar kind of relationship now and that he might have missed his chance. Assuming nothing happened between Jamie and Alison in the past. Lol, this is so confusing with all the different possible scenarios.

Oooh I can also see Jamie getting really pissed about Alison and Jack's affair, and kind of drunkenly yelling at Jack about it, and Jack being like "You could just admit you're jealous, you know. It'd be a lot easier." And saying stuff about how this is all just because he regrets not taking the same chance that Jack did, etc etc. Oh god, and in any threesome situation, Alison would be SO torn between the two of them. I also sort of love the idea of like, a heated kiss happening while Jack and Jamie are fighting, and Jamie wanting to sort of sleep with Alison THROUGH Jack if that makes sense. Like experience what the two of them experienced together, because he can't do it any other way.

♥♥♥ Thank youuuuu. I'm so glad you liked it so much, seriously - I was feeling pretty doubtful by the end, like "what even IS this?" so that means a lot!!

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

FIRST OF ALL: I posted the fic! :D

I know, augh! And they've just released the video for Baby Says, did you see? I don't quite know what to make of it. Some people are saying the people singing are actors, and others are saying it's Alison and Jamie dressed up as each other. I honestly can't tell, but if it's the latter my head may explode from how inexplicably hot that is.

I agree, I think that with the tour atmosphere and everything it would be hard for them not to fall back into old habits. It's all very strange though - did you hear that Jack is apparently wearing his wedding ring again? Or wearing it on his left hand when he'd been wearing it on the right since the "divorce" or something? Sometimes I think he just does these things to mess with people.

I can't imagine Alison saying no to Jamie either. I can imagine her being apprehensive about the whole thing, but definitely not outright saying no. And then maybe exaggerating her apprehension to go along with his so as not to make herself appear too vulnerable, maybe. It is weird that, if Jamie's denial or refusal to see her that way started because she was so young, that it hasn't dissipated as they've grown older and the age difference has become far less significant. But I guess the denial has been repeatedly reinforced by other things, like the risk of ruining their chemistry etc.

Yeah, with Jack it's like...he would obviously have quite a bit of angst over his feelings for Alison, but he'd probably downplay that in front of Jamie out of a sense of competitiveness? Like saying he got her because he didn't get all caught up in his worries like Jamie, acting like it's no big deal etc. And UGH Jamie would just be so totally blindsided by the fact that it's so obvious to Jack, and I think he'd get really mad about that, because it's almost like Jack knows something about Jamie that even JAMIE doesn't know.

Why is it so easy to imagine that Jamie would kind of get off on Alison/Jack in a weird masochistic way? Like, he'd hate the fact that they were together, but because their relationship has parallels to his and Alison's, he'd be so curious about it at the same time. And sort of want to vicariously experience things. FOR EXAMPLE if he somehow ended up in a situation where he could watch them having sex (and they, or Alison at least, didn't know he was there - because I don't think she'd knowingly do that in front of him) I think he would find it exciting, even though he'd also be sort of tortured by it.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, I know what you mean. Because I feel like, if Alison did come to terms with her feelings for him, she'd be so aware of his denial and that would make her not want to try. OR she'd actually believe that he doesn't have any of the same feelings, which would put her off trying as well - and be even more heartbreaking. I think they would both have to be in roughly the same place, and it's really hard to imagine that happening.

I'm glad you liked the way I wrote it in my fic. I wanted to show that they were beginning to get back on the same wavelength, so I didn't want the kiss to be onesided in any way - like Alison kissing him and him being startled but gradually kissing her back, or anything like that. It needed to be like, they both wanted the same thing at that same moment. And Alison moving in for the kiss but hesitating, and then Jamie actually taking the leap - it seemed to work.

Oh my god, I totally understand the whole fic-expansion issue. That's how mine got so long! I just kept wanting to explore so many things. Hnnnng I'm SO in favour of young!Jamie/Alison interaction, you don't even know.

And any kind of Alison/Jack/Jamie shenanigans. Oh my god, the voyeurism thing, yes pleeease. Seeing them backstage together would work so well, because like - seeing the SHOW and them not knowing he's there would be a form of voyeurism in itself, especially if it's the first (or one of the first) he's been to and he's not sure what to make of the sexual tension. So he has like this dread/sinking feeling about what it might mean, and at the same time he can't take his eyes off them, and also it feels sort of like an out-of-body experience (like he said that one time). And then to actually have it all CONFIRMED backstage...SO MANY COMPLICATED FEELINGS.

Also: the Baby Says video - it IS them, isn't it? They're weirdly well-disguised and I think I sort of couldn't quite believe it, because it seemed too amazing to be true. I want some behind-the-scenes photos where we can see them clearly. Auugh and I just keep thinking of the two of them joking around pretending to be each other, and role reversals and roleplaying and hnnnng.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

OOOOOH, YES. That is so revealing. She seems to constantly feel the need to assure us that none of it's conscious and she's not putting on an act etc etc, but all that does is tell us that everything that happens onstage for her comes from an entirely real place. And it's like when Jamie said it seemed like she was performing when she was OFFstage - like that's where she's deliberate about her actions.

God, I wish someone would ask those questions now, it would be so fascinating. But it seems like most interviewers aren't actual FANS so they don't have the awareness - either that the sexual tension was ever there, or that it's gone now.

Also, that interview sort of implies that they used to behave that way even offstage, doesn't it? Because Alison says they play the songs onstage as if it's just the two of them in the room they write/play in. And it sounds like she's saying they didn't realise it seemed weird or sexual, at first - as though it was only when they started PERFORMING that way and people started reacting that they became aware of it.

But then, like you said, she says that onstage she can't control any of that stuff, as though offstage it's different? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I can't really wrap my head around the idea of them behaving that way when it's just the two of them, because it does seem like the audience is important somehow, like it gives them an excuse almost - they can pretend it's part of the show, and neither of them are going to stop the other one and be like "wait, should we be doing this?" Buuuut it is weird that instead of treating it like an excuse and being like "I'm just playing a character onstage and none of it's real and it's all a performance" etc, they actually say outright that that's when they're most honest.

I JUST DO NOT GET THEM AT ALL.

[molokomolotov.livejournal.com]

you know, that does make a lot of sense. like, maybe they had sex once? idk why i wouldn't think they would have sex for a while but it seems like they would only once idk but sigh i was actually analyzing this earlier like, "i wonder why they're so boring on stage this isn't like i used to see!!!!!!!!" etc sigh

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about it just happening the one time - I feel like that would be all they'd NEED to realise that it was either a terrible idea, or so good that it would cause too many complications. I think it would just be such an intense experience that it might freak them out and they'd be too afraid to do it again.

UGH I KNOW RIGHT, I feel really bad for finding their performances boring now because they're obviously still massively talented and it's still entertaining, but I used to be able to sit through whole concerts and be like glued to my screen because the tension between them was so captivating. :( They need to get that back.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

RIGHT? It feels like a part of my heart dies every time I see a performance like that. And then at the same time I just want to hunt Jamie down and PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE because god dammit what is he DOING and WHY.

Alison does look at the audience a lot more than she used to, but she definitely still makes an effort to look at him and be close to him, and I'm not sure he ever initiates it anymore. Plus, he has those sorts of reactions to what she does. UGH that bit where she looks at him and it lasts quite a while like she's just waiting, and then she has to give up, and there's this weird hardness to her face after that like she's having to try really hard to be strong and put up a front. :(

Ugh it's so heartbreaking.

[sofiawonderland.livejournal.com]

Can I just say that I was there for the performance of Last Days of Magic you linked to? And I nearly started crying for real because he sort of darted away from her (and every other time he did this during the concert too)? The energy was so strong and a bit awkward at the same time because you could see Alison trying to get closer and then Jamie looking like he was going to reciprocate but then turning to the other side when she got really close. And Jamie was being very flirty with the audience, which I don't recall him being from performances I've seen online (I could be mistaken, though). At some point he sat on an amp near the edge of the stage and a girl kept stroking his legs and he just let her do it and looked at Alison and he was actually blocking my view from her so I couldn't see it properly but from what I saw she was smiling awkwardly and a little embarrassed and annoyed because he was letting a fan carress his leg for an entire song.

I completely missed my point here and I promise I'm going to send you a message with all the rambling feelings because I need to share them with you. Erm , I think what I wanted to say is that they are a lot less sexual on stage than they used to be and I'm inclined to believe your theory because the feeling I got was that they crossed a line and were aware of it and hyper-aware of their sexual energy on stage and were, like, holding back. So it makes sense, all of it.

[sofiawonderland.livejournal.com]

And I just realized I can see my hands gripping the edge of the stage with all the strength I had during this song in the video. I'm the person right in front of Jamie's mic, and I laughed a bit because I'm gripping that stage hard, like my life depended on it. And the girl waving a poster wildly at the beginning of the video is the one who was stroking Jamie's leg.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, awww! That's so cool that your hands are in the video, lol. Ah, it's really helpful to have like, extra bits of information from someone who was actually there. I just noticed that Jamie comes up to the audience right after he darts away from Alison, as though he's trying to cover up the movement somehow, but he watches her as she walks away and then goes back to his mic, like - what is he even doing? It's like he just gets totally flustered suddenly, just by her coming over.

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Auugh, I figured you were from your message and I was really looking forward to your input! OH MY GOD, though, Jamie flirting with the audience like that and then looking at Alison, like her reaction was the important thing to him? I mean, even if nothing sexual HAS happened between them and they're just going through some sort of weird break-up, Jamie doing that is so fucking OBVIOUSLY a way to get her attention and almost make her jealous, what the hell.

That's super interesting that you got the impression that they were consciously holding back. I just wonder, because...if they are actually having sex now, the flirty behaviour with audience members is quite odd. Although I haven't noticed him doing that in other performances either, so it could have just been a jokey one-off thing that didn't realy mean anything. I don't even know, because the leg-stroking thing almost seems SPITEFUL, and that is just not okay. I put up with the avoidance because I feel like that can be excused (even though it's heartbreaking) but if he's going out of his way to do things to hurt her, i.e. refusing to be sexual with her at all and then behaving in a semi-sexual way with a TOTAL STRANGER in front of her...then, well. JAMIE WTF ARE YOU DOING.

SO looking forward to your rambling message, seriously. ♥

[sofiawonderland.livejournal.com]

Seriously, though, I didn't think he would be flirty with the audience at all. I always try to stay in front of one of the band members when I'm going to a concert and I'm good at picking up whether they're going to be flirty or not, and Jamie really surprised me in that regard, because from what I'd gathered from their other performances he and Alison interacted a lot but didn't really share this with the audience, you know? But damnm he was being flirty. And I should know because I was right in front of him.

I'm more inclined to believe that they had sex (once, twice, I don't know) and that changed things, but at the moment they're going through a very weird break-up (do you have any idea how Alison looked during The Last Goodbye? My heart was in actual pain from watching it, I swear). Jamie's behavior towards Alison seemed nearly spiteful at times, really. What with the flirting with the audience, and the ignoring her and all, but maybe I'm reading too much into things (I tend to do that). The point that "redeemed" him, though, was when he got on his knees beside her and looked up (and I can't recall at what song exactly, so I'm trying to go through the setlist and remember what happened when so that the rambling message will be complete enough, hahaha) and she looked down at him and it was almost as if he was asking for forgiveness. Or, again, maybe I'm just being crazy and reading too much into it, who knows.

Rambling message will probably be in your inbox in the next hour or so. I hope. ♥

[likecharity.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly! In the past it seems like he always shut himself off from the audience and focused on her, so I guess it makes sense that avoiding her would lead to him interacting with the crowd more. Even so, there's no need to get flirty about it unless he's being hurtful. :/ The only other thing I could think of is that they're sleeping together now and it's almost like a teasing thing, because they do still feel the sexual tension onstage and maybe Jamie needs to get it out SOMEhow so he sort of directs it at the audience, and it frustrates Alison but she knows she gets him to herself at the end of the show.

I agree though, I do get much more of a 'break-up' vibe from them these days. GOD, The Last Goodbye. I'm all convinced it's about Jack now, but I bet if something's happened with Jamie since then, the song carries a sort of double-meaning, particularly when he's right there with her onstage. When they played it at the gig I went to, I was surprised by how blank-faced she seemed - I've seen her get super emotional in some videos but she just seemed totally shut off from it which I thought was interesting. I guess it depends on her mood at the time.

It's a wonder I'm managing to type after you said the thing about Jamie getting down on his knees, by the way, because ohhhhhhhh my god. ♥_♥ He used to do that! It seems like such a reassuring thing whenever they do something they USED to do (which is why I thought putting older songs back on the setlist seemed so positive) and the idea of him sort of asking for forgiveness...I got that sense in the video when he looks at her after darting away, like he instantly felt bad. SIGH.

Eagerly awaiting it!