#and i literally always say this when i rank albums

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

AND YOU SHOULD SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

it's very interesting to me when swifties rank taylor's albums and rank folklore higher and then evermore a bit lower or the other way around like how do you separate them? they're a package deal for me personally they're intertwined they must never be separated they're both my number ones how do you do it

[fagoutboy]

🤨?

[averagewriter-inthedark]

It’s A Long Way To The Top 🎸 | Pete Maverick Mitchell / Top Gun Maverick Imagine

Takes place after the events of TGM

Top Gun Maverick Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell x 80s Rockstar!reader (romantic), Bradley Bradshaw x reader (mother/son-type relationship), Dagger Squad (platonic) Hondo (platonic)

Content warnings: Fluff, slight profanity, flirtatious banter, light suggestive content, mentions of past drug use. | Female!reader (she/her) | wc: 13.5k

Social Media matching HC

Premise: The Dagger Squad didn’t know much about their former instructor turned friend, Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. Only Rooster had insight on all there was when it came to the famous pilot, and his love life certainly fell into that. When the squad shows up unannounced to Maverick’s San Diego home for his birthday weekend, they are greeted with the shock of the lifetime when it’s revealed Maverick’s lady once ruled the radio of the decade they were born in. And what better way for them to properly meet one of the greatest rockstars to ever exist than by attending the bands reunion concert that night.

Note: So TC was born in 1962 and that what it also says for Maverick (although with his rank I doubt it lines up but Imma just go with it), so for this imagine you were born in 1964 and were the front woman of a famous 80s rock band who Mav meets after the events of Top Gun. I love rock music and have been listening to it nonstop the past week and this inspired me. At first I was gonna do this with Rooster or Phoenix with a modern day rockstar, but then I thought Mav was better suited for what I had planned.

Also in my research I found that the Staples Center (which is going to mentioned a lot) opened in 1999 and is now called Crypto.com Arena, but for this just imagine it opened in the 80s and is still called the Staples Center. Personally I will always refer to it as that even though it got a new name. Last thing, my favorite band is AC/DC and i use two of their songs as ‘your’ songs verbally said. The album/era names are ones I thought of off the bat, and feel free to imagine your friends as your bandmates, I just gave them names to make it easier when writing. And the photo on the collage is to show the outfit reference—I don’t write with any indication of race/ethnicity/etc unless it’s for an OC. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

————————————

“Are you guys sure about not warning Rooster we’re coming?” Bob voiced from the passenger side of Nat’s car. In the backseat were Mickey and Payback while Hondo drove the car behind them containing Hangman and Coyote.

“Bradshaw will spoil the surprise,” Fanboy reminds him, “And the whole point of this is to surprise Mav. We haven’t seen him in months and this is the first time we’re all together again.”

“I know,” Bob sighs, leaning back into his seat before glancing at Nat, “How did you even get his address, Nat?”

She doesn’t stray her eyes from the road as she responds, “I may have convinced Admiral Simpson to give it to me, saying we all wanted to send Mav a birthday gift but didn’t have his permanent residence. I know he’s often in the Mojave desert during his vacation, but Cyclone gave me his San Diego home address.”

“Hondo didn’t even have Mav’s address?” Mickey says more to himself, surprised the man did not. He was Mav’s closest friend and had been with him since the Darkstar project.

“Hondo only had his Mojave camp—which isn’t really an address when you think about it. It’s quite literally on an old airstrip that’s not even used by the Navy anymore,” Nat tells him, “Mav lived there during their assignment so it makes sense why he only had that one.”

“So what I’m hearing is you deceived Admiral Simpson so we can show up on Mav’s doorstep like ‘surprise! We’re here!’ And Cyclone just gave it to you with no questions asked?” Payback raises a brow, catching her eyes in the rear view mirror.

“Not entirely,” she defends, “I mean we are sending him a birthday gift…..it’s just we are the birthday gift.” At the laughs from the men Nat rolls her eyes, “Y’all are in this too, so I don’t know why you’re laughing. We’re almost there. GPS says ten minutes.”

The Pacific Ocean was to their right, the sun high in the sky as the time reached one o’clock. They noticed as they traveled down the road that the houses were becoming more distant and eye-catching. “Damn,” Fanboy whistled under his breath at one point.

When they got to the turn to enter the neighborhood, they were greeted with a closed gate and security. Nat mentally cursed, not anticipating Mav lived in a gated community.

Now the jig was up and they were gonna have to call Rooster.

While Nat spoke with one of the security guards Bob was already dialing Bradley, who answered with a confused, “Hey, Bob. What’s up?”

“Rooster, hey, I’m sorry to bother you but the squad and I were planning to surprise Maverick for his birthday tonight and well….we’re kinda at the entrance to his neighborhood. We didn’t think it would be gated and needed confirmation from the resident to get in.”

“Ah damn,” Bradley said with a laugh and Bob could hear him fiddling with his keys. “I wish y’all would’ve told me, but then again I know I probably would’ve ruined it.” It was the truth, Rooster could not keep a secret if his life depended on it. Last year he unintentionally spoiled Nat’s surprise party when she got promoted. Soon it became a running joke amongst the group. “Just hang tight, I’ll be right there.”

“Wait, are you at Mav’s house?” All eyes in the car turned to Bob, the WSO catching the sound of Rooster’s Bronco starting up.

“Yeah, I’m on the list and can get y’all in. Hang on, imma tell him I’m running out to get beers.” There was a pause on the receiver before a car door shuts and Rooster says, “I’ll be there in two minutes.” Bob stayed on the line before hanging up when they caught sight of the bright blue vehicle approaching from the other side of the gate. Rooster pulled off to the side, exited the car and approached the security hut where another officer met him in the middle. The team watched as they exchanged words before the guard Nat spoke with was called over.

When he returned seconds later he said, “we’re gonna open the gate and if you could please pull off to where my buddy directs you and step out. We have to check the cars.”

“Sure thing,” Nat says with a wave as he goes to relay the same to Hondo. Passing the gate, she parks the car where the guard instructs and all four step out from the vehicle. Hondo pulls up seconds later with Hangman and Coyote coming over to stand with the group as Rooster approaches.

“Well this sure is some special treatment,” Hangman jokes when an officer comes up with a metal detector to begin scanning the squad while the two search their cars. He notices one of the officers writing down the car information, including the license plate number. “Never seen this before when I’ve been to a gated neighborhood.”

“It’s just precaution since it’s your first time” Rooster says, dabbing up the guys when they are finished being scanned. “It’s good to see you guys.”

“It’s good to see you too, Bradshaw,” Nat gives him a hug and appears apologetic. “Sorry we didn’t let you know in advance.”

“Ah it’s all good. Like I told Bob I probably would’ve ruined it.” They all laugh, some muttering sounds of agreement. It was all in good heart though, Bradley wasn’t offended. He was just happy to see his friends again and celebrate Mav’s 60th with them.

The only thing….they were in for their own surprise when they got to the house.

���Does the governor of California live here or something?” Javy jokes, but judging by the way Rooster reacts he’s certain there is some truth to it.

“All clear!” The main guard shouts, nodding to Rooster. “Y’all are free to go, just make sure to call in if you leave the area and return later on.”

“Will do,” Rooster salutes, shaking his hand afterwards. “Thanks again, Frank.” Telling his friends to follow behind him, they all got into their respective vehicles and headed down the road leading to the neighborhood.

“Sheeeesh,” Mickey says in awe at some of the houses they passed. They looked to be a million bucks. Literally. They were distanced quite a bit like something you see in Calabasas and had long entrances. “Mav should be on MTV’s cribs. How the hell does a naval Captain get something like this?”

“Probably by saving for that perfect retirement home,” Nat comments, eyes lingering on one house that caught her eyes.

“Nah,” Payback shakes his head, “I’ve seen Admirals with places not even to this extent. No offense to Mav, but I don’t see how an O-6 could afford a place like this.” About a minute passed before they were turning into a long driveway, all four jaws dropping at the sight of the home.

Yeah they needed to know Pete’s secret.

It was a gorgeous two-story mediterranean style home with an iron gate surrounding the perimeter. The exterior was beautiful, with flowers and various plants on the grounds. A front enclosed patio was the first thing they could see connecting to a foyer where the front door was located. Only one word could describe the home: marvelous.

The driveway was crescent shaped and could fit at least four cars with a side entrance leading to the garage. Rooster pulled up to the furthest spot allowing Nat and Hondo to pull up behind him. “Holy shit,” Fanboy says in awe, hopping out of the car and shutting the door behind him.

Shutting his own door, Hangman whistles, “If this is what retirement looks like, I can’t wait.”

“C’mon,” Rooster chuckles, nodding his head to the entrance. “Mav’s in the garage working on his bike.” The squad all rushes to get the gifts, beer, and food they had brought for the pilot, following behind Rooster while trying to not make it look like they were gawking at the home. They hadn’t even seen the inside yet but could already tell it was going to be as incredible as the outside.

Putting a finger to his lips, the group remains quiet at Rooster’s command as they ease their way into the garage. It was very similar to the one at his camp hangar in the desert. Pictures hung on a wall with several plaques. Motorcycles lined up and sitting in the corner was a gorgeous 1966 Dodge Charger. Coyote had to put a hand to his mouth to keep from making a sound when he saw it.

“That you, Bradley?” Mav said with his back to the group, unaware his practically surrogate son was not alone. He was dressed in a greased up white tee with some old light washed jeans and boots. Playing on the radio was the 80s on 8 channel from SiriusXM.

“Yeah it’s me,” Rooster places a case of beers the squad brought on the counter near the fridge. “I brought some strays too while I was at it.”

“Strays? What—?” Mav laughs, moving to turn around which resulted in his mouth dropping and wrench clinking to the floor.

“Surprise!” Everyone shouted, grinning widely at their former instructor who was completely speechless. “Happy Birthday, Mav!”

“Wha-oh my gosh!” The pilot's feet moved before he could stop them, embracing Phoenix first since she was closest before doing the same to the others. As he pulls away from Hondo, patting his back Mav goes, “What’re you doing here?”

“Surprising you for your birthday, old man,” Hangman lightly punches his shoulder. “You’re turning the big six-zero, there was no way we were missing it.”

“Aww thanks guys,” the man blushes, grinning when they bombard him with gifts. “It’s so good to see you all—I-I wish I would’ve known you were coming.”

“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, Cap,” Fanboy points to him with a knowing look.

“True,” Mav laughs, directing the crew to put the bags and all on the counter in the garage where the sink was located. “Thank you all so much, you really didn’t have to do all this.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen ya, Mav,” Phoenix tells him, accepting the beer Rooster offers her that was already in the fridge. He passes them out to the crew, except Bob and Mav who kindly decline. Phoenix waves a hand, “Quite the place you got. Rooster had to come save us at the gate.”

Mav raises a brow at Rooster, “You didn’t know about this?”

“Nope,” he pops the ‘p’, “I’m sure you can guess why.” It takes Mav a moment, but then he chuckles, thinking back to the many times Bradley did ruin a surprise. Nat’s promotion party, Hondo’s birthday dinner, and the tickets the group got Mickey to attend SDCC’s Star Wars reunion panel.

“We hope we didn’t catch you at a bad time,” Bob says. “Dropping in unannounced. We weren’t sure if you had anything planned this weekend, but we all took a few days off—got rooms in TLF back at Fightertown, so we would love to take you out for dinner or something this weekend.”

Mav glances at Rooster, who gives a knowing look to the pilot while sipping his beer. The two share a silent exchange of words before he scratches the back of his neck….a few catch the reflective metal of a gold on his left ring finger. Phoenix and Bob’s eyes widen, looking around to see if anyone else spotted what they did.

“Um, well we did have plans tonight—but I can make a call and figure something out. Tomorrow for sure I’m free all day so whatever you guys want to do I’m game.”

“What kind of plans?” Coyote asks before Payback and Hondo nudges him for being nosy. “Owwww.”

Hesitant to reply, Mav gives Rooster another look before nodding his head to the door, “why don’t you guys come inside. Make yourself comfortable while I make a quick call.”

“Are you not going to—,” Mav is quick to cut Bradley off with a wink. Confused, the entire squad look at each other with the same expression before following behind Mav while Rooster is the last to enter and shut the garage door.

Pete doesn’t have to turn around to know they were all gawking at the interior of the home. The first rooms closest to the garage were the laundry room, open kitchen and dining room. Sounds of approaching steps alerted the group and several audibly reacted to the adult Dalmatian, white husky, and golden retriever puppy racing after them.

“Oh my gosh,” Javy kneeled down to pet the Goldie pawing at his legs. “Your dogs are adorable.” The husky was licking at Jake’s face while Phoenix and Bob were occupied with the Dalmatian before each dog inspected each of the guests. “What are their names?”

“That’s Ice,” he pointed to the husky first then the Dalmatian, “Bella.” Lastly he pointed at the puppy, who was kissing up on Mickey, “and Goose.” They spend a good three minutes right there in the kitchen allowing the dogs to receive attention from the squad before Mav directs them to the living room.

And that’s when they pass the cabinet.

A cabinet that was just one of many.

“Uh, Mav,” Payback stops, causing those behind him to do the same, gaze locked on the floor to ceiling glass cabinet—if you could call it that, it was more like a shrine.

Dedicated to one of the world's most renowned rock bands.

“Yeah?” Mav already knew what they were looking at. And that was only scratching the surface compared to the others in the house.

“Say, uh—,” Payback tilts his head, pointing to the cabinet, “Are you like, obsessed with ‘Y/n & the Romantics’,” several eyes trailed along the various shelves lined with actual Grammy awards for ‘Best Rock Performance by a Duo/Group’, ‘Best Rock Album’, ‘Best Rock Song’, ‘Record of the Year,’ & ‘Album of the Year,’ going back as 1980 to 2021 as the most recent. Other awards included almost a dozen in MTV Moonmen, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, and an Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’. Framed photographs of the band hung on the walls and perched on the shelves. Some included them with famed music legends like Cher, Prince, Micheal Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Def Leppard, and Duran Duran….those of which the squad could make out the signature on the photograph itself. An eye catcher was the USA for Africa signed photograph of every artist, including the Romantics, featured in Michael Jackson’s “We Are The World.”

One shelf pretty much was reserved for all the times they were the musical guests on SNL. Four times to be exact. Another shelf, that had their eyes boggling, was dedicated to their 1999 Super Bowl Halftime performance with a football signed by the band and head coaches of the teams that played that year.

Fanboy nearly shit his pants when he saw the guitars mounted on the wall. Not only were they signed by absolute icons, including Elvis fucking Preseley, but one of which was the iconic checkered neon pink Fender Stratocaster frontwoman Y/n L/n played in the 80s.

Y/n L/n. Dubbed the ‘daughter of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ with a voice that had people say she was what an angel would sound like if they rebelled from God to become a rockstar. Together with some of her best friends from high school, formed the group ‘Y/n & the Romantics,’ signing with a small label in Atlanta, Georgia in 1978 at aged 14 after being discovered on the corner of a street playing covers of Elvis, The Beatles, and Billie Holiday. What had the producer write up a contract right there was when he heard Y/n’s rendition of ‘Crybaby,’ by Janis Joplin. It was as though Janis had been reincarnated. Her voice was unlike anything he’d ever heard.

They released their first single on New Year’s Day of 1979. That first single that had RCA Records knocking on their door and shot them into becoming one of the best selling rock bands of all time. When MTV launched on August 1, 1981, their music video for their Grammy Award winning single was the third to be played after ‘Video Killed The Radio Star,’ by the Buggles, and ‘You Better Run’ by Pat Benatar. Y/n & the Romantics became teen sensations, dominating the 1980s and 90s before going on hiatus in the early 2000s. Y/n was not only known for her recognizable, unique voice but also her split dye hair, leather outfits, stage presence, and signature pink guitar she named, ‘Dirty Shirley.’

And it was in Maverick’s house.

“Holy shit,” Phoenix breathed out, patting Payback to look to the left. That’s when he noticed the wedding picture hung on the wall not too far from where they were standing. The bride, kissing Maverick in the photo, was the same woman holding a Grammy with her bandmates.

Eyes bulging out, Payback whistled and asked what they were all thinking, “Or…. you got something to tell us?”

August 15, 1989. Los Angeles, California. Club Electic Idol

“Tell me, Pete—or do you prefer Maverick?” The blue light shining above her in the bar had the glitter on her face reflect. She was dazzling. Unlike any woman he’d ever met. And Pete met a lot in his career, though they never captivated him like she was now. He wanted to dance with her forever

Arms around his neck, their bodies pressed together as they swayed to the beat of ‘When Doves Cry,’ by Prince. The leather adorning her body was smooth against his fingertips. Completely ignorant of the flashing of cameras from the side and envious gazes of both men and women around them. Never did the pilot think when he, Ice, and Slider agreed on coming to that bar after the concert that he would end up with the frontwoman in his arms. They were just looking for a place to grab a quick drink, maybe dance with a girl or two, and chill before heading back to their hotel.

Guess Y/n & the Romantics were looking to do the same. Fate seemed to bring them together.

“Either is fine, sweetheart.” She smirked at the nickname, finding it amusing. God, even her smirk was sexy. Everything about her was.

“You do that little show of yours each time you see a pretty lady? Or am I just special?”

Damn she caught him.

Truth be told it scared the shit out of him to even think about doing it. Had it not been for the light buzz from drinking a couple beers and encouragement from Ice saying, “You’re the only bloke in this bar who could probably get her into bed if you tried, Mitchell. I saw her eyeing you when you went to pick a song on the jukebox.”

At first he refused. It was Y/n fucking L/n of all people. And there were plenty of people, men and women, who were taking a shot at swooning the rockstar. Left and right they were offering her drinks and asking her to dance. Mav would only go up to her if Ice and Slider sang with him. There was no way in hell he would embarrass just himself. Especially if it didn’t turn out the way he wanted.

The fact it actually did work had the pilot thank his guardian angel, who no doubt had to have been Goose.

“I’ve only done it a few times. The first crashed and burned. Second time actually got me a date,” his lips curled up, “Now I’m hoping the third time’s a charm.”

“I see,” she hummed, never taking her eyes off him. The silence that indicated she was deep in thought. “What are you hoping to get out of it?”

“Honestly, maybe a kiss when the night comes to an end if you’d allow me the honor. But if not I would want you to never forget me. Just like I won’t ever forget you.”

“After a performance like that, Lieutenant, I’ll remember you till the end of time. And about that kiss….” She brings her mouth closer to his, but still enough distance to keep them apart. Pete felt his heart skip at the proximity, the perfume she wore filling his nostrils. “Keep impressing me and it just might come true.”

Present Day

“Wait-wait-wait,” Phoenix laughed with the guys as Maverick finished telling the story of when he went with Slider and Iceman to see Y/n & the Romantics perform at the Staples center in 1989. They were all seated in the living room—which had more framed photos of not just Y/n and her band but also of her and Maverick over the years and Rooster as a child.

Jake took photos of that on his phone to hold for blackmail. Now it made sense why Rooster was always singing their songs on the piano when they would go out.

After giving a quick tour of the first floor of the home, they all settled in the living room with his dogs as Mav sent a text to his lady to call him after soundcheck. Beers were brought out and some snacks, the crew still processing the news as they took it all in. Eventually after a quick explanation, Pete answered the many questions they had, including just how the hell he managed to pull one of the greatest rockstars to ever exist.

Whose band literally had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and were being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in just a few months.

“So from what I’m gathering,” Nat points to her forehead, as though she were deep in thought, “If my brain is right on track here….you were, to put it lightly…a groupie?”

“Now hold on—.” Mav tried to say but was cut off by the obnoxious laughter that was Javy, Mickey, and Jake while Bob and Hondo just shook their heads, although they were grinning wide at the insinuation. Rooster was smirking like, ‘told you so.’ Mav sighed, but he was smiling as the laughter died down. “I was not a groupie. Okay��yeah I had the hope I would meet her after the show, but I didn’t go out of my way to make that happen. They just happened to come to the same bar that night—I swear!”

“That literally sounds like what a groupie is, Mav,” Hondo pats his back. “You just got lucky it went in your favor.”

Blushing, Mav coughed lightly as he laughed with the group before adding, “I’d like to point out that nothing … you know, happened, alright? We simply had some drinks, danced…I may have tried serenading her with my rendition of ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,’” the laughter got louder, making his blush deepen, “and then we exchanged addresses to send each other letters—because that’s what you did back in the day or call on the landline. It was history from there.”

“Don’t forget, Mav,” Rooster points at him. “You guys made out and then you exchanged addresses before leaving.” Mav has to cover his face to hide his blush when the group hollar and cheer.

“So how long y’all been together?” Rueben asks, finishing off his beer.

“Since 1990. But we didn’t get married until 2002 after the band went on hiatus.”

“How come?” Phoenix tilted her head curiously.

Though Phoenix and most of the guys were not die hard fans of Y/n & the Romantics, they were familiar with their music of course. As one of the most influential rock bands of all time everyone had heard of them in some way, shape, or form. Their parents often played their records, or they’d hear them on the radio and in movies. The squad were all born in the 1980s & early 90s so by the time they got into their teenage years the band had already stopped releasing music. It wasn’t until late 2020 they announced a reunion with the release of their latest album and were currently on tour across North America. During the hiatus however, Y/n still wrote songs for other artists and even released a few solo records. Some of the Grammy’s in the case belonged to only her and not just with the band.

Personal lives of the band members were not something they knew too well. The only people in the group who had knowledge of some details were Mickey, who was a big fan growing up, and Hondo. Bob was also a fan, having played the drums as a teenager and cited them to be a big influence. On google information showed that the group consisted of Y/n, the lead vocalist who also played guitar, Maya the bass player, Evan the lead guitarist, Danny the drummer, and Ronnie on keys. All of them provided backup vocals on tracks.

Maya and Evan ended up falling in love, confirming long time rumors they were together in 1987 and had three kids over the course of the 90s. Danny married a famous actress in 2000 with whom he had a son. Lastly Ronnie was once married to the lead singer of another rock group before divorcing and finding love with a movie producer from when she landed a role in a tv drama, the two adopted a son and daughter in the early 2000s.

Y/n’s information did actually include the fact she and Maverick met in 1989 when they played at the Staples center, that he was a Captain in the Navy being the only man to shoot down five enemy planes in the last 40 years, and were together for over a decade before finally getting married. They did not have kids and the text read how they liked to keep their personal lives private.

Rooster of course knew everything. The first time he met Y/n was in 1991 when he was 7 years old and looked at her like a second mother growing up. She taught him piano and guitar, let him attend shows when the group were on tour in Virginia, and was always a phone call away even after he and Maverick were at odds. Since she didn’t have kids, Bradley was the closest to what it was like having a son. There was no way she was going to let them drift apart after vowing to Carole she would take care of him. They spoke almost weekly with Rooster updating Y/n on his career and asking when she was getting the band back together, knowing she missed going on the road and performing.

“Soon,” she would tell him with a laugh, “I’m working on some songs in the meantime. We all agreed once the kids are older that we’ll come back.” That was in 2012. Now it was 2022 and finally Y/n & the Romantics were on stage performing for a sold out crowd full of people from all ages. They were all in their late 50s but still knew how to rock n’ roll like the good ole days. Y/n never lost her stage presence, the audience thrived on it. Over the years she took care of her voice so she would sound exactly like she did in the 80s. It was her staple after all.

Answering Nat’s question, Mav gave a light shrug, “It just sorta happened that way honestly. We were happy with how things were—marriage was not for us until then. I should say legally married actually, because here in California the relationship was viewed as common law marriage since we had been together for so many years,” Mav explained before taking a sip of water, “Around the time they disbanded the others had young or were starting to have children so they decided to take a break until the kids were grown up.”

“I think that was the first time I saw my mother cry,” Bob chuckled, fixing his glasses as all eyes turned to him. “My mom was—is a huge fan. Anytime we went on road trips she’d play one of their albums. I think she even saw them live when she was in college—said it was one of the best nights of her life. She had a crush on Danny if I’m not mistaken.” Mav smiles, not surprised it was Danny. In the 80s the man was quite the heartthrob.

“How come you never told us?” Mickey cut in. It was a question all were curious to know. Hondo knew Mav was married, but not to whom. He and Penny had history and were friendly at the Hard Deck so they assumed they were together or possibly going to. Finding out he’s been in a long time relationship with Y/n L/n was the shock of their life.

“We like our privacy. It’s why we waited to get married also, because of how big they were in the 80s and 90s. I got followed by paparazzi in the beginning—which was causing problems with my job. We actually pretended to break up in the late 90s to get them off my back,” Mav shrugs again, “I also don’t like the idea of bragging that my wife is Y/n L/n. I love and respect her so much. Yeah I was a fan of her music, but what made me fall in love with her was getting to know her for who she was. Not Y/n the rockstar, but Y/n the girl who replays her favorite songs if someone talks during it. Who can quote every single line from ‘Dirty Dancing’. Who will scold me for leaving seven half filled water bottles on my nightstand.” Laughs rang out at that. “We personally enjoy letting people discover it on their own, rather than telling them upfront.”

“I still can’t wrap it around my head,” Jake waves a hand to emphasize his point. “That you pulled pretty much the woman all our dads, maybe even moms, had a crush on. Your game is on another level. Like please tell me your secrets, pops.” Phoenix playfully slaps Hangman on the shoulder.

Before he could answer the pilot, Maverick’s phone rings causing him to jolt from the couch. “Give me a moment guys,” excusing himself he goes around the corner into the hallway before answering, “Hey, honey.”

“Hey, is everything good? Your message sounded urgent.”

Mav heard sounds in the background, possibly the crew setting up the stage for the night’s show. “Everything is great….uhh-say is tonight’s show sold out?”

“Yessss,” he could hear the confusion laced in her tone. “At least that was what I was told by Hank. Why? Did Bradley want to bring a friend? I’m sure I can get a pass.” Mav let out a sigh, scratching his chin.

“If it’s too much to ask then don’t worry about it, I know you gotta get back to soundcheck and have a few hours until the concert starts. But my former students from a few years ago surprised me today to celebrate my birthday. They’re here at the house—Bradley didn’t even know they were coming, honey.”

Y/n laughed, “I wouldn’t have bet money on him to know,” they laughed together, Y/n following with, “But that’s so sweet of them! I know how much you’ve missed them since you retired last year. How long are they in town?”

“Just for the weekend. They all got rooms on base and were hoping to take me out either tonight or possibly tomorrow. I told them I had plans tonight….”

“But you didn’t tell them what plans, huh?” Mav could picture the smirk on her face. “Do they know?”

“About us? I just finished telling them why I never mentioned anything. They seem to understand and were apologetic for dropping in unannounced. But…..I have not told them that the last stop in your tour is tonight at the Staples Center and Bradley and I were going to be leaving in a few hours.”

“Who all is it?”

“My buddy Hondo from when I did the Darkstar project—I think I’ve told you about him, the two foxtrot teams I did the uranium mission with and two of my reserves. So seven total.”

“I see,” Y/n humed, finding her husband’s situation amusing. He let out a groan, apologizing but she just laughed and said, “Well since it is your birthday and I’ve been wanting to meet your little dagger ducklings forever now,” he smiled at the nickname Y/n had given the pilots. They really were his ducklings. “Let me talk with Hank and the venue manager. Show doesn’t start till seven so there’s plenty of time. Just hang tight and I’ll call you back, okay? I know you're probably losing your mind because you don’t want to miss tonight’s show knowing it’s the last of the tour, but you also want to spend time with them while they're in town. Imma make sure you get both, pretty boy…..and maybe a little something more when the night comes to a close.”

Fuck that got Mav blushing, knowing exactly what she was implying. “Y/n…”

“Love you, Pete. Wait for my call.” Telling her the same, Mav hangs up the phone and reenters the living room. Rooster immediately meets his eye, lifting a thumbs up to which Mav returns with a gesture to signify he was working on it. For the next thirty minutes the squad makes small talk until his phone rings again. “Hey.”

“Would it be okay if you put me on speaker?”

A smile forms on his lips, “Sure thing,” he looks at the group to catch their attention, “Someone wants to say hi,” they all, minus Rooster who’s smirking, watch with confused expressions as Mav hits the speaker button and places the phone on the table. “What have you got for us, honey?” The second the pet name leaves his lips, Mav sees Fanboy drop his now empty cup of water, Phoenix slap a hand over her mouth, Javy pushing Jake and vice versa muttering ‘holy shit.’ Everyone else pretty much does something similar when Y/n’s voice echoes through the receiver, “Hello hello, aviators.”

“Oh my God.”

“Yo this ain’t happening right now.”

“Guys, guys, shut up—holy shit.”

Y/n laughed at the reactions. “It’s so nice to finally—even if it’s over the phone at the moment—meet you guys! Pete talks about you all everyday.”

“I-I wish we could say the same about you, ma’am,” Payback nervously laughs. “We didn’t even know the man was hitched until an hour ago. Also we apologize for the fanboying-fangirling, it’s an honor to speak to such a legend. You’re an icon.”

“Oh you’re too kind,” she awes, “thank you so much. I hope you guys can forgive him for not saying anything—he meant well.”

“We understand,” Phoenix says on their behalf. “We’d also like to say sorry for showing up to your house uninvited—your home is beautiful by the way. We-we just wanted to surprise Captain Mitchell since it’s been so long since we were all together and he’s done so much for us.”

“I think that’s so amazing you guys did that! I wish I could’ve been home to greet you guys and see the look on his face. Did he cry by any chance?”

“Honey please…” Mav pleaded, causing everyone to laugh.

“I’m sorry, babe. Anyways, Pete tells me you guys are in town for the weekend and well……tonight the Romantics and I are playing our last show in L.A at seven. Bradley and Pete were set to leave San Diego around four to make it on time and if y’all are up for the short drive…..I have seven passes reserved with your names on them.”

The reaction of the dagger squad could only be described with a singular word: chaos.

First it was more of denial, but then they saw Maverick and Rooster’s face and realized Y/n was in fact serious. She was inviting them to her concert. The final show in her band’s reunion tour. The soon to be Rock n Roll Hall of Famers.

Yeah, they about lost their minds.

“I gotta call my mom—she’s gonna flip!”

“How the hell am I supposed to continue living life after this?”

“This is your birthday Mav!” Phoenix pointed at him while Bob had his hands in his face, expression unreadable. “You’re not supposed to be giving us anything, it's the other way around!”

“Nat, I would love nothing more than to spend my birthday with you guys at the concert tonight.” That just about made her tear up.

“Yo so this is legit?” Coyote held up a hand, trying to calm his excitement. “We’re actually going?”

“Hell yeah!” Jake said, Rooster and Payback agreeing with a high-five. “What the birthday boy wants, the birthday boy gets.”

“Y/n, thank you so much,” Hondo said on their behalf. “I’m sorry if you can’t hear over these clowns in the background, but I’ll speak for everyone when I say that we are so grateful for you to invite us to experience your show together and celebrate Mav’s birthday. I don’t think we’ll stop thanking you so be warned.”

After a few more minutes of mainly the squad bombarding the rockstar with words of gratitude and thanks, Y/n informs Pete of where to go when they get to the venue and she’ll meet them backstage to give them the passes. When they say their goodbyes and hang up, Coyote goes, “Okay so I don’t know about y’all…but I cannot walk into a rock concert dressed like this,” he gestures to his gray Navy t-shirt and torn jeans, “How much time we got, Cap?” The question has Pete check his watch.

“If we wanna get there before the doors open, I’d say we should leave in about two hours. It’s gonna take at least two hours to get to L.A, and we gotta consider traffic.” Mav thinks for a moment before saying, “I may have something that can help. Follow me.”

In one of the many closets used as a storage place, Pete removed a box from the self and opened it to reveal a bunch of vintage t-shirts of Y/n & the Romantics.

“Oh my gosh this is so cool,” Fanboy awed. Some of the shirts were literally from the 80s and 90s but looked to be in new condition, meaning they must have been extras Y/n kept for safekeeping. Nowadays it was hard for someone to get their hands on anything with the classic logo of Y/n & the Romantics unless it was from Etsy or a private seller. Stores like Hot Topic, Spencers, and those dedicated to the 80s or retro-like were the only places to buy the new style of merchandise. But these in the box, they were classic.

“Look through and see if you can find anything. There’s several sizes and styles—most of these were from their ‘Heartbreaker’ era but you may find some from ‘Love is the Eighth Deadly Sin,’ or ‘Rock ‘n’ Rolling to Heaven.’ We have some leather jackets I’d be happy to lend you guys—and Nat, Y/n wanted me to tell you that you’re more than welcome to borrow anything you’d like.” Her eyes go wide.

“Oh I couldn’t possibly—.”

Rooster claps his hands excitedly, cutting Nat off much to her annoyance, “Time to turn you guys into rockstars. Fuck yeah! This is gonna be the best night ever!”

So that’s how the famed naval aviators ended up in their vehicles on a two hour journey to Los Angeles. It was far from what they expected when they set out to surprise Pete Mitchell, but in Maverick fashion things take a different turn when one least expects it. The couple’s dog sitter was called to tend to their animals since it was likely they would not be coming home till the next day. Just after 3:30pm the squad, now dressed like they were straight from the 80s by cutting holes in their jeans and wearing leather jackets and chains Maverick provided, gathered in the cars and hit the road. Maverick and Rooster ended up driving, with Hondo, Coyote, Hangman and Payback in Mav’s SUV and Fanboy, Bob, and Phoenix with Rooster in the Bronco.

Upon instance from Y/n after chatting briefly with her on the phone to make sure it was okay, Nat relented on wearing the red leather Prada two piece set the rockstar wore at the 1994 MTV video awards. It fit like a glove on the pilot, jaw dropping when she looked at herself in the mirror, “Damn.” While in the car she applied some black eye pencil and smudged it out to give her that 80s grunge appearance, to which she made Fanboy and Bob do the same, “Bradshaw, I expect you to rock this too.” At a red light he applied it like a pro, like he’d done it many times before not even needing to fix it.

The entire way both vehicles played Y/n & the Romantics decades worth of music. It surprised a lot of the crew when they recognized some songs from movies and tv shows they had no idea were by them. “This was in Stranger Things!” Coyote shouted over the sound, head banging his head along to the beat. Another song had Bob go, “Wasn’t this in the Guardians of The Galaxy?”

By the time they got to L.A the city life was at its prime. Traffic was insane as usual but thankfully they made it to the Staples Center just before six o’clock. The sign outside the venue glowed bright with ‘Y/n & The Romantics—Rockin’ Down Memory Lane Reunion Tour. TONIGHT ONLY—SOLD OUT.’ Pete pulled in front of Rooster to speak to the guard when they got to the back gate. After speaking through a radio for confirmation they allowed the two cars to enter and directed them on where to go.

When they get in the building it’s buzzing all around them. Crew members of both the band and the venue run past and speak into radios. They could barely make out the words combined with the faint rumble of the crowd inside. Before a security guard could ask why they were there, Y/n’s managers, Hank and Tasha Robinson noticed them and rushed over. “Pete! Great to see ya!” The pilot exchanged hugs with the couple. They then greet Bradley, who they’ve known since he was a child, and the squad, “You guys must be the pilots! It’s nice to meet you all—are you excited for the show?”

“Absolutely.” “Can’t wait!” “We’re so excited.” “Thank you for allowing us to come on such short notice.”

“You all look great!” Tasha grinned, gasping when she saw Nat’s outfit, “Oh my goodness. Hank, look! You recognize this?” Blushing immensely, Nat didn’t know how to react besides laughing nervously as they complimented her. “You look fabulous, darling.”

“Thank you. It’s an honor to wear it—I-I hope I did it justice.”

At that moment Y/n came around the corner, a slight skip in her step until she was lifted into Pete’s arms causing her to break into giggles. They hadn’t seen each other in almost two weeks while she was touring the west coast cities. It filled the squad with warmth seeing their mentor/friend so happy. Nerves filled them, they were about to meet one the greatest voices of rock music.

Mav spun Y/n around before setting her back down, the two sharing a sweet kiss. “Missed you, baby.”

“I missed you too,” he says against her lips, kissing them once more before guiding her to the group. Bradley is the first to hug Y/n, who squeals in delight since it had been months since they last saw each other.

“Hey sugar, look at you! It seems like every time I see you, you got a new look going on,” she fluffs his hair which was now lighter in tone after he got some highlights. “You look good, Roo. Is this a new shirt?” she gestures to the Hawaiian shirt beneath the leather jacket Bradley was wearing.

“Had to pull it out for the special occasion,” he gives her a sweet kiss to the cheek while handing her the bouquet of flowers he and Mav got. Thanking him, Y/n grins at the sight of the group standing behind him.

“And you fellas must be the famous dagger squad I’ve heard all about!” They were literally speechless as they stared back at the singer. She literally was what one would envision when they thought of a rockstar. Smudged eyeliner with sparkly eyeshadow framed her eyes, dark red lipstick and her outfit was black leather that showed a bit of skin due to some cutouts, but was still modest. Where the skin showed they could make out intricate tattoos and both her arms had half sleeves of ink. She had on a harness with silver chains, thigh high boots with studs along the sides.

She was THE rockstar.

Though in her late 50s, Y/n was still breathtakingly beautiful. Yeah there was some grayness to her otherwise shiny, healthy hair, and some age lines around her eyes and mouth that poked through the makeup, but Y/n could literally pass for mid to late 40s. Same with Pete who just turned 60 and looked amazing for his age. Standing next to each other, they were one hot ass couple.

“It’s so wonderful to finally meet you guys—in person now! Ah I’ve been buzzing with excitement since we got off the phone earlier,” she clapped her hands, moving to Fanboy who was internally losing it like his namesake.

“I-I hi, w-wow. I’m Mickey Garcia—or talk about irony, you may call me Fanboy. It’s an honor to meet you, Mrs. L/n—Mitchell uh-I’m sorry. I’m a big fan.”

Y/n giggled, shaking his outstretched hand before bringing him into a friendly hug. “Oh honey, I don’t even know what to call myself sometimes. But, please call me Y/n. You guys are family now.” She goes down the line to meet each pilot, shaking their hand and hugging while saying their name back to instill it in her memory. Of course she knew their names and faces from photos, but meeting them in person was completely different and Y/n wanted to make sure she would remember who was who. When she gets to Natasha’s she can’t help but shriek, “Yay you wore it! You look amazing-oh my gosh!”

“Thank you so much,” Nat blushes again, this time because the owner of said outfit she wore was gushing over her. “Thank you for letting me wear it—I will do my best to not let anything happen to it.” Y/n assures her to not worry about it and the two have the band photographer take a couple photos of them. The guys video the whole thing causing Phoenix to flip them off at times which has the married couple laugh. Soon the band comes out, causing Fanboy, Bob, and Coyote to almost lose it and before they know it everyone is conversing like it was an ordinary Friday night. Hondo, Mav, Y/n, Phoenix and Payback are off to the side with Maya, Evan, and their kids while the others are chatting with other members and their families who came to the show.

“It’s unreal to think this year marks forty-four years,” Evan said, sitting on one of the chairs with his hand on Maya’s lower back who stood beside him.

“Yeah,” she agreed with a smile, “just a group of kids we were then. With a dream only the effects of good ole weed could give us the confidence to have our asses out at that park and hope someone would hear us.”

Y/n drops her head laughing, aware of the somewhat surprised looks of the aviators and Hondo. “Wait-really?” Y/n was known for her exhilarating stage presence. She was like Elvis, Janis Joplin, and Micheal Jackson, always captivating the crowd and keeping them hype. When watching the performances it was like Y/n was in her own little world and thrived on the energy.

“It was the 70s,” she shrugged, still smiling which made her eyes crinkle. “Believe it or not we all used to have stage fright—especially in the beginning when we first started performing. We were….gosh fourteen when we signed, fifteen when we performed on Johnny Carson. Good Lord I was shaking in my boots in the dressing room,” she gave a mock shake of the shoulders, reliving the memory, “The only way I could get up there and sing was if I had smoked. Took the edge off.” Maya and Evan nodded in agreement, Y/n leaning into Maverick’s arms as he stood behind her chair. “I think it was after we toured in ‘85 for ‘Love Is The Eighth Deadly Sin,’ that I could perform without anything. Though I still did it at times,” her smile fell into more of a sad expression, adding, “and unfortunately being in the industry at that time, and being so young, we were exposed to other things.”

She didn't have to explain to the aviators, for it was public knowledge when they read up on the band during their drive that Y/n, Ronnie and Danny had admitted to experimenting in the 80s with cocaine. It was common in that era, with many artists and actors in Hollywood able to get their hands on it easily. For Y/n, it was the frontman of another rock group she’d been romantically linked to who introduced her to the drug. Thankfully nothing ever happened that caused a big scandal or had the members needing professional help. They had their family, the support of their crew and each other so they never let anyone fall too deep to where they couldn’t get back up.

“But we survived,” Maya emphasizes, beaming at her husband, “and it sure has been one hell of a ride since. I can’t wait for November—I think I’m more excited for the induction ceremony than I was for the Super Bowl.” Evan goes on to playfully reject the claim, insisting his wife was way more excited about getting that call over 20 years ago than the news just last month about the Hall of Fame.

Y/n just shakes her head with fondness, leaning more into Maverick, who kisses the top of her head.

“Brings back memories, huh? Here at the Staples Center again after so many years.”

“Yeah,” he says softly, his friends chatting with the guitarist and bassist. “I just wish Ice and Slider were here. Then it would really be a blast from the past.”

“I saw Slider when we played in Florida. He brought the whole family—it was amazing.”

“Yeah he called me afterwards. Said you guys put on the best show of the year,” his lips curled up, leaning more towards her ear, “he also told me you threw in a song in the set I was going to get a kick out of.”

Y/n mirrored his smile, eyes full of mischief, “Oh you will, but I ain’t saying nothing, hot stuff. You’ll have to wait for when it comes up.”

“Can’t wait,” he chuckles, kissing her cheek lovingly.

Roughly ten minutes later the stage manager was rushing over, “We’re down to t-minus twenty till showtime people—we gotta start clearing!” Immediately the band are hurrying to say their goodbyes. Y/n practically runs to find the person needed to take the group to their seats. When she does, they hand out the passes to each person, “Julius is going to take you all up to the room. It’s gonna be one of the VIP boxes, the closest to the stage I believe, and it should have sodas, water, alcohol, and food. But if you need anything then just run it by him.”

They all spit out words of gratitude, blown away by the special treatment they were receiving. Y/n takes her time to hug each one of the pilots, who wish her good luck and thank her again for everything. Rooster lets his hug linger a bit longer, as does Maverick who brings the woman into a passionate kiss. “Thank you for doing this, baby. I owe you.”

“It’s your birthday, Pete. You know I would do anything to make you happy,” she lowers her voice into his ear, kissing the area just below, “Sorry it couldn’t be like the good ole days when I would sneak you into my dressing for some fun.” His hands squeeze her hips, sighing at the memories as she giggled.

“There’s still the after party,” he warns her, tone thick with something she knew all too well.

“I’m well aware, hot stuff.”

They share another kiss. And another. And another before Y/n pushes him away at the teasing shouts of everyone around them, Pete bidding good luck to her and the band before he sets off with the group. Rooster nudges him, smirking at the retired pilot, “well that kiss sure would motivate anyone about to go on stage.”

“Don’t start, Bradley.”

By the time they reached the room, they could literally feel the rumble of the crowd when the lights in the arena shut off. “Holy shit,” Mickey said, the first to open the balcony door of the room where they would view the show. Inside were couches, chairs, tvs, and refreshments. Coyote had his phone out, videoing the scene for his instagram story as they all grabbed beers and water before taking spots on the balcony.

The sight was surreal. The stage was to their left and extended out, splitting the floor in half. Approximately 20,000 people could fit in the Staples Center, and from the looks of it 20,000 people were in attendance. It was a sold out show after all. People from all age groups were there. Hell Bob swore he saw some young kids on the shoulders of their parents. The most were obviously the older crowd who likely grew up in the 80s, but there were definitely college kids and Millennials.

It got louder and louder when the two minute countdown appeared on the Jumbotron, along with a video montage of the band. Some clips showed them when they were first starting out up to them preparing for the reunion tour. As it drew closer to zero, the video showed a pre-taped montage of each member taking their place on stage. Maya wrapping the strap of her bass around her shoulder, Evan with his guitar. Ronnie taking place in front of the keyboard and Danny sitting at his drums. Lastly Y/n strutted up to the microphone, the clock hitting zero the moment her hand raises in the air and the arena goes black.

Not even a second passes before Evan’s opening guitar riff sends the crowd roaring. It was the opening to, ‘Thunderstruck,’ a song that literally was in almost every modern day action movie known to man. It was hilarious to see the guys and Phoenix lose their shit, recognizing the iconic song. There was a black curtain keeping the actual stage hidden from everyone's view, but chills came onto everyone’s arms when Y/n’s voice filled their ears

“I was caught in the middle of a railroad track.” The crowd echoed the ‘Thunder,’ with the band. “I looked ‘round and I knew there was no turning back.”

“THUNDER!” The squad shouted, fist pumping and beginning to dance. Already they knew it was going to be the best night of their lives.

When the curtain gave way as Y/n hit the chorus of the song, the audience literally exploded, increasing in volume when she shouted into the mic, “Los Angeles let me hear you!!!!” The camera’s were glued to her as she strutted down the middle of the stage where it split the floor. Her voice carried with each lyric, living up to the hype and sounding as though it was still 1985.

Nat—scratch that all of the guys, especially Maverick, were in awe. Jaws dropped, except Rooster who was living his best life having experienced a Y/n & the Romantics show as a teenager. Now as an adult man the aviator was overjoyed seeing his second mom performing on stage again with her best friends.

“Cap, your wife is the coolest person on earth!” Hangman shouted against the loud music. Maverick simply beamed, eyes never leaving his wife, “I know.”

When the song came to an end, Y/n sighed lovingly, “Ahhh it’s good to be back. We’ve missed you all dearly. Did you miss us?” She paused, screams igniting before adding, “That’s what I’m talking about, baby. It’s been twenty years since we last performed here at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and we’d like to thank you all immensely for welcoming us back. We’ve worked hard the past two years putting this show together for you, the fans. For all of you regardless if you’re just discovering us, or have been rockin since 1979.”

The energy was off the charts the entire concert. Y/n was feeding off of it on stage, and in turn her presence was feeding the crowd. In between sets she interacted with her friends/bandmates, often coming close to those on the floor to ask how they were.

“You having fun tonight?” Everyone nodded frantically, a woman close to the stage shouting, “So much fun! We love you!”

“We love you too, doll. Don’t worry the night is just getting started.” After the first couple songs Y/n informs the crowd, “I hope you all don’t mind, but as you know this is the ‘Rockin’ Down Memory Lane’ tour,” cheers erupted from every angle, “so as a treat for you fine folks this evening, we won’t just be rockin down our own memory lane. We wanna give some shoutouts to some of the greats rock music has ever seen, and some of the friends we made being a part of this world thanks to all of you. And what better way to start than by kicking it off with the song that got us discovered in the first place.”

The audience was going crazy, die hard fans knowing damn well what song the rockstar was referring to. “Whoooo!!!” Coyote felt the chills when Y/n belted out the opening of ‘Cry Baby’ by Janis Joplin. “Damn girl, sing it!” One of the hardest songs to sing, Y/n had so much emotion it nearly brought a tear to some of their eyes. Rooster brought his finger to his mouth to whistle when the song finished.

The band would do three more of their songs or a medley before covering another artist/group. “Y’all may have heard the rumor…..of the special club we’re being invited to join this fall,” Y/n smirked, hand on her hip next to Maya. Cheering indicated the crowd were aware of the news. “We’re not the only ones. Some friends of ours were also invited. You may have heard of them….Duran Duran?” She pauses to let them scream, the woman chuckling before bringing the mic back to her lips. “They just played recently at the Garden and gave a special rendition of our ‘Highway To Hell,’….so we thought to return the favor,” pausing again, Y/n nods to her band where they begin their cover of ‘Hungry Like The Wolf,’ sending the audience into a frenzy.

“I fucking love this song!!” Nat screams excitedly, passing her beer to Rooster so she could freely dance without worrying about spilling it. The outfit she wore likely cost more than her college tuition. She’d be damned if she let anything happen to it.

“Darken the city, night is a wire,” The smile never left Y/n’s face, “Steam in the subway, earth is afire.” Chills happened along her arms when the entire stadium echoed, “do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do.”

She couldn’t wait to see how the guys of Duran Duran, who she and the Romantics were lucky to call friends, react to them singing their song. On Twitter she hinted at wanting to do another collaboration after seeing the video of the band perform their ‘Highway To Hell’. In 1988 the two groups released a single together, topping the Billboard charts for nearly 30 weeks. Plus both were being inducted in November to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Surely it would the collab of the century if they did.

Halfway through the show they took an intermission. During that time everyone had a bathroom break, ate some of the food provided and grabbed more drinks. Thankfully Mav did inform them Y/n’s managers got them hotel rooms not too far from the venue so they didn’t have to worry about driving back to San Diego late. When the band returned on stage for the second half of the show it appeared they had changed outfits. Y/n now sported black leather shorts that ended midthigh with fishnets tucked into her leather knee-high boots and a cropped Def Leppard shirt. The sides were cut out showing off her lace bodysuit beneath it. They went straight into songs from their ‘Love & Thunder’ era that took place in the early 90s.

Not too long after she was flagged down by the stage manager, Rick, who was in front of the floor barricade. “What do we have here?” She hummed curiously, taking the two evelopes from him. Rick shouted that it was from the couple directly behind him, who were waving frantically at the singer. The envelop on top said ‘read first.’ Confirming she could read it aloud, Y/n brought the audience to a low tone so everyone could hear.

“Dear Y/n, Maya, Evan, Ronnie, and Danny,” she read off into the mic, glancing to her friends who appeared just as curious as her. “Our names are Damien and Alana Michaels, we’re both 31 years old and met six years ago because of our shared love for your music,” Y/n awed, beaming at the couple then laughed when the letter followed, “We met at a record store and practically fought over the last copy of your limited edition vinyl of ‘Rock n Rollin to Heaven’. We were over the moon when you announced the reunion tour and feel we’ve come full circle tonight seeing as that we fell in love because your music has been an influencial part of our lives. Alana is five months pregnant with our first child,” cheering erupted, causing Y/n to speak louder into the microphone with a giant grin, “Would you do us the honor in revealing the gender of our baby?”

Y/n let the crowd scream for a moment before calming them down again, settling her gaze on the couple, “This envelope right here,” she holds up the unopened document, “has the gender of your baby?”

“Yes!” Alana shouts in glee while Damien nods, mirroring his wife’s expression.

“Give me one moment, honey—don’t go anywhere.” The stadium watches the rockstar rush to her friends, calling them over away from the mics to have a quick chat. Opening the envelope, the camera catches their reaction for the screen and they all talk for a moment before taking back their respective places.Y/n runs over to the couple again, a little out of breath, “Alright! Alana, Damien, congratulations are in store. You are bringing a new life into the world, and the Romantics and I think the best way for you to welcome them is by singing this song when they arrive,” she then looks to the crows, “To anyone who knows the words, feel free to sing along. On three guys,” she points to her friends and counts off, “One…two…three!”

“Isn’t she lovely?” Alana visibly broke into tears while Damien jumps up and down in joy. The band where harmonizing with the frontwoman, the stadium so loud it was hard to hear at times, but thankfully the speakers were at full amp to hear them sing. The couple embraced each other, consumed with happiness at the news. “Isn’t she wonderful?”

“Isn’t she precious?” Staples Center practically echoed with 20,000 people singing Stevie Wonder’s song. Y/n grinned, loving ever second of the coordinated tune. “Less than one minute old.”

“I never thought,” Y/n belted out, “through love we’d be.”

“Making one as lovely as she.”

“But isn’t she lovely, made from love,” Drawing out the ‘love’ Y/n finished the verse by shouting against the screams, “IT’S A GIRL!” Handing back the envelope with the gender to Rick, Y/n asked if she could keep the letter to which the couple agreed. Pocketing it in her shorts, Y/n says, “Congratulations Alana and Damien! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this exiting moment. On behalf of the Romantics and everyone in attendance, we wish you the absolute best on bringing your daughter into the world and may she be blessed with joy all her life….and maybe unleash her inner rockstar from time to time,” laughter erupted, “give it up for Alana, Damien, and Baby girl Michaels!!”

Fifteen more minutes pass of the band performing their songs before taking a five minute break to set up for their next cover.

“Alright,” Y/n takes a breath, walking down the end of the extended stage. “This next trip down memory lane, has me want to ask you all a question. Ready to hear it?” When they respond with an echo, ‘yes!!’ Y/n allows the smirk to appear, “Do you guys have that one song…that you would call, your stripper song?” A laugh escapes her by the increase in volume from the sold out arena. She could just picture what looks her husband received from his former students. “You know that one song that has you thinking, ‘Gosh give me a pole and I will work it better than anyone has before,’ that kind of song?” Y/n stops halfway through the long stretch of platform, glancing around to the various sections of people.

“I would like to sing for you my stripper song—o-oh okaaaay that’s a nice reaction,” she chuckled, winking at a few spectators on the floor who were like, ‘Hell yeah!’ Pointing a finger out to a random direction, she says with a knowing look, “Now if this happens to be your stripper song too, don’t you get naked—this ain’t that kind of show,” laughter fills her ears, “Plus there's children here tonight, so technically this is a family show. So I would like to apologize now to the parents, but then again, this is a fucking rock show,” the cheers escalated, agreeing with the woman on what she was about to say, “So if you didn’t want them to see us in our element, you should’ve left them at home. But please, for the love of God, keep your clothes on if this song happens to get you in the same mood it gets me. Ready guys!”

“We're ready, babe!” Maya shouts with Evan, Danny and Ronnie giving a thumbs up.

“Step inside!” Y/n yells into the mic.

“Walk this way!” They shout into their own.

“You and me babe!”

“Hey! Hey!”

unworldly, was the way best to describe the Staples Center when the opening chords of Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me,’ sounded through the speakers. No wonder she wore the band’s shirt, hinting they were going to cover one of their songs at some point. Fans went crazy when Y/n did some of her iconic moves like crawling on the floor, flipping her hair back and forth and even usuing the mic stand as though it was a pole. She was in her element, the stage was truly where she shined.

Some of the guys were hollaring, patting Maverick on the back with knowing looks. The older man was blushing mad when they realized something was on his mind with the way he was staring at his wife. It didn’t help Y/n was biting her lip, running her hands along her body during the ‘Sugar me sweet,’ line. The camera was glued to her the entire performance.

“I know that look!” Hangman pointed out the Captain’s expression.

“Yeah, Mav, if you plan to sneak off to the dressing room after the show, don’t worry we won’t say anything.”

The band went straight into ‘Hollywood Nights,’ by Bob Seger as way to pay homage to the fact they were performing in Los Angeles, Hollywood not too far away. Jake was a big fan of the song and Rooster videoed the pilot dancing his heart out, spinning Nat around at times as they belted the lyrics.

Coming down to the final 30 minutes of the show, Y/n called the crowds attention, “This next song….is dedicated to someone very special in the audience. He’s turning 60 tomorrow and I’m celebrating twenty years of marriage with him in October.” Her smile became wider at the cheers, walking to the side of the stage closest to where Pete and the gang were.

“That’s you, my man!” Rooster playfully shakes Mav, the squad cheering when the camera pans to him. Giving a little wave, Pete blows a kiss to Y/n, who pretends to catch it.

“Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell everyone,” she pauses lightly, “With him tonight is someone who is practically our son—Lord knows I treat him like one,” Rooster does a little dance, the camera zooming out from Mav to capture the aviator next to him. “And some of his former students, the Navy’s finest fighter pilots, who I like to call his, ‘Dagger ducklings.’” The squad awed at the nickname, Fanboy and Coyote hugging up on the man.

“Does this mean you’re our papa duck, Mav?”

“Imma let y’all in on a little secret,” Y/n leans into the mic with a whisper, “That whole thing about us breaking up in the 90s? Yeah, it didn’t happen.” Laughing, Y/n stands back straight, “Right now I’m feeling a little sentimental. Pete and I actually met at a bar about two blocks away after we played here in 1989. It was there he….to put it lightly, swooned me like nobody had ever done before.” Dropping his head onto the railing, Pete’s shoulders shook as he laughed, the memory of that night replaying in his mind. “Maya knows what I’m talking about.”

“Sure do,” the bassist replied. “I think he put on better show than we did.”

“Oh God,” Maverick put a hand to his mouth to cover his grin. So many emotions were flooding him. Mostly warmth, but a tad of embarrassment.

If only Ice and Goose were here to see this.

“He sure did. And tonight I wanna take him and I down memory lane. So ladies and gentlemen, this is for anyone who’s lost that lovin’ feeling.”

Words couldn’t describe what Pete felt listening to Y/n sing, ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.’ Maya and Ronnie provided the back up vocals, harmonizing with Y/n during the chorus. The entire time she sang Y/n was swaying and keeping her body faced to the section Pete was at. The two connected eyes at times, lost in each other’s gaze causing the two to feel the love radiate one another.

She sounded so beautiful. Of course it was well known Y/n was very versatile with her music and voice. She could take it high and low, mellowing out for a slow tune. There was a lot of soul in her and the band, which is not surprising since they starting in Atlanta. They grew up on blues, jazz, and classic rock. Inspired by the greats like Billie Holiday, B.B King, Janis Joplin, Elvis, Little Richard, and the Mama’s & Papas.

Pete cheered the loudest in their group when the song came to end, whistling along with Rooster. Y/n blew him a kiss, “Never lose that lovin’ feeling with me, honey.”

Not too long after it came time for the final number. “Imma need ‘Dirty Diana’ for this one,” Y/n announced, moving to the middle of the stage where the mic stand was. A crew member appeared from the side, handing over a neon green Fender Stratocaster. She pulled the strap over her shoulder, “Los Angeles, as we come to tonight’s closing I want you to know you all have, without a doubt, been the best crowd ever. L.A, you know how to bring the energy and we can’t thank you enough for what a blast it’s been playing for you all. What a way to end our tour—can’t believe it’s already over, but fear not…we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Evan, Maya, Ronnie, and Danny all say a few words, then they all thank their managers, crew, friends, and family for allowing them to put on a great show. Lastly they thank the fans in an tearfelt speach, finishing it off telling everyone to have a safe journey back home and to keep rockin n rolling. Y/n closes it out with, “Los Angeles sing this last one with us. It’s been a long way to the top,” the screams got louder, “but worth every damn second.”

Staples Center erupted, Y/n letting her hands work magic on the guitar as she played the opening riff of ‘It’s A Long Way To The To (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll) .’ Then Evan came in his riffs followed by Danny’s drums. Maya and Y/n banged their head together, leaning toward one as they feed off each other’s energy.

“Oh shit!” Payback whistled, shaking his shoulder along to the beat. This was a song he used to dance to in college with his buddies. It brought back memories for the pilot, nostalgia filling him just like it was to many in the crowd.

“Ridin’ down the highway. Goin’ to a show. Stop in all the byways. Playin’ rock ‘n’ roll.”

“Gettin’ robber, gettin’ stoned, gettin’ beat up. Broken-boned. Gettin’ had, gettin’ took. I’ll tell you, folks, it’s harder than it looks.”

Pretty much everyone shouted the lyrics in the chorus, one of the most recognizable ones in music history.

“It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll!”

“It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll!”

It went crazy during Y/n’s solo that had all the pilot’s, minus Mav & Rooster, jaws drop. The entire show she hadn’t played the guitar much save for maybe two songs, but it was not to the absolute greatness she was displaying now. Evan guitar solos were off the chain, as were Danny’s drums. Then they had Ronnie tearing it up on the keys with Maya crowning herself the queen of the bass. The voice of the band, Y/n showed she was as talented with the instrument as she was putting lyrics to paper and belting them out for her heart’s desire.

They truly were one of the greatest rock bands to exist.

Even after the song ended they were going hard on the instruments, finishing the show with a literally bang. Lights were flashing, every single person on their feet, Danny and Evan hitting one last solo and instilling the moment as one for the history books.

“Thank you, Los Angeles!! We’ll see you next time! Good night and keep on rockin’!!”

11:58 pm, two blocks away at Melvin’s Planet Enterprise Bar

“Feels like deja vu,” Y/n laughed, dancing with Pete to the tune of ‘When Doves Cry’ in the familiar bar. Though it had a new name and owner, it still gave the same effect as it did in 1989. This time, however, there were posters of Y/n & the Romantics, one of which was signed and framed just above the jukebox playing classic hits and even some of theirs.

Y/n had changed out of her clothes again, wearing black jeans and tank top with a blue leather jacket that had studs and chains attached to the sides. Her makeup had been touched up, hair pulled in a ponytail. It was almost comical how the scene was just like that night in ‘89 with blue strobe lights shining down on them, making her look illuminated.

The dagger squad were in their own little world, dancing and drinking with each other and the band’s crew members. Jake was getting along quite well with someone from Y/n’s glam team, Nat chatting with a member of the security. Then there was Coyote dancing with the oldest daughter of Maya and Evan. They had rented out the place after the show, everyone hauling ass to celebrate the end of the tour. All grown up, the children of the Romantics could enjoy the night as well, not having to worry about being underage now that the youngest of the bunch had turned 21 the previous month.

When they arrived the party was in full blast, Rooster pulling Y/n to the dance floor to share a dance. Then they duetted ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ with him on the piano. Everyone sang at the top of their lungs. Pete held Y/n, head banging with her at the ‘Mine! Mine! Mine!’ bit and sneaking kisses during, ‘kiss me, baby!’

When her feet started to hurt from standing, Y/n sat in Pete’s lap and nursed a cocktail while they chatted with Hondo and Ronnie’s wife. Over in a corner Bob was on the phone with his family after his sister saw Phoenix’s instagram story, “You saw Y/n & the Romantics tonight!?! How the hell did you manage to get tickets—they were sold out!”

“Uhh….you remember my instructor from that mission awhile back? Turns out he’s marrried to Y/n L/n.”

“WHAT!?! Pete Mitchell was your instructor!?” Bob swore his mother about went into cardiac arrest, screaming when Y/n appeared on screeen after he politely asked if she would mind saying hello to his mother. The rockstar of course said yes, she loved interacting and meeting supporters. They were the reason she got to live her dream. Bob nearly cried seeing his mother in tears, overcome with emotion at the fact she was meeting her favorite singer of all time. After the call ended Y/n gave the WSO a tour program she had all the members sign, “give this to your momma for me. Tell her I hope to see her on the next tour.”

The dagger squad were literally becoming Y/n’s adoptive children by the second. Mickey couldn’t believe he got her to do a tiktok with him, then she had a shot of tequila with Reuben. As Nat danced the woman hyped her up with Maya and she had a semi dance off with Javy. Throughout the night stories were told about meeting Princess Diana in 1995, playing in New York on New Year’s Eve of 1999, the Super Bowl, and their iconic performance at the first MTV video music awards in 1984. They were like children gathered by the Christmas tree listening to her read a book. All they could think was how cool she was and the fact the band had truly changed the world of music over their spand of 40 years.

Prince’s iconic ‘When Doves Cry’ started to play just before midnight and it was like slow motion for the rockstar, moving to her husband who was already staring at her with the same expression. Now they really were back in 1989.

“It does,” Mav beamed at his wife, the song hitting it’s second verse. “Only thing missing are the cameras flashing, Ice and Slider sending me a thumbs up, and jealous looks from patrons.” His words make her giggle, throwing her head back slightly.

“Ice is definitely giving you a thumbs up with Goose,” her voice turns soft, stroking the side of his neck, “Bradley’s got his phone out. No doubt videoing us as I speak. He knows how significant this song is.”

“Remind me to have him send me it,” he tells her, dipping her suddenly causing her to squeal. Lips press to her cheek when he pulls her back up.

“Wanna know something though, hot stuff?”

“What?”

The light hitting her eyes shows off the mischief matching her smirk, “This time ‘round, you won’t just be getting a kiss goodnight. You actually get to take me home.” Thank god the lighting hid the color of his face, otherwise she would get a good look at how red it was.

It didn’t stop her from seeing the smile however, Mav shaking his head playfully. He didn’t have to reply for her to know what he was thinking. Just his laugh was enough.

As the clock stuck midnight, Y/n brought him into a sweet kiss, “Happy Birthday, Pete. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby. Thank you.”

The rest of the night was filled with celebration, not just for the epic end of the tour and impending induction as Rock ‘N’ Roll hall of famers, but also the life of the Navy’s most famous pilot. Until it came time to leave, not a single minute was wasted in having the best night of their lives.

All of which happened because two souls decided to go to the same bar after a concert. One a spectator, the other the performer. Both who made names of themselves in their own right, embedding their legacy forever for generations to come. It took a hell of a time to do it, but as one knows….it’s a long way to the top you wanna rock ‘n’ roll.

……………………

TGM tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan, @caitsymichelle13, @poppyalice2001, @cutelittlepotatofry

[fromtenthousandfeet]

Is the love and support for Jimin deep, but not wide? Did we succeed in growing his fanbase, or did we just get smarter? We were told to get Apple, which I did. I learned to properly stream Spotify and YouTube, which I do. I bought different versions of his album, which I don't need.

But what is the point of all these charts and wins and firsts? I'm not interested in a pissing contest with other K-pop groups, other BTS members, or Billie or Harry or Jade, or anyone else.

I would like to enjoy Jimin's music in the way I can enjoy the music of any other popular and successful artist. To walk into a store and hear Like Crazy playing. To turn on the car radio and start singing along to Who. Ah, serendipity!

Why is this too much to ask? Why won't they put him on the radio? How is he supposed to reach the GP if nobody hears him?

I'm tired of doing Hybe's work for them. I'm tired of enriching the pockets of these assholes only for them to mock and sneer at us. BTS is the cash cow, but so are we.

One line I haven't crossed: buying anything from a BTS store. Have never, will never.

And as for now, I will keep streaming--as pointless as it may feel--but I'm not buying any more albums. Enough. Basta!

Forgive my rant. I pretty much freaking worship Jimin, but I'm just so fed up with this Hybe/Geffen B.S.

Talk me down, please.

Hmm. Are you reading my mind?!?

I'm not sure if I'll be able to successfully talk you down, but I'll try.

First, let me start off by saying that I am in no way an expert on Korean culture and I'm basing what I'm about to say on watching an obscene amount of K-dramas (embarrassing but true) and newspaper articles I've read about the Korean educational system. Broad generalization - Koreans are obsessed with rankings to an extremely unhealthy degree.

BTS didn't just export K-pop to the rest of the world, they seemed to have exported the obsession with charts, superlatives, placements, accolades, accomplishments. I don't blame BTS per se, but more the fandom who have made it their life's work to make sure BTS always did well on music charts and music competitions. I see that it's both a labor of love and a means of expressing support to the group, but at what cost? And who really cares? All that stuff takes the focus away from supporting good music for good music's sake. And as long as the focus is on chart placement above all else, the general public will continue to view K-pop as fraudulent.

What's the point of literally billions of streams of songs that never make it to human ears? What's the point of albums sold that end up in landfills? And it's almost an insult to the artists who make the music. Can you imagine knowing your fans aren't even listening to your music, they just feel obligated to buy it, or worse, do it to compete with other K-pop acts. Yes, initially this effort was a way to bring attention to BTS outside of Korea when the industry ignored their existence, but at this point, the streaming culture and obsession with charts is a mental illness.

So who has the courage to say no more? What will it take to collectively agree that Jimin lovers will enjoy his music and his amazing performances and stop stressing themselves out over charts and awards? I don't know, but I do know that Jungkook's fake accomplishments are like fuel the fire in this situation. PJMs, wounded from the incessant gaslighting from the company and JJKs alike, aren't going to stop trying to prove reality anytime soon. Everyone needs therapy!

I do have a suggestion, though, and that is to focus all our efforts on getting radio for WHO. I think this is infinitely more important than mass streaming and buying. You are right that the Jimin fandom is deep, and while wide, it's not wide enough to accomplish what all the scolds on Twitter we do. There are a finite number of people who have both the will and means to stream incessantly. And the number of buyers will dry up. As my mother used to say, you can't get blood from a turnip.

Fans' money and labor is better spent getting the word out to the general public about Jimin's insane talent. He's met us half way with a song that appeals to the general pop music-consuming public. He's given us a compelling music video. It absolutely sucks that the onus to market him falls upon his fandom, but it is what it is. The powers that be at HYBE are definitely afraid of the success he would achieve with just the basic promo package.

Radio play means fans won't have to work so hard for charting and won't have to buy so much. But most of all, as more regular people recognize and compliment JImin's talents, the more confident PJMs will become. As it stands now, his fanbase is altogether too insecure. (Did none of you grow up with an older brother who teased you relentlessly? Was I the only one? Don't take the bait!)

So, what to do to get that garbage company to give Jimin radio? I hate that it already feels like we've lost too much momentum, but let's not give up. How many fans live in Los Angeles?! HYBE America's office is located at 2110 Colorado Ave STE 200, Santa Monica, CA 90404-3763. Any PJMs up for a little protest outside their office? Santa Monica is lovely. Maybe hit the beach afterwards? Trucks parked outside of HYBE headquarters? Tagging the songwriters and producers from WHO? Using shame and public humiliation seem to be the only tools in our toolkit. Twitter/X is pretty much useless these days.

Anon, I've been doing what you've been doing. I even bought from the BTS store, despite my better judgement. I agree with you, though. Enough is enough. Basta!

We are only two people, but change has to start somewhere. Let's encourage others to celebrate Jimin's artistry and accomplishments and stop playing the K-pop numbers game.

[joonggphilia]

❤️🤍After Party🤍❤️

———————————————————————

Top! Idol! Oh Seungmin x Bttm! Staff! Male reader Genre: smut cw: Mentions of alcohol, mentions of being high, hand kink, spit as lube. A/n: This fic is very much inspired by the song Kiss land by The Weeknd (highly recommend listening to it if you can read and listen at the same time) ALSO I’m manifesting all the awards for Livelock, man is the album great!

———————————————————————

Xdinary Heroes, a rookie group that slowly climbed their way up the ranks. M/n didn’t know how he got the job of being their makeup artist, not that he was upset. He loves doing makeup and boy, did he love a certain someone. Oh Seungmin, better known as O.de, was m/n’s biggest crush. It sounded cheesy, but he got butterflies every time the said male walked into the room. No one in the group ever says anything, but it’s pretty obvious the O.de is smitten with m/n to. Today was special for the group. They had just recently won a couple titles with their new album and the staff decided to plan a party for after their show. This party happened to be at M/n’s house. He was the only one with a big enough house, who was also free. He didn’t mind as long as it made everyone happy. M/n was currently making his way out of the dressing rooms and towards the parking lot. “Wait m/n! Can I get a ride to your house? I’m all ready to leave anyway.” M/n whipped around to see Jungsu running up to him. “Gunil brought me here and he takes forever to get ready. I want to leave now.” He looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was listening to him talk shit. “Yeah. Yeah! Of course, whatever you need” m/n bowed to the man in front of him. “Drop the formalities, let’s go party!” He cheered grabbing m/n’s hand and dragging him to the parking lot. ———————————————————————

M/n’s house was booming, literally. Red lights flashed and music blasted through speakers. The smell of smoke and alcohol was suffocating, almost unbearable, but no one cared. It’s a party after all. M/n sat on the couch, as he scrolled through his phone. “M/N! GREAT PARTY!” Jungsu screamed over the music. He slowly leaned in towards m/n and whispered in his ear “someone is eyeballing you. Go get him.” ——————————-NSFW————————— O.de may have been a little high, but damn was the party version of m/n doing things to him. He was hard in his jeans just watching him waltz around the room. The only thing keeping him from going feral were the party drugs and Gunil making a fool of himself on the dance floor. Things all changed when he made eye contact with the beautiful boy, who was making his way towards him. “You liking the party?” Asked m/n. “I’m actually really enjoying myself. Your house is nice.” He answered, trying to keep the conversation going. “Thanks. You might liked my bedroom if you like this part of the house.” M/n wasn’t thinking with his brain, he was thinking with his dick. A snap decision really. “I’m so glad you said that!” Said O.de, as he jumped down from his spot on the counter, following m/n down a dark hallway. M/n threw his door open, shoving himself and O.de inside, then locking it. M/n was immediately pinned to the door. “I really want you.” Breathed O.de as he kissed up m/n’s neck, threatening to leave little marks every now and then. “Me too. I’ve always wanted to get closer with you Seungmin.” m/n agreed as he let the other male have his way. M/n’s attention was slowly drawn to O.de’s hands, which were working on the buttons of his shirt. His hands looked like they were made of beautifully carved marble. They look strong. God, the things those fingers could do. Oh Seungmin played the keyboard and synth, and it showed. M/n was practically drooling as he watched O.de’s hands move to slip off his shirt. “You’re so gorgeous.” Spoke m/n who was now undressing himself. “Your one to talk, if I’m gonna be honest, I’ve always had a thing for you.” Confessed O.de as he picked up m/n and put him on the bed. He went back to attacking m/n’s neck, this time leaving prominent marks of love. He traveled down to his chest, then torso, stopping above is private area. “Let’s get to it, shall we?” O.de playfully asked. “Please.” M/n almost demanded. Seungmin pushed M/n’s legs to his chest and spit on his hole, then he shoved two fingers in. M/n slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle the horrid noises that clawed up his throat. M/n squirmed under the other male, his body reacting uncontrollably to each movement and pump of O.de’s fingers. “I love the way your body talks, but I wanna hear your voice to baby” He spoke, kissing the back of m/n’s hand. M/n moved his hands to the back of O.de’s neck. “Seungmin, I’m ready.” Said m/n confidently. O.de shoved his whole length into m/n’s hole, causing m/n to scream. No one would hear them over the blaring music. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been waiting for this for so long.” Groaned O.de, as he quickened his pace. His eyes never leaving m/n’s face. Tears began to prick in m/n’s eyes, his hands tugging at Seungmin’s Oreo colored locks, his back arching off the bed. “Your close aren’t you.” Grunted the top, as he reached over to m/n’s member to jerk him off. “Cmon, cum baby.” And he snapped, white spurts of cum splattered between the two. O.de came inside of m/n, the sight of m/n’s pure bliss sending him over the edge.

——————————————————————— The two slowly made it back to the living room, and to their surprise the party was still raging. Jungsu danced towards the two. “I know I was the one who helped you guys get together, but god, y’all are nasty.” He laughed, motioning towards the hickeys, swollen lips, and disheveled hair. “Whatever go back to dancing you asshole.” Shooed O.de. “You’re gonna have to cover these up Mr. Makeup artists!” Said O.de as he rubbed his neck. M/n only giggled in response.

[seraphirism]

Hello, 🐈‍⬛anon is here!!

Sadly, I don't have really an opportunity and mental strength to give akuneko enough time, work's taking a lot from me☹️I still didn't even read the Butler's Wedding Party, I'm so far from the fresh events, gosh... I guess I'll have to force myself to catch up otherwise I'm scared that I won't be able to do so and the game will be closed by the time I'll have enough time (sorry for the dark thought I just was scarred by how Senjuushi was closed TWICE and I didn't had enough time to at least read the main story😭)

Anyway, I'm really hyped up for the Sanrio Collab Halloween!! Very interested to know what happened that sanrio pookies suddenly came to the world of our butler pookies (is it bc the third ultimate bbgirl of this title Bellen woke up?/j)

hii, 🐈‍⬛–anon (*^▽^*)!! hope you’ve been doing well!

I totally get it. since the summer event (the cruise one) i haven’t been too active as well 😭 i just login from at least once in two-days so i can collect enough gems (the ones needed to unlock memories of the butlers in the album).

and I’d say many of the events are filler content with lore dropped in small bits. they’re not extremely connected so you wouldn’t be missing out on much if you read the recent events for now and leave the previous ones.

god, don’t scare me, 🐈‍⬛–anon 😱 aknk won’t end it’s services ✨ it’s doing very well (like its always on top 15 or above in rankings) so it should be very unlikely (devs, please don’t think about it 🙏)

you played senjyushi too?! I played it as well \(//∇//)\, not the older one but the Rhodoknight one that ended its services this year. it put me in such a slump when it ended its services. i knew it wasn’t doing the best (it was literally 31 in ranking 😭) but god i loved it too much.

i started playing it a month after the new game launched. what got me into it was Snider 😔💖

I have gotten obsessed with fictional characters from time to time (quite a few i can name) but very few can hold a candle to how i liked Snider ✨ (i read his entire affection story from the older game and my obsession became deeper.)

i literally had every single card of his besides his Halloween card (the purple themed one) + his first anniversary card. i didn’t spent a dime on the game but I grinded hard enough to have all his cards, unlock all event stories of his + anything with him. plus, of course besides Snider, i loved UK’s faction, Kathariste and France’s faction a lot 💞!

I didn’t get to read the last few updates of the main story either 😭 i read till the introduction of the third part of the main story right before the bomb dropped for Like-two—and then they announced EOS and it made me so depressed. Senjyushi R was the reason i tried to learn japanese—it was my favourite game. before senjyushi, afterl!fe had also ended its services so senjyushi was another blow to me.

but I’m glad it’s getting a switch release! better something than nothing! as much as i regret the fact that the story will end and i won’t ever get see Mark, Like-two, Jitte, George, Snider, Enfield and so many more characters again with new content again, I’ll have to satiate myself with what i have 😔

i literally started akuneko because i didn’t have another game to obsess over after senjyushi. i also left akuneko two years ago because i wasn’t able to focus on senjyushi with akuneko 😭 it’s my rebound partner.

back to akuneko, I’m excited as well for the collab! I’ll read the event story in the weekend if i can make time. silent hill 2 remake was released too so I also want to play that (or at least watch the play through 🌫️)

you know, you’ve stated the best reason for sanrio pookies coming into the aknk world—it’s the awakening of the ultimate baby-girl, Bellen. I’m not accepting the reason the writers will choose in the event story—the actual reason in my heart will always be the awakening of Bellen 💞

[everything-is-as-it-was]

Ranking all DnP videos 2024

Hello everyone here to hear me yap! Below I am including all of the videos dnp have released in 2024, rated from my favorite to least favorite. PLEASE NOTE that I actually do love all of them! And this is just a silly thing! But feel free to discuss or send me asks with your opinions :)

I'll start from the bottom up.

10. i have a spicy confession...

This one was lots of fun (wtf is wrong with yall with these confessions) but I'm not gonna lie Phil felt incredibly off in it and like... really performative? Like idk something didn't feel right to me and although he said some really sweet things it felt... off somehow. Not sure how to describe it. Funny though lol

9. HONEYMOON IN JAPAN!

I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW

It was a good video!! I just feel like it didn't have a lot of *those moments* that these other videos had idk. Like yes it was very sweet and a milestone for the sims universe but it kind of felt like that was it for me. The symbolism was inSANE but just strictly talking about the video itself yk. New pics released were nice though

8. Poppy Playtime Chapter 3

This one was a lot but it was SO nice to have such a long video- two hours long who??? That's tbh the reason this one goes above the honeymoon video- the length. The reason I put it lower is that although I am NOT complaining about the length, both of them were SUPER focused a lot of the time and not really talking much haha

7. Viewers Pick My Birthday Presents 2024

The only reason this one isn't higher is because all the ones above this I consider part of their *magnum opus* era. I loved the mini golden pig, the omatone, the shirt, and the Shrek smut. Always fun to see him surprised with cursed stuff loll

6. THE PUBLIC WOOHOO INCIDENT

Pretty self explanatory I think. Dan SCREAMING as Dab and Evan got it on made me actually piss myself. I can still hear it echoing in my head.

5. Phil's Birthday Livestream

Another case of "the only reason this isn't higher is because the ones above it are SO good." I loved the livestream, and was able to attend live for about the first hour. Such chaos. Such good. Amazing.

4. Dan and Phil Get Married, Have Kids, and Retire

Saw the notif while I was getting out of school and I literally snorted out loud, very embarrassing. They're just taking the piss at this point and I'm loving it. Phil's teasing him towards the end with "oh, I think I'll start another photo album!" GOLDEN. "Henry gives me that good dick." "Me and Susan have been rawdogging it." Amazing. Incredible.

3. Phil Pushes Dan's Button for 18 Minutes

A comfort video for REAL. When this came out I was SHOCKED that they had two BANGERS one right after another, but boy was I in for a surprise.

The slime? The slime on Dan's head while he's talking? Phil placing it on his forehead while he stares off into space? Hell yeah I want more of that slime I could look at it all day.

2. Who is the Real Daniel Howell?

Yall. We were fed GOOD today. Dan singing 'my lumps' absolutely DEADPAN while Phil looks at him in Awe? I WANT PHIL'S SWEATER IF ANYONE CAN TELL ME WHERE IT'S FROM I WILL BE GRATEFUL.

So? many shoulder touches? idk what that's about but i aint complaining ig

editing tips! *stuff* coming out your nose! etc!

This one had such a particular vibe to it- I think partially because it wasn't edited by the editor they've been using! To be clear - the editor has been doing a great job and I applaud them :) but sometimes it feels a bit over-edited, if you know what I mean? (For example the count-downs on the sims video going down the mountain felt a bit much) But having a video that was edited by Dan or Phil kinda hits different idk

WDAPTEO2024

I cannot, CANNOT say enough good things about this video. I cannot. I cannot. It holds my whole heart and soul and I have only rewatched it twice because I am trying to preserve the magic but GODDAMNIT I love their shenanigans. What a series.

I was very worried when they came out with this video STRAIGHT into 2024 because I was like, "WOW. that was amazing but idk how they're going to follow this up? will everything feel like a disappointment now that this masterpiece has come out?" (not that dnp uploading could ever be a disappointment, but I digress) BUT I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. Still though, wdapteo is 10/10 my fave so far.

I hope you enjoyed my yapping! I know many of you don't agree and that's okay lol, feel free to share your opinions if you so please ! And also with the ones that were lower ranked, the reasons I listed for the being lower ranked was NOT me complaining. Each video is different and awesome in their own right, this is just a ranking of how much I personally enjoyed each one!

Thank you and goodnight!

[whiskeyswifty]

Feel free to bank this ask if you need more time but what are your overall thoughts? I feel like I won’t be able to ever rank this album bc it straight up doesn’t feel like an album it more feels like she was like 🤲 here ya go! Which I don’t mind too much bc there’s plenty for me to dig into here but I’m always curious to hear your takes! :)

i fully took your permission to bank this and sit on it, so thank you for that haha but FINALLY i think i can talk about it with enough perspective and time with it where novelty or initial vexations have worn off. I think for the sake being respectful of people's sensitivity (not a value judgment) i'll break it up into positives, net neutral thoughts and criticisms. So you can skip the critical section if you're unable to handle frank but thoughtful criticism of her and her work (again not a value judgement, do whatever you need to enjoy what you want to enjoy. i just enjoy engaging with art critically and it is my blog after all). I'm sure i missed something, and i'll babble about it in the near future, but for now this feels like a good place to stop and share where I've landed.

My TTPD songs on repeat (in no particular order):

The tortured poets department

down bad

so long london

but daddy i love him

florida

guilty as sin

who's afraid of little old me

loml

broken heart

smallest man

clara bow

the black dog

i'mgonnagetyouback

i look in people's windows

so high school

the prophecy

POSITIVES:

loml upon first listen was my favorite and is probably the most Taylor swift song on this album, in the best way. the soft and emotive voice, rising with anger and cracking with pain. the piano and the rhyming structure of the bridge being a cascade of couplets, and even the conceit of the song! taking a well known acronym loml and despite the song being a heartbreak song, still using it in the song the way you expect. luring you in and getting you to let your guard down, knowing to wait until the right moment, and then on the LAST LINE subverting that expectation devastatingly. it's got all the swiftian motifs; the longing that lingers despite a betrayal, the magnetism of an old flame that you can never quite stamp out, haunted by it, passion as fire as it but also how it consumes and destroys, being a fool for love, the burden of remembrance and willing yourself to forget. you name it, this song's got it. just really a remarkable little gem of a song.

but after the anthology came out, loml was usurped by the prophecy. it's absoutely my favorite like hoooooooooly shit. this is what i LOOOOOOVE hearing about from her. the perspective of time!! the self reflection!! the tension of what you want vs. what you think you deserve!! The guitar plucking at the start every time makes me go AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH and the way she jumps up and down in pitch or whatever in the chorus??? WOOOOOOOO THATS THE GOOD SHIT. 

the title track really grew on me (and i have supplanted the fairly obvious subject with someone else that suits my taste so i have a ball listening to it. i won't say cuz people are fucking weird on here about deviating from the ~truth~ for their own personal enjoyment but my buddies know and we all agree it makes it so much more fun). I love the melodic way she sings on this song, and it's my platonic ideal jack production, where it's imitating that 80s emotional garbled synth a la new order or erasure or the cure. i eat that shit uppppppp. that final bridge/ring situation though is..... not great and is only saved because of how the way she sings it and how it tickles my brain.

THE BLACK DOG!!!!!!!!! THE. BLACK. DOG. HELLOOOOOOOO WHAT A TUNE WHAT A SONG WHAT A SPECIFIC GIFT FOR ME. literally the starting line lyric gets me every time like WHAT A NICHE EMO BAND NOBODY KNOWS HUH. fun fact, at my moms house recently i found this framed school assignment from when i was like 14 or 15 or something. we had to do a mock front page of a newspaper as an icebreaker activity, you all know what i mean if you know what i mean. And under the music section i put "I love to listen to The Starting Line and The Killers" like askfjalskjfsadklfj. taylor clearly wrote this song about me and sorry i did all that i guess, but you can keep stalking me it's fine.

Clara bow of course absolutely incredible closer, incredible song that i've waxed poetic about several times already so i won't bore you with repeat rants. just a stunner. a curtain close of a closer as the crowd jumps up for a standing ovation.

Aaron on this album.... my guy..... WHAT a showing from someone who has jumped aboard the taylor ship and steered it into incredibly rich directions!!! i think most of my picks for My Version of this album are aaron songs, and even when i thought it was a jack song and i was ready to congratulate jack on finding a sweet spot again..... oops it was aaron ajsdlfkdsfjlkdsjflsd. THE GUY!!! THE DUDE!!! LETS HEAR IT FOR UPSTATE NEW YORK!!!

NET NEUTRALS:

album proper is very solid and fun to jump around! it took me a few listens to really dig into it, but i like it. i don't think i love it, and i think it's a middling ranking somewhere in my ranking overall. Also, I don’t think the order is particularly important, as none of these songs really need to go before or after one another as they have little to do with each other. Which is neutral, and how honestly most albums are, and I'm pretty fine with how it is now . And anyway, play through-concept albums are rare and specific but a different beast than your standard album. I’m fine with how it is because I listen to different songs in different orders each time depending on my mood. but i'm also not interested enough in the subject matter to play around with it too much. I think the album proper is a good distillation of this project's songs with a little bit for everyone in there, which to me is a marker of success, even if i would swap some anthology songs for album proper songs.

I’m not invested in her romantic life anymore, and i've noticed that seems to be one of the top complaints or roadblocks to enjoying this album, which is understandable. Especially when this one is incredibly unsympathetic, as is the sentiment writ large (and if I did care about her personal life, I would have those same roadblocks so lol). But I don’t think her diaristic songwriting is overdone or she needs to hang it up, which i've seen some people complain about. I think at this point, her choice in subject matter is what is key to the success of it. Her love life in a 2024 social landscape is yes comparatively straight, white, privileged, and because the romantic lives of people in that demo have been begun to be de-centered in culture over the course of her career, it’s now boring and rote, and we've had centuries playing out the cyclical drama of straight, white, and privileged people. But rather, her fame is what really is worth writing about imo. that’s what’s juicy about her now and what people wanna know, if she’s going to trade on personal details of her life as song fodder. She’s in such rarified air and songs that delve into how she feels about it are the best on this. what it has done to her? what has it driven her to do? The longer she spends in this machine, what does she decide is most valuable? What is worth it and what isn’t? What did she think would change and what did she think would stay the same, and which of those things was she wrong about? I love hearing about all the answers to questions like that on this album, and also answers to questions I had that she perhaps gave away unknowingly and quite…. Unbecomingly but still delicious none the less. Where we usually get one or two songs about fame per album, she has a nice handful on here and it’s so curious to me, especially considering she wasn’t raised among it. She’s an avatar for the common man in Hollywood in some ways, but losing touch with the common man more and more each day and I love seeing that documented, and how she has a self awareness about that, if no idea what to do about that. if she’s now the monster we made her, I wanna get to know that monster in all it’s ugliness and vindictiveness and whatever else lurks in there, and it seems she too is tired of caging it.

CRITICAL:

i loathe the anthology concept, mainly in how quickly she dropped it. i think the album proper is solid and dropping all those additional songs lowers the batting average significantly, as noted in many critical reviews of the album v. the anthology. I personally chalk it up to her experience with the vault tracks' success, which she mistakenly took as ALL of her songs are great and she should cut LESS of them. when the reality of that was they were received with such excitement because they had the lore of being vault songs, and they were ways for us to revisit eras of her musical styles that have long since passed, and there is IMMENSE novelty in nostalgia. I also think that if she pays attention to middling or negative reviews both from critics and fans alike (which i don't think tree puts on her desk, but she might seek it out for whatever temperature check reasons she has so i won't rule it out) she would have seen how midnights' "bonus tracks" or whatever you want to call them were received pretty unanimously as a great batch of songs, compared to polarized reactions to the album's original songs. perhaps that inspired her to approach her album release this time around by throwing spaghetti songs at the proverbial wall of an audience and seeing what sticks. i don't know if this is.... a bad approach? I don't feel great about it either, but it certainly is interesting coming from someone sooooooo meticulous in every other instance of her Taylor Swift brand in recent years. (or maybe she really did think every single song on the anthology was worthy, and that is perhaps my greater fear).

all jokes aside, I don’t actually think her and jack’s relationship has run its course in terms of inspiring one another to do new and exciting things, I just think perhaps some editing is required. I’m firmly of the camp that it’s not jack’s fault for something sounding how it does, as most people who work with him are quick to take offense to that and say that he very much is an employee as a producer. The artist is always the boss. Of course lesser artists or ones who are more friendly with him may be less honest, because of intimidation/gratitude or fondness respectively, but on the whole, it seems like he is at their mercy and will. And has the range to make music across many genres and composition styles. That being said, I do think there is a comfort in him and Taylor’s working relationship, of course because of their personal one, and that perhaps has become a bit of a hinderance to her. (He continues to make incredibly wide ranging stuff with other artists and his own music, so he stays pushing himself and being pushed) I don’t think what they make is bad, when it’s the least successful, but it’s a tad rote, heavily trodden, and flat. Perhaps the flatness in her voice on some of those songs is her trying to compliment an instrumental that is a bit flat, which is trying to keep pace with her vocals that are flat, and so on and so forth and there is no culprit but just two flat bitches saying exactly to each other. But it’s extremely frustrating if only because we have, on this album even, examples of when they both really blend beautifully and push towards something unique and exciting (Broken Heart, Black Dog, imgonnagetyouback to name a few). I would just like to see more development of sounds like that and exploration of that more boldly, as even those songs dance at the edge of progressing stylistically, but ultimately shy away from fully embracing something new.

it’s very interesting that this album does not have the same retention that her other albums have had with me, at least not instantly or in the weeks after. And what I mean by that is songs are not getting stuck in my head that much. I do not want to revisit them immediately after listening to them, and when I do, some of them have somewhat diminishing returns. And I asked myself why that is and the greater existential question of what is music supposed to be. And I think midnights is a great album to compare to this album and maybe history will make sisters of these two albums, it’s too soon to tell, but with proximity as something to inspire comparison, I think they’re great to talk about in conversation with each other. Midnights is an album that many critics and many longtime Taylor Swift fans did not enjoy to the degree of her others, and some new fans who came to her during folklore were turned off by her returned to pop in a way that some felt was empty. But what is interesting about midnights is despite the fact that the rich text isn’t really there or well articulated or particularly inspiring, the bangers are there to be so crass. Songs like antihero and bejeweled and even karma every time I would return to them or listen to them again I could not get them out of my head. Even though the lyrics are next to nothing or are the simplest versions of those concepts, the marriage of the lyrics with the melody is perfect. I wanna listen again, I get them stuck in my head, I wanna dance to them. Very little of that is on this album currently, even with songs I like or love. There are songs that I enjoy more with each listen, yes, and chew on lyrically and composition wise, but the bangers are not here, not like they have been in the past. if midnight was her putting bangers over substance, this album is her putting substance over bangers. I don’t know if either of those things is the right way to make music, or if there is a right way to make music.

This gets into the existential question that is far beyond her, and not her responsibility to answer, that is what purpose does music serve as an art form. What metrics of success do we measure it by, obviously charts and financial success not being competent measures for art? And should music, which is perhaps the most populous and accessible form of art we have on planet earth because of the universality of a banger, maybe err on the side of bangers as enjoyability is it’s main purpose? Which is to say that should it always put the song over substance? If you can manage both, which she has historically been able to do time and time again, then by all means do so. But if you find yourself wanting to choose between the two, in the aftermath of this album I think my personal feeling is this. If you’re gonna write poetry, just write poetry, but don’t tell me that it’s a song if it doesn’t bang. And I don’t mean that it has to be a pop song, I am being a bit glib. I mean that I should want to listen to it. wordiness and any flow disruptions because of it should not take priority over the fact that it it a song and it should be pleasing to listen to, more so than it needs to be poetic. This album is a bit indulgent in the latter and i feel the songs that couldn't bend to the will of the "poetry" suffered. I think that’s ultimately what makes this album so easy and delicious to talk about because it is forcing us to ask these questions. Not just of music in general, but of Taylor Swift who, in a lot of ways, is a microcosm of the music industry. No I don’t mean that ~she is the music industry~ silly way that people refer to her. But I mean in the way that Taylor is a good case study in asking ourselves what we want from music because she is capable of all of the things that music is capable of. Even further, it’s us asking ourselves what we consider to be successful music. I recognize that this is an incredibly personal question for everyone in the sense that the success of music and art is a subjective opinion and that I am once again wading into waters where my feet don’t touch the ground but I do think it’s what makes talking about all of this so fun and why I find it to be an engaging and important and stimulating debate that we will probably have for eternity, or at least as long as Taylor Swift keeps making music. 

[hello-nichya-here]

There is such a strange obession with always having to humble Michael Jackson.

He fits like the extrem case of a Tall Poppy Sydrome.

1# His brothers (Jermaine) how they say he wouldn't be Michael Jackson without the Jackson 5. Kind of dismissing his talent and wanting them to be a part of his success.

2# People who claim Joe beat talent into Michael. And is success is thanks to his abuse. If that was the case. What went wrong with the others then?

3# The constant comparsions with todays artists. Who not only benefit from the streaming era but are also way below him talent wise or impact wise. Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Drake, Chris Brown... Them naming new King of Pops like Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles. The comparsions can be looked as a compliment that he is looked as the standard or as an insult because they try to dismiss him and put him om the same level as these artists not respecting he is a league on his own..

#4 These stupid lists billboard or rollingstone put out ranking him ridiculously low. Like tf you mean Michael number #86 on the best singers list. Or the 20 best Halloween songs doesn't involve Thriller eventhough it's the most recognizable one.

#5 Claiming Eagles Greatest Hits was the best selling album of all time back in 2018. Eventhough it was only in the US. ( allegedly) But of course these trash tabloids had to make it look like it was the world.

#6 The stupid allegations. If they put any effort into reading would know are bs. When their smear campaign failed they just made it look like "separating art from the artist" bs.

#7 Them reporting other artist broke his record. Eventhough it isn't comparable. You can't compare Drakes shitty number ones who are mostly features in it or he features in them to Michaels number ones where he is mostly on his own and also wrote most of it. The songwriting is also something they can't believe and try to dismiss aswell. Also Drake has the benefit of the streaming era. Michael didn't. Aint nobody buying a bus tickets to drive 15 minutes downtown and purchase an album of Drake.

Their pathetic attemps really knows to bound. They would literally choke if they just admit he is the greatest.

The one about his father's abuse being the thing that "made him what he was", as well as the unfair slander against MJ for accusations that were so ridiculously they were laughed out of court are, by far, the ones that piss me off the most.

Joseph abusing his son was not the reason why Michael was the greatests, it was one of the many reasons why we lost him so soon. I'm always EXTREMELY suspicious when people try to push that kind of narrative of "abuse is not that bad and has positive consequences if you're not a crybaby", especially when it's someone in a position of power, because it just screams "I want to get away with exploiting people AND I want to be praised for it."

The lies of "Michael was a pedophile" are just the kind of stuff that breaks my heart and makes me furious. And I gotta laugh when the same people that tried to destroy MJ because of stuff they KNEW was bullshit now pretend it never happened or, like you said, use the "separate art from the artist" argument. It just proves that Michael had earned so much respect from both the public and the few decent people in the industry, AND was so fucking talented, that those idiots were eventually forced to realize that they would have made much more money celebrating him than they ever made by tearing him down

And we all know THAT is why they did it, the good old business model of "Give the public a great icon, then tear said icon to pieces in front of them." The people that are still on the hate/devalue MJ train are split between people that are too proud to admit they fucked up, and the people that built their entire lives around telling the public which popular thing is actually not that good (be it in a "I'm too good for stuff that the masses like" way or in a cancel culture type of way).

Plus, we all know Michael was not afraid to openly trash the media and even his own record label when they pissed him off enough, and you just know some rich assholes that are not used to people talking shit about them and getting away with it and still hold a grudge for it.

As for the comparisons with modern idols - it's not just things like streaming that make said comparisons not just unfair, but downright nonsensical.

The very fact that people will go "Oh, this person is the new Michael Jackson/King Of Pop" is already a contradiction. The reason Michael has the status he has is because there WASN'T a "king of pop" before him. He had people who influenced him and there were artists that were HUGE, sure, but there was no one that fit the role of "The MJ before MJ" so to speak. The closest "match" I can think of is Beatle Mania, and even then, that was a group. Even when people talk about the "most important/famous" Beatles, it's always Lennon AND McCartney.

Michael Jackson's fame as a solo artist was on the level of "People legitimately did not fucking know someone could be this famous" and to this day nobody has done it again - which is a big deal since, like you pointed out, it is a lot easier to have acess to an artist's work now.

And yet everytime one of today's artists is called "The new king/queen of pop" in some internet article it just never catches on... yet the title of said articles DON'T have to add a "(Michal Jackson)" after saying the words "King of Pop" because if you know these three little words, you know the ONE person they refer to.

Another important factor here is that all of these "new coronations" so to speak happen literally every year - to more than one artist. We are TOLD "this random music critic saying this about this artist is a big deal" but it doesn't match what we're SHOWN because, again, to reach Michael's level of fame, one would need to be literally "The only artist that matters, everyone elsa can just fight for the title of second best." If everyone is "the new MJ" then no one is, not really. At most they're just "Super popular artist" and there's nothing wrong with that.

Things like the internet and streaming have also made the term "fifteen minutes of fame" much more literal than it ever was. So sure, you easily find people that went viral - but how many of them had any real, lasting sucess? How many times did an artist do something cool that pushed to everyone all over the globe, and then just a month later they were a has-been?

And even the well-stablish artists of today, even though who started really young, don't have the same kind of long career Michael had because most artist don't start singing at the age of five, spend their entire childhood and adolescence gaining more and more fans, and then spend their adulthood as the biggest thing ever because they put out the first AND second best selling albums of all time. Michael had already been performing, and been absurdly famous, for nearly two decades when he finally released Thriller - which just got a 40th anniversary edition because even after four decades since it's debut, and 14 years since Michael letf us, he is STILL such a powerhouse that the world just had to celebrate his music once again.

Comparing that to artists that have only had one or two decades in the industry is ridiculous because of course they're gonna lose, just like their modern songs are obviously going to be front and center instead of the ones made decades ago, from an artist that is deceased and whose sales did not benefit from streaming, or even CDs, for a long time. And once again, the fact that Michael STILL has a presence on Spotify, Youtube, TikTok and literally very platform ever speaks volumes of just how solid his legacy is. Meanwhile all these singers he's being compared to are still making stuff that will one day become their legacy. It's comparing apples to oranges.

And since I mentioned the (ungodly evil thing) that is TikTok, that brings me to yet another major difference between MJ fame and modern fame: how artificial it all has become. Don't get me wrong, musical trends and popular "formulas" to make a hit have always existed, but things today are often SO calculated to have "viral qualities" (a part the is guaranteed to become popular on TikTok, never going over a specific length, everything needing either a sped up version or a slow reverb version, etc) that they might as well have been made by algorythm.

Meanwhile, Michael became the biggest singer ever because the priority when making anything was to make sure it was GOOD, no matter the style, length or topic of the song. Michael often said his approach when making records was to have no songs you can skip - compare that to artists and labels trying to make 20 seconds of a song catchy to blow up on TikTok, rest of the thing be damned, and you have yet another reason why MJ's legacy is solid, while plenty of promising new artists disappear overnight.

And, finally, we that brings us to the final difference between Michael and plenty of artists today: how he COMPLETELY altered the industry, in every way.

Michael Jackson is the reason why Superbowl performances are a thing, why music videos have all kinds of cool aesthetics and even enough plot to be considered short films instead just being an artist dancing to their own tunes on camera. He was the first black artist to ever have his music videos air on MTV. Fans passing out during his concerts was a regular thing. Plenty of artists all over the globe have him as a reference to how they should sing, dance, dress, or even just stand on stage because Michael had such presence he could stand on stage without moving for an entire minute then slowly, dramatically remove his sunglasses, and people would still be screaming their heads off.

Once again, let's look at Beatle Mania: it was a level of fame nobody had seen before, for artists that were breaking all the rules. But nowadays a group of young men playing love songs and having seemingly every teenage girl in the country following them around is nothing out of the ordinary, and while their songs are still fantastic, plenty of bands over the decades have done awesome things with rock music that are just as revolutionary, if not more.

Meanwhile, Michael is still THE reference, and his music is still the definition of "quality." If you hear his biggest hits, you can totally tell which bits modern singers were inspired by - yet if you didn't know who he was, you could wrongfully assume some of these songs are modern because they were SO ahead of their time they still sound groundbreaking today.

Seriously, there's a reason NONE of these artists that was ever compared to Michael tried to actually claim his title: saying you're as good as him is one hell of a bold claim that gives people a ton of impossibly hugh standards that you better meet, without flaw and making it look effortless, otherwise you look like the most arrogant person who has ever lived - and nobody wants to deal with that kind of pressure.

[djxiao]

I think aespa fans have the right to be mad for a lot of things one of them being one of the bg meber being a nepotism kid but everybody being fine with thar while giselle still gets hated for made up nepotism rumors. There is only 2.5 years difference between aespas debut and this one and now we can see that sm rushed aespa debut even though they had a lot of time to complete everything. Riize getting music show promotions for pre release and getting 2 pre release at that and now this physical album,I don't remember if nct had a physical album for their debut but red velvet certainly did and so did aespa. Aespa actually had 3 back to back digital singles to that sucked along with little to no content and promo. Even now they don't have a full album and all mys are scared that sm is gonna put the rest of the concert tracks in the new mini. If sm rushes the nggs debut and only gives them a digital single then we can all conclude that they are sexist mfs. And yes they did have a press release something along the lines that ride topped some chart and aespa fell below them which made the fans rightfully angry

i never said aespa fans don't have the right to be angry i literally said you're right to be angry over aespa's treatment and im on your side with that. im just against holding a grudge against another group simply because they got better treatment during a debut. they can't control what the company does just as much as aespa can't. wayv didn't have a comeback for close to two years and ten was out of the country for 9ish months and winwin was gone for 1.5 years. we didn't get any full group content for so long (and we still barely get any) and yangyang even said that at one point was worried because he didn't know if wayv would ever even come back. they still barely get anything compared to 127/dream in terms of cbs and tours and yet i don't hold it against the other units. the press release sounds to me like they were just saying riize has performed well so far in some metric and then using another well charting sm group as point of reference. that's nothing personal against aespa, its just how companies run they will always compare their groups. and in the case of charts, saying one sm artist charted high and surpassed another is not an attack on aespa, its just an objective analysis of the current positions of their artists in a constantly changing chart ranking. and as for of them being a nepotism kid, i've definitely seen him getting hate for it on twt. and are mys also mad at sunny for being lee soman's niece and chris lee's cousin? or is it just anton. the nepotism thing is going to follow all three of them for the rest of their careers and personally im not going to let it bother me. i like to embrace those types of things with humor because getting mad isn't going to erase it so i'd rather just have fun with it. as for the smngg, i full heartedly hope the ngg gets as good of a debut as riize, but im not going to spend my time worrying about hypothetical scenarios in the unknown future, it just adds extra suffering. we'll get there when we get there.

[jayfeathersstick]

Ranking the songs in every Enhypen album with no explination

:D

Yes this will include intros and outros but most of them will be at the bottom of the list

BORDER: DAY ONE

Flicker

Given-Taken

Let Me In (20 CUBE) *ʸᵉˢ ᵖˡᶻ ᵇᵉ ᵐʸ ᵇᶠ*

Outro: Cross The Line

10 Months

Intro: Walk The Line

BORDER: CARNIVAL

Drunk-Dazed

FEVER

Mixed Up

Not For Sale

Intro: The Invitation

Outro: The Wormhole

A/n Hey Tayo started playing💀 MOOD CHANGE

Is it just me or is billy poco actually a good song?

Hey Tayo Collab (should i count this?...too late i am)

Billy Poco

Hey Tayo

BORDER: 儚い

Forget Me not

Given-Taken - Jap Ver

Let Me In (20 CUBE) - Jap Ver

DIMENSION: DILLEMA

Attention, please!

Just A Little Bit

Tamed-Dashed

Upper Side Dreamin'

Blockbuster feat. YEONJUN of TXT

Interlude: Question

Intro: Whiteout

DIMENSION: ANSWER

This is technically a part of dillema but...

Blessed-Cursed

Polaroid Love

Outro: Day 2

DIMENSION: 閃光

Always

Tamed-Dashes - Jap Ver

Drunk-Dazed - Jap Ver

MANIFESTO: DAY 1

Future Perfect (Pass The MIC)

ParadoXXX Invasion

SHOUT OUT

TFW (That Feeling When)

WALK THE LINE

Foreshadow

Fun fact: both of the intro/outros in that album are my personal favorite out of every single one :D

定め (aka the fish eye lense album cover)

Drunk-Dazed - Jap Ver

Blessed-Cursed - Jap Ver

Future Perfect (Pass The MIC) -Jap Ver

Forget Me Not

Always

Given-Taken - Jap Ver

Let Me In (20 CUBE) - Jap Ver

Tamed-Dashes - Jap Ver

DARK BLOOD

Karma

Sacrifice (Eat Me Up)

Bite Me

Fate

Chaconne

Bills *ˢᵒʳʳʸ ⁿᵒᵗ ˢᵒʳʳʸ*

ORANGE BLOOD

Still Monster

Sweet Venom

Sweet Venom -Eng Ver

Orange Flower (You Complete Me)

Blind

Mortal

Sweet Venom feat. Bella Poarch

DARK MOON SPECIAL ALBUM ✨MEMORABILIA✨

Lucifer

Fatal Trouble

Teeth

Scream

CRIMINAL LOVE

One In A Billion

This one isn't an album but,

Singles, collabs, remixes, and random songs

CRIMINAL LOVE

BLOSSOM

I NEED U - (BTS Cover)

ZERO MOMENT (Sung by Heeseung, Jay, Jake) (Prod.tearliner)

Brought The Heat Back (Feat. Ava Max)

One and Only (Pokemon Collab)

One In A Billion

Every XO (Only If You Say Yes) remix because why are there so many😭

I Need The Light

A Kind Of Magic (Coke Studios Collab)

Sweet Venom (Seeb Remix)

What Makes You Beautiful (cover)

Keep Swimmin' Through (Baby Shark Collab) *ʷᵉ ᵈᵒⁿᵗ ᵗᵃˡᵏ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵒⁿᵉ*

ROMANCE: UNTOLD

Brought The Heat Back *LITERALLY ON REPEAT?*

Your Eyes Only

Moonstruck

Paranormal

XO (Only If You Say Yes)

Highway 1009

Royalty

XO (Only If You Say Yes) Eng ver. Ft JVKE

Hundred Broken Hearts *im sorry 😭*

[silverlininghills]

top 10 death cab songs i want TØP/tyler to cover:

(put in album order bc no way am i ranking them skjldfdskl)

passenger seat

when you feel embarrassed then I'll be your pride when you need directions then I'll be the guide for all time

what sarah said

love is watching someone die so who's gonna watch you die?

talking bird - demo

but oh, my talking bird though your feathers are tattered and curled I'll love you all your days til the breath leaves your fragile frame and it's all here for you as long as you choose to say it's all here for you as long as you don't fly away

unobstructed views

there's no eye in the sky just our love no unobstructed view no perfect truths just our love, just our love and there's no verse no monument of words for our love for they can't hold all I know about my love, about my love

st peter's cathedral

st. peter's cathedral built of granite ever fearful of the answer when the candle in the tunnel is flickering and sputters and fading faster it's only then that you will know what lies above or down below or if these fictions only prove how much you've really got to lose at st. peter's cathedral there is stained glass there's a steeple that is reaching up towards the heavens such ambition never failing to amaze me it's either quite a master plan or just chemicals that help us understand that when our hearts stop ticking this is the end and there's nothing past this

(literally pasted the entire song bc i just love it so goddamn much skdjfdskl)

you've haunted me all my life

you've haunted me all my life through endless days and countless nights there was a storm when I was just a kid stripped the last coat of innocence you've haunted me all my life you're always out of reach when I'm in pursuit long winded then suddenly mute and there's a flaw in my heart's design for I keep trying to make you mine

when we drive

climb into the back seat and close your eyes I've got the wheel and dream of all the places only we will find I can't expect you to be honest or to be faithful every day 'til the end I just need you to always be a friend until the engine kicks and sputters until we roll the rubber off the tires know I'll always need you by my side when we drive

man in blue

can you hear my voice? in a high, lonesome rejoice sing a song for you in and out of tune and I just want to understand you I don't need to be your man in blue I just want you to see yourself the way I do I don't need to be your man in blue

rand mcnally - acoustic

with this rand mcnally atlas, dog-eared and frayed like old testament verses that don't make sense in this decade don't let the light fade I won't let the light fade chasing these roads into dawns I won't let the light fade falling asleep in their arms and I'm holding on

i'll never give up on you

I've given up on confrontation and I've given up on every politician too and I've given up on affectations and the dilettantes they all consume but I'll never give up, never give up I'll never give up on you

and for anyone unfamiliar w these songs/death cab in general:

[el-255]

Literally no one asked for this but i decided to do my ranking of NPMD songs because I’ve seen some people do it on yt. I don’t post on yt and I’m shit at video editing so here we are-

This is all my personal opinions based on how much I enjoy the songs and how often I listen to them (also partly based on the scenes, choreo, etc) so please don’t lynch me, everyone’s allowed their opinions.

This was really hard for me because I actively listen to the songs from 11 onwards and I’m likely to change my mind as I listen to the album more so take this with a grain of salt. This is probably my favourite album that Starkid’s ever done.

Do not expect any coherent comments for this ranking as I’m terrible at articulating my thoughts, but just know that all these songs are incredible and they all hold a special place in my heart.

15. Go Go Nighthawks!

I don’t dislike this song tbh just very neutral towards it. I really enjoy the “fuck you Clivesdale” portion of the song but other than that, I can’t really say I listen to it. Kim and Bryce’s splits were incredible though holy shit.

14. The Best of You

This song, like many have said, is a bit too Disney channel for me. I like the scene and Steph and Pete are a really cute couple but not really into the song.

13. Bully the Bully

I love the scene for this, Angela’s choreo is brilliant and I think it’s a cute little song. The only reason it’s this low is because I don’t really listen to it outside of watching the show.

12. Bury the Bully

OKAY THIS ONE HURTS BECAUSE IVE REALLY GROWN TO APPRECIATE THIS REPRISE AND I THINK ITS BRILLIANT, HOWEVER, similarly to bully the bully, I don’t listen to it outside of outside of the show. Unfortunately cannot rank it higher than this as I enjoy the rest of the songs more :(

11. Nerdy Prudes Must Die

I’m ashamed that this is so low just purely based on Jon’s incredible “I’m not a loser” and Will Brenner’s amazing performance, HOWEVER, I’m not as into the rest of the song so unfortunately it is ranked as it is. The scene is pure genius though holy shit. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

10. Cool As I Think I Am

I had a hard time deciding between 11 and 10 but cool as I think I am just took it in regards to the fact that I actually listen to this song in my own time. What can I say? I’m a sucker for Joey’s Bug type roles and solos. Goes to show how much I enjoyed the album that this song I actively enjoy is ranked so low.

9. Dirty Dudes Must Die

This was originally higher on my list but I have since grown to enjoy other songs more but make no mistake, I think this is a great ending to the show and I adore Angela’s unhinged performance as Grace. The “who will pray for you?” reprise coming from Grace of all people is *chefs kiss*.

8. If I Loved You

Mariah and Joey’s vocals willed this ranking into existence. I love a good duet between characters who are obviously attracted to each other but for some reason, are desperate to act like they aren’t. While I don’t believe this is the strongest love duet in Starkid history (that belongs to the way I do imo), I do think it’s a sweet and a catchy tune overall.

7. Cool As I Think I Am (Reprise)

I did not appreciate this song as much as i should’ve when I first watched the show, but recently I’ve been listening to it a lot more and it’s just the perfect combination of cool as I think I am and if I loved you. Absolutely devastated me upon first watch.

6. Literal Monster

Honestly, when I first watched the show, I didn’t like this song very much and was very surprised when I saw that it had one of the highest views out of the album. I’ve listened to it a lot more since then and it’s genuinely been the biggest change from my original ranking to this one now. The harmonies are incredible, Kim is as always a queen, Will Brenner’s section is so good idek what to say. But yeah, I really like this song.

5. Dirty Girl

I know this is very controversial as it is currently first place for my poll on people’s least favourite/least listened to song. Like most people, the scene makes me extremely uncomfortable BUT THE VOCALS !!!!! I genuinely love the song it’s such a banger and Angela and Will’s voices go so well together it’s actually insane. (I do still cringe every time I hear the words “dirty girl soup”).

4. High School is Killing Me

Probably the best opening Starkid has ever done. I’m a big sucker for group numbers so it has that going for it. Idk what else to say really, I just love the song.

3. Hatchet Town

I 👏 LOVE 👏 THIS 👏 SONG 👏 arguably one of the best act 2 openers, I am a sucker for group numbers as mentioned above and the tune of hatchet town is just so good. I particularly enjoy the chorus and the ending.

2. The Summoning

Need I even say more?

1. Just For Once

Probably the most controversial ranking I’ve ever done but SUE ME, I think this song is brilliant and a modern masterpiece. Someone said it gave them Falsettos vibes which absolutely contributes to why I love it so much but theres just so much else going for it. I could write a whole essay on the importance of just for once but I’ll spare you for now. All I’m going to say is that this song slaps and I will take no other answer :)

[cosmicalily]

stray kids 'ate' album review and ranking!

ugh omg i always say this about every album BUT THIS IS ONE OF THEIR BEST. this is going to change lives and literally be more influential than the renaissance, mark my words. i love skz's mashups because its so fun to piece together all the bits and pieces when you listen to the full album! from the very beginning, i claimed 'i like it' as my track because it had me going feral just from the snippet and i am OVERJOYED to say that it is still my favourite probably because i can lowkey relate to it which isn't actually a good thing help but we live and we love. the whole album is absolutely delectable and the title track is STUNNING! every track feels like it's literally the highest quality and i adore that, that's one thing skz never skimp on and i loved seeing how they talked about how they wanted to release the album earlier but didn't to work on the songs. i feel like not enough bands in kpop do this (not the fault of the bands, the fault of the companies) and they end up releasing really low quality music because it has a very limited timeframe and they're releasing tracks so often, so to see skz put so much effort (as they always do) to really make sure the album is the best it can be is so reassuring to me that there's a reason they are and always have been my number one and stood out to me. anyway, remember that this ranking is entirely my opinion and honestly there were NO misses in this album. they truly ate, if you will. feel free to disagree and let me know your faves in the comments!

'i like it' - NOT THE SITUATIONSHIP TRACK?? for some reason, i always fall in love with the dysfunctional relationship tracks (see: "collision" and "chill" being two of my all-time faves), and i think i'm realising it's because i relate to them in a way that's probably not good (there's this boy i've been very on and off liking and he might like me back but the mixed signals we're sending each other is so confusing) anyways, my gosh this track is absolutely delicious! when i first heard it in the mashup, i knew it was going to be the one i became addicted to. i listen to all of skz's songs pretty regularly, but there's a certain collection of songs, usually one per album, that just have something that has me fully addicted and unable to avoid. i get this feeling as soon as i hear the song in the mashup track and just immediately KNOW that its my 'one'. i'm seeing skz's 'dominate' tour for my birthday with my stay mama and they BETTER perform this song or i will be contacting people, and i'm not even kidding. there's a reason i befriended all the eshays in my school; we will take over jyp if i don't get to hear this live.

'runners' - I ADORE A WHOLESOME 'teamwork makes the dreamwork' ASS SONG AND SKZ HAVE BEEN WORKING OVERTIME HANDING THEM OUT LATELY! this is my lego batman movie track (sorry @thevampywolf) like it just gives 'teamwork makes the dreamwork' and i adore that. it reminds me a lot of 'blind spot', which is a song i hold very close to my heart, and the whole vibe these tracks give me is just nostalgia. 'lego batman movie' is the only way i can sum it up, but hear me out; that's my all time favourite movie, and i feel the same way about that movie that i do about these songs. i feel so proud (everyone's overcome so many challenges and come together!) and also so comforted (we've been rooting for them the whole time and they made it!). when i heard those vocals in the mashup, i knew this was going to end up being an album favourite. it's always the final chorus that gets me, 'blind spot' did the exact same thing. i love this so much. i love skz so much. if this is the outro song at the concert, i'll probably start bawling (i will regardless).

'chk chk boom' - i hate my brother. HATE HIM. he was watching the mv with me (he's also a stay) but had the nerve to say 'it lowkey sounds like dame tu cosita'. HE DID NOT. i won't be able to listen to it without thinking of that now. but i love this song, so i think i can cope. it's an absolute BANGER and feels so skz but also so different which i love! it's different, which skz always do, but also catchy. it's really difficult to create a track that is simultaneously super new and out there but also very memorable and easy to listen to, but skz have nailed that balance. i love the chorus, but the in between verses actually stuck out to me more for this one! the beat is so addictive and jisung in particular really stood out with his raps in this for me; he always feeds us good but this felt like it unlocked a new level of iconic. felix looked absolutely magical in the mv, and i'm so happy to see his freckles out and about! jeongin...don't even speak to me about him. it's reinforced the reason why i ended up with three biases: there's literally no way i can choose between him, minnie and hyunjin. my mum (minho bias) was also super excited to see minho get chorus time in the teaser! they all did so, so well and i'm so proud of my boys. the wait was well, well worth it.

'twilight' - the way this went straight onto my comfort song playlist was crazy; i was so excited to find out the piano sample in their teaser videos was actually in a song because i LOVE tracks like this! although i play a lot of high energy music, chill stray kids songs are probably the ones i end up listening to the most, because they're so comforting, especially when i'm going to sleep or overwhelmed. the beat for this is also really nice, and i like how simple the instrumental is, which allows their vocals to really shine through. i hope they do a live performance of this at the concert as well, it's so beautiful and feels so dreamy.

'mountains' - i'm not a huge shouty chorus fan, but when the mood is right, the mood is right, and THE MOOD IS RIGHT. will be screaming this at the top of my lungs when (not if) they perform it; it's such a banger and it was the PERFECT intro song for their album. the tracks skz select as the intro tracks are always so well fitted in setting the mood for the full album, which i think is so important (the worst thing is an album that lacks a consistent concept and theme). also, the background vocals are absolutely ADDICTIVE. as soon as i heard them in the unveil for this song, i lost my mind. i adore skz's vocals, i adore skz's raps; when they combine the two, i go ABSOLUTELY FERAL. this sticks with me the same way 'maniac's chorus does.

'stray kids' - don't. i'm going to cry. felix's soft vocals starting the song?? (no joke, when he started singing more and not just rapping, it felt like there was a whole new member's vocals in there; they're such a contrast to his usual and so angelic). this feels like another 'lego batman movie' track in the way it makes me feel so nostalgic and comforted; this song feels like watching a montage of their biggest, happiest moments and I FEEL SO PROUD OF THEM. i've been with them for so long, and know it's gonna take the world to stop me for me to leave.

'jjam' - I KNOW, YOU KNOW, LEE KNOW?? thank you skz for keeping that joke alive!! i know that the 'megaverse' and 'freeze' enthusiasts are going to lose their mind over this. ill admit, i don't usually listen to this kind of music since i find i have to be in a specific mood for it, but this would HIT SO HARD when i need it to. also only stray kids could write a song about condiments and make it slap so hard; part of me was expecting it to just mean 'jam' in the music sense and not necessarily literally but i love them using a double meaning. i was expecting a track similar to 'ssick' (because of the double first letter) but it's super different and i actually love that. slapped.

'chk chk boom festival ver' - LMAO NOT THE CLUB REMIX but on a serious note this does absolutely eat with the style of the song, skz are always very good at picking the right style of a remix to do for their songs (unlike producers that spam remix albums that sound so cheap COUGH 'one spark remixes' COUGH 'smart remixes' COUGH 'moonlight sunrise remixes') like this and the rock ver of 'lalalala' both work very well in their albums and this would go hard at a rave (acting as if ive been lmao) !!

[headdaze]

for your lil ask post: (if that doesn’t work just imagine me flopping around like a fish outta water all sad and emo like bc i hate mobile)

I’M NOT INTO ANY SO JUST ANSWER WITH ONE OF YOUR FAVS (if you wanna <3)

FISH ILYSM YES IT DID WORK LOLLL yeah mobile is a pain (mostly bc I hate texting RIP) so I feel u, like I have to add tags onto posts so they don't get buried but it's so annoying to type out all of them and then add the little hashtag to actually make it a tag so these days I literally just do "reblog now" and then later on desktop i'll add tags 😂

ANYWAYS

now those of you who have been stalking my recent reblogs will probably expect me to yap abt svt and believe me I could & I would but im gonna take this chance to yap about my current fav gg my beloved 💖 KISS OF LIFE 💖 for the ask game - for those of yall who don't know they're under S2 entertainment (not one of the "famous" companies to my knowledge), have four members, and debuted pretty recently in 2023!!

✦ my first bias: belle her vocals literally make me feel like i could die happy. also she's so competent (i love competency) & just so unintentionally funny sometimes and always slays so yes i love her so much

✦ my current bias(es): ot4 😭 i feel like sayinh anything else is a CRIME, imo they're the best when they're together and vibing bc the way they all just hang out and have fun together reminds me a lot of my own friend group 🥹

✦ my album and/or era ranking (or favorite of each): they're newer so not too many eras to choose from & also all of them are SLAYS SO here's the best from each for me - kiss of life (debut album): I'm weak for belle's countdown (prechorus SLAYSSS) & shh is surprisingly addictive / born to be xx: all of it. amazing. says it is really beaitufl and calm, but bad news always gets me hyped!! / midas touch: it's a single album so only two songs BUT THEY GO SO HARD!!!

✦ how i got into them: this is a really weird story that I'm just gonna tell bc I can and I will -- I saw Jii (cover artist on Youtube) uploaded a short of her Chinese cover of Midas Touch & Jordan Orme (also a youtuber) analyzed the music video… but tbh I was annoyed to see it everywhere RIP LOL and then eventually watched Jii’s short and was like “wait this is actually so banger” so I watched the Midas Touch MV then watched Jordan Orme dissect it .. then idk how but eventually I just went on a KIOF listening spree, listened to all their discography and the rest is history >3< I will say I feel like the moment I was like "yeah i love them to death" is when I watched their midas touch part switch dance; i feel like it really showed off their fun energy and made them feel very real, in a way.

✦ which member would be my best friend: oh help i actually don't know since i don't know TOO TOO much abt each of their personalities - maybe natty?? maybe i'm biased bc i have a best friend whose name is pretty similar to hers 😂

✦ something i associate with them (or with a bias/any member): shimmery metallic pink, X's, hearts, anything NEAR midas touch/greek mythology as any concept :D

tysm fish again for letting me yappp ily/p 🫶💘

[northwest-cryptid]

oh mann. squeaking of music. you got any artists with slow relaxy type music you like? and what's your favorite instrument? and what are your top 3 video game ost's? ...three questions at once, the terrible tripler... but as a beast who loves music, i am always ravenous for music opinions...

Not gonna lie this is kind of a hard ask not only because it's a lot to answer about a topic I tend not to talk about much but because I don't really know artists so much as I know songs, and to top it all off I don't really do "top" stuff, or "favorite" stuff; it's hard for me to pick or rank a lot of the things I like, I use the term "one of my favorite" or "among the best of" when I talk about things I really like because more often than not I'd say that about ANYTHING I really like, I don't really have a favorite artist or a top OST or anything.

Most of my music consumption is random, I'll listen to playlists on youtube or soundcloud or bandcamp and such. A lot of the time an artist is less of a concern to me because majority of my experience has been that they have one song I really like, followed by about 12 more in the album that are kinda just okay but lack the style that I enjoyed so much.

That being said I'll do my best to answer since I do enjoy getting asks and you actually took the time to send me this so I will respect that by taking the time to answer it :D

Let's start with the chill relaxing stuff!

As far as Artists go if you don't mind some more kinda weird tones in your relaxing music I think Monster Rally is a great artist.

A few core examples of their vibe can be heard in Lovely You:

as well as one I really enjoy, Color Sky:

They have a very unique sound in my opinion and I have a lot of interest in this kind of music since it hits a weird spot for me somewhere between acoustic jam session and weird vaporwave-y daydream music.

Almost all their music is between 1 and 2 minutes and contains these short loops and layered instrumentals with occasional lyrical influences. It's pretty fun and keeps my ADHD at bay with no song being too long.

For something a little more pop-ish I also enjoy TV Girl though I don't know if their music counts entirely as "Relaxed" since it can be a little faster. I've listened to them for years, a lot of their music reminds me a lot of my time in an indie band. They play a lot of the "soft punk sad boy" type music I'd see a lot in the indie scene. I often find myself singing or humming along to these whenever I'm cleaning the house or cooking dinner.

A few tracks I like a lot are Birds Don't Sing:

Lovers Rock:

and The Blonde:

Though to be honest I like a good bit of TV Girl's music so I'm trying to not list entire albums here lol. I try not to get hipster about it because for whatever reason it became oddly popular as of the last couple of years and I heard someone refer to it as "weirdcore" once and nearly died on the spot. I don't even dislike Weirdcore I just have a lot of thoughts on the idea of what the hell a genre is at this point.

Important note I am also 100% the sort of person who chills out and relaxes to Happy Hardcore and Eurobeat. So please consider the fact that my idea of relaxed varies wildly from like lounge jazz to club hardcore depending on the day. (There's literally a song that came out 7 years ago called Chillcore and it summarizes my thoughts on the subject perfectly I'd have been 21 when that song came out and I still occasionally hear it and go "yea" to this day.)

As far as favorite instrument goes I'm very partial to drums, drums of any kind. I think they're overlooked so much but then I'm bias because I'm a drummer so like of course I love drums. Any song that makes good use of drums is okay in my book. I will never forget how hard I cringed when the Bassist in my band once said "Bass is more important than Drums any day of the week, I mean literally who has ever heard of a drum solo?" I just sat there like "dude why are we even in the same band if you don't value my contribution" though she was something else in terms of like... superiority complexes. Regardless!

I may not have a top 3 Video Game OSTs since there's so many good ones out there and so many good options depending on your mood, but I will list a ton of good ones depending on the kind of mood you're in.

To keep with the theme of chill tunes let's start with a banger and one of my favorite game OSTs as to also kind of answer top 3.

VA-11 Hall-A has an amazing OST and I'm going to do the really basic bitch thing of saying you gotta listen to Every Day Is Night:

I used to listen to this a lot whenever I worked my night shift, it gave the title a very literal meaning to me. The synth jazz was the perfect companion for long nights on the job when I needed to chill out and vibe for a bit.

Keeping in line with the relaxed but perhaps a bit more anxiety inducing; I've spoken about it a lot, you know it; you love it, it's Lobotomy Corporation's very own No Warning:

Lob Corps whole OST has some absolutely beautiful tracks, everything from techy synths and chimes to entirely orchestral sweeping performances. I have a soft spot for this game and it's OST, as well as the OST of Library of Ruina, it's sequel, for which I'd like to highlight Malkuth's Battle Theme:

Specifically the third tier emotion level of this song, never before have I heard "battle jazz" done so well, not only is it classy; but it KICKS ASS. There's so much I could say about this game and it's OST in terms of themes and such but I digress, for now we'll move on because I got a lot to go through.

Next up we're looking at a more fantastical setting with Mabinogi's OST, which has a ton of genuinely amazing music, but one I want to highlight is the major main theme of the game which will always give me chills and make me cry a bit from nostalgia. More specifically the version performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra:

This song means more to me than I can properly explain, there's so much emotion behind it for me as someone who has played this game for half my life, who met my partner through this game; and who's life has no joke been absolutely changed by this game. The OST has always been a part of my life, we even play music from this game while decorating the house for various seasons. The entire OST is so varied and expansive and there's almost always something to fit my mood.

However when I'm looking for something more upbeat, and I need to get my blood pumping I turn to a bit more action oriented music, which is where games like ULTRAKILL absolutely fit the bill. I cannot warn you enough this song is the musical equivalent of shoving shrapnel in your ears, and I mean that in the most admirable way possible.

Heavy techno and metal vibes, you got electric guitar that's basically fighting the synth lead for the spotlight despite the two working in perfect harmony to encapsulate this absolutely disgusting rhythm.

However sometimes I want to be upbeat without the sensory overload which is when I turn to Xenoblade (takes place on Earth) to fill the niche. I've been really vibing to the jazzy upbeat nature of XC3's OST lately, and the game has been pretty fun too :D

Now see this is why I dislike answering all this in one ask, I can only post 10 videos per post. So now I just gotta link things like this:

Xenoblade 3 OST - Brilliant Wings AKA This Jazz Band Is Fighting For Their Life

I'll cut this short since Tumblr is an ass and won't let me keep posting videos, but I cannot stress enough that when it comes to music with me there are no "top 3" OSTs, or favorites. Music is a mood setter, it's a tone; it's a vibe. I gotta listen to the right music at the right time, if I'm not feeling up for it then I won't like it.

To me there's so much out there I love, and to limit myself to a top 3 is hard because it depends entirely on the day. If I'm going through a chill phase then I'm going to favor tracks with more relaxed and chilled out influences, if I've been mowing down hoards of demons in ULTRAKILL for the last 5 days straight you better believe I'm not listening to anything other than like DOOM OST and extremely thrashy techno.

I hope this answer is satisfactory regardless!