#NA meeting was fine they had gummy bears | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tynct · 6 years ago

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Jealousy

summary: everyone liked na jaemin; he was funny, and nice, and was considered one of the cutest guys in your school. maybe all those things contributed to the reasons why you didn’t like him

genre: fluff

words: 2.8k

warnings: none

a/n: these were sent in on the same day like a week or so ago im sorry for taking so long ghjk

Everyone liked Na Jaemin; he was funny, and nice, and was considered one of the cutest guys in your school. Maybe all those things contributed to the reasons why you didn’t like him.

There was always this feeling you’d get when he show up with one of your friends under his arm, and you’ve tried to ignore it, but your dislike towards him was obvious. And in return, Jaemin would always turn his nose up whenever you’d make an appearance.

Your status as ‘frenemies’ has been apparent since middle school, and there have been multiple fights between the two of you that’d usually end with you both angrily ranting to one of your friends about the other, and go back to like nothing had happened after slipping each other an apology snack. It was a weird cycle you slipped into, and you knew each others limits, so nothing you said ever really hurt his feelings and vise versa.

You’ve only seen Jaemin cry once, and it hadn’t been because of you, thank god, or your friends would’ve been at your throat. He had went through a tough breakup with a relationship that lasted more than a week, and he had shown up on your doorstep close to tears. He had said nobody else was around, and you didn’t question him when you had let him in.

Jaemin had pretended like that didn’t happen either, and came to school the next day with his award winning smile. His reputation of being a flirt always proceeds him when he manages to forget about the person he had been hung up on hours before, and it never fails to make you scowl in disapproval.

Renjun bumps your shoulder as you take a bite of your pretzel, pointing out in amusement at Jaemin with a crowd hanging onto his every word as he has his arm over two of their shoulders.

“This is a mall, not a fansign,” you mutter, and you nearly choke trying to protect your food when Jeno reaches over to steal a piece. “This is mine. Back off.”

“What do I have to do to make you give me some?” he asks with puppy eyes, his hands clasped together.

You don’t look at him as you shove another piece into your mouth. Jeno tilts his head into your line of sight, and Haechan snorts when you visibly weaken.

“Fine, oh my god. Here.”

Jeno grins as you give him half, but before he can take it, Jaemin snatches it and eats it all the while you and Jeno stare at him in shock.

“Thanks, Y/n,” Jaemin sits next to Mark, and he’s lucky he isn’t across from you or you would’ve reached over and smacked him.

Jeno whines as he drops his chin into his palm. “That was for me, Jaemin. I had to work hard for that.”

“Oh, I saw.”

“Did you now?” Renjun hums, and Jaemin subtly glances at you.

You’re paying him no attention, and he ignores the smirk Renjun is aiming at him. He’s known for a while about how Jaemin feels about you, and he doesn’t waste a single opportunity to remind him of that. Jaemin hadn’t meant for it to happen; somewhere in between the fights and jokes, he had managed to fall in love with you.

Renjun had noticed when you were at an amusement park, and had bought one of the keychains Jaemin had been looking at. He saw the way Jaemin turned to you with heart eyes when you slipped it to him, and how Renjun reenacted it later to him made him sink into his chair.

“I thought you were busy with all your.. fans,” Haechan muses. “I’m surprised you noticed. You must’ve been watching Y/n then, huh?”

Jaemin squints. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Suuure, Jaemin.”

“C’mon, let’s go,” you stand and hand over the last of the pretzel to Jeno. “I’m full anyways.”

Jeno leaps to his feet and follows after you while happily munching on your pretzel, and Jaemin frowns when he slips his arm through yours. He’d rather die than admit he’s jealous, but that’s all he feels as you don’t shake off his touch.

“Easy there, Jaemin,” Renjun walks beside him and he huffs. “Your jealousy is showing.”

“I am not-”

Haechan cuts him off with a tsk. “It’s obvious, man. You don’t need to lie to us.”

“What? Lie to you about what?”

“He knows you’re in love with Y/n,” Renjun coughs, and Jaemin snaps around to face him. “I didn’t tell him! He figured out, and asked me, and I accidentally-”

“What if Haechan tells them? You know he can’t keep a secret to save his life!”

Haechan crosses his arms, but doesn’t protest because he knows he’s right.

“What am I going to do if they find out?” Jaemin whispers, his mind racing with the scenario of you laughing in his face, saying that you don’t feel the same, saying that you actually hate him.

“They won’t find out!” Haechan tries to reassure him as he pats his arm, but it doesn’t seem to do much as Jaemin grabs him and looks at him with pleading eyes.

“You have to promise not to tell Y/n. I’m serious, Haechan.”

Haechan quickly nods as he leans away. “I won’t tell them-”

“Tell who what?”

Jaemins heart leaps to his throat as you walk over with Jeno still attached to your elbow. “Nothing! It’s none of your business, Y/n.”

“Geez, okay,” you raises a brow at his disheveled state. “Are you alright?”

“He’s fine! Oh, this store looks cool!”

Jaemin pulls at his hair as Haechan drags you off towards a candy store, throwing a confused glance over your shoulder before you disappear inside.

“What was that all about?” Jeno asks, and Jaemin crosses his arms.

“Jaemin’s jealous that you went off with Yn,” Renjun supplies, making Jaemin slap a hand over his mouth with a scream and Jeno gapes as he struggles to shove Jaemin off of him.

“You’re jealous? Why?”

“Because-”

Jaemin widens his eyes and Renjun cuts himself off, offering Jeno a shrug as an answer before he takes off after you and Haechan.

“I’m not jealous,” Jaemin laughs stiffly. “As if I would ever be jealous of you guys. I know you’re just friends.. you are just friends, right?”

Jeno raises a brow. “Yeah?”

“I mean, not that I’d care if you were more than friends.”

The skeptical look Jeno’s giving him make Jaemin clear his throat as he heads for the candy shop, and he nearly slaps himself when he realizes why Jaemin had been acting so weird. He smiles slyly as he catches up, an idea forming as you come into view.

“I was actually thinking of asking them out.”

Jaemins stomach drops to the floor as he turns to Jeno. “Sorry, what?”

“I was thinking of asking Y/n out,” he repeats, managing to keep himself from cackling when his friends complexion pales. “Do you think they’d say yes?”

“I- I don’t know? But I thought you didn’t like them in that way?”

Jeno shrugs as he faces you. “Maybe I do. I’m surprised you’re this concerned; I thought you hated Y/n.”

“I don’t hate Y/n,” Jaemin exclaims, and you pause from shoveling a hand full of gummy bears into your mouth to peer over at them.

“Did you want some?” you hold up the bag in confusion, and Jeno pats his arm as he strides to your side, making sure to meet Jaemin’s eyes as he grabs a gummy bear.

Jeno brings his chin onto your shoulder to peer down at the other things you and Haechan had bought, and Jaemin glares as he gets what Jeno is doing. He must’ve figured out Jaemin likes you, and he angrily stomps out of the store with his arms crossed. If he was that obvious about how he feels, then you’d find out in no time.

You find Jaemin in the food court sulking in the corner an hour later. A cup of soda sits in front of him, but all the bubbles had disappeared and he’s absently chewing on the straw when you slide into a chair next to him.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” Jaemin mutters, and you hold up a finger as you rummage around in your bag.

He blinks when you wave around the gummy bears you had in the store, and his mood sours when the picture of Jeno cozying up to you comes to mind.

“You’re mad because Jeno ate all of the ones I had, right? I went back after we left and bought you these, so will you stop acting like a drama queen and save me from everyone? They’re driving me insane.”

Jaemin curiously looks at you. “What do you mean?”

“They keep making these weird hints that someone likes me,” you shake your head as you rip open the gummy bears and offer him some.

Jaemin hesitantly grabs a couple and pops them into his mouth. Maybe leaving you alone with everyone wasn’t the best idea considering they all basically knew he liked you, and he nervously peeks at you from the corner of his eye. There was no way you’d suspect he was the one they were hinting at, right?

“It’s not hard to.”

“Not hard to what?”

Jaemin freezes as he realizes he had said that outloud, and alarm bells go off in his head as you turn to him.

“To, uh..” Jaemin rubs the back of his neck as he glances away. “To like you?”

You snort. “It is for you, apparently.”

“I like you!” he declares loudly, and you hum in disbelief.

“Sure you do, Jaemin.”

“I’m serious! You’re the one who doesn’t like me.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” you say playfully, and Jaemin all but deflates at your words. He leans back into the chair and you catch the hurt flashing across his face, and you’re quick to shake your head. “Months ago, maybe. But now.. you’re cool. Other than when you’re acting like a playboy, I can tolerate you.”

“I do not act like a playboy,” he pouts.

“Yeah, you do. How many numbers do you have on your phone?”

Jaemin pauses for a moment as he tries to count them, but gives up and offers a half shouldered shrug.

“See? My point proven.”

“That doesn’t prove anything,” Jaemin scoffs. “That just means a lot of people want to be my friend.”

“I think they want to be something a little more than your friend, Jaemin.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. I just don’t think you should be leading them on, is all.”

Jaemin sighs in frustration. “Why do you even care what I do?”

“Because you’re my-”

“Were you just about to say friend?” he leans forward with a cheshire grin, and you scowl. “You so were. I’m touched, Y/n..”

“Well, what else am I supposed to call you? That annoying kid who’s probably been on more dates than years I’ve been alive?”

“Actually..” Jaemin trails off in embarrassment.

He’s doesn’t want to admit he’s never been on a date before, and you understand when his cheeks burn red.

“Wait,” you state in shock. “You’ve never been on a date? You, Na Jaemin, have never been on a date?”

Jaemin cringes as he hits your arm. “Shh! God, Y/n, why not just stand on the rooftops and shout it out to the world?”

“Aw, you’ve never been on a date before. I almost wouldn’t believe that if you hadn’t turned into a red gummy bear,” you smirk, and he doesn’t protest as you pinch his cheek.

“It’s not like I don’t have plenty of opportunities to go on one.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“What about you, then? Have you been on a date?” Jaemin huffs, and when you nod, he nearly slaps his hands onto the table as he leans forward. “What? With who?”

You burst out laughing, and Jaemin watches in confusion as you try to collect yourself. “I’m sorry, but- that was too funny. I was kidding, by the way. Your reaction was priceless.”

“That wasn’t funny,” Jaemin mutters with a small smile as you wipe your eyes.

“It so was. Just wait till the others find out-”

“You can’t tell them!” he grabs your arm as you stand, and you stumble back into your seat. “If they knew, I’d never be able to live it down.”

You frown. “Then why tell me?”

“Because you’re different? I don’t know?”

“I’m ‘different’? Really, Jaemin?”

“Just forget it,” Jaemin let’s you go and rests his chin on his palm. You stay silent for a moment as you stare at him, almost feeling bad until his lip quirks up and he says, “You’ve never been on a date, so.. have you ever kissed anyone?”

“I- what? Why are you asking me?”

“Just wondering.”

You grab a gummy bear and toss it at him. “Like I’d ever tell you.”

“So you haven’t,” he grins, and you can’t believe that you’re finding it cute.

“Who cares if I haven’t? Unlike you, there’s not people lining up at my door just waiting to kiss me.”

“They don’t line up outside of my door, Y/n. They line up at my locker.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re crazy.”

“Crazy for you.”

The comment has you nearly red in the face, and you shift awkwardly in your seat all the while Jaemin’s grin wides.

“What’s so good about kissing anyways?” you mutter in embarrassment, and Jaemin chuckles as when you send him a glare.

“That’s something only a person who’s never been kissed would say.”

“What, like you’ve had a lot of experience mr. ‘I’ve never been on a date before’.”

“I’ve had plenty of experience in kissing, actually, just not dating,” he explains casually, and you blink.

“And why is that?”

He pauses and you squint, trying to decode his uneasy smile and wandering gaze. You’re never seen Jaemin so.. flustered, and it’s throwing you off slightly. He’s always been confident, and it’s one of the only things you like about him. The flirting makes you forget about him being anything more, and you regret letting that be the only thing that comes to mind when his name is mentioned. Maybe if you actually tried to be his friend-

“Want to call this a date?” Jaemin asks, and your previous thought goes flying right out of the window as you gawk at him. He laughs at the way your jaw is hanging, and you snap it shut when he points at you. “Oh my god, you should’ve seen your face!”

You lean back with a scowl as he hunches over, his shoulders shaking. You grit your teeth when he peers over at you, only to snort and hide his face in his hands.

“Haha, that was hilarious, you dumbass.”

Jaemin tries to nonchalantly lean his elbow on the table, but he misses entirely and he’s quick to correct his mistake with a sheepish grin. “I mean, unless you’re down, then I’m totally serious.”

“For what?”

He gestures between the two of you. “A date, so we can both say we’ve been on one, and for me to prove that I’m better at you at it, of course.”

You frown at the ridiculous idea, opening your mouth to decline, until you meet his eyes and you think for a moment. It could be hilarious to see Jaemin go out of his way, and if he does something stupid, you could always have that for blackmail whenever he’d get on your nerves.

“Fine,” you agree, and Jaemin freezes. “I already I know that you’re going to suck at this.”

He hadn’t expected you to agree, and he’s not sure how he should feel about it. On one hand, he could make you eat your words by proving you wrong, but what if he tries to hard and accidentally exposes how he really feels?

Jaemin nervously stands, easily painting on a smile. He extends his hand and you stare at it with a funny expression.

“What? This is a date, Y/n. Take it or I win.”

“Are there rules now?” you huff, hesitatingly grabbing his hand and your heart jumps when he intertwines your fingers.

“C’mon, I saw a pretzel stand and I’ve been wanting one ever since I stole some of yours.”

You hurry to your feet as Jaemin tugs you along, nearly stumbling. “Give me a warning next time, you-”

“No name calling,” he sings over his shoulder.

“How do you know I was going to call you a bad name?” you grumble, trying not to focus on how warm his palm is against yours. “What if I was going to call you something nice? Like, uh...”

“You’re literally incapable of saying anything nice about me, Y/n.”

He comes to a sudden halt in front of you, and you grunt as you slam into his back. “Jaemin! Oh my god, you’re such a-” The smirk tugging at his lips makes you pause to reword, and you grit your teeth as you mutter, “nice person. As a thank you, why don’t I pay?”

Before he can stop you, you step around him and order one pretzel. He shakes his head as you hand over the money. Buying something for yourself and not your date right in front of them isn’t very romantic, and Jaemin smugly crosses his arms. Beating you at this will be easier than he thought.

“Let’s go.”

“I want one too?”

You wave the pretzel in the air as you pull him out of line. “Who do you think this is for? You think I’d let my.. date starve?”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“Ah, nope,” you keep him from taking it, and he frowns when you rip off a piece. “Open your mouth.”

Jaemin laughs as you hold it out for him, and he leans forward and grabs it with his teeth.

“See? I can be nice to you. Now here, this is embarrassing.”

He rolls his eyes as you push the pretzel into his chest He almost chokes when you’re the one to take his hand this time, and he quietly follows after you.

“I saw a plushie store somewhere in here, do you want-”

“What? Where?” Jaemins head snaps up and you cringe as he talks with his mouth full. “Take me there right now. Please.”

It takes a nearly ten minutes to find it, and you’re relieved when you step into the brightly colored store. You don’t have a second to rest though, because Jaemin drags you over to a wall filled with ryan plushies and you chuckle when he jumps up to grab the one on the highest shelf.

You hold up your phone and he poses with the plushie, his smile all teeth as he holds a peace sign behind its ears. “Adorable, truly.”

“Was that a compliment?” Jaemin bats his lashes and you scoff.

“I was talking about the plushie, Jaemin.”

It’s like he doesn’t hear you as he tucks the plushie under his arm and heads for the cashier. You shrug as you exit the store and sit on a bench across from the entrance, and you boredly scroll through your phone as you wait. The picture of him and the plushie makes you grin as you stare at it, and you startle when you hear your name echo from the other side of the mall.

Haechan waves, using Mark to push himself higher into the air and you wave back with both arms as they make their way over to you.

“Where have you been? You disappeared,” Jeno questions, suspiciously glancing around. “Jaemin conveniently has been missing too. Have you seen him?”

Just as you’re about to pretend like you haven’t, Jaemin appears at your side and slides into the empty space beside you, and he innocently places his plushie bag where Jeno was about to sit.

“Sorry, was this seat taken?”

Jeno shakes his head at the obvious jealousy written on his face, and doesn’t miss the way Jaemin’s brow twitches when he leans his elbow on the railing behind you. Rather than taking the hint and backing off, Jeno brings his hand up to your head, all the while making eye contact with Jaemin and he grins when he mouths for him to stop.

“So were you two together?” Haechan asks.

The look that Jaemin throws your way makes you shift awkwardly. Whatever he’s about to say is bound to be bad, and you grimace as you prepare for the worst as his lips part.

“We were on a date,” Jaemin states without hesitation, drawing wide eyes and hanging jaws as they all stare at you.

“That’s-that’s partially true,” you sputter, and before you can explain any further, he grabs your hand and pulls you on your feet.

“We’ll see you guys later; I still have to do one more thing.”

You silently trail after him with burning cheeks, not sure if you should stop him right here and beat him with the ryan plushie or wait till you’re out of sight from the others.

“What the hell, Jaemin,” you groan once you round a corner, ripping your hand out of his and bring it up to your cheek. “Oh god, now they’re really going to think we’re dating.”

Jaemin bites his lip as you pace in front of him. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“What?”

“I mean, I just think that.. you and I dating wouldn’t be such a bad idea..?”

You pause and watch as he fidgets with the plushie bag, trying to figure out if he’s joking or not as he sends you a tight smile. Nothing he’s doing makes you think that he’s being anything but genuine, and you’re taken aback as you stare at him. You’ve never entertained the thought of him actually having any feelings for you besides annoyance, and you don’t know what to do.

“Oh,” is what you manage to croak out.

“Renjun knows that I like you, and I just thought that I should tell you before you find out from Haechan. Jeno found out because apparently it’s obvious to everyone but you, and was trying to make me jealous at the candy store.”

“Did it work?”

He hesitates to answer as you take a step closer. “It-, uh. It doesn’t matter.”

“You were totally jealous, weren’t you?”

“I was not.”

You cross your arms. “Oh, really? Then it wouldn’t bother you if I went and hung out with him?”

“Not one bit.”

“Not even if we went off together? Alone?”

“Nope,” he lies, mirroring your pose and you scoff.

“You’re turning red, Jaemin.”

He doesn’t look away as you continue staring him down, but after a moment, he wavers.

“You’re so jealous,” you tease, and you’re a little surprised when he doesn’t deny it.

“If I admit I was jealous, will you go on a date with me? A real one, I mean.”

You hide the grin beginning to tug at your lips as you pretend to think, and you can’t stand the worry on his face anymore and nod. “Only if you buy the pretzel this time.”

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shroudwayman · 7 years ago

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149. What's the last adventure you went on?

[MUN/PLAYER/BLOGGER/TRASH OVERSEER TIME]

OKAY so my last adventure was a Valentine’s Day gift for @nathanielgraves (you, you asker) and I, and thus I am ABSOLUTELY GONNA GUSH ABOUT IT. It’s pretty long and swirly, so I dropped everything below the cut but there’s also a TL;DR at the bottom for those who wanna cut to the good stuff. ♥

On Feb 13th, [Nate/Certo] and I went to a metal concert, because who doesn’t like metal concerts for lovey holidays?? We’d had to reschedule Gin Mills for it, and Certo even took an extra day off work with their PTO to enjoy the weekend. I’d bought these tickets back in November, basically as a ‘Something fun to look forward to just for us’ cause I’d gotten injured and subsequently got let go from work because I couldn’t… do my job anymore. A well-earned pick-me-up!

So, the reason this was so huge for me in particular is I’ve never been to a metal concert before. And additionally, short of a couple of tiny bands in smaller venues and coffee shops, I had never been to a larger scale concert before in my liiiife.

The band we went to go see was Sabaton, and when Certo first introduced me to them a couple years ago now, it was with a live, Swedish semi-official recording of ‘Carolus Rex.’ So I was already familiar with their live sound, and of course Carolux Rex turned into a power anthem for me for awhile, and I fell in love.

Sabaton, for those of you who aren’t familiar, is a Swedish power metal band based out of Falun, Sweden. Power metal is… if you took all of the musical power of melodic and symphonic metal, combined with lyrics you can still understand, in a gruff throaty tone, with historically relevant lyrics, and a broad fucking grin.

With them being from overseas, being able to go to their North American tour was a big deal for me. I pitched for a VIP table early in case I was still injured when the date came around (I was, I’ll get to that) and we set aside extra funds to be able to afford Seattle-priced food and tour swag. (I then forgot my bank card at home when Certo went to retrieve the car from the overpriced parking garage, and my pre-paid card did not have enough for more than one piece of swag CURSES UPON MY LUCK.)

We left early from home, had a totally great sunny drive up to Seattle, with plenty of time to find parking nearby for my hobbly ass, and still even made it with some to spare before the doors pre-opened to those for early entry dining. We met a group from Canada in line who had been going to Sabaton’s shows for almost 5 years, and had seen them something like 13 times. So, us as newbies to this show, we absolutely littered them with questions and they told us behind the scenes bits and shared pictures and stories from previous concerts and meet & greets. Sweetest set of parents and their son. I could tell a whole bunch of stories about them alone, but for sake of length, I’ll skip it. Suffice to say, the self appointed Drunk Tour Mom was two drinks in when she declared that even with the table we had reserved, if I could manage through it, I should absolutely try to be at the stage bar for a front-row experience of Sabaton for my first time. I was wary of this, seeing as I’ve got some mobility, but ultimately I’m still pretty crippled on my cane.

Of course, I was a beer and halfway through a Tennessee mule Certo and I were sharing when I decided this suggestion was a great idea, knee injury be damned! I’d stand as long as I could, suffer the press of the crowd, and do my best to not let my knee affect my concert experience. (I did avoid the mosh pit and crowd surfing this go-round, but lemme tell you if I wasn’t injured…)

The security guy we had on the other side of the railing was the start to my brilliant experience, tbh. Not only did he sneak me a couple sour gummy bears from his pocket, but he also let us see the night’s schedule on his phone so we knew who was going on when, and gave Certo and I a pair of free earplugs, which normally they’d sell at a venue for $5-10 each. Like this dude was awesome.

The first two bands I’ll admit I hadn’t heard of before, so I was both wary but excited to see them. Cyhra opened the show, who turned out to have a small set, but have a brilliant sound and be really great. Then Kreator came on. Kreator, who was definitely not what I was expecting (and may not have listened to them on my own,) puts on a HELL of a show after 38 years of being around and had amazing energy on stage! Admittedly, their stage lights were blinding and my eyes hurt after, but I think that’s my only real complaint. I managed to stay at the bar through both setups, Cyhra and Kreator’s sets, and at the end of Kreator’s set I realized my knee was numb and that I absolutely needed to sit and get off it.

Retreating through the crowd after securing our spot on the rail with one of our new Canadian friends (who were standing with us, because Drunk Tour Mom absolutely wanted to see me experience my first Sabaton concert) I limped through the thick crowd to our table. We had 15, maybe 20 minutes for me to sit before they went on. Metal crowds, by the way? Some of the sweetest people ever. Most moved right out of our way as we scooted through, and those who didn’t immediately made a hole for us after I raised my cane. We got to the table, I ordered a hard cider and massaged the hell out of my leg for the 18 minutes before we felt the mood in the theatre change. Something had happened, and then I realized one of Sabaton’s songs was on the interlude music overhead. This, apparently, was the prelude to the actual intro song, but those with experience in the theatre knew it and I slammed my cider, got up and hobbled my ass right back to the bar. (I relinquished part of my bar experience to let another couple and a tiny person between us and our Canadian friends, they were thrilled.)

Sabaton? Sabaton. Was. AMAZING. The energy, the sound, the experience of them live was literally something I could not have made up with my experiences at the time. Any expectations I’d had were totally blown out of the water. I got to make cheers and interact with the guitarist we were in front of ON STAGE. We got to sing along at the top of our lungs and pump our fists and JUMP. Okay, I admittedly may have been hopping on one leg for most of it but it was close enough.

They played three of my favourites, INCLUDING a couple of old songs which, you guessed it, included CAROLUS REX. I was absolutely floored. While it would’ve been a complete dream come true for them to have done it in Swedish, they did the English version BUT THAT WAS TOTALLY FINE BECAUSE THEY DID THE SONG ANYWAY AND HADN’T IN SOME TIME ON TOUR. They also performed Swedish Pagans and Resist & Bite, and of their discography, those songs are my absolute top three. (I should mention, Resist & Bite also pairs well with Panzer Battalion & Ghost Division, and they PERFORMED THOSE, TOO. It was like a fucking smorgasbord of my go-to Sabaton songs throughout their albums and they did most of them.)

Throughout the concert, the guitarists tossed picks during the performance which I missed. I couldn’t jump well, and even at almost six feet tall, most of the swag was aimed at the middle of the bar or well into the crowd. So while I was absolutely not going to begrudge not getting stage gifts, I of course was going to try my damnedest! After their set, and they had done the final song and the bow given, the last of the stage swag was thrown. Picks, drumsticks, drum covers, copies of the set list, the whole nine yards. And as luck would have it, the guitarist I’d stood in front of all night (Chris,) sang along with, smiled and cheered at and sang along with, tossed a pick AT me. Right the hell at me. I caught it. I could’ve fainted right then, but GODS I held fast and clung to it with what I can only imagine was the most ridiculously excited smile ever.

After the crowd milled away and retreated from the venue, Certo ran to go retrieve the car from the parking garage at a very close 11:45. This was important because the garage we’d chosen closed at midnight and implemented a $40 fee after to pick up vehicles. Because it was a concert night, and Sabaton didn’t even go on til after 10, we were prepared to pay it… but really didn’t want to. I grabbed a shirt from the tour items booth (a NA tour shirt, even though I really wanted a Carolus Rex tour t-shirt they’d rebooted but had to skip due to realizing I’d left my bank card in my other wallet at home, 90 miles away. I thanked the lady who’d stayed open so I could skip the crowd with my cane, grabbed my shirt, and retreated outside to wait for Certo and the car.

This, of course, is when I realized it was cold as fuck and raining. Now… I have… Okay tires. One’s got a partial leak, but it’s slow and I’ve got a pump, and they definitely could use some more tread, but it’s served me well so far and it’s on my list of Things to get done once I’m employable again. As we drove home, the roads were freshly rained on after dry weather and covered in fucking hydroplaning nightmares. Then it began to snow through the rain as we trailed further south. Since my car accident due to icy conditions a few years ago, I have lingering high non-functioning anxiety when it comes to severe weather patterns, but Certo is an absolute CHAMPION and got us home safely, powering through the hydroplaning with no small amount of reassuring to me. (While I failed to act totally cool to reassure them, and played games on their phone to distract my nervous whining.)

Needless to say, from start to finish, it’s been a hell of an adventure, but one that was absolutely worth it. We’d even made it in the corner of their End of Concert picture they take on stage, which was an unexpected joy. To top off what was already possibly one of the best nights I’ve had in awhile, (nay, perhaps my life!) is after I made a comment on the band’s Facebook page about my first time and how excellent the show was? The page replied back. I don’t care that it could be a social media admin and that the odds it was one of the band was small. I was head over heels over the MOON about it, and it was by far an unreal adventure I’ll never forget.

A snapshot of what I referenced above:

(The tiny red circle is where we are, small but important to the experience!)

(The guitar pick thrown by ChrisRörland, one of Sabaton’s guitarist.)

TL;DR: First metal concert to see Sabaton, catching a guitarist’s pick after standing at the front of the stage all night with a knee injury, hydroplaning sleet on the way home with nearly bald tires, and having the band’s social media page reply to my post directly. ♥

#ooc #ask the mun #behind the blog #adventures #SABATON MOTHER FUCKERS #TL;DR #long post #nathanielgraves

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