#henry barr

[boxoftheskyking]

Hey, Whiskey, wanna help me write Mburu? or that fill for shayvaalski?

Fuck no, J. We're writing "Rebecca."

[boxoftheskyking]

Non-angst fill for Niña

Henry

By rights, Henry should hate this fucking song. Mac can call it "Rebecca" if he wants to; Henry knows who it's really about. It took a good week for him to actually sing it properly. He'd never had a problem singing Mac's songs before. They worked on new stuff together, most of the time, but sometimes one would come in with a whole chart nearly finished. Henry was always fine singing Mac's words. But this one seemed a little bit too . . . real.

He does it well though. He's no egomaniac, but there'd be no point having a band at all if you can't tell when you're good. 

Will wrote is own riff for the bridge, too, which is amazing. Even though he wants to hate it, he can't help getting a shiver in the pit of his stomach when Mac starts up the bass rhythm. Tom follows really well, though Henry can't really think about Tom if he wants to do the song right. Can't afford to get weirded out in the middle of a song.

The lyrics are good--just the right side of bitter. Not too hopeless, but no happy ending, either. The percussive 'c's' in the repeated name sound perfect as Henry spits them into the mic.

But the best part, the very best part, is right before the last chorus. By rights, it's the part Henry should hate the most. But Will cycles off into the stratosphere and Tom goes crazy and then suddenly everything cuts out and Mac just howls. Steps right up to the mic and howls like his heart's on fire, like he's being flayed alive. And then he stays in for the last chorus, wailing a tenor harmony that made Gar drop his Coke the first time he heard it. From that howl until the end of the song, Henry's hair stands on end. Every inch of it. Goosebumps everywhere. And it never gets old. That sound never gets any less agonized, and the repetition of the chorus never gets boring. Every rehearsal, every performance, Henry has a moment at the end of this song when he thinks to himself, clear as a bell, "This is what it's about. This is it, Henry Barr. This is what you do."

He tries really hard to hate it, though. After the Brixton gig, the first time "Rebecca" was revealed to the public, he and Mac get roaring drunk. Well, Mac gets roaring drunk and Henry gets stumbling-and-babbling drunk. 

"I really wanna hate that song, man," he says earnestly, grabbing ahold of Mac's collar. "I know what it's about. You think I don't know but I know. I know about you. Man."

"Yeah?" Mac asks blearily.

"Yeah. So I'm really trying to hate that song. I just love it too much, you know. But I'm tr-- I'm trying to hate it. I am."

Mac claps him on the shoulder and stares him straight in the eye.

"Henry," he says seriously. "I appreciate the effort."

[boxoftheskyking]

This is what happens when you're nice to me, people. I write you awkward and questionably sanitary boning in the back of an old electrician's van. 

See why my real life relationships never work out?

[boxoftheskyking]

Fun fact of the day

As a beginning Irish language learner, I have to stop myself from conjugating McMath's name. Like, when people say "What are you doing, Mac?" In Irish that would be "What are you doing, a mhic (or avic)." Which is a pretty common form of address in the West. And other places, but I was in the West. But mac is used for anyone, particularly any guy. (Although I had a classmate who always said "How're ya doing, avic-o?" whenever he saw me, so I guess we live in progressive times. Whatever)

Because just saying "mac" doesn't work when it's at the end of the sentence. Now you see why I have to fight them all becoming Irish. 

The more you know about the Barr in J's head that sometimes talks like he's from Gort. Until real Barr shows up like "What the fuck are you doing with my life" and then I fix it.

[boxoftheskyking]

Finally.

[pati79]

Billy McMath and Henry Barr have their chapter at AO3

If someone knows how to stop AO3 from being bitchy and how to get my "rich text" back, I'll appreciate the help! In the meantime, I think you can manage without copying and pasting the links.

[boxoftheskyking]

This fic

It is looooong. For me. I don't usually write more than 1500 words. And this is already creeping up on 3000. But it's okay. Because there is Barr. And where there is Barr, there is truth and justice and all things righteous. 

"You're probably right."

"Forget your fucking wings, man. That is a tattoo you need. Right across your lovestruck face." He pokes a line across McMath's cheeks and nose with each word. "Barr. Is. Probably. Right."

McMath manages a real smile. "Just probably?"

Barr smile back in relief, "Hey man, I never claimed to be infallible. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Henn loves you and he's just really bad about showing it. And, you know, not fucking everything with a pulse. Maybe he's so thick he really hasn't noticed. I don't know. Dropped on his head as a baby or something. But I'm probably right. So the phone stays off."