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A 44 year old man goes to a K-Pop Concert

I promised you a report on the K-pop concert that I, a 44-year-old accountant, went to a couple of weeks ago with my wife and daughter in Toronto. So here it is.

The band we saw were Ateez. They're my daughter's favourite band and my wife's second favourite. I know most of my mutuals are similarly aged like me and may not be familiar with them so let me give you a brief primer on Ateez.

Imagine the most attractive eight men you can think of, just unfathomably beautiful specimens of aesthetic perfection, and make them sing songs that somehow combine the subjects of 'dancing like nobody is watching' with 'we live in a dystopian hellscape that we must all work together to overthrow'. Give them an ongoing music video story lore that literally nobody - not even the band themselves - understand, so that online discussion of their visual motifs looks more like the fevered rantings of a conspiracy theorist, complete with speculation about alternate realities and time being a Moebius strip. There is also a giant sand timer, for some reason.

That's Ateez. That's what you need to know.

Now, K-pop concerts are very different to the gigs I've been going to for the last 28 (!) years. There's no support act, for a start. Also the band perform for like, three hours, with breaks for costume changes and interpretive dance. Furthermore, hanging above everything is the constant looming threat of mandatory military service.

So this being my first such concert, I wasn't sure what to expect. What happened was difficult to explain, but I will try as I am already six paragraphs into this write-up and I'm too invested to stop now. Here goes:

In his Wicked + Divine comics series, Kieron Gillen places modern pop icons as deities, feeding upon and gaining strength from the worship of their fans at the altar of musical performance. I thought I understood that metaphor. I thought I understood it AS a metaphor. I was wrong, because that night Ateez WERE Gods with a capital G and we were their worshippers, a crowd emanating adoration (in the religious and non-religious senses), bestowing strength upon them and gaining their strength in return.

If that sounds weird, it probably is. But as pointed out above, I have lived over four decades and never yet experienced anything like the overwhelming passion of that crowd, the utter abandon with which they conveyed their love for the band.

"But Fuiru, what of the actual music?" you ask. Thinking back, there was a moment in one of their songs - I can't remember which - where I watched the stage, and the people around me, taking it in, and I thought, "Man, I just love Music". But that doesn't answer your question, sorry.

Ateez's music is bloody great. As a tiresome indie/rock/metal kid I'm resisting the urge to add the usual tiresome indie/rock/metal caveat of "...for pop music" because honestly that does it a disservice. They have some genuinely amazing songs. Halazia is an absolute fucking masterpiece that descends into furious hardcore breakbeat. Bouncy is a big, brash racket that somehow is also a perfect pop song. Utopia, Wonderland, and Guerrilla are similarly superb. The obligatory boy band slow number is represented by Dancing Like Butterfly Wings which will make you cry because you will forever associate it with your twelve year old daughter being pointed to and waved at by her favourite Ateez member (Seonghwa) because of her Seonghwa-branded lightstick.

That might just be me, though.

So in summary: being a 44 year old dad at his first K-pop concert rules and you should endeavour to partake in the experience if the opportunity arises.

Finally, for any Atiny reading this: my bias would be San or Seonghwa but my wife and daughter said they were taken so it’s Mingi. My concert outfit (designed and created by my offspring) reflects this.

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please please pay attention to what is happening to women in south korea. it was revealed that men had chat rooms where they share photos of women in their family while they groping them and were sexually harassing them and feminists in south korea on twt are asking to spread the word about the crimes done against the women in the country since the media in korea won’t report on it and a lot of international media isn’t covering these issues that have been coming up

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F1 AU timeskip

kageyama drives for ferrari now

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Me after becoming a fic writer

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WRITERS AND FUTURE WRITERS, PLEASE LISTEN UP

i saw a few tiktok videos that was very concerning to me and i decided to share some of the knowledge i got because as a community of people who freely write things about characters, we need to protect our work. i have just decided to edit this post and to put the whole videos here since a some reblogs were of how i was spreading misinformation.

GOOGLE DOCS IS NOT SAFE (full credit to woppydoesthings on tiktok for information)

thank you to @lighteez for suggesting “reedsy” as an alternative option

thank you to @braingoaaaaaah for suggesting “click up” as an alternative option

thank you to @koungacris for suggesting “LibreOffice” as an alternative option

thank you to @stellarnathy for suggesting “notion” as an alternative option

THEY GOT THE AO3 WRITERS AS WELL (full credit to tiktok user sakuradarling) (sadly i can only add one video in per post and the tiktok user had turned off saving videos but i have decided to link the original video https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSFbq1PRA/)

apparently some thieves i am NOT calling them people because who with moral compass would do this shit? are copying, pasting and printing out popular fanfictions on AO3, binding them, turning them into actual books and selling them on places like Etsy WITHOUT crediting the original authors. which is why we can’t find some certain popular fics or authors on AO3

TUMBLR IS SELLING OUR WORK/PROMPTS TO THIRD PARTY WITHOUT CONSENT

i think i came across a post or two about it. i think my mutual @livelaughlovesubs has reblogged a post about it. check it out and turn on a switch on your blog settings that prevent this. stay safe and protect your works writers

spread the word everyone, because… genuinely what the fuck?

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reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something

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How to spot signs and symptoms of Breast Cancer 

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DPR IAN in IU'S SHOPPER MV

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"So, take notes, Butcher Biden: The ancestors of the Ireland that you claim to be from disown you. Keep our country out of your mouth. And as for von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), and genocidal Germany with your words and deeds supporting Israel in the ICJ: Not in our name! The people of Europe stand with Palestine and with South Africa."

Clare Daly - Irish Politician and Member of the European Parliament - 16/01/2024

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this is a sincere reminder to not stop boycotting, to not stop boosting and amplifying palestinian voices, and to never stop fighting for a free palestine.

noury, or nouran, is a jujutsu kaisen artist with a significant following on twitter, who has been documenting her life since the onset of the israeli aggression on october seventh.

noury has documented her struggles over the past four months, from finding basic necessities like food to literal explosions in her neighborhood as she falls asleep. her journey has now been marked by physical hardships, including the devestating loss of one of her eyes and now the fracture of her wrist.

as fellow artists and members of the fandom, it is so important that we refuse to turn a silent eye and never forget our people in palestine. the heart of this issue lies in the consistent dehumanization of palestinians, as they are constantly perceived as subhuman. let noury and her art serve as a reminder that the only difference between each of us and noury is the circumstances we were born into. that she was someone who celebrated gojo's birthday just like us, who wanted and deserved the right to watch the second season, who had it stripped away from her.

as you continue to interact with art, talk about jujutsu kaisen, and enjoy the fandom as you normally do - please don't forget that it is our responsibility to ensure that the world never forgets the losses suffered by people like noury, by people who are just like us, and to stand united against the israeli occupation that so constantly strips people of their basic rights, including the fundamental right to artistic expression.

here's a link to some information and resources

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This is human trafficking

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The beauty of Gaza and its people, 20 October 2020, photographed by Motaz Azaiza.

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And my birthday :)

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She really said on my birthday

I feel special now

#I hope they feel like Italian today

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This child in gaza is screaming:

"I wish it was a dream. Oh, mom and dad. I wish it was a dream and my mom and dad are still alive" after being rescued from underneath the rubble to find his parents killed by Israel.

Share this, we are not numbers. Let our voices be heard in hopes that this stops.