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marengogo · 1 year ago

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UGH!-6: But like … Did They Stutter?

Yet To Come - by BTS [Proof]

[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]

–🐺–🐺–🐺–

…

Given that even my coworkers, who generally REALLY DON’T CARE/KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BTS except for the ones who now have started listening to some of their songs thanks to yours truly, came to me saying “So. BTS. They are disbanding uh? …” the day after FESTA 2022 dinner, I’d say it wouldn’t be a gross generalization to assume that at least every ARMY, OT7, x/y/z-biased, solo, anti, shipper, whatever-you-prefer-to-be-called, saw FESTA 2022 dinner. Right?

If you haven’t I’d highly recommend you to do so but as always you feel free to do you as the boys did explain everything that they could at the time, which is pretty much what is happening right now. They also made a couple of sentiments and statements clear, and I, for one, am writing this post even though I am painfully aware that the boys are never going to see it, yet I still wish to put out this message in the universe, maybe its energy will manifest and reach them somehow, as I would really like them not to think that we all have poor listening and reading comprehension.

BTS’ CHAPTER 1: THE END OF AN ERA.

The Beatles. The Jackson 5. Menudo. New Edition. Backstreet Boys. One Direction.

According to the following Wiki definition this is what they all have in common:

A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation.[1] Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. South Korean boy bands usually also have designated rappers 🤡 LOL LOL LOL 🤡.

That being said, with hindsight, we can add/examine a couple of aspects, which have surfaced through the years and further represent boy bands. For example, the fact that at the very beginning boy bands were usually the union of a group of friends, or classmates, basically, people who already knew each other. Let’s fast forward a couple of decades, and we see that the music industry catches on to the fact that waiting for the next phenomenal boy band to magically appear is not sustainable and that is when they realise that they can actually make the groups themselves. So starts the scouting and the auditioning with the sole goal of slapping together supposedly talented boys who are complete strangers to one another, but who at the very least, have a desire to become rich and famous. “Win-win”.

Moving on, around the same time, we'll have to leave the West and take a trip to East-Asia, where the boy band industry has had an even bigger eureka moment. What they’ve realized is that even though these boys may not have the affinity of a band of boys who already know each other, from a business point of view they can easily be molded into whatever it is on demand at the very moment, afterall, everybody loves a good story, and even better if it comes with a great soundtrack. So what better than creating a narrative for these boy bands, each member would have a role/character associated and fans can not only enjoy the music but also follow a sort of “storyline” as they watch for example the silent masculine strong member interact with the cute feminine talkative one. Even greater “win”, brr brr!.

Now, in an ideal world, all that reasoning would make sense and bring about endless profit, but we don’t live in such a place do we? The whole purpose of a business is to make money and if money is what you base your every decision on, sooner or later, you are bound to encounter problems that money can’t solve without changing things irreversibly and in most instances, for the worst. The thing about grouping ambitious strangers with the intent of becoming rich (usually more for the company) and famous (usually more for the artists) is that if you don’t have a common goal all you are essentially doing is building a glorified House of Cards.

And don’t get me wrong, Longevity, is something that this type of companies, and the artists themselves, could only dream to achieve but never actually aim at. Nobody does, because it is very much a pipe dream type of thing. In fact, for the most part, the company's goal is it to at least have one amazing CD, make fans go crazy for a year or two, so that they can spend some money, and then if it doesn’t work anymore, the artist would hope to have garnered enough fame to allow them to start perhaps a solo career, or at least stay within the business, while the group inevitably disbands and the company moves on to the next group. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum. This has been the blueprint, and it was indeed the same blueprint used to form Bangtan Sonyeondan.

It was the same blueprint, but Bang SiHyuk was a visionary that had goals of his own, with a knack for unusual experimentation 🤡. And exactly like a Mad Scientist, if you will, he played around with what he believed to be “slightly usual ingredients”. However, what he didn’t quite know at the time, was that these “ingredients” were actually very unusual. Some of the “ingredients” didn’t follow instructions, some very quickly dropped their assigned character, and some even had secret jobs but what they all had, and he probably didn’t account for or maybe he did, who knows right? was an extraordinary fighting spirit, which pulled up strong when it became clear that it was Bangtan vs the World. These boys had something to prove. They had somehow found their common goal.

As we all should know, early Bangtan, due to Big Hit's lack of reputation and funds, became the industry’s punching bag. This would have normally caused an “explosion in the lab”, instead, it created something new. The boys were fired up with this fiery will to fight back. They took the negativity and turned it into artistic fuel and did all of that while naturally learning about each other and consequently depending on each other solely. Somehow, these boys ended up actually liking each other. They kinda fought like members of a band made of family members, but had the passion of members of a band of strangers. They were an anomaly.

An anomaly in a world that had rapidly become full of “anomalies”. Your everyday listener was, yes, looking for good music, yes, looking for something new and entertaining, but when they realised that they could also get someone who they could relate to; … 🤯🤯🤯. And so the “ingredients'' began to mutate. Along the way, they found their true calling, while adapting to their environment and understanding their receptors fandom, which also understood them in return, creating a never before seen bond, Tannies & ARMY, that brought them to where they are now; a world where THEY are the blueprint has anyone else noticed the number of boy/girl bands that got back together.

These boys have created something unique.

Something that other “Mad Scientists” have ever since been trying so hard to recreate in “their labs” and so far to no avail. This “something” is not only insanely lucrative, but also so emotionally rare, and has a chance at Longevity. These are boys who trust and genuinely love each other, but because they are also human, and have learned to be honest with themselves, they also know their limitations. And like they’ve always done, they sat down, exposed the problem, and tried to find a solution. And even though they didn’t have to, they also sat down with us, FESTA 2022 dinner, and quite clearly explained their solution. But, as always, the world managed to take their words and turn them into whatever sold better on the front page of the next morning paper we’ll get to that later on or/and whatever better fits their personal agendas.

BTS’ CHAPTER 2: A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME, WITH AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF POSSIBILITIES.

Have any of you experienced moments where you just wanted some time to yourself? Like, you love your friends, your family, your job, your everything, but at the same time, you are mentally exhausted and you need out for as long as you can afford? This is usually what most people use holidays for, you might be thinking. But the type of out I’m talking about is the kind where you want to be able to pause your present life, start another life for a while, and then go back to your past life kinda out. Basically, a “have your cake and eat it” type of out.

That’s what I feel the boys are trying to experience and I ain’t mad at it, not one bit. Cause, let's be real, most of us regular people can’t really afford to even think of experiencing such a thing without MAJOR repercussions to our everyday life. But not only do I feel like they deserve it, but if it also allows them to reach their goals, and solve their problems, it would be like killing two birds with one stone. I mean, they really are not hurting anyone, by wanting to have a chance to experience life outside BTS other than those who are setting themselves up to be hurt that is 🤡.

October 2022 rolled around and we got the following:

This theoretically gives a precise time frame to BTS’ CHAPTER 2. Let’s say that being back together means that they will physically be together and do a WLIVE on the 31st of December 2025, that means that, if we assume their serving period to be 18 months, the latest any member can enlist is the 30th of June 2024 (which I calculated considering the 30th of December 2025 being their last day). Obviously, I don’t know if their plan is to be together by the end of December 2025 and start working on a new album in 2026. Or be together say by August 2025 and ready for a tour in 2026 with a new album; only time can tell. But for the purpose of this post: BTS’ CHAPTER 2 began on the 15th of June 2022 and could end on the 31st of December 2025.

SO, that being said, a couple of things happened on the 15th of June 2022 that I would like to point out and a couple of things, define a couple of others, and I would like for people to remember one particular thing:

THINGS TO POINT OUT:

Some OT7 ARMY decided to dip and come back when BTS comes back to be 7, so after MS.

Other OT7 and/or x/y/z-biased ARMY decided to support each member’s solo endeavour.

Last but abso-fucking-lutely not least, SOLOS FINALLY GOT THEIR TIME TO SHINE AND PUSH THEIR AGENDA, along side antis.

THINGS TO DEFINE:

FAMILY BOY BAND MEMBER or FBBMs: Is what I will call boy bands with members that already knew each other, or were already related, etc etc etc.

STRANGERS BOY BAND MEMBERS or SBBMs: Is what I will call the type of bands that were put together through an audition, selection, etc etc etc.

ONE THING TO REMEMBER OR REALISE:

There was a point in time when BTS was seriously considered by NOBODY. Many knew about them, but still wanted nothing to do with them. Some that knew about them, went on and treated them like trash. Even though they had the talent, it took their fandom at the time to be persistent in order for people to give them a chance. In short, differently from many FBBMs and SBBMs who eventually ended up splitting up after reaching fame, BTS experienced having nobody but themselves and their label and fame came AFTER THAT. Because everyone was a nobody before becoming somebody, but how many were nobodies, who were constantly shoved down by semi-bodies and ignored by somebodies before they became THE BODIES themselves? So yeah, they may be smiling to people that harmed them in the past, and they might have decided to forgive and forget in other instances, but as real and intended as the experience they had were, you can bet that so are the choices that they make nowadays. A method to madness.

If you are a businessperson like yours truly, or have dealt with managing a business, you probably know that it is like in Love and War; all is fair. Obviously, this brings about injustice right away, but this is a known fact, no matter how clean you are, if you come and play in a muddy place, what do you think is gonna happen? Not to say that everyone is trying to get down and dirty, in fact, there are people that try their best to keep clean, but the reality of the fact is that you are still playing in mud. Yet, there is a difference between purposely trying to suffocate people in those muddy waters and trying to simply play by the rules, harm as less people as possible in the process and going home to live another day and start all over again the next day.

Life is about balance, that’s why I like the color gray so much, it is the balance between black and white. And even though the Tannies are our beloved artists, it is important not to forget that in their own right they are also businessmen. I’m sure they want nothing else than to be there for ARMY always in theri best capacities, but this is not a charity, their lives, and the people who work for them, depend on the amount of money they make; this needs to not be forgotten. Now, how they make this money, all depends on the muddy field they play in, but from what I can see they really try their darn best to keep as clean as they can and harm as few people as humanly possible.

ALL THAT to say that, when you experience having NOTHING with a group of PEOPLE, you will TREASURE THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE. Hence, ONCE AGAIN and it will not be the last time, I’ll keep hammering this, Chapter 2 wasn’t brought by for them to spread their wings and keep the fuck out, but as a means for them to have the experience they each want to have so that they can eventually be together again, healthily in order ot achieve Longevity which I will also get to towards the end of this post, don’t worry. And this brings me right to the current issues on the fandom-streets: FAVORITISM & SOLOS.

So at the moment “JUNGKOOK and his radio play” are the most recent subject. I will not go in depth, as I’ll be damned if I brought up all THE UNNECESSARY energy that has been riding with this valid topic. In fact, one thing that I found very helpful in understanding the radio play issue, was the following post by Ororo and Artiechikoo:

https://www.tumblr.com/chikooritajjk/722232413519052800/so-youll-are-basically-saying-since-the-industry?source=share

Now, once you’ve read that, you’ll understand that the ACTUAL ISSUE HERE IS: WHY DIDN’T HYBE SEND LIKE CRAZY TO BE PLAYED ON THE RADIO, and that ladies, gentlemen and distinguished enbies, is a legit ass question. However, none of the members have anything to do with ANY of that, or with anything related really. During Festa 2022 dinner, they all told us the order in which their albums were coming out, which would indicate that they all sat down months beforehand, and all discussed what they wanted to do during their chapter 2. I would also dare to say that they also all were responsible for their projects, promotions and every aspect of their chapter 2, but that is just me.

ANYWAYS, back to the Jimin radio play issue, which, once again, is A VALID TOPIC, that unfortunately is being muddied from all the shit that solos are bringing forth that has NOTHING to do with anything. Is like the story of the boy who cried wolf, when the actual wolf arrived, nobody was there to help. When you are still stuck on cakes, on accusing members of sabotage, or any moving thing at that, THE REAL PROBLEM WILL BE OVERLOOKED.

Also, just putting this out there, if you actually think that ANY OF THE MEMBERS is out there actively sabotaging other members, then rest assured that you are also stanning a phonie-ass person. If you took a second to check out every other member, for every member who is being sabotaged by members, there is a story about that same member sabotaging another member. MEANING that we would all be supporting a band of phonies, who wouldn’t think twice to backstab their band mates; ALL OF THEM.

So when, for example, you are accusing JK of throwing JM under the bus, or in the mud, stop one second, breathe, and TRY to put yourself in JK’s shoes. Imagine for example, spending a whole day reacting to JM content, or even just the following:

And then, imagine not giving a fuck about him: HOW DOES THAT WORK EXACTLY? Yes we don’t like Scooter Braun, yes we don’t agree with MANY OTHER THINGS, but it is vital to know how to address the correct issue and not just burn EVERYTHING DOWN, or/and involve not concerned parties. So when for example, the company is to blame, then the fucking company is to blame only, and not everything you would like to blame along with it.

I 👏🏾DO 👏🏾 NOT 👏🏾 CARE 👏🏾 FOR 👏🏾 SOLOS 👏🏾 IN 👏🏾ANY 👏🏾 WAY 👏🏾 OR 👏🏾 FORM 👏🏾.

Not too long ago, I was making this example with someone who told me that there was maybe a valid reason for people to become solos, but to me it felt like people saying they had a valid reason for becoming Nazi; would I support a Nazi, no matter what reason? 🤡🤡🤡THERE IS ALWAYS ANOTHER WAY, and unfortunately, keep suffering for a while longer, is one of them 🤡🤡🤡Becoming a Nazi WILL NEVER BE THE ANSWER for me, in the same way in which BECOMING A SOLO WILL NEVER BE THE ANSWER. When you become a solo you actively decide to care fuck all about all the other members. Now the person you want to support, loves and wants to keep building something with the people you decide are expendable, so, once again: HOW DOES THAT WORK EXACTLY? Being able to pinpoint the actual issue is hard, it is confusing, it is stressful, but it is essential, please please please understand that.

BTS’ CHAPTER 3: BTS IS ENDGAME. PERIOD.

… I mean, I really don’t want to sound like a broken record so let me allow them to say it:

💙:

Here is the link to the full article: https://www.instagram.com/p/CpgkLqbtEKB/?hl=en

🩷:

🖤:

❤️:

💛:

💚:

💜:

AAAAAND, Except for Yoongi who is being rightfully private precious:

ALL OF A SUDDEN, I have a feeling that Yoongi got a “matching tattoo with the rest of the rapline, so his tattoo is somewhere on one of his legs …These boys have spent YEARS OF THEIR LIFE fighting against all sorts of prejudice, hate, nonsense, and more. It used to be from those who never gave them a chase, but now it seems that the adversary-wave is coming from within the fandom. YEAH IT LOOKS BAD RIGHT ABOUT NOW. But let's emphasize the LOOKS part of that sentence, because Social media “ARMY” aren’t IT.

When you spend too much time on any SM, it will feel like that’s what ARMY is ALL about but I can guarantee you that there are so many ARMY out there who don’t know or care about the noise and just mind their business and keep streaming and advocating for the right causes. There are ARMY who do their best to support the boys in the best way they can, even if they can’t afford to buy every single piece of merch.

There are also ARMY who are waiting for the boys to come back and also those people who have no idea yet, but will suddenly become ARMY in 2026 when THE BIGGEST COMEBACK THIS PLANET WOULD HAVE EVER WITNESSED, will kick off after they announce their world tour. In conclusion, as always, DO AS YOU SEE FIT, but if you decide that, believing and following people who think that having the boys competing against each other for future solo supremacy is where it’s at, all I’d “cutely” have to say is that:

THEY DIDN’T STUTTER: OT7 IS ENDGAME.

HAPPY ARMY DAY 🫰🏾.

Always respectfully yours,

Marengo.

#Marengo Goes UGH!#HAPPY ARMY DAY #They Didn't Stutter #OT7 ARMY

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bowtiesnmusicals · 2 years ago

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Here is my recap of the Birth Of A Show (Ian Brennan Part 2) episode of the podcast.

There is always more to be talked about.

Jenna said she hoped everyone enjoyed part 1.

Jenna asked if I he read articles and reviews. Ian said yes. It was awful and is like a self harm but he was careful about it. The first two seasons were written identically. Ryan would come in with an idea, songs, and architecture. He more or less and a good idea of the structure of the show. Brad and Ian would go and write it. Ian would write if it was funny and Brad would write if it was heart warming. A writer named Emily had a great theory about the show. She said each of the three writers have a different view of the show. Ryan is about ambition and flash and getting out to the stage and singing to please. Brad is the soapy heartfelt but mostly the romances of high school and youth. Ian was just making fun of all of it. I and said this was true. They has a synergy working together. They brought these three different views together.

They talked about Funk and all the crazy happening in the episode but they also fit in some heartfelt moments.

Ian said he was aware of how the show was received. He thinks show choir is stupid. The show later on started to comment on itself. Some people didn’t like the show was self parody and the show would parody itself. It’s all kind of dumb but also brilliant. It drove him crazy that people didn’t get that the writers understood it was a parody and satirical.

It’s a campy guilty pleasure and the get it. As the show got crazier it got winkier. As it went on people would say they wished it was more like the pilot. The show grew and couldn’t go back to that because it was special and small.

Ian said they were kind of trolling everyone. It’s very weird to talk about and very meta. He thinks about the show all the time but never talks about it. He sees Jayma a lot because of their kids.

Jenna asked what it was like for Ian to have to keep pumping out hits week after week. Kevin wanted to know if Ryan prepped Ian and Brad like he prepped the cast. Ian said sort of but it wasn’t the same. He asked them how do they think he did. He said the actor in him was annoyed about always being behind the camera. He said the switch from acting to writing is such an empowering thing that he can hardly complain. It was an unusual thing to see the cast become household names but no one knew who he was and that was the trade off. It wasn’t a bad trade off. He said it’s as a lot of fun. It wasn’t a big trauma experience for him. He got through it fine. A lot of the stress is the industry wanting more. He always get jealous of his screenwriter friends because a movie script is written and done. In television you are rewarded but also exhausted because you are continually asked for more.

Ian said even at its biggest the agents are always like what’s next. He said he just wanted to focus on Glee.

It was mostly a complete and total dream. It went by so fast. It was a weird Shangri-La.

Every time he talks about it it seems like a weird fantasy but it’s not.

Jenna said when Glee ended she was asked to write a piece about the finale. She said the first line of it was something like it felt like she was on a runaway train and just got to the station. It flew by so fast. The thing about the podcast is they get to look back at everything and they are grateful for it. They all lost their minds a little bit. At least for Ian their was a bit of anonymity. Jenna felt expendable at times. Without Ian it couldn’t keep running. Ian joked he was the true soul of the show. Ian said this show would not exist today without someone on set to take care of people’s mental health.

There are intimacy coordinators now and Hollywood is being reminded that actors are people with feelings.

Jenna said by the end of there was light at the end of the tunnel. They were able to have fun but also knew they would miss each other. In the middle of the show everyone was a bit adrift and lost to the sea of glee. They were all feeling it but didn’t know how to deal with those feelings or even vocalize them.

Ian said it might have felt like checking out to them but they were always there. They knew their characters and knew their jobs. He said it might have been survival mode but they got the job done. There were moments of people checking out but he was impressed how everyone handled their jobs. He said Chris showed up with a smile 99% of the time. He said he was pretty good about being good on these guys.

Jenna visited Ian in Barcelona.

Ian said don’t go on a vacation by yourself if you are man. No one talked to him.

Kevin was going to go by himself to Barcelona last year. He said thank god that didn’t work out.

Ian said the cast had so much work to do but the crew did even more work. He would get on to anyone that complained because yes they worked but the crew would be there long after the actors finished their work.

Kevin said there were a couple of times towards the end he would text or pull Ian aside to run things by him. Kevin said he was always o nice to them and he was always comfortable talking to Ian even though he was technically their boss. He said he would text him that the wheels have fallen off and someone is being mean to the crew or someone from the crew would tell Kevins something. He said people that are rude to the crew can fuck off. He said there was no difference between the cast and crew. Jenna said their was a guest star that came in later in the series and cut himself during a take and was very nice to a cameraman. Jenna literally got up and walked out of the room.

Jenna asked if Ian had directed before, how did he get to direct his first episode, and what brought him back? Ian said no he had never directed before glee but the best way to start directing is on your show because you can’t really get into trouble. He was super nervous and he was glad it was an episode that featured Tina. When they were shooting the pilot and he leaned back and told Ian he wanted him to direct one of episode of the first 13 and then when didn’t that happen he siad he wanted him to do one in the back 9. That got pushed to season 2 then season 3. Ian said he started to see a pattern. When you are directing it is very hard to write. Writing was a 6 day a week job. He hadn’t directed anything since a play in college. There is always one moment every day of directing where he had a moment of panic. Ian said he should describe directing as adding your own taste to things and being clear about what you want from the actors. He said the first DP gave him the best photography advice which was to know how you get in to a scene, how you get out of it, and have a weird camera angle in the middle. Brad’s advice was to just tell a story. He aid he had to learn to not be to precious and get it to the best you can and then in the editing room the first pas is always disappointing. Then you just have to do the same thing with them and walk through the scene. Constant communication is key. Good directors can make and actor do something and make them think it was their idea. Instead of giving line readings he would paraphrase to help find where to put the emphasis on the lines.

He said there was one time he was directing Jamie Lee Curtis and she said he is very specific.

Directing episodes gave Ian an extra sense of ownership of an episode.

The crew on glee is an example of why unions are good.

Ian was the narrator for the and that’s what you missed on glee recaps. Kevin said sorry for stealing that and Ian said oh it’s great. Ian said it came about because Kevin Reilly an executive at Fox said they were blowing through a lot of story. He hated the fact Finn and Rachel kissed in episode 2. He said that should have been the finale. He said you are blowing through a lot of story and are going to regret it. It was either him or Ryan that needed to do a recap. They did the recaps on Soap because they were carrying a lot of story. Ryan locked away the information that Ian told him he did voice overs int he past. Ryan told him to do one and they just stuck. He was the announcer for the completions as well. He was also Svengoobles the late night hose vampire character that announced the winner for one of the competitors. It was in season 3.

The New Directions was an actual show choir name. Ian wrote into the script and no one ever got the joke. He had to explain it to Ryan and Brad. New Directions = nude erections.

Jenna asked what Ian’s take was on the music aspect of the show. Ian said his beef was actually with the episodes dedicated to artist or albums. He said they should have been doing ELO. He was screaming into a tornado about that. His tastes are very not top 40 or R&B. He felt less connected to much of the music because he felt like they should be reinventing stuff.

Kevin asked if there was anything he wanted that they never did. Brad said he could say something but they probably did it. He said more yacht rock. They could have sold it. He said all the music he listened to wasn’t about the singing. He said there are like 50 covers they did that were amazing. He mentioned Teenage Dream makes him cry every time he hears it.

Ian said the Madonna episode wasn’t necessarily the DNA of the show. Even Ryan said he wishes they hadn’t done it. There is no coming back from that. Kevins aid in a million years would have expected Ryan to say something like that.

Ian said there is a version of the show that he vouched for early on. He said they shouldn’t honor time. The problem is they would watch them get older and still be in high school. The second you put in a story element that has a clock to it then you are tied to time.

Regionals, sectionals, and nationals was from Ian being in speech. It is not an actual show choir thing.

There is a version of the show that would have been more contained and more situational. Kevin said keep going you are giving Ryan ideas for the reboot. Ian said the show works really well it does the small stakes big stakes of things in high school. It’s not is Rachel getting the role on Broadway but more like winning a coupon for Breadstix for a competition. It is a little bit more if Glee was like the Simpsons. The show was an hour long which is not normal for a comedy. The show Ian is describing was the show he was writing.

Jenna said this interview is crazy.

Jenna asked him what they ask everyone. What is the word, feeling, tone that Glee has left you with. Ian said an unbelievable sense of pride. It feels like a child. It’s like a creative achievement that can never be taken away. This is like a really good book. He feels like he contributed to the culture a bit. It’s like required reading. I did that. Kevin said you definitely did. Since people don’t generally recognize Ian he said it is a fun thing to drop on people that have no idea he is a creator of Glee. Ian said it is a dick thing to do. Jenna and Kevin said not that’s good. It was very very impactful. It was really cool when Netflix picked it up. Now it’s on Disney+. The first time it came up on his banner and Kevin said he was like what. It was weirdly not cued up to the pilot for Ian. It had cued up to Showmance for some reason. He said he doesn’t know how they did that. He says Showmance might be even better the the pilot. The first 40 or 50 were a slam dunk with a few bombs. Even throughout the rest of the show the show was great. There was nothing else like it on tv. Jenna said Glee would not exist without Ian. Ian said thank you. He said it’s so weird. He said in every other shard of the spiderverse it doesn’t exist. Musicals had never worked.

Kevin I said it was the cutest watching Ian’s parents come to the concerts. He could cry because they were so proud of Ian. Anytime they came around it was like this was what your son did. This is your fault. Kevin said they are the sweetest people on the planet.

Ian said he is fortunate they found the cast.

Kevin said Ian has an insane past year. Ian has a couple of huge shows on Netflix.

Kevin said we’ve got you anytime you need a boost of confidence.

Ian said You Got It would have been a good song for Glee.

Jenna said they will text him when they can’t remember things. They said Ryan will probably be relieved that they stop asking him everything.

Kevin said he loves Ian. Jenna said she could talk to him for years. Kevin said he texted as soon as he got of the zoom and thanked them.

Kevin said because this was so unique to their group of people its hard to talk about it at length with anyone that wasn’tt there. It’s a treat for them because they are learning with us. Kevin said he was glad Ian felt comfortable to open up and let it spill.

That’s it for this episode. See you next week.

#and that’s what you really missed #atwyrm #jenna ushkowitz #kevin mchale #Ian Brennan #glee #podcast

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kpoptarotvibes · 2 years ago

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Not gonna lie Namjoon is great at a lot of things but boy oh boy does he have his shortcomings. He has a lot more passive personality than we realise. To me there’s this big paradox with him that I can’t get over, which is he has undoubtedly the deepest thoughts and questions about life and all things beyond this earth but at the same time is so obsessed over the Grammys and money to the point where HE SEEMINGLY to us old fans DID NOTHING to prevent the group from losing quality and meaning. I am honestly ashamed to say this but can I just admit that I am not looking forward to their 2025 comeback?!!

Like there is potentially still a chance that they find what they lost but it’s not going to be the same, cause let me tell you ain’t no way from now till 2025 some scandal is coming out or even marriage lol. I felt the same with Yet to come they tried to create this nostalgia but failed to do so since you can tell they are acting like what they used to be not what they have become. I am mostly looking out for the solos but I am still afraid they’re going to try to make it commercial in some type of way. Jimin and Jk are already out of reach from fans and my guess is it’s not going to get any better, they are done. They are living what their teenage selves couldn’t. Only Tae is active with fans and in the industry and I’ll give him that, he is the only one that I feel tries to keep up with fans and seems to care more than just doing it for the promotions.

I am a little side eyeing the rest to be honest, like okay I see you, now that you don’t need us you act like we never existed..seriously though Jimin and Jk GET IT TOGETHER….

I hope you can share your thoughts on some points I made cause I really feel like us old armys are numbered in these streets. Please make it as long as you wish!!!

Whew! Old Army is a dying breed out here in these streets.

I mean you hit the nail on the head for me about this paradox with him. On one hand you deep af and the other your selfish and almost obsessed with money and awards. Like he is so passive to the point where like almost anything goes with them and what the group has to go through. To us old fans it looked like he said yes to everything and lets try anything without even being mindful of what there brand was and is. I personally think he really enjoyed feeling his fame. That he was either blinded or didn’t care what that was doing to to the group image in the long run.

I don’t know I’m still holding out hope that they would at least pull a good sounding album and comeback in 2025. Because I was losing hope then they came out with the ON album and I was like okay we back on it again. But then everything after that wasn’t what it needed to be got back off track. But you are right it might not be the same because again we are facing the everyone putting all the songs at #1 so they don't know what to put out. They lost thier sound.

I’m so nervous one of these stupid reporters is going to go on the news and lie on one of these members of BTS. Making them have scandal like they did Big Bang and ruin them. Because they can’t defend themselves well in the military. I swear I’m not believing nothing from Korean media. If anything comes out.

I agree with the Yet To Come the whole thing just seemed off. Like if you were going to say goodbye just say goodbye. I also felt like that whole song when you look at the lyrics was a little hypocritical. I think thats why it had a hard time sticking too. Because they were saying they didn’t care about the achievements but your fans did and was literally fighting everyone for it. So…

These solos are going to be interesting because one each member had no chance to develop there own style and brand. Its also seems that they are not that great at promoting and managing the members solos either. So this is going to be very interesting on how this is going to go and turn out.

Honestly do you blame them for being out of touch with these unrealistic fans. When it comes to them all common sense leaves. I would be done too. The way they have acted with Jimin and Jungkook demanding things and being mad if they are dating someone. Being in this Kpop system at such a young age not being able to enjoy the basic things of our youth that we take for granted. Yeah I think they deserve to be out of reach living they normal lives.

I have noticed with Tae was he has a real attachment to the fans because I remember what he was saying to Jungkook in In The Soop. How he had a hard time not seeing the fans and being alone. I think there are things about fame he has gotten attached to. And I think thats why he tries to stay connected with the fans.

Look LOL! Let Jimin and JK have they time away from the spotlight everyone needs a break… The Kpop lifestyle for idols is not easy. It's not for the faint hearted.

#kpoptarotvibesask

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stutee · 2 years ago

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I really understand why people hate ARMYs and somehow end up growing a distaste for BTS. Ofcourse it's wrong because without checking out their music, one shouldn't be giving comments and if you are a fan already, you can always ignore the fandom because you like them for their music not the stupid ass fans.

But but but, i get it. I hate the fandom. I sort of detest it now. The way last night everyone became so protective over that harmless adult hickey joke, it was so irritating. Teens mostly reacted as if people were slandering on the character of Namjoon or calling him names. It was a very simple harmless joke. Yet people came in finding evidences of how it can actually be from crossfit. Even if it is, it resembles a hickey and that was the joke. And someone was like, stop calling Namjoon a liar. Bitch wtf? Lie? What did you expect him to say if he really had a hickey? That "yeah man! This? Things got wild last night ya know. No, how would you all? Ya'll bitchless and jobless af." People reacting as if Namjoon shared some very sensitive info and people called him a liar. You do all this and you all still get angry when others call you 15 year old immature kids? I am sorry, adults don't behave like this. Those are grown ass men in the glamour industry and this was a fucking grown ass joke and tease. What do we expect from them and this fandom? That we will behave unhinged over them and keep on babying them and protecting them as if they are kids. I would have understood if they were teens. But that man is almost 30 and he is being protected by kids?!!!!!

And then the streaming and the endless votings!!!!! By whom? By kids who have their 12th boards!!!!! And proudly claiming how they are voting and not studying. Baby, Joonie ain't coming to write your papers for you!!! And BTS sure isn't stressing over some awards that they have won enough. They are all busy working or taking the well deserved break. How about you all make a life of your own?

You like them for the music? Okay is music enjoyed by playing the same songs in a loop? Do we really need to focus on charts now? If we are the biggest fandom then it would anyway organically have 1 million views at one go for any MV or songs. And some kids proudly claiming that they are voting from multiple accounts. Wow!! Wow!!! Wow!!! And you all will scream when people accuse you and BTS of this!!!

No wonder people hate the fans. No wonder.

I love BTS. They will always be in my heart. But the fans, i detest you with my whole heart. Your behaviour shows that you don't enjoy their music. You enjoy their success. So maybe fuck off and get a life. Go touch some grass.

#bts #fandom #ranting #bts army

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therecordconnection · 5 months ago

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Ranting and Raving: "Million Dollar Baby" by Tommy Richman

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The top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart is a fascinating place. Most times, it’s filled with songs you’ve heard while out in the world or songs that you’ve seen your friends share on Instagram stories. Other times, you see something sneak in there that you’re completely unfamiliar with. You ask, “How did you get in there?” That’s how I became exposed to Tommy Richman and “Million Dollar Baby” for the first time.

The world has been having fun watching Sabrina Carpenter have the best summer ever. It would be even an even better summer if she could knock that boring Morgan Wallen/Post Malone collab off of #1 and give it to a song that deserves it (“Espresso,” which is so far my favorite song of the year. I wrote about my love for it here). The world also had a blast watching Kendrick Lamar pummel Drake in the most one sided fist fight caught on record. Billie Eilish’s new album has come out and she’s scored a new hit. Eminem resurrected Slim Shady from the grave to make peak white dad rap (by sampling one of the last Steve Miller Band hits) on “Houdini” (making it a second “Houdini” that has hit the music towers this year). Hozier is still enjoying success with “Too Sweet.” Shaboozey and Teddy Swims are less mainstream names, but they’ve been floating around for years; Shaboozey getting attention from being on the first Spider-Verse movie soundtrack and Teddy running a successful music cover channel on Youtube before transitioning to his own original stuff.

But then there’s “Million Dollar Baby” and this guy named Tommy Richman.

It’s been in the top ten for about two months now, peaked at #2 last month (poor kid didn’t stand a chance against Miss. Taylor Swift). That’s a damn fine first entry in the Hot 100, especially when it’s from a relatively unknown guy. I know what phrase you want to say (it rhymes with “Schmin-dustry Sch-mant”) and if you would be so kind, I’d like you to bite your tongue and not use that. Are we in agreement? You’re not gonna see that phrase used to describe him because 1) I think it’s inaccurate in the case of Tommy’s story and how this song blew up. 2) Some people (mostly the terminally online and those who have a mountain of sand where a brain is normally found) like to use the term “industry plant” without ever knowing what it actually means. Make no mistake, Tommy did have big help and resources from one semi-famous guy in making “Million Dollar Baby” pop off, but industry plants get big help when they pay somebody big money for it (usually a major label, which won’t be found in this story). There’s no crime in having help from someone bigger than you early in your career. Some people just get lucky and end up securing a connection that helps you breakthrough. It doesn’t immediately mean the siren has to start blaring. Here, take my hand and let me tell you how a guy goes from “nobody” to “Million Dollar Baby.”

For starters, Tommy Richman didn’t just magically appear out of nowhere. He has a Soundcloud account that he’s been posting music on consistently for the past seven years. His Youtube channel also has a backlog of stuff long before “Million Dollar Baby” ever blew up. Most of what you’ll find is your typical young “white boy who lives in his mom’s basement” rap. Nothing I’m gonna go crazy for, but somebody probably would. Everybody’s gotta start somewhere. It wasn’t until he got the attention of R&B singer Brent Faiyaz that he started the eventual rise to where we are now. If you’re unfamiliar with Brent, you might know him from the hook to GoldLink’s 2017 song, “Crew.” If not, you definitely know him for his guest appearance on Tyler the Creator’s 2021 banger “Sweet / I Thought You Wanted to Dance.” If that still doesn’t do anything, imagine The Weeknd if he was actually cool and didn’t make that weird and gross HBO TV show last year. Faiyaz has been a successful R&B man who came up making music on Soundcloud in the early 2010s and has been steadily rising ever since. Last year, Faiyaz launched an independent record label named ISO Supremacy and signed a partnership with PULSE Records. Tommy Richman is Faiyaz’s first signing so far, which is evident if you visit the “Releases” page on their website. At the time of this writing, the label has only released Faiyaz and Richman’s recent stuff. Brent and Tommy got connected due to Tommy knowing ISO’s COO Darren Xu. Darren saw promise in Tommy and thought he and Brent could go far together. After connecting, Faiyaz had Tommy as his opener on the Fuck The World, It’s a Wasteland tour. He also made the beat for and hopped on Faiyaz' 2023 track, "Upset."

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None of this strikes me as fitting that phrase we all agreed wasn’t gonna be used. The Lyrical Lemonade blog interviewed him and had been paying attention to and writing about his music up to two years before he connected with Faiyaz and joined him on his independent label venture. I don’t find it at all strange that somebody connected with Faiyaz found Tommy somehow and thought his music was worth exploring and nurturing. You shouldn’t either.

And hell, call me Marty McFly, because I’ve seen this one. This is a classic. A successful R&B singer decides to take on some random white kid that got some buzz on the internet as a protege? If I had a nickel for each time that’s happened, I’d have two nickels: One for Brent and Tommy’s partnership, the other for Usher and Justin Bieber linking up and doing the exact same thing in 2009. History repeats, time is a flat circle, etc.

So, that brings us to the current moment and “Million Dollar Baby.” The first time I heard this I knew immediately how this got big. Say it with me everybody! TikTok. That app can make anybody (and I do mean, anybody) a star if you know how to use it to your advantage. Tommy strikes me as a guy who knew what he was doing. The world got a teaser of “Million Dollar Baby” on April 13th when he featured the chorus playing in a video and uploaded it as a sound for creators to use. It would be thirteen days before the song got officially released on April 26th. In between that time, he was promoting another song, “Selfish,” which is a fun party track and a song I like, but it sounds like funk made by a white boy. This is “funk” you’d hear in a Target commercial. No, that wasn’t gonna be the big one. Tommy clearly knew that was gonna be “Million Dollar Baby” and he was building up just enough anticipation from followers before pulling the trigger. You gotta make ‘em wait for it, you know? When he finally did pull the trigger, the song did numbers. Thirty-eight million streams during its first week alone. As of this writing, it’s been a Top 10 hit for two months and it’s still sitting at #5. You can buy your way onto the charts or find a way to game the system, but those methods only tend to work in the short term. They can’t keep you there. No, this song had to have done something right, otherwise it would’ve been a quick hit for a week and then immediately vanish. So what was it?

I can tell you. This song became a hit because that beat is just fucking unstoppable. It’s perfect lightning in a bottle. You’re lucky if you make something like that even once. Tommy is the only one credited with writing it, but he also has a five man posse of producers on board. So I imagine it was a team effort to polish this up and make it ready for Certified Hit Status. Regardless, the production on it is damn good. The beat is a total earworm and the bassline and synths that drive the song are incredible. It’s inescapable once it’s got its claws in you. There’s not a doubt in my mind that there are recent high school graduates and college students bumping and grooving to this at graduation/summertime parties as we speak. It hits you with everything it’s got after the intro and you can tell this was made with the intent that you will blast it from the biggest speaker in your house or at your function. This song was born to be played too loud while speeding down the freeway, your car shaking to its very foundations. This song was born to be the music choice to TikTok edits of your favorite Blorbo being hot. This song was born to make you feel like you have (*Checks notes*) “Main Character” energy (whatever that is). This is pure party music at its finest and I’m not shocked that this shot straight up to the top echelon of the charts. This bumps, this bangs, this does whatever you need a song to do. I love it... except it’s not without its flaws.

For one thing, you can tell he clearly went to the TikTok School of Songwriting, which is where you throw classic songwriting structure away and just piss into the wind and see what happens. You also reject the notion that songs need these cool things called bridges and pre-choruses, which are used to help keep songs interesting. Most pop songs you hear follow a structure kind of like this:

Intro -> Verse -> Chorus -> Verse -> Chorus -> Bridge -> Chorus -> Coda.

Obviously not every song follows this mold, but it’s a gold standard model to follow, especially if you’re just starting out and writing songs for the first time. Tommy, like a lot of TikTok guys before him, decides that this structure is for suckers and goes with this:

Intro -> Chorus -> Verse -> Chorus -> Outro.

You’ve heard a lot about TikTok having done irreparable damage to song structure. That’s absolutely true and “Million Dollar Baby” is a very obvious offender. That platform only cares about the hook. It doesn’t need any of the other parts. Also, don’t make it longer than three minutes (this song is 2:35, which is a bit surprising). The rules to writing a successful TikTok hook go as follows: Make it catchy, write a set of words that sticks with people, and make sure it’s general enough that people can use it in all kinds of videos so it spreads around. In Tommy’s case, people really ran with the lines, “'Cause I wanna make it so badly / I'm a million dollar baby, don't @ me.”

My issues with song structure aside, there’s one glaring issue I have with this song, an issue which only became clearer and clearer to me the more times I listened to it: Tommy Richman is the least essential part of this song. He’s so inessential that you could remove him entirely and nothing would really change. If anything, the song works better as an instrumental. The beat and the production is pulling all the weight on this song, Tommy just signed his name on the group project when it was done.

“Million Dollar Baby” is simultaneously a blessing to have as your first major hit and also a curse to have as your first major hit. A blessing because it’s undeniably catchy and a ton of fun to listen to, but a curse because by around the seventh or eighth time you hear it, the weaknesses in the artist reveal themselves and you can never unsee or unhear them.

Tommy’s first weakness is, well, that he’s named “Tommy Richman.” That’s the name of a guy who either changes my oil or makes a hoagie for me in Philadelphia, not a guy with a Hot 100 hit. His name honestly keeps making me think of Timmy Brabston, that kid rapper who had the honor of being roasted by Ethan Klein so hard that his “career” ended before it even really began. He mentions Virginia in the song and I almost think that going by Tommy Richmond would be funnier (like he’s a spiritual successor to Flo Rida). However, I suppose going by your government name is less embarrassing than trying to come up with a cool stage name, so maybe he’s smarter than me in that regard.

Vocally, I don’t think he adds anything to the song. He sings in a falsetto that kinda sounds like he’s doing Mick Jagger on “Emotional Rescue.” It also sounds like he’s doing his best impression of mentor Brent Faiyaz, to the point where I wonder what it would sound like if Faiyaz delivered it. It’s a weak delivery and when the song gets into the verse, the beat just completely overpowers him in the mix. You very quickly stop giving a shit about whatever he’s saying to you because you’re distracted by everything else. It took me about four listens and watching the lyric video before I started piecing together what he’s saying and even then, it’s not terribly interesting. I will say that the English major in me does take issue with part of his verse. Let’s play a quick game called, “Who the Fuck Is He Talking To?”

Fifth line of the verse is this: “She a bad lil' mama, she a diva.” Okay. He’s clearly talking to me about a woman he’s involved with. Cool. The very next lines are these:

No matter what happens, he cannot come between us again I know we're better than friends (Better than friends)

Now I think he’s switched it. He’s not talking to me anymore and now he’s talking to the woman he’s involved with. The “he” in that line probably refers to an ex she has that was in the picture right before Tommy and Tommy is trying to re-establish their relationship, saying they’re better than friends. Got it. But then these lines happen:

I took her to Queen's Gambit (Yeah, yeah), showed around my friends Tried to pick some energy up, it don't matter

Is he talking to me again now? I assume he must be, otherwise why would he tell her that he took her to Queen’s Gambit? She would already know that. So he must be talking to me. But then, he immediately switches it again:

I know you haven't moved on if you tried (Oh, no) I don't believe it, baby, I know you lied (Oh, no)

He’s back to talking about the situationship he’s in with the woman. That means he can’t be talking to me, right? Do you see my confusion here? It just feels like Tommy’s whole verse was screwed up and got completely out of order. It feels like he’s trying to talk to two people at once and it doesn’t work. He’s either gotta tell me about this woman or the whole song needs to be from the point of view of him talking to this woman and their situation. In its current state it’s a complete mess, to the point where I think if you just removed Tommy and his lyrics from the equation, nothing would be missed. The song would be better for it.

If you want proof that this song is better without Tommy, there’s a really good instrumental version on Youtube. If you want to see a fun spin on it, guitar wizard Tim Henson of instrumental prog rock outfit Polyphia recorded a really cool version of it on his personal Youtube channel that’s worth checking out.

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Tommy Richman and “Million Dollar Baby” are best described as a perfect summer fling. I’ve met him, there’s a spark, and I will have my fun with him and this song for the whole summer season... but I know in my heart that at the end of August, I will be leaving him behind for other things (Read: Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, which I’m excited for and arrives on August 23rd). It’s a brief love affair that wasn’t born to last... and that’s okay. Give it a couple of years and I might hear “Million Dollar Baby” again somewhere and happily remember simpler days. Or, I’ll be wrong and this song and Tommy stick around for a long time and make me look like a fool. He put out a new song just a few days ago, “Devil Is a Lie,” and maybe that’ll end up being a second hit for him. I doubt it’ll hit #2, because it doesn’t hit the same as “Million Dollar Baby” and Tommy still shows the same weaknesses on that one that he shows on this one. The beat and production on “Devil” is again infinitely more interesting than him and it’s just a shameless Neptunes ripoff (which, honestly, I’m not even mad about. Any Neptunes sounding beat in this day and age is a warm welcome in my world).

The Billboard Hot 100 is a fascinating place. Everything can be all fine and normal and then something weird comes completely out of left field to help shake things up and keep you on your toes. If Tommy’s song did nothing else, it at least accomplished that. It’s a strange sound I haven’t heard get mainstream success for a bit and it seems like he’s got a good team with him steering him pretty well. I’ve certainly heard much much worse from TikTokers suffering from delusions of grandeur. Do I think he’ll stick around for a long time? Probably not, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m rooting against him. I’ll certainly have fun while he’s here. The million dollar baby has made it after wanting to make it so badly, the only question left to answer is if the million dollar baby can stick around.

Good luck.

#original post #ranting and raving #tommy richman #million dollar baby #music essay #Youtube

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keenkeylin · 2 years ago

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The theme of my playlist is symphony. This word commonly means a lengthy form of musical composition. A symphony usually consisted of multiple large sections or movements where at least one movement will employ a sonata. This means one instrument for example, a piano will play three movements. I decided to go with the theme “symphony” because it is a word that has been romanticized in the music and arts industry. It signifies someone peaceful, beautiful, and powerful. For example, in lyric some might say “let me be part of your symphony” or “I used to hear a simple song…now I hear a symphony”. For the first piece the infamous and classical Symphony No 5 by Ludwig Van Beethoven is a piece that is a fast and cheerful chamber music work. I chose this piece because it was my initiate piece of music I tied with my theme. The work is a symphony and is part of a group of other symphonies. The piece of music had 108 beats per minute with a quick and steady tempo. This is what’s so impressive about Beethoven. The symphonies opening notes (dun dun dun DUNNN) alert the listener it is meant to invoke a powerful and darker emotion. Emotions like anger and despair. The next piece of music I chose was the famous alternative / rock song by The Verve called Bitter Sweet Symphony. A symphony plays in the background which makes this song unique to its genre of music. This song is able to invoke strong emotions of a bitter sweet feeling. At first the lyrics are sad but the song quickly becomes uplifting. This song is played at 86 beats per minute. The keys mostly heard are A and E major. The jazz song I chose was Symphony in Riffs by Benny Carter. It is his most famous piece. Both the piece of music and Carter is known for the idiomatic alto saxophone which entices the listener. The tempo of this piece is 110 beats per minute which makes the song easily danceable. It invoked a feeling a joyfulness and can bring people together to dance and enjoy Carter’s saxophone. Under the rap and hip hop genre I decided to go with the song by Juice Crew, The Symphony. This song has an energetic flow that catches people’s attention. It has a smooth flow with the consonance towards the energy of the rap. The song is famous for being hip hops first posse cut and left a positive mark on music history and listeners of all races. The country song called Souther Symphony has a tempo of 89 beats per minute similar to the rock song I chose. This piece is played in D major with a 10B Camelot. This song invoke a feeling of reminiscing. Symphony for Blues starts off strong and bold with a quick tempo but midway through slows down. If one were to skip into the middle of the song without looking they would think the music changed. Auckland Symphony Orchestra perform Fisher's Losing It as part of Symphony 2019 conducted by Peter Thomas. Just like the previous piece of music it is played in D major going at a tempo of 125 beats per minute. The piece of music invokes feelings of happiness and makes listeners want to dance. It has strong energy.

#Youtube

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cherrykindness · 4 years ago

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let's make babies |

pairing: Harry Styles x Actress!Reader

summary: you and harry are doing a live on instagram, you've drunk a lot of wine and now the world knows that the future Mrs. Styles is ready to make babies.

warnings: mostly cute, but the title tells you what you need to know 🤪

"What is your favorite song from the Fine Line album?" Y/N read aloud, twirling in her right hand the second glass of wine of the evening, the one already halfway through. "Adore You and Watermelon Sugar, of course."

Harry giggled, rolling his eyes upon hearing his fiancée's statement.

"Y/N will always choose Adore You because it was obviously written for her." He accused. "She wouldn't give that answer under different circumstances."

The comments climbed up the screen continuously, most fans gushing about how cute Harry Styles and YN/LN could be while the other part was concerned with wringing even more information out of the slightly inebriated couple who had decided to do a surprise live one early Sunday morning.

As expected after being away for some time to begin filming Don't Worry, Darling in Southern California, Harry enjoyed a lazy weekend in the house he shared with his fiancée and her pets. The days were filled with late naps and relentless Netflix marathons, sublime and ethereal evenings, marked mostly by unexpected declarations and rounds of sex that used to last until the beams of light were shyly coming through the linen curtains. They were not a monotonous couple, so this order could easily be changed.

"Watermelon Sugar is nothing more than about my love for watermelons, don't get too creative." Harry replied to a fan while sporting a corner smile, the message standing out among the rest for its dozens of emojis and large print, questioning the singer about erotic content behind the lyrics of his latest hit. "I really don't know what you guys are talking about."

Y/N laughed, shaking her head before leaning it against her fiancé's chest, propped up on the soft white pillows that were spread practically all over the bed. The air conditioner was on at a minimal temperature and a light rain whipped on the panes of glass camouflaged by the cream-colored curtain, that being the projection of Y/N's favorite nights.

"You can tell them, I'm not shy." She joked, nudging her fiancé's waist.

"You know what it was written about and who it was written for." Harry replied, raising one of his eyebrows. "That's what matters."

It went without saying that much of Harry's newest album, as well as some of his earlier work, had been done in exclusive dedication to his future wife. Y/N had been the muse for a vast repertoire of romantic songs, and even though the singer preferred to keep the story behind his more explicit compositions a "secret", the relationship the two had shared for more than three years was already solid and known enough for the media and fans to distinguish hidden messages in small details.

"It's a song about what usually comes before the act of making babies." Y/N laughed as he pointed at the display. "Honestly, you guys are impossible."

"No, we make babies every day." Harry joked, making a funny motion with his eyebrows. "I would spend my entire career writing just about that."

"Harry!" The actress exclaimed incredulously, slapping her fiancé weakly on the chest. "Children might be watching this."

"You don't want to have babies with me?" He asked falsely offended, accepting the cup that Y/N offered him. "Because I want some babies with you."

Y/N laughed, rolling her eyes as she watched the internet freak out at the dialogue that had suddenly emerged. Since the beginning of the quarantine, it was kind of inevitable that the couple of artists would not become the darlings of all social media; they were fervently active with photos, videos, and lives that depicted step by step daily life in isolation, gaining more and more followers and making the media more and more fascinated by the relationship they both shared.

The wedding was scheduled for the summer of next year and it was perhaps the most anticipated event in the tabloids. Bets about what the model of Y/N's dress would be and lists presuming who would be selected for the short list of guests stood out among countless news stories about the famous people influencing pop culture today.

The possible arrival of a Styles baby was an inevitable topic in interviews. Harry and Niall were the only members of the ex-boyband that had not become fathers yet, and because they had maintained a solid relationship and were seen as one of the most enviable couples during the last four years, Y/N and Harry had gotten used to all this openly asked questions. They didn't mind, they even had fun with the montages and all the anxiety that dominated the whole internet, often mentioning the fandoms' efforts to represent them as such "cool" parents in perfectly edited pictures.

"No, guys, I'm not pregnant." Y/N amusingly clarified the doubt of dozens of new comments. "Please don't believe so many controversial news stories that appear out there. I was on twitter last week and saw several people theorizing about a possible pregnancy, most of the arguments based on a website that used photos from the set of How to Get Away with Murder in the season where I was actually playing a pregnant woman as Laurel." She laughed. "It's so funny! I know you guys love to guess these things, but we won't hide something so special when it actually happen, I promise."

"Especially because Y/N can hide absolutely nothing from anyone." Harry accused, leaving his drink on the corner table before settling into a comfortable position for the two of them. "Anyone who's a Marvel fan knows that. That's one of her most characteristic quirks."

"They gave me a fake script for the last two movies." Y/N agreed, shaking his head. "For me and Tom."

"We agreed to keep the engagement a secret for a while. The plan was to travel to Holmes Chapel to break the news to my family in person, but guess who got a call at ten o'clock at night from an angry Anne because she learned of her son's engagement from an interview Y/N gave the next day?"

Y/N gave a guilty smile, winking gracefully at the camera. "It was all James' fault! I'm sure he already suspected something, those questions were very suspicious."

"Of course the questions were suspicious, babe. You literally said you had a secret that involved both of us but that you couldn't tell because it was important that our families knew first."

"I thought he would think about a pregnancy or something!" The actress defended herself, feeling very convincing in her intonation bordering on obviousness. "That's a mania I can't get rid of, it's in my genes."

"Did you all hear that? Further proof that you guys don't have to worry about guessing when Y/N's pregnancy will be, I'm sure our baby will make sure to tell you everything while still in the womb, mom's genes will make sure of that."

"You are so funny, Harry Styles." Y/N sarcastically stated, holding back a giggle as countless messages with laughing emojis were frantically up. "Yeah, I know I talk a lot and all, but you have annoying quirks too."

It was obvious that live would be news the next day. Although they were completely open about matters concerning their relationship, nothing seemed better than receiving so much exclusive information from a Harry and S/N drunk on expensive wine.

"You wake up in a bad mood and you're dangerously sexy, that should be illegal."

Harry laughed, holding his fiancée's waist a little tighter as he felt her tumble a little further to the side, getting closer and closer to the edge of the bed. Y/N was dangerously weak for drinks, and the singer knew that the actress' body was already near its limit.

"You're the only sexy person here, love." He declared with a corner smile, evidently finding the whole situation funny. "Do you want to go to sleep now?"

"No." Y/N shook her head. "Can we watch some movie? Can we watch Sweet Home?"

"Of course, love." He murmured, giving the woman a quick kiss on the forehead.

Even though Harry knew that his fiancée was unlikely to make it past the five-minute mark of the episode, he made sure to restart the korean series at exactly the scene where she had stopped, the first chapter still halfway through after Y/N realized that it would be impossible to watch such a macabre work without a drop of alcohol in her blood.

She had been so excited by the taste of Argentinian wine and the idea of updating her fans after a few weeks away, that she had forgotten the main purpose of the live. Harry and Y/N had been apart for a few days due to the new movie the Brit was shooting in North America, all happening in an unrestrictedly careful manner due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic.

He was slowly migrating towards acting and the future Mrs. Styles couldn't be prouder. Y/N had felt on cloud nine when Harry had given her the news of his upcoming job, but her only pronouncement on the subject had been a succinct post on instagram. Just a photo of the couple on a trip to Germany with a simple heart emoji didn't seem enough for the actress' exhibitionist soul, and coming to that conclusion was the main reason she decided to invite him, already relatively changed, for a live appearance. Y/N wanted to go on and on about how much she loved that man and work on that whole honeyed speech that would bring her (once again) the title of "cutest bride of all time," but of course Harry had to come home from his trip with his favorite red wine and poison her with those sweet caresses that took her out of orbit, turning the degree of alcohol content into the least of her problems.

"You're going to kiss Florence." Y/N exclaimed suddenly, as if only now realizing that her fiancé would share the screen with Florence Pugh, one of her closest friends in that industry. "Kiss on the mouth."

The MacBook was still open and hundreds of new comments were going up every second, but Harry didn't bother one bit to warn her about the possibility of her becoming a meme the next day. He was having too much fun with the situation to worry.

"Are you jealous?"

"Yes." She stated with a pout. "I am jealous, I just don't know if I'm more jealous of her or of you."

"But you kiss me every day, babe." Harry laughed. "And you've been kissing other people's men for almost ten years." He joked.

"But I only think about you, I already told you that."

Harry shook his head negatively at the camera, knowing he was sharing with the fans the funniest side of his fiancée.

"I know that, honey." He assured, lightly stroking the actress' back. "I think we'd better turn off the TV and go to sleep now, I'm sure you'll have a terrible headache tomorrow."

The brit planned to bid his audience goodbye and put an end to that recording, but Y/N was drunk and her sense of right and wrong had already gone to space. Harry should have been quicker, however, because his fiancée's speech would be cause for new tags and the only subject for the interviewers for at least the next few months.

"I don't want to sleep, how about we make babies?"

That's what Watermelon Sugar was all about, after all.

#harry styles imagine #imagine1d #imagine harry styles #harry x reader #harry styles x reader #fluffy imagine #harry fluff #actress reader

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dourpeep · 3 years ago

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i have even more ideas now...

what about like the moment you open up about your relationship with kazuxiao the fans who were already seeing that happen were celebrating and on both of y'alls insta or something is where you announce and it's like a picture of all 3 of you chilling together or something

and then when they finally appear on a variety show they're just questioned throughly and they talk about how you guys meet and what they like about you

ok but the moments where you just feel sort of insecure since being an idol is hard and you're technically dating your seniors and you're just hit by the antis who are against yourself relationship so you lock yourself in your room in your dorm by yourself to cope. your roommate (can be whoever) contacts them both and they immediately come over and come in and offer soft kisses and soft murmurs of reassurance that they'll never leave you and that everything's gonna be ok.

side note i can see xiao just being a whole meme without realizing?? for like variety shows he's just known for his dead pan expression and then i can see him being so competitive on shows like running man..mans ripping tags left and right, while kazuhas just hiding in a weird spot or something

kazuha on the other hand i can see him being a troll, he likes to mess around with the hosts of the show and manages to mess up some of their plans, he also likes messing with his group members, where xiao likes to say that kazuha looks innocent but is a part of the devil line with venti

onto albedo i can see him like answering questions in his vlive and fans realize that a lot of his songs are more romantic and sort of pining?? and they're asking where the motivation is from. he answers that it's just something that he saw recently so he felt motivated (it wasn't the fact that he had realized that he was 100% in love with you)

but like all of this mans inspiration comes from you, he's had multiple songs dedicated to you before your relationship was even open to the public, and when your relationship finally does, it just clicks for fans and it suddenly makes sense, your ship name trends worldwide for the day

but how you and albedo met, i can see both of you guys being in the industry already and you guys are sort of know each other but it was for a one time off collab with other artists involved so you didn't really talk with each other. like i said before albedos a solo artist while i can see you being a part of a popular group already. but then both of your companies decided to do another collab and especially picked you two since you guys already worked on a collab before.

at first it was like awkward since albedos really socially awkward but then things click when you guys start writing the song together. everything just matches so well?? and you guys just compliment each other?? and that's when you learn of albedo just staying at the studio so late so you often bring food. this leads to you guys getting closer and albedo even stops his work just to talk to you more. when your song comes out and everyone is waiting for the stage, there's just so much tension?? but the good kinda and everyone is awed by the song and the vocals coming from you and albedo.

i can also see the both of you guys appearing on variety shows together too, like appearing on a show where you two travel to another place and experience the culture there, with albedo being your tour guide and showing you all the famous places (one of the many times where fans were awed by his research and knowledge) and then if you guys were to appear together again after you guys reveal your relationship, a lot of the times they show idols as they wake up, they'll see you and albedo being clingy af to each other.

on another side note, albedos totally a troll on variety shows, he likes messing around with the hosts and other contestants since a lot of the time he's not really interested in the show itself, it's more for publicity. however, when he first appeared on a show with you fans noticed that he actually seemed interested for once and that's where your ship name started.

albedos totally a golden child tho, he's like basically perfect in everything so a lot of the times variety shows don't catch him slipping, however the one time that he did was when you were mentioned, the clip of with his ears bright red was trending for a couple of days :)

GIVING ME SO MUCH GOOD FOOD THANK YOU ANON

I think that this covers everything hehehe so I won't add to-

wait wait I put it all under the cut b/c it's a lot again-

Okay okay but like for the 'announcement' picture, what if it's like those photo booth pics (but like each picture you need to scroll through like on Insta) where it's cute and wholesome! The three of you are having fun wearing some silly glasses or hats, doing peace signs or finger hearts....and the very last photo is the three of you sharing a kiss- or, at least trying to.

It's sweet, a little silly, and most of your fans take it really well! After all, they can see the chemistry that you share and can't deny that the three of you would have a good relationship.

As for the insecurities of dating your seniors, Kazuha and Xiao are quick to knock back any of those worries. They love you so, so much and hate the fact that something like that makes you doubt for a single second. If anyone ever tries to bring it up, you know that they're going to immediately quip back.

Naturally, you're roomed with Venven :D He's technically an up-and-coming after he stopped doing idol stuff for a few years, so not only does he know the ropes, but he's also one of your biggest fans and biggest supports (outside of Kazuha and Xiao).

Though he's silly and light-hearted, he's quick to recognize when things are serious and need handling.

So as soon as he sees that you're not doing so great or if he notices the comments on your posts are going in a bad direction, he speed dials Xiao and the two of your boyfriends are right at the door in under 15.

Not only are they fast about it, but they have all your favorite snacks, a movie or two, some popcorn, and a ton of love and affection because they'll be damned if their love is going to be affected by some asshole's comments about their love life! What do they know anyway??

Actually this all could work too if Kazuha and Xiao are part of 4NEMO-

Hmmm

That'd cause so much more ruckus- not only is half of one of the most popular idol groups are taken, but by the same person??? And each other??? Man, that's wack.

BUT THE GAMESHOWS

Xiao would most certainly be super intense with those. He just can't help it--competition drives his blood and makes something snap in him. He's dead serious about doing well, regardless of the game. I actually have never watched said game shows, but--

Like...he's out for blood. No one is safe. Not even you or Kazuha if you're on opposing teams, though he'll be a bit more gentle. Maybe even with the hint of a smile while you have an expression of utter shock at the fact that he's just so fast-

Or if it's not a game show and instead you're doing some sort of idol group activity with a few others to get to know each other?

Someone suggests ping pong and, knowing how competitive Xiao gets, he's pitted up against Tartaglia and man. That's scary. There's no doubt that someone would clip the video and make it into an overly-dramatic retelling complete with music.

Hilarious.

As for Kazuha! He'd be a bit of a mish mosh! He enjoys poking fun at others, and he's so sly! Those poor hosts don't realize that he's goading them on, but sure enough--he is. Who knew that his charming smile and mild-mannered attitude could be so devastating?

But even then, he's mostly wholesome! There's a lot of little clips, mostly of your doing, of him in a 'kiss the chef' apron getting caught off guard while cooking something up. The videos aren't great because you're giggling while recording and he ends up placing the ladle down calmly before wrapping you up in his arms. Half the video ends up being the two of you laughing and joking while it's pointed at a weird angle towards the counter.

Sometimes it'll point just right and you'll get a half-blurred view of Xiao sitting at the kitchen island with his reading glasses perched on his nose and book forgotten. He tends to get up and join in for a few smooches before reminding Kazuha of the food that's still cooking.

Albedo!! He absolutely is the golden child. He's fantastic handling things under pressure in a cool, calm manner. Handsome, charismatic, incredibly smart--man's hit all the stops and just keeps going.

It's not until it comes out that the two of you are together that his cool façade (hardly one, though) falters and at the mere mention of you, he'll go soft. There's a tenderness in his eyes, a small smile on his lips, and his blush? Absolutely adorable. How can anyone object when he's obviously so in love with you?

And the idea you mentioned with the two of you traveling and experiencing stuff together sounds so cute (':

He particularly enjoys exploring new cuisine, so expect him to feed you some food from his plate-

There's also a few times where you two have gotten lost in the new places, more because you're both so busy taking in the sights to realize you've taken five wrong turns- But then you make it into a whole adventure, foregoing the map and deciding to wander around. What better way to discover and learn about somewhere than getting lost and wandering?

You find quite a few hidden gems this way since otherwise you'd be hitting more popular areas!

Wait- do they really show idols waking up???

Ahh regardless, Albedo's definitely a cuddler. He loves it, can't get enough of it. It's not often that he gets a good night's rest, but with you it seems like he's fully recharged and ready for the day! It's cute too because it doesn't matter--big spoon or little spoon, you on his chest or him resting on yours. Even a few times with you facing each other with your hands intertwined.

I also agree that Albedo would mess with the game show's hosts and contestants. Not only would he, but he'd be entirely smug about it (after all, we need to have that #smugbedo going on).

No doubt, there's been times where the cameras even focus/zoom in on him where he's sitting because he's got that smirk on his face.

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tim-official · 2 years ago

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no more "just let people enjoy things" for the love of god

if you agree that it is a good thing to support small artists in visual media (you reblog stuff like "don't just hit like, reblog art you enjoy!" and so on and so forth), which i think most people here would agree with, then you should apply the same standard to music you listen to. if you think marvel movies have oversaturated popular cinema and you'd like to see more movies that aren't recycled IPs, reboots, sequels, etc, then you should apply the same standard to music you listen to.

i.e.: it is not a culturally neutral act to only like + enjoy + seek out + publicly talk about + promote musical acts that already have dozens of millions of fans, especially in a world where a single artist can be so much bigger than anyone else as to net the all top ten spots on the Billboard top 100 at once. this didn't use to be possible. the top few most popular songs often stay at the top of the charts for months, and this was unthinkable just ten or fifteen years ago. top songs and top artists get proportionally more airtime, more recommendations, more press than they used to. this isn't because a couple musicians and bands that exist now make "better" music than there existed in 2001 that is just naturally more deserving of this attention. the powers that shape the modern music industry have figured out, collectively, that overwhelming homogeneity is the most efficient way to extract money from an online audience.

so, without assigning a moral value to listening habits, I can still say that if you mostly listen to the work of people who are already super-star famous and have more publicity and cash than anyone could ever use in a human lifetime, then you are acting in support of this state of things. if that doesn't bug you then, like, continue on your journey and be safe out there, bud. but it is so goddamn easy nowadays to find novel, cool music, and to fall in love with the work of an artist who is desperate to be heard and will notice and actually give a shit if you listen to them, even if you never spend a cent; why wouldn't you?

and if you feel yourself getting defensive at being told you should listen to less mainstream music sometimes, as many seem to do on this website and others - for god's sake, why? imagine if people reacted the same way when asked to support small artists, or to buy from the etsy pages of small creators. yeah, you're just reblogging from smaller, niche artists to... seem cool? incoherent. "oh, you think you're better just because you listen to weird music nobody cares about?" well, i think the state of the music industry fucking sucks and if we all did this then i think it would be slightly better.

better question: have you ever given any thought to why you listen to the music you listen to, or was your taste decided for you by an industry-sized algorithm optimized to the objectives of advertisers and spotify executives? and does that bother you or doesn't it?

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fa-by · 3 years ago

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hi F! Please do an analysis on Lauren’s new song While I’m Alive! She said on her instagram that it was directed to “someone” at first 👀👀

Hi to you too, dear Anon 👋🏼😄 and for sure. No problem, in fact, I'm sorry for the delay 😅

So. While I'm Alive is part of the Femme it Forward's all-female album called Big Femme Energy, Vol. 1. Laur wrote it long before she was part of this project, and yes, she said she wrote it with a person in mind by turning a vent into art because tired of the way she was/is treated:

This person, in my opinion, is 100% a shark. And this also responds to another ask I've recently received:

Hey to you, dear Anon 👋🏼😄 Yep, Laur wrote it for someone among the higher ups and therefore it concerns her career in particular, but she also applies it to other situations in her life in general.

Now let's move on to the interpretation.

Verse 1:

“Don't say I'm too loud when I cry out what I've held inside

I wanna know why they tried to take me and bury me alive”

The music industry is dominated by men. Gender inequality, sexism, and ageism reign supreme. No matter how much harder they have to work in order to succeed, women are anyway either sidelined, or supervised by men. Why? Because there’s a huge disparity between men and women, especially due to the way the public perceives their success and power. For example.

A man is praised for performing on stage with just the guitar. A woman who does the same, however, not only is she criticized for being too lazy and boring for not having made the performance more lively with a choreography, but she’s also criticized for what she was wearing. Same woman who gets criticized when she instead performs with a choreography because she wasn’t good enough. A woman who can’t be a drummer because it’s a thing for men, and if she persists in wanting to play, it’s not because it’s her passion and she’s pursuing her dream, no; it’s because she wants attention 🙄. A woman who can’t have a good idea about a song because, what can she understand about music, right? 😒

Unfortunately, it’s all a double standard. Women work harder than men and they then get questioned whether their success is deserved. One way or another, women are constantly being torn apart. Reason why Laur begins the verse by already letting us understand how put down she is by the sharks, followed by a question that actually doesn’t represent a real request for information, but that implies a predetermined answer.

“'Cause who am I to think that I have a right?

Or decide to know what I need, right?”

She's sarcastic of course. Since they've always told her what to do, how to act, and how to feel, here she's including a couple of examples among the thousand and more things they always have said and say to her. Because who better than her knows what's best for her? The answer is her. Especially when these orders, because they're orders, are imposed on her to make money with her career and not for her sake or because they care about her as a person.

“It's in the way, I talk and I walk away

From what you made me”

By ‘what you made me’, she refers to the way she was before. The person who was forced to accept everything she was told to do and therefore she couldn’t be herself. The person they made her become, and she didn’t like that person. Now she no longer wants to ‘submit herself’ and accept everything just for money and fame as she did in the past because she was legally obliged and not to do so. She did it many times especially when she was still in the group, but unlike in the past, she luckily no longer has the same kind of obligations. So if she doesn’t want to do something now, she simply doesn’t. She says no to what she doesn’t accept and walks away from that (I talk and I walk away) by not caring if she doesn’t have the same success as before because she prefers not to have that kind of success anymore but to remain herself, rather than have it and be just a product (what you made me); a different person from who she really is.

Verse 2:

“And I know this is all too familiar

Feel the motive behind all that fake love”

In Olivia Rodrigo’s voice 🎤: 🎵 Did you get deja vu, Laur? 🎶 No, but all joking aside. By ‘I know this is all too familiar’, she means what she has already experienced in the past and which she has once again found herself in front of. Once out of both Epic/Syco and Maverick, she believed she would’ve be dealing with better people, but it wasn’t like that. She realized that those kinds of people are everywhere because it’s the music industry that’s like that. The problem isn’t the single label or the single management team, it’s the entire industry. The problem isn’t the surrounding, but the people who are in it. Not all of them luckily, but most of them unfortunately.

By ‘Feel the motive behind all that fake love’, on the other hand, she describes precisely that kind of people. The fake ones who first treat you well because they want something from you, and then show themselves for who they really are when they don’t get it and try to hinder you, punish you, destroy you, and ‘bury me alive’ (verse 1) because of it.

So. Although I said it playfully at first, these two sentences go perfectly well together to describe the sense of deja vu that Laur felt.

*Small note* In the next three sentences of the verse, I will use these ‘---’ to complete her sentences as if I were Lauren to give you my interpretation. I’ll then continue as I always have. Oh and, she’s talking about her music here.

“I can’t take all these unsolicited opinions --- Nope, not anymore. I don't want them. Thanks, but no thanks.

Go ahead and be the scared ones --- with someone else who’s ready to tell you yes to everything and who doesn’t have a vision on how they want their own songs. Someone else who has no problem being a marketable product/puppet.

Either way, I’ll get it done” --- with other producers, songwriters, collaborators, etc., of my choice.

“I’ve been told I’m too much

Too proud, too cruel

Too wild, difficult to be around”

Let’s also add too confident, too sincere, and too honest from the people who mocked her at school before she became famous, shall we? Or maybe too fat, too arrogant, too full of herself, too whore, and all the other things said by the haters over the years? 😒😒😒🙄🙄🙄

I was being sarcastic of course, guys. I mean, can our girl ever have a break?

“With too much to say

Never in the right way

So, what’s the right way?”

Rhetorical question here because the right way is exactly the way she is. She has no intention of behaving in the ‘right way’ they want because it would mean not being authentic and automatically it would no longer be the right way because she would be fake.

Chorus:

“If I can’t be me

Who do you want me to be? (Who do you want me to be?)”

I love, love, love, love this. For real. It’s so powerful. And it doesn’t surprise me that this part along with the rest of the chorus is repeated four times, because it’s the most important part and it encloses the whole song perfectly.

“‘Cause if you can’t see beyond your gaze”

Behind their ideas to be the perfect product without looking at the person and their feelings.

“You don’t phase me and I don’t trust you anyway

‘Cause runnin’ through life, I figured out time

Don’t wait for no one”

After all these years and precisely because of what she’s been through, she realized she can’t wait for them to see it the same way she does or for someone to ‘save her’. She prefers to ‘save herself’. Therefore, she will continue to be wary, not to trust, and above all, to remain authentic as she says here:

“So while I’m alive, I’ma just be me (I’ma just be me)

Whoever that ends up being”

And that's it, dear Anon 😉 This song is dedicated to one particular asshole who gave her the idea, but mostly, it's dedicated to all those assholes who tried to tell her what kind of music she should have made, how she should have behaved, and how she should have felt. She decides for her, and she doesn’t care if she doesn’t have the same success anymore. Just like she doesn’t care about all the rest like the expectations and superficial perceptions they have of her that are completely wrong.

I hope you enjoyed it, and I wish both of you Anons and everyone else reading this, a beautiful day ❤🥰🤗

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wildernessuntothemselves · 2 years ago

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I saw that ask abt txt being not too "outstanding" n god it triggers the satan in me. I'm tried of 4th gen kpopies degrading txt for being the only ones with quality music. I mean, i bet there isn't more than five 4th gen idols who r truely into music n passionate abt it n knows their way with it. And txt as a whole is an all rounder group so non fans or casually fans dk much abt their individual potential. Txt is the future of kpop n 4th gen leaders for a reason, tbh i wouldn't care abt 4th gen if it wasn't for txt. Music is basically dead in kpop- no bgs especially 4th gen release good music, hell it aint even music at this point. I had to literally unstan so many groups cuz of their latest releases.

Skz is fine tho, but manic wasn't it without Felix's chorus, still they r skz so i can say they'll do fine. I was kinda disappointed with gbgb at first but after a few listens i grew to lyk it tho it isn't txt lvl at all. The bsides were all basically soty material. Also this y i lyk txt cuz they give no skip albums. If kpopies weren't shameless n had conscience they would admit no one except txt(n btsvt) have no skip albums. Txt is superior in versatility n quality, it makes them stand out in a industry of random tictok sounds n loud beats.

-Isa

i feel like i walked in on a fanwar i wasn't aware of. do txt regularly get hated on by other 4th gen bg stans? i only hear from non bg stans and txt are the token bg for us so i only hear positive things about them

but anyway i didn't feel like the original ask was hateful, though i did side eye how they said that the only thing keeping txt afloat is the concept and production as if that's not the case for most groups? only a handful of idols are self-producing and tbh even if they're self producing doesn't mean the songs they put out are automatically better. you could produce a song and have it be terrible, i don't get the obsession kpop fans have with self-production. producers exist for a reason

but i still feel like your tone isn't helping. we're here to talk about things rationally and you getting this defensive is exactly what i was talking about. like idk the rest of the bg so i can't say who is or isn't passionate about music. i'm sure all stans say the same thing about their own idols but all i know are txt and they seem genuine to me and while they're not the most talented idols, i was attracted to what they have to offer, yes mostly their songs and concepts, but also taehyun's voice is what ultimately pulled me in. he doesn't have the most range and isn't the most technically good singer but his voice has soul and emotion and that's what i look for idk yeonjun isn't the best dancer but he is very entertaining to watch and i personally like his singing voice. beomgyu isn't the most gifted in any particular area but his expressions to me are top notch, i just enjoy watching him so much like he does the cutest expression when doing cute concepts and is very emotive when doing sad songs. i still watch his lovesong fancams regularly because idk it just feels like he really is experiencing heartbreak lol

anyway i'm ranting by now i just mean to say that even though i love txt a lot and they're my favorite 4th gen group, i wasn't triggered by that ask at all. what they said is the truth and i can accept that. the only clarification i would make is what i made in the first part of this response.

i feel like responding with such things as :

"bet there isn't more than five 4th gen idols who r truely into music n passionate abt it n knows their way with it."

"Txt is the future of kpop n 4th gen leaders"

"If kpopies weren't shameless n had conscience they would admit no one except txt(n btsvt) have no skip albums."

is the triggered response i didn't want. none of these are verifiable. for you an album is a no skip but to others it's all skip. like i'm sure all other stans think the same of their groups.

and even though txt are definitely more known to the general public, i think skz are the 4th gen leaders

#anyway enough ranting #but i just want us to have more chill convos #mort talks

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themotherofallthings · 2 years ago

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I never post. Mostly because other people have said it better and in more succinct ways. I think I’ve come to the realization, that nothing has changed for Louis. Other than being able to make the music he finally wants to make and going on tour, it seems that he is still thwarted from radio play (never mind charting) and normal promotion.

I’m almost a little embarrassed at myself for having had the hope. I wanted to have faith, cuz Louis told me to. And while I will always have faith in him, I have zero in the music industry. I don’t know what his team can do at this stage. It’s easy to point a finger at them and say “you’re not doing your job” but I doubt that is the case at all. And as for all the hope of a new label, BMG seems unable to get Louis’ music on major radio stations either. And with a strict no “pay to play” policy, that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon.

BTM managed to get on dozens of playlists when the song first dropped but it garnered him very little in terms of bigger streaming #s. And has actually started to level out at around less than 200K streams a day. Which is nothing to sneeze at but for a guy with millions of sm followers, those #s aren’t translating to actual streams. The math as they say, is not mathing.

I’ve known for a long while now that being a Louis stan is hard. Not because of anything he’s done, but because everything around him is so messed up and fraught with bullshit. The industry just does not want him to be successful. BMG did not sign Louis so he could be shelved (at least I hope not). I assume they wanted him and his massive fanbase and their purchasing power, to make them money, so I doubt they signed up for whatever this is now.

I knew that Louis starting over in a new genre, writing the music he loves, would mean a sort of rebranding but even that hasn’t happened. Outside of a couple alt-music mag interviews, he & his team have done very little to build an indie rep with indie radio stations. Instead, he concentrated on fan meet and greets in obscure markets, that while great for the fans, did very little for him in terms of actual radio play.

If all he wanted was to meet fans, he could’ve done that without the pretext of promo and wasting his time doing interviews with DJs from stations that were never gonna play his music. It all seems so pointless. Can no one on his team or BMG get him a Rolling Stone or Billboard interview? He should be a hot get coming off a successful world tour and yet nothing.

So much of the frustration I have is based on my expectations and what I want for him and his career. When in reality, Louis is probably immensely happy and satisfied with how things are going right now. He seems to have made peace with it a long time ago and is actually ok with how things are going. And the only reason I struggle is because I haven’t come to terms with letting go of my expectations.

I know that all his fans believe he deserves everything and all the success in the world. I just have to accept that it’s not the success I would want him to have or think he deserves to have. And that’s really a me problem. If he is happy, then I’m happy. He is a successful musician. A successful touring artist and I’m genuinely excited for new music.

It’s time to let go of whatever expectations I had and just start enjoying being a Louis fan again.

#Louis career rant

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nyxravessnow · 4 years ago

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Rambly Patalliro stage review

Stage Patalliro 2021 Foggy London Airport Arc Review

Today I finally managed to see the delays of the first and last day of the new 2021 Patalliro stage.

Overall, I will rate this show as a 9 out of 10.

I don't know if I'm giddy just because I watched the show today and have been really looking forward to it, and especially since I didn't enjoy the last 2.5D show I was looking forward to I might be projecting a bit onto this show. But I did enjoy every second of this show and can’t wait to buy the dvd.

While there were things, I was very nervous about for this show, I was also very excited as a lot of actors I really love are in the show.

I just wanna say anything I say about negative fan reaction is of course not most fans. Most fans stayed quiet and just did what they wanted, I’m just talking about a few fans whose comments I have seen floating about.

I was very nervous about the hostility to the new cast which I felt was unwarranted. Obviously, this wasn’t from most fans but was just from a very small amount of them. Hostility to the company and how they handled the graduation of the previous cost and the handling of the bringing in of the new cast is completely justified. However, this new cast is full of people who truly love the show and were very excited to be in it and no one had seen them on stage as those characters and so I feel like hostility towards them was undue.

The main reason this made me nervous was that I was worried if the show was bad the director and the company would not be the ones blamed but the actors who merely were doing their best in roles they were cast in.

I am so glad to say that I believe the show was fantastic. I believe that they lived up to the legacy of the previous cast and have started a good new tradition for their next shows and any cast that follows them.

One thing that really shocked me but also spoke to me about how this show most likely wouldn’t have happened without a new cast, was Kato Ryo Crying out of happiness on the final day of the show. Kato Ryo is known for never breaking character and not breaking down on stage which shows how much this show means to him. He was truly happy to be on the stage performing as Patalliro again, and it did seem as if he had also bonded to this new cast as Dai instantly went to give him a hug which he returned. He spoke about how it was amazing they could make it to the final performance as he didn’t think they’d even make it to a first one. I believe it is not too far-fetched to say that he might be referring to the fact that Nelke and the 2.5d association mostly likely said that they would not continue the show with Tsune onboard. As before Kato Ryo said he would only continue the show if the cast didn’t change and that seemed like a serious change.

I have seen comments that Maaya-sensei didn’t like the new cast and that he was completely unaware of the change in casting which I would be very surprised by. 2.5d shows have to sign off for new shows with the creator of the original and also you could see that Maaya-sensei’s family had bonded the new cast greatly. Giving the show a standing ovation and kept waving to the cast on the final night.

I know the re cast is a very difficult topic for people who likes the old cast and don't want to see a new cost, for people who liked the old cast and are willing to see the new cast, for people who didn't see much of the old cast but excited for the new cast or for people who like the new actors coming in and so getting into Patalliro for the first time.

I believe that as long as you are not attacking anyone your thoughts and feelings are completely valid and if you only liked the show for the previous cast then you have every right to just ignore the new shows and just watch the three amazing instalments from the old cast. You are valid and I hope you have a lovely day/week and hope that this awful situation (covid and the such) isn’t being too bad to you.

In my opinion if this show was the result of the recast, and that if it hadn't happened we wouldn't have gotten another show, then I'm very glad it happened because I think this show was excellent and another fantastic instalment under the name of Patalliro stage. Under the cut I will include a spoilered review of the stage but before then I just wanted to say some of my basic thoughts for anyone who doesn't want to be spoiled for what is in the show.

Acting: All the acting was fantastic. There wasn't a single actor who I wasn't entranced by and I was enthralled and engaged the entire show. I think every actor performed their roles perfectly and to the best of their abilities.

Singing: Obviously the big stand out for singing in this show was the transgender actress Nakamura Ataru as she was hired for her singing voice, her being a professional singer. However, I think everybody performed extremely well. I continue to be a little frustrated with the use of recorded singing for everybody except for Ataru, as I believe the music they have on it is too loud and it makes it harder to hear a lot of the singers and I also feel it's not necessary to record the songs as all of them are professional actors who can definitely sing on stage. That being said, I fell in love with every single song in the show and thought they were all amazing.

Directing: I think a lot of very very wise decisions were made about this show. I was worried this show would either reflect too much on the previous cast or just not mention them at all and pretend it didn't happen. Luckily the stage did neither. I will get into more specifics and my spoiler review, but I think they handled it very well with having stuff for new fans, old fans and fans who would be irritated by seeing knew actors continue on jokes that previous actors started. In regards to other sides of the directing, I believe it was same as always, very good for the type of show it is. The comedy was very good but due to only having seen two shows I can't say how much was the directing and how much were the actors just being funny, because this is a very funny cast.

Casting: I believe every actor in this stage was perfect for their roles. This may be a controversial opinion but after seeing Dai and Yuuya act opposite each other I am very glad that Sana wasn’t brought back. They couldn't continue to have Tsune in the show as 2.5D does not have the kind of reputation yet where they can have an actor who has committed crimes in their shows and back him for if he ever did something again then it could do a lot of damage to the industry. Nelke and the 2.5d association are companies and in order to keep putting on shows and paying actors and all the staff they need money. And to have money, they need a clean reputation, at least while it’s still relatively low in popularity. I do not wish Tsune ill at all, I think he is an excellent actor, and I really hope that he does continue acting but I completely understand why he was not cast in this show again and why that led to a recast of most of the cast. I think that Sana was excellent as Maraich in every way he embodied the character. But having been in quite a few previous shows together Yuuya and Dai already had excellent chemistry, and I think it would have been quite odd to see Sana as Maraich acting opposite a different Bancoran. I can't imagine any actor having better chemistry with Dai’s Maraich than Yuuya’s Bancoran and visa versa. And I really hope that with the end of lockdown and quarantine, and everything calming down a lot in terms of physical contact on stages they will be able to show the bond between their Maraich and Bancoran even more. (They didn’t actually kiss, converse to what I’ve seen some people reporting about how Nelke wanted to pretend everything was fine by making them kiss.)

Well enough on them, the Tamanegi. I think all of them were completely perfect for their roles and they all handled it with enough seriousness to make the comedy different enough from the past cast and therefore make it their own but also for it to actually be funny. I cannot wait to see this group in more shows together and see how much funnier they can become. My only slight complaint, and it is very slight, is that one of the Tamanegi is 19 years old, therefore underage, and it made me slightly uncomfortable when he took his shirt off. as I am now an adult watching the show. Having not been an adult when I watched the previous two, I do rather approach it with different eyes and that was something that I wasn't very comfortable with but I do understand that everybody isn't me and it would have been a bit strange if only one of them didn't take their top off.

Other cast members included Damian, the Maaya man and Ataru the ‘singing princess’. Again, all three of them were amazing, I was especially impressed with Shouta as Damien as I believe he carriage the emotion that came with that role excellently. Knowing what kind of personality Shouta has off stage, it still makes it slightly weird for me to see him playing less-good characters but I cannot fault his acting. I will cover the other two cast members in my spoiler review.

Anything else: I think the staging was excellent, prop work was very good and they obviously worked very hard on this show.

That will do it for my spoiler free review underneath I will get into a lot more detail on things that I liked, disliked or just wanted to comment on.

If you're stopping reading here thank you very much for reading and I really recommend if you weren't sure about this cast and weren’t sure how much they'd put into these roles and how much they would love them I can assure you that these roles have been trusted to people who really love this show and are working very hard. If you are considering getting the DVD but aren’t sure, I really recommend that you do get it if you like Patalliro and don’t just want to see only the old cast.

If you have any more specific questions about the show, I will be happy to answer them so just drop me an ask.

Spoilers under cut (Warning, it is very long)

God, where to even begin. This show was so good. They combined old stage Patalliro, with new directing, a new cast, and a really interesting arc. I'm going to separate my review into story, acting, singing/songs and directing, as well as mentioning some extra stuff that I might think of at the end.

I will illustrate bits I’m saying with pics but pics cannot do this show justice. And I’ve bolded where I begin each section so it’s more easy to find.

So first, the story. As someone who doesn't know the exact intricacies of this arc, I do know roughly what happens I just couldn't remember all the specifics, I think the show was set out in a very non confusing way compared to other Patalliro content. They did make the story a lot more linear and wasn’t showing stuff that happened at the same time as other things too much which can sometimes hurt my brain. Even with all the flashbacks and flashforwards I felt it was really easy to keep track of what was happening when. The story had a very clear and defined beginning, middle and end, and I just thought it was very well done.

Acting, with occasional dips into directing and story when appropriate. As I said before the acting was amazing. I had chills, the entire scene with Damien, Maraich and Bancoran. I think they balanced the comedy and tension very well and didn’t try to undercut all the serious scenes with comedy which is my main complaint with a lot of gag manga/anime/stages. Except during Maraich’s more emotional song where one of the Tamanegi was still wearing bdsm gear which I thought was a bit hmmm. I’m not rly gonna cover Kato Ryo bc he just is Patalliro at this point.

Maraich and Bancoran, despite having very few scenes actually talking to each other, had undeniable chemistry. Dai and Yuuya, sold me on them being a couple immediately with the way they looked at each other and how they held each other. Their final scene before the end together where Maraich lay in a hospital bed and Bancoran was clutching his hand gave me so many emotions (First night he held his hand and final night he kissed him). I was 100% sold on how much they cared about each other, even if they might fight a lot in the end no one will ever love the other more than they do, and I think that that is what makes this couple so special. They have a true unconditional love for each other and they would, quite literally in Maraich’s case, throw themselves on a bomb for the other one.

Bancoran. I think Yuuya played Bancoran so well. You could see the character maturing before your eyes as we moved from 15 years previously to 12 years previously, to 10 and onwards until the normal time. And you could see the vulnerability he had with Damien and how that was still there but how he truly loved Maraich and that the vulnerability he has with Maraich is different. While Damien didn’t tend to let his guard down around Bancoran, his relationship with Maraich is a lot more give and take and I think he played all of that expertly. I know how much Bancoran cares about Maraich is a lot more vague in the original but I think that was partly as a product of its time and they somewhat had to make some humour out of these two men being in a relationship without flat out making fun of that aspect. So, I am very happy that the stage lets these character’s be in love and despite everything, truly show that they care about each other. Also, he did make me cry a few times when he saw Damien broken, Maraich with Damien as his heart broke seeing that happen to the man he loved but also breaking for the trust he put in a man he had once loved as well in the final scenes where he has clearly decided to kill Damien but is still holding onto a feint hope that maybe, he is not completely lost.

Mariach. Wow, just wow. He was not super present in the beginning, but he was the standout in the show in my opinion. His Maraich was so so different to Sana-chan’s Maraich and yet he was absolutely true to Maraich. He approached Mariach from a very different angle and I am so glad we are lucky enough to get both of them playing Maraich. He seems a lot more mature, like he has definitely been with Bancoran longer. He gives him more trust and isn’t as quick to be jealous as well as very quickly understanding Damien and how important he is to Bancoran, asking Patalliro not to tell him anything until they were sure which is different to how he acted about Bjorn/Andersen in the last show, they are different situations but I do think it represents character growth. He was a lot more aggressive in his fighting and anger though, as shown by his heavy metal solo as opposed to the softer ones of Sana’s. Despite all that he still was clearly in love with Bancoran and still showed his cute side. As well as expressing more deeply about his love for Bancoran with one of the Tamanegi but more on that in the Tamanegi’s bit. The scene with Damien was done so well by everyone involved. They clearly condemned Damien’s actions, showed how disgusting what he did was and created incredible pathos for Maraich while also showing Maraich somewhat unaware of what had happened and during the sex scene with Maraich and Damien, Dai showed Maraich’s desperation to hold on Bancoran and love Bancoran, so well, and it broke my heart.

Damien. I don’t remember too much of Damien from the original but Shouta played him excellently. He showed the progression of this man who loved Bancoran to a man who was willing to throw him away and murder him so well and it was believable despite not seeing almost anything except his interactions with Bancoran or Bancoran/Maraich’s feelings about him. When he held Bancoran at the end, asking why he was fighting so much and why he wanted Damien to kill him, despite Damien obviously being the villain you couldn’t help but feel sympathy for this man despite everything he’d done. (Also I think there is meant to be a parallel between him holding Maraich and him holding Bancoran)

The Maaya man. I thought the actor himself was very good, but I am a bit confused about why he was in the stage. All the Tamanegi played multiple roles, changing costume, and there is only one of him, so I am not too sure what the benefit from having a single Maaya man was but it’s a very small complaint and mainly about logistics rather than show quality. Especially as it certainly didn’t take away anything from the show having him there.

Nakamura Ataru – The singing Princess. Oh. My. Lord. Her voice was phenomenal, and she was gorgeous in every single outfit she was in, reaffirming to me that I am very pan (Not just attracted to the men in the play but also this gorgeous woman. I am not saying I am pan because she is trans). What was a surprise to me is that she was genuinely really funny. In the scenes where she was meant to be funny, I laughed a lot and she definitely has expert comedic timing.

The Tamanegi. I am going to separate a few of them who were reasonably important and group the rest in together.

So, the ones who did not play major roles in the show were: Emoto Koki, Ookubo Tatsuki, Sagawa Daiki and Hoshi Gouki. They were all very good, played their parts well and I don’t think they could have done better. It was very interesting to see Koki in a bdsm outfit but besides that there wasn’t anything super memorable about these actors’ parts.

Harashina Motohisa. Motohisa played the Black Tamanegi and served as somewhat of a leader for the Tamanegi in their scenes. Given that he was the only 2nd season Tenimyu actor in the cast and was the first name in the list of Tamanegi this was pretty much the role I expected him to play. He was very good, and his high voice was super adorable to hear after not hearing it much from his roles.

Okuda Yumeto. It was very surprising for me to see that Yumeto was the Tamanegi who travelled back into the past with Patalliro to see Bancoran’s past. Not only is he the youngest of the Tamanegi but he was also last on the list of Tamanegi names, I might be putting too much onto that list, but I did think it was gonna be kinda going from highest ranked to lowest and from most importance in the show to lowest. I was kinda right and wrong about that as the four most important were the two first names and two of the three last names. He did get to sing a little in the Bancoran and Damien jazz sex song, more on that later, and I thought what he did was good.

Nakata Ryouta. (Yes I am saving Tsukasa for last bc I love him). Out of the four he had the smallest role but still had a solo bit in their trio song (trio is the name for a song where 3 people harmonise and have solo bits if you didn’t know, bc lol I didn’t) and was somewhat important to Maraich. I thought he was very good despite it being his first stage show and he had a lovely voice. He and Tsukasa made such a cute couple.

Taguchi Tsukasa. Warning, he is my favourite actor, and I am extremely biased. He was the best actor in the show, no question.

Joking, he didn’t have too much to do so obviously he didn’t shine more than Dai-chan, Yuuya or Shouta for example. He had two scenes with Maraich and while he didn’t do much in the stage overall it was clear how much of an impact his character, Tamanegi no.35, made on Maraich. He confessed to Maraich his love for his fellow Tamanegi, no.19, and spoke of their love and how special they were to each other which was never ridiculed or made fun of but was an exceedingly human moment and as a lgbt person it really touched me. He saw the love Maraich had for Bancoran and he and 19 did everything they could to help him. Without them, Bancoran and maybe Maraich as well, would most likely be dead as they picked Maraich up and brought him to Bancoran as well as getting Plasma X’s armour to protect him. Maraich, so far in the stages, hasn’t really had a friend. He always has just had Patalliro, shown by Patalliro being called in the 2nd stage to help them with their argument despite Maraich not liking Patalliro that much and this Tamanegi offered help to Maraich without judgement, just empathy, and I thought that was really special. I know, due to the nature of this being based on a gag manga and knowing Patalliro, that in the next stage they will likely not get another scene together but I can hope as their second scene with 19, 35 and Maraich might be my favourite scene in all of Patalliro content.

I know Tsukasa is a massive Patalliro fan, in a live he said he went to the previous show between 4-6 times and I have rarely seen him smile as much as he did in the finale of this show. It obviously meant so much to him to be in a show he loved and I’m incredibly happy for him.

Singing/songs.

There were 9/11 songs in this show. (9 if you don’t count Cock robin and Foggy London Airport which Ataru only sang a little of on stage but is an album exclusive)

These were:

1. Wow Patalliro

2. I can’t see your

3. Maybe we could meet again? – Mata Aeru Kashira

4. Foggy London Airport

5. Sexy dudes!

6. To leak out – Moreru

7. Kiss me Bancoran

8. Cock Robin

9. Don’t overlook me – Misugosenai

10. My special person - Tokubetsu na hito

11. Forever Patalliro ~ Grand Finale

1. Wow Patalliro

This opening song was such a bop and I don’t think I will ever get it out of my head. It was very different to the previous first songs, much higher tempo and energy which I think was interesting as this show felt slower than the previous two shows which I thought was interesting. Shouta, Damien’s actor, was having so much fun dancing around in the bg and it was adorable.

2. I can’t see your

God Ataru’s voice. Her voice was gorgeous in this song. This was my favourite of the 3/4 songs she sang and this is from a person who doesn’t usually like ballads. The contrast between the fast pace of the first song and the slow pace of the 2nd song was so well done. And it was such a good song to have the cast list play during as kinda a more formal opening as the first scene doesn’t do much except to show that Bancoran is acting strange and so isn’t super related to the rest of the stage.

3. Maybe we could meet again? – Mata Aeru Kashira

I love the club singer vibe of this song and Maraich was so cute with Ban clapping along in the back. It was a nice soft scene before all the angst and trauma in the rest of the scene and it was really nice to see them on a date together.

4. Foggy London Airport

Don’t have many thoughts as I didn’t really hear much of this song, about 2 lines, but I’m sure it’s amazing if Ataru is singing it.

5. Sexy dudes!

I love all the Tamanegi songs so much and I rly liked how different this one sounded, much like all the songs in this show, I like how the Tamanegi are built up in this song to seem so good then they having the dumbest dance ever, it was amazing and the final day with all of them stripping killed me. Of laughter bc of Daiki wearing a shirt that made it seem like he had abs and of other things bc of Tsukasa stripping. (I think Daiki might not have been comfortable showing his fully chest so I’m glad they allowed him to just wear a pretend ab shirt)

6. To leak out – Moreru

I never imagined a sex scene in Patalliro would be shown by a woman dressed like a bush singing a jazz song as screens showed the characters sex faces as they were on a spinning bed or doing poses but here we are. The song itself was very good and I think it worked weirdly well representing what happened.

7. Kiss me Bancoran

God all the songs in this stage were just so good. Another absolute banger. Yuuya’s voice as Bancoran is divine and the choreography and everything work so well for this song. I also think he looks super pretty in his past Ban outfit and love that the song was done in that.

8. Cock Robin

Pretty much as normal. Maraich’s little leg lift is so cute

9. Don’t overlook me – Misugosenai

This was not what I expected from a Maraich solo in any way shape or form. But it works so well?? Maraich screaming into the mic as Bancoran plays the guitar and the Tamanegi do back up dance is just phenomenal, Dai’s voice works for the song so well and him pretending to be Damien and Bancoran and impersonating their voices as they had sex was hilarious, omg. This song was the song we didn’t want but we needed so much. By far and away my fav song in the show. I have listened to it so many times already and I am never gonna get bored of it.

10. My special person - Tokubetsu na hito

A trio song between Maraich, 19 and 35 about what you do when with the person you love the most and what you would do for the one you love the most, with the other Tamanegi as back up singers. Despite looking a bit silly with Koki in his bdsm gear in the bg, the emotion was there, and the three actors are such good singers. /not at all biased. Honestly, I died when I heard Tsukasa start to sing. I didn’t expect him to get a solo bit in this show and I was so happy that he did.

11. Forever Patalliro ~ Grand Finale

I rly like the new ending song. It’s upbeat and fast like the first song and has a different feel to the previous cast. I’m kinda glad that the final bit with the circle head things that look like the headframes from the manga was the only song they kept. They’re showing that they are moving on from the previous cast without erasing what they did.

Overall, I think this show has my favourite soundtrack. In the past two shows and the film there were a couple songs I didn’t love but in this one I loved all the songs!

Directing

Like I said before I think there were a lot of good calls in the direction. They had I think two or three references to Stardust, I think this was to partly reassure fans that they weren’t completely resetting the world and that this was a continuation and from what I remember maybe four or five recurring things.

1. Patalliro at the start being asked who he is, this definitely makes sense tho and I’m super glad they didn’t change it

2. Maraich’s legs shaking when Ban looked at him with his beam. I kinda liked though how they even changed the beam for Yuuya. Tsune’s was a contant beam whereas Yuuya’s beam is more short bursts. (in terms out sound and the projection of the beam light)

3. Patalliro recreating the most tragic scene from the play again at the end. I was a little unsure about them keeping this at first as it felt like a joke of the old cast but it was mainly something Kato Ryo did and he is still here to continue his joke so it makes sense to keep it. Also, in the finale he gave Damien. Maraich and Bancoran characters from tv to impersonate while doing their lines which made the scene very funny.

4. The final bit after the finale song with the head frames but I think it would be weird to remove this song in retrospect bc it is the song that mainly relates back to the manga. Also, they did change what the head boarders look like.

5. And obviously the two mangaka that are referenced in all the stages are still there bc that is something that came from the original. (Micchan sensei and the shojo mangaka one)

Except for that stuff, from what I can remember, mostly everything was new jokes which I rly liked. That they’re making new stuff for the new cast.

That’s it!

I still have so many other thoughts but the best thing I can say at this point is pls watch the stage! It is just as faithful as it was with the original cast and the quality has not dipped at all.

Thank you for reading my rly rambly thoughts and I’m sorry it trailed off at the end, it is quite late now.

I hope it inspired you to look into getting a DVD or CD or supporting the stage in some other way.

Have a good day/week/month/year/life!

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tommodirection · 4 years ago

Text

Miss You More

Louis Tomlinson x Singer! Reader

Masterlist

Word Coung: 2.5k

Warnings: swearing, death, cancer, mentions of death

Disclaimer: Miss You More is an actual song that I wrote, and it isn’t published or anything, but it’s one I wrote about the loss of my grandfather, and so I may link it here if I feel like it so you know what the song is and what it’s about, there are just a few words you’d have to change, but anyways!

A/N: Heylo! I’m going to be honest with you, this is not my favorite thing I’ve ever written, and it’s a little corny, and poorly worded, but eh. It’s one am, I’m going to sleep after this! Anyways, I hope y’all enjoy! Thank you, and have a nice day!

——————

Ever since you were a child, you knew you wanted to sing.

It all started with your mum. When you were little, she’d always sing to you, every night before you went to bed.

Soon enough, you began singing back to her, and she loved every second of it.

You sang together every chance you got, singing in the car, in the house, at parties, even when you walked the dog together through your neighborhood.

She had encouraged you to make a YouTube channel for your music, knowing you’d make it big. At first, you were hesitant, not confident enough to post your voice on the internet, but you finally agreed weeks later.

You mostly did covers at first. Of course, your 14-year-old self didn’t know what she was doing. All she knew was that she was doing something she loved.

About a year after making the channel, you began making custom content. You learned to play the guitar and you’d use it almost every second. You took it everywhere. Well, everywhere you knew you’d be able to show off.

The songs were mostly about crushes and school and friends, the main things circling around your life at the time.

But it all changed when you were sixteen.

It was no secret your mother had cancer. She had since you were little, yet she had kept fighting it, succeeding for a few years.

The doctors had said she was getting better, on her way to becoming cured, well, as cured as she could be.

But out of nowhere, it plunged. She was coughing up blood, and could barely stand, needing assistance to go the bathroom. It just kept getting worse.

One of the worst parts of losing your mum was the fact that it was the holiday season, ruining the time of year for your family for years to come.

You remembered her final day alive. She was laying in the hospital bed, lips chapped and all colored drained from her face. Her lips were bloodied as well, reminisce of the blood she had hacked up minutes ago.

Your father and siblings were there beside her. Your father held your little brother, he was four at the time, and your younger sister was standing next to you, she was twelve. Alex didn’t fully understand what was happening, he just knew his mum wasn’t well, and he mostly hid his face in your father’s shoulder.

Morgan, however, understood exactly what was happening, and she was crying beside you. She was trying her best to hold back, maintaining a straight stance and trying to hide her shaking hands. You watched as tears flooded down her face, making small wet patches on the sheets.

You looked at your mum, studying her. She had done so much for all of you, but there was nothing you could do for her as she layed in the bed, motionless, save for her eyes, darting between all of you.

You knew how much singing meant to your mother, and so you did the only thing you knew you could do. You sang.

Her favorite holiday song was Silver Bells, so you started the song, your family soon joining in. Your mother smiled gratefully at all of you.

She joined in towards the chorus, her voice still weak, but just as beautiful as when you first heard it.

Those were your last moments with your mother.

She passed away hours later, the anticipated news crushing your family.

You had all slept together that night, knowing you couldn’t be apart. Alex didn’t know what had happened, and you knew your father couldn’t handle it, so you had stepped in, trying to explain to the boy that his mum was gone, and she wasn’t coming back.

—

After she passed, you had stopped uploading to your channel, getting emotional every time you even tried singing.

But months later, you had decided not to give up. Instead, you chose to move forward. You started writing again.

The song you were writing was about your mother, it seemed fitting. You knew no amount of words could ever sum up your relationship with her, nor your grief, but you tried your best in the song.

You had spent a few months writing the song, not it a rush. You were pouring your heart into this song, and if it was rushed, you knew it’d have no meaning, just some words with a few riffs thrown in.

A few days after your seventeenth birthday, you uploaded the video onto your account, the first video uploaded since your mother had died.

After uploading it, you decided to turn your computer off for the night. You knew how obsessive you got with checking your feedback, you normally refreshed the page until your fingers were sore.

Instead, you walked into the kitchen, guitar forgotten. You hadn’t shared the song with your family yet, and you knew you needed to do acapella, it was much more fitting.

You were scared of how they were going to react, especially your dad and Morgan.

Immediately after finishing the song, Morgan tackled you in a hug, burying her head in your shoulder, “Thank you,” she mumbled and you pelt tears pricking your eyes.

Your dad stood, his hand over his mouth. Alex was sitting at the table, eating his cereal. You waited in silence for a few moments, waiting for your dad to say something, but nothing.

Alex interrupted the silence, “That’s the first time I’ve heard you sing in a while, sissy,” he said, a wide grin. You don’t know where your family would be without Alex. He knew exactly how to light up a whole room, he knew how to make people feel better.

“I know, bud,” you smiled and he gave you a toothy grin, turning back to his cereal.

You dad finally let out a small, choked sob, “I miss her so much,” he said, opening his arms. You quickly collapsed in them. He was the one you wanted approval from the most.

“I do too, Dad,” you whispered.

—

Years later, you found yourself at Triple Strings Record Label.

A man sat in front of you, shuffling through some papers at his desk. He sighed loudly, and shoved the papers aside, giving you his full attention, “So, miss L/N, we’ve heard some of your work, and were quiet big fans,” he said, folding his hands in front of him.

“Thank you,” you smiled nervously, and he glanced at the clock.

“Well, my name is Bryan, Bryan Detreon. I’m an agent here for all the upcoming stars in the music industry, although I can’t take credit for finding you, that goes to the creator of the label himself,” he chuckled and you froze.

“Wait, the owner as in, like, Louis Tomlinson?” You asked, suddenly sitting up in your chair.

Of course you knew who Louis Tomlinson was. You were a year younger than him, grew up with him on the screen and on the radio.

He let out a small laugh, “Yeah, as in Louis Tomlinson, he found you personally and requested you be brought in. He’s offering you a contract, I’ve emailed it to you, but I’d like to go over it now, just to point out some things! Now, he said to take as much time as you needed to decide. You can have a lawyer look over this if you’d like, and just back to us when you have an answer! Although, he’d probably prefer to have it before the beginning of his tour! Oh yeah! He wants you as his one opening act!” He finished, pushing a copy of the document towards you.

You took a second to process what he had said, and when you finally had. You nearly fell out of your chair. “He wants me to open for him?!”

“Yup,” he continued as if it were nothing. “Now, in the first section…” you tuned him out, you’d read it at home.

Louis fucking Tomlinson wanted you to open for him. How were you supposed to say no? Your dream come true, after years of posting on YouTube and going to school to study music, hoping someone would find you, and it had all led to this.

Twenty-six years of your life, all leading up to this moment.

“Any questions?” Bryan asked, locking eyes with your

You quickly shook your head, gathering your stuff and standing up. “Nope, thank you so much for this opportunity, I will definitely look it over and email you as soon as I know! Thank you!” You rambled, and ran out the door, trying to rush home.

“I got fucking signed!” You screamed into the empty household. You had your own place, but you felt the need to run to your family’s home to share the news.

Your dad walked in from the kitchen, Alex trailing behind him. Alex was fourteen now, which now meant he was starting to call horn father out on his bullshit, not that there was much.

“Welcome home to you too,” your Dad teased, and Alex looked up, his face instantly lighting up. He ran and wrapped his arms around you, he was beginning to tower over you.

“I missed you,” he grumbled, trying to hide his face.

You laughed and patted his back, “I missed you too bud.”

“What’s this about being signed?” Morgan strolled into the room, she was still living at home, finishing her last semester of university. She had grown into a beautiful woman, looking almost identical to your mother.

“Right! So, I got a call and email about an interview, and it said to meet at the Sony label here, and to go to the Triple String label office! I get there, and the guy tells me that they’re huge fans and want me to sign a contract with them! Turns out, LOUIS FUCKING TOMLINSON WANTS ME TO OPEN FOR HIM!” You screamed, not caring about the neighbors.

Morgan swooped you into a hug, you hated being the shortest. “Aw, my big sis is going to be a pop star!”

—

Months later, you stood backstage, picking at your sleeve. You glanced behind the curtain and saw hundreds of people standing and an endless chatter.

It was your first show of the tour, you had rehearsed hundreds of times, but that did nothing to settle your nerves.

Louis only had one opening act. You. You were all the crowd got before him, so you had to impress them.

You felt someone grab your waist from behind, as you nearly jumped out of your skin. You heard a small giggle in response, recognizing the voice.

You turned to playfully glare at Louis, your boyfriend of four months. You had bonded during rehearsals, and bonded over your similar life experiences, and soon enough, you had begun dating.

Only a handful of people knew, his family, and the crew on tour with you. You weren’t prepared to tell your family yet.

“What are you lookin at?” He asked, wrapping an arm around you. You rested your head on his chest.

“Just looking at the crowd, it’s huge,” you mumbled and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

“It’ll be alright, they’ll love you,” he assured, and you smiled at him, grateful for his company.

“Thank you Lou,” you went to give him a proper kiss, but you were interrupted by the stage manager, telling you it was time for you to get in your position.

You quickly waved Louis goodbye, and ran to your platform under the stage, the one that you’d be rising up on in seconds.

They gave you a countdown, and a crew member handed you a mic.

On one, they hauled you up, your hand already in their places.

You were met with a roar of cheers and applause as you surfaced, singing one of your most popular songs, ‘Don’t Start With Me Now,’ written about an old, toxic, best friend.

It was thrilling, hearing the people singing your lyrics back to you, you were shocked they knew them. Being on stage gave you adrenaline you’d never experienced before, and soon, all your nerves flooded away.

As you finished your song, you heard the crowd erupted into cheers, whistles being scattered throughout the crowd. Monologue time.

“Hey guys!” You greeted. “My name is Y/N L/N, and I have been chosen by the honorable host, Louis Tomlinson, to open the show up for you guys! I won’t be up here for long, just enough time to play a few more songs, but don’t worry, I’ll be back soon enough!” You hinted, the crowd screaming in response.

You played through all of the songs you’d written, well, except for one. You hadn’t played Miss You More yet, there was a surprise to come later on.

You gave a farewell to the audience, and stepped off stage, the hair and make-up people touching you up before you could even regain your footing.

Louis didn’t particularly like breaks, so the second you were off the platform, he was getting on.

You stood by, waiting for your cue.

The stage manager nodded, and you stepped onto the platform, your dress changed into a skirt and a nice blouse, courtesy of the costume department.

“Now, I have a special guest here to be with me on stage tonight. We both lost our mothers, when they were both remarkably young, and both to cancer. We’ve both written songs about it, and we thought we’d make a mash-up for you guys tonight!” He exclaimed, and the crowd's cheers nearly popped your ear.

Your platform began moving up, revealing you to the crowd. The cheers echoed through the stadium, and you smiled, waving at them, taking your place beside Louis.

You were counted in, and your mashup of Two of Us and Miss You More began. It was one of your favorite things you’d ever taken part in creating, having input from both you and Louis, not just some producers telling you what to do. This was all you.

The last chords of the song bellowed throughout the stadium. The audience’s cries and shouts of praise filled the room once again.

You looked over at Louis, who was busy admiring the crowd, his blue eyes lit up, a genuine smile on his face. It was at this moment that you realized something; you were in love with this man.

His eyes finally caught yours, and he gestured to the crowd, who was still burning as bright as before.

You smiled and whispered, “I love you.”

You knew Louis had gotten great and lip readings he had basically mastered it.

He quickly out his mic back on the stand and pulled you into a hug, leaning down to say something into your ear, just loud enough so you could hear, “I love you too.”

—

The next day, Louis was pulled into an interview before you headed to the next location. The questions were pretty simple ones, mostly openers for him to promote the movie, but there was one question at the end that made you both smile.

“What song did you fall in love to?”

You knew the answer.

A/N: Let me know if you wanna be added to my permanent taglist! Just send an ask or a message!

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#louis tomlinson fanfiction #louis tomilson #louis tomlinson x reader #louis tommo #louis tomlinson #two of us #fanfic #i’m bored #sorry for being depressing #one direction x reader #one direction

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