#european bus tours

[european-tour-operator]

Route: Hamburg - Ahrensburg Castle - Lubeck - Hamburg Duration: 7 h Firstly we will visit to the Ahrensburg Castle is a small Renaissance water castle, which today is a museum, with extensive furniture, porcelain and paintings. It was built around 1580 by Peter

https://www.itbc.travel/en/eshop/hamburg/tour-hamburg-ahrensburg-castle-lubeck

[officerdougeiffel]

Heyyy tell us how was käärijä

hi hello it was so insanely good. like my first proper concert experience in this stereotypical way of travelling and queueing and such but it was so so good

got first row centre it was such a wonderful view like genuinely mesmerising. it felt so surreal. but so wonderful. I have lots of footage I need to clean up but I can post some some day soon. picture for view reference

after the show I also got to meet haarija and jukka and later jere too and they were all so sweet and so lovely to talk to and just gave incredible hugs like jukka hugs I think are. the best thinf in this universe nothing beats that.

I also asked haarija and jukka to sign my mixtape too and jukka was so so surprised at it. "MY signature? really? okay! :D" like. he's so sweet. I have ewe a bracelet for him before he had come out so I hope he gets that too :D

I got pictures with haarija and jukka too but not with jere because he was super tired and we only caught him for a sec as they were leaving to the bus. but he was so lovely and sweet and chatty and said he loves that his shows bring joy and that its worth being exhausted for that. I hope he rests well when he can but god this man <3

[clovermoonspell]

Such a silly goose

[musicalislife]

Tour bus 🚌

Video from Bojan’s instagram story 2023.07.18.

[trainsinanime]

I wonder: Do Americans know about american school buses? Not their existence in general, but how they're seen overseas.

Over here, they're one of the symbols of America, on par with the Statue of Liberty, the flag, the Eagle, and well ahead of any chain restaurant you can name. People won't know any US states, but they will know these vehicles.

The thing is, here in Germany, we don't have dedicated school buses. The general idea is that kids go to school on their own. When that's not practical, they're expected to use (and given free tickets for) public transit. Public transit is designed around this requirement; there are many places where there is a bus, and anyone can get on it, but the route and timetable really only makes sense for school children. In case a dedicated school bus is really needed, that's generally subcontracted out, and the lines either use something like a Sprinter Van for smaller routes, or a normal city or interurban bus (often a used one that's a bit older). School trips are normal public transit, or a rented bus, typically a coach or regional bus.

It's not a perfect system, in the past couple of years there's been an epidemic of people bringing their kids to school in their cars instead of letting them walk, which is less than ideal. It is what it is. But building a dedicated network of public transit lines only for students, and building dedicated vehicles only for that, has never occurred to anyone here.

Of course we know about these buses, from movies and such, but they're as foreign here as cacti or pick-up trucks (actually we're seeing more and more of these here) or yellow cabs (all europeans will assume all cabs in the US are yellow until they actually visit).

You do see these buses here at times, because people still generally like the idea of the US, even if they have a lot of issues with a lot of details, and so folks bring them over, along with stretch limos and stuff (also not really a thing here). And of course, if someone goes to all that trouble, they don't do it to haul school kids, they rent it out for city tours or as a party bus or whatever.

So you see these yellow things as a symbol of faraway places, scenic vistas, some vague undefined idea of freedom that doesn't necessarily hold up to any contact with reality, and it's just a huge part of the whole US aesthetic.

And then you go to a student exchange with the US, and you finally get the chance: You yourself get to ride in one of these iconic chrome yellow buses! It looks just like in the movies! You get in, you drive in them a little…

…and you realise they're shit. Just the worst buses in the western world. Terrible suspension. Uncomfortable seats with weirdly high backs (so they don't have to put seatbelts in, they just restrict how far kids can fly in an accident). Everything made out of the cheapest materials. Turns out the reason why the US uses school buses like that instead of normal modern city buses, which the US has, is to save money and because they just hate kids.

And then it hits you why US Americans say "as American as apple pie", a dish that is made and enjoyed literally anywhere in the world, instead of "as American as yellow school buses". Of course the Americans already knew all this. They got tortured by these things forever. It would never occur to them to see this as a symbol of America, it's just a normal part of life for them. It's a symbol of school and school life and sometimes normalcy, and tells us that these actors getting out of it are supposed to be teenagers, nothing more.

But most people in Europe have, of course, never ridden on these buses. So when they see them in movies and TV, that's a giant big yellow signifier that we're not in Hessen or Wallonia or wherever anymore. A symbol of a different world, one that may be at most a once-in-a-lifetime-experience for most people, just like a picture of a tropical beach, Mayan Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, or Hildesheim (there's no reason to go there twice). And I think Americans don't know that, and that's fascinating.

[sso-maev]

PUTTING JORVIK ON THE MAP: SIZE AND LOCATION

WHERE IS JORVIK?

Finding Jorvik’s exact location is actually pretty easy.

”Jorvik, located somewhere between Norway, Iceland, and the British Isles, of which it was once part, is a nexus of worlds.” - Jorvik Calling, Prologue.

This is still a pretty large area, but one that’s significantly narrowed down by reading Four Stories from Jorvik. Anne’s segment Midnight Sun establishes that Jorvik is at the very least partly above the arctic circle, to the point where Anne can see it while riding by Jorvik Stables in the middle of the night. This also puts Jorvik pretty close to the tectonic rift between the European and American continental plates, which handily explains why Jorvik is a volcanic Island.

HOW BIG IS JORVIK?

Jorvik’s size requires a bit more speculation, and I’m relying on two book sources.

1: Jorvik stables is a bus trip from Jorvik city.

Anne lives in Jorvik City but goes to school with the other soul riders in Jarlaheim, and has her horse at Jorvik stables. We know that she goes there by bus, so the distance between Jarlaheim and Jorvik City shouldn’t be too large; I’m capping the max length of the bus ride to about an hour.

2: Valedale is less than a day’s ride from the wineyard.

In The Legend Awakens, Elizabeth and the soul riders are heading to Pi’s Swamp and sleep over at the Wineyard. The soul riders wake up late and leave after having eaten breakfast and lunch. The sun is ”at its highest point in the sky” when they leave, so probably around 1-2PM. It’s twilight when they arrive, and the Baroness comments that they showed up in time for the evening feeding of the horses. Since the days are shorter in late October/early November, which is when this chapter takes place, we can guess that they arrived at around 5-6 PM.

Mapping out the most likely routes for these two trips, the route to the Wineyard is about a third of the bus route from Jorvik City to Jarlaheim. Additionally, the bus would drive on average ~70 km/h because of Jorvik’s smaller roads. The average walking speed of a horse is 6 km/h.

Now, the Valedale-Wineyard trip could take anywhere between 3-5 hours, but I’m inclined to believe that it’s on the lower end of that scale to keep Anne’s commute as short as possible. That leaves us with a 18 km long ride, and a 54 km long bus tour that takes 46 minutes. Pretty reasonable!

RESULTS

With these new measurements, we can figure out the actual distance between different places on Jorvik. Most importantly, we can measure the absolute width from Jorviks westernmost to easternmost point: 92 km, or ~57 miles!

Having figured out an estimate of the island’s size and location, we can now put Jorvik on the map!

[realphan]

some highlights from the TIT european leg:

- the silence after the tour bus confirmation in antwerp

- antwerp having a banana in a dress instead of a doll for ariana grande

- schrodinger’s december anniversary

- discovery of the golden pig card

- one of the boxing gloves being stolen

- ‘eat my fucking cum’ 😳

- them taking a picture with the cardboard cutout of gerard way for ‘the thing on thing day’

- philslion denial

- dan pushing phil up the hill

- zoo date

[terribleinfluence-tour]

Let’s address the situation

Recently an anonymous reddit/twitter user has accused me of being a stalker of dan and phil because of the way this blog is run.

So, let’s talk about it.

Let’s start with the absolute facts: I have never posted anything to this blog that wasn’t public information.

1. I have never doxxed the location of the tour bus.

Things i have posted about the tour bus: a photo from a crew member where the bus company was visible, a story that Kelly posted that was location tagged to a road in the middle of nowhere showing that dan and phil weren’t in vegas on oct 19.

Reasons why I don’t believe this to be wrong: Any of you who have waited at stage door can see the company is written on the bus, it is not confidential information, knowing the bus companies name does not give you any personal information about dan and phil. As for the location tag, it was in the middle of nowhere, they were already in their next location when it was posted, I was not the first person to post this story, i only posted it cos It was already all over twitter. (however this is the only story i’ve posted that i will gladly take criticism for despite my justifications)

2. I have only posted stories from 2 crew members: Kelly and Sarah. These are public instagram accounts. I only post their stories that are related to the tour itself. I am not the only person and I was not the first person to post these stories anywhere. I have never posted anything from any crew who have private accounts because 1) i can’t see that content cos I obviously do not follow those accounts and 2) i don’t post private information, it’s private for a reason.

I did not seek out the crew accounts, i didn’t not look for them myself, i only knew what they were because multiple people had already been posting the stories from the accounts way before me on both twitter and tumblr. Both these people know phannies follow them on instagram, they’re not going to post anything with information they don’t want you to know.

Despite my justifications, from now on I will be cropping out the usernames of these crew members who do share stuff publicly and in captions i will only be referring to them as crew.

3. Audio Recordings.

First disclaimer: I have never encouraged video recording of the show! I think that it’s distracting to dan and phil and i really think you should be living in the moment when you see this show. There is a reason we have never posted videos of the show on this blog even in our spoiler tag. I believe audio recording to be more harmless because you can just put your phone out of the way and it’s distracting no one at all.

The concept of sharing audio recordings of the show were not my idea, this started on the european leg of the tour by people on twitter, If you look back at the recordings i have posted you’ll see that all the europe audios (apart from antwerp) do not link to our google drive. I did decide to carry this on during the American leg.

I have never forced anyone to do this, I have only approached 1 person directly to see if they could record. The rest were all volunteers who saw my posts asking if anyone would do it and they all came to me on their own accord.

I very much understand the criticism on audio recording shows, however I want to look at this from not only a preservation effort but also as a way to make this show accessible to people who might for whatever reason not be able to attend as well as it being a way for you to go and listen to the show you attend again if you wanted to.

This being said I am no longer going to ask for specific shows and instead say that if you just happen to audio record a show and would be willing to let me post it then you can message me (@danrifics ) and i will post it. (this goes for the australian leg and the UK leg too) I will also at the end of the tour make a post with what’s missing and we’ll see if anyone recorded or not.

Finally I want to thank everyone for their continued support of the blog and its archiving efforts and I hope you all stick with me while we change things a little bit and I look forward to continuing to share content with you all and I can’t wait to reveal a few blog pages we’ve been working on!

- Bethanie

[swearphil]

THE PAIRING BY CASEY MCQUISTON ▶ AUGUST 6, 2024

Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, lovers, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on a flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other's lives... All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened. Four years later, it seems like a great idea to finally take the trip. Solo. Separately. It's not until Theo and Kit board the tour bus that they discover they've both accidentally had the exact same idea, and now they're trapped with each other for three weeks. It's fine. There's nothing left between them. So, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is game. And why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition? But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can't have. ☆☆

[skellyflowers]

Tour Bus Cuddles

Masterlist

Phantom x reader 

The European leg of the tour has been going fantastic so far. I was excited to be on the road and get the opportunity to travel around. However no one mentioned how hard being a Tour Manager Assistant would be! 

When Phantom dragged me into Brother Kevin’s office to nominate me as the new assistant I thought he was being a clingy boyfriend. He told me that he would miss me. I would miss him too. I was going to work on a schedule for us to still be able to still talk while he was gone. I wasn't expecting this. When Phantom first mentioned Kevin needing an assistant it was during our pillow talk so I didn’t take him too seriously.

I was surprised that Kevin made me his new tour assistant, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was because of how hard headed Phantom is. Kevin has me in charge of checking in the band at any hotel we stay at, ensuring the Green room has what the ghouls need and running last minute errands. 

However this show is in the biggest arena so far. So I have to cover way more ground than before helping the ghouls and completing my pre-show checklist. And to make things more complex two of the main stage speakers have been damaged. Lucky us the crew as backup speakers, they are not as loud but they are just as good. Unfortunately for me that means I need to help load the new speakers off the crew truck and bring them half a mile from the parking lot to the arena. 

When it is time for a sound check I can’t feel my arms and can barely pay attention to what the merch team is telling me. It doesn’t help that Phantom likes to keep me up after shows and work out his leftover adrenaline. I love him and we always have a great time together but it is going to be hard to do my job if I can’t feel both my arms and legs.

I’m in the Green room sitting on the couch when the ghouls come back after they finish the sound check. Phantom closes in on me and sits in my lap like a little cat. He starts to purr like one too. I smile at his actions and start to scratch at one of his horns, he starts to purr even louder.

“I missed you babe.” Phantom says.

“It’s only been 30 minutes, Bat.”

“30 minutes too long.” he pouts, cuddling into my neck.

“GET THAT CUTE SHIT OUT OF HERE!” Dew yells, startling me.

“Shut up, like you aren't going to come to me and beg for attention.” Rain says, rolling his eyes.

Phantom doesn’t get off my lap until it is time for the ghouls to get on stage and Mountain picks him up. We hold hands and walk from the Green Room to backstage and give a kiss before he gets on stage to the screaming crowd.

The show is amazing, just as all the others have been. When the final bow is taken and Papa has said the last goodnight I help the crew take down the stage and pack up so we can get on the road as soon as we can. The process is smooth and we are able to pack up the crew bus in under an hour. A new personal record.

When I get on the ghouls’ bus I am exhausted. I am happy to be the first on the bus tonight. Papa could herd the ghouls perfectly without my help but I felt a little guilty about texting him that I went straight to the bus and crawled into the first unclaimed bunk I found. Ghoul shepherding is part of my job.

I started to fall asleep when I heard the bus door open and close. I hear footsteps shuffle around until they stop in front of the bunk row I am in. I also hear sniffing? The curtain separating me from the mystery ghoul in the bus slowly opens. I’m surprised that I see Phantom, eyes bright and tail wagging.

“This spot taken?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

I let out a quiet giggle and scoot back as much as I can. Phantom gets a big smile on his face and crawls in next to me. He turns my body so he can be the big spoon, his second favorite cuddling position. If it was always up to him I would be laying on top of him at all times. I find his hand and lace our fingers together and he starts purring against my back and plants a kiss on my neck.

“Did you have fun at the concert?” I ask.

“It was fun, Swiss fell off his stage. But I missed you.”

“Maybe if you teach me to play the guitar Papa will add me to the band.” I said as a joke.

“That’s a great idea. We can start tomorrow.”

“You are so silly, Bat.”

“It is a good idea. We could spend more time together.”

“You never leave me alone. You're the reason I got this job.”

“And I will never give you a moment's peace.” He says, giving me a squeeze.

“We can talk about it in the morning.” I say, with a yawn. “Love you Phantom.”

“I love you too, My Angel.” kissing the back of my head.

I let his purring lull me to sleep as the other ghouls get on the bus and settle in for the overnight drive to the next sold out area.

[european-tour-operator]

Route: Zurich - Kyburg Castle - Winterthur - Stein-am-Rhein - St. Gallen - Zurich Duration: 11 h Our firs stop will be at Kyburg which is one of the best know castles in the region and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Kyburg is more like a village and there are a number of

[prettyoddfever]

an overview of the Panic guys' personal style in the pre-split years

I realized that if you're looking at a bunch of pre-split pictures jumbled together today then you might miss out on noticing some of the changes that we saw happen over time back then. So here's an overview...

2005

In the early Fever era the guys all dressed up onstage and then wore casual clothes offstage when they could. They talked a lot about how they were putting on a show. There were many factors determining whether it was practical for them to change out of their outfits after a show in this season since they were an opening band in a van, but the point remains that their onstage style was different from their normal personal style:

It's worth noting that from the beginning Ryan was the most likely to incorporate pieces of his onstage wardrobe into his street wardrobe (like his pinstripe pants). Ryan & Brendon both wore their stage clothes to greet fans sometimes, but Ryan was a bit more likely to keep his dress clothes on before/after a show.

EARLY 2006

The same idea continued. Ryan wore a lot of waistcoats & sleeve garters and also talked about his interest in old-fashioned costumes from period movies.

SPRING HEADLINING TOUR:

SUMMER 2006

This separation between their street & stage clothes only grew stronger for the band's first national headlining tour. They started wearing stage makeup and had actual coordinating custom costumes complete with an outfit change during intermission. Once they were offstage, they went right back to their normal style (when possible). Ryan usually tried to wipe off the main concept of his makeup before greeting fans on his way to the bus, and Brendon would perform in his street clothes with the opening bands while he was out of character. They were performers putting on a show and there was a clear separation:

Ryan told Kerrang in summer 2006:

“I’m kind of an introverted person. I keep to myself a lot. It’s part of the reason I dress how I dress onstage. I’ll wear makeup to put on a costume so I feel like I’m not so much myself as I am a storyteller or an actor. It definitely helps my confidence.”

Side note: Jon was pretty much the same guy the whole way through. He was willing to wear something nicer onstage for the sake of the band’s image in 2006, but various comments he made sounded like his goals for a stage outfit were just to be as comfortable as possible and still feel like himself. He often chose to wear his own plain blue or black dress shirts even though he did have ornate custom shirts made for him with the rest of the band's summer costumes. Jon also did not appreciate makeup lol. So whatever he wore onstage in the last half of the Fever era after joining the band is mostly a reflection of him being a great team player.

AUGUST 2006

The theme of their stage outfits changed for the European shows in August 2006, but the same idea continued where the band wore their different real-life styles offstage. Notice how Ryan wore his grey blazer onstage at Leeds:

The band had some time off in September 2006. Ryan told MTV that “We’ve all been a bit more creative lately. I know as far as I’m concerned, I’m getting really excited about writing, and I’m taking guitar and vocal lessons. We’re all just doing our homework for this. We’re going to keep writing on the road... I’ve been studying people — a homeless guy in Scotland, a blind accordion player in London — and they’ve inspired the lyrics I’ve been writing. And so in that regard, I guess you could say it’s going to be a bit of a concept record, because it’s based on an idea. It’s taking place in a mixed reality, in a place that’s not real... It’s going to be more of a modern fairy tale.”

In fall 2006 Ryan was mentally shifting towards the next album.

EARLY OCTOBER IN AUSTRALIA

The band resumed touring in October in Australia, where Ryan lost the rose vest and had to face a sudden change in his stage outfits. Here's a general overview of the onstage/offstage clothes:

OCTOBER IN EUROPE

Ryan had bought a jacket in Australia... notice how he started to increasingly merge his onstage & offstage clothes this fall:

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2006

Ryan's offstage style during the NRWC tour had a common vibe going on, regardless of whether or not the band had dressed for promotional appearances earlier in the day. Brendon, Spencer, and Jon still favored their usual casual vibe when they could get away with it.

Ryan's NRWC costume was the closest to his personal style (he'd take off the jacket towards the middle of the show for his costume change but the jacket was definitely there onstage). The last part of 2006 felt like Ryan was starting to want something different from being in a band, or at least no longer needed an actual costume while performing. (I know this fall was a tough season for Ryan, but the point is that maybe he didn’t need to rely on elaborate makeup & costumes or hide behind those in the same way that he used to). His makeup designs in October were sometimes pretty simple. Then his makeup during the NRWC tour still involved some very cool designs, but others weren't as dramatic as the summer tour or August. Meanwhile, Spencer had started doing his own makeup regularly in October and Brendon really stepped it up for the NRWC season too. Basically, it was noticeable in late 2006 that Brendon and Spencer seemed to still want a clear divide between their stage outfits/personas versus their real-life casual selves, while Ryan was blurring the lines.

THE FIRST HALF-ish OF 2007

The guys were still figuring out what direction they wanted to go in with their music during the first half of 2007.

Brendon wore his casual tshirts & jeans offstage and then gravitated towards a white shirt with a jacket and/or black tie when he was onstage (with the exception of the casual acoustic performance with Mark Hoppus).

Ryan carried over some elements from the Fever era to the band's first show of 2007:

He wore a few tshirts and random pieces in early 2007 offstage. But he really gravitated towards his black vest with a white shirt:

The point is that Ryan seemed to prefer to wear the same style clothing both onstage and offstage.

Spencer and Jon wore their casual stuff offstage and then wore button-down shirts when they were doing a show:

AUGUST – SEPTEMBER 2007

We'd noticed that once Ryan found a new direction, he threw himself into it 100% and didn't look back.

It was clear to me that the band had found their new direction for the second album when I saw Ryan's clearly-defined style start around August. His hair was no longer straight. He still used his black vest at first, but this whole vibe was so different:

And again, Ryan dressed in a similar style both onstage & offstage. His style at the gifting suites at the VMAs in Vegas + the VMA rehearsal was more casual, though:

Meanwhile, Brendon wore these 4 button-down shirts onstage & for some band-related stuff:

and then returned to his normal casual style offstage when he was able:

Nothing really changed for Jon, except he got a bit more casual even onstage & on some red carpets. Spencer still had his black shirt:

LATE 2007 + EARLY JANUARY 2008

Again, Ryan continued his new style while working on Pretty. Odd. in the studio. The other guys dressed more casually... and Spencer now had a bonus black shirt. Brendon's red button-down was worn for a couple performances.

Side tangent... so the first 4 images in the next set are from heavily styled photoshoots. I thought it was interesting how the outfits that Brendon, Jon, and Spencer were wearing felt like costumes; they wouldn't wear that casually irl. However, Ryan did. He fully adopted the style of this era and lived it offstage too.

LATE JANUARY & FEBRUARY:

THE EUROPEAN TOUR:

Ryan and his British-rocker retro haircut continued their love of vests & scarves.

SPRING IN NORTH AMERICA

Brendon wore some blazers & flip flops offstage while Spencer dove into the vibe of the era. Jon was stilly comfy and barefoot onstage.

Ryan wore flip-flops or t-shirts occasionally, but his style this season was pretty consistent overall and relatively the same both onstage & offstage. He added more color & florals this season.

LATE JUNE THROUGH MID-AUGUST:

Spencer wore his same general outfit onstage, but returned more to his casual t-shirts offstage. Brendon continued to wear tshirts offstage and the same few button-downs onstage. Ryan's faux-British-rocker accent peaked this season while they were in Europe. He also seemed to be in a period of change with his offstage style.

LATE AUGUST IN AUSTRALIA

This was the point where I knew Ryan had found a solid direction for the next album (and in hindsight we know that several songs that would end up on TYV's album were already in progress). Ryan was veering away from the visually chaotic & colorful scarf/vest scene of the Pretty. Odd. era and heading towards a more structured retro suit vibe. Ryan was asked at this point if he felt like Panic was paving their own way and he replied "We're trying. I don't think we've started it really yet."

Meanwhile, Brendon & Spencer stuck to the same general outfits onstage as a sort of uniform. The outfit that Brendon wore onstage was very different from his irl style... he still seemed like he was a performer getting into a role. (Keep in mind that the band sometimes wore their stage clothes to meet & greets, so those shots aren't always a reflection of Spencer's offstage style).

SEPTEMBER – MID NOVEMBER:

the same idea continued...

AFTER THE PRETTY. ODD. ERA (LATE 2008 – SPRING 2009):

Ryan literally wore a suit on the airplane to South Africa and that is the best way I can summarize his commitment to that look lol.

Jon, Brendon, and Spencer still had the same general style...

Basically, Ryan went through phases that tied into what he wanted out of a band. In 2003-2004 he was an emo kid with gauges who loved Fall Out Boy and had worked at Hot Topic, but by 2005 that pop-punk phase was everything he looked down on and wanted to get away from. In the last half of 2006 he was super into stage makeup & elaborate theatrical shows, but by 2007 that was everything he looked down on and wanted to get away from. He threw himself fully into whatever phase he was going through, but he also had the ability to drop that and move onto investing himself just as strongly in his next phase.

There's more in this post that's related.

[flowery-mess]

Being on tour with Noah:

Since you're a european girl yourself you would love to join the band for european leg of the tour

And mostly you would love to show them around your country and city

Take them to your favorite places, university you attended, buildings where you lived before you moved to the states

Hating on the bus bunks so much, first you can't sleep with Noah and second you hate the small space

When they have to stay at the venue you would just wander around the city, exploring new places and then show Noah pictures you took and show tell him about the city they perfomed in, cause they don't have much time to be tourists

He would find it cute that your european side comes up so much, he has love-hate relationship with your 'see how this is better than in america' because you do that every occasion you have

Like with the food quality, transport, nature etc.

He LOVES hearing you talk in your native language, he doesn't understand shit you say, but he's amazed by how it sounds and how passionate you look when you talk and would ask you to repeat words that he finds funny (cause let's be honest, some languages are funny)

You would get backstage passes for your friends at your home country show, so you could see them and enjoy the show together

You keep your relationship private, so you can watch the shows from crowd if you are in the mood

If you're in the crowd Noah makes sure Ash has his eyes on you for your safety and he himself looks at you once in a while. Not just for checking up on you, but because he loves to see you enjoy their music

Or you can hang out with Matt, learning bits of his work every show

Actually when you're bored you go around asking people if they need help, even if it's folding merch or taping the cables on stage to the floor

At the end of the tour he says you two should have your own europe tour and visit the countries again together so you could show him the places he saw on your pictures

[thatchickwiththecamera]

What Do You Want From Me?

Synopsis: The European leg of the Concrete Forever tour marks one year since Tyler Garrett joined the Bad Omens media team. A lot can change over the course of a year. New experiences, new friendships, and new discoveries emerge.

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x OC

Cross-posted on AO3 (thatchickwiththecamera)

MASTERLIST

Based on an idea I got from seeing this video.

Tag List: @sundamariis, @fastjelly-fish, @lilylovesdew, @narcissisticbehavior81

Tonight was night five of the European leg of the 2024 Concrete Forever tour and the end of January had marked one year since I had first joined the Bad Omens media crew. With the band's increase in popularity Bryan, the band's photographer and media director, decided it was time to expand the team going into Shiprocked so he could focus more carefully on planning and curating the media content produced and published for the band. 

So Bryan reached out to a friend in the music industry and asked if they knew of any photographers/videographers with a solid portfolio who were looking for a more permanent media production gig. That friend connected him to me and as they say, the rest is history. 

“Tyler! Did you finish up the edits for tonight's social post?” Bryan’s voice carried from the front of the crew bus to the back lounge where I sat backing up files to my external harddrive. 

“Yeah! They’re already in the dropbox!” I responded before ejecting my drive from my macbook and throwing them both back onto my bunk. 

I clipped my crew credentials with “CONCRETE FOREVER TOUR” and “TYLER GARRETT - MEDIA CREW” printed across the top and bottom through the belt loop of my jeans and slipped on my crew sweatshirt before walking toward the front of the bus. Bryan and Alana were standing over the main table and counter area double checking the batteries and the assortment of cameras we would be mounting in various parts of the stage for tonight's show along with our individual gear that would be on our person and laid out backstage for us to use throughout the show. 

The air once we stepped into the venue was buzzing with energy. I don’t know what it was about this leg of the tour, but it was like a switch was flipped. Ever since the first date in January opening for Bring Me The Horizon back in Cardiff there was this high that enveloped the entire group and it looked like no one would be coming down anytime soon. 

This energy was especially present in the band's lead singer, Noah. The usually stoic and serious persona he portrayed on stage was now replaced with one that roamed around the various levels of the stage doing jumping jacks, pushups, dances, and little vocal trills. 

After the first two shows, his antics even caused Poppy, our opener for this part of the tour, to completely abandon portraying her A.I. character like was originally planned for their performances of V.A.N.  Instead, she joined in Noah’s antics and even introduced the world to this little handshake that they had originally created during rehearsals leading up to the tour. 

Life in between gigs had been lively as well since the start of the new year. After each show when everything was packed up and the load outs were completed, the band and crew for both Bad Omens and BMTH would venture to one of the local pubs and celebrate with a few beers and carbonated beverages before loading up on the buses and venturing off to the next city. 

Until joining the Bad Omens crew, I would usually keep to myself in between shows while touring - choosing to prioritize edits, catalog files, and update my individual socials when not trying to finish a book on my Kindle or finish a show on a random streaming service. 

The first few months of touring after Shiprocked changed all of that and a few of the crew and band made it their mission to pull me out of the confines of my comfort zone and my regular routine. Over the course of the past year, Bryan has pushed me to learn and develop my photo and video skills far past where I ever thought they would go. Matt started teaching me front of the house controls, he now hounds me with daily racoon memes, and I in turn buy him random Dr. Pepper merch. Steven taught me all about the finer side of wristwatches, NBA basketball, and the intricacies of running merch. Alana quickly became one of my best friends and has balanced her assistant tour manager duties well alongside keeping me sane as the only other female member of the media team and crew. 

Folio decided that I absolutely had to learn how to fish when one of our venues had a lake nearby, even making me kiss the smallmouth bass that I caught before he threw it back in citing that it was tradition with your first fish. He also dared me to smoke my first joint, which caused me to hack up a lung because I somehow inhaled wrong. Nicholas helped me design a few tattoo ideas before inking my forearm and starting what will eventually become a full sleeve up my right arm. Jolly taught me a bunch of guitar riffs and how to cuss in Swedish (which I do entirely too often now), and Noah surprised me with the hidden talent of being a pool shark and we ended up becoming quick friends to the point where he is now my partner in crime hustling people out of their money when the crew goes out to bars. I also learned that while he hates it when people try to scare and prank him, he loves to scare and prank others. 

Which is why, as expected, throughout three out of the first four shows of the European leg, Noah made it his mission to try and scare me at least once per show mainly during the song transitions when I would try to quickly get from one side of the stage to the next during the blackouts. In Berlin, it was during the transition after “Nowhere to Go” when I was coming down from the second level of the stage after retrieving the camera that was filming Folio play. Luckily I had handed the camera and its tripod down to Alana behind the platform before descending the steps in time for Noah to jump out at the bottom already wearing his ski mask for V.A.N. 

I jumped, skipping a step on the way down, and felt a set of arms grab me and hold me back up before I could fall too far forward. I remember yelling ‘fucking hell’ in swedish and looking up to see Noah with a shit eating grin peaking through the mask and hearing Jolly laugh at my use of the words. I grabbed his mask and yanked on it so it was crooked on his face before I ran behind the platform to the other side of the stage where I had left my camera gear. I heard him let out a laugh and a few cuss words of his own as he struggled to fix the mask and climb the steps up to his spot on the platform before Poppy started singing. 

Night one in Cologne, I was mainly in the photo pit for the majority of the show, while Bryan and Alana were the ones roaming the stage. I kept a gear bag tucked behind one of the few big boxes we had on either side of the stage. In it, I had my spare batteries, my water bottle, and the 360 camera on an extension pole. The plan for this show was to focus on crowd shots and footage along with regular low-angle stage shots. While I got amazing shots of the guys performing and some hilarious shots of a fan crowd surfing in an inflatable shark suit. Noah lost any possible opportunity offered for pranking during the show. 

On night two in Cologne, he made up for the missed opportunity. During the transition between “Artifical Suicide” and “Like A Villan,” I quickly ran to the media team roadcase set up behind the guitar stage case and tech area to get a quick drink of water and change out a lens. As I was kneeling down in front of the case and had just finished switching the lenses, I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders. Luckily all the equipment was out of my hands because the sudden motion made me jump and fall back on my heels, causing me to bump into something, well someone, behind me. I let out a string of curse words, this time in English, and tilted my head back to see Noah, now without his mask, trying to hold back a laugh as he smiled down at me. I let out an annoyed sign and rolled my eyes. He gave my shoulder a squeeze before disappearing back out onto the stage right as the song began. 

In Munich, he chose the “Miracle” break as his time to strike. Only this time he stepped up his game. While I was switching out gear and changing my settings from photo to video, I set everything on a storage case under the second level platform and stood up to stretch a bit since this break was the more lengthy of the two. After I finished trying rid my shoulders of the tension that had built up from holding a camera in front of my face for a hour, I felt an arm wrap across the front of my collarbones and pulled me back into them while the person's other hand took one of the band's athletic water bottles and sprayed it down the rear collar of my crew hoodie. I squirmed and let out a loud gasp as the shock of the icey cold water briefly hit the back of my neck before I managed to wriggle away. I turned and as expected was greeted by a sweaty Noah smiling down at me trying to hold back laughter. 

“You little shit!” I shouted before quickly grabbing the water bottle from his hand and pointed it at him spraying him with the same icy cold water. 

He started swatting at the spray, laughing as his long thin fingers did nothing to block the liquid. He reached out and grabbed my wrist and I quickly tried to switch the bottle to my other hand but he was too quick, capturing that wrist as well before I could aim the bottle at his face again. I laughed and tried to pull away but he pulled me toward him and pinned my wrists against his chest trying to render the “weapon” he introduced inoperable. 

The laughter between us suddenly died off. The height difference between my 5’1” and his 6’3'' became very clear and his chin practically touched his chest as he gazed down at me. We stood there for what felt like an eternity, brown eyes connected with blue. He loosened his grip on my wrists slightly but neither of us made any attempt to move.  

The arena suddenly felt very warm and I don’t think I could blame it on the array pyrotechnics used during the show. I don’t know what to call this sudden shift in the air between us, but all I know is it caused something to flutter in my stomach and that scared the hell out of me. So I did the first thing I could think of, I diffused an intense moment with humor. I squeezed the water bottle that was still in my hand and the last remnants of water from the bottle hit Noah’s chin and neck. The shock of the cold liquid caused him to step back and release my wrists. I immediately missed the contact, but I needed to get away from this situation. 

“Shit that really is cold!” He laughed, turning to grab one of the black towels we had on hand backstage and started to dry off the water. 

When he turned to offer me the towel I had already retrieved my camera and fled to the other side of the stage wondering what the fuck had just happened. 

During the day off between Munich and Zurich, I kept myself busy editing, organizing, and uploading photo content to the media team drive and to my own socials. I had gained a considerable amount of followers since joining the Bad Omens team and while I enjoyed seeing the reaction and appreciation the guys' fans had when I posted new content, I was also starting to see some of the reasons why the guys like to take social media breaks as often as they do. 

Editing was one of my favorite parts of being a photographer and with us starting this European leg off with four back-to-back shows, I hadn’t had time to pause and really work my magic. So that is what I designated as my mission for this day off. I also may have used it as an excuse to avoid leaving the crew bus and chance any more contact with Noah. I was still trying to figure out if that flutter in my stomach was real or if it was just part of the adrenaline from a high energy concert and my body being attacked with ice cold water. 

Tonight, we were in Zurich and I was running around the stage at various times throughout the set while Bryan was down in the photo pit trying out some new ideas he had photos wise and finally having his turn with the 360 camera during a show.

During “What do you want from me?” I was standing in the wings to stage left filming Noah when he suddenly walked over to me in the middle of the second verse, grabbed my left wrist from where it held the side of my camera and pulled me out onto the stage. I keep filming as he releases my wrist and quickly slips his hand in mine while he continues to walk backward onto the stage. Once we were in the middle of the stage he started to spin in a circle with our connected hands extended in the middle. We spun around a few times before he started to jump while we were spinning causing his hair to bounce up and down on his head which I shakily captured on camera. The randomness of it all led to fits of laughter and caused Noah to mess up the last two lines of the verse. 

As the verse came to an end I expected him to let go and yell, “JUMP JUMP” like he usually does during the brief blackout. Instead, as the light goes out, I am yanked forward and feel a hand and the cool metal of a microphone against the side of my face, and a set of lips briefly collide with mine. I barely had time to process what happened before it ended, the lips were gone, the lights came back up, and Noah jumped onto the riser at the front of the stage to sing the rest of the song. I still held my camera up and panned to follow him trying to hide any reaction my face might show behind a veil of concentration. 

For the remainder of the show, I tried to avoid making any and all eye contact with Noah, who in turn tried his damndest to get me to look at him and gauge my reaction to what he did. He did it in a way that wasn’t too noticeable to the crowd by acting like he's playing up to the camera. My brain tried to process what had happened and what the hell it possibly meant over the course of the remaining ten songs in the set. 

Noah kissed me. 

On stage. 

In the middle of a show. 

Did one of the guys see? 

Oh Shit! Did anyone in the audience see?

The usual jump scare from the previous shows never came and my self-sabotaging brain was trying to solve the question of what everything meant. Kissing me to see my reaction instead of scaring me like usual? Was this real or was it just another prank?

__

Author’s Note: Let me know what y’all think!

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG SUB] Jan and Nace at Hitradio Center, 23.07.2024

Photo source: Hitradio Center FB

Jan and Nace were guests at Hitradio Center in the morning on Tuesday, the 23rd of July 2024. They talked to Vesna Ponorac and Melani Mekicar about, among other things, 'Šta bih ja' and what to expect from the new album, who snores on the tour bus, and what they like best about each other.

Translation and captions by a member of Joker Out subs, English proofreading by IG GBoleyn123, video graphics by X pastellibianchi.

Full translated transcript under the cut!

Melani: Good morning from (Radio) Center, it's 7:36 AM and Vesna Ponorac and Melani Mekicar are keeping you company, and now, we've been announcing and waiting for them for two days,and we listen to them every day anyway, and we're always happy to see them. With us in Center's studio are Joker Out, or, well, two fifths of them. Nace and Jan, welcome!

Vesna: Good morning.

Jan: Greetings.

Melani: Good morning. I know that... well, thank you for taking the time, I know you've been "on the go" recently, literally. Where were you over the weekend? Most recently, or...

Nace: Go ahead, Jan.

Jan: Oh, thank you. Most recently, we were in Germany, at the Deichbrand Festival.

Melani: Was it good?

Jan: It was good. The only bad thing was that it took us 12 hours on the plane...

Melani: Oh, great.

Vesna: A ride.

Jan: In each direction.

Vesna: Yes, this European tour of yours is pretty varied. How many cities have you already done and how many are still ahead of you?

Melani: Is anyone keeping count?

Nace: Oh, you keep count. I know that we've done most European countries.

Melani: Okay.

Nace: Or, we will, what we haven't done yet, we will.

Melani: You will.

Vesna: Such sweet problems.

Melani: Yes, nice.

Vesna: How many cities you've already done, the best. Are you tired at all? What does it look like? Jan, you are now...

Nace: Do we look tired?

Vesna: Ah, Nace. Right, you're approaching the threshold of a new decade.

Melani: You've actually crossed it already, the first one.

Vesna: Ah, you already did. Oh, okay, I didn't know yet, okay, sorry.

Nace: No, I did.

Vesna: Well, but after sleeping in the tour busand on planes, does your back hurt already? Your lower back? Any issues yet?

Nace: Sleeping on the tour bus is betterthan sleeping at home.

Melani & Vesna: Really?

Vesna: Do you have a waterbed in there?

Nace: No, I don't know what happens, but when... Like, when you're tired after a gig and lie down in your bunk and the bus starts to move...

Melani: And you're there... A baby in a stroller.

Nace: As if someone were rocking you. Noise cancelling earphones, we've already learned that. And then you just fall asleep. We've also got used to it on planes, to... Earphones and that thing for the eyes...

Melani: I was just going to ask who snores the most on the tour bus.

Nace: No one.

Melani: No one? Or do you just not hear it because you have earphones?

Nace: I mean, no one from the band. Well, that too.

Melani: No one from the band.

Nace: No one from the band, but... Usually it's so that the band is on one side of the bus, and the crew is like... It just happens to be that way.

Melani: Fair, fair. Well, enough about tiredness, no rest for the brave, or however you say, you're here to tell us a little more about your new single 'Šta bih ja'.

Vesna: An awesome song.

Melani: Do tell us,you're leaning towards the microphone.

Nace: We have to speak close to the microphone.

Vesna: That's true.

Melani: Well, Bojan, the songwriter, is not here right now, for us to ask him who he can't do without in a black night, but okay. Tell us when this song was made, because people have been singing it for a while at gigs, right, but you only released it just over ten days ago.

Jan: Yes, um... That was actually the first song that we started working on in London, where we went in January. We went to London, among other things, with the intention to have maybe a more... cosmopolitan sound and... to perhaps get new experiences, and the first song that was made turned out to be the most nostalgically Balkan.

Melani: That's right.

Jan: So yeah, you have to go somewhere to start being aware of...

Melani: Your roots.

Jan: Exactly.

Melani: Nice, nice.

Vesna: The song is very ex-Yugo, just like you were in Sarajevo, maybe... looking for inspiration. But can we then expect more like that on the new album, any similar songs, or...?

Melani: Which languages are waiting for us and so on?

Nace: I mean, the album definitely has a common thread, and there will be at least three languages.

Melani: At least three, okay.

Nace: I mean, there will be three.

Melani: Okay, nice. And speaking of the new album, come on, we want to know all the details. When will we hear it, where will we hear it live, we already said three languages, spill the tea, everything you can.

Jan: You know what, I'd like to know that too.

Melani: Really? Who does know?

Jan: Honestly, no one really does right now, but in October, it'll be out in October. I can say that.

Melani & Vesna: Okay.

Melani: Okay, nice.

Vesna: Well, we will be back, because...

Jan: Or, in September.

Vesna: In September? Okay, that's very soon. Anyway, we'll be back exactly two hits later, because there were a lot of questions submitted for you.

Melani: On our Instagram, yup.

Vesna: Exactly. And we got calls as well, so we're looking forward to it, stay with us, it'll be a good time.

(music break)

Vesna: 'The Sound of Silence', good morning, you're at (Radio) Center.

Melani: Morning!

Vesna: We are Melani Mekicar and Vesna Ponorac here with you, and Jan and Nace from Joker Out are here as well. Good morning!

Melani: Morning.

Jan & Nace: Good morning.

Vesna: Well, we already spoke about the tour and the new song earlier, and now it's time for our listeners to get their turn.

Melani: Yes, if you only knew how many questions we got on our Instagram. Instagram exploded, as well as the calls, so let's start.

Vesna: Let's start with the calls.

Melani: Let's start with the calls.

Vesna: First up, a question from Mateja.

Caller: I really want to know how many girls from primary school write to you now? Like, female classmates, and maybe male classmates too, look, you never know.

Melani: Well?

Vesna: Well?

Jan: For a few years, I've been in contact with maybe...

Melani: Hey, you have to come closer, you know. Yes, yes.

Jan: For a few years, I've actually only been in contact with two female classmates.

Melani: Were you already in contact before?

Jan: Yes, regardless of the band, so...

Melani: They weren't like, "Oh, what's up, Jan?"

Vesna: Have any others piped up from before? No?

Jan: I mean, no, actually they haven't. Not much has changed, honestly.

Vesna: They don't dare to. Nace, is it any different for you?

Nace: A classmate called me if I could get her an autographed shirt.

Vesna: Your autograph or someone else's?

Nace: No, like for the whole band to sign.

Vesna: Ah, the whole band.

Nace: Everyone then always says, "Yes, you know, it's for my nephew."

Melani: Yes, the classic. For relatives.

Nace: "Which size? Ah, ah." It's always like that, always.

Vesna: Okay. The best. Great. The next question is from Petra.

Caller: Hi, boys. Going to Sziget, that is, well, how to say, an achievement, an achievement. I'd like to know if you're excited yet? And I'd like to know which other artists will you watch, listen to?

Melani: Sziget. Tell us.

Jan: Yes, we're very excited. This is... That was definitely one of our biggest goals, which... which didn't seem conceivable at all, years ago. But yes, this year we're on the main stage. I don't know if we will... Will we be able to watch anyone?

Melani: If you could.

Nace: Well, I hope so.

Melani: Who would you like to?

Nace: I don't know exactly who's on that day.

Melani: Who it is. But you'll watch someone for sure, if you have the chance, right.

Vesna: Well, you will hang out in the backstage, isn't that even better?

Melani: Yeah, they don't need to watch.

Vesna: You don't need to watch, man. You can watch from the back. Well, the next question is from Matej.

Caller: Hey. I'd like to know if you have any advice for young musicians who want to make it the way you did. Thank you for the answer!

Melani: Alright, music advice.

Nace: Music advice. Yeah...

Vesna: A little closer to the mic, Nace.

Nace: I will say it very close to the microphone. Just practise a lot, a lot, a lot, practise a lot, and practise a lot. What else do they need, to be persistent.

Vesna: What about the mindset?

Jan: And have a good mindset.

Nace: Yes.

Vesna: What does that mean, a good mindset?

Nace: Well, to have a good mindset while practising.

Vesna: To already imagine yourself at Sziget.

Melani: To not give up.

Vesna: Or?

Jan: Was that question for young musicians?

Vesna: Yes, yes.

Melani: Exactly, for those who want to... I mean, young, that's relative, but yes.

Vesna: But like, bands that are just forming and don't know what to do. What's your advice for them?

Jan: Have a charismatic and likeable frontman.

Melani: Bravo, bravo. Okay, we still have good number of questions on Instagram, which we will ask you after a few minutes, and yeah, that's it, speak to you later.

(music and news break)

Vesna: Good morning, you're listening to (Radio) Center, Vesna Ponorac in Melani Mekicar are here.

Melani: Hello.

Vesna: As well as Nace and Jan, two fifths of Joker Out. You submitted so many questions to our Instagram that the boys had to stay a little longer so we can answer everything, and let's go ahead and start.

Melani: Well, first up: what is the most Slovenian or Balkan thing that you like? Accordion, ajvar¹, I don't know.

¹Ajvar is a typical Balkan condiment made from roasted bell peppers.

Vesna: Prekmurska gibanica.²

²Prekmurska gibanica is a traditional Slovenian dessert from the Prekmurje region in the north-east of Slovenia. It's made from several layers of phyllo dough and cottage cheese filling, poppy seed filling, walnut filling and apple filling.

Jan: Clean air.

Melani: Clean a– oh, nice. Fair enough. Nace?

Nace: What do we have... No, I want to think of something that is... There must be something that, when we're out there...

Vesna: Idrija lace.

Nace: Idrija lace. I mean, we always have that with us, so I don't miss that.

Melani: Fair, fair. But like, that's a very Slovenian thing that you love a lot.

Nace: Yes, definitely.

Vesna: Exactly. That's it. Okay. Moving on, a big concert in Slovenia, when?

Melani: Again.

Jan: How big?

Vesna: Stožice big.

Melani: As big as possible.

Jan: Not this year.

Vesna: No?

Melani: Okay, but how about, let's say, something a little smaller than Stožice?

Jan: That's coming this year.

Melani: Coming this year. Okay, you heard it here. Okay, your favourite thing about each other. If you were all here right now, this would be even more fun, but alright.

Jan: What, my... Mine, about Nace?

Melani: Your favourite thing about Nace, it can be his personality, it can be that he has a really awesome hairdo, whatever, and vice versa.

Jan: Nace is a very considerate person. Like, if he feels that... that you're not feeling okay, even if you're feeling totally okay, he'll ask you and be like...

Vesna: "Are you good, man?" Awesome.

Jan: "Jan, are you okay? You don't look okay."

Vesna: Nice. What's your zodiac sign, Nace?

Nace: Cancer.

Vesna: Aw, of course.

Melani: Nice. That's a very nice trait. Nace, what about Jan?

Nace: Jan's guitar playing. I mean... I'm sorry, that's...

Melani: That's true.

Nace: When he grabs a gui– just yesterday, we were at the studio, and I didn't tell him this, but when he started messing around and making weird sounds with the guitar, I said... I'm glad he's my guitarist.

Vesna: How nice, man.

Melani: Come on, stop it. Very nice.

Vesna: What a cute moment.

Melani: Okay, let's move on from this cute stuff to problems for a bit. Someone wants to know what the biggest problem you face as famous musicians is?

Vesna: And young ones.

Melani: Yes. So, I don't know, is it that girls are running after you, I don't know, is it that you can't just publish everything on the internet anymore? What's the biggest, like...

Vesna: A long deliberation, but take your time.

Melani: Well, is everything nice?

Jan: At one point, I had a bit of an... internet overdose. So... ever since I've distanced myself from scrolling Twitter every hour, I've...

Melani & Vesna: You've been much better.

Jan: I've spared myself a lot, yeah.

Vesna: I'd say so.

Melani: Okay. Nace?

Nace: Shoot... I always... maybe it's not like that here, but when we're somewhere abroad, and fans gather around our bus that we travel with, sometimes, when you're tired and because you're in a hurry to move on, it's kind of hard to go past these fans without giving them any attention.

Vesna: Especially because you're a Cancer, and so thoughtful, you'd probably like to give everyone there attention. Well, nice. Okay, this is it, boys. Everyone go listen to Joker Out's new song, 'Šta bih ja'. Thank you for being our guests and may your keep being successful.

Jan: Thank you very much for inviting us.

Vesna: Yes, gladly. Bye bye!

The subtitles in the video have a few slight differences from this transcript; they spoke very fast, so some sacrifices had to be made for the subs.

[shojizbae]

Fame Monster

Tom Kaulitz x Reader

Your career had really taken off since your first album, Blutsbande, was released. Your European tour took over your summer break. You had performed all over many places you begged your mom to travel to. Of course, as your 'manager,' she got to tag along with you. You got to meet so many fans and explore new corners of the world.

That's not to say you didn't feel a small dull, annoying void in your life.

Tom.

You've thought about him every day since you met.

And in every way. When you meet couples and celebrities with their partners, seeing them in the crowds of your shows stung a lot. People can look deep into each other's eyes, especially when you sing your slow songs about love and desire. It was just in public, when your mother was meeting with your publicist, and you were alone on the tour bus, that you thought deeply about him.

About how he smelled and looked. Especially how he tasted. You regret every moment that you didn't kiss him. Since then, you distracted yourself by finding male fans who wanted to touch you. And there were many. You never went all the way with them. It didn't seem right. But every few weeks, you would find some cute Spaniard and give him a VIP pass to your dressing room. The most tabloids got from it was that you had blown a fan in Wales.

But now, you were home in Germany, tired and hungry. You were supposed to have a meeting with your publicist and the producers about beginning a new album and mapping the world tour for the first album. While they discussed some financial things that a star like you was too important to be bored with, you went looking for caffeine.

The break room is quite spacious and cozy. The walls are adorned with vibrant and expensive abstract art pieces, adding a touch of sophistication to the room. There are comfortable seating areas, and the room is well-lit, with natural light streaming through the windows. Overall, it's a welcoming space to take a break and relax.

Right as you enter, four rowdy boys come down a separate hallway. You sigh and open the stainless steel fridge.

"Ah shit, it's the pop princess!" Bill interrupts

"Deine Frau," Gustav snickers as he rattles Tom. Your eyes lock. It feels like everyone else in the world vanishes, and you're zoomed out, looking at the two of you on the planet, orbiting the sun.

"Hey, welcome back to reality, superstar." Tom smiles as if you two are best friends.

"Ja, it was super cool. Now I'm just super thirsty." One of his eyebrows shoots up as you open the fridge for a beverage. You grab the last bottle of Coke. You twist off the bottle cap and flick it to the trashcan again. The boys also find respective snacks and consume a couch. Discovering that there was no room left, you take the pocket of the sofa where Tom was sitting, resting your legs across his spread lap. You dig in with the arm of the sofa at your back. He regards you and then places one hand on your thigh.

They continue their conversation as if you belong in Tom's lap. Like you were just an accessory missing from his outfit. He traces circles over your thigh as they keep an idle conversation.

"Do you want some Cola?" You offer the bottle up to his lips.

"Ja," he takes a swig and hands it back to you. You smile at him and lick the rim of the bottle. The boys erupt at the pure eroticism of your acts. He takes the bottle from your hand and places it on the coffee table. He takes hoists you up so you're straddling him.

"I'm going to kiss you now," He grips me tightly, and I just smile as he takes the lead. Before you get too heated and dirty, Bill clears his throat.

"Um, maybe find like a janitor's closet if you're going to have sex."

Georg and Gustav snicker, but you return to your little pocket under Tom's arm.

"I heard you're willing to do much in front of crowds." Georg jokes

"Uh, stupid tabloids, I went down on four guys over a three-month tour, and suddenly I'm some promiscuous slut. Didn't someone say you had slept with 25 girls when you were 14?" you slap Tom's chest

"Stupid tabloids," He agrees. Just then, your mother comes dashing out of the meeting room, screaming your name and waving her hands.

"Honey! Oh Mein, Gott! Angel." She comes to a halt right in front of you. "Who are these boys? Never mind, it's not relevant. This is super important, but we'll talk about these boys later. Rammstein wants you to open for them!"

In that regard Netanyahu you launched at out Tom’s lap, to his dismay. All around your European tour when you were stuck in interviews asking you the same questions they always asked who inspired you. Took hotel and Rammstein were always the answer.

Well, now, you had gotten that close to making out with a member of Tokio Hotel, and NOW Rammstein wanted you to come to tour with them. You were jumping around, hugging your mom, and squealing something in Hebrew.

"Wait, when?" you separate and hold your mom by her triceps

"Their tour starts in two months, so you're doing some shows in New Zealand and Australia, and then you'll be back in rehearsals." She switches her tone from 'mom' to 'manager'. You sulk, knowing that it was back to a busy and stressful life. Especially now that it seemed there could be something with Tom.

Before the blue could consume you, shouts of excitement consume the area behind you.

"Woah, so cool!"

"you're opening for Rammstein!"

"You're traveling more!"

The boys have all jumped up, encircled you, and congratulated you with back pats. Tom slings an arm around your shoulders and looks down at you fondly.

"I guess we'll have to save that kiss for when you get back."

"No way." You extend to your tip toes and direct his jaw by his cheek. He kisses you a little chastely, knowing your mom is right there. And when you pull back, it's all over. From then on, you know that Tom Kaulitz is the only one you want to be around. The look in his chocolaty eyes and the slight smile is a tell-tale sign that it's over.

You're all he wants.

"We should go for a celebratory lunch!" Bill cheers

"Ja, I'm hungry."

"Your publicist still needs to work out some details of this little oral scandal. I hope you start associating with better people. But for now, take the card and bring me back a brisket sandwich." Your mom tosses a credit card at you with a stern mom look.

"Sweet! Danke mama!" You hop up and kiss her cheek. On your way out, you get your jacket and purse. The boys follow you out, although none of them bring jackets. Bill is already wearing one.

"And liebe,"

"Ja Mama?"

"Don't eat too much, you'll get fat.'

"Yes, mama."

When you leave the record label, the boys have already hailed a taxi. You climbed in, comfortably sandwiched between Georg and Gustav. You know to keep your face covered in public, so you slide on sunglasses and a hat. Paparazzi isn't as heinous in Germany as in the US, but fangirls are bound to find the famous Kaulitz twins. They take you to a nicer sit-down restaurant, and you order a round of sodas and some bread.

For 16-year-old boys, they make tolerable conversation. You catch up on what it's like to be a young celebrity. Although it is really refreshing to just make dick jokes and laugh loudly. When you order food, Gustav orders your mothers a sandwich for you to go, and you get a chicken salad with pita. The boys joke about being emasculated by a woman paying, but they all agree to take you to lunch again when you return from Australia.

You slip your jacket back on your shoulders, slide out of the booth, and the boys follow you. As you leave the restaurant, you are bombarded by a camera flash, and you feel a hand interlock with yours and let it lead you to another cab. Screams of your name and 'Look here.' You're ducked into a cab, which speeds back towards the record label.

Paparazzi follow the car until you get on the freeway. When the adrenaline wears off, you realize that you've been tugged into someone's warm lap. You can feel his steady breathing as his chest rises and falls, and the gentle exhales fan the back of your neck. Just by scanning the faces of the three other men in the car's back seat, you deduce that you're sitting on Tom's lap. Although you could have put that together based on his belt buckle.

"Tom, you've got to fix your pants. I'm sitting right on your belt buckle." you try to shift around so that it's not poking you in the ass

"That's not my belt buckle, Schatz." He snickers

"Oh really?" You twist around in the crowded cab and sling your arms on his neck. Your tiny black mini-skirt rides up your thighs, showing off your neon patterned underwear."

"Yeah," He groans into your ear. "And let me tell you something, we could go at it right now."

"Now, in front of your brother. Hey, driver, we are rerouting. Take me to the nearest apartment." Howls envelop the cab, and the five of you are spat out on a curbside near a hotel. You swipe your mom's credit card for the cab and then swipe it again for a room.

You can't keep your hands to yourself in the elevator, and when you get to the hotel, it's over. Tom drags you to a bedroom and locks the door behind the two of you.

~.~

Your publicist nearly faints when he sees the tabloids the following day.

"Young star seen with salacious band Tokio Hotel" and photos of you and the four eating lunch together.

"Rising Rock stars seen holding hands" and the pictures of you and Tom

"Could a relationship between these two rockstars be blossoming?"

Rockstars seen making out in cab

"Young rockstars seen going into a hotel. They're only 16!"

Photo evidence of the five of you walking in downtown Berlin covered these drama blogs. Your mother is fuming when you get home. You're walking on sunshine, though. Freshly deflowered and in love. The following two weeks are a roller coaster, and you spend most of it riding Tom. You've already racked up quite a reputation when you reach the islands.